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"Shanks" has been featured, meaning it was chosen as an article of interest.

"Red-Haired" Shanks,[9] commonly known as just "Red Hair",[12] is the chief[5] of the Red Hair Pirates[2] and one of the Four Emperors that rule over the New World.[3]

Sailing with the infamous Roger Pirates since he was an infant, Shanks would begin his pirate career on their ship as an apprentice alongside Buggy, before forming his own crew following Roger's death.[4]

Twelve years ago, while operating in the East Blue, Shanks inspired the young village boy, Monkey D. Luffy to go on his own pirate journey,[13] thus being responsible for the boy becoming the notorious outlaw he is today. He accidentally provided Luffy with the Gomu Gomu no Mi to eat,[14] and even sacrificed his left arm to save the boy from being eaten by the Lord of the Coast out at sea. Most notably, he also owned the straw hat that once belonged to Gol D. Roger himself and has become Luffy's signature accessory, having gifted it to the boy as part of a promise for them to meet again someday.

Ever since the beginning of the series, Shanks has been an important background character, usually being shown accompanying Luffy's ever-growing reputation as a pirate. He is a late, but still vital ally during both the Marineford and Wano Country Arcs. He and his crew also have a sizable role in One Piece Film: Red, which centers on Uta, Shanks' adoptive daughter.

Appearance

Shanks is a tall, muscular man with a tan complexion. Among the original lineup of the Four Emperors, he stood out as the smallest, most normal-sized human by far, the others being inhumanly proportioned to varying degrees.

True to his epithet, Shanks has distinctly red hair, usually depicted across media as a deep crimson. Worthy of note is that, uniquely among all characters seen so far, even ones with a comparable hair tone, Shanks' hair is the sole one filled with grayscale in the black-and-white manga (instead of inked black or left white). Shanks' first-seen hairstyle was a straight, middle-parted one kept loosely down to nape length, with shorter (at eye level), curtained bangs in the front.[5] In later appearances (at ten years older), he is shown with slightly longer hair, wavier, and more slicked back than before, except for some few strands he lets fall down the sides of his face, pushed farther sideward than said prior bangs.[15][16][17][18]

On his face resides a secondary trademark: a triple set of parallel, linear scars that pass vertically, at an angle over his left (untouched) eye, revealed to have been given to him by Blackbeard some unknown time before the start of the series.[19] Additionally, Shanks' left arm is missing from below the deltoid, as a result of him saving Luffy from a Sea King when the future Straw Hat captain was just a child.[20] As did his hair, Shanks' face changes as the manga's art style progresses: initially, it appeared more youthful, with a soft jawline tapering down to a small, pointy chin. Its features were similarly milder than later depictions and, save for his small nose, also larger, most so his plain black eyes, topped by thin brows.[5] Later appearances show him more markedly countenanced, with the square of his jaw, the sharper, narrower pair of eyes, and the chiseled, more prominently bridged nose lending him a manlier appearance.[15][16][18] More consistently stays his facial hair, however, as he has always kept it in a neatly thin connection of beard and mustache stubble, forming the beginnings of a circle beard.

Clothes-wise, Shanks used to wear a certain straw hat obtained from Gol D. Roger (his former captain)[21] that was synonymous with his image[22] until he passed it on to Luffy.[23] Otherwise, Shanks' outfit always includes a sweeping long, sleeveless, high-collared cape of black color (in the anime bearing a lighter, gray inside) and beneath a simple, white shirt half-buttoned up, exposing the middle of his chest and upper abs. Additionally, Shanks is always wearing pants cut below the knee, collected halfway up the shin. Initially, the pair was a slightly loose, plain brown one with golden buttons down the outer leg sides, and a red sash around his waist to keep his shirt tucked inside.[5] Later on, Shanks is wearing a different, mildly baggier pair of pants with a green-yellow, indiscernible floral pattern (now revealing plenty of leg hair), and his shirt is left out of his sash, which is now shown holding his saber at his right side. Finally, his footwear consists of simple brown sandals, their soles gray studded.[15][16][18] After the timeskip, he is at some point wearing different pants yet again, light-colored with a rose pattern.[24]

From 9 to 14 years old, Shanks was already used to wearing Roger's straw hat and had a similar, longish hairstyle in the middle part as his present one. His clothes were simple, including white, either plain or pinstriped shirts, occasionally a buckled shoulder belt of brown leather, an orange waist sash holding a green-hilted saber reminiscent of Gryphon, and simple (red or blue) shorts.[25][26][27][28][29][30][31]

Gallery

Main Series

Shanks Wanted Poster
Shanks' wanted poster.
Shanks Portrait
A close up of Shanks' face.
Shanks' Scars
Shanks' scars.
Shanks Manga Color Scheme
Shanks' color scheme in the manga.
Shanks Roger Pirate Portrait
A close up of Shanks' face as a pirate apprentice.
Young Shanks
Shanks in his youth.
Shanks at Age 9
Shanks at age 9.
Shanks at Edd War
Shanks at age 12.
Shanks During a Battle of the Roger Pirates
Shanks' outfit during a battle of the Roger Pirates.
Shanks at Age 13
Shanks at age 13.
Shanks Second Outfit at Age 13
Shanks' outfit when the Roger Pirates arrived at Laugh Tale.
Shanks at Age 14
Shanks at age 14.
Shanks Whitebeard Memories
Shanks as he appeared in Whitebeard's memories.
Shanks Young Portrait
A close up of Shanks' face at age 27.
Shanks at Age 27
Shanks at age 27.
Shanks Romance Dawn Manga Color Scheme
Shanks' color scheme in the manga at age 27.
Shanks' Color Scheme With Hat and Cape
Shanks' color scheme in the manga at age 27 with the straw hat and cape on.
Shanks at Age 37
Shanks' outfit before the timeskip.
Shanks' Wedding Outfit
Shanks' outfit during The 500,000,000 Man Arc.
Shanks in Levely Arc
Shanks hooded in the Levely Arc.
Shanks' Egghead Arc Outfit
Shanks' outfit during the Egghead Arc.

Video Games

Shanks Unlimited Adventure
Shanks One Py Berry Match
Shanks in One Py Berry Match.
Shanks Unlimited World Red
Shanks Grand Quiz Battle
Shanks Super Grand Battle X
Shanks Pirate Warriors 3
Shanks (Strong World) Pirate Warriors 3
Shanks (Strong World) DLC outfit in One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3.
One Piece Burning Blood Red-Haired Shanks (Artwork)
Artwork of Shanks from One Piece: Burning Blood.
One Piece Burning Blood Strong World Shanks (Artwork)
Artwork of Shanks in his Strong World outfit from One Piece: Burning Blood.
Shanks Burning Will
Shanks Thousand Storm
Shanks Pirate Coat Thousand Storm
Shanks with Pirate Coat in One Piece Thousand Storm.
Shanks Strong World Thousand Storm
Shanks with Strong World outfit in One Piece Thousand Storm.
Shanks Animal Coat Thousand Storm
Shanks with Animal Coat in One Piece Thousand Storm.
Shanks With Straw Hat Thousand Storm
Shanks with the Straw Hat in One Piece Thousand Storm.
Shanks Formal Thousand Storm
Shanks' formal outfit in One Piece Thousand Storm.
Shanks Emperor Power Thousand Storm
Shanks (Emperor Power) in One Piece Thousand Storm.
Shanks and Buggy Apprentices Thousand Storm
Shanks and Buggy (as Pirate Apprentices) in One Piece Thousand Storm.
Shanks Battle Uniform Thousand Storm
Shanks' Battle Uniform outfit in One Piece Thousand Storm.
Shanks Jumputi
Shanks in Jumputi Heroes.
Shanks in Bounty Rush
Shanks Pirate Warriors 4
Shanks Film Red Pirate Warriors 4
Shanks (Film Red) in One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4.

Live-action series

Shanks Live Action
Shanks in the live-action series.
Young Shanks Live Action
Shanks during Roger's execution in the live-action series.
Shanks With Hat Live Action
Shanks before he lost his arm in the live-action series.

Other

Shanks' Eyecatcher Wanted Poster
Shanks' non-canon former wanted poster, as depicted in Episode 1029.
Shanks Anime Concept Art
Shanks' concept art from the anime.
Shanks in the Digitally Colored Manga
Shanks in the Digitally Colored Manga.
Film Red Shanks Poster
Shanks Wax
Shanks' wax figurine built by Diego.
Shanks High School Omake
Shanks as he appears in the Red Hair of Class 3-Sea Time omake.
Log Promise Alt
Shanks' attire from One Piece Log Collection.
Bridge of Dreams
Shanks on the cover of the disc One Piece Nippon Judan! 47 Cruise CD.
Shanks Everyday
Shanks in One Piece Everyday.

