One Piece: Is Monkey D. Garp A Devil Fruit User? His Impossible Strength Explained
Contains spoilers for "One Piece" Season 1, Episodes 5 — "Eat at Baratie"
In the world of Eiichiro Oda's decades-long "One Piece" franchise, as well as on Netflix's live-action adaptation, consuming Devil Fruit is a one-way ticket to Power Town. Each fruit is unique, so no two individuals who eat the cursed food receive the same superhuman abilities. For instance, Buggy the Star Clown (Jeff Ward) eats Devil Fruit and gains the horrifying ability to telekinetically segment his body however he chooses, while Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) gains the slightly less creepy ability to stretch his body like rubber. So, with a built-in justification for individuals possessing incredible skill sets, it's actually kind of wild that Monkey D. Garp (Vincent Regan) is not a Devil Fruit user.
The Marine vice admiral (and paternal grandfather to our hero, Luffy) packs such an inhuman punch that he bears the nickname Garp the Fist. In Season 1, Episode 5 — "Eat at Baratie," the old man literally hurls a cannonball by hand with enough force that the impact would have been greater than if it was launched from a regular cannon had Luffy not deflected it. The vice admiral's strength might not be natural per se — there's nothing natural about using the hulls of retired battleships as punching bags — but it's also not supernatural. It stems from the kind of physical training that can only occur in media based on manga. Speaking of manga, if you think Garp is overpowered in the live-action series, you're not ready for what he does on the page.
The vice admiral mastered all three types of Haki and still prefers his fists
Monkey D. Garp is not above boasting — it seems to run in the family — so take this with a grain of salt, but the vice admiral once claimed he crushed eight mountains as part of his training regimen to fight a mighty pirate. Yes, as in those gigantic piles of welded rock that can scale upwards of 29,000 feet high and weigh near-immeasurable tons. Is he fibbing, maybe just a little? Who's to say? What is known is that Garp the Fist can easily crumble brick, metal, and bone with his punches. Now, we've already established that Garp works hard for the strength he possesses, but it would be more than a little fib if we forgot to mention his mastery of Haki.
Haki is best explained as the art of channeling spirit energy into one of three aspects — mind control, a defensive and offensive aura, and a warrior's sixth sense. It's more complicated than that, but functionally, Garp can give you any order and know that you will obey it, increase his strength and durability, and read his opponents' internal stat sheet if he so chooses. And yet, he most often doesn't because he likes relying on his physical skills. It may seem strange, but it makes sense for a man who turns down promotions so he can stay where he feels the most control. That framework helps contextualize his "One Piece" Season 1 ending, where he easily defeats his grandson but permits him to continue a life of piracy simply because he believes in himself.