Besides being featured in pieces of merchandise based on the One Piece, he has appeared in crossover figurines which show him along with Dragon Ball characters. Luffy has been ranked as the most popular One Piece character in a recent Japanese fan poll. Luffy ranked first in all three Shōnen Jump character popularity polls. FUNimation's Mike McFarland and Christopher Sabat, both stated that they felt that Luffy was more likable than the Dragon Ball character Son Goku. Mayumi Tanaka, Luffy's Japanese voice actor, comically mentioned she feels sorry for making Luffy's voice due the fact she is a mother while Luffy is much younger. When asked about how she does Luffy's voice, Tanaka replies that she "strives for reality" during scenes that the character talks while eating or while touching his nose. In the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation Awards from 2008, Luffy was nominated for the category "Best Male Character". However, he lost to Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach. He was also 22nd in IGN's Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time by writer Chris Mackenzie.
Luffy's character has also been received positively by publications from several media. T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews calls Luffy "likable goofy", and an idealist with an infectious optimism. In a review for the fourth One Piece movie, "Dead End Adventure", The Star Online describes Luffy as "an airhead and brilliant fighter." Rika Takahashi from EX comments that Luffy's character with his stretching powers is what sets One Piece apart from "the old stereotypical adventure manga" and the many other "combat-oriented mangas [sic]", turning the series into "something new and interesting". On the other hand, Anime News Network (ANN) writer Zac Bertschy found Luffy remminiscent to Rurouni Kenshin's character Himura Kenshin due their personalities and attitudes. However, he still noted Luffy to be entertaining. Mania Entertainment's Bryce Coulter noted Luffy's actions to save people to be like the one from "any great shonen hero." Colleen Clinkenbeard, Luffy's English voice actor in the Funimation dub, has been commented to be making a good job in the dub of the series, with Carl Kimlinger from ANN noting there are "enough moments of perfection."