Personality

Shanks is an extremely laid-back man, preferring to take his time by traveling around the world with his crew while enjoying himself as opposed to rushing from one place to another.[32] This was already the case in his youth, where he was portrayed as playful and innocent in contrast to the grumpy and opportunistic Buggy, his fellow apprentice. However, Shanks still suffered from occasional bouts of immaturity, starting trivial arguments with Buggy solely out of stubbornness. In many ways, Shanks was very similar to Luffy (as a child) in his younger years.[33]

Shanks and his crew are almost always partying and drinking alcoholic beverages, as the captain's favorite pastimes are attending and hosting parties and banquets.[34] He is even able to waver the resolve of prominent figures, such as Dracule Mihawk to join in with his fun, as a testament to his strong charisma.[2] Shanks is endlessly fond of parties and will start them for all sorts of occasions (regardless of whether he had already partied beforehand), as he did when he finally met Luffy's brother, Portgas D. Ace. Shanks is also quite the jokester and has a penchant for teasing others.

Listen up… You can pour drinks on me, you can throw food at me… You can even spit on me. I'll just laugh that stuff off. But… Good reason or not… Nobody hurts a friend of mine.
— Shanks to Higuma when witnessing him hurting Luffy
Shanks Laughs at Partys Bar

Shanks laughing even after being soaked with a drink.

Despite his outward simplicity, Shanks has a rather complex moral code. His aversion to conflict has led him to believe that if personal opinions conflict, no matter how close the individuals may be, it is better for them to part ways.[35] It is indicative that Shanks prefers others to see him as someone who cares little about his own well-being, preferring to laugh off even dire situations as opposed to taking direct conflict.[36] His carefree nature ends, however, when those under his leadership or protection are threatened, which extends to those he views as friends.[37] As one of the Four Emperors, Shanks acknowledges that he too has a reputation to maintain and will hunt after those that dare cause trouble on his territories.

As noted by the Five Elders, Shanks is a pacifist by nature who does not actively seek to cause chaos and disorder. He is also against the idea of needless bloodshed, even if honor is involved, and so far he seems to only step up for a fight when a friend is in danger.[38][37] He seems to admire those who display extreme bravery for the sake of humanitarian reasons, having protected and commended Koby for gathering his courage to stop the Summit War of Marineford in front of the ruthless Marine Admiral Akainu, as the young Marine believed that it was pointless to continue fighting and treating the wounded should be prioritized.[39] While Shanks seems to always favor peaceful solutions, he will stand up and fight if the enemy leaves him no choice or if he wants to avoid further destruction to places he cares about.[40]

Unlike some of his fellow Emperors, Shanks is not arrogant and is fully capable of acknowledging the threat his enemies can pose. In his talk with Whitebeard, Shanks admitted the scar he got from Blackbeard was not because of a mistake on his part, but proof of Blackbeard's power at the time. This allowed Shanks to understand Blackbeard had been biding his time onboard Whitebeard's ship to build up his power until he was ready to make his move. Despite his own immense strength, he does not underestimate his opponents, using Future Vision before fighting Eustass Kid and quickly assaulting him when he saw Kid's attack. When he decides that he needs to fight, he is ruthless, having the Victoria Punk destroyed and seemingly wiping out the Kid Pirates.[41] This aspect makes Shanks harder to defeat compared to other Emperors such as Kaidou, Big Mom and, Blackbeard; he will not give his opponent any openings or play around with them. Instead, he will properly crush them.

Shanks also has skills in diplomacy, which, coupled with his status as one of the Four Emperors, means that his words usually carry enormous weight for those aware of his reputation. He brokered a ceasefire between the Whitebeard Pirates and the World Government because he knew that joining the fight himself would have tipped it against the Marines. Shanks managed to convince Sengoku, the then Marine Fleet Admiral, to agree with his proposition, even though Sengoku has a strong hatred for pirates.[42]

Shanks' Intimidation

Shanks' intimidating demeanor.

Despite being calm and brave most of the time, Shanks is sometimes surprisingly careless, acting and reacting in ways that are not always fitting to what others expect from him, a trait noted by Buggy to be "endlessly annoying". Those include panicking when things go wrong[43] or shrugging off Buggy's angry disposition towards him to greet him in a friendly manner.[44] That said, Shanks can be surprisingly serious and mature while dealing with certain topics, which runs opposite to his normal, fun-loving persona. It has been noted that he has problems relaxing while in enemy territory, causing his Haoshoku Haki to burst out of his control, even though, outwardly, Shanks appears fine.[45] Like many of his rival pirates, Shanks has an interest in obtaining the One Piece, stating his intention to start battling for it after the downfalls of two of his fellow Emperors, Kaidou and Big Mom. Additionally, Shanks is also aware that he needs the Road Poneglyphs to achieve this goal and therefore does not shy away from fighting for the copies himself.[40]

Having traveled around the world, Shanks believes the best sake can be found in his hometown in the West Blue, indicating a nostalgic streak.[46] During his encounter with Whitebeard, he referred to alcohol as "healing water".[16]

Like other characters in One Piece, Shanks has his own unique laugh, starting it with a "Da" (i.e., Dahahahahaha!).[47]

Relationships

Red Hair Pirates

Red Hair Pirates' Main Members' Current Appearances

Shanks and his closest crewmembers.

Shanks gets along with all of his crewmates, and they look up to him with respect as their captain, whom they refer to as "Boss". Shanks looks out for the well-being of the entire crew, from refusing to take a child (Luffy) onboard his ship[47] to denying permission to take on Whitebeard's men who had insulted Rockstar's honor.[38]

Benn Beckman

Beckman is the right-hand man of Shanks, thus the man the latter trusts the most. Beckman has a keen understanding of how Shanks operates, telling Luffy about the responsibilities Shanks has to face every day as a pirate captain. On the other hand, he can still end up amazed by some of the more foolish actions from his captain, such as panicking when Luffy was taken by Higuma[43] or getting even drunker while already hungover after Mihawk had brought news of Luffy's new bounty.[2] He is one of the three members of the crew who always appears with Shanks.

Lucky Roux

Lucky Roux is unquestionably loyal to his captain, quickly shooting one of Higuma's men for having pointed a gun at Shanks' head. He is also one of the three members in the crew who is always near Shanks.

Yasopp

Yasopp was the first to join Shanks' crew, who in turn heard stories about the most accurate sniper in the East Blue, having come to Yasopp's home island to recruit him shortly after the execution of Roger. Yasopp is happy to fulfill his dream of becoming a pirate and is grateful to Shanks. He is one of the three members of the crew who always appear with his captain.

Rockstar

Rockstar also respects and admires his captain. Although he was a beginner, Rockstar was ready to defend Shanks' honor and dignity while he was on Whitebeard's ship delivering a letter. He also tried to use the strength of his captain to back up the importance of the letter he delivered to Whitebeard. Shanks also had Rockstar cease any attempt at fighting Whitebeard since he did not want him to lose his life over foolishness.

Subordinate Crews

As one of the Four Emperors, Shanks governs a fleet composed of multiple, individual pirate crews. Compared to the other Emperor's allies, Shanks' are famous for being weak. They acknowledge they only survived in the New World because of Shanks protection. Still, Shanks worries about his fleet's well-being and does not charge for any sort of payment or condition for those who wish to bear his flag. For this reason, Shanks' subordinate captains adore him and are fiercely loyal to their Emperor.

Roger Pirates

Roger Pirates Defeat a Group of Marines

A young Shanks and the Roger Pirates defeat a group of Marines.

Shanks was found by the Roger Pirates at God Valley, back when he was just an infant.[48] As such, Shanks has had a close association with the crew ever since he was a baby.

Shanks had a close bond with Gol D. Roger, having acquired Roger's straw hat from him as far as the age of 8 years old.[21] Shanks cried at Roger's execution[49] and still thinks about him from time to time, as he compared Luffy to Roger when meeting him. After Ace's death, Shanks remarked on how he and Roger were similar in some ways.

