

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. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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). True to his epithet, Shanks has distinctly red hair, usually depicted across media as a deep crimson. 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. Shanks is a tall, muscular man with a tan complexion. He and his crew also have a sizable role in One Piece Film: Red, which centers on Uta, Shanks' adoptive daughter.

He is a late, but still vital ally during both the Marineford and Wano Country Arcs. 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.Įver 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. Most notably, he also owned the straw hat that once belonged to Gol D. He also accidentally provided Luffy with the Gomu Gomu no Mi to eat, and even sacrificed his left arm to save the boy from being eaten by the Lord of the Coast out at sea. Luffy to go on his own pirate journey, thus being responsible for the boy becoming the notorious outlaw he is today. Twelve years ago, while operating in the East Blue, Shanks inspired the young village boy, Monkey D. 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. "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.
