15 Things You Didn't Know About Shanks in 'One Piece'
- 1913 VOTES
He’s The First Character To Use Haki
Photo: Toei AnimationShanks is the first character seen using any sort of Haki, which is an ability that involves manipulating one’s own spiritual energy. But he isn’t just the first - he’s also among the best. He’s one of the only characters to master all three forms, including Kenbunshoku Haki, Busoshoku Haki, and Haoshoku Haki.
- 21,016 VOTES
His Crew Is The Only One With No Devil Fruit Users
Photo: Toei AnimationIn nearly every pirate crew, there’s at least one member who has Devil Fruit powers. The Red Hair Pirates are an exception. Not one of them has eaten a Devil Fruit. This means that they must rely on things like swordsmanship and Haki to fight - and it also means they don’t have to worry about, say, drowning if they happen to fall overboard while at sea.
- 3704 VOTES
He Stands Out From The Other Emperors
Photo: Toei AnimationAlongside Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, and Marshall D. Teach, Shanks is one of the four Emperors. He’s the only one of them who isn’t from the Grand Line, the only one who hasn’t eaten a Devil Fruit, the only one who isn’t the admiral of a fleet, the only one who isn’t associated with the Rocks Pirates, and the only one who doesn’t have a tattoo.
Incidentally, he's also the only member of the Red Hair Pirates to hail from West Blue - the other three members come from East Blue, North Blue, and South Blue.
- 4473 VOTES
A Fan Chose Shanks’ Birthday
Photo: Toei AnimationOda has a lot of characters to keep track of, so it’s understandable that not all of them got canon birthdays right away. Sometimes, fans write in with suggestions for possible names, and Oda makes them canon. That’s what happened with Shanks, whose birthday ended up being March 9th at a fan’s request. The reason is that the numbers are a play on the sounds in his name: Shan (3) and kusu (9).
- 5436 VOTES
The Red Hair Pirates’ ‘Anchor’ Theme Comes From Shanks
Photo: Toei AnimationSeveral members of the Red Hair Pirates have an image of an anchor somewhere on their body or clothes. This is most apparent in Luffy’s childhood outfit, which includes a giant anchor on his t-shirt.
There might be a reason for this. The name for the stem of an anchor is ‘shank.’ So, it might be an homage to their captain.
- 6578 VOTES
His Bounty Amount Is A Reference To His Name
Photo: Toei AnimationShanks has a massive bounty of 4,048,900,000 berries on his head. This number may not have been chosen at random. 4-8-9 can be read as shi-ya-ku (シヤク), which may be a nod to his name: "Shanks" (シャンクス Shankusu).
- 7371 VOTES
Oda Has A Lot In Common With Him
Photo: Toei AnimationWhen asked which of his characters he personally had the most in common with, Oda named Shanks. That said, he didn’t seem to think that others would agree with him.
“Hmm... Let's see. Clever mind. Cool and calm personality. Stand-out attire... Guess there's really only one character who fits that bill... RED-HAIR SHANKS... Huh? I can suddenly hear everyone shouting for some reason... Hahaha... AH! OWW!!! Please stop throwing things at me!! It really hurts!!”
- 8423 VOTES
Shanks Beat Buggy In An Argument
Photo: Toei AnimationEarly in the series, Shanks and Buggy argue about whether the South Pole or the North Pole is colder. A fan wrote to Oda to ask who was correct, and Oda revealed that Shanks had the right answer:
"Ahh, the flashback from Volume 3. The answer is, the South Pole. The Arctic is not a continent, it's just a mass of ice. Land is colder than water, so the Antarctic is correct. So Shanks was right. However, the South Pole is not the coldest place in the world."
One Piece doesn’t take place in the real world, so this implies that its setting has at least this much in common with Earth.
- 9511 VOTES
Oda Planned To Keep Him A Secret
Photo: Toei AnimationIn the second version of Romance Dawn, Shanks wasn’t present at all. Instead of getting his Devil Fruit and hat from Shanks, he got them from his grandfather. But this isn't because Oda wasn’t planning to include Shanks at all. It was because he had big plans for him in the future, and wanted to avoid revealing him until he could make a bigger impact later on.
- 10290 VOTES
His Favorite Food Is Appropriately Maritime
Photo: Toei AnimationShanks spends most of his time at sea, so it’s a good thing that one of his favorite foods can be found in the ocean. He’s a big fan of lobster, though we don’t know how he likes it prepared. His other favorite dish is kimchi fried rice, which is also a good choice for a long trip - kimchi can be stored for long periods of time without going bad.
- 11400 VOTES
He Was Originally Attacked By A Shark
Photo: Toei AnimationIn the first version of Romance Dawn, which was a set of pilots for what would eventually become One Piece, Shanks lost his arm in a slightly more realistic way. Rather than being attacked by an imaginary creature like a sea king, he was attacked by an ordinary shark. While that’s certainly just as painful, the change gives the series a more fantastical feel.
- 12353 VOTES
He Was Accidentally Depicted With Both Arms
Photo: Toei AnimationWhen Ace and Shanks first meet in the anime, Shanks is depicted with both of his arms intact. This was an animation error, which was corrected for the home release.
Still, it’s interesting to imagine what might have caused Shanks to suddenly regrow an arm. What if he ate a Devil Fruit behind the scenes?
- 13285 VOTES
His Drinking Was Removed From The 4Kids Dub
Photo: Toei AnimationIn most cases, the 4Kids dub removed what they considered to be excess violence or sexual content. In Shanks’ case, most of the cuts revolved around his drinking. This actually created an incorrect impression that Shanks was somehow menacing. When Mihawk shows up to tell Shanks that Luffy would soon be arriving, Shanks asks him to stay. The reason he asks is that he wants him to come to Luffy’s welcome party, but because the boozy festivities are removed, it sounds like he’s refusing to let Mihawk leave, and plans to harm him.
Wouldn’t it have been less disturbing to depict a party where everyone is happy and the adults indulge in substances that are perfectly legal?
- 14224 VOTES
Some People Think Of Him As ‘Junx’
Photo: Toei AnimationFor some reason, a book called The Anime Encyclopedia - A guide to Japanese animation since 1917 wrote the name ‘Junx’ when they meant ‘Shanks.’ The book also stated that Luffy saved ‘Junx’s’ life, instead of the other way around. While that factual detail was corrected in later editions, the name Junx was never edited out.
Everyone makes mistakes, but it seems odd that this was never changed across multiple editions - and it means that there are probably a few people out there who still think his name is Junx!
- 15246 VOTES
Oda Drew His Sword As A Person
Photo: Eiichiro OdaThe sword that Shanks carries with him is called Gryphon. A fan wrote into the SBS column asking Oda if he could draw an anthropomorphized version of the sword. The fan was hoping for something cool, but Oda had a different idea of what the sword might look like as a human.