Silvers Rayleigh punished Shanks and Buggy when the boys would often bicker and fight.[50] As an adult, Shanks is still acquainted with Rayleigh, having met with him at Sabaody Archipelago at least once. Shanks told Rayleigh about Luffy, whom the retired pirate became eager to meet.[51]

Initially, Shanks and the other crew members were not welcoming towards Kozuki Oden and two of his retainers, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, the latter two having stowed away aboard the ship. Over time, however, the crew warmed up to them.[52][53] Shanks held Oden in high regard as he wanted to help him open Wano Country to the world; however, Oden declined the offer.[54] Shanks has also displayed a desire to see Oden's children, Momonosuke and Hiyori, once more, having briefly sailed with them back when Oden was a member of Roger's crew.

Shanks was also familiar and good friends with Tom, the shipwright who designed and often worked on the Oro Jackson.

Family

Uta

Shanks is the adoptive father of Uta and she formerly served in his crew as a musician. She had a lot of respect for him as a great pirate and joined him in their adventures, taking care of the ship while they were off. He is shown to care a lot for her and her ambitions to be a singer, as he left her with Gordon to fully develop her singing abilities. Afterwards, he would take the blame for Elegia's destruction in order to prevent Uta from feeling guilt. Shanks sees Uta as an unmistakable part of his family as his daughter, going as far as to face two admirals to protect her.[11]

Friends

Monkey D. Luffy

Luffy receive the straw hat

Shanks gives his straw hat to Luffy.

Luffy looks up to Shanks, who is his role model, a childhood hero, and the man he wants to eventually surpass. At first, Shanks never took Luffy seriously because he was just a boy, so he mocked Luffy's dreams to become a pirate, dubbing him "Anchor" due to his inability to swim.[55]

Later, as Shanks and his crew were leaving after Luffy had stood up for him in front of Higuma and his men, Luffy declared he would become better than him, causing Shanks to begin to treat him seriously. As the ultimate expression of this, he entrusted Luffy with his signature straw hat, which is of extreme sentimental value to him as it belonged to Shanks' former captain. There is an understanding between the two that Luffy will return the hat upon him becoming a great pirate, a promise that they have both taken very seriously. Luffy defends the Straw Hat with his life, and upon arriving at Marineford, Shanks was not ready to accept the hat back due to the aforementioned promise.

Benn Beckman told Shanks that Luffy was going to do something big and impactful, which Shanks confirmed by stating that Luffy reminded him of a younger version of himself.[33] Just as Luffy is currently looking for Shanks, Shanks eagerly awaits the day that he meets up with Luffy.[56] Shanks also sees Luffy as the future of piracy, a belief he was not shy sharing with Whitebeard when discussing his lost arm,[57] and was so delighted at seeing Luffy's first bounty that he threw a party to celebrate, even though he was already suffering from a hangover from getting drunk previously.[2] He expressed his empathetic thoughts for Luffy after helping bury his brother Ace following the war, knowing that it must have been a hard and painful experience for him.

They still have yet to meet each other face to face since Luffy was a kid, but Luffy restated his interest in seeing Shanks again in the New World after departing from Fish-Man Island. Meanwhile, Shanks and the Red Hair Pirates seem delighted at Luffy's continuous growth.[24] Luffy has stated that, in spite of Shanks being his idol, he has interest in taking him down as well, since the red-haired man is one of the Four Emperors and, thus, in his way of becoming Pirate King.

After Luffy's actions in Big Mom's territory had been revealed to the world, Shanks was pleased with Luffy's progress and stated that Luffy was almost ready to meet him.[58] After Luffy had taken down Kaidou and had been declared one of the Four Emperors, Shanks looked at the newspaper declaring Luffy's victory, with a look of pride and impression before reminiscing about his past with Luffy and how Luffy ended up eating the Gomu Gomu no Mi. However, Shanks decided against seeing Luffy in Wano, as doing so would reflect poorly on the Red Hair Pirates on account of Bartolomeo wreaking havoc in their territory in Luffy's name.

Buggy

Young Shanks and Buggy Arguing

Shanks and Buggy arguing when they were pirate apprentices in the Roger Pirates.

Shanks and Buggy served on the Roger Pirates since their childhood and they constantly fought with each other. Ironically, in their youth, Buggy accused Shanks of being too naïve and innocent to ever make it as a pirate, but Shanks is currently a great pirate while Buggy and his crew are very weak in comparison. Despite this, he recognized Shanks' abilities during his apprentice days and, were it not for his ideals, expected him to join his crew in the future, which Shanks refused. Due to Shanks' sudden but accidental actions, Buggy lost a treasure map and ate the Bara Bara no Mi by mistake, thus making him unable to swim. Buggy has developed a grudge since then.[59]

However, despite their constant arguing about each other, Shanks did not hesitate to save Buggy after the latter almost drowned, meaning that Shanks at least views Buggy as his friend despite the feeling not being mutual.[60] Shanks also tended to him after he fell ill while the rest of the crew went to Laugh Tale, and later wanted Buggy to be part of his crew.[61] Also, in moments where they did not argue with each other, Shanks and Buggy were capable of holding a friendly conversation.

After Roger's execution, Shanks acted on his promise and offered Buggy a position in his crew. Buggy refused to work for his former shipmate, and they departed, not to meet again for years. Despite their last meeting, it appears Shanks kept tabs on him as he was aware of Buggy's activities as a pirate. The Marines themselves described their relationship as a "brotherly bond"[62] and Whitebeard himself has noted that the two were always together.[63] Kozuki Oden even wondered about their complex relationship in his logbook, wondering whether Shanks and Buggy saw each other as friends or enemies.[61]

Buggy and Shanks in Marineford

Buggy and Shanks meeting in Marineford.

When the two met for the first time in over twenty years, Shanks was able to trick Buggy into giving Luffy the straw hat back with the promise of a false map, showing that Shanks is aware about Buggy's nature and interests.[64] After learning of his deception, Buggy furiously berated Shanks for it, while Shanks himself was calm and greeted him jovially despite Buggy's reaction, indicating that despite their differences, the pair's relationship is still on similar ground to what it was in the past, although Shanks is obviously the only one who has matured. However, he still seems to view Buggy as a friend, since he was able to shrug off his ex-crewmate's anger and trust him with his precious straw hat.[44]

Ironically, it was partially due to Buggy's association with Shanks (along with several other factors) that Buggy was offered a position as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea by the World Government. This, however, is a result of inaccurate research from the Marines' part, as their reports greatly exaggerated the friendship aspect of Shanks and Buggy's relationship, leading to the wrongful perception that both pirates were at equal standing to each other.

Makino

In Foosha Village, Shanks was close friends with Makino, the bartender of the village. Makino was very caring towards Shanks when Higuma assaulted him. Shanks even offered to help clean up the mess Higuma made, and Makino helped clean off Shanks after Higuma had left.[65]

Makino was very grateful toward Shanks for saving Luffy at the cost of his left arm and holds him in high regard, knowing that, despite being a pirate, he is a good person. She even helped Ace learn to thank Shanks for saving Luffy's life.[66]

Dracule Mihawk

Mihawk Visits Shanks

Mihawk visits Shanks on one of his base islands.

In the past, they sought out each other on many occasions to duel. Their battles were said to echo through the whole Grand Line.[63] However, Mihawk has lost interest and has given up on trying to fight Shanks after the latter had lost an arm.

Mihawk retains a neutral, though somewhat friendly relationship with Shanks, and can track him down if the need arises. He and Shanks do manage to get along, regardless of their opposite personalities. Shanks was able to get Mihawk to join in when he threw a party to celebrate Luffy's first bounty, even when moments beforehand, Mihawk had scorned how laid-back Shanks was.[2] Mihawk even mused out an apology to Shanks during the battle at Marineford, where he declared that he would not be holding anything back against Luffy right before launching a full-force assault upon the Straw Hat pirate.[67]

When Shanks made his entrance during the Paramount War, Mihawk left the battlefield while stating that he agreed to participate in the war against Whitebeard but fighting "Red-Hair" is beyond the scope of the World Government's orders.[68]

Marco

Shanks and Marco at Whitebeard and Ace's Funeral

Shanks talking with Marco at the funeral of Whitebeard and Ace.

Shanks and Marco met over twenty-six years ago but did not show any animosity towards each other back then. Marco did note that both Shanks and Buggy have been around for ages as part of the Roger Pirates, indicating that he was already familiar with his rival apprentices for an even longer time.

