Yakuza cut their left pinkie finger. Shanks lost his left arm. Traditionally, like from medieval times, the finger-cutting is meant to cripple your swordsmanship, as the pinky finger grips the handle the most tightly. We know Shanks is a swordsman and lost at least some level of ability in this skill because of Mihawk refusing to duel, and from how he uses it in flashbacks, his left arm was his dominant arm. And actually, even earlier than the yakuza, finger-cutting comes from medieval japanese gamblers. Losing a finger was seen as a way to resolve a bet if you didn't have another way to pay. This really makes that "I bet it on the next generation." line come across a different way to me. It's not the focus of this and ive posted it before, but in my opinion, Shanks losing his arm was an intentional act to cement his influence over Luffy, because Shanks could see what Luffy's future might hold.
The marines don't call him "captain" by the way, they call him "ogashira/大頭", or "big boss". like he's the head of a criminal organization. His crew just uses "kashira/頭", a more informal "boss". the yakuza organization structure IRL places the "wakagashira"/"young boss" right under the oyabun/kumicho, so shanks' title is alluding to the yakuza without being one of their real titles. rather than the group leader, hes the head of the family. same idea, different phrasing.
we also have the father/son cups sake ritual. the yakuza use the sakazuki cups to cement organization structure and loyalty. the grand fleet start calling Luffy "ogashira" after it, even though they don't do the "real" exchange of cups. Kyoshiro's family in Wano use it to swear loyalty, so it even has explicit ties to the yakuza within the world of One Piece. I imagine Shanks and his crew did the same father/son cups ritual as any other yakuza family when forming the red hair pirates, considering their deferment to his rank and level of respect. Also, Shanks is from the West blue, where the best sake comes from, and he's always got a supply. Coincidentally, the west blue is overrun by underworld mafia figures under the Five Families of the West, and any importing of booze probably goes through them, so Shanks probably has ties to and influence with the Underworld. How far does it actually go? Well, we know the Underworld business goes all the way to the top of the government. We know Shanks can just walk into the holy land and discuss whatever he wants with the 5 Elders. We know the underworld is acting as a go-between for the WG, the yonko, and other weapons dealers and criminals across the world. Everyone called Doflamingo the most influential man in the Underworld, but he was just one broker. After Dressrosa we find out that the underworld is much bigger than just one country's exports, and see guys like Giberson the Hider the warehouse kingpin, "god of fortune" Du Feld, "shipping king" Umit, Big News Morgans, etc. But even these guys most people dont know about specialize. The organization structure has to lead up to something, right? Who's pulling the strings?
Akagami (red hair) is written like this "赤髪" but if you say akagami and write it like this "垢神" it means something like "dirty god" or like "god of filth". akagami no shankusu. What if Red Haired Shanks is also Shanks the Dirty God, the man at the top of the underworld?
i started looking for more puns after this and figured Oda likes doing stuff with bounties. shanks is 4,048,900,000. its got 489 (shi-ya-ku) in it and this led me in some wild directions. first off 師役(shiyaku) could mean "playing the role of teacher/master", like the example wiki gives is saying something like "suzumiya haruhi-yaku, aya hirano." so, playing the role of teacher, shanks. (or playing the role of Death, ooh spooky) then theres a bunch of gambling references! yaku means your hand in mahjong, for one. but then the other one https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oicho-Kabu , a japanese gambling card game literally called "89". turns out its the origin of the word yakuza.
so i wanted to see if there were any notable connections between the syllable "shi" and the yakuza and got https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimizu_Jirocho
- most famous yakuza in history
- adopted
- life has no recorded notable incidents between the death of his father and becoming a young adult
- became a gambler and criminal and started building a private navy
- played the revolutionary army and the government against each other
- swordsman
- folk hero/robin hood figure in japan
- famously made sure people were buried properly after a war and defied the government in doing so
- was known to be able to settle major conflicts without casualties
Apr 23, 2021
was just thinking about fate in one piece and the consistent theme of luffy rejecting fate or predictions, and wondering if this will carry into the end and luffy rejecting his role as joyboy, or whoever, because if he's been destined to be there the whole time its no fun.
