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Akira Toriyama fathered the age of modern Shonen. Famous mangaka Eiichiro Oda and Masashi Kishimoto have never missed a single chance to express their respect for Toriyama. In the final saga of One Piece, Oda is slowly unraveling all the mysteries. Luffy’s true powers have been revealed, his devil fruit gives him the powers of Nika.
But the origin and existence of Nika is still shrouded in mystery. Still, there’s one thing Oda can do when he drops the true origin of Sun God Nika, that will act as the perfect tribute to Akira Toriyama.
The Perfect Way Reference to Dragon Ball
Luffy has dense white hair and pink eyes in Gear 5 | Credits: Toei Animation Eiichiro Oda is known to draw inspiration from different cultures, literature, and mythological texts across the world. He inserts them through attack names, character traits, and other ways. So far, we don’t know the complete truth about the origin of Sun-God Nika in One Piece. Whenever Luffy uses Gear 5, his changed form has an identical appearance to the mink’s Sulong transformation. Primarily the change is apparent in the color of his eyes, clothes, and hair.
Both the Sulong form and Gear 5 form are ruled by strong emotions that are not present in the characters usually. They take on a different personality. If this is a hint at a connection between the minks and Luffy, then it’s reminiscent of one aspect of Dragon Ball. It’s common knowledge that Goku is inspired by the Monkey King or Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong is a character from the Chinese novel, Journey to the West.
Goku’s transformation | Credits: Toei Animation In the original series, we see Goku turning into a Great Ape after seeing the full moon. This transformation is unique to those of the Saiyan Heritage. If Oda ends up revealing that Sun God Nika is indeed inspired from Sun Wukong as well, or that Luffy has some connection to the minks, it’ll give him a great opening to pay homage to Akira Toriyama. There are some similarities between Luffy and Sun Wukong.
The latter challenged the celestial authorities of heaven, similar to how Luffy rebels against the World Government. Throughout his journey, Wukong acted as the protector of others, something Nika is known for. However there’s one quality that sets them apart, the pride and arrogance of Wukong.
This Reveal will Establish a Connection Between One Piece and Black Myth: Wukong
A still from the trailer of Black Myth: Wukong | Credits: Game ScienceSpeaking of Sun Wukong, it’d be a crime to not mention Black Myth: Wukong. The RPG has been recently released after a years-long wait. The trailer of the game was first released in 2020 and since then. fans have been eagerly waiting for its official release. Black Myth is also based on Sun Wukong’s lore from Journey to the West. Although, the story of the game reportedly takes place years after the events of the novel.
Many media have drawn inspiration from Sun Wukong. By connecting Nika to Sun Wukong, Oda will end up connecting One Piece to Dragon Ball and Black Myth: Wukong. Although this connection will be quite obvious and even redundant. Oda is known to add a unique twist to everything, so for him to go down the Sun Wukong path is pretty unlikely, but the possibility is fascinating nonetheless.
One Piece is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
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