Monkey D. Garp is an extremely famous and powerful Marine vice admiral. He is the father of Monkey D. Dragon, the paternal grandfather of Monkey D. Luffy, and the adoptive grandfather of Portgas D. Ace. He was responsible for overseeing Ace's birth and raising a young Luffy, before entrusting them both to the Dadan Family. Garp is one of the major figures, along with Kong, Sengoku, Shiki, Silvers Rayleigh, Tsuru and Whitebeard, from the times when Gol D. Roger, the "Pirate King", was still alive. His feats as a Marine soldier were met with immense notoriety and prestige, with his actions during one incident in particular bestowing him the title of Hero of the Marines. Notably, Garp was offered the rank of Admiral several times throughout his career, but he refused the offer of promotion every time. Garp was first introduced during the Diary of Koby-Meppo Cover Page Serial, where he took charge of both Koby and Helmeppo's training after its events. After the war, he became a Marine Instructor to train new recruits, though still retaining the rank of vice admiral. Due to his actions, he could be considered the main antagonist of the Post-Enies Lobby Arc. He is also a supporting antagonist in the Marineford Arc.
Appearance
Garp is a tall, tanned, broad-chested, muscular old man. He has a beard and a scar over his left eye. In the anime, his eye color is blue, and his hair is gray, whereas in the manga, it is white. Garp and Tsuru are the only two vice admirals to have special shoulder-pads; Garp is golden and blue (black and red in the anime) while Tsuru is purple with white dot whereas the standard color is blue and red. During the Battle of Edd War, Garp's had two black stripes on his epaulettes and during his appearance at Water 7, it increased to three stripes and by the time of the Marineford War, it increased again to four stripes. The dog mask that Garp initially wore when introduced served to hide his identity as Luffy's grandfather, whose design had appeared in Romance Dawn, Version 2. After their relationship was revealed in the Post-Enies Lobby Arc, Garp is no longer seen wearing the mask. In his free time or vacation, Garp often wears sandals, a red tropical shirt and light-colored shorts. He sometimes pairs this shirt with black trousers and boots. When visiting Dadan during Luffy's childhood, he sometimes wears his official black suit without wearing his Marine cape.
Personality
Garp is an eccentric but caring man, who is loyal to both his criminal family and the Marine Headquarters, who he has served for decades. He is loud, boisterous, exuberant, and overall acts in a similar manner to his grandson. He has a habit of falling asleep during conversations and can be absent-minded. Luffy's crew noted his, apparently hereditary, selfishness during Garp's interaction with Luffy in Water 7. Unlike many Marines, Garp does not believe that a person's lineage determines their path. On a similar note, he does not believe that being labeled a criminal necessarily makes someone a bad person. Although Garp wanted his grandsons to become marines, he entrusted their care to a mountain bandit whom he had refused to turn over for prosecution. Garp believes that throwing children into harsh conditions will ultimately make them strong and has no problem hitting children to drive home a point. Despite this, Garp is a supportive person. When Ace asked Garp whether he should have been born, Garp replies that Ace will find the answer if he continues living. When Momousagi mentioned Luffy being targeted by two Emperors, Garp did not express much concern about it. Although Garp will ultimately comply with Marine HQ's most serious orders, he highly values his freedom and family, often to a point where he bends the rules to accommodate these values. He initially refused to capture Luffy in Water 7 until explicitly ordered to do so. Despite fulfilling his duties, Garp has a Moral Code to follow, which according to Sengoku, is the main reason why Garp refuse the promotion as an Admiral multiple times, with one of the code dictates that it is not his duty to protect Celestial Dragons. Additionally, Garp is generally amused by Luffy's exploits as a pirate, and only seriously laments both of his grandsons' choices to become pirates after Ace is captured. He also ultimately allowed Luffy to hit him due to valuing his family more than his duty as a Marine during the war at Marineford. He even seemed ready to defend them when Akainu wounded Ace and was on the verge of killing Luffy. Like Luffy, Garp is extremely blunt and honest when talking to people, as seen when he openly badmouthed Sterry, the current king of the Goa Kingdom, unafraid of the consequences in doing so. He considers the Celestial Dragons scumbags and is not afraid of expressing this aloud. The main reason he refused to become an admiral is because he does not want to be their direct subordinate. On one occasion, he also blurted out Monkey D. Dragon's name in front of Luffy, his friends, and his subordinates without any consideration at Water 7. When he realized he should not have said that he just simply laughed it off, asking those who heard to forget about it. When Garp prepares to fight seriously, he often removes his Marine coat or a suit jacket. Like his grandson, Garp is extremely fond of food, especially donuts and rice crackers.
