Shanks

"Red-Haired" Shanks, commonly known as just "Red Hair", is the chief of the Red Hair Pirates and one of the Four Emperors that rule over the New World.

Sailing with the 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.

Twelve years ago, while operating in the East Blue, Shanks sacrificed his left arm in order to save his young friend, Monkey D. Luffy, at sea. Notably, Shanks is the pirate who inspired Luffy to go on his own pirate journey, as well as accidentally providing him with the Gomu Gomu no Mi to eat. He also owned the straw hat that 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. 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.

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. 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. As did his hair, Shanks' face changes as the manga's art style progresses: initially, it appeared more youthful, 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. Later appearances show him more markedly countenanced, the square of his jaw, the sharper, narrower pair of eyes, and the chiseled, more prominently bridged nose lending him a manlier appearance. 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) that was synonymous with his image until he passed it on to Luffy. 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 with a red sash around his waist to keep his shirt tucked inside. Later on, Shanks is wearing a different, mildly baggier pair of pants with a green-yellow, indiscernible floral pattern (now revealing plenty 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. After the timeskip, he is at some point wearing different pants yet again, light-colored with a rose pattern.

From 9 to 14 years old, Shanks was already used to wearing Roger's straw hat and had a similar, longish hairstyle in a 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.

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. 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.

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. 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. 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.

Despite his outward simplicity, Shanks bears 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. 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. His carefree nature ends, however, when those under his leadership or protection are threatened, which extends to those he views as friends. 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 seems to only step up for a fight when a friend is in danger. 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. 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.

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.



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 or shrugging off Buggy's angry disposition towards him to greet him in a friendly manner. 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. Like many of his rival pirates, Shanks has interest in obtaining the One Piece, stating his intention to start battling for it after the downfall 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.

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

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

Red Hair Pirates


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 to denying permission to take on Whitebeard's men who had insulted Rockstar's honor.

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 or getting even drunker while already hungover after Mihawk had brought news of Luffy's new bounty. 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.

Roger Pirates


Shanks was found by the Roger Pirates at God Valley, back when he was just an infant. 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. Shanks cried at Roger's execution 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. 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.

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. Shanks held Oden in high regard as he wanted to help him open Wano Country to the world; however, Oden declined the offer. 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.

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.

Monkey D. 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.

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. Just as Luffy is currently looking for Shanks, Shanks eagerly awaits the day that he meets up with Luffy. Shanks also sees Luffy as the future of piracy, a belief he was not shy sharing with Whitebeard when discussing his lost arm, 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. 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. 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. 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


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.

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. 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. 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" and Whitebeard himself has noted that the two were always together. Kozuki Oden even wondered about their complex relationship in his logbook, wondering whether Shanks and Buggy saw each other as friends or enemies.



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. 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.

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.

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.

Dracule Mihawk


In the past, they sought out each other on many occasions to duel. Their battles were said to echo through the whole Grand Line. 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. 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.

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.

Marco


Shanks and Marco met over twenty-five 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.

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. 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. 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


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.

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.

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. 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.

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.

Dorry and Brogy
Shanks is old friends with the Giant Warrior Pirates's 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.

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.

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.

Marines


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.

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.

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. 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, Kid and Law, Shanks intimidated the Ryokygyu with Haoshoku Haki to force the Admiral to submit and leave Wano, which he obliged to.

Marshall D. Teach
The one Shanks seems to watch out for the most is Blackbeard, who gave him his three scars in a previous encounter. Shanks himself seems to know the potential danger Blackbeard represents is greater than that of anyone else.

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.

At Marineford, the two confronted each other and Shanks addressed Teach in a tense manner. Only Shanks seemed to regard Teach as a significant threat compared to the Marines or the Whitebeard Pirates and their New World subordinate crews. 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 gave him.

Having already proclaimed "his" era is beginning, unveiling the new members of his crew, and demonstrating control over two Devil Fruits, Teach said he had achieved his goal for the time being, while also knowing he was not ready to face Shanks.

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.

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. Shanks does not seem to shy away from engaging Kid in battle, as he knew that he had Road Poneglyph copies, but left him the option to leave them behind rather than fight. 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.

Edward Newgate


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. Whitebeard did not seem to care very much for Shanks' opinion on the matter and clashed with him out of pride, although that may have been a false bravado since Whitebeard admitted to his subordinates that he felt a similar dangerous feeling towards Blackbeard.

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. 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.

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. While it is not known what exactly happened during their encounter, Shanks and his crew arrived at Marineford unharmed. Kaidou does seem to acknowledge Shanks' abilities, considering him among the few powerful individuals capable of fighting him.

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. Who's-Who 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.

Years later, Who's-Who's hatred for Shanks had not dissipated in the slightest, having naturally extended it to Luffy due to the latter inheriting not only the powers of the Gomu Gomu no Mi that had been stolen that day, but also Shanks' signature straw hat.

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.

Abilities and Powers


As one of the Four Emperors, Shanks is one of the four most powerful pirates in the world, as proof of that is his bounty is 4,048,900,000, which is the highest among the current Emperors. 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 his former captain. 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. 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. 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. Admiral Ryokugyu chose to pull back his attempt on Luffy after he realized Shanks was present outside of Wano Country. Another testament to Shanks strength is that he was able to defeat Eustass Kid, a powerful pirate worth 3,000,000,000 and one of the two pirates responsible for defeating another Emperor Big Mom, with a single attack.

