From the very beginning of my time watching One Piece, I felt a deeper connection to Luffy and his behaviours, and over time, as I analyzed Luffy, I noticed a pattern in his behaviour, and it clicked to me that he may be Autistic.
In this post I will be heavily going off of the link below, since this is not a serious work made to be read by more than just some tumblr users, I will be plagiarizing from said link.
"To meet diagnostic criteria for ASD according to DSM-5, a child must have persistent deficits in each of three areas of social communication and interaction, plus at least two of four types of restricted, repetitive behaviors"
Let us go through the criteria and point out which of the criteria applies to Monkey D. Luffy.
A. Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by the following, currently or by history
1. Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back-and-forth conversation; to reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions.
Luffy has an abnormal social approach, which takes the form of inappropriate touching (touching/grabbing/poking at strangers), and 'forced' friendship (insists everyone is his friend, immediately welcomes them into his life, and even invites almost strangers to be part of his crew). He also fails to maintain back and forth conversation, often interrupting and/or hogging the conversation to talk about his interests and thoughts in particular.
He also fails to respond to social interactions, often completely ignoring when someone is talking to him or failing to follow rules, orders, and/or suggestions. His interests are limited, and he usually only talks about food (more specifically meat) and fighting. Luffy does not take hints or read between the lines; even when people tell him no or ask him not to do something, he does it anyway. Of course, said things end up being in the best interest of those people, but he still doesn't listen.
Luffy is not someone who displays "common sense" a lot, particularly when telling people things that may be hard to hear. He does not understand the concept of telling white lies or saving someone from embarrassment or hurt feelings by being polite. He is very blunt about things and does not beat around the bush. For example, when breaking the news to Tama about Ace's death, he simply told her "Ace is dead'' and that was that. He neglects to think about the fact that something so blunt and serious may be difficult for an 8 year old to process.
It's also worth noting that Luffy does not take orders from anyone, or stick to a plan, often abandoning his planned-out strategies with Trafalgar Law, and instead doing things his way; winging it and hoping everything will work out. He has repeatedly gone against Law's plans and suggestions, as well as the rest of his crew.
2. Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures; to a total lack of facial expressions and nonverbal communication.
Luffy uses excessive facial expressions and non-verbal communication, which is often associated with autism (despite these criteria focusing on the opposite). He also makes excessive eye contact or none at all, often using his feet for things meant for his hands, and picks his nose even though it's deemed rude and unsanitary. He also has abnormal verbal communication, saying things that don't make sense to others (i.e thinking he was insulting Zoro by calling him 'three swords', then when Usopp pointed out that Luffy wasn't insulting him, Luffy changed his "insult" to 'four swords')
3. Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to the absence of interest in peers.
Luffy is incredibly good at making friends and making others feel welcomed and safe in his circle. He experiences no deficits in this area; however, as stated earlier, his means of building relationships is very abnormal and exhibits autistic behaviour. He has difficulty adjusting his behaviour to suit various social contexts, such as picking his nose, burping, slurping food, being generally ill-mannered at fancy restaurants, yet always making sure to thank the waiter/barkeep, etc. after every meal.
B. Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, as manifested by at least two of the following, currently or by history.
1. Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech (e.g., simple motor stereotypes, lining up toys or flipping objects, echolalia, idiosyncratic phrases).
Luffy expresses repetitive motor movements/speech, often clapping his feet together, clapping his hands, and laughing at everything even when things aren't funny. He smiles and laughs in serious/ life-threatening situations.
2. Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior (e.g., extreme distress at small changes, difficulties with transitions, rigid thinking patterns, greeting rituals, need to take the same route or eat the same food every day).
Luffy is insistent on eating meat every single day at every meal. While his diet is not in the least bit restrictive, he expresses the ritualistic behaviour of eating meat at every meal, every day. It's also common for Luffy to have a 'one-track mind', often only thinking about food or fighting. It is also worth noting that it's common for people with Autism to have an obsession with food.
3. Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus (e.g., strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, excessively circumscribed, or perseverative interests).
Luffy has only one goal, and that's to become king of the pirates. He does not ever let anything get in the way of said goal. He also has an incredibly strong attachment to his straw hat, which Shanks gave to him over 10 years ago, he is very careful with his hat, and gets very aggressive and mad when someone touches, takes, or damages his hat. Luffy also has a unique and string fascination for bugs, more specifically beetles. He has been shown to always be interested in them, pointing out different species, talking about them and naming off facts about them, and even wearing clothes with pictures of them or wearing clothes that look like them (the samurai gear from wano for example)
4. Hyper- or hypo reactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment (e.g, apparent indifference to pain/temperature, adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or touching of objects, visual fascination with lights or movement).
Luffy is easily distracted and fascinated. Things like lights, bugs, smells, sounds, food, etc. all grab his attention very easily. He also has an indifference to pain and temperature, often not realizing or feeling anything until someone points it out. For example, on both drum island and punk hazard, Luffy did not feel cold until some of his crew mates pointed out that he was not properly dressed for the winter and asked if he was cold. Luffy also likes to touch just about everything he can, even things that don't belong to him. He has a keen sense of smell and has remarkable hearing (often hearing things that others don't) although that can be chalked up to the Voice of All Things.
C. Symptoms must be present in the early developmental period (but may not become fully manifest until social demands exceed limited capacities or may be masked by learned strategies in later life).
Luffy has experienced all symptoms from an early age, which developed further once he set off on his journey to becoming a pirate captain. He has been this way since he was a child, and he has no apparent reason for this behaviour other than it simply being how he is.
D. Symptoms cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning.
Every symptom is shown to affect him in his day-to-day life, both positively and negatively. They cause significant impairment in social functionality. Luffy is often seen as childish and unable to function on his own without the help of his crewmates. He can not cook or navigate, two very important skills to have as a young adult, which can be attributed to a developmental delay, aka Autism. This does not mean in any way that Luffy isn't smart or capable of handling himself; this just means he isn't as independent as someone who is Neurotypical would be.
In conclusion, Luffy experiences persistent deficits in each of three areas of social communication and interaction and meets 4/4 of the criteria listed in part B, making him autistic.
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