Romance Dawn Arc

Young Monkey D. Luffy has dreamed of becoming a pirate since childhood. Once the Red Shanks was with his gang in Luffy’s home village and has the then seven-year-old raved about life on the sea. But the redhead wouldn’t take the boy with him, as the sea was far too dangerous. Therefore, Luffy always said that once he grew up, he would become the king of the pirates and have a better crew than Shanks.
Also, he ate from a devil fruit by accident: Thanks to the gum-gum fruit, he can stretch his body infinitely, but can no longer swim. At some point, when Red Shanks decided to sail on, he gave Luffy his greatest treasure: his straw hat. He made Luffy promise to return the hat to him once he was a great and famous pirate.
Ten years later, Luffy is ready: he sets sail and begins his journey towards becoming a pirate king. And soon his first adventures await him. Enemy pirates, new friends for life and his first comrade-in-arms are just the beginning. The world has a new pirate king contender: Monkey D. Luffy.

Differences between manga and anime

• The location of the action in the anime is a passenger ship that is captured by Alvida’s pirate gang. This is also where Nami first meets Luffy. In the manga, Alvida’s pirate ship is anchored on a small island. This is also where Koby brings the barrel that Luffy jumps out of. Nami does not appear in the manga until later.