One Piece’s Most Powerful Character Is Totally Overrated

For a series that’s lasted for several decades, there is no shortage of incredibly powerful characters in the world of One Piece. With that being said, for all of the hype that’s been surrounding Luffy now that he’s achieved Gear 5, can we finally admit that Luffy is overrated?

It goes without saying that Luffy is a powerful character. Setting aside his main character status, Luffy has defeated plenty of foes over the course of the series who were strong in their own rights. Whether it be a Warlord of the Sea like Doflamingo or threats without a bounty like Eneru, Luffy has also been shown to be a powerful person. But as time has gone on, the One Piece fandom has somewhat elevated Luffy’s status to a level that has made the series just a little bit less than impressive because of how overpowered fans believe he’s become.

Because, for as strong as Luffy may be in the eyes of the community, the series has consistently made it a point to show the limits of his powers. There have been numerous times when Luffy wasn’t able to save the day or defeat the villain. In his first encounter with Sir Crocodile, Luffy was defeated effortlessly. The same goes for his initial fight against Rob Lucci. When Luffy went to Whole Cake Island to rescue Sanji, he knew that he could win a fight against Katakuri but stood no chance against an enraged Big Mom, so he had to run away. Most famously, despite his best efforts, Luffy couldn’t save Ace in the Paramount War and had to train for two years just to be able to stand on an equal playing field with threats in the New World.

While it’s not uncommon for main characters in a series to get plot armor to ensure that they will continue to be the protagonist and save the day, One Piece at least flirted with the concept of having its hero defeated more than others. When Luffy loses a fight, it is meant to serve as a lesson for him: that there’s always someone tougher out there, and if Luffy wants to be the King of the Pirates, he has a lot of obstacles he’ll have to overcome. But we’ve reached a point in the series now where the idea of Luffy losing a fight just seems too outrageous. He’s gained so many powers and abilities that if he were to lose, the series would become incredibly contrived, trying to bend itself backward figuring out a way for Luffy to overcome the next obstacle Oda throws his way. Not only that but credit for a lot of his most recent major victories has been attributed solely to him, which isn’t entirely accurate.

For example, take the climactic final battle of the Wano Arc where Luffy defeated Kaido. When fans think of that fight, they usually think of Luffy constantly fighting Kaido in a massive battle that lasted an entire night, but that’s not actually how the battle plays out. It’s a huge conflict with plenty of fighters tagging in, whether it be the Nine Red Scabbards, Law, Zoro, Kid, Killer, Yamato, or Momonosuke. Yes, Luffy did a ton of damage to Kaido and ultimately delivered the final blow, but it was a team effort to defeat Kaido. My thoughts on the fight are brought even lower because, like the first encounter with Kaido, Luffy actually loses, and it’s only through plot contrivance — AKA Gear 5 — that Luffy is able to get his second wind and ultimately win.

To be honest, most of my shifting feelings towards Luffy only started after he achieved Gear 5. As a vehicle for animated sequences and impactful manga panels, giving Luffy reality-bending cartoon physics was a stroke of genius. It distinguishes him from virtually every other Shonen protagonist and gives the series a unique visual flair. But it’s also opened up a can of worms that trivializes most conflicts. Ask anyone who’s ever seen Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and they’ll tell you nothing can kill a toon. Luffy can’t be harmed once he’s in Gear 5. The dramatic tension basically dissipates until Luffy loses the form. He can literally become anything and defy all logic to defeat his enemies. Granted, he wasn’t able to do that against the Five Elders, but they have their own power-scaling abilities that seem to defy the conventional norms of the series just to present them as a worthy challenge now that Luffy has enabled God mode.

Even when attempting to give Luffy a weakness with Gear 5 — he can only maintain it for 10 minutes and then becomes completely unable to fight — the series almost immediately undermines it. During the climax of Egghead Island, Luffy uses Gear 5 several times as he makes his escape solely because the Giants are able to supply him with a lot of food for him to regain his strength. It takes what could be a pretty debilitating weakness and completely renders it worthless. If Luffy can just eat more food that is provided to him at a moment’s notice, then why have a weakness in the first place?

Plus, as the series puts more and more emphasis on Luffy, it also lessens the importance of some of his crew members. Sure, the series has become formulaic where Luffy has to take on the big bad and everyone else deals with the enemy’s lieutenants and generals, but it’s a formula that doesn’t need to exist. I think of moments like when the entire crew fought against Oars in Thriller Bark or the 100,000-person brawl on Fishman Island when the series had these large setpiece moments where every single crew member used their abilities. It wasn’t just the Luffy show. It was watching all of the Straw Hats fight together like a team instead of leaving everything to Luffy. But with the advent of Gear 5 and the stunning animation sequences, that’s what it feels like.

So as the Final Saga continues to chart its course and we reach the inevitable conclusion of Luffy becoming King of the Pirates, I want to see him struggle. I want Luffy to have to fight for his life and throw everything he has to try and win. And at times, I want to see him lose. I don’t want him to just flip a switch, turn on God mode, and either defeat his enemies or survive impossible odds. I want his weaknesses to become more prevalent. I want the Straw Hats to do what they can to fight together as a team instead of just relying on Luffy the entire time. As it stands, while I’m certainly enjoying these last few voyages with the Straw Hats, Luffy needs to be made human once more.