I don't hate Gear 5. I think it fits because Oda has always had Looney Tunes/slapstick like that and makes the story more optimistic instead of a violence showdown.
I'm talking about the in-universe reaction, though. Kaido smiled about it, but almost everyone else who has seen it has had a WTF expression on their face. You can't bend reality without freaking out some normies, I guess haha.
But I also wonder if this is a little deeper, like Luffy doesn't realize that he's the only one having fun. The way he approached Sentomaru all, "Hey Ax Guy!" and tried to have a conversation mid-battle... I wonder if someone (Nami?) will confront Luffy about this, since she's usually a voice of reason for him.
I'm talking about the in-universe reaction, though. Kaido smiled about it, but almost everyone else who has seen it has had a WTF expression on their face. You can't bend reality without freaking out some normies, I guess haha.
But I also wonder if this is a little deeper, like Luffy doesn't realize that he's the only one having fun. The way he approached Sentomaru all, "Hey Ax Guy!" and tried to have a conversation mid-battle... I wonder if someone (Nami?) will confront Luffy about this, since she's usually a voice of reason for him.
That's why Kaido's a real one: he realized how important Luffy's power-up was, and respected even though it was insane.
Great point with Luffy. He seems almost mindlessly joyful. I really want to see Nami and him interact when he's in Gear 5: it should be funny, and, hopefully, she does what you said and reasons with him about not going out of control.
Even with Gear 5, Kaido had chances to end the battle, especially when Luffy ran out of Gear 5.
Much like with Katakuri, Kaido gave Luffy a chance to prepare one final effort. Many enemies (like Blackbeard and Akainu) won't give Luffy that chance.