Highlights

• Luffy's consistent victories in battles raise eyebrows among some One Piece fans, questioning the plot armor.
• Instances such as Luffy's survival against Crocodile and victory over Katakuri highlight potential plot armor.
• While the plot armor is common, it is crucial to criticize the inconsistencies in the narrative despite loving the series.

Since the beginning of One piece, Luffy has gained fame as one of the most formidable and legendary pirates to sail the Grand Line since Gol D. Roger himself. Every battle he has gone through since the beginning of his journey has made him one of the strongest characters in the franchise's history, defeating nearly every major villain he has encountered.

However, that is where the problem lies for some. One piece fans. One problem they have with Luffy's journey is the fact that he somehow always manages to defeat the enemy, which is true for 90% of the battles he has fought. While this in itself may not be a cause for complaint, judging by the way almost every other piece of fiction does it, the method of winning sometimes feels rushed and out of pocket.

Does Luffy really have plot armor?

Those who tend to think that he does usually refer to some of the earlier arcs of the series, when Luffy's power system and abilities were not as developed as they are now. For example, the first example of Luffy having some sort of plot armor can be seen in his fight against Sir Crocodile in the final moments of the Alabasta arc.

The reasoning here is that the fights against Crocodile showed Luffy only surviving by sheer luck, which shouldn't have been the case as it cheapens the story. However, the characters fought 3 times and Crocodile won twice, leaving Luffy to die. Firstly, it doesn't make much sense for someone as intelligent and ruthless as Crocodile to deliver Luffy to his fate, especially when you see how meticulous he is with his other plans.

Secondly, the first time Luffy survived was by pure chance as well, as he was stabbed and swallowed by the desert with a huge hole in his chest, and in the second fight, he was saved from death by dehydration because of some water he happened to shoot into the sky earlier. In the masterfully and expertly crafted story of One piececases like this stand out because of how rushed they seem compared to the rest of the story.

The same thing happened in Enies Lobby, where Luffy was incredibly weakened after his battles, but somehow still managed to get back up and defeat the villain. After using Gear 2 and Gear 3 multiple times in his fight against Rob Lucci, Luffy was completely exhausted and at the mercy of his enemy, which led Lucci to use extremely powerful attacks that defeated Luffy immediately. However, just because the plot demanded it, Luffy got back up and defeated his enemy.

You came without fear. Don't regret it, no matter what happens.

Furthermore, Luffy's time at Marineford saw a blatant plot, especially for him. On the execution platform, he came face to face with Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who is one of the most powerful characters of all time. One piece. While this was reflected in the way Sengoku defeated Luffy, the plot armor appeared when Luffy got up from all that damage, or even when he survived Akainu.

Luffy's fight against Charlotte Katakurri is another great example of this, where fans saw an extremely one-sided defeat. For hours, Katakurri destroyed Luffy and there was no reason why he shouldn't have won. However, Luffy managed to level up in the fight and defeat his opponent in a way that many considered absurd.

Why doesn't this take away from the story?

The term plot armor has come to carry some negative connotations. The fact is that almost every main character in any franchise has some degree of plot armor, as they are the central aspect upon which the plot is based and are therefore necessary to move it forward. The real problem arises when the plot armor is not utilized well enough.

Seeing the scope and size of the One piece, the use cases of plot armor are relatively low. Since the nature of the series is such that many details are revealed later, the argument about plot armor becomes less valid, especially when it comes to Luffy. This is due to his nature as a holder of the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, and also as one of the few users of Conqueror's Haki in the Grand Line. Looking back on things while remembering this, much of the "luck" he had can be attributed to these powers.

I don't want to conquer anything. I just think the guy with the most freedom in the entire ocean is the Pirate King.

Verdict:

However, that doesn't excuse the times when his plot didn't make sense, like some of his previously mentioned fights. When writing is bad or nonsensical, it should be called out and loved as much as possible. One piece and Luffy are, Eiichiro Oda is not infallible and may make some decisions that don't turn out well. This doesn't take away from the unparalleled storytelling and world-building that Oda does so well, but it should also tell die-hard fans that as good as this series is, it's still not perfect and that a few minor blemishes don't tarnish the rest.

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