i can see, for some reason, they get to laugh tale, and its a ton of amazing shit, its the whole history of the void century, its all kinds of secrets, its this and that, the whole crew is flipping out that they're discovering all these incredible things, and luffy has tears in his eyes and isnt smiling because its all what they expected to find and his secret dream remains unfulfilled. like ah, thank god you're here luffy, you must now be the king of the world and reign with the mermaid princess as your queen and rule with a just but peaceful hand, and luffy is just going uhhh no. this is the worst possible idea ive ever heard.
i think there will be, even beyond the final war, an even more final journey to somewhere meaningful so luffy can see it to the end on his own terms. like, i think the subset of fans who got that sinking feeling of "oh no, is luffy a figure of prophecy and not some guy who just believes in himself really hard?" are having the right idea, because that's how luffy reacts anytime something is said to be absolutely certain, or predicted, or set in stone, or whatever. he hates that kind of shit more than anything.
and now to lead back to this topic i think considering all this as true this kind of makes shanks the ultimate version of that villain for luffy. arlong the guy who controls nami through debt and fear. crocodile the casino boss who rigs the game and writes off losses. enel the god who monitors everything and demands submission. moria the man who steals your shadow and makes a mockery of your life. the jailers of impel down. the world government using the law and authority as an excuse to take robin and his brother away from him. doflamingo the puppetmaster who keeps an island in a cage. kaido controlling an entire country with his iron fist and making kids cry. etc etc. all the biggest villains are guys who go overboard with control, who take freedom away from others.
if the shanks/yakuza theory is correct, this makes shanks the ultimate guy rigging the game so its no fun.
hes the pirate who runs the underworld, the information networks and illegal business all across the globe, and industrializes it, and keeps the government strong while also uplifting the most corrupt and destructive pirates and holding down any upstarts trying to change the world like Eustass Kid, maintaining the status quo all because he's betting on luffy being this figure of prophecy. playing all the sides against each other like Shimizu Jirocho because he wants to see his gamble pay off.
thematically there would be an explanation for his villainy this way, and a reason for luffy to take him down. a sort of traditional grey take on it where shanks completely thinks he's doing the right thing and has good intentions, but it would be incredibly insulting and suffocating to a person like luffy to say "here i put these things into play to make it easier for you."
does luffy even know shanks ended the war?
shanks stepped in just to get him his hat back and ensure he escaped alive. would luffy even be satisfied by this? he can step in to do that but not save Ace or Whitebeard? Luffy gets mad any time anyone even suggests making his journey easier and heres a guy stepping in specifically to ONLY save him while his brother still dies. because he's gambling on Luffy, not them. Collateral damage. No big deal. This is enough by itself to make luffy want to kick his ass. if he's been behind all this other corruption too? if he's the guy who set up doflamingo and enabled him to become the top broker and organized the shipping of all the weapons out of kaido's factories and shit? man... its going to be a real confrontation i think.
Aug 30, 2021
New evidence regarding the Shimizu Jirocho connection has come to light.
This is the DVD cover art for Jirocho Sangokushi, a film about Shimizu Jirocho's life. You might notice a familiar art style. Yep, that's Eiichiro Oda.
Not only did he draw the DVD cover, he did it because it's one of his favorite films of all time. Oda loves Shimizu Jirocho as a character. And he likes to joke that shanks is the most like him. Of course Oda likes to see himself as the star of his favorite movie.
it turns out this is an entire box set of a film series not just one movie and Oda did the art for all of them. He must be a real huge fan.
More goroawase number wordplay. 893 is "yakuza". Chapter 893 is where katakuri cuts himself because he sees it as a duel of honor and Luffy, in response, quotes Shanks.
Oct 28, 2021
this is minor, but i just thought of it and i feel it applies.
Why is Shanks' crew all adult men?
Because they do business that is not appropriate for women and children.
"The pistol is cold. The pistol is a mechanism. There is no personification in it, and the sword is an extension of the human hand, human flesh, and I can convey the entire depth of hatred towards the enemy when the blade of my sword pierces his body, plunging the hand-sword into the body of the enemy. Then there is no greater pleasure to say: "Shinde moraimasu", that is, "I ask you to die."
Shimizu Jirocho
"its dangerous to point guns."
