Part of what makes Luffy such a compelling character is his stubborn unwillingness to give up, whether it’s in his relationships with his crew or in a fight to the death. While many of his antics outside of fighting would lead you to believe he is flippant with his mortality, each one of his near-death experiences is important to the story, driving him forward or showing the depth of his character.

15Right At The Start Of His Journey

Before Luffy ever started off on his grand adventure, he began with a life-threatening experience. While listening to his hero and one of anime’s best parental figures, Red-Haired Shanks, tell tales of his pirate adventures, a group of bandits started badmouthing Luffy’s friends. After a tussle, Luffy is kidnapped and taken out to sea by the bandit captain – who rows them straight towards a sea king – a massive and dangerous creature. While Luffy is saved by Shanks, the pirate loses his arm in the process. This foundational moment in Luffy’s life teaches him about sacrifice and bravery.

14When Luffy First Met His Brothers

After Shanks saved him from the giant sea beast in the first chapter of the series, Luffy befriended his eventual brothers Ace and Sabo. While the two initially didn’t like him, Luffy felt intense loyalty towards them, which was put to the test when he was kidnapped and tortured by a pirate whom Ace and Sabo had stolen from. As a child, the beating he received was brutal and may have killed him if Ace and Sabo didn’t save him. While he almost died, this was what led to the deep bond between Luffy, Ace, and Sabo, and thus was a very formative experience.

13At Arlong Park in the Pool

After outclassing many of the previous villains in East Blue, Arlong presented an actual serious threat to Luffy. The Fishman’s massive physical presence and his powerful followers enabled them to get the upper hand on the Straw Hats, submerging Luffy in seawater. Given his Devil Fruit powers, Luffy was greatly weakened by this and almost drowned. Only the quick thinking of his crew saved him, as they were able to stretch his neck and pull his head above water. After he recovered, Luffy took Arlong down in spectacular fashion, but this represented the first major life-threatening moment after he set out on his adventure.

12At Roguetown, Before Entering The Grand Line

As the Straw Hat crew prepared for their adventure towards the legendary treasure, One Piece, they arrived in Roguetown. This island is where the legendary pirate Gol D. Roger was executed after he hid his treasure at the end of the Grand Line. While here, Luffy has a moment of contemplation with the spot of Rogers’ death – and is captured by his first nemesis Buggy the Clown. As Buggy lifts his sword and prepares to execute Luffy on the same spot where Roger died, Luffy laughed in the face of death; just like Roger did. This moment told everyone present that there was something special – dangerous, even – about Monkey D. Luffy.

11Fighting Crocodile in the Kingdom of Alabasta

The inhospitable desert kingdom of Alabasta is where Luffy faced off with Crocodile. As Leader of One Piece’s mafia-themed group Baroque Works, one of 7 pirate warlords, and the villain behind Alabasta’s political destabilization, Crocodile was one of the most dangerous opponents Luffy had ever faced. When Luffy first faced Crocodile, he was unprepared and weak. Crocodile drained Luffy of moisture with his sand powers and left him for dead in quicksand. If not for Nico Robin returning to question why Luffy continued to fight, Luffy would have died underneath the dunes with no one to find him.

10When Meeting Aokiji for the First Time

The World Government is diametrically opposed to pirates. As such, it should be no surprise that these major antagonists frequently attack and threaten Luffy and his crew. Aokiji is one of the four admirals of the navy, and his powers befit his rank. With the ability to control ice, Aokiji shows one of the dangerous weaknesses that someone essentially made out of rubber like Luffy will face – the dangers of the cold. Aokiji easily halted the Straw Hats in their tracks as he warned of the dangers Nico Robin exposed them to – namely himself and the world government. Luffy’s loyalty to Robin was shown in his refusal to let her leave. This altercation quickly ended with Aokiji freezing Luffy solid in a terrifying bit of body horror.

9When He was Poisoned in Impel Down

The infamous prison-island Impel Down is managed by Magellan. Magellan’s Devil-Fruit ability provides him control over poisons of all kinds, which he freely uses to punish and kill the criminals he watches over. Luffy and his newfound allies break into the prison in an attempt to break his brother Ace out but find themselves captured instead. When Luffy faces off with Magellan, he manages to land a decisive blow – but at the cost of becoming deathly ill. Without the life-saving medicine provided by prisoner Emporio Ivankov, Luffy wouldn’t have survived a day. As an added benefit of surviving this encounter, Luffy from then on is resistant to all kinds of poisons.

8During His Fight with Rob Lucci

While mourning their soon-to-be-retired pirate ship, the Going Merry, the Straw Hats develop friendships with the shipwrights of Galley-La. This group included their next recruit – Franky – and one of Luffy’s most dangerous foes, Rob Lucci. Lucci is a member of CP9, a secret agent of the World Government. This group employs deadly martial arts alongside Devil-Fruit powers in a combination that nearly kills all the Straw Hat Crew. While Luffy manages to fight off Lucci, he would have died without the help of Nico Robin and Usopp. Thanks to Usopp’s eagle eye and Robin’s own devil fruit ability, Luffy manages to fight another day.

