Oda partially based Luffy on Son Goku, the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball series created by Akira Toriyama. To make the readers relax without being stressed out, Oda added elasticity powers to Luffy for a comical effect. Oda tries to draw Luffy very straightforward about what he wants to be and how he feels.
The devil fruit Luffy gained his abilities from was originally called the Gomu no Mi (ゴムの実?, lit. fruit of rubber), but after the editor pointed out that a real rubber fruit existed, the name was changed to the Gomu Gomu no Mi (ゴムゴムの実?, lit. fruit of rubber rubber, renamed "Gum Gum Fruit" in the English adaptations).
