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The record-breaking manga One Piece is widely appreciated for the incredible variety of characters that the author, Eiichiro Oda, created and developed. Despite being introduced many years ago, some of the most iconic characters in the series are yet to receive the deserved focus. Among them, some fan favorites are Shanks, Benn Beckmann, and the other members of Red Hair Pirates.
Shanks is the one who inspired Luffy to become a pirate. He is also likely to be one of the strongest characters in the series. However, not much is known about him and his crew. Shanks certainly has a charming and mysterious aura that makes him unique, and One Piece fans have been waiting for years to see him and the Red Hair Pirates in action.
Recently, fans have been blessed with One Piece: RED, the 15th feature film in the franchise. The movie allowed them to finally see what Shanks and his men are truly capable of. This thread will list the many similarities and parallels between Red Hair Pirates and Strawhat Pirates that One Piece: RED rendered evident.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to Chapter 1058 and from the One Piece: Red movie.
Strawhats Pirates and Red Hair Pirates are crews with a similar structure
One Piece author Eiichiro Oda created a clear parallel between Roger Pirates, Red Hair Pirates, and Strawhat Pirates. All three of these crews are relatively low in numbers, relying on a few powerful members rather than depending on big numbers. Their captains all owned the fated straw hat at one point. The first mates of these crews are close in strength to the captain and act as a brother to him.
The Red Hair Pirates are one of the most infamous and powerful pirate crews. The captain is "Red Hair" Shanks, who started his pirate career as an apprentice in the Roger Pirates, eventually creating his own crew and becoming a Yonko, one of the four pirates who rule the New World. The Red Hair Pirates are the first pirate crew to appear in the One Piece series.
Shanks is the group's chief, with overall authority over the crew. Just below him, there's Benn Beckman, his right-hand man. He is the most powerful among the senior officers, ranking above Yasopp and Lucky Roux. The rest of the crew is composed of pirates with notable bounties themselves. Together, the Red Pirates make a very well-balanced crew, one of the strongest in the One Piece world.
While the Red Hair Pirates are an established crew, the Strawhats are rookies on the rise. They are one of the most dynamic forces in the One Piece series, fighting against Marines, Warlords, and other pirates and greatly disrupting the balance of the Three Great Powers. All of these feats led to Luffy, the Strawhats' captain, being recognized as one of the Four Emperors.
Despite the small size of the crew, the Strawhats are a mighty group, just like the Red Hair Pirates. Luffy has overall authority as the captain. The crew's first mate is Zoro, his right-hand man. Zoro is the most powerful right after the captain. Below him rank two strong fighters, Sanji and the former member of the Seven Warlords, Jinbe. The remaining members are all remarkable individuals.
The connections between members of these two crews
Luffy resembles Shanks
The first connection to catch the eye is the one between Luffy and Shanks. They have the same role of captain and are linked through Roger's hat, which Shanks passed down to Luffy. Moreover, both of them possess the very rare Conqueror Haki. They also have similar behavior, acting the same where they are usually jovial and easy-going, but become demons when their friends are threatened.
During his childhood, Luffy met the captain of the Red Hair Pirates. He was impressed with Shanks and his crew and decided to become a pirate like them. To this day, he idolizes and respects him as his mentor, childhood hero, and the man Luffy wants to surpass eventually. On the other hand, Shanks saw in Luffy a younger version of himself. With the conclusion of Romance Dawn arc, the duo awaits their reunion in the series.
Shanks protected Luffy at the cost of sacrificing his arm and entrusted him with his signature Straw Hat that he inherited from Roger. He made Luffy promise that he'd return the hat to him only after becoming a great pirate. Throughout the series, Shanks and the other Red Hair Pirates showed delight and satisfaction at seeing Luffy's achievements celebrated in the newspapers.
At the end of Wano arc, an encounter was close to happening but ultimately didn't occur. Even in One Piece: RED, they unleashed a powerful combined move, exciting the fans, but somehow didn't meet up face to face. Fans wonder if Luffy and Shanks will ever meet on their path to claim the One Piece. A clash between them would be one of the most epic moments in the entire series.
Zoro compares to Benn Beckman
Another obvious parallelism is the one between Benn Beckman and Zoro. Both operate as Luffy's and Shanks' close and trusted right-hand men, respectively. Moreover, each of them have a Sun and Moon dynamic with their captains, resembling the one between Roger and Rayleigh. Both Zoro and Benn have immense attack power and an overwhelming Haki. They also seem to share the same stoic behavior.
As the One Piece author Eiichiro Oda recently confirmed, Zoro and Benn are the second strongest individuals in their crews, right after their captains. While both are Armament Haki masters, Zoro also possesses the all-powerful Advanced Conqueror Haki, an ability that remains unconfirmed for Benn to date. However, given that his counterpart can use that power, it is likely that Benn can use it as well.
Zoro and Benn have never met themselves. However, they have been portrayed together many times, between the One Piece: RED movie and the color spread of chapter 1031 of the One Piece manga. The portrayal depicts a line-up of the second strongest individuals from the most prominent crews and groups of the series, including Zoro from the Strawhats and Benn from the Red Hair Pirates.
After fighting and overpowering King, Kaido's right-hand man, it would be great to see Zoro clashing with another second-in-command of a Yonko crew. Due to Benn's great strength and experience, a fight between them would be fierce. A little hint of its outcome has been given in One Piece: RED, which features Benn sweating hard at seeing Zoro displaying his all powers with Ashura.
