Monkey D. Luffy — May, 2018
Is the Gomu Gomu no Mi overpowered by design… or only because it’s Luffy’s?
Is the Gomu Gomu no Mi really just a “simple” Paramecia?
Or does its basic kit already break combat balance before Gears or awakenings?
Japanese fans argue it calmly — and end up more divided than expected.
Rubber Basics: Range & Damage Immunity
1: Anonymous Pirate
Free control over distance, immune to blunt attacks.
That alone already pays for everything.
9: Anonymous Pirate
Technically rubber force only happens when it snaps back,
so it’s basically an ability that can only attack yourself.
12: Anonymous Pirate
If you only list the advantages, sure.
But stretching and snapping back sacrifices speed and causes recoil.
If the rubber is soft enough to ignore enemy attacks, then using it offensively wouldn’t deal damage either.
There are tons of “realistic drawbacks” that should exist but get ignored.
15: Anonymous Pirate
Somehow becoming rubber means you lose pain perception.
That logic is wild.
16: Anonymous Pirate
If you actually had a rubber body, you probably wouldn’t get muscle soreness or stiff shoulders either.
22: Anonymous Pirate
Just being immune to bullets, blunt attacks, and electricity is already insane,
and on top of that he does high-speed movement and giant forms.
Add Haki and all that — it’s way too versatile.
23: Anonymous Pirate
Hard rubber, soft rubber, whatever he wants — isn’t that kind of bullshit?
24: Anonymous Pirate
If it’s rubber, high heat or chemicals should melt it.
27: Anonymous Pirate
>>24
Honestly it’s more like gaining a mysterious “rubber-like” ability.
He’s not literally made of rubber.
28: Anonymous Pirate
People say blunt attacks don’t work, but they clearly do sometimes.
30: Anonymous Pirate
>>28
That’s Haki, yeah…
Though even before Haki there were scenes where it kinda looked like it hurt anyway.
33: Anonymous Pirate
Because of the Haki setting, blunt immunity basically became meaningless.
37: Anonymous Pirate
Honestly once you add physical enhancement, it’s basically stealing Zoan traits too. That’s nuts.
32: Anonymous Pirate
A lot of people misunderstand this —
he’s not literally rubber, he just has a body with rubber properties.
Bara Bara Comparisons
4: Anonymous Pirate
The Bara Bara no Mi is way more broken though.
10: Anonymous Pirate
Bara Bara has long reach and is immune to slashes too,
so it wouldn’t be weird if it were just as strong as Luffy’s.
14: Anonymous Pirate
What makes Bara Bara really busted is that it floats.
Haki Changes Everything
5: Anonymous Pirate
If this were an enemy ability, they’d max out as a commander at best.
7: Anonymous Pirate
With Haki, you don’t need Devil Fruit power for offense or defense anymore.
So when you think about how important trickiness is, Paramecia ends up being the strongest.
11: Anonymous Pirate
Ability powers can get insanely brutal depending on how you use them,
but the story never really pushes that logic too far.
Real-World Logic vs Manga Logic
6: Anonymous Pirate
Hisoka’s Bungee Gum in Hunter x Hunter is also super versatile.
8: Anonymous Pirate
I like swimming, and what use is reach or spacing in normal life anyway?
Just grabbing stuff from high places? Hard pass.
13: Anonymous Pirate
Doru Doru can create wax,
but Gomu Gomu can’t create rubber. Kinda weird.
17: Anonymous Pirate
Pools are off-limits too, right?
21: Anonymous Pirate
>>17
In a pool, you can’t swim so you just drown.
If it’s saltwater or seawater, your strength gets drained on top of that and you drown.
In freshwater, your strength isn’t drained, but you still can’t swim.
25: Anonymous Pirate
>>22
Rubber isn’t actually immune to bullets or electricity in real life though.
38: Anonymous Pirate
I kinda want a TV show to actually shoot a gun at rubber and see what happens.
40: Anonymous Pirate
Logias become the natural element itself,
but Paramecia just get some weird ability.
43: Anonymous Pirate
Size ◎
Hardness ×
👉 Why Japanese Fans Frame It This Way
Japanese readers tend to strip abilities down to base mechanics.
Before Gears, awakenings, or narrative weight, they ask:
What does this power do by default, and how many advantages does it stack?
That’s why range control + damage immunity already feels suspicious.
👉 Why the Debate Never Ends
The Gomu Gomu no Mi lives in a gray zone between realism and manga logic.
Fans can list dozens of “missing drawbacks,”
yet the story selectively enforces them only when convenient.
That inconsistency — not raw strength — is what keeps this argument alive.
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