Who is Joy Boy in ‘One Piece’ and how is he connected to Luffy?

One of the most popular and longest-running anime shows currently airing is One Piece. Fans have fallen in love with all of the different characters, many different storylines, and countless adventures the show has taken them on. One of the many new characters to appear in the show is Joy Boy. Fans have become incredibly curious to learn about a new character introduced named Joy Boy and how exactly he is connected to Luffy.

Who exactly is Joy Boy?

Joy Boy is one of the more historical and noteworthy figures within the show stemming from the Void Century. He also was supposed to help raise Noah on Fish-Man Island, however, he failed to do so. When he failed to do so, he attempted to apologize and his apology would be continually referenced for 800 years. He had stated that he would return after 800 years to complete what he told the world he would do.

The first time that it was really referenced was when the Straw Hat Pirates first arrived on Fish-Man Island. The legendary pirate Roger had even mentioned his desire to have been around and living while Joy Boy was alive. Joy Boy was also a friend of Zunesha, the gigantic creature which carries the island of Zou on its back as punishment for a past unknown crime. Zunesha would end up being the first one to announce that Joy Boy would be returning

How is Joy Boy connected to Luffy?

The announcement made by Zunesha would say that Joy Boy is making his return soon also at the same time that Monkey D. Luffy’s heart started beating once more and back when Luffy finally unlocks his true Devil Fruit power. The fact that these were announced at the same time caused fans to wonder how and why. Luffy is then told that his power would allow him to take on the body of liberation, something that Joy Boy had set his sights on having all those years ago.

This is when fans were first introduced to the idea that Joy Boy himself would not be coming back, but instead was actually just a title that is given out to those who want to change the world in some capacity. That whoever holds the same dream as the original would be deemed the next Joy Boy. Luffy appears to be the one that was chosen and thus has taken on the most recent Joy Boy name, or at least that is what it seems.