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So I am going to write some of my thoughts here and see if yall agree with it or like it... or if you even like to look at the series from the same angle. (I know different people like OP for different reasons: some for the characters, some for the action/fantasy element, etc.). Or maybe I'm just stating the obvious, I don't know. There are some spoilers, I guess, but most of the things I am bringing up are from very early so I don't think anyone should worry.
The first topic I want to explore – which I think is one of the more important elements of the series, is Luffy’s knowledge. On the superficial level, it is clear that Luffy is the so-called "dumb" one of the group, being so dense as to not understand the most simple of things, and so naïve as to not recognize the obvious. He has 1001 other positive qualities: he is just, brave, fun-loving, etc... but he surely lacks intelligence. Right?
Wrong. There is more than enough evidence to indicate not only that Luffy is more than a naïve simpleton who has an ignorant contentment with life, but that he is in fact the most knowledgeable of the Straw Hat crew, if not the most knowledgeable in the entire One Piece universe.
Before I make my argument, let me make it clear that I am not referring to the knowledge one gets from studying or reflection or even life experience. I am referring to esoteric knowledge; a deeper level of perception which transcends the limitations of reason... Knowledge which is inextricably tied to one’s soul.
Allow me to demonstrate.
In the very beginning of the series/manga, we are introduced to this, when Luffy expresses his desire to recruit Zoro into his crew. What does he know about Zoro? Nothing; at least, we the audience are given no indication that he knows anything about the man he is trying to make his first mate. He does not know Zoro’s backstory, or why he became a bounty hunter and so on. Yet, Luffy was so CERTAIN of his intention to recruit a man into his pirate crew who made his name and his living by capturing pirates. And... it was a perfect selection. We can't imagine Zoro as anything but Luffy's first mate (including being a member of Buggy's crew, lol).
But Zoro is not the only case. Luffy does not "know" (at least, in the conventional sense) the backstories of most of his crew members, nor does he seem to care.
So this can mean one of two things. On the one hand, perhaps Luffy is impossibly lucky, and has managed to find the perfect crewmates in spite of the completely random nature of his selection process… or, Luffy has a higher level of perception than the rest of the crew, and thus, he has no need to become acquainted with these details, and rather he knows a person as soon as he meets them.
If you look further, you will see that the first point of view is inherently flawed. Meaning, if you subscribe to the view that this is all a series of lucky coincidences, and Luffy possesses no special knowledge, it fails to explain other things Luffy knows, as well as having some serious (negative) ramifications about Luffy as a character.
For example, during the epic fight with Arlong, why does Luffy feel that he needs to destroy Nami's map-making room? How does he know that this room was where Nami would suffer? Again, he was never told Nami’s backstory; he didn’t want to know. But he KNEW.
Or on Drum Island, where Luffy makes a point of defending Dr. Hiluluk's Jolly Roger. Luffy does not know who Dr. Hiluluk is; he does not know that he was Chopper's teacher or that he tried to save the country, etc. He does not know who he was, or that the flag that he is holding is his. So why does he value that flag so much? Why would he treat it as a sacred symbol, without an intrinsic understanding of its significance? Enough so to go into "serious/angry Luffy mode," too...
In Alabasta, he even shows some political expertise, when he calls out Vivi for her naïve hope to end the civil war simply by going to the battlefield and telling the warring parties to lay down their arms. He correctly identifies the only way to bring peace, which is to fight the disunity at its source: Crocodile. Not only was Luffy correct, but this was a point that was lost on all the others (including Vivi, who should know best what's going on in her own country).
But here is where the opposite argument (the "coincidence" argument) becomes truly dangerous. Luffy is constantly making what appear to be rash decisions, putting him and his crew into many dangerous situations. If these were, in fact, rash decisions, then Luffy would be recognized as a terrible captain, and him and his crew would have all been long dead. But his decisions are not in fact, rash. On the contrary: it is because he knows that his crew will prevail, that he puts them in these situations in the first place.
And if you think the idea of Luffy being this sort of mystic that I have described him as, is absurd... Then, consider the alternative. Consider that he is acting entirely out of whim. If this is true, he puts his crew in needless danger, he recruits people into his crew without knowing the first thing about them (which further puts his crew in danger). And in spite of being the commander of a crew, he is rarely seen doing anything related to the operations of the crew aside from fighting the strongest enemy of that particular moment and draining the food supply. So we have, with this logic, someone who is heedless, incompetent, and lacking in intelligence. Who would want to call this man their captain? Who would follow this man to their grave? If Luffy is, in fact, a sort of child acting upon whim, he is a terrible captain. He is morally reprehensible.
But we know he is a perfect captain. And we know he is morally upright. Because he's not a lucky idiot; he KNOWS. He knows more than anyone. The ramifications of Luffy not having a high spiritual knowledge are, in fact, the final proof in favor of him having this knowledge.
So the question which remains is: why would Oda give such a high level of esoteric knowledge to a character so outwardly light-hearted, and simple-minded? I do not know for certain the answer to this, but I will venture a guess. Characters who are too superior to everyone, in their knowledge and abilities, are not interesting. They are not relatable. There is no point in watching a series that follows an invincible, all-perfect, all-knowing being.
Thus, by giving someone with unparallel knowledge, an outward appearance of light-heartedness and simple-minded naivete, Oda makes him more relatable and more versatile as a character, too. It allows Oda to give him vulnerabilities and weaknesses which would otherwise have seemed absurd or out of place. We believe Luffy’s moments of vulnerability and helplessness, in spite of his strength and knowledge. This is thanks to his outward character.
We love Luffy because he is both exalted and grounded. He is essentially infallible, and yet he has certain child-like characteristics which endear him to us. He possesses both the high moral characteristics we seek as adults, and the innocent purity we see in small children.
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