Summary
Action shōnen series often have problems pulling off power-ups in a way that they feel natural,and Eiichiro Oda’sOne Pieceis no exception. Of course, there have been a lot of instances in which a character unlocks a brand-new power or ability that was properly established over the course of the last few chapters/episodes, and as a result, it felt incredibly rewarding for the audience.
But there have been a lot of other instances in which a character received anew power-up relatively out of nowhere, without any prior foreshadowing or buildup. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, nor has it really affected the overall quality of the series, it has still left fans with many questions about their sudden and convenient appearance.One Piecehas a fair share of power-ups that came out of nowhere, and the following are the most egregious examples of this practice.
1Shadow’s Asgard
Gecko Moria
The Thriller Bark Arc is a relatively long arc that was centered on thebattle between the Straw Hat Pirates andGecko Moria, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. This was no easy task, seeing as he hatched a genius plan that allowed him to create an almost unbeatable weapon: he used the powers of his Kage Kage no Mi to extract Luffy’s shadow and implant it on the ancient giant Oars in order to control him from the inside. As a result, the arc seemingly concluded with a long showdown between the Straw Hats and Moria/Oars.
But after they all defeated the Warlord of the Sea and his underling, he used a shocking new ability calledShadow’s Asgardout of nowhere. With this, Moria was able to gather and absorb all the stolen shadows scattered throughout his ship to become bigger and more powerful, something that was never established he could do in previous chapters/episodes. While the ensuing battle was quite exciting, this one move made the final battle feel a little bit too drawn out for most people.
2Gear 4: Snakeman
Monkey D. Luffy
At the end of the Dressrosa Arc,Luffysuddenly revealed a powerful new form he mastered during the time skip, and it was called Gear 4: Boundman. From that point onwards, it seemed like that was the only Gear 4 technique he had access to, since he used it constantly during the Whole Cake Island Arc. Of course, he did use another form named Tankman, but it was only a situational power-up he randomly came up with after eating a lot of Charlotte Cracker’s cracker soldiers.
But in the middle of his fight against Charlotte Katakuri, Luffy suddenly revealed a second Gear 4 form he had apparently been training alongside Boundman during the time skip:its name isSnakeman, and it allows him to extend his limbs even further and quicker. There’s no denying that Gear 4: Snakeman is an effective and cool-looking form, but it still felt like it came out of nowhere, since at no prior point was it ever mentioned that Luffy’s Gear 4 technique had other forms that enhanced other properties.
3Sulong Form
Bepo
At first glance,it seemed completely reasonable forBepoto get access to aSulong Form. After all, he’s a Mink (as a matter of fact, he was the first member of his species to be introduced) and the story had already established in the Zou Arc that all Minks have access to Sulong Form, which greatly enhances their strength, speed and durability, whenever there’s a full moon. So, naturally, most fans assumed that Bepo was going to reveal his own Sulong Form at some point.
The only problem is that he first used it at a moment in which there was no full moon in sight, when the Heart Pirates clashed with the Blackbeard Pirates in the middle of the day. Bepo’s explanation was that, during the Wano Country Arc, Tony Tony Chopper gave him a drug that could artificially activate his Sulong Form without the need for a full moon. This was an undeniably cool and satisfying moment for him, but the power-up still felt like it conveniently came out of nowhere.
4Diable Jambe
Sanji
Most of the Straw Hats gained brand-new powers during the Enies Lobby Arc, which is one of the many reasons this is such an exciting and beloved story arc. However, when looking back at them, it’s immediately evident that some of these power-ups came out of nowhere without any prior foreshadowing,with one of the most obvious examples beingSanji’sDiable Jambe.
During his battle against Jabra, the crew’s cook revealed that, if he spun around at high speeds, the resulting friction could set his legs on fire, which he could use to unleash even more destructive kicks. Curiously enough, the story has been trying to explain the mechanics of Diable Jambe mechanics since it was first introduced: the Whole Cake Island revealed that Sanji is not a normal human, and that he received genetic enhancements from his father. Furthermore, Queen even implied during the Wano Country Arc that Sanji may have Lunarian DNA in him that would allow him to generate fire.
