Monkey D. Garp

Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp (モンキー・D・ガープ中将, Monkī D. Gāpu Chūjō) is the father of Monkey D. Dragon, the grandfather of Monkey D. Luffy, and the adoptive grandfather of Portgas D. Ace. He is also the commanding officer of the 153rd Branch of the Marines, and the man in charge of both Coby and Helmeppo. He was one of the major figures along with Sengoku and Whitebeard while Gol D. Roger was still alive.

Appearance
Garp is a tall old man with a broad chest. He is bearded and has a scar on his left eye. Due to the fact that he had appeared in Romance Dawn, Version 2 with his face, he wore a dog mask when he was first introduced, so fans would not realize he was Luffy's grandfather. When this fact was revealed he discarded the mask. Since then, he has only worn the mask on entrances. Garp was also seen smoking a cigar once.

When he was younger, Garp's hair and beard were still black, with the sideburns beginning to whiten, but he already had the scar above his left eye.

Personality
Garp displays an intelligence level that is equivalent to that of Luffy's; however, Garp seems somewhat more absent-minded than his grandson. Due to his hot temper, he is unable to accept excuses (and is really poor at creating his own) and at times likes to enforce his point of view on things with his fist. Garp also has his own laughter style: he adds either "Bwa" or "Wa" before the haha part.

He also is somewhat of an eccentric person with a rather strange approach to things: rather than entering through doors, he finds that bursting through walls is the "cooler" thing to do (implying his odd sense of "cool"). But in the end, will only end up ordering his subordinates to repair the damage he caused. He, like his grandsons, has an extreme fondness for food; in his case, donuts. When he was slashed by Morgan's axe, he wakes up asking his subordinates if somebody was killed, he looks at the bloody slash on his chest and realizes that it was him.

Garp has shown signs of narcolepsy. He is seen in the Post-Enies Lobby arc randomly falling asleep while punching Luffy. Coincidentally Luffy fell asleep at that very same moment, suggesting that narcolepsy may run in the family. It might, however, just be a psychological trait that Luffy picked up, as Garp's adopted grandson Ace showed signs while at a diner during the Arabasta arc.

Garp is a supportive person most of the time as when Shiki claims that the Pirate King will die in the weakest sea is humiliating, Garp in turn says that East Blue is a symbol for peace. When Ace was a troubled kid during his childhood, he asked Garp a question whether he should have been born, Garp told Ace that he will be able to find the answer if he continues living.

Although Garp is loyal to the Marines and wanted his grandsons to become one, in the end he chose family over duty, showing that he follows moral justice. Another irony is that despite what Garp wanted out of his grandsons, he entrusted their care in that of a criminal, against the moralities of "justice". Showing despite being a true believer of Justice, would also turn a blind eye to them as well (such as adopting Ace from Roger and not turning in Dadan and her gang).

Marines
As the "Hero of the Marines", Garp is overall very well respected for cornering the Pirate King multiple times. While Garp seems devoted to his duties, he has his own sense of justice and does not always obey orders given to him. Aokiji was indebted to Garp and was impressed that Garp refused a promotion to the rank of Admiral, while Akainu has earned the Vice Admiral's wrath and hatred for killing Ace.

Garp has some problems to respect his superiors like Fleet Admiral Kong 25 years ago and the Admiral (now Fleet Admiral) Sengoku.

Crew
His crew and others around him often react with shock or uncertainty when hearing his reactions to things. At times he will say things that are random or seems to be unaware of the true extent of what is going on around him. At the Marine HQ, many of the other Marines are afraid of him for his reputation and habit of controlling things through his fists. Interestingly after ordering his crew to rebuild a wall Garp himself had just destroyed, his men refused to do so unless he helped as well. This is the most insubordinate behavior displayed amongst a marine crew, however his men are not disloyal. Despite Garp telling his entire crew about his relationship with Luffy and Dragon, the general marine populus was unaware of it until the war with Whitebeard, suggesting his men kept it secret. This casual but loyal relationship with his crew is likely a parallel to the Straw Hats.

