[00:01] There's been quite a bit of debate since Gear 5's reveal over whether it's truly iconic or just a sillier, squigglier version of Super Saiyan. In my opinion, it is absolutely the latter. And that's exactly what makes it so iconic. When a
[00:16] Saiyan becomes Super, it's almost always in moments of intense rage or sorrow. those potent emotions fueling the newfound power that they need to kick the ass of the guy who made them feel that way. And this theme has been echoed
[00:31] across countless other shownen battle series when their heroes power up. The villain pushes them to their limits, threatens what they love most, and at their lowest moment, something snaps and they awaken. That's been the genre
[00:46] template for decades now. But Gear 5 doesn't feed on such costic emotions. It washes them away, drowning out the violent negativity of One Piece's
[00:58] villains with a cheerful drum beat and uporious laughter. Rather than just letting Luffy hurt people more efficiently, it transforms both him and the world around him in a way that turns each fight into a goofy little game and
[01:13] literally makes his dreams, however silly they might be, real. In a world ruled by anger and fear, One Piece posits that the key to true liberation
[01:25] posits that the key to true liberation is to embrace and embody unrestrained joy. to laugh in our oppressors faces even as they are crushed by conveniently timed pianos. That doesn't mean that anger has no place in the fight for
[01:39] liberation, obviously, but One Piece cautions time and again that anger must be directed and purposeful to do more good than harm. In the very first chapter, Shanks laughs off personal insults and even a mild physical assault
[01:55] from the mountain bandits, who end up mistaking that restraint for weakness. But they see just how wrong they are as soon as they lay hands on one of his friends. And Luffy emulates that attitude on Gaia when Bellamy tries to
[02:10] pick a fight with him, refusing to let the petty tyrant control his emotions and only putting a dent in his cocky skull when he starts pissing on someone else's dreams. It's that kind of righteous rage, the kind we feel on
[02:25] behalf of our friends and fellow man that the world needs more of. While petty anger born from personal affronts is largely useless, wasted energy of no
[02:37] is largely useless, wasted energy of no real concern to anyone with real power. That's why it's the man who can laugh from the bottom of his heart, even in the darkest of times, that despots fear most. For that man has fully harnessed
[02:51] his anger and can never be ruled by fear.