Abilities and Powers
Leadership
As a vice admiral of the Marine Headquarters, Garp has command over all lower ranking soldiers, as seen when he took two of Ripper's subordinates (Koby and Helmeppo) and made them his own subordinates instead due to his higher rank. Also, as a vice admiral, he has the potential to be called upon to be one of five vice admirals leading a fleet of ten battleships during a Buster Call. Being a Marine vice admiral and the commanding officer of the 153rd Marine Branch, Garp possesses leadership skills and is well respected by many among the Marines, having mentored many other prominent figures in the Marines, including former Admiral Kuzan. He is a great teacher, as he was able to make Koby and Helmeppo capable fighters in a short period of time, and he was also selected to be an instructor. He was also the one who trained Luffy and Ace into being strong enough to set sail on their own.
Physical Abilities
Garp's strength is considered legendary. At his best he had monstrous punching power at his disposal, with his epithet, "Garp the Fist", attesting to the tremendous power of his punches. He claimed to have crushed eight mountains during his training to face Chinjao. This is proven when he was able to dent Chinjao's drill head, which was powerful enough to split the immensely hard Ice Continent in two, with relative ease. It is evident Whitebeard respects Garp's strength, as he mentioned him during his talk with Shanks.
Attacks
- Genkotsu Meteor literally meaning "Fist-Bone Meteorite"): Garp throws a cannonball at an enemy ship. Due to Garp's superhuman strength, he can throw them like baseballs, and the impacts are more powerful than when being fired from an actual cannon. In the FUNimation adaptions, this is called Meteor Fist. The literal reading of the kanji is actually Genkotsu Inseki.
- Genkotsu Ryuseigun literally meaning "Fist-Bone Meteor Swarm"): Garp throws one thousand iron cannonballs at enemy ships. The cannonballs are supplied by conveyor belts on either side of him. In the FUNimation adaptions, this is called Meteor Fist Shower.
- Ai aru Kobushi literally meaning "Fist of Love"): A gag technique, which is a simple but powerful punch to strike Luffy on his head. He had been shown to have used this on Ace during his childhood as well. In Pirate Warriors 2 and Pirate Warriors 3, the game adds the visual effect of a giant fist coming down on the enemies and is Garp's first Special Attack in both games. In the FUNimation adaptions, it is called Fist of Love.
Haki
As a vice admiral, Garp is fully capable of using Haki. Aside from his mastery over Busoshoku Haki, Garp is also knowledgeable about Haoshoku Haki. Although not demonstrated to be a user of it, Garp commented that Luffy was born with it when he subconsciously released it. He is also a capable teacher, as he taught both Koby and Helmeppo
Busoshoku Haki
By hardening his fist, Garp became able to counter and even crush Chinjao's Busoushoku Haki-enhanced drill-shaped head 30 years ago, proving his superior mastery compared to Chinjao, who himself is a masterful Busoushoku Haki user in his own right. During the Summit War of Marineford, he managed to punch and hurt Marco, despite the latter being in his regenerative phoenix form.
Kenbunshoku Haki
When Koby awakened Kenbunshoku Haki, Dr. Fishbonen recommended that Koby ask Garp how to master it, suggesting he has enough expertise in it to mentor others.
