This is where Oda got his inspiration for Gear Second in One Piece from.

Luffy, the protagonist of One Piece, is an incredibly powerful pirate who has gone from strength to strength over the years. Luffy is an exceptionally powerful figure right now, having become an Emperor of the Sea recently. However, he wasn’t always on this level. As a kid, he was rather underwhelming and had to train relentlessly to even be comparable to his brothers. While growing up, Luffy had to strengthen himself quite a lot, and he managed this by developing many interesting abilities, thanks to his high battle IQ.

One of the most iconic power-ups that Luffy has ever received came in the form of Gear Second. This form first made its way into the story around two decades ago, and, it is safe to say that this power-up remains to be one of the most iconic in all anime and manga. Recently, Oda revealed his inspiration behind a very intriguing aspect of Gear Second, specifically, the attacks that Luffy utilizes.

Luffy’s Gears

When it comes to combat, Luffy is known to be incredibly powerful. He has the power of the Gomu Gomu no Mi, and this is a very unique Devil Fruit that has made him a rubber man. While rubber can be a very restricting ability to use in a world where nearly anything is possible, Luffy makes it very special in more ways than one. Fans have seen Luffy utilize amazing powers over the years, and of course, the ability to push rubber beyond its capabilities is certainly one of them. In the Enies Lobby Arc, Luffy finally had to acknowledge the fact that he had hit his limit, and then strengthen himself in other ways.

To that end, he decided that he could strengthen himself using various applications of rubber. These interesting techniques came to be known as Gears. In this particular saga, Luffy showcased the usage of two gears, and these were Gear Second and Gear Third. Both of these Gears proved to be incredibly powerful, and they were pivotal in Luffy defeating the CP9 members. Of course, while both of them were very strong, only one is known to be extremely iconic and that is the power of Gear Second, which fans considered to be one of the very best power-ups, not just One Piece, but in action media as a whole. Even after Gear 5, many fans consider Gear Second to be iconic on a completely different level.

Oda’s Inspiration For Luffy’s Gear Second

Recently, Oda revealed quite a bit of information pertaining to the abilities that he has drawn in the story, and of course, Gear Second is one of them. Oda specifically mentions that he struggled quite a bit while coming up with a creative name for Luffy’s techniques. In Gear Second, fans know Luffy to use techniques that have a prefix of Jet. For instance, whereas Luffy would utilize a regular pistol attack called Gomu Gomu no Pistol, in Gear Second, the same technique would become Gomu Gomu no Jet Pistol. The Jet prefix symbolizes the fact that this technique is being used in Gear Second. At the same time, the Jet prefix also implies that Luffy is using this technique with a lot of ferocity behind it. This is simply down to the fact that Gear Second is created to work that way. All the attacks launched in this Gear are incredibly fast and ferocious, with a lot of power packed behind them.

According to Oda, After contemplating for quite a while about what to name Luffy’s techniques, he decided to go with Jet. This is simply down to the fact that a song by a Japanese singer called Dreams Come True, titled Jet, dropped around the same time. As soon as that happened, Oda decided on Jet being his go to name for Luffy’s attacks in Gear Second. According to Oda, the reason why he picked Jet was because of the naming fit, of course, and because the song’s verve and openness were the right answer, according to him. Thankfully, Oda made the right decision and Gear Second and all the naming techniques that fall under it have, since then, become iconic.

The Power of Gear Second

Gear Second specifically is a very intriguing ability that Luffy copied from the CP9 members. Essentially, Luffy saw the members of CP9 move at blinding fast speeds using a technique called Soru. This allowed them to travel at the speed of sound, making their moments almost impossible to see. When Luffy first saw this ability, he was no match for it. However, using his incredible battle wit, he figured out a way to copy their abilities. Luffy could not train relentlessly and hit levels close to them, however, what he could do was make use of his rubber powers and boost his physical stats temporarily by pumping blood faster through his body. Essentially, this was a form of doping that Luffy came up with, and that is what the core of Gear Second is.

By pumping blood faster through his body, Luffy can then increase his physical attributes to a sky-high level. When he enters this form, his sweat starts to evaporate, giving a steam-like effect to his body. In this form, all of Luffy’s attributes are boosted tremendously. A single punch that Luffy throws is boosted considerably in terms of power. To put that perspective, a regular pistol attack wouldn’t even graze a member of the CP9, however, with a single Jet pistol, he was able to send Blueno reeling. Luffy utilized the power of Gear Second extensively in the Enies Lobby Arc, and, thanks to it, he was able to defeat not just Blueno, but later down the line, Rob Lucci as well. Of course, there were some side effects to using Gear Second at first, largely related to stamina, however, with time, Luffy got over them and controlled this power masterfully.

Gear Second has been iconic ever since. Luffy continues to use this incredible power and all the amazing attacks that it comes with throughout the following arcs as well. In fact, even after the timeskip, when Luffy has now become incredibly strong, he still continues to make use of his Gears. Even now, after having unlocked the power of Gear 5, Gear Second is still here to stay. Luffy will certainly utilize this ability on many occasions.

Regardless of how many transformations come and go in One Piece, Gear Second will always remain iconic, no matter what. Fans will cherish this transformation for many years to come, and hopefully, Oda will remember that and keep incorporating it into the story on various occasions in the Final Saga as well. Gear Second and all the Jet attacks that Luffy does in it have already been immortalized, with many more amazing moments to come.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1108, is set to be February 25, 2024.