Red-Haired Shanks
Shanks is a former member of the legendary Roger Pirates which the only pirate crew that successfully conquered the Grand Line. He started out his pirate career on the said crew as an apprentice before forming his own pirate crew, Red Haired Pirates, after Gol D. Roger's death. Shanks is notably known as the pirate who inspired Monkey D. Luffy to go on his own pirate journey and become the new Pirate King. He owned Luffy's signature accessory, "Straw Hat", which was originally possessed by Pirate King Gol D. Roger and he gifted it to  Luffy as part of a promise for them to meet again someday. Creation and conception. Author Eiichiro Oda had first featured Shanks in the first pilot of "One Piece" series, "Romance Dawn: Version 1", which also known as "One Piece Chapter 0" in the Shonen Jump specials showcasing upcoming artists including Oda about a year and a half before "One Piece" series began. Much of his storyline remained the same from "One Piece" series except that Higuma the Bandit was absent from the story in this version. Another difference was that Shanks arm was bitten off by a shark instead  of a Sea King. Also, in this version, Shanks himself is described as a "Peace" main type of pirate. In the main series, Shanks is described as a tall man, well-built, tan-complexioned, and in the prime of his mid-adulthood. True to his epithet, Shanks has distinctly red hair which usually depicted across the media as deep-crimsonish. In his later appearance of the series, 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. Oda basically draws manga without applying screen tones when expressing the colors of clothes and hair, but with Shanks, Oda exceptionally drew his hair color with screen tones. 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. Oda had chosen Gryphon, a sabre , as Shanks only weapon in the entire series. 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. Casting. In the Japanese version of One Piece's anime adaptations by Toei Animation, Shanks has been voiced by Shūichi Ikeda. In the Funimation English adaptation, his voice actor is Brandon Potter. As for the 4Kids English adaptation, he is voiced by Tom Souhrada who gave him a Cockney accent. Additionally, in the upcoming One Piece Live Action Series adapted by  Netflix, Shanks will be portrayed by Peter Gadiot. Gadiot’s casting was announced in a video on the Netflix series' official Twitter account. In the short video, the Hollywood star personally announces that he will be playing Shanks, before confirming that he is in Cape Town currently working on the production. Abilities. Later in the series, it revealed that Shanks was a former member and apprentice of the Roger Pirates which is the only known crew to ever reach last island of Grand Line known as "Laugh Tale". Currently, Shanks is chief of the Red Hair Pirates, which are recognized  as one of the four strongest pirate crews. They are the most balanced and impregnable as a group, showing little weakness overall and well recognized as having a high average bounty. Additionally, Shanks is one of the Four Emperors in the New World and the youngest among them. It had shown in the series that despite his age, Shanks is on an equal level with the more experienced Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, and even Whitebeard, who was feared as the strongest pirate in the World. In 1001th chapter of the manga, it shown that Kaidou acknowledges Shanks as one of the  very few powerful pirates capable of fighting him. Haki. According to "One Piece Vivre Card", Shanks is one of the very small number of people in the "One Piece" world who can use all three types of Haki (覇気, ambition). Even Whitebeard complimented Shanks for his Haki when he used it on his visit, with Jozu stating it was overwhelming. Shanks can use Conquering King's Haki "(覇王色の覇気, Haōshoku no Haki)", making him one in several million people. While Shanks was boarding Whitebeard's ship for their meeting, dozens of Whitebeard's men collapsed into unconsciousness as the ship itself  began taking physical damage from Shanks' mere presence, impressing those around him. In "One Piece SBS", Oda revealed that Shanks' Conquering King's Haki was at least twice as potent as Luffy's by the time of the Fish-Man Island Arc; Shanks could have knocked out all 100,000 of New Fish-Man Pirates opposing the Straw Hats, whereas Luffy did overwhelm only half that. Additionally in the series, it revealed that Shanks also has a great mastery over Armament Haki (武装色の覇気, Busōshoku no Haki). During the Summit War of Marineford, his Haki-infused sword easily blocked Akainu's magma -enhanced punch which was powerful enough to burn stronger enemies such as Ace, Jinbe, and even the Emperor Whitebeard. Appearances. Section::::"One Piece" manga. East Blue Saga. One day, Shanks and his crew were parting in the Partys Bar, with Shanks denying Luffy the opportunity to join his crew because he felt the boy was too young and inexperienced. They were