Luffy is a happy-go-lucky character who acts first and thinks later. He has a tendency to cause his own misfortune, especially when he charges forward without a plan. It’s usually his crew’s job to bail Luffy out when he makes stupid mistakes, which results in some of the best moments in One Piece.
However, not all of Luffy’s hardships are his own doing. Considering how rough his life has been, it’s a miracle Luffy has maintained a positive attitude. His upbringing and the mistreatment he’s faced are undeserved. Luffy would have every right to be mad at the people who have caused him misfortune.
10 Dragon Abandoned Luffy
Found family is the most important theme of One Piece, but that doesn’t mean the characters don’t have any blood relatives. Luffy’s father is the famous Revolutionary Dragon, who thinks fighting the government is more important than raising his son.
Luffy’s childhood is unstable thanks to his father’s abandonment. Some fans will make the argument that Dragon didn’t want to raise Luffy in a violent environment like a war against the world government, but Dragon is perfectly happy raising Sabo. The fact that Dragon is willing to raise a stranger and not his own son is a pretty bad look.
9 Garp Also Abandoned Luffy
Since Dragon didn’t want to raise Luffy, he is passed off to his grandfather Garp, who also doesn’t want the job. Garp dumps Luffy on Curly and her mountain bandits, which is pretty irresponsible.
Forcing Luffy to live with criminals is the worst decision, especially if Garp wants Luffy to have a normal life. Curly grows to care about Luffy, but Luffy spends most of his time fending for himself. With all the animal attacks and near-death experiences, it’s a miracle Luffy survives adolescence.
8 Kuma Destroys The Straw Hats
When One Piece fans list the saddest moments in the series, the fight with Kuma is one of them. During the fight, it’s unclear what Kuma’s devil fruit powers are so for all Luffy knows, his crew is being killed off right in front of him.
Luffy’s helplessness is gut-wrenching, especially since it’s one of the first times Luffy expresses such negative emotions. Everything works out in the end, but having his entire crew taken away from him so suddenly is the last thing a purely good character like Luffy deserved.
7 Ace’s Death
Ace’s death is the most shocking moment in One Piece for fans and Luffy. Luffy tries hard to save his brother, and he nearly succeeds. Ace also dies protecting his brother, which makes his death more traumatizing for Luffy.
Luffy and Ace may be criminals, but forcing Luffy to witness his brother’s death is incredibly cruel. Luffy dealing with the aftermath of Ace’s death and accepting his grief is some of the best writing in One Piece, but fans can’t help but wish it never happened.
6 Saying Goodbye To The Going Merry
The Going Merry is the Straw Hat Crew’s first ship. They would have traveled the entire Grand Line with this ship if it hadn’t been irreparably damaged. To most people a ship is just a ship so getting a new one isn’t a big deal.
However, the Straw Hats see the Going Merry as a member of the crew so losing it is equivalent to losing a friend. Luffy acted tough before the Going Merry’s funeral, but he cries more than the others when they finally say goodbye to their favorite ship.
5 Luffy Vs Usopp
Losing the Going Merry is hard for all the Straw Hats, but especially Usopp. He is responsible for maintaining the ship, so he blames himself for it getting so damaged. Usopp’s close friend Kaya gave them the Going Merry, so it makes sense for him to have a strong attachment.
However, that doesn’t excuse how he treats Luffy when the captain decides the crew needs another ship. Fighting Luffy and abandoning the crew is a step too far, which is why Usopp needed to apologize before the crew would accept him back.
4 Ace Mistreated Luffy
Luffy and Ace have an unbreakable bond, but it isn’t always like that. When Ace and Luffy first meet Ace is incredibly mean to Luffy. Ace beats up Luffy and abandons him in the forest that surrounds their home.
Luffy wants to be Ace’s friend, and even though he can be annoying, the way Ace initially treats Luffy is uncalled for. Ace makes up for it by saving and training Luffy to fight, which is how they’re able to form a brotherly bond.
3 Drum Island’s Poor Welcome
Pirates have a bad reputation, which means people are hostile towards them as soon as they appear. When the Straw Hats arrive at Drum Island the locals are quick to aim their weapons at them, which isn’t deserved.
Luffy even pleads with them so they can get help for Nami, but they don’t listen. Considering how sincere Luffy is being, it doesn’t make sense for the locals to treat him so poorly. Bowing may have helped them gain the people’s trust, but he shouldn’t have had to do it.
2 Citizens Of Dressrosa Doubted Luffy
Luffy risks his life to defeat Doflamingo on Dressrosa. The citizens help him escape when he and his crew leave the island, but they weren’t so nice during the battle.
When Luffy is fighting Doflamingo, the citizens question if Luffy is a good person who’s actually trying to help them. Considering Luffy is in the middle of fighting the person who ruined their island, it’s ridiculous that they would bad mouth Luffy. Luffy didn’t need to risk his life, but he did it anyway because he is a good person.
1 Higuma Kidnaps Luffy
Luffy is a loudmouth, which gets him in a lot of trouble. Even when he’s a kid he challenges pirates who mistreat him or his friends. Unfortunately, Luffy is abducted by the pirate Higuma after he stands up to him and is almost killed by a sea king.
Luffy is lucky Shanks is there to save him, but Shanks shouldn’t have had to do that in the first place. There’s no reason an adult should have taken a child’s words to heart, but that just shows what a terrible person Higuma is.
