As with any popular series, the anime adaptation of One Piece brought to life the adorable Straw Hats and other beloved characters. However, it was also the gateway for some speculations about the correct pronunciation of names and places in the One Piece universe, especially that of our lovable future Pirate King Luffy.
As you might have guessed, we shed some light on the correct pronunciation of Luffy’s name. You’ll also find some crunchy facts that you probably didn’t know.
I hope that this article warms up the relentless passion for the One Piece series that burns in your heart. It’s also a real pleasure to guide you through this article with my humble 15-year-old passion.
So, stay tuned, and let’s sail!
Is Luffy pronounced Luffy or Loofy?
It can be confusing to figure out the correct pronunciation of a character’s name.
Surely you have at least once wondered if you misheard someone saying Luffy’s name in a strange way. Some alleged mispronunciations are Rufi or Loofy.
But there is a clear impetus for this state of affairs.
When One Piece became famous all over the world, different language translations were released. It’s actually quite reasonable not to have identical pronunciations for places or even names: they’re called name variants.
Be it Laughtale or Raftel, Fuchsia or Foosha, the list is not exhaustive.
Basically, Luffy should be pronounced /‘lu : fi/, in the IPA key. Well, it might seem fuzzy if we stop here.
For a better insight, we will take a look at the three most popular versions of One Piece dubbing said: the Japanese, English, and French versions.
First of all, the sound « l » (e.g. lap, ) does not exist in the Japanese language.
The closest sound in the language to the romanized « l » is somewhere between an « r » and an « l ». Therefore, the Japanese pronunciation of Luffy (モンキー・D・ルフィ) is similar to that of Monkey D. Rufi.
Little info, the Japanese voice-over actress of Luffy is Mayumi Tanaka.
Second, in English, Luffy should be pronounced « loo-fee » (as in « loop ») instead of « luh-fee » (as in « fluffy »).
Colleen Clinkenbeard was the main voice actor for the English voice acting. We also had Erica Schroeder and Chuck Powers as additional voice actors for the anime and some non-canon movies.
Yes, more than one Seiyūs often work on the same voiceover or dubbing. You probably didn’t notice, so ideally it was done.
Finally, for the French translation, ironically, it’s the « luh-fee » that was officialized.
The dubbing actors who gave their voices to Luffy are Vincent Barazzoni and Stephane Excoffier, for the anime and other non-canon movies.
In conclusion
By the way, did you know that Luffy’s name was inspired by the sailing term « luffing »?
As mentioned in Shonen Jump Vol. 1 – N°3, Oda actually came up with the name Luffy for the hero of the One Piece series. It was only later that he discovered that the related term « luffing » fit perfectly with the spirit he wanted for his main character.
The most surprising case is that of Sanji, who was supposed to be called « Naruto ». Funny, isn’t it?
I hope you found this article informative and that it cleared up any confusion about how to pronounce Luffy’s name.
Keep on sailing, Otakus. See you again on the road to Laugh Tale!