interrupted when Higuma and his bandits arrived and demanded sake. Shanks offered Higuma the last bottle, but Higuma smashed it over his head because he felt it was not enough. Higuma threw Shanks' food onto him and left, convinced that  Shanks was a coward. Luffy was angry by how Shanks refused to fight back and later discovered that he had eaten the Gomu Gomu no Mi. A few days later, Higuma returned and took Luffy as a hostage when the latter insulted him. As Higuma was preparing to kill Luffy, Shanks have returned. Soon afterward, Shanks caught up to Luffy, who had been thrown into the ocean by Higuma, and defended him from the Lord of the Coast, whom he scared away with a glare. Luffy began crying over how Shanks had lost his left arm in defending him, only  for Shanks to claim it was just an arm. Later, Shanks and his crew began preparing to leave the village. When Luffy told him that he would become a pirate on his own, Shanks claimed that Luffy did not have what it took to become a pirate, which prompted Luffy to angrily proclaim that he would gather his own crew to rival Shanks' and claim One Piece himself. Smiling at this, Shanks gave Luffy his Straw hat and told him to return it once he had become a great pirate. Sometime later, while Shanks and his crew were relaxing on  an island after drinking too much, Mihawk arrived. After stating he had no interest in fighting him again, he showed Shanks that Luffy had gained a bounty of 30,000,000 Beli. Seeing Luffy had finally made his emergence, a gleeful Shanks had Mihawk stay as he threw another party despite his hangover from his previous drinking session. Water Seven Saga. Shanks met Whitebeard and used Haoshoku Haki to render the lower-ranking members of Whitebeard's crew unconscious.After sitting down to drink with Shanks, Whitebeard began reminiscing about the past, where he noted that Shanks used to be a simple  apprentice on Roger's ship. Whitebeard claimed that he could still hear the duels between Shanks and Mihawk that used to echo throughout the Grand Line before asking him what enemy he lost his left arm to, only for Shanks to state that he bet it on the "New Era". After finishing their sake, Shanks and Whitebeard drew their weapons and clashed, resulting in the skies above them splitting in two. Marineford Arc. After the deaths of Ace and Whitebeard, Shanks suddenly arrived at Marineford, just in time to save Koby from being killed by Admiral Akainu. Shanks told the  remaining Marine and Whitebeard Pirates that he and his crew would fight anyone who wished to continue the war. Shanks asked Blackbeard if he wished to do so, but Blackbeard decided to leave instead, having determined that it is not yet time to face Shanks. Shanks told the remaining Whitebeard Pirates and Marines to save face for him before telling the Marines that he wanted to give Whitebeard and Ace the burials they deserved. When Fleet Admiral Sengoku stated he would hand their corpses over to the pirates and that he would take responsibility for the Marines' actions, Shanks thanked  him for doing so. Later in the New World, the Red Hair Pirates attended Whitebeard and Ace's funeral with the Whitebeard Pirates to pay their respects. Reverie Arc. As the news of Luffy's exploits at Totto Land spread across the world, Shanks read the newspaper and looked forward to seeing Luffy again. Shanks later went to Mary Geoise to speak with the Five Elders in person about a certain pirate. In other media and merchandise. Shanks is a popular subject of One Piece merchandise and is in other media material as well. Eiichiro Oda drew and wrote a  short story starring Shanks which titled as "Red Hair of Class 3-Sea Time". This was written after Shanks won a poll to create a short story for him. Shanks will be one of the main characters in the upcoming "" which directed by Gorō Taniguchi and produced by Toei Animation. Reception. Shanks is one of the most popular character in "One Piece" series. Despite appearing rarely, Shanks is always in the top fifteen most popular characters and was rated in the top ten most popular characters during the series’ first, second, and fourth popularity poll. Nick Valdez states in review  for "ComicBook.com" that "Shanks is actually one of the most important figures in the series overall when you think about it because he was so instrumental in starting Luffy on his journey to becoming the Pirate King. He's been so instrumental to the core of the series, but we've only seen him a few times throughout the course of the series. He's always been just outside of Luffy's travels, but each time we actually get to see him there's quite a magnanimous presence. It's a fierce presence that carries a significant amount of weight .” In another review Valdez noted the "final confrontation between Luffy and Shanks is one of the most anticipated moments for fans of the series." Valdez also wrote how one of the series’ "major mysteries is Red-Haired Shanks” due to hints of a politically powerful background.