Monkey D. Garp

Monkey D. Garp (モンキー・D・ガープ, Monkī D. Gāpu), also known as both "Garp the Fist" (ゲンコツのガープ, Genkotsu no Gāpu), and "Hero of the Navy" (海軍の英雄, Kaigun no Eiyū), is both a fictional character and deuteragonist from the One Piece series.

He is a Navy Vice Admiral, the father of the infamous Revolutionary Army leader Monkey D. Dragon and the legendary Thunder Wolf Pirates Captain Monkey D. Rex, the paternal grandfather of Straw Hat Pirates Captain Monkey D. Luffy, and the adoptive grandfather of Whitebeard Pirates 2nd Division Commander Portgaz D. Ace. He took charge of both Coby and Helmeppo's training. After the war, he became a Navy Instructor to train new recruits, though still retaining the rank of vice admiral.

Garp is one of the major figures, along with Sengoku, Shiki, and Whitebeard, from the times when the "King of the Pirates" was still alive.

"There's no defending against the Fist of Love!"
 * —Monkey D. Garp.

Appearance & Biography

 * Voice Actor: Brian Mathis (English), Hiroshi Naka (Japanese), Not Known (Italian), Not Known (Spanish), Not Known (German), Not Known (Finnish), Not Known (Korean), Not Known (French), Not Known (Latin American Spanish)

Biography
Navy vice admiral. He is Luffy’s grandfather and the revolutionary Dragon and pirate Rex’s father. His nickname is “Garp the fist”. He is a legendary hero who fought against Roger, the “King of the Pirates”.

Appearance
Garp is a tall, tanned, broad-chested, muscular old man. He has a beard and a scar over his left eye. In the anime, his eye color is blue, and his hair is gray, whereas in the manga, it is white. Garp and Tsuru are the only two vice admirals to have special shoulder-pads; theirs are black and red whereas the standard color is blue. Garp also sometimes smokes cigars.

The Young Past Days
When he was a child and a young Navy, Garp resembled Luffy, though more muscular than his grandson. As a child, he wore a tropical button shirt with shorts and wielded a pipe staff. Garp already had the scar on his left eye in his childhood days.

Twenty-four years ago, Garp's hair and goatee were still black, with sideburns beginning to whiten. He wore a dark double breasted suit with a white shirt and a red tie.

In his free time, Garp often wears sandals, a tropical shirt and light-colored shorts. He sometimes pairs this shirt with black trousers and boots.

Pre-Timeskip
The dog mask that Garp initially wore when introduced served to hide his identity as Luffy's grandfather, whose design had appeared in Romance Dawn, Version 2. After their relationship was revealed, Garp has only worn the mask upon making entrances.

Post-Timeskip

 * Hair Color: Gray (formerly Black)
 * Skin Color: Brownish Tan
 * Eye Color: Blue
 * Age: 76 (debut), 78 (after timeskip)
 * Birthday: May 2nd
 * Height: Not Known
 * Weight: Not Known

Personality
Garp is a caring and eccentric person who is loyal to both his criminal family and the Navy Headquarters he has served for decades. He has a habit of falling asleep during conversations and can be absentminded. Luffy's crew noted his apparently hereditary selfishness during Garp's interaction with Luffy in Water 7.

Unlike many in the Navy, Garp does not believe that one's lineage determines their path. On a similar note, he does not believe that being labelled a criminal necessarily makes someone a bad person. Although Garp wanted his grandsons to become navy officers, he entrusted their care to a mountain bandit whom he had refused to turn over for prosecution.

Garp does however, believe that throwing children into harsh conditions will ultimately make them strong and has no problem with hitting them to drive home a point. Despite this, Garp is a supportive person. When Trace asked Garp whether he should have been born, Garp told Ace that he will find the answer if he continues living.

Although he will ultimately comply with Navy HQ's most serious orders, Garp highly values his freedom and family. He often bends the rules to accomodate these values. He initially refused to capture Luffy in Water 7 until explicitly ordered to do so. Additionally, Garp is generally amused by Luffy's exploits as a pirate and only seriously laments both of his grandsons' choices to become pirates after Ace is captured.

When Garp prepares to fight seriously, he often removes his Navy coat or suit jacket. Additionally, Garp is extremely fond of food, especially donuts and rice crackers.

In the Japanese version of the series, Garp has his own laughter style: Bwahaha or Wahaha.