5Demon Aura Nine-Sword Style: Ashura
Roronoa Zoro
But Sanji was not the only Straw Hat who received a random power-up out of nowhere during the Enies Lobby Arc, since something similar happened to his friend and rival,Roronoa Zoro. In the middle of his battle against Kaku, he suddenly revealed a bizarre new ability calledNine Sword Style,in which he “grew” four arms and two heads to perform a devastating multiattack calledKiki Kyutoryu: Ashura.
Zoro’s entire fighting style always revolved more around physical strength and precise sword fighting, so it was never established that he could do anything like this, especially without Haki or a Devil Fruit. At that point, Kaku mentioned that Zoro’s illusions could be an extension of his spirit, although in the Wano Country Arc, it was mentioned that he could have been creating them with his newfound Conqueror’s Haki.
6Demonio Fleur
Nico Robin
During her fight against Black Maria in the Wano Country Arc,Nico Robinobtained not one, not two, but three new power-ups. She first unveiled Gigante Fleur, which allowed her to create a giant replica of herself with multiple arms. This made perfect sense, seeing as she had been generating giant body parts with her Devil Fruit powers since the Fish-Man Island Arc. On top of that, Robin also revealed that she had learned Fish-Man Karate, which made a lot of sense as well, since readers already knew she had been training alongside Koala and Hack (two proficient Fish-Man Karate users) during the two-year time skip.
These two power-ups seemed to be enough to give Nico Robin an advantage in this intense battle, but she suddenly revealed a third, never-before-seen technique calledDemonio Fleur, which allowed her to create an enormous replica of herself that looked like an evil demon. This ability was a huge surprise for most fans because its existence was never hinted at before, nor did it seem to follow the previously established rules of Robin’s Devil Fruit, since it created brand-new body parts that her original body doesn’t have (like wings, horns or fangs) and it even changes the color of her skin. Weirdly enough, she hasn’t used Demonio Fleur since its introduction.
7Devil Fruit Awakening
Donquixote Doflamingo
Monkey D. Luffy first used Gear 4 against Donquixote Doflamingo in the climactic final battle of the Dressrosa Arc, and it was immediately evident that the Warlord of the Sea was no match for the main character’s brand-new form. But, just when it seemed like Luffy was surely going to win,Doflamingo suddenly awakened his Devil Fruit, theIto Ito no Mi, which allowed him to turn anything in the environment into strings that he could freely manipulate.
The ability to awaken a Devil Fruit was rarely mentioned before that point in the story, and it was only explicitly seen with the four Jailer Beasts of Impel Down. However, those were Zoan Devil Fruit users, whereas Doflamingo was not only the first Paramecia Devil Fruit user who awakened his fruit, but he was also the first character in the entire series to awaken it on-screen. Needless to say, this power-up resulted in an even more interesting and exciting final battle against Luffy, but from a writing point of view, it also felt like a convenient way of artificially extending the length of their fight.
8Gear 5
In the Wano Country Arc, Monkey D. Luffy quickly realized that he was not on Kaido’s level and that he was going to need to get a lot stronger and more skilled if he even wanted a chance at defeating him. Because of this, he spent most of this story arc learning how to use Advanced Armament Haki and Advanced Conqueror’s Haki in order to damage Kaido’s durable, scaled body. Thanks to these two previously established power-ups, he was able to land a few powerful hits on the villain during the climactic Raid on Onigashima.
However, and weirdly enough, this still wasn’t enough, and Luffy was defeated two more times during that battle. He finally got the upper hand when he awakened his Devil Fruit,unlocked the true powers of the Sun God Nika, and achieved a brand-new form he immediately namedGear 5. Considering that most of the arc revolved around Luffy mastering two advanced forms of Haki, it was completely weird and unexpected to see him suddenly awaken his Devil Fruit. On top of that, Nika had just been officially introduced just 26 chapters before that, when Who’s-Who mentioned him during his fight against Jinbe. Nevertheless, Gear 5 is one of the most interesting and fun abilities in the entire series, so most fans don’t care that it was introduced so suddenly and so out of nowhere.
