Calgara

Calgara
Statistics
Japanese Name:	カルガラ
Romanized Name:	Karugara
English Name:	Calgara (FUNimation); Kalgara (Viz[1], 4Kids)
First Appearance:	Chapter 286; Episode 187
Affiliations:	Shandians
Occupations:	Warrior
Epithet:	"Demon Warrior"
Japanese VA:	Hidekatsu Shibata
English VA:	Robert McCollum

Calgara (カルガラ, Karugara) was a hero of the Shandians who lived while Upper Yard was still a part of Jaya (some 400 years ago), and who befriended the explorer Montblanc Norland (the ancestor of Montblanc Cricket). A statue of him was erected after his death as an eternal reminder to the Shandians of his strength and courage. He had a daughter named Musse. Wiper is a direct descendant of his.

[edit] Appearance

Full-view of Calgara

Calgara's most striking feature is his long mass of red hair that extends down to his knees. He has red tattoos on both shoulders and wears purple pants like those worn by real Native Americans under a grass skirt. Like all Shandians, he has a pair of small, white wings extending from his back.

[edit] Personality

Calgara was quick to react and a strong believer in traditions of his people. He was hugely mistrusting of strangers. Calgara's personality changed after he met Norland with many of his outtakes of the world changing alongside it. One particular note was that after seeing his God for what it truly was (a giant snake), he dismisses all Gods including the Skypieans "God".

[edit] Powers and Abilities

Not much is known about Calgara, except that he was considered the Shandian tribe's greatest warrior and has been shown to fight on even terms with Norland^[2], and killed a giant snake himself, demonstrating he was incredibly strong (It should be stressed that both his descendant Wiper and Zoro couldn't so much as harm the snake Norla of the same size).

He is also apparently very fast, as he has been known to swiftly dispatch intruders as soon as they appear on the island. Those that have heard of any legends about him often compare him to a demon.

[edit] Weapons

Like many others from his tribe he wields a spear, something he seems quite adept with as he used it to kill a giant snake. He also uses a giant iron ball on a chain, in the same way Garp did, swinging it and utilizing it with ease, despite its giant size.

[edit] History

After their dying priest had a 'vision', he declared the only way to stop the "curse" that was plaguing their land was to sacrifice their most beautiful woman.^[3] Musse, Calgara's daughter, went willing to the altar in order to save the rest of her people. She was about to be sacrifice to God, but she was saved by Montblanc Norland^[4] Calgara fought against Norland, but after Norland was distracted by his daughter who was unwilling to flee from the altar, he finally struck the explorer in the chest.

Norland declared that he could cure the village without needless human sacrifice and given the deadline of sunset to prove this, or join Musse and his crew on the altar.^[5] Calagara declared the first sign of trouble and he would kill Norland, heading out to find the explorer he found Seto just outside, who had discovered that he carried the plague the day before.^[6]. When Calgara asks how he is feeling, Seto says "much better" to Calgara's shock.^[7],

The next day, an earthquake hits the island, thinking this is God's wrath, Calgara rushes out to find and kill Norland. Calgara mocked Norland after finding him trapped in a crack in the ground.^[8] After God's daughter came to devour Norland, Norland pleaded with Calgara one last time. Hearing the speech, Calgara finally listened and killed Jaya. Wondering whether he did wrong or not, Calgara stood there for a moment unsure of the fate of his people, Norland ensure him things were fine. Later, Norland cured the entire village of the illness, Norland and Calgara became friends and laughed and drank together.

Norland stayed on the island a few days longer, exploring what other trees and plants grew on the island. During this time, his crew found a viper, Norland and Calgara found themselves laughing over the viper being the great snake's granddaughter.

Having been convinced Norland and his crew were okay people, Calgara showed them Shandora, the city of gold which his people protected. In the ruins of the great city, Norland was shown the bell of Shandora which first brought him to the island.

However, it is revealed that Norland and his crew cut down an entire forest, whose trees the Shandians believed to guide the souls of their ancestors, causing the Shandians to act towards Norland with hostility. Norland did so because the trees were the source of the disease that plagued the Shandians in the first place, and decided to leave anyway, as he and his crew were once again seen as outsiders. However, Calgara realized the truth too late, as Norland's crew was already on their ship leaving.

This didn't stop Calgara though, and he rang the golden bell that first attracted Norland to Jaya, promising that he would wait for Norland's return. Sadly that was not to be, as one fateful day, the part of the island they were on was shot into the air by the Knock Up Stream and into Skypiea, where it attracted the attention of the "god" of the time, who then proceeded to attack it and the Shandians in order to claim it as his own. Calgara found himself struggling to breath suddenly.^[9]

Though it is never revealed how Calgara met his end, the last seen of him was shouting to his warriors that they must protect the land so that their friend Norland can return. He died never knowing the fate of his friend Norland. Calgara's call to relight the light of Shandora would later inspire his descendant Wiper to attempt to complete Calgara's final wish.^[10]

[edit] Anime and Manga Differences

In the manga, the frame containing his last actions depicted him standing still yelling "Relight the light of Shandora" implying that was his very last action. In the anime, while he still shouted out, he also was seen fighting instead.

[edit] Merchandise

He featured in was the One Piece Full Color R Gashapon series and One Piece Unlimited Adventure as an optional boss. He is a level 5 character, which means that (in the game) his strength rivals that of extremely powerful One Piece characters like Luffy, Aokiji, Shanks and even Whitebeard.

[edit] Trivia

• When Calgara was shot into the sky, he complained that it was suddenly difficult to breathe. It is most likely he was suffering from a high altitude related illness, since he was shot into the sky suddenly fast, having no time for his body to adjust. One of the common symptoms of high altitude related illnesses is difficulty breathing. ^[11]

[edit] References

1. ↑ Shonen Jump December 2009 Issue
2. ↑ One Piece manga - Chapter 288, The villagers note thatNorland is as strong as Calgara.
3. ↑ One Piece manga - Chapter 287, A dying elder tells his living people that their only hope is to sacrifice their most beautiful woman.
4. ↑ One Piece manga - Chapter 287, Norland saves Musse.
5. ↑ One Piece manga - Chapter 288, Norland is given the deadline.
6. ↑ One Piece manga - Chapter 287, Seto falls ill.
7. ↑ One Piece manga - Chapter 288, Seto reveals he is fine.
8. ↑ One Piece manga - Chapter 288, Calgara finds Norland trapped.
9. ↑ One Piece Manga - Chapter 292, Fate of the Shandians, Calgara as he engages the enemy.
10. ↑ One Piece Manga - Chapter 293, Wiper is inspired by the story of his ancestor.
11. ↑ Altitude illnesses