Monkey D. “Straw Hat”[n 1] Luffy[n 2] (Japanese: モンキー・D・ルフィ Hepburn: Monkī Dī Rufi) is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the One Piece manga series, created by Eiichiro Oda. Luffy made his debut in One Piece chapter #1 as a young boy who acquires the properties of rubber after inadvertently eating the supernatural Gum-Gum Fruit.
He sails from the East Blue Sea to the Grand Line in search of the legendary treasure, One Piece, to succeed Gol D. Roger as King of the Pirates. Luffy, captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, recruits crew members, fights antagonists, and aids and befriends the inhabitants of several islands during his journey. Usually cheerful, he becomes serious when he fights. Luffy uses his elasticity to concentrate his power, executing a range of attacks. In his signature attack, Gum-Gum Pistol, he slingshots punches at opponents from a distance.
Son Goku (Japanese: 孫 悟空（そん ごくう） Hepburn: Son Gokū) is a fictional character and main protagonist of the Dragon Ball manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He is based on Sun Wukong (Simplified Chinese: 孙 悟空 Japanese: 孫 悟空（そん ごくう）Hepburn: Son Gokū), a main character in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. Goku first made his debut in Dragon Ball chapter #1 Bulma and Son Goku (ブルマと孫悟空 Buruma to Son Gokū), originally published in Japan's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on June 19, 1984,[1] as an eccentric, monkey-tailed boy who practices martial arts and possesses superhuman strength. He meets Bulma and joins her on a journey to find the wish-granting Dragon Balls. Along the way, he finds new friends who follow him on his journey.
Initially believed to have been born on Earth, Goku later learns that he is a member of an extraterrestrial warrior race called the Saiyans, which is also the reason for his superhuman strength, and his birth name is Kakarot (カカロット Kakarotto). As Goku grows up, he becomes the Earth's mightiest warrior and protects his adopted home planet from those who seek to destroy it. Goku is depicted as carefree and cheerful when at ease, but quickly serious and strategic-minded when in battle and also enthusiastic to fight. He is able to concentrate his Ki and use it for devastatingly powerful energy-based attacks; the most prominent being his signature Kamehameha (かめはめ波), in which Goku launches a blue energy blast from his palms. Also pure of heart, Goku has frequently granted mercy to his enemies, which has often earned him additional allies in the process (though has also resulted in others taking advantage of his kindness), and he is one of the few who can ride the magic cloud called Kinto'un (筋斗雲, lit. “Somersault Cloud”, renamed “Flying Nimbus” in Funimation's dub); which was another element adapted from Journey to the West.