Friends/Allies

 * Navy
 * Bogard
 * Coby
 * Helmeppo
 * Aokiji

Family

 * Monkey D. Dragon (Oldest Son)
 * Monkey D. Rex (Youngest Son)
 * Monkey D. Luffy (Grandson)
 * Portgaz D. Ace (Adoptive Grandson; Deceased)

Neutral

 * Akainu
 * Kong
 * Sengoku
 * Curly Dadan
 * Sabo
 * Z

Rivals

 * Roger Pirates
 * Gol D. Roger

Enemies

 * Whitebeard Pirates
 * Whitebeard
 * Chinjao
 * Shanks

Abilities and Powers
As a former vice admiral of the Navy Headquarters, Garp had command over all lower ranking soldiers. An example of this is when after Morgan escaped, he was able to take away two of Ripper's subordinates (Coby and Helmeppo) and make them his own subordinates instead due to him having the higher rank. Also as a vice admiral, he had the potential to be called upon to be one of five vice admirals leading a fleet of ten battleships during a Buster Call.

In terms of combat, Garp has had several decades worth of experience in both combat and navigating the harshest oceans within the volatile "New World". He's also a "hero" of the Navy and as is known for cornering and fighting Gol D. Roger many times. Roger also stated that he and Garp had almost killed each other on numerous occasions. As another true testament of sheer power, Garp defeated and nearly killed Don Chinjao in the past with a single punch, whose bounty was worth over 500,000,000 berries in his prime and was said to be able to split a continent with a headbutt.

Being a Navy vice admiral and the commanding officer of the 153rd Navy Branch, Garp possesses leadership skills and is well respected by many among the Navy, having mentored many other prominent figures in the Navy including former Admiral Kuzan.

The extent of Garp's power and fame is evident round the time of the Battle of Edd War, three years before the future King of the Pirates died. It was revealed that he was offered the rank of admiral more than once, but repeatedly refused the promotion. Garp's subordinate at that time, Kuzan (later promoted to admiral), 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.

Another example of Garp's strength is when he was shown to easily strike down Marco of the Whitebeard Pirates despite having his Devil Fruit abilities activated at the time, knocking him back which was something that Kizaru and Akainu seemed unable to do.

Similarly, when it was revealed worldwide that Luffy is Garp's grandson, Luffy's fame rose based on that fact alone, as Demalo Black attempted to use that as one of the strong points in his impersonation of Luffy, and Charlotte Lingling referenced to Garp when Luffy challenged her.

He is a great teacher as he was able to make Coby and Helmeppo capable fighters in a short period of time and he was also selected to be an instructor. He was also the one who trained Luffy and Ace into being strong enough to set sail on their own. Gol D. Roger said he and Garp nearly killed each other many times. The fact that Garp could clash with Gol D. Roger implies he is one of the strongest characters in the series.

Physical Abilities
Garp is one of the most powerful fighters seen in the series so far. 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 (at faster than cannon speeds), 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 the strength of his punches. He claimed to have crushed eight mountains during his training to face Chinjao.

In addition to his legendary strength, he has incredible durability and pain-tolerance, as seen when he was slashed by Captain Morgan's axe hand, only to recover only seconds later, with no obvious pain and apparently oblivious to the fact that he was struck at all. In fact, when informed by one of the Navy that he was nearly killed, he mistook this for one of the men being killed. It was only when he saw the wound did he realize what happened, as he fell asleep before being attacked. He was able to get back on his feet after allowing himself to be punched by Luffy in Gear Second at point-blank range, without losing consciousness and was still able to fight the Blackbeard Pirates along with Sengoku.

He has also been shown to be extremely fast as he managed to bypass all of the Straw Hats in order to get to a sleeping Luffy. It is evident Whitebeard respects 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 as well as the colossal iron ball he keeps on a chain, which implies that he is most likely a hand-to hand fighter.

Techniques

 * Fist of Love (愛ある拳, Ai aru Kobushi): A simple but powerful punch to strike Luffy on his head, imbued with Armament Haki to hurt him. It's a gag technique to "show" his love for his grandsons. He's been shown to have used this on Ace during his childhood as well. In Pirate Warriors 2 and Pirate Warriors 3, the game adds the visual effect of a giant fist coming down on the enemies and is Garp's first Special Attack in both games.


 * Meteor Fist (拳骨メテオ, Genkotsu Meteo): Garp throws a cannonball at an enemy ship. Due to Garp's superhuman strength, he can throw them like baseballs, and the impacts are more powerful than when being fired from an actual cannon.


 * Meteor Fist Shower (拳骨流星群, Genkotsu Ryūseigun): Garp throws one thousand iron cannonballs at enemy ships. The cannonballs are supplied by conveyor belts on either side of him.


 * Satellite Fist (拳・骨・サテライト, Genkotsu Sateraito): Garp throws a large cannonball at his opponent. The size of the cannonball is slightly larger than his upper body. The attack first appeared in Pirate Warriors 2 as Garp's third Unique Action, and is also usable in Pirate Warriors 3.


