| abstract | - Luffy's two dominant traits are his apparent lack of intelligence and his utter fearlessness. Luffy can easily be amazed by the simplest things, such as hermit crabs, and can be confused by concepts such as that by digging a hole right next to another he may be unintentionally filling the other hole. He likes monsters and will ask weird creatures to join his crew (as seen in the Thriller Bark Arc, asking a talking tree to join his crew). He also has no knowledge of medicine: when Nami had a high fever he told her to eat cold food and later tried to make Roronoa Zoro better (after battling Bartholomew Kuma) by pouring sake onto him because Zoro likes sake. When attempting to think up a plan to get off of Amazon Lily, while he managed to make some logical sense of where to look, he is seen to strain himself and notes that he is going to feel sick from too much thinking. He is rarely disturbed by violence or blood as he has fought his whole life. Even the worst battlefields rarely disturb him except when it involves a friend or relative as in the case of Ace. He is seemingly unphased by the most horrifying sights such as headless men left after Law's attacks or the extreme violence of Kid. His simple mind actually saved him against Hancock's powers because he mistook it for a "Noro Noro Beam", which was used by Foxy, which brought out a fear of being slowed down (though it is shown later he is simply immune to her powers, because of his pure heart). If Luffy finds something he does not understand, even if someone explains in detail, he calls it a "mystery thing"; like calling Dance Powder a "mystery powder". One of Luffy's running gags is asking "non-humans" such as Keimi and Brook if they can poop, in which case the answer is usually a yes. Another running gag is Luffy's slow reaction time, especially to freezing temperatures. He is, however, a genius when it comes to fighting, such as when he figured out how to defeat Crocodile's Devil Fruit power on the verge of death, how to use Soru from sight, developed a number of effective counters to Enel's "Mantra" ability and, most recently, learning everything Silvers Rayleigh had to teach him about Haki in a year and a half (even though Rayleigh mentioned that two years were too short a time to learn about Haki). He does have a habit of holding a grudge even in dire situations, such as calling Franky a "bastard" in the middle of his fight with Rob Lucci causing Franky to retort "Now's not the time to be mad at me" and refusing to let Crocodile help him escape Impel Down (even when there was no alternative). However he tries not to hurt civilians and people he likes, even if they intend to do harm to him, preferring to run from them than fight. It has been stated more than once that Luffy's instinct and behavior is similar to that of a wild animal's, like when he knows who he has to fight before he even gets to the battle. Even his fights show this as he relies on his instincts and counterattacks, which complements the way he views the world. He is most often seen smiling, except in a fight where he is forced to use all his power (and sometimes even then). Luffy also seems to rarely change personality wise. Because he views the world in a straightforward and simple manner, he is occasionally the only person who can see past events that have taken place and realize the true goal, yet at other times he can fall into the simplest of traps. When drawing him, Oda has said he tries to make Luffy very straightforward about what he wants to be and how he feels, which is why out of all the main characters, he has the least number of thought bubbles, since he acts and says what he wants to do rather than think it. To complement Luffy's naïveté and straightforward attitude, there is a running gag through the series where Luffy can identify similarities on things that have little resemblance (like being able to see the resemblance between Sanji and his Wanted Poster, or being able to see Spoil as an old man with major wounds rather than a zombie), but is unable to see similarities with things with obvious connections (like being unable to tell that Sogeking is Usopp or not seeing through Foxy's pathetic disguises). Luffy's simple attitude and naïve comments during fights are often mistaken by his opponents as poking fun at them. Due to this, many of his opponents lose their cool and charge at him in anger. While he is goofy and reckless, he gets quite serious when anyone is in serious danger, notably his crew, whom he considers his family. Luffy also has the tendency to unwittingly poke fun at an opponent's most sensitive trait, like calling Buggy "big nose", Alvida "the fat lady", and Kureha "old hag". In many cases, the opponents fail to understand whether Luffy is serious or just playing during fights due to his bizarre actions like drinking too much water in his fight with Crocodile or punching out Arlong's teeth and using it as a weapon to bite