Character Discussion “Shanks isn’t a Gary Stue.” Ok. What are his character flaws?

Is Shanks a deeply flawed and complex character?

  • yes

    Votes: 3 15.0%

  • no

    Votes: 17 85.0%
  • Total voters
    20
EmperorKinyagi

EmperorKinyagi

‎
#21
#21
Paperchampion23 said:
If I saw you talking to an SS officer, it doesnt matter the outcome until you tell me what you are doing. Until that point, you are flawed for talking to a Nazi.
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But I'd argue that you would have to prove it either way, since unless I was myself in a Nazi uniform or you had some good evidence that I was friends with them or agree with them then just talking is not a flaw.

Also, I understand that you're coming from the standpoint where you believe Shanks is evil or has ulterior motives, while I think the vast majority of evidence in the story suggests otherwise.

Since I don't accept your theory, I don't accept your flaw.

You need to actually give me concrete, unambiguous character flaws. Not speculation.
 
10tT1tan1cCapta1n

10tT1tan1cCapta1n

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#23
#23
EmperorKinyagi said:
So people have been coping and telling me that I’m just hating on Shanks because he punks admirals and that he’s not really a Gary Stue. He’s actually a really complex, tragic, hardworking, and well written character apparently.

The biggest indicator of a Gary Stue or Mary Sue (aside from never earning anything) is lacking character flaws.

I challenge all Shanks fans to give me three clearly defined character flaws. I’ll be shocked if I even see one that people agree on.
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Calling him a Gary Stu now is kinda hasty, considering the mysterious aspects of his character
 
I

IsaziSempi

‎
#25
#25
His biggest flaw is he's ineffectual. He has alot of importance but hasn't actually won anything. He won't be pk he won't stop black beard. He might not even protect his friends. Couldn't recruit buggy. Only thing he's done is give Luffy a fruit by accident and introduce him to piracy.
 
DenifClock

DenifClock

‎
#29
#29
He is a great character, you can't deny that.
I really like how Shanks is the antihesis to what a Celestial Dragon is despite by all means being a “god”. He’s willing to get humiliated and laughed at (i.e. Higuma spills booze on him) whereas the Celestial Dragons are all about pride, looking down on others, and projecting an image of being “gods”. He also uses his overwhelming strength to protect those that cannot defend themselves (i.e. his fleet) instead of sitting at the top of the world and watching others suffer. He also views himself as equal to most people and would happily sit in a tiny bar in the East Blue and drink cheap booze with his mates and a village boy rather than living in luxury atop the Red Line.

He is one of the most human characters despite being a “god” by virtue of his birth, which means that he becomes living evidence that Celestial Dragons are as human as the rest of us. It really shows what impact Roger had on him and how nurture trumps nature, and he’s an example of how the Celestial Dragons could choose to be good people if given the right upbringing.
 
ArturCantSpeakJapanese

ArturCantSpeakJapanese

‎
#36
#36
EmperorKinyagi said:
So people have been coping and telling me that I’m just hating on Shanks because he punks admirals and that he’s not really a Gary Stue. He’s actually a really complex, tragic, hardworking, and well written character apparently.

The biggest indicator of a Gary Stue or Mary Sue (aside from never earning anything) is lacking character flaws.

I challenge all Shanks fans to give me three clearly defined character flaws. I’ll be shocked if I even see one that people agree on.
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- says "needless killing doesnt make you a man" then has a guy killed for no reason other than to show how tough and manly he is.
- no women, kids, fishmen, etc on his crew, just adult human men. racist?
- a celestial dragon who is allies with the gorosei
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EmperorKinyagi said:
Bro, negotiating with an evil entity doesn’t = evil.

There’s no way you actually think that. Unless it’s revealed that Shanks HIMSELF had malicious intent when speaking to them, there no character flaw.

