Today’s post is titled Red Hair Shanks One Piece. He is the guy we all probably love and respect. It’s only logical, he is a cheerful guy with the most badass crew and he even saved our beloved Luffy from the seakings, sacrificing his own arm in the process. To top all that, he even stopped the war of the best by just making his appearance there(!!). That is who Red Hair Shanks or Akagami no Shanks is. There is a lot to be expected from him and his crew, however some questions can arise. Could he be someone else? Is he hiding something?
What does he know?
We are all aware of the fact that he was a part of Roger’s crew, and that the pirate king himself gave him his hat, the one he later passed on to 
Luffy. It is quite probable that he knows the true nature of One Piece. Also, could it be that the straw hat is connected to the will of the D?
What is his true purpose?
A theory states that after Roger died, Shanks did find what the whole mystery about One Piece was, that way cracking the code to it. However, why didn’t he try to to get it? What was the thing that held and still holds him back? But of course, the fact that he isn’t a D himself. He needs the will of the D to acquire One Piece, so he decided to manipulate a young kid. Yes, i’m talking about Monkey D Luffy. Who can be better than the grandson of Monkey D Garp? He possesses the will of the D and he is ambitious. Shanks sailed to meet the boy, filling his head with the dream of becoming a pirate. A guy like Luffy, after becoming thrilled with the Pirate King idea, was sure to give his all, in order to acquire One Piece.
So, what’s gonna happen?
The general idea is that Luffy will be the one to reach Raftel, as we all believe him to, and unlock the access to One Piece. That is the time when the big surprise will happen. Shanks will come out of the shadows and show his true face, the one he has been hiding for so much time. He’ll demand One Piece from Luffy, or take it by force if he has to. We may see a fight that we never even imagined would happen. That theory could also explain why Buggy isn’t interested in One Piece, and also, the fact that Whitebeard had Ace, another D, in his ranks. He knew that only he could help him reach it, he was his valuable second in command.
Shanks and Blackbeard
What is the connection between thos two? What happened to Akagami’s eye and how did Blackbeard clash with him giving him the scar we all know about? There is a theory that is centered around the fruit that 
Blackbeard wanted, yami yami no mi, and the one that shanks had, gomu gomu no mi. The two fruits look quite similar, so there is a big probability that Teach confused the two fruits, trying to steal the one Shanks had.
We’ve explored some interesting aspects of the badass yonkou, in this Red Hair Shanksand One Piece post and also seen the probability of an evil identity that may be lurking. It all is a matter of time and Eichiro Oda’s mood 😉 What do you think? Share in the comment section below.
Last but not least, don’t forget to:
-
- like our facebook page
- Join the OnePieceTheories free anime newsletter!
- check our anime reviews/recommendations page
- check out more theories
Arigatou Minna!
Antonio,
Very well thought out and articulated questions about Red Hair Shanks.
You give a great condensed outline of the major aspects to understanding (if that’s even possible) who Red Hair Shanks IS, what he’s DONE, what he KNOWS, and how this information will all come together to drive future stories, both his and those around him.
Thanks for reminding me of some of Red Hair Shanks’ previous actions, as well as the consequences!
You ask probing questions and raise interesting issues for further discussion!
Hey bro, thanks for being here once more, really glad you enjoyed the post 🙂
I would like to add some facts that reinforce the likelihood of this theory. 1) Buggy was in Rogers ship so probably knows where and what OP is, but is not after it as we can see. Maybe because he is not a D. 2) Shanks said to Luffy: “Return the hat to me when you have become a great pirate” so this could be a hint that he wants it back, as a key to OP. 3) Shanks said to Silvers Rayleigh, in excitement, “A boy said the exact same thing Captain Roger said” so maybe that’s why he picked Luffy find OP for him (episode 400 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgEpO-uvfv0).
Hey John, your points are quite interesting and reinforce the theory, i’m a fan of Shanks but i do believe there can be another side to this character..
Also, I feel the need to give some thought to an other character connected to Shanks, Mihawk. Here are some facts: 1) Episode 45 Mihawk tells Shanks about luffys progress and they party together (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQBJzcjnjU8) 2) Mihawk confronts Luffy at the Great War but doesn’t kill him. More like tests him… Also then refuses to fight Shanks and leaves. 3) Mihawk trains Zoro during the time skip with no good reason to do so. My thought is that Mihawk and Shanks are together after OP. Shanks chose Luffy to open the way for them, Mihawk tested and approved him. Also trained his vice captain, giving them further chances to reach OP. So maybe Mihawk is Shanks’ crew member (second in command, as Zoro is to Luffy). Think about it.. Mihawk is a pirate with no ship, no flag, no crew… He has to belong somewhere..
Hmm, quite interesting idea about their connection and the motive behind their actions. Also, nice theory about Mihawk, a really mysterious character. He may be the center of a later post 😉
Hey Antonis I never really watched or read up on anime but with this post you make me want to start. Seems pretty interesting and your post was a good description on Red Hair Shanks. I really have to start reading more. Thank you for a well explained post. Have a great day/night.
Thanks so much Jaime. I’m happy if my posts bring more people to the anime world! Should you need a starting point don’t hesitate to ask!
Well, throughout the series I see his scary overpowered evil looking face, but his actions towards his crew and Luffy is good enough to show that he isn’t as evil as he looks. Consider that arm of his that he sacrificed to save luffy, no evil person would do it.
This article is nice to be honest, informative!
I too believe that Shanks is probably what he seems, an overpowered, scary but kind guy. However, it’s interesting to explore some alternatives. Thanks for the input 🙂
But isn’t it possible that for a treasure like OP lossing an arm doesn’t effect him much.
What do you mean? That it’s a small price to pay?
You’ve got a pretty interesting theory here. Probably the first one that I came across that speculates Shanks to be the mastermind of evil in OP.
But I don’t buy this theory. Instead, I think Shanks is going to die before Luffy reaches Raftel. Oda always has this new generation thing going on. The old generation will be replaced by the new. Oda has demonstrated this theme again and again throughout the story.
Hey again Andrew! Well i don’t really believe this theory to turn out to be true. I’m more in line with the Shanks dying possibility and Luffy revenging/fullfilling his dream for him or something. However, i just found it interesting and thought i might add it to the conversation 😉
I don’t know why I never thought of that possibility but my mind is blown right now. Maybe I should spend more time on this theories site since the theories seem so interesting. I have to say, I’m not fully convinced about Shanks‘ evil side but otherwise we know too little about him to judge the book by its cover. He could pull off a Dumbledore on Luffy, making him do the dirty stuff to reach his final goal. It’s %100 clear that Mihawk is kinda involved in this but I’m not sure if he’s Shanks’ subordinate (doesn’t seem like that to me tbh) or just a friend/ partner with the same goal maybe? I was suspicious of Shanks because of why he did chose to sail to Luffy’s village, which is a rather uncommon place to stay as a notorious pirate crew. First I thought he wanted to keep an eye on Ace but he clearly wasn’t that interested in him. I don’t know, it would be a great plot twist if he was the mastermind disguised under the ‘nice guy’ image but in the end he’s a pirate and who says that every evil pirate has to be obvious like Blackbeard.
On the other hand, he was raised by Roger and Rayleigh who are known to be generous and fair. So rather unlikely I’d say and also very difficult to tell story-wise without ruining the character.
Thanks for the contribution to the discussion. I too believe it is far-fetched but a nice theory nonetheless. Love the Dumbledore analogy!