him. Luffy, however, has maintained that he is always serious during fights. In most cases, once he starts to fight he maintains a serious attitude and is only seen laughing once he defeats the enemy or is certain the enemy will be defeated, like in Buggy's case when he laughed before sending Buggy flying in the air. Every time Luffy defeats an enemy, he smiles shortly afterward. There has been only one exception: after his fight with Usopp in Water 7, Luffy did not smile for a whole day. In battle, Luffy has shown signs of intelligence, high tactical and innovative skills. He can easily adapt to hindering situations such as Mr. 3's Candle Lock or Enel's Gloam Paddling into an attack. He also used a mirror to reflect Foxy's Noro Noro Beam attack. During the Marineford Arc, Dracule Mihawk mentions that Luffy seems unusually clear-headed by avoiding Mihawk's attacks. Additionally, during his battle against Mihawk, he uses Buggy as a scapegoat shield to help protect him and move forward towards Ace. Luffy also has a habit of saying things with a lot more weight and (occasionally) wisdom than he realizes without even thinking or meaning to. Luffy also shows significant leadership skills, which at other times he usually lacks and therefore has his captain duties done by another crew member. An example of his leadership is usually present at the most dire and serious times. Such as in the Water 7 Arc in which a portion of the Straw Hats, some Galley-La foremen, and the Franky Family are present. Luffy brings the three together by pointing out that they now have a common enemy and should form an alliance to take back what the enemy has taken. Another time could be when he takes on the burden of being a Captain and does not hold back when dueling Usopp, and restrains himself from calling Usopp back afterwards. Crew members also listen to his orders without question when he is serious, all respecting his position. In the Sabaody Archipelago Arc, Jewelry Bonney comments on how not just anyone could order Zoro around, since Zoro seemed to be so independent and ruthless. Yet he respects Luffy's commands when the time calls for it. The one thing that Luffy does not allow is someone or something getting involved in another person's fight. At these times Luffy shows both remarkable restraint during the battles, and rage when something or someone outside the battle is involved, especially if it is a person he considers a friend. Luffy showed this early in the series when Zoro fought Mihawk, and managed to hold himself (and Johnny and Yosaku) back until Zoro was defeated. Since then he has shown it several times, like when Baroque Works sabotaged the giants' duel on Little Garden; when Crocodile attacked Yuba with a sandstorm in the middle of their fight; when he challenged Aokiji to a 1-on-1 fight; when he fought Lucci and insisted that Franky does not get involved in their battle; when the Boa sisters threatened to break the petrified form of his saviors; and when he was visibly enraged with Hody Jones who attacked some civilians who tried to halt Noah. He even went so far as to cover Sandersonia's back from the citizens of Kuja while it was still burning, even though they were trying to kill him, claiming it has nothing to do with their fight. Luffy is very loyal to his crew-mates and other friends, and can lose his temper quickly if they are harmed in any way (a trait that he apparently shares with the late Pirate King). Luffy is willing to do drastic things to avenge and defend those dear to him, even if it means breaking a promise to his friends, such as striking Bellamy down for attacking Montblanc Cricket's crew, and punching World Noble Saint Charloss in the face for shooting Hatchan, despite promising not to defy the World Nobles. Additionally, Luffy believes that all people should be loyal to their friends, and if Luffy sees anyone betraying their own comrades, he would stand up for the victims (even if they are enemies). Notable examples of this are Captain Kuro killing his own crew, Don Krieg attacking Gin, Boa Hancock petrifying her fellow Kuja tribe members, Caesar Clown using his subordinates as mere guinea pigs, Donquixote Doflamingo treating Bellamy cruelly despite the latter's admiration for the former, and Big Mom attempting to betray and murder the entire Vinsmoke Family to obtain the technology they possess. Sanji even pointed out during his fight with Vergo that he was the type of person Luffy would hate the most due to the vice admiral's betrayal of G-5 and attacking his subordinates despite their admiration for him. Luffy's apparent selflessness often inspires others to side with him as a result. Notable among these people are Boa Hancock, Jinbe, and Emporio Ivankov, who would not have helped him out otherwise, given their individual beliefs. He also shows respect for things that a person is willing to die for, be it a treasure or a secret, to the point of even fighting to protect that