Luffy is the main protagonist of One Piece, a young man destined to become the next Pirate King. Along his journeys, he has encountered a number of sinister villains who seek to terrorize the seas when fulfilling their own dark ambitions. However, as is true with characters like Batman, many of Luffy’s villains have a lot in common with the hero.
Despite how fundamentally different Luffy is from the enemies he fights, their similarities both humanize his opponents and help Luffy feels like a more complex, flawed individual. Whether their similarities come from their circumstances or personalities, many of Luffy’s adversaries are simply following their dreams, just like he is.
10 Found Family Is Central For Doflomingo And Luffy
The Donquixote Family is Doflamingo’s pride and joy. Despite his villainous tendencies, he takes care of his crew even when he’s assigning them dangerous missions. Doflamingo deeply regretted being unable to save Vergo at Punk Hazard and offered him the solace of a transponder snail in his final moments.
Similarly, Luffy’s affection for the Straw Hat pirates is a hallmark of his character. He has risked life, limb, and even his dream of becoming Pirate King time and again on their behalf. Both characters understand that without their friends, their dreams mean almost nothing.
9 Kizaru And Luffy Are Both Flighty
Although Kizaru is one of the most feared Marines in the series, he’s also notoriously absent-minded. He speaks with a slow, meandering drawl and tends to underestimate his opponents. This was especially apparent in the battle at Marineford, where he mocked Beckman for pointing a gun at him.
Likewise, Luffy dismisses his strongest foes and tends to be absentminded. Luffy’s a lot more aggressive than Kizaru but they’re equally careless about which fights they pick and who they fight. For Luffy, it’s endearing, even if it seems like an obvious character flaw for Kizaru.
8 Lucci and Luffy’s Relentlessness
The fact that he didn’t give up after Luffy defeated him makes Lucci is unique among the hero’s rogues. To the contrary, Lucci was promoted after the disaster at Enies Lobby and was even given the distinct privilege of protecting the Celestial Dragons. During the Reverie, he was ready to kill Neptulon before Mjosgard’s interference.
Lucci’s determination is a lot like Luffy’s. They’ve both suffered their share of grueling defeats but never surrendered. Although Lucci is a dark reminder that not all villains can be brushed aside, he and Luffy are both indefatigable and it’s hard not to respect that.
7 Im’s Connections To Luffy’s Fruit
The Wano arc revealed that Luffy’s Gum-Gum Fruit is profoundly unique and connected to the world’s foundation. It was so important that the World Government renamed it, hoping that everyone would forget the Mythical Zoan Fruit’s true potential.
Luffy’s connection with Nika alarmed Im so much that they took a personal interest in his capture. Like Vivi, Luffy has become one of the greatest priorities of the World Government because they understand his symbolic power and the jeopardy he poses to their order. Im almost certainly defeated Luffy’s predecessor, which is why the power’s re-emergence has caused such alarm.
6 Big Mom’s And Luffy’s Appetites
Big Mom and Luffy are both driven by their stomachs to such an extent that it influences how they fight. Big Mom, of course, loses her immense mass if she isn’t constantly eating, and Luffy needs a hearty feast to heal from his fairly regular life-threatening injuries.
Appetites aren’t the only thing Big Mom and Luffy have in common. They’re both seeking the mantle of pirate king and consider their crews a part of their family. In fairness, though, in Big Mom’s case this is literally true.
5 Buggy’s Relation To Shanks
Growing up on Gol D. Roger’s ship, Buggy and Shanks formed a close relationship. Although rivals, they cared deeply for each other. Shanks even gave up Laugh Tale to care for Luffy.
Luckily for Shanks, Buggy isn’t the only emperor who owes him. Luffy also admired Shanks and used his example to become a pirate. The Straw Hats’ name represents Luffy’s pursuit of his dreams and the promise that once he’s become pirate king, he will return his straw hat to his former mentor and friend.
4 Moria’s Breaking Point
Luffy and Gecko Moria had significant breaking points that redefined the way they perceived the world. The former lost his brother at Marineford and could have given up on his dream if not for Jimbei’s supportiveness. After he was ousted from Wano, Moria languished for years from the darkest recesses of the Florian Triangle.
A key difference between Luffy and Moria is the way Luffy used his tragedy as an opportunity to improve so that his crew would be prepared to face the New World. Moria’s loss of willpower had negative ramifications for his physique, ability to use Haki, and position in the World Government. By giving them similar backgrounds, One Piece also highlighted their differences.
3 Kaido And Luffy Are True Leaders
Kaido and Luffy are phenomenal leaders in their own right. As the leader of the Beast Pirates, Kaido built an army of Devil Fruit soldiers using Caesar Clown’s laboratories and Doflamingo as a broker. Combined with Big Mom’s children and Wano’s support under Shogun Orochi, Onigashima became nearly impregnable.
Luffy might not be a tactical genius, but his courage and charisma inspire soldiers from all walks of life. He compensates for his lack of tactical prowess by uniting diverse groups and cultures under a single banner. They’re very different leaders but they still demonstrate the power inherent in bringing people together.
2 Blackbeard & Luffy Freed Impel Down
Blackbeard and Luffy were both instrumental in the liberation of the Impel Down prison. Luffy freed a handful of prisoners and it snowballed into a massive breakout. Blackbeard arrived late but his role in subduing Magellan made the escape even more costly for the World Government.
Intriguingly, the breakout paid dividends for both aspiring Pirate Kings. It resulted in Jimbei’s allegiance with the Straw Hat Pirates and doubled the size of Blackbeard’s crew. Armed with the most notorious villains ever imprisoned, Blackbeard’s infamous gang made its debut on the world stage by killing Whitebeard and nearly leveling Marineford.
1 Katakuri’s Honor
Despite being pirates, Katakuri and Luffy both have a distinct sense of honor. This became apparent in their duel when Katakuri stabbed himself to even the field after his sister interfered with their battle.
Similarly, Luffy had ample opportunity to leave Katakuri in the mirror world after escaping with Brulee. However, Luffy acknowledged that passing up an opponent of Katakuri’s caliber would make him an unworthy Pirate King. Luffy’s actions were especially bold given how much danger the other Straw Hats were already in but honor was as important to him as survival.
