5 Biggest Weaknesses of Luffy, Don't Imitate
Mytips.id, GEEK - Over a thousand chapters and fierce battles since he first went to sea at the start of One Piece, Monkey D Luffy has grown into a powerful pirate recognized as the Emperor of the Sea. It will definitely be interesting to watch the development of these One Piece characters.
The list of enemies he has defeated is quite impressive, with some One Piece characters such as Zunesha even referring to him as the second coming of Joy Boy (a mythical figure from the Void Century who is very important in the series' storyline).
Even with all the power he has accumulated, as well as the long list of powerful allies he can call upon to help him in times of need, there are still certain aspects of Monkey D Luffy's character that could be considered weaknesses.
Following are Luffy's biggest weaknesses that the Mytips.id team has summarized for you.
1. Easily Gullible and Simple-minded
At his core, Luffy is quite childish in the way he views the world. This manifests in the way he views things in black and white or pursues a goal relentlessly without paying attention to anything else.
A trait that is most prominent in the way he recruits individuals he likes into his crew. Additionally, he is also quick to ally with anyone he likes, which may not always be ideal, as it leaves him vulnerable to the mercy of untrustworthy individuals.
So far, Luffy's judgment has not failed him, as his choice to ally with Trafalgar Law and the Heart Pirates in Punk Hazard proved to be quite fruitful after Kaido and Doflamingo's defeat, despite the initial concerns of his crew.
However this may not always be the case in the future. Additionally, Luffy is often very slow at processing complex information and is sometimes very stubborn. He is also very blunt and has no filter when talking to anyone, which can cause him to blurt out important information even in the presence of enemies.
2. Impulsiveness and Recklessness
In line with his rebellious nature, Luffy can be very stubborn, hostile, and downright cruel towards authority figures, especially people like the Marines and Celestial Dragons.
He openly declared war on the World Government, beat up the World Nobles, and constantly claimed that he would become the Pirate King in front of everyone. Luffy pays little attention to strategy in larger conflicts and will attack first without thinking about staying under the radar.
Even during the Raid on Onigashima, the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance was forced to reckon with the recklessness that Luffy and Kid were prone to, using them as a distraction to infiltrate Kaido's fortress.
Although tempted to steal a copy of Big Mom's Poneglyph from Whole Cake Island, he firmly refuses to do so without involving a fight, as it goes against his principles.
In fact, there are times where he gets involved in fights over minor disputes, or almost reveals his true identity if there is no intervention from his crew members.
3. Physical Strain of Transformation
From a combat perspective, Luffy has achieved incredible levels of power by cleverly channeling his rubber-based abilities into various power-ups and transformations referred to as “Gears.”
The common thread here is the physical toll each Gear places on the body, leading to serious repercussions. Even though he had been able to mitigate the weaknesses of Gear 2 and Gear 3, freely switching between them, he still experienced a considerable level of exhaustion with Gear 4 and Gear 5.
Gear 4's automatic deactivation after burning out makes him unable to use Haki for ten minutes. Moreover, he also had difficulty standing or even fighting for a while afterward.
Despite this, Luffy has managed to use Gear 4 several times in battle by dodging his opponents long enough for his Haki to recharge. With Gear 5, this fatigue becomes more pronounced, to the point that Luffy appears to physically age after being deactivated.
Even so, he could still surpass his limits by matching his heartbeat with the Drum of Liberation, but the consequences would be as dire as before.
As a Mythical Zoan Awakening, Gear 5 also carries the additional risk of Luffy's mind being consumed by the Sun God Nika, to the point where he may lose his sense of self. Lastly, Luffy's elasticity may also reach a breaking point, where he can't stretch any more, but that limit will likely be very difficult to reach in Gear 5.
4. Inability to Swim
Just like all other Devil Fruit users, Luffy lost the ability to swim after eating his Devil Fruit, the Gomu Gomu no Mi — which was later revealed to be the legendary Mythical Zoan type known as known as Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika.
As such, it will immediately sink and lose its power if submerged in water or thrown overboard and is vulnerable to Seastone. In addition, it will lose all its strength if it is exposed to sea water or water from a lake or pond.
This collectively stems from the rejection of Devil Fruit users by the sea. Therefore, even the most powerful fighters remain vulnerable, in a world where Marines, Pirates and other factions compete for supremacy on the seas.
Recently, Luffy has shown some countermeasures against this, especially in Gear 4 and Gear 5 where he can propel himself through the air for a period of time, although it is not an easy solution.
5. Cutting Attack
Since the start of the series, Luffy shows immunity to blunt force attacks due to his elastic constitution but struggles against slashing attacks for the same reason. He almost came face to face with Dracule Mihawk during the Battle of Marineford Peak, who would have chopped off his hand if not for Luffy's evolved Observation Haki saving him at the time.
Luffy's biggest weakness is to some extent mitigated by the emergence of his Gear 4 form called Boundman. Luffy's Haki mastery also functions to prevent slashing attacks from strong enough opponents.
In the face of opponents who have a level of Haki control comparable or even higher than Luffy himself, the Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates is vulnerable to their attacks, which makes him more likely to dodge than face them head-on.
However, despite Gear 5, it doesn't completely address the situation, which makes his final battle throughout One Piece very interesting to look forward to, as we'll see how Luffy faces this challenge.