 This video is a buster call. To find out more about how you can get me to do a personalized video on a topic of your choosing, head over to patreon.com slash Grand Line Review and scroll down to the admiral tier. But for now, enjoy the video. Hello and welcome to the Grand Line Review, your source for everything One Piece. Recently the anime has caught up with what was probably the most massive storytelling event of 2018 in the manga and we can finally declare out in the open Luffy's semi-controversial status of being considered the fifth emperor. I say semi-controversial because there are people out there in this world who will fight this statement rather voraciously. But to be fair, there is also some good general question of how Luffy got to this point, much of which is a very legitimate inquiry. So today we are going to be looking at how Luffy became the fifth emperor and furthermore, why he is entirely deserving of that title. But first and foremost, I want to be a semantic prick for a bit because a common explanation of how or why Luffy is considered to be the fifth emperor often begins with, well, he is an unofficial emperor and I take issue with that wording because there is no such thing. The Onko are not a group of individuals, but stowed as emperors like say the wallards of the sea would be by the world government. They are four individual factions who have gained the fear and respect of the world to the point where they are accepted by the general populace as emperors. In this way, there is no such thing as being officially recognized. If a chunk of the world believe you're an emperor, then that's that. I take the time to point this out because another argument that is often raised is that Blackbeard claimed that it was too soon for Luffy to become an emperor. And while that statement in and of itself may be true, Blackbeard is not denying Luffy's candidacy as an emperor. And even if he was, it wouldn't matter in the slightest because it's not up to him. And with that, I would address another common statement, which I think is best encapsulated through the following comments that I found on the internet. Luffy is not a fifth Yonko. He is considered a threat, but is not Yonko standard. Luffy won against Katakuri only by plot armor and Katakuri is not Yonko level. If I remember correctly, he tried to punch Charlotte Linlin, weakest Yonko, and failed to even get her real attention. Current Luffy is a joke compared to any Yonko. He is not a fifth emperor. And oh boy. So first of all, go and watch my Luffy versus Katakuri video to debunk the whole plot armor thing and secondly, the primary mistake being made here is that this commenter is thinking that becoming an emperor is all about strength. Yes, the Yonko are incredibly fearsome individuals in their own right. And at this point in the story, it would be foolish to think that Luffy could stand up to any one of them physically as we've seen proven on two separate occasions now. Although I don't know, maybe black beard, but we'll put that aside because individual power is not what being an emperor is really about. In reality, it's about having the capacity to become a leader and inspiring people to follow you. That inspiration can take many forms such as common goals, ideologies, fear, general charisma, and so many other factors, some of which, yes, can spawn from strength. So for example, Big Mom and Kaido are two emperors who have crafted a following of fear through their own absurd power. But then we have an emperor like Whitebeard, who while admittedly was referred to as the strongest man in the world, cultivated his following through treating his crew as honored family and developing direct ties with each and every one of them, even his extended allies. And so Whitebeard's strength was not the primary reason why he ascended into global renown and it's very much the same for Luffy. Although let's clarify this a bit further. Luffy's classification as an emperor was not an entirely organic series of events and a lot of the final push is owed to Big News Morgans. The president of the World Economic Journal, who in a very biased piece of propaganda was the one who declared Luffy's candidacy as the fifth emperor. And when I say biased, I mean that he penned statements praising Luffy's masterful intelligence and planning, as well as the ability to convince German, the sun pirates, and the fire tank pirates to follow his commands on whole cake island. All of which we know is entirely false, but at the same time, the actual truth of the matter is even more astounding. As is the legacy of the last two decades of storytelling. And so to say that Morgans is the sole reason why Luffy is considered an emperor is certainly false. He simply would not have been able to make such a bold claim without Luffy's massive body of work. Let's take a brief look at that CV right now. Luffy has personally defeated three warlords of the sea and made allies or acquaintances with a further six, one of which has become a direct subordinate of the Straw Hat Pirates. Speaking of, Luffy commands an entire crew of individuals whose ever-growing infamy and bounty value seems only to be overshadowed by his own. And in addition to that, Luffy has spawned a mammoth following of seven fearsome pirate crews, totaling over 5,000 members who collectively refer to themselves as the Straw Hat Grant Fleet. Not to mention that Luffy makes odd alliances everywhere he goes and now holds strong ties with a number of very influential kingdoms within the world government itself. As for the world government, Luffy is the only known person in the series who has conducted an invasion of each of their three major facilities. With a full-scale attack on any slobby resulting in its complete destruction, the one and only mass breakout of impaled down in the history of the prison and becoming one of two members of the worst generation to actually participate in the Paramount War. An event in which he was seen to face off against the three admirals, multiple wallards of the sea, including the world's greatest swordsman, Dracula Meahawk, punching Garp in the face, and yes, I know Garp let it happen, but that's not how it looked to everyone watching on the battlefield. Tanking a hit from Fleet Admiral Sengoku, standing on equal footing with white beard, and being the person to free port gas de ace. I mean, Marineford out of context to the world is an incredible series of achievements for Luffy and almost worthy of this status just on its own without the greater context of the series. But then there's a legendary name recognition behind Luffy. You know, stuff like how he is the son of the most wanted man in the world or the grandson of quite possibly the greatest hero the Marines have ever known, sworn brother of the son of the pirate king and mentored by the bright hand man of the pirate king. There is a lot about Luffy to be revered even if you haven't met him. In fact, I'd say especially if you haven't met him because on paper, he is an incredible force to be reckoned with. And when you're unaware of his personality and tendencies, that could seem especially terrifying. And as much as I like to consider him equal amongst the members of the worst generation, Luffy is far and away the most dangerous and accomplished member by Blackbeard, of course. And the final step to really elevate Luffy above his contemporaries occurred on Hall Cake Island with a direct confrontation with one of the existing emperors. And while we know that Luffy and the Straw Hats barely managed to survive the encounter with Big Mom, he did manage to beat two of her sweet commanders worth over 800 million and one billion respectively, as well as be involved in a series of events that saw the entire destruction of Hall Cake Chateau dealing Big Mom an unprecedented blow. So with all of this in mind, why shouldn't Luffy be considered an emperor? His very presence is a force of chaos, far more impressive than the individual strength of any other emperor. He has amassed an astonishing following and a direct crew of incredibly notorious individuals, and he possesses one of the most impressive pedigrees of any character in the entire world. That is why someone like Big News Morgans can just stroll on in, label him the fifth emperor, and have the world just accept it, because Luffy's prior actions and current status are deserving of it. He may not be ready for the role. In fact, I highly doubt he'd even want it, but that's not going to stop his rise in the eyes of the world. Quote, that shakes be a line you've all undoubtedly heard and are sick of at this point in life. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. Luffy is actually a bizarre mixture of all three, born with the will of Dee, striving to become the pirate king, and having the following of a world thrust upon him during the journey. And as part of that journey, it is absolutely time that Luffy be considered as the fifth emperor of the sea. If you enjoyed this video and the content this channel produced in general, then please do consider donating to the Grand Line Review Patreon, because the support of all of your amazing people is what continues to make this channel possible. 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