Eiichiro Oda's One Piece manga is full of mysteries and surprises, which is no small feat for a manga that's over two decades old and boasts over 1,000 chapters. Some of these mysteries are bigger, some are smaller, but one of the biggest mysteries in the entire manga was the identity of a near-legendary character, Joy Boy! Joy Boy was first mentioned in 2011, and it took Oda a total of 11 years to—reportedly—reveal the identity of this mysterious character.

Joy Boy is the name of a legendary character in the history of One Piece, a kind of hero who marked the Void Century. Joy Boy was, approximately 900 years before the current timeline, in partnership with the traveling elephant Zunesha until his disappearance. Legends speak of a new Joy Boy, but his identity remained unknown for a long time. It was initially suspected that Kaido could be Joy Boy, but Zunesha himself later confirmed that Monkey D. Luffy was the new Joy Boy in One Piece.

In the rest of this article, we will tell you everything we know about the character of Joy Boy in the One Piece franchise. You will discover the known history and notoriety of the character, as well as how the upcoming chapter 1043 will apparently solve the decade-long mystery of Joy Boy's identity, which has been one of the most important questions of the Wano Country arc of the series.

Who or what is Joy Boy?

Joy Boy was a character who existed during the Void Century and played an important role in the history of Fishman Island. He was first mentioned in the Sea Forest Poneglyph. Joy Boy delivered Noah to Fishman Island 900 years ago, and the Poneglyphs were invented 800 years ago when he wrote his apology.

This would mean that Joy Boy has existed and been relevant worldwide for over a century. Joy Boy was also the former owner of at least part of One Piece. About nine hundred years ago, the people of Fish-Man Island made a promise to a man named Joy Boy. He gave them Noah, who would one day play a vital role. However, it seems Joy Boy was unable to keep his promise.

The inhabitants of Fish-Man Island promised to keep Noah safe until a certain day came. Within the aforementioned poneglyph is a letter of apology from Joy Boy to Poseidon, apologizing for breaking his end of the bargain. He was also Zunesha's partner. At some point, Joy Boy sailed to the last island in the Grand Line, leaving behind part of a treasure that would become known as One Piece.

Part of the promise of Fish-Man Island was broken during the events of the Fish-Man Island arc when Monkey D. Luffy was asked to protect the island no matter the cost, even if it meant that Noah would ultimately be destroyed.

Before Luffy could completely destroy the ship, Noah was stopped by a group of Sea Kings unknowingly summoned by Shirahoshi, saving Fish-Man Island and fulfilling the nation's promise with Joy Boy. However, the ship was still badly damaged. The Sea Kings then took the ship to the Sea Forest, where it was scheduled to be repaired.

The figure of Joy Boy has been presented several times as a title waiting to reach the world: Oden mentioned that he had to open Wano Country "before Joy Boy arrives." When Kaido defeated Luffy for the second time, he mentioned that "he couldn't be Joy Boy either." Now, it seems that Kaido's theory was wrong.

Has Joy Boy's identity been revealed?

A preview of the upcoming Chapter 1043, titled "Let's Die Together," released on March 14, 2022, suggested that the identity of Joy Boy would finally be revealed. Now, you know that there has been speculation, both in-universe and among fans, about the nature of Joy Boy's character, and the theories that it was a title have proven correct.

Now, the reappearance of the wandering elephant Zunesha has opened the door to a big revelation, as Zunesha was connected to the original Joy Boy 800 years ago and is reportedly able to recognize him. A preview panel for Chapter 1043 revealed this:

This scene takes place the day after Luffy's battle with Kaidou. Luffy lies on the ground, defeated but smiling, and as Zunesha approaches and sees him, he seems to recognize his former companion. This suggests that Monkey D. Luffy, the series' protagonist, was Joy Boy all along, and such a theory would certainly make sense. Of course, this is just a preview panel, and we need to see the full context, but it seems the mystery of Joy Boy has finally been solved.

So, it was? Well, apparently it was. Just like 900 years ago, Zunesha once again played a major role in this, as the elephant's arrival in Wano Country revealed the identity of the new Joy Boy. This was a good thing, because Kaido was also there, so King's theory that Kaido was potentially Joy Boy would have been tested now. So, what happened?

Well, as Zunesha was heading towards Wano, he noticed a fleet of Navy ships heading towards the same location. He then uses the Voice of All Things to inform Momonosuke of this fact and asks him to open the waters of Wano Country, as he will fight alongside him.

Seeing the Alliance's state of war, Momonosuke accepted Zunesha's help and opened the waters so the elephant could enter and fight alongside the Alliance. But while that was his primary goal, something completely unexpected happened in Wano.

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Namely, shortly after Zunesha's arrival in Wano, Monkey D. Luffy, during his fight against Kaido, activated the true powers of his Devil Fruit. Namely, it turned out that the Gomu Gomu no Mi was actually the Hito Hito no Mi, model: Nika, and it gave Luffy the powers of the Sun God Nika.

At that moment, Zunesha also heard the "Drums of Liberation," which weren't actual drums but a change in his heartbeat that meant he was near Joy Boy. Zunesha hadn't heard this rhythm for several centuries, and when he arrived in Wano, Joy Boy's identity was finally confirmed.

Namely, as we've discovered, Monkey D. Luffy is the new Joy Boy. Zunesha directly confirmed this, and there's no doubt, at this point, that Luffy is the character who, according to legend, is destined to change the world and make it a better place. His influence is said to be enormous, just like that of the first Joy Boy 900 years ago.