FEATURE: Bet On Luffy — How One Boy Inspires the World of One Piece to Hope
Way back before the events of Marineford, two legendary pirates met to discuss the future of the world. Whitebeard, the aging lion of a dying era, met with Redhaired Shanks, the upstart crewmate of Gol D. Roger turned emperor of a new age. By all rights, Shanks likely should have carried on the flag of Roger and become king of the pirates himself. But when he meets with Whitebeard, he is humble and wounded, having lost an arm in some distant adventure. Curious, Whitebeard asks how this titan of piracy could possibly have lost a limb, to which Shanks smiles and replies, “I made a bet on the new era.”
Back when Luffy first ate his devil fruit, it would seem impossible to predict that he would one day have a real chance of becoming king of the pirates. It’s only been recently, in the wake of his formidable alliances and victories over the sea’s most powerful adversaries, that such talk would register as anything but impossibly wishful thinking. Fortunately, impossibly wishful thinking is precisely what Luffy does. Luffy believes in the impossible, and when you’re standing beside him, it’s hard not to believe in the impossible too. Over and over, One Piece has offered a procession of defeated innocents placing one final bet on Luffy and at last being rewarded for their faith.
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Of course, the mundane evils of the world have a way of grinding such impossible hopes out of people. When you are presented with nothing but oppression and tragedy, hope begins to feel like just another type of torture, while giving up means you’re at least no longer surprised to discover that nothing ever changes. Many of One Piece’s most poignant arcs have centered on drawing such people out of their fatalism and giving them the courage to believe in a better future. From Nami’s defeated cry for help to Robin’s declaration that she wants to live, and on into Sanji admitting he wants nothing more than to cook for the crew again, Luffy has always possessed an ability to dismantle the walls set up around victims’ hearts and inspire them to hope for better.
Even Luffy’s signature line embodies the audacious hope he inspires in others. “My name is Monkey D. Luffy and I’m going to be the King of the Pirates” is repeated so often it becomes a bit of a joke, with Luffy’s teammates groaning whenever he formally introduces himself in the midst of some tenuous stealth operation. But he always means it and he’s never willing to compromise on it — from his first day on the open seas, he has pursued that impossible goal with total certainty he will one day achieve it. Eventually, standing alongside Luffy, that statement begins to shift from a goofy catchphrase to an assurance of strength: If Luffy is allowed such a dream, can’t I dream alongside him? Even the generally disagreeable Captain Kidd couldn’t help but admire Luffy’s conviction, sensing a fellow seeker in his bold words.
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Luffy is a powerful warrior in his own right, but it is this ability to inspire others and convince them to bet on an impossible future that is truly his greatest strength. To the oppressive regimes of the world, the greatest threat is not some outside interference, but the fear of hope germinating among their own downtrodden people. Among both the allies he gathers and the islands he liberates, Luffy is a lodestone for such hope, a man who gathers embers of discontent and nurtures them into a raging inferno of rebellion. We’ve long passed the point where any one man’s physical strength could topple Luffy’s enemies; against foes like Kaido or Big Mom, it is only through the hope he inspires in his allies that victory is made possible.
When Trafalgar Law first proposed an alliance with Monkey D. Luffy, I imagine he believed he was dealing with a self-effacing mastermind, and that Luffy’s carefree behavior must surely mask a cunning strategist. Like most pirates, Law lurks in the shadows and attacks from strength, understanding that unnecessary heroism is a swift route to the grave. His partnership with Luffy has been a source of continuous exasperation, as the unreliable Straw Hats seesaw between fascinations and persistently demand pirates play heroes. Yet with Luffy at his side, an already-tenuous plan to harass one emperor bloomed into a battle against half the forces of the old generation, a battle our heroes actually won. Whether it’s believing you can change the world or just yourself, standing beside Luffy has a tendency to light a fire in your belly and convince you to make one last bet on the future. After all, as even the logical Law admits, when Luffy is involved, impossible things can happen.
Nick Creamer has been writing about cartoons for too many years now and is always ready to cry about Madoka. You can find more of his work at his blog Wrong Every Time or follow him on Twitter.
