Summary
- Luffy's grandfather, Monkey D. Garp, plays a significant role in One Piece as both a mentor and an enemy to Luffy.
- Garp's reveal as Luffy's grandfather doesn't happen right away.
- Despite their differences, Garp shares several similarities with Luffy, including bluntness, stubbornness, and a huge appetite. However, Garp's duty as a Marine often conflicts with his love for his family, leading to difficult choices and emotional conflicts.
One Piece focuses heavily on the "found family" trope, most of all with the Straw Hat pirates and the Luffy/Ace/Sabo brother trio. The story doesn't linger much on Luffy's biological family, however. It wasn't until the end of the Water 7/Enies Lobby saga that readers finally learned a bit about Luffy's family through his grandfather, Monkey D. Garp.
Author Eiichiro Oda foreshadowed Garp's familial relevance far before his true reveal -- fans just didn't know it at the time. Luffy's grandfather first appeared in the side story Koby and Helmeppo's Chronicle of Toil, which explores the two young men's lives after separating from Luffy and Zoro and joining the Marines. Since then, Monkey D. Garp has become both Luffy's greatest mentor and worst enemy, creating a heartwarming, bizarre, and often violent relationship between the two of them as the paths between Marine Vice-Admiral and future pirate king continue to diverge.
Updated on September 21st, 2023 by Louis Kemner: This feature has been updated to match CBR's current publication standards and now includes material on the live-action version, too
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When Is Garp Revealed as Luffy's Grandfather?
The first time One Piece fans learned Luffy has a grandfather is from Admiral Aokiji in Chapter 319. Aokiji says Luffy is just like his grandfather -- wild and has no control -- and then mentions that he owes a great debt to the man. However, Garp isn't fully unveiled until Post-Enies Lobby, where he visits Luffy and his crewmates, and tells them about Luffy's father, Dragon.
Garp is not only a Marine Vice-Admiral, but has been called the "Hero of the Marines" for his decades of service. At one point he fought alongside Gol D. Roger to stop Rocks D. Xebecs and his crew, consisting of a younger Big Mom, Kaido, and even Whitebeard at God Valley. Much remains unknown about the God Valley Incident, but fans do know it's what earned Garp his title.
Furthermore, Luffy's grandfather has been offered the promotion of Admiral on numerous occasions, but has refused it every time. This is because Admirals can be called in service of the Celestial Dragons, something Garp wants nothing to do with. It seems dislike of the Celestial Dragons is a shared trait by those of the Monkey family in One Piece.
How Does Luffy's Grandfather Compare With Him?
Despite his differing adventures, Monkey D. Garp does have a lot in common with Luffy. The old man is as blunt and stubborn as his grandson and also has an enormous appetite -- though Garp seems to have a preference for rice crackers over meat.
As a parent, grandparent, and guardian, Garp is a danger at worst and negligent at best. In service of making Luffy stronger, Garp tossed him into a ravine, left him in a jungle, and tied him to balloons. Then he left Luffy in the care of the Mountain Bandit Dadan alongside Portgas D. Ace. Still, Garp would occasionally check up on the two boys from time to time, and wanted to see them become respectable navy men. With his grandsons as pirates, Garp is left feeling proud of their outrageous accomplishments, even at the expense of the Marines' credibility and standing. All this means Garp is a practitioner of tough love with hands-on methods and blunt words, a trait Monkey D. Luffy shares with him.
What makes Luffy's grandfather even more interesting is how duty as a Marine gets in the way of his love for his family. During Ace's execution at Marineford, Garp could neither bring himself to help the Marines, nor save his grandson. Instead, he elected to sit down and stay beside Ace until the very end, not wanting his grandson to be alone should he die. In fact, after Admiral Akainu killed Ace, Garp had to be restrained from killing Akainu himself.
Garp is often conflicted between his professional duty and his heart's desire, which is stressful for him, but Luffy has no such problems. Luffy is a pirate to the end, and he is only loyal to his crew and his dream, refusing to accept anyone else's authority. If Luffy ever finds a conflict of interest, he will quickly make up his mind and take action without a second thought, something not even the brutish Garp could ever do.
Luffy's Grandfather In Netflix's One Piece Emphasizes Contrasts
Monkey D. Garp had a larger role to play in the East Blue saga in Netflix's live-action adaptation, a change for the better. This tightly-paced adaptation wasn't content with cameos. Sooner rather than later, Monkey D. Garp was identified as Luffy's grandpa, and the two of them were strikingly different. In this version of One Piece, the parallels between Luffy and his grandfather are subtler, such as their shared love of big meals and their bold leadership styles, but otherwise, the dividing line between Marine officer and pirate is clearly drawn. Garp, portrayed by Welsh actor Vincent Regan, has a menacing, intimidating aura as a tough-love Marine officer who won't show Luffy any mercy. This time, Garp is all business, and it's impressive to see.
In every version of One Piece, Luffy is willingly sacrificing his potential to have a prosperous, stable life and career as a respectable Marine as Garp always intended, but in Netflix's version, that sacrifice is clearer than ever. Garp doesn't just disapprove of his grandson's decision to become a pirate captain -- he will use the full might of the Navy to hunt Luffy across the East Blue and capture him at any cost, intending to punish Luffy and set an example in the process.
Garp is all about protocol, authority, and defending the law, while Luffy is eager to pursue true freedom and make up his own rules while chasing his dream. Garp represents everything Luffy could have been but never wanted to be, far more so than his anime counterpart, who had a much bigger soft spot for the boy. That helps maintain Netflix's One Piece's thrilling sense of danger and momentum while making Garp more powerful as Luffy's enemy and foil, no matter their familial connection.
The live-action adaptation of One Piece is now available to stream on Netflix.