Oda confirmed Luffy's fruit is the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika in chapter 1044. But go back and look at how his body was always drawn: cartoon physics, impossible stretches, that grin. The fruit was "Gomu Gomu" in name only for a thousand chapters.
Was this the plan from the start, or did Oda find it along the way?
Chapter 1 already plays Luffy like a gag-manga character dropped into a pirate epic. Gear 5 just makes the gag literal. I think Oda knew the tone early, maybe not the name.
For anime-only folks: the Gear 5 reveal in episode 1071 is the most joyful fight animation Toei has done in years, and it works even if you never noticed the hints.
Forge idea: redraw a pre-timeskip fight as if Luffy already had Gear 5. Arlong Park with cartoon physics would be chaos.
Strongest hint for me: Joy Boy getting name-dropped back in the Fish-Man Island arc.
@Pixie Joy Boy plus the drums. Once you hear about the Drums of Liberation, you can't unhear them.
Oda's SBS question corners are worth reading for this kind of thing. He answers fan theories with a wink.
Anime-only friends: the Egghead arc picks up right after Wano, so the Gear 5 fun keeps going.
Forge Challenge #12 is inspired by this thread. Devil Fruit design drops tomorrow morning.
Final answer from me: Oda planned the tone from chapter 1, and the name came later. Fight me in the replies.
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