The name of 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 from using the names of Shanks and his previous captain, Gol D. Roger, to maintain his respect among them. 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 thinking that it was because Buggy was not afraid of an Emperor.

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 death of Ace and Whitebeard. The Five Elders have stated that he is one of the few people capable of stopping Blackbeard. This faith was proven valid because 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. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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, able to rescue Luffy in the open ocean from a Sea King attack.

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, able to easily match Whitebeard, a gigantic man who could completely overpower giants and an entire army of powerful and skilled Marine officers. With his physical strength combined with Busoshoku Haki, Shanks could defend against Akainu's magma fist, which has extremely destructive offensive power.

Shanks possesses immense levels of endurance and tolerance to 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.

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

Swordsmanship
As former rival of Dracule Mihawk, the "Strongest Swordsman in the World", Shanks is an immensely skilled master swordsman. Prior to losing his left arm, he competed in ruthless duels on a daily basis with Mihawk. Even after losing his arm, Shanks is able to match a blow from Whitebeard which is a testament to his prowess in swordsmanship. He is also powerful enough to easily block Akainu's magma fist using only his sword and Busoshoku Haki.

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.

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.

Haoshoku Haki


Shanks possesses immense mastery in the usage of Haoshoku Haki, a rare type of Haki that only one in several million people in the world can use. 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. 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 from the sheer force of his presence, impressing those around him.

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. 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. Both Jinbe and Yamato stated that such a display of Haki was monstrous. Most notably, he is among the handful of users capable of "infusing" Haoshoku Haki into things, particularly, his Gryphon, signified by the thin streams of black lightning radiating from it. However, he seems to have a much greater degree of potency with this ability than others. This can be seen when he defeated Eustass Kid and Killer with a single Haoshoku Haki infused attack, despite the fact that both Kid and Killer were capable of enduring multiple attacks from Big Mom and her Homies, and that both had already healed fully from their battle with the Emperors.

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

Techniques

 * Observation Killing (見聞殺し): An advanced Haoshoku Haki technique that allows Shanks to control his own presence which prevents others from seeing into the future.

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

Kenbunshoku Haki
Shanks is an immensely skilled user of Kenbunshoku Haki, able to sense a "weird presence" while he was miles outside Wano Country. 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.

Weapons


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

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 (one around the time Buggy ate the Bara Bara no Mi and another during a clash with the Whitebeard Pirates) and another one during his stay in Luffy's hometown. He was seen wielding a different sword during his meeting with Ace, which means he obtained Gryphon after the encounter with Ace.

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 moveset 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

 * Roger Pirates vs. Whitebeard Pirates
 * Roger Pirates vs. Golden Lion Pirates (Edd War)
 * Shanks vs. Marshall D. Teach (not seen)
 * Shanks vs. Dracule Mihawk (multiple times, none seen)
 * Shanks vs. Edward Newgate
 * Red Hair Pirates vs. Kaidou and King (unseen)
 * Red Hair Pirates and Giant Warrior Pirates vs. Kid Pirates

Movie Battles

 * Red Hair Pirates vs. Tot Musica (during the destruction of Elegia)
 * Red Hair Pirates vs. Kizaru and the Marines
 * Red Hair Pirates, Straw Hat Pirates, Heart Pirates, Jellyfish Pirates, Bartolomeo, Charlotte Oven, Charlotte Brûlée, Charlotte Katakuri, Helmeppo, and Koby vs. Tot Musica

Early Concepts


Shanks was first featured in the first pilot of One Piece Romance Dawn, Version 1 in the Shonen Jump specials 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.

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.

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) 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. Of all these errors, the name "Junx" would remain in several revisited editions of the book.

4Kids dub


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 ensuing party was cut out due to the use of alcohol, leaving viewers to assume Mihawk's fate. Also, the scene was cut from its original episode and added at the end of a much earlier episode.

In the process, many other scenes from the original episode were also cut from the 4Kids version and never shown, such as the scene showing Kaya and Luffy's hometown.

He also speaks with an Australian accent in the English 4Kids dub.

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.

Cultural References

 * A Japanese coast guard vessel, pretending to be a pirate ship during an exercise was caught on video using Shanks' Jolly Roger.

Merchandise


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

 * Katayoku no Taka
 * Talking Blues
 * Bridge of Dreams

Enemy Appearances

 * One Piece: Round the Land
 * One Piece: Dragon Dream!

Support Appearances

 * One Piece: Pirates Carnival
 * One Piece: Gigant Battle
 * One Piece: Dance Battle
 * One Piece: Great Pirate Colosseum

Non-Playable Appearances

 * Birth of Luffy's Dream Pirate Crew!
 * One Piece: Treasure Wars
 * Jump Ultimate Stars

Trivia



 * 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.
 * Shanks is the only member among the original Four Emperors who:
 * Is not a Devil Fruit user.
 * Is not the leader of his own fleet.
 * 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.
 * In Shanks' bounty of 4,048,900,000, 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).
 * Shanks is the first character in the series to use Haoshoku Haki.
 * In fact, he was the first character to show any form of Haki, in the very first chapter no less.
 * 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, 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.
 * Shanks' animal resemblance is a lion.
 * Shanks' hobby is wandering.

SBS-Based Trivia

 * Shanks' birthday, March 9, comes from his name since 3-9 can be derived from Shan-kusu.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * If a child asked Shanks for the Gomu Gomu no Mi, he would tease them about being ten years too young to eat one.