Also to make this even more blunt, actions =/= character traits.
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you can prove shanks himself had malicious intent. he tells Whitebeard "i have trouble holding back when im in enemy territory" or whatever about his unrestrained haki. he considered Whitebeard an enemy. He does not consider the Gorosei enemies.
 
mmd

mmd

‎
#37
#37
ArturCantSpeakJapanese said:
- says "needless killing doesnt make you a man" then has a guy killed for no reason other than to show how tough and manly he is.
- no women, kids, fishmen, etc on his crew, just adult human men. racist?
- a celestial dragon who is allies with the gorosei
Post automatically merged:


you can prove shanks himself had malicious intent. he tells Whitebeard "i have trouble holding back when im in enemy territory" or whatever about his unrestrained haki. he considered Whitebeard an enemy. He does not consider the Gorosei enemies.
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ArthurCanRecognizeGaryStue
:kata:
 
Charlotte Horchata

Charlotte Horchata

‎
#38
#38
His answer to people hurting his friends is disproportionate. What happened to Kid's crew after they were already obliterated, cooperated by giving their copies and were asking for mercy was murderous; in contrast, Luffy only needed one punch to put Bellamy down and left with no further casualties as he had avenged his friend and recovered what he got robbed. This brutality has been stressed not only for Shanks alone but also his people (Beckman crippled Kid, Roux headshot a person with no hesitation) and is a very shady trait he shares with Roger, who could act so viciously that Squardo betrayed his own "father" because he was still hurt by how Roger murdered his whole crew. Someone who Whitebeard can love as a son and has proven himself to not be evil like Teach can't be so bad to justify such annihilation, and Shanks seems to be on that level when it comes to defending his friends. I mean, you can't really tell me a Gary Stu with no flaws is going to do what he did to Higuma's people, who were evil, yes, but Shanks could have knocked them out with ease but was willing to murder them in cold blood.

He's ruthless in a bit of psychopathic way and that's honestly the most interesting thing about him and his crew because when he displays this attitude he doesn't really feel as badass as he feels dangerous; and in a bad way.

Shanks hasn't really gotten many panels so far so it's hard to assure how his character is, but so far he's far from perfect just for what I commented. There are other little things that could be seen as flaws (he's a bit of a manipulative jerk, his whole interaction with Buggy in Marineford revolves around this; seems to have some radical perspectives on piracy as he seems to have a hard time conciliating his own views with those of others —to the point he thinks of this as a legit reason to build serious animosity towards a friend, see his conversation with Buggy in chapter 19; and how he handled Luffy's kidnapping in chapter 1 didn't seem too perfect as he pretty much lost control over himself and didn't know what to do), but I'm sure he will become more of a grey character the more we know him.
 
Paperchampion23

Paperchampion23

‎
#39
#39
Charlotte Horchata said:
His answer to people hurting his friends is disproportionate. What happened to Kid's crew after they were already obliterated, cooperated by giving their copies and were asking for mercy was murderous; in contrast, Luffy only needed one punch to put Bellamy down and left with no further casualties as he had avenged his friend and recovered what he got robbed. This brutality has been stressed not only for Shanks alone but also his people (Beckman crippled Kid, Roux headshot a person with no hesitation) and is a very shady trait he shares with Roger, who could act so viciously that Squardo betrayed his own "father" because he was still hurt by how Roger murdered his whole crew. Someone who Whitebeard can love as a son and has proven himself to not be evil like Teach can't be so bad to justify such annihilation, and Shanks seems to be on that level when it comes to defending his friends. I mean, you can't really tell me a Gary Stu with no flaws is going to do what he did to Higuma's people, who were evil, yes, but Shanks could have knocked them out with ease but was willing to murder them in cold blood.

He's ruthless in a bit of psychopathic way and that's honestly the most interesting thing about him and his crew because when he displays this attitude he doesn't really feel as badass as he feels dangerous; and in a bad way.

Shanks hasn't really gotten many panels so far so it's hard to assure how his character is, but so far he's far from perfect just for what I commented. There are other little things that could be seen as flaws (he's a bit of a manipulative jerk, his whole interaction with Buggy in Marineford revolves around this; seems to have some radical perspectives on piracy as he seems to have a hard time conciliating his own views with those of others —to the point he thinks of this as a legit reason to build serious animosity towards a friend, see his conversation with Buggy in chapter 19; and how he handled Luffy's kidnapping in chapter 1 didn't seem too perfect as he pretty much lost control over himself and didn't know what to do), but I'm sure he will become more of a grey character the more we know him.
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Shanks is fucking weird lol.

- Casually comes to Wano and defends "young" pirates from Ryo from attacking them while tired

- Asks if Kid is healed at Elbaf, then proceeds to fucking half kill him with absolute bias.

He casually talks about going after Bartolomeo because he destroyed his flags. He's never been Luffy's ally, he just wants him somewhere specific.

I mean, even look at my PFP. The scene in context in Chapter 903 clearly is about him violently fighting Luffy soon after seeing his bounty. He has zero reason to make the face he does if they meet for a handshake lol.
 
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