 * Oversized Iron Ball (特大鉄球, Tokudai Tekkyū): Garp throws an enormous cannonball at his enemies. The cannonball is several times larger than his body, and its name comes from what the Straw Hats said when Garp threw his ship-sized cannonball at the Thousand Sunny just before they escaped from Water 7. The attack is usable in Pirate Warriors 3 as Garp's Special Kizuna Attack.


 * Super Oversized Iron Ball (超・特大鉄球, Chō Tokudai): A slightly larger version of Oversized Iron Ball. The attack first appeared in Pirate Warriors 2 as Garp's second Special Attack, and is also usable in Pirate Warriors 3.


 * Also in both of those aforementioned games, Garp makes use of a fighting style that incorporates a variety of grapple attacks, ranging from suplexes, backbreakers, and even his iconic headbutt collar lift (to where he promptly displays his usual sleepiness).

Haki

 * Main article: Haki

As a vice admiral, Garp is fully capable of using Haki. He demonstrates proficient usage of Armament Haki, being able to injure Luffy several times, bypassing his rubber body. He was also seen crushing Chinjao's uniquely shaped head with a Haki imbued punch 30 years ago, by hardening his fist and turning it obsidian black to increase the damage inflicted. During the Battle of Navyford, he managed to punch and hurt Marco despite the latter being in his regenerative phoenix form.

Aside from his mastery over Armament Haki, Garp is also knowledgeable of the other two types. Although not demonstrated to be a user of the other two types, Garp commented that Luffy has "inherited" Conqueror's Haki when it was subconsciously released. When Coby awakens Observation Haki, Dr. Fishbonen recommended that Coby ask Garp how to master it, suggesting he has enough expertise in it to mentor others.

Weapons
Garp throws cannonballs with his bare hands. The cannonballs soar much faster than when fired from a cannon, due to Garp's strength. He also wields a giant iron ball, mounted on a chain, which dwarfs the size of his own Marine battleship.

Before the Great Age of Pirates
Monkey D. Garp is a Navy hero, who was famous for cornering and fighting the late King of the Pirates, Gol D. 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. Proof of his strength is that he was offered an admiral position many times from Fleet Admiral Kong, but he refused every time.

In the past he chased other pirates like Shakuyaku as part of his duties. Thirty years ago, he fought Chinjao and earned his hatred after denting his pointy head and robbing him of the means to acquire a certain treasure.

Prior to Roger's execution, the King of the Pirates 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 Navyford a week before the execution of Roger, Garp and Sengoku challenged him together. After a grueling battle that devastated half the town, they managed to defeat him, and (according to a Navy) Garp was left heavily injured. A number of months after the King of the Pirates' 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.

The Five Brothers and Sister
Early on in Luffy's life, he was trained by Garp to become a strong Navy. 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 along with the others or else). Despite Dadan not wanting to tend to another one of Garp's children, she complied. When voicing her displeasure of Garp's irresponsibility to take care of them himself, he became angered - making Dadan immediately take back what she said.

Throughout his visits, he would often hold "training sessions" which consisted of Garp effortlessly defeating the six of them to toughen them up into upstanding citizens (effortlessly demolishing everything within the nearby vicinity in the process). When Garp first read in the newspaper that Ace had become the captain of the Spade Pirates, he was furious.

Diary of Coby-Meppo
Garp is first introduced in Coby's mini-series as the Navy 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 dinghy. 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 returning, they offer themselves to be punished, but Garp 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 Navy Headquarters, and 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 suits him). Garp (rather than dismissing them) tests them with a fight, and after the fierce (for them) battle, he starts personally training them to be great Navy officers.

Canon

 * Monkey D. Garp vs. Gol D. Roger (none seen, multiple times)
 * Monkey D. Garp vs. Chinjao
 * Monkey D. Garp and Sengoku vs. Shiki
 * 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. Teech

Non-Canon

 * Monkey D. Garp vs. G. Zass Burgess

Anime and Manga Differences
In the anime, a young Luffy blurted out that the trio shared a promise over a shared drink. Garp overheard them boasting of their dreams to become pirates, leaving him infuriated. Garp then chases them out into the night, breaking down trees and rocks and beating them all to a pulp. Sabo exclaimed he was a monster. Afterwards, he casually leaves them, saying that he will not be so merciful next time. This was not shown in the manga. In the manga version, Garp was shown saying hello first before "training" them.

Notes & 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.
 * 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 (the other being Dracule Mihawk).
 * Garp appears to have a dog animal-theme, as shown by his mask and his ship.
 * In an SBS question on Volume 59, a fan pointed out the fact that despite Garp's few appearances, his trademark scar has disappeared 25 times if counted up to Volume 58. In response to the statement above, Oda joked that "if an enemy he hates is around, his scar tingles, and it will float up" and that Garp's "true form" may be the scar-less one, but he also points out that this is not proved anywhere.
 * In the 5th fan poll, Garp ranked 74th.