What I find most interesting in Luffy’s current journey is figuring out how he’ll come to terms with the fact that he is Nika.
We’ve had a protagonist who, throughout the entire manga, has consistently rejected the easy, preordained paths. Two of the most iconic moments in the story are when he smashes the eternal pose to Alabasta that Robin gave him, and when he stops Usopp from asking Rayleigh too much.
But lately, more and more often, we’re seeing major characters who were seemingly waiting for him, ancient prophecies surrounding him, entire nations cheering for him as the reincarnation of a god…
Now, I’m not saying everything was handed to Luffy, far from it. All of his alliances and bonds were built through his own character and charisma.
But fate does exist in One Piece, and when it comes to Luffy, it’s getting louder and louder.
Personally, this doesn’t bother me. Oda has always played with fate, even early on. Unlike, say, Kishimoto, he gives me the impression that he’s fully aware of what he’s doing.
I think that eventually, Luffy will have to confront his destiny.
That’s why I wouldn’t like an ending where he just beats Imu, who’s been waiting in a room for 800 years, and then everyone lives happily ever after.
The character who constantly talks about fate, who believes he’s the chosen one, and who’s actively competing with Luffy for the One Piece and everything it stands for, is Blackbeard.
We’ll know if Luffy is truly a well-written character when that clash with Teach happens at the end.
Because if the story ends in the most predictable way, and Luffy ends up exactly where Roger, Oden, Shanks, and Joyboy all expected him to end up… then yes, that would be disappointing.
But if he finishes his journey not as Joyboy, not as Nika, but as a PIRATE on his own terms, by clashing with the other great pirate of this era in a way that goes beyond everyone’s expectations…
That would be the perfect.
That’s what matters to me when it comes to Luffy as a character.
Whether you like him or not is a matter of personal taste. I’m not crazy about him myself, but that’s subjective.