Marco once regarded Shanks as an enemy due to being a rival of his captain. After Shanks had knocked out some Whitebeard Pirates with his Haki, Marco insulted and scolded him for the damage he had done, and even told him to shut up after the Emperor had offered him a chance to join his crew.[46]

When Shanks arrived at Marineford to stop the war, he asked Marco to withdraw as to avoid further conflict, threatening the Marines to have his crew join forces with the Whitebeard Pirates in order to protect them.[68] Following the battle of Marineford, Marco apologized to Shanks for his previous behavior and genuinely thanked him for ensuring the funerals of both Whitebeard and Ace, finally acknowledging him as something of an ally.[69] Later, after the events of the Raid of Onigashima, Shanks was kind enough to give Marco a ride back to Sphinx, and the two displayed a much friendlier relationship. Once again, Marco rejected Shanks' attempt to join his crew.

Portgas D. Ace

Ace Meets Shanks

Shanks meets Ace.

Shanks was on relatively good terms with Ace, who seemed to greatly respect him primarily for his role in saving his adoptive younger brother, Luffy, from the Lord of the Coast during the incident with Higuma.[70]

After setting out to begin his life of piracy, Ace immediately sought out Shanks to meet the man in person and thank him on Luffy's behalf. Shanks initially thought that Ace came to confront him (he was ready to unsheathe his sword at the Logia user on that very encounter), but immediately warmed up to Ace upon learning of his relationship with Luffy, starting a celebration.[71]

Shanks showed some concern for Ace upon learning that he was in pursuit of Blackbeard, and personally sought out Whitebeard to vocally disapprove of this and attempt to persuade him to recall Ace.[72] Following the announcement of Ace's execution, it was revealed that Shanks personally intercepted Kaidou, another member of the Four Emperors, when the latter attempted to take advantage of the situation by attacking Whitebeard.[73]

It is unknown if Shanks ever found out that Ace was the son of his captain, Roger, before Sengoku made this fact public to the world. However, he has made connections between their personalities and behaviors in retrospect (at the burial site of Whitebeard and Ace), as neither of them would back down when someone they cared for was insulted.[69] When they met, Shanks noticed Ace thought a lot about Roger despite saying he was not interested in him, and theorized there may be a connection between them at the time.[74]


Giants

Unlike with Big Mom, Shanks has a good friendship with the giants. This is shown when he is partying with them at Elbaf. A giant kid asked Shanks if he could join his crew, only for the Emperor to refuse him due to Shanks not wanting a hotheaded kid aboard his ship.

Dorry and Brogy

Shanks is old friends with the Giant Warrior Pirates' co-captains Dorry and Brogy, having been acquainted with them in the past. Shanks is comfortable enough to ask for their help during an upcoming battle, with the giants being more than glad to offer their assistance.

Dorry and Brogy respectifully address Shanks as "brother".

Enemies

World Government

The World Government views Shanks as a problem and a troublemaker, but realizes he is a man who will not try to change the world by himself. However, due to the position he holds, they fear he could get out of hand and are prepared to eliminate him if he ever does. The World Government tolerates his actions until that time comes.[75]

Despite his status as a notorious pirate, Shanks was permitted to meet with the Five Elders at Mary Geoise during the Levely. The Five Elders even allowed him to speak with them in private so he could talk to them about a certain pirate.[76]

Marines

Shanks in Front of Sengoku

Shanks convinces Sengoku to announce the end of the Paramount War.

Shanks and Sengoku hold some level of respect for each other; even as enemies, both the World Government and Red Hair Pirates see a clash between sides as the final option. When Shanks arrived at Marineford and proclaimed that the pirates would give Whitebeard and Ace proper burials, Sengoku agreed to hand over the bodies and declare the war to be over, as well as take all responsibility himself, which Shanks thanked him for.[42]

Vice Admiral Garp blames Shanks for poisoning Luffy's mind with ideas about being a pirate when he wanted his grandson to become a Marine. As such, the Marine hero holds a grudge against the Emperor.[77]

When Koby was about to be killed by Admiral Akainu for wasting precious seconds of the war by begging for a ceasefire, Shanks defended him and commended Koby for his brief moment of courage, which he stated would change the future of the world for better or worse.[39] Shanks earned Akainu's fury not only for protecting Koby, but because his arrival had allowed Luffy to escape his grasp.

When Ryokugyu invaded Wano in attempt to arrest Luffy, Shanks intimidated him with his Haoshoku Haki to force the Admiral to submit and leave Wano, which he obliged to since Ryokugyu did not intend to fight Shanks and his crew yet.

Marshall D. Teach

The two first met after a skirmish between the Roger Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates. Shanks was envious of Teach's rumored inability to sleep. Teach, on the other hand, thought little of Shanks.[78]

At some point Shanks would meet Teach again, where the latter would leave his three scars.[19] After this, Shanks would recognize Teach as a real threat, to the point of warning Whitebeard about him.[79] At Marineford the two confronted each other and Shanks addressed Teach in a tense manner. Teach was initially surprised at seeing him again but was amused at being called out by Shanks before he mocked him for the scars he inflicted on Shanks.[80] Teach, seeing that he already had what he wanted and that he was not yet ready to face Shanks, decided to retire, which Shanks accepted.[18]

Although the reason is still unknown, Shanks seems to be looking for Teach, since the reason he had gone to Wano was because he expected Teach to be there.[81]

Higuma

Higuma was a bandit who ridiculed Shanks by breaking a bottle of sake on his head at the Partys Bar, soaking him. Despite such a situation, Shanks laughed carelessly with his crew. Higuma proceeded to torment Shanks once more, leaving the establishment with a negative impression of the pirate.

However, when Higuma returned to the bar some days later and threatened Luffy for defending Shanks, the Red Hair Pirates' captain warned him to leave the boy, saying that he did not care if he were ridiculed himself, but that he would not allow anyone to hurt a friend of his. Following this, Higuma kidnapped Luffy, causing Shanks to go after him into the sea, and resulting in Higuma being devoured by the same Sea King that left Shanks without his arm.[82]

Eustass Kid

Kid formed an alliance with fellow captains Basil Hawkins and Scratchmen Apoo in order to overthrow him. Kid also confirmed that he lost his arm in an encounter with the Red Hair Pirates, although he did not get to meet Shanks himself.[83][84] Shanks does not seem to shy away from engaging Kid in battle, as he knew that Kid had Road Poneglyph copies, but left him the option to leave them behind rather than fight.[40] Unlike Lucky Roux, Shanks did not underestimate Kid's power and potential, and knew he was a powerful pirate. Judging from his reaction upon seeing Kid prepare his attack to eliminate all the ships of his affiliates, he was disgusted by Kid's callousness and did not hesitate to defeat Kid with a single attack and obtained the Kid Pirates' Road Poneglyph copies.[41]

Other

Edward Newgate

Shanks Reunited With Whitebeard

Shanks meets with Whitebeard, offering him sake to talk.

Since his time with the Roger Pirates, Shanks would often fight against the Whitebeard Pirates, and as such, Whitebeard himself grew more and more familiar with Shanks, since he would always spot the youngster alongside Buggy in their many battles throughout the years.

Despite that being one of the Four Emperors made Whitebeard a direct adversary, Shanks felt confident to personally talk to and warn him to keep his distance from Blackbeard, particularly because he was concerned over Ace's safety.[85] Whitebeard did not seem to care very much for Shanks' opinion on the matter and clashed with him out of pride, although this was later revealed to be false bravado as Whitebeard admitted to his subordinates that he felt a similar dangerous feeling towards Blackbeard and advised Ace to not chase after him, causing Whitebeard to cover for his subordinate.

Shanks also prevented another Emperor, Kaidou, from reaching Whitebeard as the old pirate made his way towards the Marine Headquarters, which enabled him to arrive without any hindrance in order to rescue Ace.[13] Following Whitebeard's death, Shanks saved Whitebeard's crew and their allies at the final portion of the Summit War of Marineford and gave Whitebeard and Ace a proper burial sometime later.[69]

Kaidou

Not much is known about the relationship between Shanks and Kaidou. When Kaidou had tried to stop Whitebeard from going to Marineford, Shanks intercepted him to allow the Whitebeard Pirates to rescue Ace.[73] While it is not known what exactly happened during their encounter, Shanks and his crew arrived at Marineford unharmed.[13] Kaidou does seem to acknowledge Shanks' abilities, considering him among the few powerful individuals capable of fighting him.[86]

Who's-Who

As one of the CP9 agents responsible for escorting the Gomu Gomu no Mi 13 years ago, Who's-Who had to face off against Shanks when the latter decided to board their ship in order to acquire the Devil Fruit.[87] Who's-Who's failure in preventing the fruit from being stolen led to his subsequent imprisonment, and thus the beginning of a massive grudge from the ex-agent against the pirate.[88]

Bartolomeo

Shanks was aware of Bartolomeo's actions in his territory, where he burned the Red Hair Pirates' flag and replaced it with Luffy's. As a result, Shanks decided against meeting with Luffy in Wano, as doing so would hurt his reputation as an Emperor.[89]

Abilities and Powers

Luffy Among Legends

Kaidou envisions Shanks behind Luffy alongside other legendary pirates.

