No matter how many times One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has reiterated that there is strictly no romance between the crewmates of the Straw Hat Pirates, fans won’t stop pairing up their future Pirate King with his navigator. Romance has never been a primary theme of the series, yet every fan knows that Luffy x Nami, aka LuNami, is the most popular ship in the One Piece community; some even secretly want them to end up together. However, if you wish to explore Luffy and Nami’s true relationship in One Piece, keep reading to learn all about the pair’s history here.
When Did Luffy First Meet Nami?
Fans often get Nami’s introduction as a character wrong, but it’s not their fault. The mistake lies with the One Piece anime. Luffy and Nami cross paths when the latter is trying to steal a treasure map from Buggy in the Orange Town arc. As we all know, she initially tricks Luffy by joining as his crew’s navigator, but later betrays him and runs away with the treasure they had accumulated. She did so to reclaim her hometown, Cocoyashi village, from the grips of Arlong and his gang.
“Don’t you dare make my navigator cry!” – Monkey D. Luffy
When Luffy learns the truth, he comes to the rescue even though they weren’t very close friends at that time. He saves her village from Arlong’s tyrannical rule and proves to the fans that his friends mean the world to him. So, Nami joins the Straw Hat Pirates crew officially, and a beautiful bond blooms between the crew’s captain and the navigator.
Are Luffy and Nami in Love in One Piece?
Luffy is the first person to change Nami’s perception of pirates. Luffy swiftly proves that he isn’t the kind of pirate who is merely a ruthless marauder. Ever since Nami joined the crew, Nami and Luffy have had countless encounters in their daring adventures across the treacherous Grandline. If you have been closely observing this pair’s reactions, you would have realized that neither Luffy nor Nami has any romantic feelings towards each other until now.
There isn’t any romantic relationship between them. Instead, you can find Nami keeping an eye on Luffy like his babysitter all the time, as our free-spirited captain does what he wants without thinking it through first. This often results in the funniest moments in the series, as a furious Nami is the only one who can beat our hero. Thus, Luffy and Nami are nothing but close friends who bring sibling vibes with their interactions.
However, there have been situations that indicated that Nami might have had butterflies for Luffy, especially when we saw Nami’s cheeks turning red when Vinsmoke Reiju sucked the poison out of Luffy’s mouth. But this scene could have been done just for gags by Oda. Apart from this moment, there are no hints at romance between Luffy and Nami in the entire One Piece series.
Will Nami and Luffy Ever Become a Couple?
Throughout the series, Luffy and Nami have bonded on the basis of friendship rather than having any romantic feelings. They have a mutual understanding and become close friends who need each other to achieve their dreams. Luffy has absolute trust in his navigator and vice versa.
Unlike any other shonen manga, there is not even the slightest sign of romance budding between these two from the start. Even though Oda has portrayed a connection between Luffy and Nami in One Piece manga covers, this isn’t sufficient evidence to make them end up together as a couple at the end.
Although Oda has never portrayed a romance between the main Straw Hats Pirates members, he has shown his prowess in portraying romance with Senor Pink x Russian, Sanji x Pudding, and a lot more. The creator knows better than anyone when it comes to romance in his series. If he had plans for the LuNami ship, he would have laid the foundation for it from the beginning. Thus, it is evident that Luffy and Nami are not a couple in One Piece at the moment.
We know that Luffy has only one love, which is meat, and Nami is also well aware of Luffy’s love for meat. Our captain is so focused on becoming the Pirate King that he doesn’t care about romance in the story.
So, if Oda has something planned between the two of the most popular characters in One Piece, then let’s wait and see what happens in the end. In the meantime, do you think Luffy loves Nami secretly, or vice versa? Let us know in the comments below.
