In recent chapters, Luffy and the Strawhats seem pretty overwhelmed by Imu and the God's Knights. They really seem outclassed in terms of power and abilities. So, I feel like a lot of people are assuming the Strawhats are going to have to train. Luffy specifically. It's time for "Goofy" Gear 5 to come to a end. Luffy's gonna start getting serious, with a serious new power-up, and a serious new form. And fights are gonna get EPIC from here on out. Like a "proper" shonen battle manga.
...BUT...I have to wonder if that's what ODA actually wants.
From what I understand, the entire reason that Oda created Gear 5 in the first place is because he DIDN'T want to do the typical battle shonen manga thing where the protagonist gets a cool new form. He wanted to do something a little different. A power-up that still makes the protagonist stronger...but in a different way. Plus, Oda's heart has always belonged to gag manga. He originally wanted to be a gag-manga artist, but shonen manga became all the rage, so he changed his plans. So, I have to ask myself, would Oda REALLY decide to give Luffy a "epic" new form? Would he really do the expected thing, RIGHT AFTER he subverted everyone's expectations?
Plus, Oda prefers to have the Strawhats to be the underdogs. He prefers to keep them just slightly weaker than the opponents they fight. It means that they're always punching up, instead of down. And it naturally raises the stakes, making the fights more interesting. So, I don't know if it really makes sense for the Strawhats to spend a bunch of time training, since they can't really get TOO strong.
Imu is overpowered. But, that's by design. And I'm not sure if the point of fighting Imu right here on Elbaph is to show that the Strawhats are too weak. I think it might be to show, that even if you spend YEARS "grinding levels" preparing yourself for something, it can STILL not be enough. Because Imu IS super-strong. Maybe even the strongest person on the planet. But, he STILL hasn't made his dream come true. Imu still isn't happy. Imu's been preparing for years. But, he never had the guts to go out there and grab that brass ring. So, I think the point of Imu, as a challenge, could be to show that even when you're NOT fully prepared...you still kinda just have to go for it. You can't spend so long trying to make sure that you're prepared that you never actually get up the courage to TRY in the first place. So, on that level, I'm not even sure if we're going to GET a training arc for the Strawhats.
But, this IS still a shonen manga. And some rules DO have to be observed, at least on some level. So, I think Luffy IS almost guaranteed to get some form of power-up before the end of the story. It's just...not going to be a "cool" power-up.
So, I think people have to prepare themselves for something else. I think people who are expecting Luffy to get more serious are going to be TERRIBLY disappointed. Because, I feel like Luffy isn't going to finally get serious. If anything...I think Luffy will only get GOOFIER!
But, what would that even look like? How could "Goofy" even get any less serious than he already is?
Well...I can't help but think about Akira Toriyama. It's no secret that Oda was a big fan of his work. Oda has specifically said that he loved Dragon Ball, and it's a big inspiration for how he made One Piece.
But, Toriyama didn't JUST make Dragon Ball. There was...another! A big, popular manga that Toriyama created before Dragon Ball. A gag manga. Featuring a certain character...
(Poop-Onna-Stick...a elegant weapon from a more civilized age!)
This is Arale from Dr Slump. Now, Dr Slump is kinda unknown in the west. It's a early 80s Japanese gag manga. It never really had a chance to get big over here. She's a little robot girl who gets into a lot of mischief.
And she's beaten Goku AND Vegeta from Dragon Ball. Multiple times.
reddit.com/r/Dragonballsuper/comments/1497lee/this_honestly_made_me_laugh/
(Vegeta (circa Dragon Ball Super):"That girl's WAY TOO STONG! Only a character from a early 80's gag manga could have so much POWER!")
Now, in the Dr Slump manga proper...Arale is really not that strong. She's tough, since she's a robot. But, she has been blasted into parts a few times. It's really only in the crossovers with Dragon Ball where she's portrayed as a force of pure unstoppable might. But, still.
So, I think THIS could actually end up being template that Oda will base Luffy's new form on. Not a God...but something stronger!
And, in some ways, this could actually make a lot of sense. Because we have seen Luffy get "chibi-sized" before.
(Chapter 403)
Tiny Luffy from the Pre-Timeskip, when using Gear 3 would make him small. Before, this was a cost of him using power. But, I have to wonder if Oda would turn that on it's head. Making a former power-down, into Luffy's new power-up! With associated, more cartoony gag-manga style abilities. Really cranking that goofiness up a notch. Oda may even retcon this as the Nika Fruit's "true form".