He is also the mentor of Coby and Helmeppo, he keeps them out of trouble and ensures they are not slacking off. If they do get out of hand, he knocks them around to ensure they keep in place. They both come to admire him, even though he maintains a highly brutal clutch on them because they wouldn't be where they are without him. He was horrified when Coby shouted out to stop the killing at Marineford during the Whitebeard war.

Sengoku
As a hero of the marines, Garp has high respect amongst the marines, even with Fleet Admiral Sengoku. In fact, in the past, Garp and Sengoku seemed to be very good friends, albeit that Sengoku was a little annoyed with Garp's tendency to act on his own accord. However, currently, as with the revelation that both Monkey D. Luffy and Portgas D. Ace are Garp's grandsons (Ace being adopted), as well as Luffy's multiple actions in such a short time, Sengoku is losing patience with Garp. Garp, on the other hand, seems to merely laugh it off and enjoys getting on Sengoku's nerves. Notably, Sengoku's biggest annoyance is Garp's refusal to keep his family under control even when threatened with the consequences; Garp simply does not believe the life of an old man could ever atone for the actions of his family.

When or how long Sengoku knew of Garp adopting Ace is unknown, but Sengoku found out that Ace is the son of Gol D. Roger. Also, how long Sengoku knew that Luffy and Dragon's family relationship is unknown, but Sengoku had no problem in revealing all of it worldwide. How any of this would affect Garp's standings in the Marines is yet to be seen, especially after he wanted to kill Akainu after said Admiral killed Ace.

Monkey D. Dragon
Dragon is Garp's son. No direct interactions have been shown, however, he seems casual about the idea of his own son being a Revolutionary and wanted by the World Government. Garp denied Luffy and Dragon's relationship from the world in the hopes to protect his grandson, but by the time Sengoku made it public, Garp simply states that Luffy already has such a reputation that his connection to Dragon is irrelevant.

Monkey D. Luffy
Garp seems to hold high standards for his grandson Luffy, and gets mad at the slightest mistake he makes, even when his own are sometimes no better (i.e. telling off Luffy for falling asleep yet falling asleep himself). This often leads Luffy to receiving the force of Garp's punches, and due to these experiences, he has become afraid of his grandfather. Garp also claims Luffy was poisoned by Shanks with ideas of becoming a pirate, as Garp wanted Luffy to be a great Marine like him. However, Luffy claims he told Garp even as a child he wanted to be a pirate. Nevertheless the two get along quite well. As Nami stated at the time of Garp's departure, there seems to be an amazing ego that runs in Garp's family.

Garp appears to find a great source of pride whenever Luffy commits outrageous acts. Garp even found it amusing when he learned that Luffy has infiltrated the Great Gaol in an attempt to rescue Ace. However, when he learned that Luffy broke out of Impel Down (taking many infamous prisoners along with him, by the way) and headed straight to Marineford, where the Marines are currently waging war against Whitebeard and his crew, Garp's immediate expression was that of shock. This implies that he cares for his grandson's well-being. However, when Luffy was on the verge to saving Ace, Garp jumped in and refused to move, on the grounds of his Marine duties. In the end though, the love for his grandson proved to be stronger than his sense of duty, since he permits Luffy to hit him without even trying to avoid the punch.

Portgas D. Ace
Garp adopted Ace from Gol D. Roger, who requested Ace does not deserve to be treated as a criminal just because of his family ties. While Garp initially thought of adopting Ace as a preposterous idea, he eventually agreed to Roger's final wish, as the latter pointed out that after countless confrontations, he trusted the Vice-Admiral much as a friend. Indeed, Garp seemed troubled when Ace was about to face death. While he may be harsh with Ace, he cares about him deeply, openly crying for his grandson as he's about to be executed for being a pirate, angrily asking why he couldn't have just been a Marine. Garp even mentions to Fleet Admiral Sengoku that if he could have done anything to stop Ace's execution he would have done so already, and that while he feels no pity for pirates, family is different. In fact, Garp wanted to kill Akainu in revenge for killing Ace and warned Sengoku to hold him down tight or he would do so.

