The One Piece anime recently debuted its long-awaited episode 1071 on 6 August that animated the Gear 5 form of Monkey D. Luffy in his ongoing battle against the Emperor, Kaido. While the episode was mostly another build-up to the actual fight, we at least got some action and an understanding of what Luffy’s true powers are, to some extent. Here are a few interesting details and things you might’ve missed from the latest episode.
The episode was mostly focused on Luffy’s sudden revival after he was “killed” by Kaido a couple of episodes prior. However, Luffy returned in a brand new Gear 5 form which the elephant Zunesha referred to as the return of Joy Boy. If you want a more in-depth explanation of Gear 5, Joy Boy and the connections, make sure you read here. Keep in mind, it may contain manga spoilers too.
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Things You Might’ve Missed About Gear 5 in One Piece 1071
Sun God Nika in Skypeia
In one of the most iconic shots from episode 1071 of One Piece, Luffy leaps into the sky and briefly casts a silhouette of his Gear 5 form on the moon. For those wondering why that looks so familiar, it’s because creator Eiichiro Oda actually teased this form as far back as the Skypeia arc of the series – well, at least the silhouette. It was teased twice; once when the sky islanders were talking about the Sun God and another time where we can briefly see Luffy actually use the same pose around the campfire dance.
As the Gorosei revealed, the true name of the “Gum-Gum Fruit” is actually the Mythical Zoan Fruit Model Nika, who was the Sun God.
Luffy’s Toon Force
Toon Force is a technique or ability that animators use for cartoons to refer to characters manipulating reality or bypassing the laws of physics, usually for comedic effect. We’ve seen this ability used countless times in Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry and other classic cartoons (we’ll get to that in a bit). Luffy’s Gear 5 does exactly that: manipulate and bend reality around him.
Oda uses Toon Force to reflect Luffy’s abilities in his Gear 5 form, from bouncing off the ground like it’s a trampoline to greatly exaggerating his movement, body and even the actions of those around him (as seen with Kaido’s eye-popping surprise). In previous interviews, Oda spoke highly about doing something unique for Luffy’s ultimate form that was less serious and more in tune with his free spirit and imagination.
Nods to Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry
Apart from the obvious stylistic inspirations, Luffy’s Gear 5 also clearly makes other nods to classic cartoons like Tom & Jerry and Looney Tunes. From the exaggerated nature of Luffy’s reactions to the sound effects used in episode 1071, it’s all obvious references to the visual and audio creativity of old-school cartoons. Sure, it’s not the “badass transformation” of shonen tropes but in retrospect, it perfectly encapsulates the spirit of not only Luffy but the intentionally goofy and joyful spirit of One Piece as a whole.
The Gorosei Hid the Fruit’s True Name
In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it line of dialogue, the Gorosei, when discussing Luffy’s true ability, mention that the World Government intentionally called the unique Devil Fruit the “Gum-Gum Fruit” in order to hide its true nature and shield it from the rest of the world’s pirates, who would all attempt to attain its power with the same ferocity as finding the One Piece treasure itself. After all, it’s a jack-of-all-trades Devil Fruit that gives its user boundless power limited only by their imagination.
As a result, Luffy was only ever limited to the rubber properties of the Gum-Gum Fruit because that’s all he understood about it. With the shackles off, Luffy is now finally able to embrace a far more flexible form of power that goes beyond the mere properties – and limitations – of rubber.
One Piece episode 1071 is currently available to stream on Crunchyroll. We’ll just have to wait until next week to see more of Gear 5 in action as the fight with Kaido reaches its climax.
