Shanks and Doflamingo mirror each other in One Piece, and Shamrock's existence highlights it

“Red Hair” Shanks combines charisma and power for an awe-inspiring blend that few One Piece characters can blend. He kickstarted the main protagonist’s adventure, inspiring Monkey D. Luffy to become a pirate. One Piece recently revealed that Shanks has an older twin brother called Saint Figarland Shamrock, a Celestial Dragon who is the current leader of the World Government’s Holy Knights.

Shamrock is the son of another mighty Celestial Dragon, Saint Figarland Garling. Of course, the fact that Shamrock and Shanks are brothers confirms beyond any reasonable doubt that Shanks is a son of Garling and thus was born as a Celestial Dragon of the Figarland lineage. In terms of aesthetics, Shamrock looks exactly like Shanks, but with longer hair, and without the scarred left eye and missing left arm.

According to Shamrock, Shanks once returned to Mary Geoise but left the Holy Land to live like an ordinary person. Like his father Garling, Shamrock appears to be a stark contrast to Shanks, which draws an interesting parallel between the “Red Hair” and the iconic villain Donquixote Doflamingo, as Shanks and Doflamingo’s origins, family dynamics, and character development are portrayed to be different and yet specular at the same time.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1139.

Shanks and Doflamingo are given a key narrative connection in the latest One Piece chapter

Two specular and yet different paths

Shanks is humble and selfless, while Doflamingo is malicious and aggressive (Image via Toei Animation)

Shanks and Doflamingo were born in Celestial Dragon families, but their personal experiences and individual choices led them down very different paths in the story of One Piece. The future captain of the Red Hair Pirates was driven to benevolence, while the future Warlord and tyrannical ruler of Dressrosa became an evildoer seeking revenge and power.

This unexpected parallel emphasizes the value of self-definition, and how it depends on personal inclination and random variables. Shanks and Doflamingo’s paths were influenced by their relatives and the circumstances they encountered, but also by their own decisions, reflecting how personal will can shape one’s existence even in a complex world like One Piece.

Homing and Garling, kind-hearted benevolence and pure evilness

Saint Donquixote Homing and his family in the One Piece anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Unlike most Celestial Dragons, Doflamingo’s father Saint Donquixote Homing was humble and kind-hearted, who sincerely loved his family. Homing was disgusted by the privileges and evil deeds of his fellow class, so he left Mary Geoise with his wife and sons, Doflamingo and Rosinante.

Sadly, Homing’s decision backfired as folks persecuted him and his family out of hate towards the Celestial Dragons. Forced to leave Mary Geoise’s opulence to experience poverty and violent abuses, Doflamingo blamed his father for their family’s fall from grace and decided to kill him.

In his last moments before being killed in cold blood by his young son, Homing apologized to Doflamingo and Rosinante for failing them as a father. Those heartbreaking words didn’t touch Doflamingo’s heart, as the hunger for power and growing desire to regain his status led Doflamingo to become a wicked villain.

Doflamingo killing Homing in the One Piece anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Things were radically different for Shanks, as the son of Saint Figarland Garling. A vicious individual who epitomizes the Celestial Dragons’ cruelty, Garling has no regard for human life, seeing anyone of lesser status as disposable trash. He literally partook in genocides for sport, hunting other humans as a twisted and sadistic form of leisure.

That said, Shanks didn’t spend much time with his father. When he was just one year old, Shanks was found inside a treasure chest in the surroundings of God Valley. The Roger Pirates found the baby right after the incident shook the location and decided to look after him.

As time went on, Shanks was raised by Gol D. Roger, Silvers Rayleigh, and the rest of the crew, eventually becoming a member himself as well as Roger’s apprentice. This likely changed Shanks’ life trajectory, as – unlike his brother Shamrock – he didn’t grow up with the wicked Garling. Even as a pirate, Shanks became an honorable man who values life and strives to avoid unnecessary violence.

Saint Figarland Garling in the One Piece anime (Image via Toei Animation)

At one point, Shanks visited Mary Geoise and encountered his family, but the experience only solidified his resolve to live as a pirate, suggesting that he was disgusted by the actions of Garling, Shamrock, and the other Celestial Dragons. As for Doflamingo, he returned to Mary Geoise. Just like Shanks, he also disagreed with his father’s views.

Granted, he disagreed in the sense that, unlike his father, Doflamingo enjoyed the privilege of being a Celestial Dragon. He even presented his father’s head to the Celestial Dragons to gain their acceptance. However, they rejected Doflamingo’s return, increasing both his ambition and resentment.

Different mentors shaped different personalities

Shanks with the Roger Pirates in the One Piece anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Shanks had a very close bond with Roger, given that the Pirate King entrusted him with his signature straw hat, the same one that Shanks would pass on to Luffy many years later. The “Red Hair” was also close with Roger’s right-hand man, Silvers Rayleigh, whom he continued to meet even after Roger’s death.

The Roger Pirates valued freedom and the pursuit of dreams above all else, so growing up with them shaped Shanks into a good man, albeit a pirate. He learned not only how to fight and navigate, but also how to work in a group, respect other people, and emphasize wisdom over mindless violence, developing a keen understanding of the world.

Trebol, Pica, Vergo, and Diamante with Doflamingo in the One Piece anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Doflamingo’s mind was also shaped by his mentors but in a diametrically opposed way. After seeing Doflamingo release a blast of Conqueror’s Haki, Trebol became interested in his potential and decided to approach him. He gave Doflamingo a gun – the same one the boy would later use to kill his father and presented him a Devil Fruit, the String-String Fruit, which would eventually become Doflamingo’s signature power.

Assisted by Vergo, Pica, and Diamante, Trebol intentionally influenced Doflamingo, leading him to the path of evil. They took advantage of Doflamingo's mental state as a spoiled kid forced to suffer torment and scorn from those he had been accustomed to deeming beneath him.