When Ace was an infant, Garp would use his vacation and often visit the village and make funny faces to cheer him up. Later when Ace was a troubled child that beat anyone up that insulted his father, Garp seemed amused with Ace, yet Garp never scolded Ace for his actions.

As well as Luffy, Garp had high expectations for Ace to be a strong Marine, but is disappointed that he chose the life of piracy, which incidentally sent him to Impel Down where they were talking about the issue. However, Ace refused the idea that he and his younger brother could have ever been Marines, with their fathers' restless blood in their veins.

Gol D. Roger
Back when Gol D. Roger was alive, Garp managed to corner him many times. As such, they have a long history against each other. However, when Roger was about to be executed, after turning himself in due to his terminal illness, he made a final request to Garp. He asked Garp to take care of his unborn child, as he didn't deserve to be condemned as a criminal because of his father's crimes.

Due to their countless clashes, Roger came to see Garp as much of a friend as the rest of his crew. Garp too seemed to have some form of respect for him as he not only protected Ace but showed signs of disappointment from Ace's decision to disregard Roger as being his father.

Other Pirates
Over his many years as a Marine hero, Garp has made many enemies with pirates over the sea, such as Whitebeard, Shiki and Shakky. He felt neither remorse nor pity for any of these pirates, as they are criminals. He also bears a grudge against Shanks, because he is the one who influenced his grandson Luffy to become a pirate.

Other
No wife has been named for Garp, however the supplement Grand Line Times left a "?" in place of one. Also as a person carrying the Will of D, he may be related somehow to others also carrying it.

Curly Dadan
As Curly Dadan is the leader of a bandit group, Garp blackmailed her to watch over Ace and Luffy as their foster mother, in exchange that he will turn a blind eye on their criminal activities, which is said to surpass the numbers of stars in the sky. Despite Dadan having a fear and irritation against the Vice Admiral for leaving two children at her care, Garp claims that Dadan is a friend of his. This is ironic, as Garp claimed that he has no sympathy for criminals, and will arrest them at ease.

Abilities and Powers
Although rather old, Garp still possesses an incredibly-high amount of physical strength. He is able to throw iron cannonballs as if they were baseballs and yet still exhibit a cannon-like effect at the point of impact, break through brick walls and cannon stands with his fists, and both carry and throw a gigantic ball and chain many times bigger than the Thousand Sunny. Garp also has a monstrous punching ability at his disposal, with his epithet, "Garp the Fist" vouching for his punch strength.

In addition to his legendary strength, Garp has an extreme amount of endurance and stamina, as seen when he was slashed by Captain Morgan's axe hand and was able to recover only seconds later, with no obvious pain and apparently being oblivious to the fact he was struck at all. This due to the fact he fell asleep before he was being attacked. He was able to get back on his feet after being punched by Luffy in Gear Second.

He has also been show to be quite fast as he managed to bypass all of the Straw Hats and Franky in order to get to a sleeping Luffy, although noted at the time his crew were more shocked at Garp's pressence at Water 7. He's also a "hero" of the Marines and is known for cornering and fighting Gold Roger many times. Whitebeard seems to respect Garp's strength as he mentioned him during his talk with Shanks. It should also be noted that Garp is not seen to carry any weapons, aside from the cannonballs that he throws, which implies that he is most likely a hand-to hand fighter. He is also able to punch Marco in his Phoenix form with no injuries to himself.

The extent of Garp's power is further shown twenty years ago, the year the Pirate King died. It was revealed that he was offered the rank of Admiral more than once, but kept on refusing the promotion. Garp's subordinate at that time, Vice-Admiral Kuzan (later promoted to Admiral Aokiji), commented on how cool Garp was for refusing such an irresistible promotion to which he answers by stating that he does not need a higher position, and that it would reduce his liberty to do what he wants.

Garp is also well aware of the existence of Haki, as evidenced when his grandson releases the Haōshoku Haki throughout the area. It is very probable that he has the ability to use Haki since in a flashback Luffy comments that Garp can still injure him despite being made of rubber.