which the person would throw their lives away over. The most noticeable action of this would be when he protected the Gorgon Sisters' secret by using his own body to cover the mark on Boa Sandersonia's back, even though they were trying to kill him. Luffy is also willing to recklessly put his own health and safety at risk to protect those he cares about, even if it means risking death or causing a permanent injury to himself, such as overexerting himself during his the Battle of Marineford to save Ace and begging Emporio Ivankov to use tension hormones on him again as he would rather risk his health and try to save Ace, or Luffy will kill himself if he allows Ace to die. . Other examples are Luffy repeatedly attacking Noah with Gear Third to save Fishman Island, despite rapid blood loss from the injury Hody Jones inflicted on him, and Luffy willing to risk losing his arms to break free from his restraints in Big Mom's cell to save Sanji, after learning Sanji's wedding is a set-up and the Charlotte Family intends to kill him (along with his family), though this was prior to Jinbe showing up to free him and Nami. However, despite all his peculiar traits and habits (with his trademark dimwitted behavior), Luffy's most defining part of his personality is the ability to make allies out of absolutely anyone (including former enemies, villains and even Whitebeard himself), which is said by Mihawk to be the most dangerous ability in the world. When other individuals heard Luffy mention that he, his crew, and the people they meet are friends or comrades, it touched the hearts of others who were later grateful to Luffy and his crew and support them, like Carue, Vivi, Nefeltari Cobra, and Fukaboshi. That also applies to Nami and Chopper who later joined the Straw Hat Pirates. It is shown that Luffy can get irritated when his crew or people around him constantly whine about the dangers they are in that he caused, which is mostly shown in Zou. He would appreciate if people stayed happy and cheery in these situations, like the rabbit mink Carrot. Luffy also has an extreme thirst for adventure, which he has stated is the main reason he wants to become the Pirate King, having the belief that the Pirate King would be the one on the entire ocean with the most freedom for adventuring. Because of this adventurous nature, he tends to avoid taking 'the easy way out' at times, such as when he destroyed the Eternal Pose to Nanimonai Island given to him by Robin (Miss All-Sunday at the time), stating that he did not want an enemy to decide his destination. He also has no intention of trying to learn what or where One Piece actually is until he finds it himself, and once stated he would quit being a pirate if his crew tried to find out, not wanting to 'go on a boring adventure'. Luffy has no actual sense of caution and in fact, has been known to literally laugh in the face of danger and walk into potentially harmful situations with a massive grin as, for example, when the Straw Hats approached the Knock-Up Stream and when they decided to board the Rumbar Pirates ghost ship and also when entering Thriller Bark and while descending to Fishman Island, Luffy never says goodbye to those he considers friends, in hopes of seeing them again. As a person with the middle initial D., Luffy shares the common trait of not fearing death. He will often state that if he reaches his goal, that's fine, but if he dies on the way, that's fine too. He even smiled when he was nearly executed by Buggy in Loguetown, although he did have a look of shock and surprise in his eyes before this happened when Sanji and Zoro tried to rescue him. Throughout the series, several characters have stated similarities between Luffy and other D. carriers, whether in personality, words, actions or presence. So far he is thought to be similar to Jaguar D. Saul by Nico Robin; to Monkey D. Garp by Aokiji, by at least one of the Gorosei, and by his own crew; to Monkey D. Dragon by Emporio Ivankov; and to Gol D. Roger himself by Smoker, Crocus, Kureha, Gan Fall, Shanks, Rayleigh, Kokoro and the non-canonical Raoul. Luffy's personality is like that of a child's, in the sense that he tends to go to the extremes. He can either be extremely greedy, especially in cases of food, who his crew is, and adventure; or extraordinarily selfless, going so far as to virtually sacrifice himself to avenge or protect his friends, crew, and family. This childish mentality of his allows him to get to the root of the problem, and allows him to figure out the most simple way of solving it. Like other D's so far, he is also quite a glutton despite his skinny appearance: he especially loves meat and can eat a fish whole - bones included - and because of this, a running gag of Luffy's is him constantly stealing other peoples' food with his rubber powers, causing them to yell at him and sometimes hit him. It should also be noted that he becomes more gluttonous over the series as there are moments he becomes morbidly obese, though he loses the weight in some way, usually exercise. Also, after the events of Enies Lobby, Luffy seems to have developed narcolepsy, much like his brother Ace, though for only a short time. Another running gag is his habit of being amazed at various abilities of villains, often yelling out "amazing" with stars in his eyes and around his head. Luffy believes that he is at his "coolest" when he is wearing armor. Luffy also seems to have a slight obsession when it comes to outfitting himself with full-body armors, and has a habit of wearing one whenever he gets the chance. But every armor that he manages to find and outfit himself with usually ends up destroyed either in a battle or by some other comedic scenario. He also constantly insults his opponents by giving them degrading nicknames (such as calling Gekko Moriah a "leek" or Enel "earlobes"). Luffy apparently has no skill with insulting people, usually taking either a physical aspect or unique ability and trying to make it degrading (like calling Zoro "three-swords style" when everyone was lamenting Vivi's absence, only to be corrected by Usopp). Luffy also has absolutely no talent for lying whatsoever, and cannot hold a straight face or poker face at all when intimidated to confess the truth. In fact, more often than not, Luffy would blurt out, without thinking, what he knows regarding a certain event whenever someone asks something concerning the events that transpired. In contrast, Luffy has a tendency to suck his lips in and turn his head to the side when an attack or technique fails to affect him, such as Enel's various electrical attacks or Boa Hancock's Mero Mero no Mi. Luffy never kills any of his enemies (no matter how cold-hearted they are); instead, he frequently sends the enemy flying, knocking them out or beating them until they have reached the point that they are almost near death. Oda explains that it is not a question of morality so much as a matter of punishing the villains for their crimes - he feels that killing the villains lets them off too easily, whereas he considers letting them live to see their dreams ruined a far more fitting punishment; however, it is evidently clear that Luffy is not against others completing the final act themselves, as seen when Luffy allowed Law to make his attempt to kill Doflamingo, while making sure Trebol does not interfere, however this may have been more to do with stopping Doflamingo's birdcage (which would only deactivate if Doflamingo willed it or was dead or unconscious) from killing civilians than actually harboring any desire to see Doflamingo killed. Ironically though, some of the people he has defeated have become good after their defeat, most noticeably Wapol becoming a rich CEO of a toy factory, though he became evil once again after he created his new kingdom. Another dominant trait of Luffy is his humble nature: he does not brag about the powerful foes he's defeated in the past, though he's not above about claiming that no one has ever beaten him in the past (which is not true, having been defeated many times by Ace and Sabo as a child, twice by Smoker (though non-fatal), twice by Crocodile before defeating him, once by Aokiji, once by Rob Lucci before defeating him, once by Gekko Moriah before defeating him, once by Bartholomew Kuma, once by Magellan and once by Kizaru, all in the past). He remains humble despite having done outrageous acts like defeating Shichibukai-level pirates and issuing the order to burn down the World Government Flag back at Enies Lobby. When Franky pointed out the latter, Luffy only replied that it was nothing to get worked up over (hinting that he only gave the order on a mere whim), for he and his crew were only there to take back a crew member that was taken from them. When Sengoku tried to cover up Gekko Moriah's defeat by ordering Bartholomew Kuma to kill the Straw Hat Crew, Vice Admiral Garp told him, "Ah, do not worry yourself Sengoku! Luffy is not the sort of guy who'd go around boasting about taking out Moriah anyway!". Prior to the timeskip, Luffy had displayed a side to himself where he occasionally gets into fights with others over needless issues (i.e. he nearly got into one with Blackbeard in Mock Town over a matter of quality of the pies that the tavern served to their patrons). He still has this trait after the timeskip when he is shown to fight with Momonosuke when he arrives on Dressrosa. However when Luffy is told to keep a low profile or to restrain himself he will resist his urges to pick fights over small matters. Despite his passion for fighting, Luffy also generally refuses to fight someone that he does not personally consider an enemy, preferring to either talk it over or run away from the confrontation. Over the series Luffy has become more mature and levelheaded, though he only shows this part of his personality when he and his friends are in dire situations or someone insults him, calling