Sanji parallels Lucky Roux
Sanji Vinsmoke is the cook of the Straw Hat Pirates. He fights using only his legs and usually challenges the third most powerful combatant from the enemy's side. When in the presence of women, Sanji loses all his usual coolness, to the point that his behavior becomes annoying. He is very chivalrous, to the point he swore to himself that he would never injure a woman, even in a life-or-death situation.
Lucky Roux is one of the most prominent members of the Red Hair Pirates, arguably the third strongest in the crew, just below Shanks and Benn Beckman. This resembles the way Sanji ranks as the third strongest of Strawhats Pirates, after Luffy and Zoro.
The connection between Lucky Roux and Sanji further intensifies when considering the information recently revealed by One Piece: RED, which discloses three massive parallels between them. In fact, both Roux and Sanji are the cooks of their crew, both possess very strong legs, and are somewhat awkward with women, despite being very interested in them.
Given the noticeable similarities between these two characters, it is likely that Oda wanted to characterize Roux as the Red Hair counterpart of Sanji. This is feasible considering if a confrontation arises between the Red Hair Pirates and the Strawhat Pirates, these two might challenge each other.
Usopp's father-son bond with Yasopp
The parallel between these two is obvious since Usopp is Yasopp's son. Not only do they have a blood tie, but they also share the same inclinations. Both of them are great snipers and are incredibly talented in using Observation Haki. However, while Yasopp is one of the strongest members of the Red Hair Pirates, Usopp is one of the weakest members of the Strawhats, if not the weakest of all.
Usopp does not know much about his father, only that he is a member of the Red Hair Pirates, a fact that he takes great pride in. When his mother, Banchina, fell ill, Usopp lied to her by saying that the pirates were coming to the village as sort of a twisted hope that his father would return.
Yasopp knows about Usopp being a member of the Strawhat Pirates. Still, when a long awaited meeting between them was finally about to happen at the end of the Wano arc, he appeared very nervous at the thought of reuniting with his son. However, as of now, Usopp seems to have a long way to go before being able to confront his father on equal grounds.
Brook and Chopper recall Bonk Punch and Monster
These characters share a surprising connection. Bonk Punch is stated to be one of the oldest members of the Red Pirates. He fights in combination with a monkey called Monster. The two are musicians, making a duo. While Monster pressures the opponent with his agility, Bonk unleashes a strong attack to defeat the enemy.
Brook is the musician of Strawhats and the oldest member of the crew. Chopper is a reindeer who ate the Human-Human Fruit. They are two of the Strawhats who get along better, often acting as a pair, like in the Whole Cake Island arc. This behavior resembles the one of the duo composed by Bonk Punch and Monster.
There are further similarities between Chopper and Monster, who are both animals that somehow behave like humans. Despite being a monkey, Monster possesses high intelligence, being able to understand humans and even having authority over lower-ranking members of the crew. Moreover, Chopper has managed to become an accomplished doctor.
This unexpected connection could potentially lead to a cool two-vs-two fight.
Why Strawhat Pirates and Red Hair Pirates could clash in the next arcs of One Piece
Shanks is a mighty pirate who holds the title of Yonko and can fight on equal grounds with Mihawk, the World's Strongest Swordsman. But he also seems to be a clever individual with his own agenda. One Piece fans were shocked at the sight of Shanks meeting with the Five Elders in their very home, the sacred soil of Mary Geoise, with the intent of telling them about a certain pirate.
Shanks willingly sacrificed his left arm to protect Luffy and gifted him with the straw hat he inherited from Roger. He also tried to stop Ace from attacking Blackbeard and advised Whitebeard about Blackbeard's intent and the potential danger he could represent. Considering these actions, Shanks doesn't seem to be an evil character.
Then again, there is something shady about Shanks. His relationship with the World Government, as shown by his mutually respectful terms with the Five Elders and former Marine Fleet Admiral Sengoku, is very uncommon for a pirate. One Piece fans can't wait for this enigmatic relationship to be explained later in the series.
There's not enough conclusive evidence to label Shanks as a hideous villain. Hoever, his true goals and motivations are yet to be revealed. He recently declared to Benn Beckman the intention to compete for the One Piece. This means that Shanks and the Red Hair Pirates will take on everyone who seeks the same path, possibly including Luffy and the Straw Hats.
Until his recent claim to One Piece, Shanks always maintained a neutral position, seeking balance and a diplomatic resolution of conflicts. Throughout the series, Shanks wanted Luffy to succeed, but now they could collide. That would not necessarily make the Red Hair Pirates a crew of evil individuals. They would just compete with the Strawhats as competitors for the same ambition.
Another interesting set-up for a battle between Red Hair Pirates and Strawhats could be a Davy Back Fight, a traditional pirate game meant to challenge and eventually conscript members of opposing crews. It would be an exceptional idea to have Shanks and his men confront Luffy and his crew in a heated but friendly fight, allowing One Piece fans to enjoy an exciting and awaited face-off.
Final thoughts
Shanks is easily one of the most iconic characters in the series, but much about him is still a mystery. The same could be said for Benn Beckman and the other members of the Red Hair Pirates. However, thanks to One Piece: RED some information about Shanks and his men has finally been disclosed.
The movie was recently released in Japan and is already trending, with releases planned worldwide. The Red Hair Pirates have been hyped up for a long time, and their showcase in One Piece: RED definitely didn't betray expectations. Not only Shanks, Benn, and the others appear to be compelling characters, but a solid connection between them and Strawhats was clearly depicted.
Considering the significant impact Shanks had on Luffy and the influence he and his crew have across the world of One Piece, fans are now dying to learn more about the Red Hair Pirates. With the series nearing its end within the next few years, it's reasonable to think that their time to receive a well-deserved spotlight in the manga is finally about to come after the One Piece: RED movie.
