Why Straw Hat Luffy Is A Top-Tier Anime MC

The adventures of Monkey D. Luffy with his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, brings us to a thrilling rollercoaster journey. One Piece is a phenomenal masterpiece packed with great story arcs, characters, back stories, plots, funny fillers, and world-building.

Luffy’s adventure with his crew comes with so many challenges, making foes and friends along the way. The grandeur of this anime is not what makes it interesting, it’s Luffy’s character. His simple-minded character naturally draws you in and make you want to be part of his adventure. He is also a man with principle and wisdom, he’s responsible for the famous principle ‘if you’re hungry, eat!’. Kidding aside, Luffy is a well-written top-tier main character and here’s why:

Why Straw Hat Luffy Is A Top-Tier Anime MC

Declaring his dream to become the King of the Pirates

Oftentimes, we shy away from telling other people and declaring to the world about our dreams. We shy away because we’re afraid it’s too big or that people will say it’s impossible, but not Luffy. In the anime, Luffy proudly declares his intent to become the King of the Pirates to everyone, including his enemies. He even proclaims his goal in front of strongest character in the anime without being afraid. Watching Luffy’s adventures motivates people to push their boundaries and dream big.

He challenges the status quo

The world in One Piece introduces us to a world of power, influence, money, and nobility.  One of the many great things about Luffy’s simple-mindedness is that he doesn’t care about power or status. In his journey, Luffy and his crew unearths the inhumane and sadistic reality and system of the World Government. He discovers how powerful people enslave and maltreat innocent and weak people for fun. This sets Luffy and his crew to a journey of prolonged clash against the World Government.

His nakama’s (crewmates) goals become his goals too  

The most heartwarming thing about Luffy’s character is his relationship with his crewmates. Luffy values his crewmates and sees their goals as equally important as his. Because of this, Luffy strives to grow stronger to be able to defend and fight for his goals and his crewmates’. Similarly, his crewmates also treat Luffy’s dream as their own. In times they feel weak, achieving Luffy’s dream fuels them to get stronger. This shows how everyone is equally valuable in the crew’s success in overcoming every challenge they face.

His attitude of enjoying the journey and not the destination

One of the best character traits Luffy possesses is how he simply enjoys the journey and not the destination. Although, this go-with-flow attitude of Luffy gets their crew in trouble. His crew often scold him but always end up following him because of his stubbornness and to prevent more trouble. Despite that, Luffy teaches those who watch him to make the most out of the journey. His ability to have a banquet and drink after a long battle shows how much he cherishes the present.

Despite knowing what greater challenges lie ahead, he chooses to stay in the present and value each moment. His mindset reminds us to live the present and that tomorrow’s challenges are tomorrow’s problems. Every journey, especially achieving our dream, is long and tedious but it doesn’t have to be boring and dull.

He doesn’t take shortcuts

Speaking of long journeys, Luffy’s goal isn’t easy to achieve but he’s not one to take shortcuts to achieve it. It’s admirable how there were many opportunities for Luffy to learn about One Piece but chooses not to.

The first one was when Usopp tried to ask Rayleigh, the right-hand man of the former Pirate King, about One Piece. Luffy got angry and said the whole journey would be useless if Rayleigh hands them the truth about One Piece.The second one was in One Piece: Stampede movie. In the film, Luffy got hold of the eternal pose to Laugh Tale, the island where One Piece was located. Despite possessing the concrete proof of his dream, Luffy destroyed the log pose and said he doesn’t need it. Perhaps, it’s the author’s attempt to prolong One Piece even more.

Jokes aside, this is the trait I admire most about Luffy. ‘I’ve set myself to become the King of the Pirates and if I die trying then at least I tried’. This quote and his mindsent made me admire him. When he set his mind in becoming the King of the Pirates, he knew how difficult it would be. He refuses to take the easy way out and committed his life in achieving his goal.

His strong belief that anyone can create their own destiny

Luffy possesses a strong belief in himself but also believes strongly that anyone can create their own destiny. In the beginning, Luffy meets Coby, a timid boy who dreamt of becoming a marine. In the anime, marines capture pirates and collect their bounty. Despite the conflict between marines and pirates, Luffy encouraged Coby to grow stronger and pursue his dreams.

Luffy is not confined in the labels and standards of the world. In the anime, you will see how Luffy influences the characters—children, fairies, blue-nosed reindeer—to fight for their dreams. He believes that if you have a dream, you can achieve it if you believe in yourself. Luffy’s strength lies in his innate ability to draw people in by simply following his dream. No dream is ever too small or ridiculous for Luffy because all our dreams are of equal value.

Sail away in the vast oceans as Luffy’s nakama and let’s find the One Piece together!