people like him and their beliefs foolish; other than that he still acts the same as he was at the start of the series. He almost never gets irritated with normal people, though there are a few exceptions, like when they seem to have an opposite taste in food as he, or when they ask if they can take a look at his "privates". Luffy also has no problem with other people stretching and playing with his rubber body, however, he does get a little irritated if they are doing so while he's in the middle of eating. Luffy calls every mixed-appearance creature he finds by whichever creature is its secondary (non-dominant) part. On Gaimon's island, the dog/chicken was referred to as a chicken when it was mostly a dog, the snake/rabbit a rabbit even though it was mostly snake, and the pig/lion a lion even though it was mostly pig. This becomes a running gag: later when he meets Bananawani, he calls them bananas with crocodiles attached to them. Also, after seeing Pierre transform, he continued to refer to him as a "horse" instead of a bird. And related to this running gag, when on Long Ring Long Land island, he called every animal by what he thought they resembled rather than the actual species they were. Luffy's interest in women is a complex matter: in an SBS Volume 54, Oda stated that the reason Luffy acted in an aroused manner when Nami stripped, yet remained neutral when Hancock did so, was that he was with Usopp at the time Nami did so, as Usopp is his age and a bad influence on his behavior. He also hasn't yet displayed any romantic inclinations, having nonchalantly refused to marry Hancock without a second thought. Ironically, despite his lack of interest in all things love related, Luffy has earned the affections of many women along his travels (such as Alvida's admiration, the love of Boa Hancock, etc.), quite a few of whom are royalty. Luffy also respects his friends' decision if they choose not to join his crew, even if he asked them more than once, and would prefer not to forcibly take them with him. One example is his declining Zeff's offer to forcibly take Sanji with him, aware of much the Baratie meant to Sanji, and would only take him if Sanji agreed to do so. One minor exception is the Straw Hats' involvement in using more forcible methods in getting Franky to agree to join only because Iceburg insisted there was no other way due to Franky being too stubborn to listen to reason. This leads to Luffy and most of his crew to help the other members of the Franky Family with their plan, allowing them to succeed in convincing Franky to join the Straw Hats (with some additional help from Iceburg who provided the necessary advice) and seeing the importance to fulfilling his dream. Luffy has shown to admire heroes, though he has stated vehemently that he really does not want to be one, his reasoning more-or-less translating that the definition of a good hero is to be entirely selfless. Ironically, many of Luffy's actions are mostly selfless, with his selfishness mainly revolving around his gluttony and his thirst for adventure. This trait leaves everyone he meets with to think he is some kind of hero, but not by his own design. However, he is easily convinced by Jinbe for his plan of becoming a hero of the Fishman Island with an agreement of meat. When his adoptive big brother Ace was killed at Marineford, the mental strain of watching Ace die in his arms caused him to fall into a catatonic state. After waking from this state, Luffy flew into a rage and went on a destructive rampage to vent his grief and anger. Afterwards, Luffy re-evaluated himself and came to the conclusion that he had been too naïve, and was weak and unworthy of becoming Pirate King, falling into a state of depression and self-pity. Some encouragement from Jinbe and Rayleigh gave Luffy some renewed courage to continue pursuing his dream. After the timeskip, he tells Rayleigh that he will be Pirate King, having regained his confidence to fight for his dream. Whenever Luffy is seriously injured he always requests that his friends or allies get treated first, even when he is the one who needs it the most. The greatest example of this is when in Impel Down, after being severely poisoned by Magellan and getting to Level 5 with an injured Bentham and meeting Ivankov and Inazuma, he begged them to save his friend first even though he was truly suffering the most and in the worst condition (he was actually on the verge of death, and would have certainly died had Inazuma not found them). Also, as a bit of a running gag, Luffy, when talking about money, tells his crew-mates to budget their money, only for them to react in return that it all goes towards feeding him. Another running gag involves Luffy randomly telling someone a secret, such as the identity of his and Ace's fathers, only to casually ask them to keep it a secret afterwards. He shares this trait with his grandfather.
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