I also wouldn't be too surprised if Joyboy turned out to be a robot or cyborg of some kind. Joyboy does come from a very advanced civilization, even more advanced to what we saw on Egghead. So, I could see Joyboy turning out to be robotic in some way, just like Arale is.
There's also the wings you typically see on Arale's hat. Those COULD be reflected in Joyboy's "wings".
reddit.com/r/OnePiece/comments/1ook2et/episode_1148_uhhhdid_we_just_get_a_glimpse_of/
In a anime-exclusive scene from Episode 1148, we see what seems to be Joyboy with wings, falling into the ocean. This COULD just be something the anime made up...but I doubt it. I feel like this is the anime staff knowing something we don't, and putting it into the show. There's every chance that Joyboy could have had wings. Either in his original form, possibly as a Lunarian, or due to the Nika Fruit itself.
So, both Luffy's final form and Arale could both have "wings" of a sort.
And then there's one other "coincidence" with Arale, which makes me think Oda will use her as a inspiration for Luffy's new form. Her catchphrase.
"N'cha!" Which is the cutesy-corrupted way that she says "Konnichiwa" or "Hello".
And if you corrupt that a bit more, what does that happen to sound like?
(Chapter 1018)
N'cha...Nika. COINCIDENCE?! Eh...maybe? But, also...maybe NOT!
And wait just a minute here....
ZOOM IN! ENHANCE!
Oh...my...Nika! The Legendary Weapon of the Sun God! The Meito of Meitos! What else could it possibly be?!
What better weapon could there be for a God that brings about laughter...than Poop-Onna-Stick!
And if you think I'm joking about this....well, a little. But, not as much as you might think!
Because that actually would bring a old gag with Luffy full circle.
(Chapters 442, 491, and 610)
THIS is the reason why Luffy keeps asking if people can poop! He's been looking for ammo for his destined Legendary Weapon! The only weapon that can defeat Imu and save the World! Poop-Onna-Stick!
...Or something like that.
And, in a way, Elbaph would be the PERFECT place to get a weapon like this. I mean, Imu and Scopper are really slicing up this giant tree. So, it'd be REALLY easy to get a stray stick from the legendary Treasure Tree Adam right now. So, Luffy may indeed get a weapon made from Adam-wood. Just...not in a form most people would EVER expect.
So, to sum up, I just want to say...maybe don't expect a new form for Luffy that's TOO "cool". It could easily go the other way. Luffy may only unlock his true power when he STOPS getting serious. "Gear 6" could be more along the line of "Gear Sticks". And it may just involve poop, in some way. Because Oda's a weirdo. And you gotta love him for that.
...BUT...I have to wonder if that's what ODA actually wants.
From what I understand, the entire reason that Oda created Gear 5 in the first place is because he DIDN'T want to do the typical battle shonen manga thing where the protagonist gets a cool new form. He wanted to do something a little different. A power-up that still makes the protagonist stronger...but in a different way. Plus, Oda's heart has always belonged to gag manga. He originally wanted to be a gag-manga artist, but shonen manga became all the rage, so he changed his plans. So, I have to ask myself, would Oda REALLY decide to give Luffy a "epic" new form? Would he really do the expected thing, RIGHT AFTER he subverted everyone's expectations?
Plus, Oda prefers to have the Strawhats to be the underdogs. He prefers to keep them just slightly weaker than the opponents they fight. It means that they're always punching up, instead of down. And it naturally raises the stakes, making the fights more interesting. So, I don't know if it really makes sense for the Strawhats to spend a bunch of time training, since they can't really get TOO strong.
Imu is overpowered. But, that's by design. And I'm not sure if the point of fighting Imu right here on Elbaph is to show that the Strawhats are too weak. I think it might be to show, that even if you spend YEARS "grinding levels" preparing yourself for something, it can STILL not be enough. Because Imu IS super-strong. Maybe even the strongest person on the planet. But, he STILL hasn't made his dream come true. Imu still isn't happy. Imu's been preparing for years. But, he never had the guts to go out there and grab that brass ring. So, I think the point of Imu, as a challenge, could be to show that even when you're NOT fully prepared...you still kinda just have to go for it. You can't spend so long trying to make sure that you're prepared that you never actually get up the courage to TRY in the first place. So, on that level, I'm not even sure if we're going to GET a training arc for the Strawhats.
But, this IS still a shonen manga. And some rules DO have to be observed, at least on some level. So, I think Luffy IS almost guaranteed to get some form of power-up before the end of the story. It's just...not going to be a "cool" power-up.
So, I think people have to prepare themselves for something else. I think people who are expecting Luffy to get more serious are going to be TERRIBLY disappointed. Because, I feel like Luffy isn't going to finally get serious. If anything...I think Luffy will only get GOOFIER!
