Shanks is one of the most important characters in the world of One Piece.

He’s also one of the very first characters that Oda introduced in his story, courtesy of the Romance Dawn arc. From the very beginning of the story, it was quite clear that Shanks would be a crucial character moving forward. He inspired Luffy to become a pirate and put him on the path of finding the One Piece.

Shanks didn’t appear in many chapters at the beginning of the story, however, the impact he had was profound. One of the most impactful scenes with Shanks came right at the end of the Romance Dawn arc, where he ended up losing his arm while trying to save Luffy’s life. Often, fans have wondered why Oda decided to cut off his arm and there is a very simple reason for that.

How Shanks Lost His Arm

Shanks ended up losing his arm at the very beginning of One Piece. This event actually took place 10 years before Luffy set out on his journey and fans only got to see it through a flashback. Luffy spent the vast majority of his childhood in Foosha Village and there, he met a pirate named Shanks who had been camping in the East Blue for around a year. Luffy became great friends with Shanks and his crew and immediately took a very strong liking to him. Eventually, he wanted to join his crew and to that end, Luffy often wanted to prove his bravery to Shanks, given that the red-haired pirate was a person he respected quite a lot. However, when, one day, Higuma, a mountain bandit came down and disrespected Shanks, Luffy was absolutely infuriated at his inability to do anything about it.

Luffy wanted Shanks to fight back but when the red-haired pirate laughed it off, he was upset to the point where he decided to take things into his own hands. Naturally, Luffy ended up getting himself into trouble and that is where Higuma took Luffy with him. The Coastal King soon made his entry and would have gobbled both of them up had it not been for Shanks, who ended up saving Luffy at the expense of his arm. Scaring the sea beast away, Shanks decided to save what he believed was the leader of the next generation. Shanks then ended up entrusting his beloved Straw Hat to Luffy and challenged him to meet him at the very top. All thanks to him, Luffy has now become an Emperor of the Sea and it is only a matter of time before he ends up meeting Shanks once again.

Oda’s Original Plan For Shanks

One of the striking features of Shanks’s character design is his missing arm. Fans know the Shanks is a very powerful pirate and he would have been even stronger had he had his other arm. It is surprising to know that Oda initially did not intend to cut off Shanks’ arm at all. This means fans could very likely have seen Shanks with both his arms in the story had it not been for the advice of Oda’s editor. According to him, Shanks needed to lose an arm to spice up the story a bit more. Perhaps, the editor found the scene not moving enough without some sort of sacrifice and Shanks losing his arm was more emphatic to him. Needless to say, his advice was certainly not wrong, given that Shanks losing his arm certainly did elevate the scene quite a lot.

Shanks giving up an arm for Luffy made the Romance Dawn arc of One Piece an iconic arc. It is the most memorable scene from this arc and one that has reverberated through the history of the series. To this day, fans recognize that scene as the moment where it all started. It is also very apparent that Luffy’s respect for Shanks, which was already great, elevated even further after this. The fact that Shanks was willing to give up his arm for Luffy and potentially even his life just goes to show that he was, indeed, like a guardian to him. Furthermore, it also taught Luffy about the meaning of sacrifice. When Sanji was willing to give up his life for the sake of Zeff, it was Luffy who stopped him from doing that, telling him that Zeff did not sacrifice his leg so Sanji could give away his life. This forced Luffy to mature at a very early age in certain aspects and has shaped his character to this day.

How Shanks’ Character Was Affected

While Shanks losing his arm greatly affected Luffy and saved him at a very young age, it also did the same to Shanks himself. When Shanks ended up losing his arm, he was one of the brightest pirates in the Grand Line, someone who even Whitebeard heard quite often about. For him to have returned from the East Blue without an arm meant that Shanks was seen in a very different light. Whitebeard attributed Shanks losing his arm to fighting a great enemy, while Shanks simply goes on to say that he bet it on the new era. It was quite clear to see the Shanks had absolutely no regrets about this and that he was proud to have put Luffy on the path of becoming the Pirate King.

At the same time, Shanks also rose through the ranks after losing his arm. Before, Shanks was only an elite pirate, however, 6 years after losing his arm, he ended up becoming one of the Four Emperors of the Sea, despite having lost what appeared to be his dominant arm. Had Shanks not lost his arm, perhaps, he would have been even stronger today and there would have been no competition among the Yonko at all. In a way, Oda cutting off his arm also served to make him more human, when taking into consideration the incredible power that he already possesses without an arm.

Most importantly, Shanks losing his arm greatly affected his rivalry with Dracule Mihawk. These two characters have a very deep history and have engaged in countless duels which Whitebeard said reverberated across the Grand Line for quite a long time. Their duels were said to be legendary and fans are led to believe that most of them, if not all, were draws. Shanks losing his arm meant that Mihawk could no longer fight him, given that defeating a man without an arm would leave a sour taste in his mouth, as he would then assume the victory was not fair.

This also then pushed Mihawk to find another rival. Just when he thought he had lost his biggest rival, he ran into Zoro. Although he disposed of Zoro very quickly, Mihawk certainly knew that this person would one day go on to reach great heights and challenge him for the throne of the strongest. Right now, Zoro has reached great heights as well and he is certainly going to catch up to Mihawk and eventually even defeat him.

Meanwhile, Luffy will end up meeting Shanks once again, and when that happens, fans will get to see an incredible reunion between these two characters. Perhaps, more value would be attached to Shanks’ arm that he gave up for Luffy when these two come face to face. For now, fans can only sit back and wait for this incredible reunion to happen. One Piece is now in its final saga and that only means this reunion is now very close.