Donquixote Doflamingo first appeared in the One Piece anime in Episode 151 on April 20, 2003. His defeat would come on March 20, 2016 in Episode 733. That's nearly 13 years between debut and downfall, and during that time, One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda was able to ensure that Doflamingo consistently remained an ominous and interesting presence. But how did he do it? How did he build up a fight between Doflamingo and Monkey D. Luffy that fans pretty much knew was coming for 13 years without making things feel stale or making people frustrated with the long wait?
Because make no mistake — the build-up is always there. This isn't a case of a character appearing randomly and then just happening to come into the path of Luffy much later. From Doflamingo's first appearance, he's on a collision course with the Captain of the Straw Hat Crew. However, this build-up comes in stages, creating an ideological conflict before ever giving us a hint of a physical one.
One of the first times we see Doflamingo, he's using his powers to torment two marines, cruelly forcing them to fight each other for his own entertainment. This is coming in the Jaya Arc, just a few episodes after Luffy tried to maintain his composure while being taunted by Bellamy and in the same one where Luffy punches Bellamy down after Bellamy insults his dreams and robs one of his friends. So already we have an opposition: Doflamingo inflicts violence when he is bored, harming others simply because he's powerful enough to get away with it. Luffy inflicts violence on those that bully because they think they can get away with it. In short: If they met, Luffy would probably punch Doflamingo.
Oda takes this further in the Sabaody Archipelago Arc during which Luffy invades the slave auction house and punches Saint Charlos after Charlos shoots Hatchan and generally acts like a jerk to everyone. Meanwhile, we learn that Doflamingo was actually a force behind the scenes in the auction house, but has suddenly lost interest in it. This shows us that while Luffy confronts problems directly, Doflamingo is more than willing to allow others to do his bidding, and has no problem abandoning them if they don't suit his purpose anymore.
During the Marineford War, Doflamingo's goals and Luffy's goals couldn't be more different. Doflamingo seems content just wreaking havoc on people, cutting off Little Oars Jr's foot and clashing with other powerful pirates every once in a while. He makes a huge speech about the winner of the war "deciding justice," but his attitude toward it all is very lackadaisical. The fighting and the bloodshed mostly amuses him. Meanwhile, Luffy's goal is direct and energetic, as he wants to save his brother from being executed, which is the very opposite of feeling amused by bloodshed.
Finally, we get to Dressrosa and Luffy gets his chance to punch Doflamingo a lot. But Oda isn't done contrasting the two. For example, during the various flashbacks in this arc, we learn that Doflamingo's own brother betrayed him and was an undercover officer for the Marines. For this, Doflamingo kills him. Compare this to when Luffy is "betrayed" by his crew, like when Robin leaves in Water 7. Luffy does not try to punish her but instead tries to make things right. Doflamingo's pirate "family" is very close-knit, but Doffy is also willing to end their lives if he feels slighted. Luffy, on the other hand, would never dream of doing that. He cares for them no matter how harshly they disagree.
We also learn Doflamingo's backstory as the son of a former world noble who abandoned his lavish position and went to live among "regular people." Doflamingo resented this move so much he'd eventually kill his father, feeling that his lineage was now disgraced. Luffy, on the other hand, was raised among the lower classes, and doesn't really care about who his father is or the power he wields.
When Luffy and Doflamingo finally come to blows, it isn't as physically gripping as Luffy vs Lucci, or as satsfyingly dramatic as Luffy vs Crocodile, or as visually dynamic as Luffy vs Katakuri. Rather, its intensity comes from the fact that, for over a decade, Oda has been setting up this clash in the background (and eventually the foreground) of the series for so long. It's a brilliant example of One Piece's long-term storytelling that 90 percent of the build-up for this fight is spent without any kind of physical contact, but rather the viewer just knowing that Luffy and Doflamingo wouldn't like each other. That's great stuff.
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Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!
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