Gear 5 is one of the most iconic transformations in One Piece and the entirety of anime and manga in general. This transformation was achieved by Luffy in the Wano Country arc during his fight against Kaido and completely changed the perception that fans had about him and his abilities.
Gear 5 is, by far, Luffy's most iconic and unique transformation so far and it unlocks a whole new world full of possibilities for him. It resonates with his character perfectly and that is one of the biggest reasons why fans have taken such a liking to it. Gear 5, although love widely, might not be to everyone's taste and Oda has recently had his say on why he chose to make it as comical as it is.
How Luffy Awakened Gear 5
In the Wano Country arc, Luffy finally stepped up to fight against a Yonko. Having joined forces with Law and the samurai of Wano, Luffy went had to head against Kaido, one of the Four Emperors of the Sea who had been terrorizing Wano for 20 years. Luffy was carrying the burden of the entire country on his back and, in doing so, took on great responsibility. With such a big responsibility came the need to deliver and, judging by their first fight, Luffy certainly was not up to the desired level. As such, Luffy had to train further and get even stronger before he could even think of standing a chance against Kaido.
Having trained under Hyogoro in Udon Prison, Luffy returned, rejuvenated and full of fire. However, once again, his powers were not enough. Kaido snuffed out his flames once again and sent him crashing down, when he finally realized the level he needed to reach to become as strong as the emperor's themselves. Luffy learned the power to coat himself in the Color of the Supreme King and this became a game changer for him. For the very first time, his attacks were doing serious damage to Kaido and making a difference.
Keeping this up, Luffy managed to put Kaido on his back several times, however, it wasn't until much later in the arc that he managed to level the playfield properly. While Luffy's powers were great enough after having learned the secrets of the Color of the Supreme King, they were not enough. He ended up losing his fight against Kaido and, due to a distraction by Guernica, he ended up dying.
That is precisely when his Devil Fruit started to awaken and he found a newfound power within himself. Tapping into this power made his heart beat like the Drums of Liberation and this sound could be heard far and wide. Luffy's body was rejuvenated with Haki and tremendous power. Once again, he stood up on his feet and donned an all white transformation with a flame cloud around his neck. Luffy became the Warrior of Liberation and was termed by the Gorosei as the Sun God Nika.
How Gear 5 Is Different From Regular Transformations
In the world of anime and manga, transformations are generally seen as the character unlocking the next powerful ability, with a very badass form and stronger punches, among other things. Gear 5 essentially breaks that concept and completely redefines what a transformation can be. Unlike a regular transformation, Gear 5 sees Luffy become comically funny, to appoint where it appears that he isn't even taking the fight as seriously. Luffy's very first glimpse as the Sun God Nika is him laughing and having fun. However, this doesn't throw Kaido off. Kaido realizes that the one who laughs the most is Joyboy and this Joyboy is the person who will bring laughter and joy to the entire world, freeing them from slavery and curing them of all their problems.
Instead of becoming extra serious and showing him as a badass main character with this new transformation, Luffy turns into a goofy character who laughs and jokes around on the battlefield. At his heart, Luffy has always been very childish and pure. Gear 5 sees this nature of him being brought out to the very fullest. His ability also affects others around him. Even Kaido, who is a fearsome Emperor, was affected by this power to a great degree, as did all the others under him on the performance floor.
Luffy essentially becomes a character straight out of a comic strip that is meant for gags. He embodies the same characteristics as the likes of the Looney Tunes and the Tom and Jerry, shows that many fans all over the world likely grew up with. Simply put, Luffy just has fun and does what he needs to do while being very goofy during his fights.
Oda's Inspiration For Gear 5 Luffy
Why Luffy's Gear 5 transformation being so comical might be a turn off for some fans, the vast majority of the fans have taken a strong liking to it, since it represents who Luffy truly is and has been since the very beginning of the story – a carefree and freedom loving rubber man who is, at his heart, a very pure person. Luffy loves to help his friends and he loves for them to be just as carefree as he is and, at the end of the day, that is precisely what Oda was aiming for with this character. Back in 2022, Oda talked briefly about Gear 5 and why he decided to go with the transformation.
According to Oda, Gear 5 was drawn as a joke, and he took this risk knowing that his fans might hate him for it. Oda believes that battle mangas are always becoming more and more serious due to following the expectations that readers have from them, and he certainly isn't a fan of that. Ever since the conception of the story, Oda has not wanted One Piece to be too serious and loves the hearty tones that it has at its core. That is precisely why Gear 5 is such a fun transformation and Oda believes that he successfully managed to achieve that during Luffy's fight against Kaido.
According to Oda, Tom and Jerry are actually the models for Gear 5, however, using them as a model for Luffy's fight against Kaido made it very hard for Oda to pull it off properly. This is because, while Luffy was joking around on the battlefield, Kaido was all serious. Nonetheless, Oda managed to pull this off successfully and, needless to say, fans will remember it for the rest of their lives as one of the most iconic battles of all time.
Oda also went on to say that he loves the traditional symbolic manga with expressions where characters legs spin into circles like a wheel when they run, and fans can see that in abundance during Luffy's fight against Kaido. While Oda feels sad that they are outdated, he is doing his best to incorporate them into One Piece to his heart's content.
In the future, Luffy has many fights to fight and fans should brace themselves for Gear 5 and its overwhelmingly fun nature to be central to them, especially now that One Piece is in its Final Saga.
One Piece is available to stream on Crunchyroll.