Monkey D. Luffy - Wikipedia

Development

When Eiichiro Oda created Luffy, he initially strove for a "manliness" similar to that of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball series.[9] Oda said that he named his main character "Luffy" because he felt that the name suited him. When he later learned about the sailing term, "luffing", he was delighted by the coincidence.[10] In his prototype one-shot, "Romance Dawn", Oda refined the artistic style and story elements before publishing the final product a year later as the first chapter of One Piece. In the second version of "Romance Dawn", Luffy resembled his design at the beginning of the series.[11]

After the one-shot of One Piece was made, Oda contacted his former mentor, Nobuhiro Watsuki, whom he assisted in making the manga Rurouni Kenshin. Watsuki was pleased with Luffy's characterization and advised Oda to briefly change him for the main series to make it look like Luffy is always acting on his own free will.[12] To please his readers, Oda added rubberization to Luffy for comic effect[10] and tries to make the character straightforward.[13] In retrospect, Watsuki felt characters like Luffy reflect a trend of heroes who do not kill their enemies similar to his character Himura Kenshin.[14]

Portrayals

In the original Japanese version of the One Piece anime series and later spin-offs of the franchise, Luffy is voiced by Mayumi Tanaka.[15] Tanaka said jokingly that she regrets providing Luffy's voice because she is a mother in real life and Luffy is much younger.[16] Asked about her voicing, Tanaka said that she "strives for reality" in scenes where Luffy speaks when he is eating or touching his nose.[17] In the OVA Defeat the Pirate Ganzack!, Luffy was voiced by Urara Takano.[18]

In Odex's English-dubbed VCDs produced by Voiceovers Unlimited, Luffy is voiced by Chuck Powers, the director of said English version. In this edition his name is mispronounced as "Luh-fee" (/ˈlʌfiː/).[19] The character was voiced by Erica Schroeder in 4Kids Entertainment's English-language dubs of the franchise between 2004–2006. Following Funimation/Crunchyroll's acquisition of the franchise license in 2007, Colleen Clinkenbeard became the voice of Luffy in all English-language releases.[20]

In the live action adaptation of One Piece, Luffy is portrayed by Mexican actor Iñaki Godoy,[21] while Colton Osorio plays Luffy as a kid.[22] Godoy and Tanaka reprised their roles as Luffy in the Latin American Spanish and Japanese dubs of the adaptation respectively.[23][24]