As one of the Four Emperors, Shanks is one of the four most powerful pirates in the world, and proof of that is his massive bounty of Beli4,048,900,000, which is the highest among the current Emperors.[10] According to Buggy, Shanks' immense potential was visible since their days as pirate apprentices in the Roger Pirates, and thought Shanks would succeed Roger as the next Pirate King.[90] While Shanks was not interested in reaching Laugh Tale at the time, he quickly made a name for himself, gaining an impressive bounty of Beli1,040,000,000 twelve years before the main story.[11] During this time, he competed with Dracule Mihawk, the "Strongest Swordsman in the World", in daily duels that were described as legendary.[63]

It is also important to mention that Shanks was able to reach the rank of Emperor even after losing one of his arms, and is also the only one among them, in the original and current lineup, to not have the powers of a Devil Fruit.

Kaidou, who is renowned as the world's "Strongest Creature", put Shanks in the same elite class as other legendary pirates, that actually possess the strength to stand against him in battle, such as Rocks D. Xebec, Whitebeard, Kozuki Oden, and Roger.[86] As proof of this, he stopped Kaidou from attacking Whitebeard a day before the Summit War of Marineford and later joined Marineford himself a day later. Rockstar also used his captain's name to convey to Whitebeard the importance of the letter he delivered to him.[91] Admiral Akainu fought through Whitebeard's many divisional commanders, two former Warlords of the Sea, and even Whitebeard himself, but did not challenge Shanks when he appeared.[92] Members of the Worst Generation, such as Eustass Kid, Scratchmen Apoo, and Basil Hawkins had to ally with each other to have a possibility of overthrowing Shanks.[93] Admiral Ryokugyu chose to pull back his attempt on Luffy after he realized Shanks was present outside of Wano Country.[94] Another testament to Shanks' strength is that he was able to defeat Eustass Kid, a powerful pirate whose bounty is worth Beli3,000,000,000 and one of the two pirates responsible for defeating former Emperor Big Mom, with a single attack.

The name Shanks alone commands great power, as Buggy himself proved. His assertion that he previously had a "brotherly bond" with Shanks was one of the many things that earned him respect from the Impel Down inmates. In addition, Buggy did not shy away from using the names of Shanks and his previous captain, Gol D. Roger, to maintain his respect among them.[95] Even the fact that Buggy was seen back talking to Shanks was seen as a testament of Buggy's power to the former prisoners, who were not aware that the two had always acted like this and mistakenly thought that it was because Buggy was not afraid of an Emperor.[44]

Shanks commands enough power to end the war at Marineford with just words. When he stated that there was to be no more fighting, no one stepped up to challenge him, even though the Marines were fired up after the deaths of Ace and Whitebeard.[92] Five Elder St. Shepherd Ju Peter stated that Shanks is one of the few people capable of stopping Blackbeard.[96] This faith was proven valid when Shanks asked Blackbeard if he intended to confront him, he stopped fighting and ordered his crew to retreat, despite having acquired the powers of the Gura Gura no Mi along with his original power, and also strengthened his crew with many of the most powerful prisoners of Impel Down's sixth level.[80] Furthermore, when Shanks requested that Whitebeard and Ace's dignity at death not be violated, Sengoku himself decided to call off the war and offered to take responsibility, showing that despite being a pirate, Shanks has earned Sengoku's respect, something that no pirate other than the late Whitebeard is known to have achieved.[42]

Shanks also possesses enough influence to gain an audience with the Five Elders, who, like the leaders of the World Government, would normally consider him an enemy.[76]

Leadership

According to Brannew, one of Shanks' greatest attributes is his leadership and charisma, having managed to earn the absolute trust and loyalty of the most talented and capable individuals from the four seas and Grand Line all noted for having particularly high bounties, and recruited them into his crew. The most prominent are his officers: Benn Beckman of North Blue, Yasopp of East Blue, and Lucky Roux of South Blue. This made Shanks' crew extremely well balanced and impregnable, able to contend equally with the enormous military power of Charlotte Linlin's Big Mom Pirates, Kaidou's Beasts Pirates, and Edward Newgate's Whitebeard Pirates.[97]

Infiltration and Stealth

Shanks is incredibly skilled at infiltration and stealth, as shown when he successfully managed to infiltrate Mary Geoise by wearing only a cloak, a noteworthy feat considering that for most pirates, entering through Mary Geoise without being invited or enslaved is practically considered an impossible and unthinkable feat. He also avoided detection from the many guards and marines present.[76]

Physical Abilities

Shanks is an excellent swimmer, having once swam deep into the ocean depths to save Buggy from drowning. He is pretty fast at swimming as well, being able to rescue Luffy in the open ocean from a Sea King attack.[98]

Shanks possesses immense physical strength, as he was once a rival to Dracule Mihawk, a master swordsman with tremendous power that could overwhelm Zoro in terms of brute force with immense ease. Even with only one arm, Shanks can apply tremendous power to his swordsmanship, being able to easily match Whitebeard, a gigantic man who could completely overpower giants and an entire army of powerful and skilled Marine officers.[99] With his physical strength combined with Busoshoku Haki, Shanks could defend against Akainu's magma fist, which has extremely destructive offensive power.[39] He also has extraordinary leg strength, as he was able to leap from his ship all the way to the Victoria Punk despite the two ships being miles apart in distance.[41]

Shanks possesses tremendous levels of endurance and tolerance for pain. Even after having his arm bitten off by a Sea King that attempted to devour Luffy, Shanks was completely unfazed despite the heavy bleeding and simply used Haoshoku Haki to scare off the Sea King.[20]

Shanks is also extremely fast, as shown when he intercepted Akainu's attack before he could kill Koby, despite having just arrived at Marineford.[39] On Elbaf, Shanks leaped from his ship to the Victoria Punk in an instant before Kid could fire his Damned Punk.

Swordsmanship

As the former rival of Dracule Mihawk, the "Strongest Swordsman in the World", Shanks is an immensely skilled swordsman. Prior to losing his left arm, he competed in ruthless duels on a daily basis with Mihawk.[63] Even after losing his arm, Shanks is able to match a blow from Whitebeard, which is a testament to his prowess in swordsmanship.[99] He is also powerful enough to easily block Akainu's magma fist using only his sword and Busoshoku Haki.[39] Along with his mastery of Haki, he could replicate the techniques of his former captain Roger, having enough power and skill to defeat both Kid and Killer in a single attack.

Shanks apparently favored his left arm for combat before he lost it, as he is always seen holding his sword in his left hand during flashbacks. As such, he is presumed to have been left-handed or at least ambidextrous before losing said limb.[63]

Haki

Main article: Haki

Shanks is one of the very few people in the world who can use all three types of Haki. Even Whitebeard complimented Shanks for his Haki when he used it on his visit, with Jozu stating it was overwhelming.[100][101]

Haoshoku Haki

Shanks' Haoshoku Haki

Shanks' Haoshoku Haki knocks out the weaker members of Whitebeard's crew.

Shanks possesses immense mastery in the usage of Haoshoku Haki,[102] a rare form of Haki that only one in several million people in the world can use.[103] It was first hinted sometime after his introduction, before the reveal of Haki, with him intimidating a Sea King with a single glare, causing it to flee for its life.[104] When boarding the Moby Dick, the main ship of Edward Newgate, Shanks was capable of knocking dozens of his men unconscious, many of whom were seasoned men able to survive the New World, while the flagship itself, a ship able to survive the harsh conditions of the New World, was damaged by the sheer force of his presence, impressing those around him.[45]

Shanks' Haoshoku Haki was at least twice as potent as Luffy's by the time of the Fish-Man Island Arc. While Luffy only knocked out 50,000 of the New Fish-Man Pirates, Shanks could have knocked out all 100,000.[105] During the Wano Country Arc, he released a massive burst of Haoshoku Haki that paralyzed Admiral Ryokugyu, stopping him in his tracks from miles away at sea without needing to step foot into the country.[94] Both Jinbe and Yamato stated that such a display of Haki was monstrous.[106][107]

Non-canonically, in One Piece Film: Red Shanks' Haoshoku is also capable of affecting a few Vice Admirals, causing them to fall to their knees, although Admirals Kizaru and Fujitora seemed unaffected.[11]

Shanks Defeats Kid

Shanks defeats Kid and Killer with a Haoshoku Haki-infused attack.

