One Piece: Monkey D. Luffy's Family Tree Explained

"One Piece" is one of the most legendary anime of modern time, one of the best-selling works of fiction of all time with an influential story, which makes watching its many episodes and movies a daunting task. Still, once you embark on the journey, it is an exhilarating, hilarious, silly, emotional, rousing tale of friendship, adventure, and fighting the government (seriously).

Created by Eiichiro Oda, "One Piece" follows the journey of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, as they seek the legendary treasure called One Piece. The series is filled with relatable and memorable characters, each with an increasingly more tragic backstory that will constantly bring tears to your eyes.

Oda created a fleshed-out and lived-in world with a vast sense of history that is meticulously expanded and revealed with every story arc. Like "Lord of the Rings," there is a sense that we're seeing but the final chapter in a much, much longer tale that started centuries prior. This helps make the story of Monkey D. Luffy feel like it doesn't just stop when the audience isn't watching, but instead is comprised of many independently moving parts that carry on off-screen.

Take the way we learn about Luffy's family. It took over 300 episodes of the anime for the audience to finally learn of Luffy's grandfather, and by that point, we had already seen him in his own little excursion — though the live-action series makes the reveal much, much earlier. Every time, Eiichiro Oda reveals things about the world in a way that doesn't just add a layer to our main characters, but that expands the world by hinting at stories happening elsewhere.

Luffy's family is particularly important because "One Piece" is part of a time-honored tradition in anime and manga of having a nepo baby for a protagonist. Here, the Monkey family is not just comprised of famous people but some of the most influential and powerful figures in all of the "One Piece" universe. Let's explore Luffy's family tree and how they are impacting the story.

Be warned, there are some heavy spoilers ahead for "One Piece."

We have no idea who Luffy's mom is, leading to amusing fan theories including Sir Crocodile being the mom, but we know his father is none other than Monkey D. Dragon. So far, he's only ever interacted with Luffy once, without even revealing his identity. Dragon saved Luffy from Captain Smoker at Loguetown and helped him escape.

Then we have Luffy's grandpa, with whom he has a closer relationship. Monkey D. Garp is a Marine Vice Admiral, making him an enemy of both Luffy and Dragon (at least professionally, though Garp is a bit too lenient with them). We also don't know who Luffy's grandma is, but we know Garp raised Luffy (for a bit, anyway), treating him harshly, training him to be a Marine and at least once abandoning him in the jungle to fend for himself. The first time we see the two together in the anime, Garp punches a sleeping Luffy so hard he gets a massive bump on his head, and not much later, Garp shoots a giant cannonball at his grandson.

That's his blood family, but Luffy's family extends beyond that. Because he was not really raised by his dad or grandpa, Luffy was instead raised by Curly Dadan, a tough yet caring foster mother who was also a bandit often flabbergasted by the would-be pirate's shenanigans. Dadan is always on Luffy's side, and she is extremely proud of his accomplishments.

Though Luffy has no blood brothers, he does have sworn brothers: Portgas D. Ace and Sabo, who Luffy admired and looked up to, grew close in misadventures. Granted, Luffy being Luffy, it took a while for the other two to see him as more than a nuisance, but eventually, they thought of each other as brothers.

Every member of Luffy's family, blood or not, has been hugely influential in the world of "One Piece." Garp, also known as "Garp the Fist" and "Hero of the Marines," is known as the man who brought down Gol D. Roger, and in close circles, he's known for his role in taking down the Rocks Pirates. 

Monkey D. Dragon was once a Marine, but he became discontent with the organization in the aftermath of the destruction of Ohara. He became a rebel and founded the Revolutionary Army, fighting the World Government and eventually earning the label of "World's Worst Criminal." He hasn't really done much in the story so far, but based on his reputation, he is the single biggest threat to the World Government in decades.

Even Luffy's sworn brothers are legendary. Ace is none other than the son of Gol D. Roger himself, and he became 2nd Dividion Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates — one of the strongest crews out there. Sabo is now the Chief of Staff for the Rebolutionary Army, and one of the most powerful fighters live, known as the "Flame Emperor."

Then we have Luffy himself, a small, seemingly innocuous pirate from the East Blue so naive that he set out to become King of the Pirates with nothing but a barrel as his vessel. And yet, in just a couple of years, Luffy has toppled government after government, declared war on the World Government, punched a Celestial Dragon in the face, and directly or indirectly annihilated each of the three main government strongholds: Enies Lobby (the courthouse), Impel Down (the prison), and Marineford (the Marine headqarters). He even defeated three of the warlords of the sea, as well as one of the Four Emperors (while helping defeat a second one). Oh, and he also held his own fighting the Five Elders.

It is the escalation from a silly pirate show to an epic tale of fighting oppression, with stakes increasing exponentially every arc, that makes "One Piece" such a special anime worth its legendary reputation. Luffy has gone from a silly guy fighting clowns to fighting gods and helping tear down entire branches of government, and he's just getting started.