Shanks
The marines don't call him "captain" by the way, they call him "ogashira/大頭", or "big boss". like he's the head of a criminal organization. His crew just uses "kashira/頭", a more informal "boss". the yakuza organization structure IRL places the "wakagashira"/"young boss" right under the oyabun/kumicho, so shanks' title is alluding to the yakuza without being one of their real titles. rather than the group leader, hes the head of the family. same idea, different phrasing.
we also have the father/son cups sake ritual. the yakuza use the sakazuki cups to cement organization structure and loyalty. the grand fleet start calling Luffy "ogashira" after it, even though they don't do the "real" exchange of cups. Kyoshiro's family in Wano use it to swear loyalty, so it even has explicit ties to the yakuza within the world of One Piece. I imagine Shanks and his crew did the same father/son cups ritual as any other yakuza family when forming the red hair pirates, considering their deferment to his rank and level of respect. Also, Shanks is from the West blue, where the best sake comes from, and he's always got a supply. Coincidentally, the west blue is overrun by underworld mafia figures under the Five Families of the West, and any importing of booze probably goes through them, so Shanks probably has ties to and influence with the Underworld. How far does it actually go? Well, we know the Underworld business goes all the way to the top of the government. We know Shanks can just walk into the holy land and discuss whatever he wants with the 5 Elders. We know the underworld is acting as a go-between for the WG, the yonko, and other weapons dealers and criminals across the world. Everyone called Doflamingo the most influential man in the Underworld, but he was just one broker. After Dressrosa we find out that the underworld is much bigger than just one country's exports, and see guys like Giberson the Hider the warehouse kingpin, "god of fortune" Du Feld, "shipping king" Umit, Big News Morgans, etc. But even these guys most people dont know about specialize. The organization structure has to lead up to something, right? Who's pulling the strings?
Akagami (red hair) is written like this "赤髪" but if you say akagami and write it like this "垢神" it means something like "dirty god" or like "god of filth". akagami no shankusu. What if Red Haired Shanks is also Shanks the Dirty God, the man at the top of the underworld?
i started looking for more puns after this and figured Oda likes doing stuff with bounties. shanks is 4,048,900,000. its got 489 (shi-ya-ku) in it and this led me in some wild directions. first off 師役(shiyaku) could mean "playing the role of teacher/master", like the example wiki gives is saying something like "suzumiya haruhi-yaku, aya hirano." so, playing the role of teacher, shanks. (or playing the role of Death, ooh spooky) then theres a bunch of gambling references! yaku means your hand in mahjong, for one. but then the other one https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oicho-Kabu , a japanese gambling card game literally called "89". turns out its the origin of the word yakuza.
so i wanted to see if there were any notable connections between the syllable "shi" and the yakuza and got https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimizu_Jirocho
- most famous yakuza in history
- adopted
- life has no recorded notable incidents between the death of his father and becoming a young adult
- became a gambler and criminal and started building a private navy
- played the revolutionary army and the government against each other
- swordsman
- folk hero/robin hood figure in japan
- famously made sure people were buried properly after a war and defied the government in doing so
- was known to be able to settle major conflicts without casualties
Apr 23, 2021
was just thinking about fate in one piece and the consistent theme of luffy rejecting fate or predictions, and wondering if this will carry into the end and luffy rejecting his role as joyboy, or whoever, because if he's been destined to be there the whole time its no fun.
i can see, for some reason, they get to laugh tale, and its a ton of amazing shit, its the whole history of the void century, its all kinds of secrets, its this and that, the whole crew is flipping out that they're discovering all these incredible things, and luffy has tears in his eyes and isnt smiling because its all what they expected to find and his secret dream remains unfulfilled. like ah, thank god you're here luffy, you must now be the king of the world and reign with the mermaid princess as your queen and rule with a just but peaceful hand, and luffy is just going uhhh no. this is the worst possible idea ive ever heard.
i think there will be, even beyond the final war, an even more final journey to somewhere meaningful so luffy can see it to the end on his own terms. like, i think the subset of fans who got that sinking feeling of "oh no, is luffy a figure of prophecy and not some guy who just believes in himself really hard?" are having the right idea, because that's how luffy reacts anytime something is said to be absolutely certain, or predicted, or set in stone, or whatever. he hates that kind of shit more than anything.