Most notably, he is among the small "handful" of people capable of using the advanced application of "infusing" Haoshoku Haki into their body or weapons, his sword Gryphon in particular, as signified by the thin streams of black lightning radiating from it. However, Shanks' use of this ability seems to be much more potent compared to the likes of Big Mom, as he defeated Eustass Kid and Killer in a single Haoshoku Haki-infused attack; the latter took much less of the actual impact, while causing collateral damage to their ship and crew.[108] This is a notable representation of Shanks' power because Kid and Killer both took a number of attacks from Big Mom and her Homies, and both had recovered from their previous battle against the Emperors on Onigashima.

When Shanks and Whitebeard collided, it made the heavens split in half.[109]

Techniques
  • Observation Killing (見聞殺し, Kenbun-Goroshi?): An advanced Haoshoku Haki technique that allows Shanks to control his own presence, which prevents others from seeing into the future.[48]

Busoshoku Haki

Shanks is an immensely skilled user of Busoshoku Haki. During the Summit War of Marineford, his Haki-imbued sword easily blocked Akainu's magma-enhanced punch, which was powerful enough to burn enemies such as Ace, Jinbe, and even the Emperor Whitebeard.[39]

Kenbunshoku Haki

Shanks is an immensely skilled user of Kenbunshoku Haki.[9] He was able to sense a "weird presence" while he was miles outside Wano Country.[110] He can also use the advanced application that allows him to briefly see into the future, as shown when he saw Kid prepare an attack to eliminate all the ships of his affiliates.[111]

Weapons

Further information: Gryphon
Gryphon

Shanks unsheathing his saber.

Shanks wields a sword named Gryphon in combat. It is a large saber with a single edge blade and a large hand guard.[99] He can coat his sword in a "fiery" aura and use it against his enemies.[48]

Shanks has wielded four different swords at various points in the past aside from Gryphon. He used two different swords during his time as an apprentice pirate aboard Gol D. Roger's ship[63] (one around the time Buggy ate the Bara Bara no Mi and another during a clash with the Whitebeard Pirates)[99] and another one during his stay in Luffy's hometown.[112] He was seen wielding a different sword during his meeting with Ace, which means he obtained Gryphon after the encounter with Ace.[113]

In One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 and 4, Shanks wields a large firearm (either a shotgun or rifle) which he uses during certain combos. He also wields a similar weapon in One Piece: Burning Blood, though only as part of the move set for his Strong World costume.

Video Game Only Techniques

  • This Isn't For Show: Shanks pulls out a large shotgun and fires it. Used by Shanks (Strong World) as one of his special attacks in One Piece: Burning Blood. He also uses the said gun as a part of his C2's full-input-finisher and his inverted C3's full-input-finisher in Pirate Warriors 3.
  • Betting on a New Era: Shanks charges towards the opponent and knocks them into the air with Gryphon, then pulls out his shotgun and shoots the helpless opponent. This Isn't For Show can be used afterward for a follow-up attack. Used by Shanks (Strong World) as one of his special attacks in One Piece: Burning Blood.

Major Battles

Movie Battles

Early Concepts

Shanks in Romance Dawn

Shanks in Romance Dawn version 1.

Shanks was first featured in the first pilot of One Piece Romance Dawn, Version 1 in the Shōnen Jump 1996 Summer Special showcasing upcoming artists, about a year and a half before One Piece began. Much of his storyline remained the same, with the major difference being that Higuma the Bear was absent from the story in this version. Another minor difference was that his arm was bitten off by a shark instead of a Sea King. Shanks himself is described as a Peace Main type of pirate.

In the second pilot Romance Dawn, Version 2 of One Piece (featured in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine itself), Luffy got both his hat and the Devil Fruit he ate from his grandfather, not Shanks. According to Oda, the reason for not featuring Shanks was that he wanted Shanks to be kept a secret until One Piece was serialized so he would have a greater impact.[114]

Unlike Luffy, there was no real significant change in appearance from Romance Dawn V.1 to the final version. Even with the change of art style, aside from being drawn less realistically, he is the same, the only real exception being the absence of his black cloak, although he did wear a decorative short cape over his left shoulder at the end of the chapter.

Anime and Manga Differences

In the manga, when Shanks is floating in the sea holding Luffy after losing his arm, blood can be seen dripping from his missing arm. In the anime, this blood is missing.[20]

ShanksArm
Shanks losing his arm in the manga.
Shank's Arm Original Anime
Shanks losing his arm in the original anime.
Shanks Saves Luffy EOL
Shanks losing his arm in Episode of Luffy.

In the manga, Shanks gives Luffy his straw hat on a flat surface. In the anime, he gives it to him on the stairs of the port. This is changed later in special episodes.

The initial scene where Shanks meets Mihawk was very small in the manga. The anime extended this scene greatly. In the manga, Shanks asks Mihawk if he would join them in celebrating while in the anime, Mihawk is seen joining in Shanks' fun.

Scenes of Shanks meeting Ace are extended, showing them celebrating a party.

After the Marineford War, Shanks' flashbacks of Luffy were extended and some of Buggy's were shown. Also, as the narrator talked about the war, scenes of Shanks inspecting Ace and Whitebeard's corpses were shown.

Translation and Dub Issues

Shanks is officially styled as the "Chief" (大頭, Ōgashira?) of the Red Hair Pirates. However, this is commonly rendered as simply "captain" in various translations. VIZ Media used "captain" or "cap'n" previously but switched to "chief" with the release of Chapter 957.

In the book The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917 (2001), there was a short article about One Piece. In it, there were two mistakes concerning Shanks: His name is written as "Junx" and he was written to have been saved by Luffy instead of the other way round.[115] Of all these errors, the name "Junx" would remain in several revisited editions of the book.

4Kids dub

Shanks Convinces Mihawk to Celebrate in the Anime

A scene cut from the 4Kids anime showing Shanks encouraging Mihawk to drink alcohol.

Shanks is mostly the center of the removal of alcohol-related alterations in the English dub by 4Kids. For example, the scene where Mihawk brought news of Luffy's coming suffered heavy cuts. Shanks still asks Mihawk to stay, but much of this scene was removed because of the alcoholic references, including references to him throwing a party to celebrate Luffy's coming. Thus, Shanks' fun-loving nature was lost, and instead, it depicted him with an evil tone; as Mihawk shows him Luffy's wanted poster, Shanks says that he cannot let him leave, and the scene ends with the ensuing party cut out due to the use of alcohol, instead hinting that the two were about to fight. Also, the scene was cut from its original episode and added at the end of a much earlier episode.

He also speaks with a Cockney accent in the dub.

Other Appearances

Cameos and Crossovers

  • Shanks has appeared in the game Jump Ultimate Stars for the Nintendo DS.
  • Shanks starred in the Red Hair of Class 3-Sea Time written and drawn by Oda. The strip was done after he had claimed first place in a poll for characters fans wanted to see appear in the Mugiwara Theatre series.[116]

Cultural References

  • A Japanese coast guard vessel, pretending to be a pirate ship during an exercise was caught on video using Shanks' Jolly Roger.
Real pirates with similar flags.
The flag used by the Japanese coast guard during an exercise.
Red Hair Pirates' Jolly Roger
Shanks' flag as it appears in the anime.

Merchandise

Shanks Plushie

Shanks DX Plushie.

He was issued alongside Luffy and the Lord of the Coast in a One Piece Block Figures set featuring the Straw Hats and their past mentors/loved ones. He has featured in One Piece Gashapon sets. Another Gashapon set he featured in was the One Piece Full Color R Gashapon series. There was also a Plushie released for him. He was also featured in the Portrait of Pirates series.

A note with many of the products produced featuring Shanks is that quite of few of them have a second arm hidden beneath his cloak (sometimes blackened out).

Songs

Video Games

Playable Appearances

Enemy Appearances

Support Appearances

Non-Playable Appearances

Trivia

Shanks With Left Arm in the Anime

Shanks with his left arm in the anime.

