This list contains spoilers
Summary
- Act first, think later - Luffy charges into battles recklessly without a plan, scoring wins but irritating crewmates.
- Don't judge by appearance - Luffy recruits diverse crew members based on their character, not looks.
- Never give up - Luffy's unwavering spirit keeps him fighting, refusing to stay down despite being beaten multiple times.
Luffy may be one of the most carefree characters in the world of One Piece, but as a captain, he still has a set of responsibilities that he needs to keep in mind at all times. This has resulted in the plucky protagonist establishing some golden rules for himself, and at times, for the rest of his crew, which he sees as crucially important to follow along the journey. Luffy is still a pirate who possesses a heart of gold, and that ultimately is what leads him to follow these personal beliefs, no matter how weird or bizarre they might seem from the outside.
One Piece: What Are The Greatest Fears Of The Straw Hats?
The Straw Hat crew might be brave, but everyone has something they fear above all else.
Every captain needs to set an example for their group to follow, and it's fair to say that Luffy has done just that, considering how much his selflessness has rubbed off on the rest of his crewmates over the course of the One Piece story. With that being said, it's time to see how this relates to Luffy's own golden rules, and more importantly, what exactly these rules actually are in the first place, and why Luffy sees them as so important.
Final spoiler warning for One Piece!
7 Act First, Think Later
Luffy Has A Tendency Not To Think About The Consequences
Unlike most captains seen in One Piece, Luffy is far from a strategist. Instead, he's someone who loves throwing himself into a chaotic battle without having any kind of plan to follow, and while this might irritate some of his crewmates from time to time, it has also managed to score him some pretty significant wins as a result of his recklessness.
That being said, this is a personal rule which Luffy just can't seem to shake off, no matter how many times Law and some of the other pirates might try to dissuade him from doing so. A recent example of this came in the Wano arc, where Luffy took it upon himself to charge into Onigashima all by himself, purely because he was so eager to take down Kaido and finally free the country from his tyranny. He's not somebody who thinks about the consequences of his actions, but that's just because he wants to get the job done as quickly as possible rather than wait around for someone else to do it first.
6 Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover
It's Rare That Luffy Will Ever Form An Opinion On Someone's Appearance Alone
The series of One Piece is packed full of many different races and cultures, which has inevitably led to there being quite a lot of prejudice in the world. Luffy, however, really doesn't care what a person looks like, as all he is concerned with is who they are beneath the surface, and more specifically, whether they're a good person who intends to help others in any way they can, or a selfish villain who only cares about benefitting themselves at the expense of other people.
One Piece: 7 Things Zoro Can Do That Luffy Can't
As the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, there's a lot that Luffy can do on his own, but wherever he stumbles, his right-hand man, Zoro, has his back.
It doesn't matter whether someone is a walking and talking skeleton, a man with a tongue half the size of his body, or even a humanoid reindeer; Luffy will never judge someone purely off their appearance alone. This has actually worked in his favor as a captain, as it has allowed him to recruit a very diverse mixture of people to accompany him along his journey, making the adventure a lot more fun as a result.
5 Nothing Beats Meat
There's Not Much Luffy Loves More Than Giant Chunks Of Meat To Chow Down On
Despite not being a chef himself, Luffy still has a pretty big interest in food, and while he is certainly not picky about what he eats, it's been made pretty clear that any type of meat is his absolute favorite. While this could be seen as a simple character quirk for most people, the reason it's somewhat of a rule for Luffy is because of how obsessed he is with filling his stomach up anytime it begins to growl, as he will make it his mission to seek out even a single chunk of meat the moment he starts feeling peckish.
At the same time, he also needs to eat to keep himself strong, as this is ultimately what helps him to recharge after being beaten down by a tough opponent. Luffy will eat anything that Sanji whips up for him, but in his own opinion, as somewhat of a food connoisseur, meat is always number one.
4 Keep The One Piece A Secret
The Straw Hat Captain Doesn't Want to Learn The Truth Too Early
In the Sabaody story arc, there's a fascinating scene where Usopp decides to ask Rayleigh the truth about the One Piece. After all, this is a pirate who once sailed the seas with the Legendary Gol. D. Roger himself, but while it was clear that he had a lot of beans to spill, he couldn't even get a word out before Luffy screamed at the top of his lungs to prevent him from revealing anything.
For Luffy, learning the truth before actually reaching the treasure itself would be disingenuous, and this seems to be a personal rule that he has held ever since he first became a pirate. Sure, like every other pirate, Luffy wants to see the One Piece for himself, but he also cherishes the adventure and the feeling of excitement that comes with getting one step closer to the treasure, so learning the truth in such a nonchalant way would simply be against his line of thinking.
3 Avoid Killing
Taking Someone Out In Such A Gory Fashion Just Isn't Luffy's Style
It doesn't matter how much someone tries to antagonize Luffy and get under his skin; he will always refrain from killing them when he is inevitably forced to fight his new opponent. On the one hand, this makes complete sense, considering Luffy is essentially the face of Shōnen Jump, so having him go around wiping people out so mercilessly just wouldn't be a very good look.
One Piece: 7 Devil Fruits Perfect For Killing, Ranked
These highly lethal Devil Fruits from One Piece are shown to be perfect for killing off the competition.
Within the story itself, though, it also feeds into Luffy's own personality of being someone who is ultimately very selfless and caring, as he would probably rather see these characters reform themselves and have a second go at life rather than be killed outright. While he has certainly beaten more than his fair share of enemies to a bloody pulp, he will never land the final attack that would end their lives for good.
2 Never Leave A Crewmate Behind
Luffy Will Go To Extreme Lengths To Rescue His Family
The Straw Hats aren't just Luffy's loyal rag-tag crew; they are also considered to be his family, which makes a lot of sense considering he grew up as a fairly lonely child back when he was still training to become a pirate. One rule that Luffy has made clear from the very beginning of the series is that he will never leave his crewmates behind, and is willing to go to extreme lengths in order to save them any time they find themselves in danger.
For example, in Water 7, despite being kidnapped by the vicious group of spies known as CP9, Luffy was still ready to put his own life on the line in order to save Robin, despite her still seeming fairly suspicious at this point in the story. A slightly different example of this is how Sanji decided to leave the crew as part of his marriage to Pudding, as while on the surface this seemed like a voluntary choice, Luffy still knew deep down that Sanji wanted to return to the Sunny, and was simply unwilling to let him go as a result. If you're a member of the Straw Hat crew, and you ever find yourself kidnapped, you can guarantee Luffy will be there to save the day eventually.
1 Never Give Up
Luffy Will Never Stay Down For Long, No Matter How Many Times He's Been Beaten
Most ordinary pirates would have given up long ago if they were on the same journey as Luffy, but there's a fire within this captain that just never seems to go out, no matter how many times he's beaten down. While Luffy was able to hold his own for the first few story arcs, like when he would find himself severely outmatched by Rob Lucci once he landed in Water 7, since this was a time when he was utterly humiliated the first time he fought him.
Knowing that his crewmate Robin was in danger, though, Luffy simply refused to give up, and would continue getting back on his feet no matter how many times he would be stabbed through the chest. Another example that shows his unwavering spirit can be seen through his interactions with Kaido, who knocks Luffy out multiple times and berates him, only for the Straw Hat to finally come back swinging by activating Gear 5, proving to his enemy that he will always stay in the fight, regardless of how bleak things might look.
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Network
- Fuji TV
- Directors
- Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
Cast
-
Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Seasons
- 21
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Number of Episodes
- 1122
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
- MyAnimeList Score
- 8.72
- Creator(s)
- Eiichiro Oda
