One of the most recent Paramecia Type Devil Fruits to make an appearance, the Brain-Brain Fruit might be one of the strangest. This Devil Fruit, along with the user, Doctor Vegapunk, is legendary for how much they’ve changed the Grand Line during the doctor’s lifetime. How does the Brain-Brain Fruit itself contribute to Vegapunk’s legacy though?
Spoilers abound for One Piece beyond this point. Catch up on Viz or MangaPlus before continuing further!
What is the Brain-Brain Fruit?
A Paramecia Type, which allows the user to manipulate their body or create something at will, the Brain-Brain Fruit is a little different. Instead of offering any sort of combat ability, this Devil Fruit simply allows the user to absorb knowledge infinitely. In addition, they can also study and retain any information they see with total accuracy, offering photographic memory and learning retention. The tradeoff is that they begin to experience some physical side effects that give them a very distinctive look. The user begins to show off their vast amount of knowledge physically.
When someone eats the Brain-Brain Fruit, their brain has to grow with the information being taken in. After all, that new information has to be put away somewhere, and without sufficient storage space, nothing else can fit. So, the user just slowly expands, with their head eventually growing larger than their own body in the case of Vegapunk. The poor guy had to duck through doorways unless they were specially designed for him.
Dr. Vegapunk
Vegapunk is the foremost scientist of the World Government, creating much of their weapons systems. That’s not all though, as he also strives to improve life for everyday people. It’s his knowledge that solves a great crisis of energy, with Vegapunk creating a new, self-renewing energy source that provides electricity for all islands free. This puts him in the good graces of everyone in the world, but his research into medical sciences is what endears him to Chopper of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Unfortunately, Vegapunk is also known for having his vices when it comes to researching and inventing. His morality is flexible, with many ideas coming from the vast knowledge he’s taken in conflict with each other. That means he gets a little too deep into his evil side sometimes, and with his head getting larger, he needs to find a fix quickly. With an idea he gets from Kuma, Vegapunk creates his Satellite robots, which allow the Brain-Brain Fruit to still take in info while he splits himself into separate beings. These each embody a part of his personality, while also taking any information they bring in throughout the day and uploading them to Stella, Vegapunk’s main body.
Constant Growth
Obviously, the greatest drawback of the Brain-Brain Fruit is the ever-expanding brain of the user. Vegapunk must be the first to figure out how to store information separately from his body, so users before must have been in a heap of trouble. Even with his massive amount of knowledge and advanced tech, he was only able to create the Satellites after years and years, only doing so just before the story of One Piece started. At that point, his noggin was already massive, at least long enough to land an airplane on if he was lying down.
That’s likely where the downfall of the previous Brain-Brain Fruit users came from. At some point, the brain was likely too heavy for the body to hold up, requiring either constant assistance or immobility. That’s a big buzzkill for anyone looking for knowledge, especially those like Vegapunk who travel everywhere to learn all they can. Plus, the neck and back pain after your head growing that stupidly large has to be killer.
Combat Abilities
Absolutely none other than inventions the user creates. It’s very much a tactical-minded Devil Fruit, with the pursuit of knowledge as the driving force for it. That’s not to say the user can’t develop combat abilities, as Vegapunk has made entire mech suits. Not to mention the remote combat units he’s made through the years like the Pacifistas from Bartholomew Kuma. Then there’s the whole matter of the Seraphim, which he creates from clones of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
All of these combined might not set him up for great combat abilities, but the Brain-Brain Fruit differs. This allows for Batman levels of preparation. Users of the Brain-Brain Fruit can think of plans steps ahead of their adversary. Though Vegapunk ends up overplaying his hand when it comes to studying the Void Century. Instead gaining the attention of the Gorosei in the process.
Weaknesses
The combat ability of the Brain-Brain Fruit is probably the greatest sore point of it. Most other Paramecia Types allow the user some form of decent espionage or combat ability. Nope, this one focuses solely on knowledge. Other than the user’s own thinking, reasoning, and logical abilities, the Devil Fruit is relatively useless. The other greatest disadvantage is the very slow creep of the user’s brain size. That could potentially immobilize them if they take on too much knowledge.
Overall, the Brain-Brain Fruit is a strong Devil Fruit for those in search of knowledge. While it may not offer the best in combat ability, the Brain-Brain Fruit excels when it comes to information. Especially the boost of a photographic memory and enhanced learning retention. They’re able to store vast amounts of critical knowledge in their ever-expanding heads. No doubt if Vegapunk had access to the Ohara texts, his brain would grow three times the size. The Brain-Brain Fruit will accommodate it though, no matter how much he learns in the process.
