One Piece Film Red Showcases Luffy's New Transformation For The First Time

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"One Piece" is not only one of the longest-running anime of all time, but it's also one of the very best. Based on the legendary manga of the same name by Eiichiro Oda, "One Piece" follows Monkey D. Luffy, a boy with a dream to become the King of the Pirates. The story centers on Luffy's adventures on the Grand Line, an ocean route full of dangers and strange creatures. There, Luffy often gets involved in efforts to topple governments and fight increasingly ludicrous and powerful villains. It's an epic tale worthy of its legendary reputation.

Part of what makes "One Piece" stand out from other shonen anime like "Bleach" or "Naruto" is the sheer amount of creativity in every single choice the story makes, from the look of its world — where no two locations are similar — to the ridiculous powers the characters possess. Sure, there are traditionally strong people in this world who can punch a crater on an island, but for the most part the characters' powers are based on whatever silly idea Oda has come up with of late. That includes having the ability to turn others into wet laundry you have to then hang out to dry, a power that transforms its user into a jacket that someone else can put on, or that one time a sword literally gained the ability to turn into an elephant.

Then we have the apex of the concept of ridiculous power-ups in "One Piece" — Gear 5. This is Luffy's peak form, the height of his abilities, and the pinnacle of sheer cartoony absurdity in the entire series. Luffy's Gear 5 transformation was highly anticipated by folks everywhere when it debuted in the manga, but many were surprised when we got our first glimpse at Luffy transforming in animation in the fun and chaotic movie "One Piece Film Red" (the most recent theatrical film in the franchise), as opposed to the anime proper. Here's how it went down and what it all means.

Shonen anime movies can be a strange thing for newcomers. For the most part, they are not canon to the main narrative, choosing instead to tell side stories and imagine cool team-ups and character interactions we don't normally get in the show proper. The "One Piece" franchise is no exception, as it features entertaining yet unnecessary movies full of fanservice and little else. That being said, these films will often provide some hints or teases for what is to come in the primary story. Indeed, in the case of "One Piece," its anime movies have casually tossed in some pretty huge reveals, with Luffy's Gear 5 transformation being perhaps the most noteworthy example.

Granted, the latter was not a surprise for those familiar with the manga. Still, if you were waiting for the anime to properly unveil Luffy's peak form, then watching "Film Red" must have made for a bizarre experience. The reveal comes at the very end, as Luffy is about to deliver his finishing blow to the film's final antagonist. The scene itself is an epic team-up 23 years in the making, with Luffy and the legendary Shanks fighting together for the first time (kind of) and defeating their common enemy.

Although brief, we do see Luffy transform during his final attack. His hair turns white, as do his clothes, as he changes from his hulking Gear 4 form into a blowing, always-smiling Gear 5 figure.

In the anime and the manga, Gear 5 comes at a pivotal moment for Luffy. It happens during the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance's raid on Onigashima to defeat Kaido and liberate Wano Country. At this point, all of Luffy's friends had been defeated, and Luffy had essentially died during his fight with Kaido after an undercover agent for the World Government stealthily snuck into the battlefield and hit Luffy in the heart, stopping it. Of course, that didn't stick for long, as Luffy's devil fruit awakened and restarted his heart. It seems death activated the devil fruit and that is what caused the Drums of Liberation to start playing and Luffy to attain Gear 5.

We are still just learning more about what Gear 5 is, what Luffy's devil fruit power actually is, and how it connects to the mythical Sun God Nika, but suffice it to say, this is the moment Luffy becomes one of the strongest anime characters ever. Like in "One Piece Film Red," the devil fruit awakening turns Luffy's hair and clothes white, and it also changes his personality. When in Gear 5, Luffy effectively becomes a god of chaos and fun, a Bugs Bunny-type entity whose abilities are endless and who can turn the world around him into rubber (rather than just his body), allowing him to fight with the power of cartoon logic.

Later, we learn that this is the devil fruit that the World Government has feared the most for centuries — a devil fruit that gives its user the powers of Nika, a legendary warrior of ancient times who was revered as the Sun God and was said to bring joy to people everywhere. We know that those same abilities were held in the Void Century by Joy Boy, who led the fight against the Twenty Kingdoms that eventually became the World Government. He is a warrior of liberation whose powers are laughter, joy, and imagination.

What makes Gear 5 so special among anime power-ups is that it doesn't prioritize physical strength. This is far from a Super Saiyan transformation that just adds more muscles and hair to a character. Rather, it is a complete departure from what had been the norm in anime for decades — a power-up that's all about creative freedom.

Notably, Oda once said in an interview that he thought of Gear 5 as his version of drawing Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry. His only ideal was to have fun, "to play around with my battles." The author also lamented that other modern manga have shied away from "silly expressions that were so characteristic in [older] manga," such as "making the character's legs go in circles when they're running." Indeed, Gear 5 is the perfect ultimate form for Luffy because it turns him into, basically, a comic strip character. He attains the powers of the god Nika by essentially harnessing the powers of toon force.

It's no wonder, then, that Gear 5 was a big hit with the people who brought Gear 5 to life in the anime. Animator Vincent Chansard even took to Twitter/X once to praise the creative freedom that comes with Gear 5. "It's a dream for animators," he explained. "Every single animator in our team wants to animate Gear 5 Luffy because the possibilities are endless."

For sure, there's a reason Oda compared Gear 5 to "Tom and Jerry." It's very much the equivalent of a Looney Tunes power-up or a Hanna-Barbera visual gag. In Gear 5, Luffy doesn't just stretch like Mister Fantastic from "Fantastic Four"; instead, he starts bouncing around laughing and literally changing the reality around him (like using his opponent like a jumping rope or having people's eyes pop out of their sockets). Luffy as a character has always been about freedom, and Gear 5 is the ultimate expression of that idea.