Weapons
So far he's been seen throwing cannonballs (including a giant one, mounted on a chain) with his bare hands. The cannonballs he threw soared at a faster velocity than when fired out of a cannon, due to Garp's monstrous strength.

Attack List

 * Ai no Kobushi (愛の拳, Fist of Love): A simple but powerful punch to Luffy's head, strong enough to hurt the rubber man heavily. It's a gag technique to show his "love" for his grandson.
 * Genkotsu Meteo (拳・骨・隕石, Iron Fist Meteor): Garp throws a cannonball at an enemy ship. Due to Garp's Super-Human Strength, he can throw them like baseballs, and the impacts are more powerful than when being fired from an actual cannon.
 * Genkotsu Ryūseigun (拳骨流星群, Iron Fist Meteor Shower): Garp throws 1000 iron cannonballs at enemy ships. The cannonballs are supplied by conveyor belts either side of him.

Past Story
Monkey D. Garp is a Marine hero, who was famous for cornering and fighting the late Pirate King, Gold Roger numerous times in his career. Garp is considered by Whitebeard as one of the few people that know the seas from the time of Gold Roger. A proof of his strength is that he was offered a Admiral position many times from Fleet Admiral Kong, but he refused every time. As part of his duty, in the past he chased other pirates like Shakuyaku.

Prior to Roger's execution, the Pirate King requested that Garp would take care of Ace, as he thought Ace did not deserve to be branded a criminal due to being born into a family of a pirate. When Shiki the Gold Lion attacked Marineford a week before the execution of Roger, Garp and Sengoku challenged him together, and after a grueling battle that devastated half the town, they managed to defeat him. A number of months after the Pirate King's death, Garp protected Ace as Roger had hoped, and was present at Ace's birth that killed Rouge and afterward took Ace to a secret location to be raised by Dadan. Garp would visit Ace during his vacations.

Early on in Luffy's life, he was trained by Garp to become a strong Marine. Luffy was thrown into valleys, left alone in dangerous forests, and tied to balloons over high altitudes, all for the sake of making him stronger. After this he left Luffy in the care of Dadan (with advice that he better get on with the others or else).

When Garp first read in the newspaper that Ace had become the captain of the Spade Pirates, Garp was furious.

Diary of Coby-Meppo
Garp is first introduced in Coby's mini-series as the Marine Officer in charge of escorting Captain Morgan. However after falling asleep, Morgan makes his escape by striking Garp and taking Helmeppo as a hostage, fleeing on a small dingy. Garp then wakes up unharmed, apparently breaking a cannon in the process of waking up.

When Coby begs to chase after the two, Garp allows Coby to pursue them. Upon the boys return they offer themselves to be punished. Garp instead proposes a different course of action. He states that the pair of them are nothing but trouble and the only way to ensure they stay in line is that he takes charge of the pair. He takes them back to Marine HQ, however Coby accidentally reveals he's friends with Luffy while Garp was listening. Despite Coby trying to keep Helmeppo out of trouble he takes part of the blame stating it's "Regiment Responsibility" (which contradicts one of Coby's earlier statements that Helmeppo only uses that term when it suites him) Garp (rather then dismissing them) tests them with a fight, after the fierce (for them) battle he starts personally training them to be great Marine officers.

Reunion in Water 7
The startling revelation was made that Garp is the grandfather of Monkey D. Luffy. He also punched a sleeping Luffy and actually hurt him severely, to which Sanji comments it shouldn't as Luffy is made of rubber (which should reduce the force of the blow) - at which point Garp comments that "there's no way to dodge a fist of love". It is also revealed Dragon, an infamous revolutionary and the man branded as "the worst criminal in the world", is Luffy's father (and also Garp's son).

He left Water 7, stating he wouldn't arrest Luffy and would tell Marine HQ this was because of him being his grandson (which one of his crew replied that it would be better to just say he got away). He then left Water 7, leaving the Straw Hats to go through the rest of their stay in peace.

