One Piecehas been around for decades, and in that time, Monkey D. Luffy has not been a big romantic. The pirate has never been like Sanji who lives and breathes romance. As far as Luffy is concerned, love isn’t even on his radar, but the same cannot be said for his fans. For years, theOne Piecefandom has shipped Luffy with a number of characters, and now series creatorEiichiro Oda has fans buzzing about the Straw Hat crew’s most popular ship: Luffy x Nami.
Recently, the romance made a splash online with netizens, and we have a new anime to thank.One Piece in Love,a brand-new spin off series just went live in Japan. The lovey-dovey series focuses on a number of characters who share names withOne Piecepirates. It is there Luffy and Nami appear as a couple, and the spin-off anime has fans speculating about the main series.
One Piece’s New Spin-Off Anime Brings Luffy x Nami To Life
Eiichiro Oda Is Being Coy About The New Anime
To give additional context,One Piece in Love(also known asLoving One Piece), made its debut this spring on social media across Japan. The short series can be found from TikTok to Instagram, and it follows a group of students who are named afterOne Piececharacters.In the spin-off anime, Nami and Luffy clearly share feelings for one another,and their schoolyard crush has shippers going wild.
After all, thisOne Pieceanime is considered an official part of the franchise. Eiichiro Oda, the creator ofOne Piece, took to social media to affirm the spin-off with a special sketch. Drawing Luffy with the spin-off anime’s leads, Oda had the following to say: “The animeOne Piece in Loveis here, so please watch it. It is so crazy. It’s an official spin-off, seriously.”
“The animeOne Piece in Loveis here, so please watch it. It is so crazy. It’s an official spin-off, seriously.”
As you can see, Oda’s quote does not acknowledge Luffy x Nami in any specific way, but it does confirmOne Piece in Loveis an official spin-off of the series. So, while this may not be how you saw Luffy x Nami come to fruition, well - it is what we got.
The History Between Luffy And Nami Runs Deep
One Piece Fans Have Long Shipped The Couple
Of course, in the mainOne Pieceseries, Luffy is as single as can be. The captain of the Straw Hat crew is too busy facing off with the World Government to worry about love.However, the anime itself is not against romance.Not only hasOne Piecefeatured a number of couples todate, but Luffy has fielded affection from characters such as Boa Hancock.
I Know One Piece Is Great, But There’s One Thing About the Anime That Puts Me Off
While One Piece is an anime masterpiece, there’s one recurring aspect that I can’t overlook—and it’s keeping me from fully enjoying the show.
While plenty of fans ship Luffy and Boa, there are just as many who want to see the pirate end up with Nami.One Pieceset out with the two as friends, but the bond between Nami and Luffy has grown significantly since the East Blue saga. In the past, Nami’s reflections about Luffy made Sanji balk, saying they sounded more like a love confession than a friendly compliment. In films likeOne Piece Film: Gold, Luffy has been forced to reckon with his feelings towards Nami. But after 30+ years in print,One Piecehas not confirmed Luffy’s romantic interestin anybody at this point.
Given the popularity of Luffy x Nami, you may see why the pair’s relationship inOne Piece in Lovehas sparked speculation. The romance is adding fuel to a fire that has been burning for ages between the pirates. But as for whether that heat spreads to the main series,One Piecefans will have to wait and find out.
