Red Hair Pirates

The Red Hair Pirates are a strong crew ruling in the New World, led by their captain Red-Haired Shanks, one of the Yonko. This crew is responsible for influencing two of the Straw Hat Pirates to become pirates, Monkey D. Luffy and Usopp.

Monkey D. Luffy and Usopp
The Red Hair Pirates are the first pirate crew to appear in the series and are the main influences of both Luffy's (Shanks inspired Luffy) and Usopp's (wants to become a brave warrior of the sea like his father Yassop) journeys.

Twelve years before the present storyline, they spent a year in Luffy's home town and became very good friends with him, which led to him wanting to become part of their crew. However, Shanks told him that he was too weak, which angered him. Shanks was also the one who unintentionally supplied Luffy with his Devil Fruit. When a group of mountain bandits hassled the crew in a bar, they didn't fight back, but once they left, they immediately burst out laughing, saying that pirates are cowards. Luffy was angry at them for not fighting back, since he did not realize that there was no need to retaliate.

Later, after the bandits showed up again when the crew was away, Luffy overheard them saying bad things about Shanks and his crew so Luffy's temper flared up and he started insulting their leader, Higuma. The bandits easily subdued him and wanted to kill him. Then Shanks and his crew arrived and immediately took control of the situation, easily beating all of the bandits. However, the leader, Higuma the Bear, had escaped out to sea in order to kill Luffy, only to be eaten by a Sea King. Since Luffy could not swim due to his Devil Fruit, he began to sink into the water, but Shanks quickly saved him. Because the Sea King was about to eat Luffy, he dodged it but his left arm was torn off. Shanks shows no regret of this, even saying to Whitebeard he was making a bet on the New Age by losing it. He frightened the monster off simply by staring at it and saying "Get lost".

Later, when the crew finally decided to leave, Luffy said he didn't want to join Shanks and his crew anymore. Luffy said that he would be a pirate on his own, to which Shanks then said that there was no way that he could become a pirate. Luffy immediately declared his intentions to become an even greater pirate than Shanks and to become the Pirate King, so an amused Shanks gave his signature straw hat to Luffy and said to give back to him once he surpasses Shanks as a pirate.

Usopp's connection to the Red Hair Pirates is through his father, Yasopp. When Usopp was young, Yasopp left his family in order to go out to sea, as urged by his wife. Due to how he was raised, Usopp understood that his father left to pursue his dream and harbors no ill will against him—in fact, he wants to become a great sniper and man of the sea like him.

Arrival of the Pirate Brothers
A short while before the storyline they met Portgas D. Ace, who thanks Shanks for saving his little brother. Shanks responds by throwing a party to celebrate, as he didn't know Luffy had a brother.

Then a few years later, to the shock of a few of Shanks' weaker crew members, Dracule "Hawkeye" Mihawk pays Shanks a visit. The Shichibukai brings news that delighted the red-haired pirate; Luffy has gained a bounty of 30,000,000. Hearing Luffy had now come at last, Shanks throws another party despite being already unwell from his previous drinking session.

Meeting Whitebeard
Later on, Shanks sent a message to Whitebeard that was delivered by their newest recruit, Rockstar. Whitebeard refused to read it, since Shanks himself did not deliver it. The message's contents were unknown, though it seemed to somehow relate to Portgas D. Ace and Blackbeard since Shanks did meet with Whitebeard later to request Whitebeard call Ace back. Shanks revealed it was Teach that gave him his scars on his face, stating it was not by a surprise attack. The World Government feared that the two crews may end up allied with one another, but have decided to simply observe their actions for now.

Ceasefire at Marineford
Later, in the Whitebeard War, they are seen upon reaching Marineford, as Shanks stops Admiral Akainu from killing Coby, and Beckman stops Admiral Kizaru from shooting his light laser, as they are about to stop the war.

Crew Members
The anime initially only showed Shanks' three named crew members (Benn Beckman, Lucky Roo and Yasopp), however there are at least 4 additional members who have been in the series since vol.1 that were left out and at least two that appeared in chapter 1 and early artwork that have not been seen since being in the manga. Since most of the crew were generic pirates in the anime these unnamed crewmembers have not appeared in the anime yet. However, some of the generic crewmembers that appeared in the anime in Luffy's flashback returned when Mihawk visited Shanks.

Unnamed Crewmembers

 * There is a relatively thin member of Shank's crew, with blond hair. His trademark features seem to be his nut-shaped hat with the crew's Jolly Roger on it, and his white gloves, objects he retain in both of his appearances. On his first appearance in Fuusha Village, his hair was shorter, and he was seen smiling. At Marineford, he added to his attire a coat draped over his shoulders like a cape and a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes. His hair has grown longer, almost reaching down to his waist, and he has a stern facial appearance, maybe due to the circumstances. In his hands he carries what looks like a sword.
 * Another member is a bald man, with black spots around his eyes, similar to a panda. In his first appearance, he was just as tall as his other crewmembers, and was quite thin. At Marineford, he seems to have grown more muscular, and his size is enhanced, towering over most of the main members, except for Lucky Roo and another unnamed crewmember. He has a scar running down the left side of his face, down to his muscular neck, and a monkey is seen perched on his shoulders. The monkey may be Monstar.
 * There is also a tall man with light brown hair and a dragon tattoo on his right arm. In Fuusha village, he was already muscular, but was quite thin in size. At Marineford, he is bigger and the tallest one of the members visible, his hair is longer and his tattoo has changed shape: the dragon now faces the opposite direction, is bigger, and extends to the pirate's muscular neck. He retains the orange sunglasses and the sword he had in his earlier appearance.
 * Another member is a man with blond hair tied in a ponytail pointing upwards on the back of his head. In Marineford, like the others, he seems to have gotten bigger, and carries a sword on his right shoulder.
 * Another member that appeared at Marineford was a man with shaggy hair and pointy teeth giving him a lion-like appearance.