However, on their last day on Water 7, Garp returned under orders of Sengoku to finish off Luffy. Apparently Garp let slip Luffy was his grandson on a Den Den Mushi to Sengoku. While there, he picks up Aokiji who was in Water 7 at the time who claims he is making sure Garp obeys his orders. Luffy and his crew find themselves under attack from Garp who claims Luffy will just have to die at Water 7 (though it's obvious he doesn't believe that in any way). He throws cannonballs with his fists and finally a giant ball on a chain. The Straw Hats, using their new ship the Thousand Sunny managed to escape from Garp. Garp and Aokiji both seemed happy this had happened.

Annoying Sengoku
After his grandson's assault on Thriller Bark, he was seen at Mariejois, with Bartholomew Kuma and Fleet Admiral Sengoku, where he laughed at how Luffy had avoided capture by Kuma and annoyed Sengoku by talking about tea and crackers.

Recently, Garp found out that Silvers Rayleigh was to be sold as a slave on the Sabaody Archipelago, whom he assumed let himself get captured to pay off a gambling debt. Due to the Marines being busy with the incident regarding Whitebeard and the execution of Portgas D. Ace, Garp remarked that he would take care of the situation, although the exact actions he took, if any, remain unknown.

He was most recently seen checking up on Ace in Impel Down, to the great displeasure of Sengoku. Upon Ace's request to die, Garp merely tells him to cool his head as Ace's death won't stop Whitebeard. They are later seen discussing family issues, such as Ace and Luffy's eventual turn to the lifestyle of piracy, instead of becoming Marines as he expected, and their father.

Garp is informed while at Marine HQ that Luffy broke into Impel Down and is rather amused about it, even proud of him. Sengoku however is clearly not amused, and says that if it weren't for Garp being a hero to the marines he would have him punished for his family's behavior. Garp however, just laughs and states he doubts an old man's life could atone for his family's actions.

War Against Whitebeard
Three hours before Ace is to be executed, Garp walks with Sengoku to the execution platform. Sengoku tells him that he will tell them everything. Garp responds to do as he (Sengoku) likes, and turns away. As Sengoku begins his public announcement on the execution platform, Tsuru tells Garp that it wasn't his fault, to which Garp just laughs and says that women get so sentimental at times like these.

Sengoku's public revelation, that Ace is truly the son of Gol D. Roger, has Garp remembering that Roger personally begged him to protect his unborn child.

Once the war began, Garp went to sit with Ace and Sengoku on top of the execution platform, seemingly upset at the coming events. While he states he feels no sorrow for scoundrels, he feels differently when it came to Ace; claiming him to be family and bitterly regretting the fact that both Ace and Luffy didn't become Marines.

Luffy's arrival at Marineford has Garp so shocked and so angry that he looked ready to tear out his hair. Nevertheless, he manages to calm down long enough to comment on the viability of the motley little band that Luffy had assembled at Impel Down as part of his effort to rescue Ace. Later, when Sengoku reveals Luffy's status as son of Dragon the Revolutionary, Garp merely states that he doesn't care, now that with the infamy and power Luffy has acquired on his way to where he is now, such knowledge being brought into the general public could hardly make a difference.

After Luffy is hurled over the siege wall and stand before the three Admirals, Garp is shown to be worried about his grandson. He is later seen with Sengoku, getting ready to participate in the battle. Garp later punches Marco, who has transformed into his Phoenix form, while he is trying to save Ace. Sengoku, Ace and Whitebeard are seen noticing that he has joined the battle. He then challenges the Whitebeard Pirates, saying that they'll have to kill him before they could reach Ace.

When Luffy releases a massive burst of Haōshoku Haki, Garp says he knew his grandson had that kind of power inside him. When Luffy comes to nearly reaching Ace, thanks to Inazuma's powers, Garp himself confronts him, smashing part of the bridge in the process, saying that he cannot let Luffy pass because Garp is a Vice Admiral. He again complains about Luffy and Ace becoming pirates, instead of Marines, and declares that he considers them enemies. As he's about to hit Luffy, however, he suddenly recalls Ace's renewed desire to live and reminisces about when Ace and Luffy were both young. Find himself unable to hit his own grandson, Garp purposefully closes his eyes, missing his punch, thus letting Luffy land a Gear Second-fueled punch on him that sends him flying away from the bridge and smashing into the ground, much to the shock of the Marines watching him. Sengoku comments to himself that Garp is still a father, knowing that he must have let Luffy successfully land the punch.