  • In the anime, when Ace meets Shanks, it can be seen that Shanks still has both arms, even though he had lost his left arm to the Lord of the Coast. This, however, appears to be an error. This is corrected in the home release of the episode.[117]
  • Shanks is the only member among the original Four Emperors who:
    • Is not a Devil Fruit user.
    • Is not at an age older than 50.
    • Was not a member of the now defunct Rocks Pirates.
    • Was not born in the Grand Line.
    • Is still one of the Four Emperors.
  • In Shanks' bounty of Beli4,048,900,000, the 4-8-9 can be read as shi-ya-ku (シヤク). This could refer to his given name "Shanks" (シャンクス, Shankusu?).
  • Shanks is the first character in the series to use Haoshoku Haki.
  • During Oden's flashback, Shanks is depicted with a more childish design and voice despite it taking place some years after other flashbacks where Shanks is depicted with a more mature design and his adult voice.
  • Shanks has the highest bounty of all current four emperors. Ironically though, he had the lowest bounty of the original lineup.
  • Shanks has a direct relationship with the other current Four Emperors: He inspired Luffy to be a pirate, served together with Buggy in the Roger Pirates, and received his trademark scars from Blackbeard.
  • In the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th Japanese fan polls of most popular characters, Shanks was ranked the 3rd, 7th, 11th, 8th, 14th, 11th, and 12th respectively. This makes him the most popular of the Four Emperors in each, not counting Luffy (who has never been polled as an Emperor).
  • So far, Shanks has never appeared in a volume cover without Marshall D. Teach being present as well. The volume covers in question are 25, 45, 59, 95, 96 and 105.
  • Shanks' past as an infant found by the Roger Pirates was first hinted in Chapter 966, when Roger and Rayleigh both mentioned having taken care of a baby some time ago.
  • In One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 and One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4, Shanks' taunt action allows him to put on sunglasses, which is a reference to his Strong World costume.
  • Shanks' favorite foods are kimchi fried rice and lobster, and his least favorite food is blueberry.[9]
  • Shanks' animal resemblance is a lion.[9]
  • Shanks' hobby is wandering.[9]

SBS-Based Trivia

  • Shanks' birthday, March 9, comes from his name since 3-9 can be derived from Shan-kusu.[8]
  • According to Oda, Shanks is the one character that resembles himself the most out of all the One Piece characters, because of his cool and calm personality and stand-out attire.[118]
  • In reference to Shanks and Buggy's "which is colder" question, a fan asked Oda who got it right. Oda went on to explain that the Arctic was just a mass of ice and the Antarctic was a continent, which was made of land. Since land is colder than the sea (and the Arctic is frozen sea whereas the Antarctic is frozen land), Shanks was correct, and the South Pole is colder.[119]
  • If a child asked Shanks for the Gomu Gomu no Mi, he would tease them about being ten years too young to eat one.[120]