But, what would that even look like? How could "Goofy" even get any less serious than he already is?
Well...I can't help but think about Akira Toriyama. It's no secret that Oda was a big fan of his work. Oda has specifically said that he loved Dragon Ball, and it's a big inspiration for how he made One Piece.
But, Toriyama didn't JUST make Dragon Ball. There was...another! A big, popular manga that Toriyama created before Dragon Ball. A gag manga. Featuring a certain character...
(Poop-Onna-Stick...a elegant weapon from a more civilized age!)
This is Arale from Dr Slump. Now, Dr Slump is kinda unknown in the west. It's a early 80s Japanese gag manga. It never really had a chance to get big over here. She's a little robot girl who gets into a lot of mischief.
And she's beaten Goku AND Vegeta from Dragon Ball. Multiple times.
reddit.com/r/Dragonballsuper/comments/1497lee/this_honestly_made_me_laugh/
(Vegeta (circa Dragon Ball Super):"That girl's WAY TOO STONG! Only a character from a early 80's gag manga could have so much POWER!")
Now, in the Dr Slump manga proper...Arale is really not that strong. She's tough, since she's a robot. But, she has been blasted into parts a few times. It's really only in the crossovers with Dragon Ball where she's portrayed as a force of pure unstoppable might. But, still.
So, I think THIS could actually end up being template that Oda will base Luffy's new form on. Not a God...but something stronger!
And, in some ways, this could actually make a lot of sense. Because we have seen Luffy get "chibi-sized" before.
(Chapter 403)
Tiny Luffy from the Pre-Timeskip, when using Gear 3 would make him small. Before, this was a cost of him using power. But, I have to wonder if Oda would turn that on it's head. Making a former power-down, into Luffy's new power-up! With associated, more cartoony gag-manga style abilities. Really cranking that goofiness up a notch. Oda may even retcon this as the Nika Fruit's "true form".
I also wouldn't be too surprised if Joyboy turned out to be a robot or cyborg of some kind. Joyboy does come from a very advanced civilization, even more advanced to what we saw on Egghead. So, I could see Joyboy turning out to be robotic in some way, just like Arale is.
There's also the wings you typically see on Arale's hat. Those COULD be reflected in Joyboy's "wings".
reddit.com/r/OnePiece/comments/1ook2et/episode_1148_uhhhdid_we_just_get_a_glimpse_of/
In a anime-exclusive scene from Episode 1148, we see what seems to be Joyboy with wings, falling into the ocean. This COULD just be something the anime made up...but I doubt it. I feel like this is the anime staff knowing something we don't, and putting it into the show. There's every chance that Joyboy could have had wings. Either in his original form, possibly as a Lunarian, or due to the Nika Fruit itself.
So, both Luffy's final form and Arale could both have "wings" of a sort.
And then there's one other "coincidence" with Arale, which makes me think Oda will use her as a inspiration for Luffy's new form. Her catchphrase.
"N'cha!" Which is the cutesy-corrupted way that she says "Konnichiwa" or "Hello".
And if you corrupt that a bit more, what does that happen to sound like?
(Chapter 1018)
N'cha...Nika. COINCIDENCE?! Eh...maybe? But, also...maybe NOT!
And wait just a minute here....
ZOOM IN! ENHANCE!
Oh...my...Nika! The Legendary Weapon of the Sun God! The Meito of Meitos! What else could it possibly be?!
What better weapon could there be for a God that brings about laughter...than Poop-Onna-Stick!
And if you think I'm joking about this....well, a little. But, not as much as you might think!
Because that actually would bring a old gag with Luffy full circle.
(Chapters 442, 491, and 610)
THIS is the reason why Luffy keeps asking if people can poop! He's been looking for ammo for his destined Legendary Weapon! The only weapon that can defeat Imu and save the World! Poop-Onna-Stick!
...Or something like that.
And, in a way, Elbaph would be the PERFECT place to get a weapon like this. I mean, Imu and Scopper are really slicing up this giant tree. So, it'd be REALLY easy to get a stray stick from the legendary Treasure Tree Adam right now. So, Luffy may indeed get a weapon made from Adam-wood. Just...not in a form most people would EVER expect.
So, to sum up, I just want to say...maybe don't expect a new form for Luffy that's TOO "cool". It could easily go the other way. Luffy may only unlock his true power when he STOPS getting serious. "Gear 6" could be more along the line of "Gear Sticks". And it may just involve poop, in some way. Because Oda's a weirdo. And you gotta love him for that.
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