Garp later dislodges himself, more or less unfazed, and rejoins the battle. After witnessing Ace being pierced from behind by Akainu's magma fist, Garp flies into a rage and makes a beeline for Akainu, much to the confusion of the Vice-Admirals who notice him. But he's stopped by Sengoku, who grabs him by the head from behind, and slams him to the ground. Coughing up blood, Garp snarls that Sengoku should keep him down tight, otherwise he would go and murder Sakazuki. Sengoku responds by calling Garp a fool. When Ace dies, Garp is seen weeping over the loss of his grandson.

After Whitebeard lost his life, Garp is seen watching with a grim expression. He then joined Sengoku in the fight against Blackbeard. Garp later heard someone yelling to everyone. He recognizes Coby and is shocked to see him standing in front of Akainu, pleading to stop the war. Upon seeing Shanks making an appearance at Marineford, Garp makes a snarling comment about the pirate who influenced Luffy into the path of piracy.

Major Battles

 * Monkey D. Garp vs. Gol D. Roger (none seen)
 * Monkey D. Garp and Sengoku vs. Shiki
 * Monkey D. Garp vs. Coby and Helmeppo (training)
 * Monkey D. Garp vs. Straw Hat Pirates
 * Monkey D. Garp vs. Marco
 * Monkey D. Garp vs. Monkey D. Luffy
 * Monkey D. Garp and Sengoku vs. Marshall D. Teach

Early One Piece
While unnamed Garp was introduced in Romance Dawn V.2 (featured in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine itself) as Luffy's Grandfather. For a long time, it was first thought that Luffy's unnamed Grandfather was a sole addition to Romance Dawn V.2.

Some aspects of his character remain from Romance Dawn version 2. He is as hot tempered as ever and intolerable to Luffy's antics. Like the final version, he was determined to make Luffy follow in his footsteps, however here he is a pirate captain, a complete opposite of his current occupation. Both stories have in return Luffy completely rejecting the idea of following in his grandfather's footsteps. Garp now adorns a dog hat and compared to his chubby Romance Dawn V.2 version, his upper body is much more muscular. One feature carried over from Luffy's grandfather from V.2 to the final version of Garp was the scar on his left eye.

Also, Luffy got both his hat and the Devil fruit he ate from his grandfather in V.2, not Shanks. According to Oda the reason for not featuring Shanks was that he wanted Shanks to be kept a secret until One Piece was serialized so he would have a greater impact.

Trivia

 * In the anime, Garp said he has eaten 842 donuts without sleeping or taking a break because he was trying to beat a world record.
 * Garp's dislike of Shanks' influence on Luffy could be a reference to Oda's final decision to use Shanks (who was introduced in Romance Dawn V.1) as Luffy's inspiration in the final Romance Dawn version instead of Garp.
 * Aside from Luffy himself, Garp is the only Romance Dawn V.2 character to actually appear in the storyline.
 * Garp's laughter style is that he adds either "Bwa" or "Wa" before the haha part. This is somewhat unique as most characters only stick with one laughter style.
 * Garp appears to have a dog animal-theme, shown with his mask and his ship.
 * Garp repeatedly declined promotion as he felt he didn't need promotion to do as he likes.
 * All members of the Monkey Family have shown to have a noticeable mark on the left side of their faces. Both Luffy and Garp have a scar while Dragon has a large tattoo.
 * Garp is the only Vice-Admiral with Tsuru to have special shoulder-pats : his ones are red whereas the standard color is blue.
 * Garp complaining about luffy eating the Gomu Gomu no Mi is ironic as he was the one who (accidentally) gave it to him in the pilot Romance Dawn.

Related Articles

 * Monkey D. Luffy
 * Monkey D. Dragon
 * Portgas D. Ace
 * Gol D. Roger
 * Will of D.
 * Sengoku
 * Coby
 * Helmeppo

Site Navigation
Monkey D. Garp