Monkey D. Luffy may be One Piece’s lovable, instantly recognizable hero, but early drafts and prototypes of Eiichiro Oda’s various designs for him hinted initially darker paths ahead. As such, Luffy’s Gears, even at their most fearsome in terms of power, never quite evoked a more malicious tone, characteristically remaining silly, comical even.
But as shown by recently-unearthed, extremely rare images of Oda’s early concept sketches, Luffy’s Gear 4 mode had an even darker potential iteration. One Piece Mini Magazine Special Feature: Legend & Next, glimpsed earlier this past weekend, featured a Snakeman looking more ferocious than his final version. It’s a striking sight, offering a glimpse into Oda’s vision for Luffy’s powerups.
One Piece Mini Magazine Surfaces Rare Gear 4 Art
The Snakeman Cometh
Sporting a gnarlier visage yet still wrapped in a mixture of smoke and fire, One Piece’s early Gear 4 Luffy in his Snakeman form was a tightly-held secret since the form’s debut in 2018. As noted in the magazine’s “Note Collection”, it offered greater muscle control than Gear 4’s Boundman and Tankman more rigid, bouncier versions.
However, the overall design paints an almost darker Super Saiyan image of Luffy in the Snakeman form. While the official release’s Snakeman form was certainly looking agitated, the hair standing up straight evokes a spiky hairdo straight out of a Dragon Ball saga. The fearsome aura, posture, and expression on Luffy’s face in these sketches hinted a furious transformation.
Furthermore, the notes described potential plans to allow Luffy’s hair grow wildly, or for him to manipulate his shape so only his arms would go gigantic. While the final decided form was perfectly fine, it’d have been interesting to see, especially with Luffy’s hair practically resembling that of his father, Monkey D. Dragon. However, there was one more noteworthy comment.
Luffy’s Early Snakeman Design Could Be the Root of Gear 5
Paired next to these designs are a white-haired Luffy design alongside aforementioned notes describing muscles being freely used, which aligns strongly with Gear 5’s ultra-flexibility compared to all other Luffy forms. This would mean the agitated-looking Snakeman Luffy from these sketches would bear some, but not all of the abilities from his (so far) final canon form.
Gear 4’s Boundman appeared first in One Piece chapter #784 against Donquixote Doflamingo, then Tankman emerging from Luffy’s gluttony used against Charlotte Cracker in chapter #842. With Snakeman’s final debut in 2018 with chapter #894 against Katakuri, and these early glimpses, it’s clear Gear 5 was starting to take form, but it clearly almost took a darker turn first.
- Created by
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Eiichiro Oda
- First Film
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One Piece: The Movie
- Cast
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Kazuya Nakai, Akemi Okamura, Kappei Yamaguchi, Hiroaki Hirata, Ikue Ôtani, Yuriko Yamaguchi
- Video Game(s)
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One Piece: Unlimited World Red, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4, One Piece: World Seeker, One Piece Odyssey
- Character(s)
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Monkey D. Luffy, Roronora Zoro, Nami (One Piece), Nico Robin, Usopp (One Piece), Vinsmoke Sanji, Tony Tony Chopper, Franky (One Piece), Jimbei (One Piece)