So, it was easy for Trebol to convince Doflamingo that he was a god who deserved to do whatever he wanted and dominate over anyone else. Trebol’s suggestions exacerbated Doflamingo’s already malevolent nature, setting him on a path of aggressive cruelty and ruthless ambition.

Distancing from their brothers

Rosinante and Sengoku in the One Piece anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Contrasting with Doflamingo’s malice, his younger brother Donquixote Rosinante inherited his father’s spontaneous kindness, making him compassionate. Doflamingo and Rosinante shared the same suffering from their family’s fall from grace and loss of the Celestial Dragon status, but the environments in which they found themselves drove them apart completely.

Just like Doflamingo was raised by someone who fostered his natural inclination toward wickedness, Rosinante was raised by a fundamentally good-hearted person who nurtured his sense of justice and instilled good morals into him. After Homing’s death at the hands of Doflamingo, a devastated Rosinante was found by Sengoku “The Buddha”.

The powerful Marine was deeply touched by Rosinante’s trauma and decided to raise and love the boy as if he were his own son. Sengoku proved himself to be a caring paternal figure. Under his guidance, Rosinante enlisted in the Marines, where he was exposed to ideals of justice, protection of the weak, and search for peace.

The kind-hearted Rosinante with Trafalgar Law (Image via Toei Animation)

Upon hearing that Doflamingo had become a dangerous pirate, Rosinante infiltrated his crew to monitor his activities and gather intelligence for the Marines. During this covert operation, Rosinante’s compassionate nature led him to take pity on a member of Doflamingo’s group, Trafalgar D. Water Law, who at the time was just a child. Law was affected by a terrible disease, the Amber Lead Syndrome.

Eventually, Rosinante stole the Ope-Ope Fruit and compelled Law to eat it, which allowed the child to save himself from the otherwise fatal Amber Lead Syndrome. Meanwhile, however, Doflamingo had begun to suspect that Rosinante was a spy for the Marines. By an unfortunate coincidence, Vergo blew Rosinante’s cover, exposing his true colors to Doflamingo.

Until that moment, Doflamingo had cherished Rosinante as his beloved little brother. However, he had no qualms about killing Rosinante when he was revealed to be a Marine informant. He murdered Rosinante in cold blood, as he did with their father many years before. This vicious act ignited a desire for vengeance in Law, who would one day ally with the Straw Hat Pirates to defeat Doflamingo in honor of Rosinante’s memory.

Saint Figarland Shamrock in the One Piece anime (Image via Toei Animation)

The older brother of Shanks, Figarland Shamrock, stayed under the shadow of their father Garling, never leaving his influence. Immersed in Mary Geoise’s luxury, Shamrock internalized Garling’s wicked beliefs. Just like Garling, Shamrock looks down on anyone who isn’t a Celestial Dragon, considering them worthless commoners with no rights.

Shamrock’s upbringing explains why he is so different from Shanks, with the two brothers being born from the same family but evolving into polar opposites due to their divergent life experiences. Whereas the Roger Pirates taught Shanks to be humble, valuing people by their actions, not by birth, Garling taught Shamrock to look down on others who weren’t born into his class.

Unsurprisingly, Shamrock and Shanks look like just what they are. Shanks appears unkempt and laid-back, like a true pirate, while the refined Shamrock wears refined clothing, including a high-rank military uniform that exudes authority and might. That said, Garling, Shamrock, and Shanks all carry and wield saber-like swords, seemingly making these weapons the mark of the Figarland lineage.

Figarland Shanks and Donquixote Doflamingo, humility, and arrogance

Garling, Shanks, and Shamrock as seen in the One Piece manga (Image via Shueisha)

Despite his immense power, Shanks lives with an easygoing, carefree demeanor. He is averse to brutality and tries to avoid any needless conflict, refraining from using violence even if his honor is tarnished. But when those he holds dear are threatened, the “Red Hair” doesn’t hesitate to put aside his pacifist nature to unleash a merciless fury.

Shanks didn’t become evil despite being, respectively, the son and brother of two malevolent Celestial Dragons, Garling and Shamrock. His childhood with the Roger Pirates led him to grow into an empathetic person who values human life and despises senseless violence. His brother Shamrock became a ruthless individual like Garling because he grew up with the latter and was influenced by him.

On the other hand, Doflamingo turned out evil even though his father Homing and his brother Rosinante were good people. Rosinante became a gentle and compassionate man thanks to Sengoku’s kind-hearted teachings, while Doflamingo was driven to the opposite extreme by the people he met as a child.

Homing, Doflamingo, and Rosinante as seen in the One Piece manga (Image via Shueisha)

Trebol deliberately poisoned Doflamingo’s mind, bringing out what led him to become a twisted psychopath. Deriving his arrogance from his Celestial Dragon heritage, Doflamingo was happy to embrace the darkness. He soon grew into a sadistic and cruel villain who liked to toy around with his victims, laughing at their suffering.

Radically different mentorships carved divergent paths for Shanks and Doflamingo compared to their brothers Shamrock and Rosinante. Had Shanks spent his entire life under Garling’s influence and Shamrock been raised by the Roger Pirates, things might have turned out differently. Likewise, while Rosinante would have likely not fallen prey to Trebol’s malicious flattery, there’s no way to know what would have happened if Doflamingo had been raised by Sengoku.

The journeys of Shanks and Doflamingo are intertwined with their fathers, brothers, and mentors. They draw symmetrical yet divergent paths, which is a testament to the complexity of Eiichiro Oda’s storytelling for One Piece. A variety of factors caused these two characters, born with the same status as Celestial Dragons, to evolve in completely different ways and end up on opposite ends of the moral spectrum.