One Piece makes a Shanks vs. Joy Boy Haki comparison, and still doesn't give an answer

Modified Aug 21, 2024 10:30 GMT

One Piece chapter 1123 made a Shanks vs. Joy Boy comparison (Image via Toei Animation).

One Piece chapter 1123 came out recently and was heavily focused on Dr. Vegapunk's plan, but also showed a 'Shanks vs. Joy Boy' Haki comparison, which a lot of fans picked up on. That is because there isn't a lot of information on the full extent of the Red-Hair and the former Nika user's powers, although is fair to say that this chapter still doesn't answer that question.

While One Piece has already hinted at these two characters being very powerful, the Shanks vs. Joy Boy comparison also serves to display how far they go in terms of the series' power scale. However, despite the most recent chapter providing a discussion to gauge their powers, the truth of the matter is that fans don't have a lot of material to work with beyond speculation.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author.

One Piece chapter 1123 provided a small Shanks vs. Joy Boy comparison, although without much material to work with

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Chapter 1123 recently came out and had the Giants of Elbaf making a Shanks vs. Joy Boy Haki comparison, based on the attack Emeth had to use to help the Straw Hats and his friends escape. This attack was a special Haki move that Joy Boy had stored in the Iron Giant, with the Elbaf warriors mentioning that it was probably stronger than the Red-Hair, even though it didn't have any "ill-intent".

Naturally, this led to a lot of comparisons in the fandom, to the point of some claiming that this moment devalues some of the hype involving Shanks. However, this does make sense to a degree when considering Joy Boy's legendary status as the world's first major pirate, according to Dr. Vegapunk, and how he was the user of the Nika fruit before Luffy, so he had to be a formidable Haki user.

On the other hand, it is also worth pointing out that this comment doesn't give a clear answer because is very likely that the Giants haven't seen Shanks at full strength. There is very little chance that the Red-Hair pirate has been pushed to his limits for quite some time, which is something that could play a pivotal role in this discussion.

Shank's role in the story moving forward

Gear 5 Luffy and Shanks as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation).

There is no denying that the recent Shanks vs. Joy Boy comparison highlights how the former is still a monumental mystery in the One Piece universe. While Joy Boy is also a character with many questions surrounding him, he died several centuries ago while Shanks is still around and readers know next to nothing about his motivations and even his moral compass.

There have been multiple theories surrounding Shanks, with some even arguing that he has a twin brother who serves the World Government. His decision to steal the Nika Fruit from the authorities and allow Luffy to roam free when he ate it has led to some people believe that he is manipulating the protagonist for his gain, although the story itself has yet to clarify his position in the current conflict.

Final thoughts

There is no clear information regarding the 'Shanks vs. Joy Boy' Haki comparison because the story is yet to show both characters' full strength in One Piece. Furthermore, there are so many questions surrounding the two pirates that is difficult to answer this question at the moment.

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Edited by Bharath S