Episode 4: Luffy's Past! The Red-Haired Shanks Appears!
Air Date: 1999-12-08
Opening: We Are! (1st Opening)
Ending: Memories (1st Ending)
Short Summary
A view into Luffy's past is shown as we are introduced to his hero, the man who gave him the straw hat, Shanks. Shanks and his crew stand up to a group of bandits in the town as young Luffy is taken by the bandits' leader and thrown into the water, where he cannot swim due to his Devil Fruit.
In-Depth Summary
The episode opens with three pirates from Buggy's crew that come upon Nami stranded in a boat. She asks them to save her, but when they climb onto her boat for her treasure she steals their ship, leaving them stranded in the ocean. Meanwhile, Luffy and Zoro are hanging in their boat, drifting at sea, and both of them wonder why they don't have any navigating skills. Suddenly, however, the boat is rocked and Luffy's straw hat blows off of his head, fluttering around through the air. Luffy frantically reaches for it, and Zoro catches it before it lands in the water. This begins a flashback showing Luffy's past.
Young Luffy is in a bar filled with pirates, the crew of Shanks. Shanks makes fun of Luffy for being a kid, though he thinks he's a man. Yasopp remarks that he has a kid about the same age as Luffy. A bandit, named Higuma, then walks into the bar and kicks down the door, ordering some sake. The bartender, a girl named Makino, says that all of the sake is with the pirates in the bar. Shanks offers him a bottle but Higuma smashes it, claiming he is a wanted man with eight million berries on his head. He storms out of the bar, and all of the pirates start to laugh. Luffy gets angry that Shanks didn't fight back against Higuma, and so in a huff he spots a purple fruit in a small box, the Gomu Gomu Fruit, and eats it. When Shanks notices this he holds Luffy upside down and orders him to spit it out, but it's too late and the effects have already set in as Luffy's body stretches. Shanks tells Luffy that he just ate the Gomu Gomu Fruit, a Devil Fruit, and now he is a rubber man and won't be able to ever swim again.
Later, Luffy finds himself in trouble when he gets attacked by Higuma and his bandits outside. Makino sees this and runs to the mayor for help, who yells at the bandits to stop. Higuma decides he will kill Luffy, but then Shanks and his crew arrive. One of the bandits points a gun at Shanks' head and orders that he doesn't move, but with insane speed Lucky Roux shoots the bandit through the head and kills him. Everyone gapes in shock as Shanks explains that they are pirates. More bandits charge at Shanks, but Ben Beckham steps forward and swings his rifle like a bat, taking them all out. Higuma, frightened, throws down a smoke bomb and makes his escape. He flees out to sea in a boat, where he throws Luffy out into the water. Luffy, having eaten the Gomu Gomu Fruit, cannot swim and is about to drown.
As Higuma laughs at Luffy's plight, a big sea monster comes up behind him and devours him in one bite. The sea monster then goes for Luffy, but Shanks stops the sea monster as it takes a bite, and with one look drives the beast away. Luffy clutches Shanks and starts crying, since Shanks' arm was bitten off by the creature. Shanks replies that it's fine, as long as Luffy is safe. Later, Shanks and his pirates pack up their ship, and so they're ready to leave. Luffy decides he will become a pirate on his own and go on a great adventure. Shanks gives his straw hat to Luffy and tells him to return it when Luffy becomes a great pirate and they meet again. The pirates then sail away as the flashback draws to a close.
Back on their boat, Luffy spots a pink bird in the sky and decides to eat it. He launches himself at it using Gomu Gomu no Rocket, but the bird grabs his head in its beak and flies away. Zoro paddles after it in a fury, and comes upon the pirates that Nami left stranded earlier. They try to take over the boat, but zoro gives them a beating and they end up having to row instead. The pirates mention that they are of Buggy's crew, and that Buggy has eaten a Devil Fruit, making him one of a kind. The bird, at that time, has flown over a nearby town. In the town is Nami, fleeing from Buggy's pirates with a map of the Grand Line. Buggy orders that the bird in the sky be shot down, so it is and Luffy comes flying down. Nami and Buggy's pirates watch in shock as Luffy lands in front of her, and he stands up, saying it was an interesting experience, bringing the episode to an end.
Mumbo230's Notes
Here we are, the previously MIA Luffy's past. This is based on the first chapter of the manga, but the ending bit showing Luffy leaving town is snipped out in the anime adaptation. In this episode we are introduced to Shanks and his crew, who I'm sure will play very important roles in the story to come.
todo: move this to as of yet uncreated manga/anime differences
In the manga, Luffy cut his lower left eye creating a scar to prove Shanks, in the anime they skipped it. In the manga, before Higuma shows up, Luffy was already eating the devil fruit and Shanks did not find out untie he grabs Luffy arms and watched it strach, in the anime, after Higuma left, Luffy found the devil fruit in a chest and starting them, Shanks caught him and turned him upside down to make him spit it out.
