Spoiler Warning: This article refers to the advanced chapters of the One Piece manga and the Pirates universe anime series, respectively, by Japanese mangaka Eiichirō Oda.
The drums of freedom are sounding: Joy Boy returns!
One of the most important characters in the One Piece universe is the mysterious character Joy Boy, and he takes an important role in the story, especially from manga chapter 1043. He is directly related to the main protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and lived on Earth over 800 years ago in the so-called lost century.
The reason for the sparsely known information about Joy Boy is the world government, which in an act of violence erased most of what happened hundreds of years ago. However, there is some surviving information about the person and his devil fruit, the mythical human-human fruit “Hito Hit no Mi, Model: Nika”. This very devil fruit found its way to Luffy after centuries and was originally mistakenly called Paramecia Devil Fruit “Gomu Gomu no Mi” or Gum-Gum Fruit.
Worth reading: Gotham Knights: Is Batman dead? If so, how did he die?
In the heated battle between Luffy and Kaidou (one of the four emperors of the seas) on the roof of Onigashima (Wa no Kuni), Luffy’s devil fruit awakens and reveals his true strength. With this, Luffy becomes the embodiment of the sun god Nika and his body begins to transform.
In the chapters of the manga so far, the protagonist has acquired his own way of fighting with the Gear levels and has continued to improve through hard training, most recently in Gear 4 with pirate and friend Rayleigh on the primeval island of Rusukaina. At Gear 5, Luffy’s Devil Fruit finally awakens and gives him one of the biggest power-ups up to that point.
A porneglyph and Joy Boys promise
On Fish Man Island, you can find one of the few references to Joy Boy with the porneglyph there. Luffy’s teammate Nico Robin deciphers the inscription on it and says it reads like an apology. The legendary warrior apologizes for not keeping an important promise and signs the message on his behalf.
He was one of the few people to reach the last island of the Grandline called Laugh Tale during his lifetime. Hundreds of years later, the pirate Gol D. Roger also manages this feat with some of his crew members and finds a legacy of Joy Boy. This treasure put a smile on Roger’s and his comrades’ faces and they even started laughing. Before leaving the island, he leaves behind a legendary treasure called the “One Piece” and later ushers in the pirate age by announcing the existence of the treasure.
In the decisive battle in the land of Wa no Kuni, more snippets of information about Joy Boy find their place. At the time Luffy’s Devil Fruit awakens, the giant elephant Zunisha is off the island and telepathically contacts Kozuki Oden’s son Momonosuke. He informs him that the drums of freedom would sound again and Joy Boy would return after all these centuries.
By this he means Luffy, who from this point on can harness the same power as Joy Boy in the form of the Devil Fruit. When Oden was alive, he wanted to open the borders of the sealed-off country of Wa no Kuni before Joy Boy showed up one day. However, his plan was prevented at that time by Kaidou and the former Wa no Kuni shogun Kurozumi Orochi.
Worth reading: Horror Games 2023 – Horror Awaits You!
It is also quite possible that Joy Boy in One Piece does not stand for a person, but is rather a title. A title for a person who represents certain values. Values such as determination and freedom. Luffy, for example, follows his own inner compass, embarks on a great journey and gathers many allies around him with his nature and values. His goal is also to open the borders of Wa no Kuni, to end tyranny and thus make the land accessible to the world.
Worth knowing: The awakened mythical human-human fruit “Hito Hit no Mi, Model: Nika” or also called Gear 5, gives Luffy incredible strength and abilities. He suspends the laws of physics, can change his body size at will according to his wishes, and can even turn his surroundings into rubber. The latter ability was last seen in his fight against Donquixote Doflamingo. In this battle, his enemy uses the awakened Paramecia Devil Fruit “Ito Ito no Mi” and turns the environment into threads.
You are also interested in other genres? Then check out our guides or Specials to the hottest games, manga or series and movies! Want to get a new game on the cheap? Then buy it at our partner MMOGA.