7When He Lost His Shadow At Thriller Bark

While enjoying the leisures of their newly constructed ship, the Thousand Sunny, the Straw Hats are led into a mysterious fog. This fog contains the massive haunted island-ship Thriller Bark. Captain Gecko Moria has the ability to take one’s shadow, using it to provide his undead constructions with the powers and personalities of the shadow’s owner. A frightful side effect of this is that a person without a shadow will die if they are exposed to sunlight. Though Thriller Bark is surrounded by fog, this looming doom hangs over Luffy and the other affected Straw Hats throughout the arc. A major upside to this arc is meeting Brook, the music-loving character who joins One Piece’s Straw Hat crew.

6Upon Meeting the Android Pacifistas

Bartholomew Kuma is an imposing figure, even in a manga filled with literal and figurative giants. He is a former officer of the Revolutionary Army, captured and used as a basis for the strange and threatening androids, the Pacifistas. The Straw Hat crew first meets them on Thriller Bark, where one of these androids witnesses the defeat of Gecko Moria. Under orders to prevent word of Moria’s defeat from spreading, the pacifista is ordered to eliminate all witnesses. The Straw Hats struggle to even scratch the android, narrowly escaping the super-powered being. These androids are created by the evil genius Dr. Vegapunk, who fits each model with devastating weapons.

5Fighting to Save Ace at Marineford

One Piece is notable for having a major time skip that marks the end of the first ‘half’ of the series. Everything prior to the Marineford War leads up to Luffy fighting with and against many of the past characters in an epic battle to save his adoptive brother, Ace. This battle is notable for the way it sets up many of the next story arcs, introducing or expounding upon the sprawling cast. Unfortunately, Luffy is unable to save his brother from execution. Witnessing Ace’s death sends Luffy into a catatonic state, and he nearly dies in that same moment. Thanks to the allies he made throughout his journey, he is carried to safety to mourn.

4During His Fight with Doflamingo in Dressarosa

The battle between Luffy and Doflamingo is one of the first post-time-skip fights, allowing Luffy to show off his newfound abilities as well as showing the new scale of enemies he will be facing. Their fight nearly decimates the capital city, and Luffy’s abilities aren’t enough at first. For ten minutes in the middle of the battle, he is so vulnerable that he almost certainly would have died – but thanks to the distractions provided by the people of Dressarosa, Luffy is able to triumph.

3Fighting Big Mom’s Top Lieutenant Katakuri

On Whole Cake Island, the Straw Hats faced a variety of powerful enemies who they were unprepared to battle in order to rescue their fellow crew member Sanji. Besides Big Mom herself, the formidable Yonko who ruled the island, the most threatening opponent they faced was Katakuri. Katakuri was able to change the shape of his body with the Mochi Mochi fruit and use his extremely developed observation Haki to see into the future. His one-on-one battle with Luffy pushed the Straw Hat pirate to his limit and threatened to end his career for good. Luckily Luffy was able to triumph and he barely escaped the arc with his life and those of his crew.

2Early in the Fight Against Kaido

The Raid on Onigashima in the Wano arc culminated in a battle between the top pirates of the new generation like Luffy, Kid, and Law facing the Yonko Kaido and Big Mom. This fight quickly split, with Kid and Law taking on Big Mom and Luffy facing off against Kaido. Initially, things seemed like they were going decently for the Straw Hat Captain, but Kaido eventually got the upper hand, dropping Luffy’s unconscious form off of Onigashima into the ocean below. Luffy only survived with the assistance of a submarine picking him up and resuscitating him, making this one of the Straw Hat’s most death-defying moments in the series.

1Right Before Unlocking Gear 5

After being rescued in his first near-death experience against Kaido during the raid on Onigashima, Luffy and the Yonko clashed yet again. This time Luffy was able to put up more of a fight, forcing Kaido to use his drunken fighting style. However, the World Government wanted to make sure Luffy lost and thus sent a CP0 agent to help Kaido defeat him, seemingly striking a killing blow. However, while lying on the ground apparently dead, Luffy’s heart began to beat again ringing out as the drums of liberation and allowing him to unlock his ultimate fighting form Gear 5. This makes this Luffy’s most epic death-defying moment yet.

Luffy will likely face many more near-death moments as One Piece enters its final saga and the Straw Hats face even more dangerous enemies. However, this list shows that he has faced such fatal threats before and survived, meaning he will likely continue to do so. As long as he has his friends by his side, Luffy will be able to fight through any dangers that the world of One Piece can throw at him.