One Piece: The Drums of Liberation explained

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

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.

How to watch Crunchyroll from outside your location in 2023?

Crunchyroll is the world’s best hub for streaming anime, whether it’s One PieceAttack on Titan, or Jujutsu Kaisen – and thanks to ExpressVPN, you can access the platform’s full library even if you’re outside the US.

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Accessing Crunchyroll’s US roster makes a difference; for example, Hong Kong users only have access to less than 100 titles, while the US has nearly 1,000 movies and TV shows.

You can also stream anime on Crunchyroll for free with an ad-supported plan, or you can pay for a subscription – there’s even a 14-day free trial if you can’t quite make up your mind.

In the meantime, check out our other anime coverage below:

One Piece Sun God Nika | Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 232 | One Piece Episode 1072 | One Piece Gear 5 anime schedule | One Piece Gear 5 reaction | One Piece Gear 5 explained | Jujutsu Kaisen Gojo’s trauma | One Piece Nami role in Gear 5 | JJK coolest Gojo moments | Jujutsu Kaisen Episode 6

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