References

  1. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 (p. 5) and Episode 4, Shanks makes his debut.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 11 Chapter 96 (p. 17-18) and Episode 45, Shanks invites Mihawk to party with him and the Red Hair Pirates.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 45 Chapter 432 (p. 7) and Episode 314, Shanks is seen as one of the Four Emperors mentioned by Garp.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 45 Chapter 434 (p. 9) and Episode 316, Whitebeard reveals Shanks to have been Roger's apprentice.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 (p. 7) and Episode 4, Shanks is introduced.
  6. 6.0 6.1 One Piece Blue Deep: Characters World (p. 78), Shanks' profile after the timeskip is revealed.
  7. SBS One Piece Manga — Vol. 4 (p. 28), Shanks' age is revealed.
  8. 8.0 8.1 SBS One Piece Manga — Vol. 54 (p. 146), Shanks' birthday is revealed.
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Vivre Card - One Piece Visual Dictionary (Card #0017), Information about Shanks is revealed.
  10. 10.0 10.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 95 Chapter 957 (p. 14) and Episode 958, Shanks' bounty is revealed.
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 One Piece Movie — One Piece Film: Red.
  12. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 59 Chapter 580 and Episode 489, Several characters refer to Shanks simply as "Red Hair".
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 59 Chapter 580 (p. 2) and Episode 489.
  14. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 (p. 20) and Episode 4, Lucky Roux reveals that the Gomu Gomu no Mi is the fruit that the crew had found and taken from an unspecified enemy before it was unknowingly eaten by a young Luffy.
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 25 Chapter 234 (p. 15) and Episode 151, Shanks' present-day outfit is revealed.
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 45 Chapter 434 (p. 6) and Episode 316, Shanks meets with Whitebeard, having brought "healing water".
  17. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 59 Chapter 579 (p. 17) and Episode 488, Shanks' new hairstyle is clearly seen.
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 59 Chapter 580 (p. 10-11) and Episode 489, Shanks arrives at Marineford.
  19. 19.0 19.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 45 Chapter 434 (p. 11-12) and Episode 316, Shanks talks to Whitebeard about Blackbeard.
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 (p. 43) and Episode 4, Shanks loses his left arm to the Lord of the Coast.
  21. 21.0 21.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 61 Chapter 603 (p. 6) and Episode 523, Roger is seen wearing the straw hat that Shanks passed down to Luffy.
  22. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 52 Chapter 506 (p. 17) and Episode 400, Rayleigh recalls encountering Shanks, who told him about Luffy.
  23. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 (p. 46-47) and Episode 4, Shanks bestows his Straw Hat upon Luffy.
  24. 24.0 24.1 One Piece Manga — Vol. 83 Chapter 838, cover story: From the Decks of the World: The 500,000,000 Man Arc Vol. 25.
  25. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 0 Chapter 0 (p. 4-8) and Episode 0, Edd War and the battle that occurred there are revealed.
  26. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 3 Chapter 19 and Episode 8, Shanks and Buggy's history.
  27. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 52 Chapter 506 (p. 13) and Episode 400.
  28. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 95 Chapter 958 (p. 2) and Episode 959.
  29. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 95 Chapter 964 (p. 17) and Episode 964, Shanks is seen wearing his straw hat and reading the newspaper regarding Whitebeard.
  30. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 96 Chapter 965 (p. 16) and Episode 965.
  31. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 96 Chapter 967 and Episodes 967968.
  32. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 (p. 12) and Episode 4, Shanks mentions having stayed in Foosha Village for almost a year during his journey.
  33. 33.0 33.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 (p. 47) and Episode 4, Shanks notes Luffy's resemblance to himself in his youth.
  34. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 (p. 6) and Episode 4, Shanks and his crew drink and party in Makino's bar.
  35. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 3 Chapter 19 (p. 13) and Episode 8, Buggy and Shanks discuss being a pirate, with Buggy admitting that Shanks is a complex man.
  36. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 (p. 15-19) and Episode 4, Shanks and his crew laugh off Higuma spilling sake all over him.
  37. 37.0 37.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 (p. 33) and Episode 4, Shanks tells Higuma that he cannot accept anyone attacking a friend of his.
  38. 38.0 38.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 25 Chapter 234 (p. 14) and Episode 151, Shanks refuses to fight the Whitebeard Pirates over Rockstar's honor having been insulted.
  39. 39.0 39.1 39.2 39.3 39.4 39.5 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 59 Chapter 579 (p. 14-15) and Episode 488, Shanks arrives at Marineford and protects Koby from Akainu's magma fist while commending him for being courageous.
  40. 40.0 40.1 40.2 One Piece Manga — Vol. 106 Chapter 1076 (p. 14-15).
  41. 41.0 41.1 41.2 One Piece Manga — Vol. 107 Chapter 1079 (p. 6-15), Shanks defeats the Kid Pirates.
  42. 42.0 42.1 42.2 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 59 Chapter 580 (p. 14-15) and Episode 489, Shanks convinces Sengoku to announce the end of the Paramount War.
  43. 43.0 43.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 (p. 37) and Episode 4, Shanks panics when Higuma takes Luffy.
  44. 44.0 44.1 44.2 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 59 Chapter 580 (p. 8) and Episode 489, Shanks reacts nonchalantly to Buggy's ranting toward him.
  45. 45.0 45.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 45 Chapter 434 (p. 4-7) and Episode 316, Whitebeard comments on Shanks using his Haoshoku Haki against his crew.
  46. 46.0 46.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 45 Chapter 434 (p. 8) and Episode 316, Shanks claims that the best sake comes from the West Blue.
  47. 47.0 47.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 (p. 9) and Episode 4, Shanks refuses to let Luffy join his crew because he is too young and gets Luffy to drink juice to prove this.
  48. 48.0 48.1 48.2 Volume 4000000000 "RED", Information about Shanks' background is given.
  49. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 0 Chapter 0 (p. 14) and Episode 0, Shanks cries at Roger's execution.
  50. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 3 Chapter 19 (p. 8) and Episode 8, Silvers Rayleigh notes that Shanks and Buggy argue a lot.
  51. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 52 Chapter 506 (p. 17) and Episode 400, Rayleigh talk to Luffy about his encounter with Shanks
  52. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 96 Chapter 966 (p. 15) and Episode 966, Shanks and the other Roger Pirates refused to welcome Oden on board, but during the trips, he earned their respect.
  53. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 81 Chapter 809 (p. 4) and Episode 758, Inuarashi reveals that he met Shanks at some point in the past.
  54. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 95 Chapter 958 (p. 3) and Episode 959.
  55. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 (p. 11) and Episode 4, Shanks states he likes to tease Luffy.
  56. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 59 Chapter 580 (p. 3-4) and Episode 489.
  57. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 45 Chapter 434 (p. 11) and Episode 316, Remembering his farewell to Luffy when they last met, Shanks says "I bet it (referring to his left arm) on the next generation!"
  58. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 90 Chapter 903 (p. 15-16) and Episode 879, Shanks is pleased that Luffy has gained his sixth bounty.
  59. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 3 Chapter 19 (p. 12) and Episode 8, Buggy insults Shanks on his outlook on piracy.
  60. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 3 Chapter 19 (p. 17-18) and Episode 8.
  61. 61.0 61.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 96 Chapter 967 (p. 16) and Episode 968.
  62. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 56 Chapter 549 (p. 11) and Episode 452, Shanks and Buggy's relationship is commented on by the Marines.
  63. 63.0 63.1 63.2 63.3 63.4 63.5 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 45 Chapter 434 (p. 10) and Episode 316.
  64. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 59 Chapter 580 (p. 3) and Episode 489.
  65. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 (p. 17-18) and Episode 4, Makino helps clean Shanks off once Higuma leaves.
  66. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 60 Chapter 590 (p. 6) and Episode 505, Makino teaches Ace how to greet and thank someone.
  67. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 57 Chapter 560 (p. 17) and Episode 469, Mihawk apologizes to Shanks for his following attack on Luffy.
  68. 68.0 68.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 59 Chapter 580 (p. 9) and Episode 489.
  69. 69.0 69.1 69.2 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 60 Chapter 590 (p. 8-9) and Episode 505, Shanks holds a funeral for Whitebeard and Ace.
  70. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 60 Chapter 589 (p. 11) and Episode 504, Ace tells Makino that he wants to thank Shanks someday for everything he's done for Luffy.
  71. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 57 Chapter 552 (p. 7) and Episode 461, Ace meets Shanks.
  72. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 45 Chapter 434 (p. 12-14) and Episode 316, Shanks expresses his concern for Ace to Whitebeard.
  73. 73.0 73.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 55 Chapter 533 (p. 3) and Episode 434, Momonga's men report the interaction between Shanks and Kaidou.
  74. One Piece Novel — A Vol. 2 Chapter 2 (p. 82).
  75. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 25 Chapter 233 (p. 16-17) and Episode 151, The Five Elders comment on Shanks' situation as an Emperor.
  76. 76.0 76.1 76.2 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 90 Chapter 907 (p. 16-17) and Episode 887.
  77. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 45 Chapter 432 (p. 4) and Episode 314, Garp claims Shanks is responsible for turning Luffy away from becoming a Marine, despite Luffy's assertion that he wanted to be a pirate long before he met Shanks.
  78. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 96 Chapter 966 (p. 8) and Episode 966.
  79. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 45 Chapter 434 (p. 12-13) and Episode 316, Shanks reveals Blackbeard's schemes.
  80. 80.0 80.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 59 Chapter 580 (p. 11) and Episode 489.
  81. One Piece Manga — Vol. 107 Chapter 1079 (p. 7).
  82. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 and Episode 4.
  83. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 92 Chapter 928 (p. 5) and Episode 923.
  84. One Piece Manga — Vol. 106 Chapter 1076 (p. 16), Killer states that Kid lost his arm before they even saw Shanks in their previous conflict with the Red Hair Pirates.
  85. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 45 Chapter 434 (p. 11-17) and Episode 316.
  86. 86.0 86.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 99 Chapter 1001 (p. 3) and Episode 1016.
  87. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 104 Chapter 1054 (p. 11-12) and Episode 1081.
  88. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 101 Chapter 1018 (p. 7) and Episode 1040.
  89. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 104 Chapter 1054 (p. 10-14) and Episode 1081, Shanks arrives near Wano.
  90. One Piece Manga — Vol. 107 Chapter 1082 (p. 8-9).
  91. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 25 Chapter 234 (p. 11) and Episode 151, Rockstar uses Shanks' name to emphasize how important the letter he is delivering is.
  92. 92.0 92.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 59 Chapter 580 (p. 10-13) and Episode 489, Shanks offers to fight anyone who wishes to continue the war, and no one challenges him.
  93. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 9 Chapter 79 (p. 103) and Episode 736.
  94. 94.0 94.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 104 Chapter 1055 (p. 15-17) and Episode 1082, Shanks interrupts Aramaki's fight with Momonosuke and the Nine Red Scabbards.
  95. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 56 Chapter 549 (p. 11-17) and Episode 452, Buggy uses his crew's new knowledge about his past to convince them to follow him.
  96. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 60 Chapter 594 (p. 3) and Episode 511, Five Elder St. Shepherd Ju Peter notes that only the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates and the other Emperors are capable of stopping Blackbeard's rise to power.
  97. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 95 Chapter 957 (p. 13) and Episode 958.
  98. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 (p. 41) and Episode 4, Shanks reaches Luffy and protects him from the Lord of the Coast.
  99. 99.0 99.1 99.2 99.3 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 45 Chapter 434 (p. 15) and Episode 316, Shanks clashes with Whitebeard.
  100. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 45 Chapter 434 (p. 4-5) and Episode 316, Jozu comments on Shanks' Haki.
  101. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 45 Chapter 434 (p. 7) and Episode 316, Whitebeard comments on the strength of Shanks' Haki.
  102. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 58 Chapter 570 (p. 2) and Episode 479, Shanks and Whitebeard are confirmed as Haoshoku Haki Users.
  103. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 53 Chapter 519 (p. 18) and Episode 413, Daisy comments on the rarity of Haoshoku Haki users.
  104. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 (p. 42) and Episode 4, Shanks scares off the Lord of the Coast with Haoshoku Haki.
  105. SBS One Piece Manga — Vol. 65 (p. 126), Oda reveals that Shanks and Rayleigh could have knocked out all 100,000 of the pirates and fish-men opposing the Straw Hats with their Haoshoku Haki.
  106. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 104 Chapter 1055 (p. 18) and Episode 1082, Jinbe senses Shanks' Haki.
  107. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 105 Chapter 1059 (p. 3) and Episode 1087, Yamato states Shanks' Haki saved Wano from Ryokugyu.
  108. One Piece Manga — Vol. 107 Chapter 1079 (p. 10-13), Shanks uses Kamusari and defeats Kid and Killer.
  109. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 45 Chapter 434 (p. 15-17) and Episode 316, Whitebeard and Shanks' clash causes the heavens to split.
  110. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 104 Chapter 1054 (p. 10) and Episode 1081.
  111. One Piece Manga — Vol. 107 Chapter 1079 (p. 8-9).
  112. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 (p. 30) and Episode 4, The sword that Shanks wielded while staying in Luffy's hometown is seen.
  113. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 57 Chapter 552 (p. 15) and Episode 461, The sword that Shanks wielded during his meeting with Ace is seen.
  114. One Piece Manga — Vol. 1, Oda's notes on Romance Dawn V.1 and V.2.
  115. The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917 (2001) — One Piece entry (p. 285).
  116. One Piece 10th Treasures.
  117. One Piece Anime — Episode 461, Shanks appear with both arms when meets Ace in the anime.
  118. SBS One Piece Manga — Vol. 24 (p. 106), Oda reveals which One Piece character is most like him.
  119. SBS One Piece Manga — Vol. 18 (p. 66), Oda states who was right in Shanks and Buggy's 'which is colder' argument.
  120. SBS One Piece Manga — Vol. 7 (p. 128), Oda gives a description of what Makino, Shanks and Luffy would reply to a child asking for the Gomu Gomu no Mi.

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