Monkey D. Garp at Hachinosu

Garp is a prominent figure in the world of "One Piece," known for his association with legendary pirates and his service as a Marine. Alongside Kong, Sengoku, Shiki, Silvers Rayleigh, Tsuru, and Whitebeard, he played a significant role during Gol D. Roger's era, when the "Pirate King" was still alive. Garp gained immense fame and respect within the Marines, particularly for his actions during the God Valley Incident, which earned him the title of "Hero of the Marines." Despite being offered the rank of Admiral several times, he declined the promotion on each occasion. Notably, Garp also served as the mentor of Kuzan, who later became Admiral Kizaru.

 

Garp was first introduced during the Diary of Koby-Meppo Cover Page Serial, where he took charge of training Koby and Helmeppo. After the war and the death of Ace, he became a Marine Instructor to train new recruits while retaining his rank of Vice Admiral. However, his retirement seems to be known only to a select few and not to the public. Due to his actions, Garp could be considered the primary antagonist during the Post-Enies Lobby Arc and a supporting antagonist in the Marineford Arc. He embarked on a mission to rescue Koby at Hachinosu during the Egghead Arc, where he got severely injured and declared "missing in action." Weeks later, when Koby was reported abducted by the Blackbeard Pirates, Garp sailed to G-14 and then to Hachinosu to rescue him. He was determined to save Koby, even if it meant confronting an Emperor. Garp was joined by members of SWORD and Tashigi for his mission. With a show of his impressive Haoshoku Haki, Garp launched a powerful attack, Galaxy Impact, against the island to make a statement about Koby's importance to the future of the Marines. He faced Kuzan in a confrontation but was frozen by his former protégé. Despite the dangerous situation, Garp displayed his strength and determination in battling the Blackbeard Pirates. During the conflict, Garp's ship and the people on board were at risk. He entrusted Koby, Helmeppo, and Grus with dealing with the threat posed by Avalo Pizarro's giant stone hand while he faced Pizarro head-on, inflicting significant damage. Even as the situation worsened, Garp maintained his resolve and encouraged everyone via the Den Den Mushi, reminding them of their role as the future of the Marines. Despite facing overwhelming odds and getting pierced by Kuzan's ice, Garp faced the enemy with a smile, showcasing his unyielding spirit and dedication to the cause.

 

Trivia

• He and Sengoku are also the only known Marines to possess Haoshoku Haki.
• He is also the first Marine to showcase it and its advanced form.
• Garp's wife has not been named, but the supplement Grand Line Times left a "?" in place of her in their family tree.
•  Initially, Garp smoked cigars, but in later appearances, he stopped doing it.
• In the anime, Garp said he has eaten 842 donuts without sleeping or taking a break because he was trying to beat a world record.
• Aside from Luffy himself, Garp is the only Romance Dawn V.2 character to actually appear in the storyline.
• Garp's laughter style is that he adds either "Bwa" or "Wa" before the haha part. This is somewhat unique as most characters only stick with one laughter style (the only other character sharing this distinction being Dracule Mihawk).
• Garp appears to have a dog animal-theme, as shown by his mask and his ship.
• In the 4th, 5th and 7th fan polls of most popular characters, Garp was ranked the 50th, 74th and 44th, respectively.
• Garp shares some similarities with Smoker:
• Both of them are Marine Vice Admirals (Smoker started out as a Captain but was promoted).
• Both of them have white hair (Garp had black hair at first, but it whitened with old age).
• Both of them are from the East Blue.
• Both cornered many times a certain pirate they were chasing (Roger for Garp and Luffy for Smoker).
• Both of them are often accompanied by a swordsman (Bogard for Garp and Tashigi for Smoker).
• Both of them have a scar on their face next to one eye (Smoker initially did not have any scars at first but gained one after the timeskip).
• In One Piece Magazine Vol.5, Oda drew a "what-if" illustration of Ace, Luffy, and Sabo as Marines. Garp was seen wielding a pair of katana swords.
• Garp's favorite foods are senbei and curry.
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Monkey D. Garp

Garp is an eccentric but caring man, who is loyal to both his criminal family and the Marine Headquarters, who he has served for decades. He is loud, boisterous, exuberant, and overall acts in a similar manner to his grandson. He has a habit of falling asleep during conversations and can be absent-minded. Luffy's crew noted his, apparently hereditary, selfishness during Garp's interaction with Luffy in Water 7.

Unlike many Marines, Garp does not believe that a person's lineage determines their path. On a similar note, he does not believe that being labeled a criminal necessarily makes someone a bad person. Although Garp wanted his grandsons to become marines, he entrusted their care to a mountain bandit whom he had refused to turn over for prosecution.

Abilities and Powers

Garp is considered a living legend and is one of the strongest marines of all time. In his heyday he was famous for cornering Gol D. Roger many times, as he was one of the very few people capable of fighting the Pirate King. In fact, Roger states that he and Garp had almost killed each other many times throughout their battles. Due to his incredible power and popularity, Garp was offered the rank of admiral several times throughout his life but refused the promotion every time. As a testament to his strength, together with Roger he fought and defeated the Rocks Pirates, one of the strongest pirate crews in history that featured Roger's most formidable rival, Rocks D. Xebec, three future Emperors and other legendary pirates such as Shiki the Golden Lion. This tremendous feat earned Garp the title of Hero of the Marines.

Leadership

As a vice admiral of the Marine Headquarters, Garp has command over all lower ranking soldiers, as seen when he took two of Ripper's subordinates (Koby and Helmeppo) and made them his own subordinates instead due to his higher rank. Also, as a vice admiral, he has the potential to be called upon to be one of five vice admirals leading a fleet of ten battleships during a Buster Call.

Physical Abilities

Garp's strength is considered legendary. At his best he had monstrous punching power at his disposal, with his epithet, "Garp the Fist", attesting to the tremendous power of his punches. He claimed to have crushed eight mountains during his training to face Chinjao. This is proven when he was able to dent Chinjao's drill head, which was powerful enough to split the immensely hard Ice Continent in two, with relative ease. It is evident Whitebeard respects Garp's strength, as he mentioned him during his talk with Shanks.