Crew Strength
The strength of the crew as a whole is unknown. But Rockstar, a recent addition to Shanks' crew, has a bounty of 94,000,000 and is still considered to be a rookie. While the bounties of every other crew member is still unknown, if Rockstar's bounty is any indication, their crew is summed up to be very powerful.

The first hint at the crew's strength came early on in the story from Luffy's past. The bandit leader Higuma tried to threaten Shanks with his 8,000,000 bounty, but Shanks was not afraid of the man and even put up with having a bottle of sake and his plate of food being smashed and spilled over him. Later on, Benn Beckman took on the bandits men and wiped them all out with ease, telling Higuma that if he and the bandits wanted to take them on they should bring a warship as back-up. Moments later, Shanks did something shocking while rescuing Luffy from the sea - he scared away a Sea King just by staring at it.

When Dracule Mihawk, one of the Shichibukai, brought news of Luffy's rise to fame, the younger, weaker members of his crew appear to be terrified of the great swordsman and approached him with caution. However, the senior members (including Shanks, Benn Beckman, Yasopp and Lucky Roo) appeared to not be bothered at all by his visit. This is possibly because of their captain's friendly relations with him, but it is also likely that this is because they are all about as strong as Mihawk.

Shanks does not fear Whitebeard, the world's strongest pirate, whereas some pirate captains quiver at the mere mention of his name. Rockstar also used his captain's name to convey to Whitebeard the importance of the letter he delivered to him.

The final clue to the crew's strength is that the World Government greatly fears what would happen if the Red Hair Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates joined up. Both Shanks and Whitebeard are among the Yonko. Right after their battle with Kaido in the New World, they sailed to Marineford in just one day. When Shanks and his crew finally showed up at Marineford, with words alone they were able to bring the war to halt. The captain was able save Coby from an Akainu's attack with only a clash of his sword and even the overconfident Blackbeard refused to fight Shanks' crew saying they simply were not ready to fight them yet.

Ships
When the crew first arrived in Foosha Village, they were seen with a ship that was similar in design to the ship used by "Crescent-Moon Galley" during Romance Dawn version 1. Not much is known about its capabilities but it appears to be a standard pirate ship with no noteworthy features.

The ship was first seen in the manga during Chapter 1, and was first seen in the anime during a flashback in Episode 4. It was the first ship introduced in the series as well as the first pirate ship. It was on the figurehead that Luffy cut and scarred his face to prove he was a man to Shanks and his crew.

During the Whitebeard War, the Red Hair pirates arrived at Marineford by their current ship, the Red Force. This was first seen in Episode 488.

Other Information
Not much else is currently known about the Red Hair Pirates. Shanks used to be on the same crew as Buggy the Clown, and Buggy forever hates him for botching one of his treasure hunts by "making" him eat a Devil Fruit (though it was really entirely his own fault).

While the Red Hair Pirates appear in only small scenes normally at the end of arcs, they seem to be an ongoing background plot throughout the entire story. They are a very laid back group of pirates who are almost always seen partying and drinking alcoholic beverages whenever they make an appearance. They seem much friendlier compared to other pirates seen in the series: they hung around Luffy's hometown for roughly a year without complaints from the local villagers (aside from the ones that came from Mayor Woop Slap).

They have intercepted the attack Kaido, another Yonko, tried to make against Whitebeard. It is unclear whether they are actually fighting against each other or only blocking the path.

Recently, the crew arrived at Marineford, with the intent of ending the Whitebeard war. By proposing an agreement with Fleet Admiral Sengoku, the war was thus ended.

Most members also seem to wear capes.

Trivia

 * A couple of the crew have a common tattoo on their bodies, it is seen on the arm of one member and the on the back of a shirt of another. The symbol however has not been seen since.
 * Perhaps in line with a "Shank" being a part of a anchor, it should also be noted that a number of his crew also had a anchor on their body (at least 4), a note since Luffy himself also bore a larger anchor on his shirt as a child.
 * The jolly roger of the Red Hair crew is similar to the flag of Calico Jack with three scars added to it. However, Calico Jack's flag is generally a fairly popular pirate reference, and since Oda has never addressed this issue, it is unclear if this is an intended reference or not. It should also be noted that the skull style present is a much more 'realistic' skull in comparison to most other crews.
 * Sometimes, Oda forgets to put the three scars on the Red Hair Pirates' flag, as stated once in an SBS.
 * According to Luffy, it was Shanks and the Red Hair Pirates who taught him the song "Binks' Sake".
 * Luffy also claims that they need a musician because pirates sing. This is influenced by the Red Hair Pirates, because he says that Shanks and his crew were always singing.
 * When Shanks and his crew appear in intros and outros, they are usually the last (or one of the last) of the important characters that have appeared in the series to be seen if the outro/intro features the previously seen major characters in the series. This is considering the crew are some of the first characters actually seen in the series and their captain was responsible for starting Luffy's adventure off by giving him his Straw Hat.
 * The original ship of the Red Hair Pirates in One Piece seems to be based of the ship of Crescent-Moon Galley from Romance Dawn. Their later ship also continues this style.

Cultural References

 * Some real-life pirates were caught on video using Shanks' Jolly Roger.

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