The One Piece anime has brought to life Luffy's most powerful transformation, Gear 5, during the battle against Kaido, among much fanfare, but it actually went beyond that, introducing new powerful Gear 5 attacks that were not in the original manga.
After Luffy awakened his Devil Fruit, it became clear to Kaido and the audience that the Gum-Gum Fruit (or rather the Human-Human Fruit Model: Nika) was capable of much more than anyone expected. Gear 5 subverted how an endgame powerup for a main character in a Shonen battle series should work with its wacky design and an even wackier fighting style. The form allowed Luffy absolute freedom on the battlefield by manipulating the world and even his own body in creative ways only limited by his imagination. What's more, the Straw Hats' captain used many strange attacks on Kaido in the anime, giving him a bigger arsenal than in the manga. Here are all the new Gear 5 attacks and abilities that only appeared in the anime.
Gum-Gum Lightning Bending
After Gear 5 Luffy was launched into the skies; he successfully grabbed a lightning bolt and threw it toward Kaido. While that attack appeared in the manga's chapter #1047, the anime took that idea and expanded on it in as flashy of a way as possible. Multiple lightning bolts became rubberized, allowing Luffy to grab and bounce between them to perform a high-speed combo attack against the Beast Pirates' Captain. The concentration of blows gathered energy into a single point on their target, unleashing an additional explosive lightning strike.
In fact, the anime's production staff took Eiichiro Oda's Gear 5 lighting manipulation idea up a few notches throughout the climactic fight. Hurling lighting bolts toward Kaido proved to do damage, and, later in the fight, Luffy found a way to use lighting to help boost his offense and mobility like never before. After an intense blow sent the Straw Hat Captain into the skies, he used his powers on a storm cloud and extracted all the lighting he wanted to cover the battlefield. The beautiful white bolts of rubberized lightning allowed Luffy to quickly bounce, grab, and attack Kaido from multiple angles, though it was still not enough to stop the Yonko from delivering devastating strikes.
Gear 5's Punching Ball Form
Kaido's frustration continued to mount as his attacks became more and more ferocious against Gear 5 Luffy. He seemed determined to end the fight when he rushed towards Luffy with his Kundali Dragon Swarm attack that imbued his giant metal club with his bone-breaking Haki. Gear 5 took many blows from the attack but decided to counter it with his own Gatling gun-like onslaught of punches. However, the anime saw Luffy transform into a ball-like form that had powerful punches shooting out of it from every direction.
Few of Luffy's Gear 5 attacks epitomize the form as effectively as this ball of punches. The ball form is silly, unpredictable, and deadly. Kaido made a point during the fight to mention that Luffy's new transformation is using both Conquerors and Armament Haki with every one of its blows. Knowing about each of the hundreds of punches makes the maneuver as scary as it is fun to watch.
Gum-Gum Counterblow
Awakened Devil Fruit s have been shown to have the ability to affect the world around them with their special powers. After Luffy awakened his Gum-Gum Fruit, he easily rubberized everything he touched, giving him the option to create what he calls "interesting attacks." While the manga saw Luffy use this ability to bounce around the battlefield, he was shown using it offensively in episode #1072 of the anime. After Kaido's strike hit the ground and caused it and the Straw Hat Captain to bounce into the air, Luffy grabbed the huge rubbery landmass and threw it back at Kaido like a tidal wave of rocks, which set up another epic anime-only attack.
Light Speed Bounce Attack
Luffy's awakened Devil Fruit power provides many creative attacks, but it also immensely helps increase his mobility with how it affects everything he touches. The anime includes many high-speed moments from Luffy's Gear 5 form. At one point, he throws Kaido across the battlefield, then immediately appears behind him, continuously delivering strong hits and incredible combos. Luffy also replicates iral Kizaru's light-speed attacks, bouncing from his Gum-Gum Counterblow to deliver a decisive strike that sends Kaido flying. It's one of several times when Gear 5 Luffy shows off his strength.
One Piece's Gear 5 Was Made To Be Animated
It's clear the One Piece anime introduced some neat attacks not seen in the manga, all of which proved why Gear 5 is so powerful. However, beyond that, the adaptation helped convey how the form operates and how devastating its attacks can be in ways the manga could not, simply because of its intrinsic limitations. Luffy's newest form is incredible to look at in the manga, but the medium cannot convey colorful auras and sound effects that make the state even more entertaining in the anime. It's worth ing that Gear 5 was modeled after rubber-hose-style animation. In this way, it makes sense Luffy's new form is arguably better realized in the anime because the inspiration itself required movement to properly convey the art form's tone. It's one thing to look at Gear 5 on the page and another to see it in fully realized action.
Since Gear 5 only made its anticipated debut in One Piece anime episode #1071, it didn't take long to prove that Luffy's new form is made even better when animated. Gear 5 exceeded the expectations of many fans of the anime thanks to the over-the-top visuals and unique anime-only attacks, all thanks to the work of the incredibly talented team at Toei Animation. As manga readers know, Luffy will only improve at using the form, and viewers are sure to see more Gear 5 action in the One Piece anime's final saga.
