100% agree with this post. People vastly underestimate the importance of the character and what it all means for Luffy. We are certainly in foe a good time, since he's been at least teasing his mysteriousness (which usually indicates that there are just things we clearly do not know about the character, usually in a negative connotation considering his interactions with the Gorosei).
Thank you! I really want to see an interesting contrast of ideals/beliefs with Luffy and Dragon and Luffy with Shanks, much like Luffy and Garp. Luffy said he would take down Shanks or so and it would be much more interesting if Luffy and Shanks didn't see eye to eye and Shanks even felt Luffy needed some guidance, maybe even aggressively or needs to be stopped.
Shanks is looking foward to meeting Luffy though ofc but Oda has subtely been making him seem sinister when he shows panels of him like that and in the colour spreads too.
The fact we don't know his full name, he might be a potential D , why he has asword name Gryphon and what it could imply and he could even be the son of Xebec are all very interesting possibilities.
Oda really wants to mess with us in the depiction of Shanks and test/challenge our faith in him too imo. IIRC we never found out what Roger's final words were to Shanks or so, what he said in private to him?
Shanks is one of the most fascinating and as you said, mysterious characters in the series and he's truly going to be one of the most interesting overall by the end imo, including because of his connections and importance to Luffy too ofc.
I still have high hopes for him, for what its worth. Shanks has been one of my biggest wishes/hopes for OP, one of my biggest mysteries that needs solving and characters I want to see most right from when I started OP to this very day. A character 25+ years in the making. Oda is saving him for the endgame for good, great reasons even ofc.
Him and Mihawk are really going to deliver, I hope so, I really hope so. I think there's still a lot more to see of Kaido and even Big Mom too retroactively, like Oda has been doing with Ace and Whitebeard post humously/past their deaths too, so I'm sure Oda could flesh them out even more in future and probably will too. Same with King hopefully too and even Queen. Jack may be a lost cause though lol.
:cheers: