One Piece: The Drums of Liberation explained

❘ Updated: 2023-08-07T13:11:57

An image of Drums of Liberation and Joy Boy's return in One Piece

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One Piece relates Joy Boy’s return with the Drums of Liberation. Here’s what the drums signify in the series.

One Piece’s Gear 5 debut is followed by the incredibly upbeat Drums of Liberation. The drums symbolize not only Luffy’s devil fruit awakening but also Joy Boy’s return.

Joy Boy is an influential figure from the Void Century who had some connection to the Mermaid Princess and the residents of Fish-Men Island. Before Luffy’s awakening, Joy Boy was believed to be a name, but it actually turns out to be a title.

Luffy becomes the second Joy Boy, and it’s marked by the Drums of Liberation. However, although the Gear 5 debut episode plays the drums for the most part, only Zunesha is able to hear it. Delve deeper to find out the meaning and significance of Drums of Liberation in One Piece.

The Drums of Liberation refer to Luffy’s heartbeat

An image of Luffy devil fruit awakening in One Piece

When Luffy awakens his devil fruit and transforms into Gear 5, he comments about his heartbeat sounding funny. In fact, there are no drums to speak of. It’s only a symbolic term to refer to Luffy’s heartbeat, which beats in the same musical rhythm as the drums. Since the sound is unique, Zunesha instantly recognizes it and announces Joy Boy’s return.

This almost establishes the fact that the previous Joy Boy had the same devil fruit as Luffy. The Gear 5 form takes up a lot of stamina within a short time. It’s even more draining than Gear 4. Therefore, Luffy gets burned out very quickly before he is able to defeat Kaido.

However, by forcibly adjusting his heartbeat in the same rhythm as the Drums of Liberation, Luffy once again takes on his Gear 5 form. The fact that Zunesha calls Luffy’s heartbeat the Drums of Liberation signifies the Sun God Nika, a mythical warrior known as the “Warrior of Liberation.” Nika was revered as a god among the slaves of the ancient era since he fought for their freedom.

As fans know, Luffy is someone with a strong sense of justice who values freedom over any worldly treasure. In that sense, his devil fruit perfectly fits him since he shares so many personality traits with Nika. Furthermore, the concept of Drums of Liberation likely references an African tale of a drummer child. He was a slave who played rhythmic beats that inspired the fire of freedom and liberation for other captives.

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