and now to lead back to this topic i think considering all this as true this kind of makes shanks the ultimate version of that villain for luffy. arlong the guy who controls nami through debt and fear. crocodile the casino boss who rigs the game and writes off losses. enel the god who monitors everything and demands submission. moria the man who steals your shadow and makes a mockery of your life. the jailers of impel down. the world government using the law and authority as an excuse to take robin and his brother away from him. doflamingo the puppetmaster who keeps an island in a cage. kaido controlling an entire country with his iron fist and making kids cry. etc etc. all the biggest villains are guys who go overboard with control, who take freedom away from others.
if the shanks/yakuza theory is correct, this makes shanks the ultimate guy rigging the game so its no fun.
hes the pirate who runs the underworld, the information networks and illegal business all across the globe, and industrializes it, and keeps the government strong while also uplifting the most corrupt and destructive pirates and holding down any upstarts trying to change the world like Eustass Kid, maintaining the status quo all because he's betting on luffy being this figure of prophecy. playing all the sides against each other like Shimizu Jirocho because he wants to see his gamble pay off.
thematically there would be an explanation for his villainy this way, and a reason for luffy to take him down. a sort of traditional grey take on it where shanks completely thinks he's doing the right thing and has good intentions, but it would be incredibly insulting and suffocating to a person like luffy to say "here i put these things into play to make it easier for you."
does luffy even know shanks ended the war?
shanks stepped in just to get him his hat back and ensure he escaped alive. would luffy even be satisfied by this? he can step in to do that but not save Ace or Whitebeard? Luffy gets mad any time anyone even suggests making his journey easier and heres a guy stepping in specifically to ONLY save him while his brother still dies. because he's gambling on Luffy, not them. Collateral damage. No big deal. This is enough by itself to make luffy want to kick his ass. if he's been behind all this other corruption too? if he's the guy who set up doflamingo and enabled him to become the top broker and organized the shipping of all the weapons out of kaido's factories and shit? man... its going to be a real confrontation i think.
Aug 30, 2021
New evidence regarding the Shimizu Jirocho connection has come to light.
This is the DVD cover art for Jirocho Sangokushi, a film about Shimizu Jirocho's life. You might notice a familiar art style. Yep, that's Eiichiro Oda.
Not only did he draw the DVD cover, he did it because it's one of his favorite films of all time. Oda loves Shimizu Jirocho as a character. And he likes to joke that shanks is the most like him. Of course Oda likes to see himself as the star of his favorite movie.
Post automatically merged:
New evidence regarding the Shimizu Jirocho connection has come to light.
This is the DVD cover art for Jirocho Sangokushi, a film about Shimizu Jirocho's life. You might notice a familiar art style. Yep, that's Eiichiro Oda.
Not only did he draw the DVD cover, he did it because it's one of his favorite films of all time. Oda loves Shimizu Jirocho as a character. And he likes to joke that shanks is the most like him. Of course Oda likes to see himself as the star of his favorite movie.
This is the DVD cover art for Jirocho Sangokushi, a film about Shimizu Jirocho's life. You might notice a familiar art style. Yep, that's Eiichiro Oda.
Not only did he draw the DVD cover, he did it because it's one of his favorite films of all time. Oda loves Shimizu Jirocho as a character. And he likes to joke that shanks is the most like him. Of course Oda likes to see himself as the star of his favorite movie.
it turns out this is an entire box set of a film series not just one movie and Oda did the art for all of them. He must be a real huge fan.
Post automatically merged:
More goroawase number wordplay. 893 is "yakuza". Chapter 893 is where katakuri cuts himself because he sees it as a duel of honor and Luffy, in response, quotes Shanks.
Oct 28, 2021
this is minor, but i just thought of it and i feel it applies.
Why is Shanks' crew all adult men?
Because they do business that is not appropriate for women and children.
"The pistol is cold. The pistol is a mechanism. There is no personification in it, and the sword is an extension of the human hand, human flesh, and I can convey the entire depth of hatred towards the enemy when the blade of my sword pierces his body, plunging the hand-sword into the body of the enemy. Then there is no greater pleasure to say: "Shinde moraimasu", that is, "I ask you to die."
Shimizu Jirocho
"its dangerous to point guns."
Shanks
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