Why 2025 is the year of Shanks

This article contains spoilers from the One Piece Elbaf arc.

Summary

• Shanks will play an important role in One Piece's Final Saga.

• Oda promised major moves from Shanks in the coming years.

• Fans expect Shanks to make more appearances as One Piece draws to a close.

The last saga One Piece has proven to be quite exciting so far, with Egghead being one of the best arcs in the entire series, and quite easily one of the best starts to any saga ever. Heavy arcs have now followed, and as fans know, Elbaf is already underway. In the last saga, Oda promised to give exciting roles to the vast majority of the main characters who have been sidelined all these years.

As promised by the author earlier, this is the most exciting part, in which the vast majority of characters will make moves even aside from the Straw Hat Pirates. Arguably, the biggest character that fans want to see make exciting moves in the Final Saga is none other than Shanks, and 2025 could be his year.

Oda's promise to Shanks in the final saga

• Shanks was sidelined for many years

• Oda stated that the appearance of Shanks means that One Piece is close to the end

Shanks is easily one of the biggest players in the Final Saga One Pieceif not the biggest. As fans know, he was introduced quite early in the story and was the most important character in Luffy's life early on, as he was essentially responsible for setting him on the path to becoming a pirate. Shanks left Luffy's life quite early, but he was doing his job as his guide. Fans knew that even though he didn't appear in the story in the early chapters, he would return later and play a major role. Of course, no reader could have predicted that Shanks would be on the sidelines for as long as he did, but what matters is that One Piece is in the Final Saga right now, and Oda has already promised fans that Shanks is going to make massive moves here.

If Shanks starts showing up more often, you can assume that One Piece is in the final saga. – Ode

In 1999, Oda made it clear that fans would be able to tell One Piece was in the Final Saga when Shanks started appearing more often. Essentially, this means that Shanks plays a very important role in the final saga of the story. This is also confirmed by Oda's post where he made it clear that the Straw Hat Pirates will not be the only characters in the Final Saga. Straw hats are definitely the centerpiece of it all One Piecebut Oda stated that Final Saga will also focus on the vast majority of side characters.

One of the many reasons Oda was incredibly excited to draw The Final Saga was because he knew that here he could focus on characters other than Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates and get them involved as well. Of course, when it comes to supporting characters, Shanks is by far the most important. As fans know, Elbauf is coming up, and this is where Oda will give Shanks a big role in one way or another.

Why 2025 will be a huge year for Shanks

Shanks and his family will be heavily involved

2025 will be the year of Shanks, and fans will learn many secrets about the character. for one, One Piece is in the Elbaf arc, and that arc is directly related to Shanks. For those who don't remember, Shanks is Elbaf's protector. This means that this country is essentially under the protection of a red-headed pirate. Elbuff being in the spotlight automatically means Shanks will be in the spotlight as well. Although Shanks is no longer in Elbaf, he is still out there at sea serving a very important purpose. He originally went to sea to punish Bartholomew, who had committed a grave mistake. Shanks successfully punished him and his team, and his second major mission was to get to Blackbeard and stop him in his tracks. All this time, Shanks has been looking for Blackbeard, and it's possible that he and Blackbeard will soon come face to face.

I want to tell about one pirate. – Similar to Shanks

It's possible that 2025 will be the year Shanks and Blackbeard finally get to face off, but if that doesn't happen, fans know that Shanks' destination should be the land of the Giants, Elbaf. Elbafa currently has another Yonka who is also the main character of the series, Luffy. Fans also know that Luffy and Shanks are very close to each other and that they will eventually come face to face before Luffy declares One Piece.

More importantly, Luffy promised to return his hat to him once he became a Great Pirate. He successfully accomplished this goal, and their meeting was to set off a chain of some of the most important events in history. 2025 may indeed give fans a Luffy and Shanks reunion and battle. It all depends on which way Doug Elbaf goes. Of course, it can't be said that Shanks will return to Elbaf in 2025, but even if he doesn't, fans will learn a lot about Shanks in other ways.

How Shanks can be central to the story in more ways than one

The Figarland family is already heavily involved

So far what has been discussed involves Shanks either fighting Blackbeard or returning to Elbaf in 2025. However, even if none of that happens and Shanks continues to float around in a mysterious place without appearing in the story as often as fans would like, fans will still get some important revelations about the man. It just has to do with the fact that the Figarland family will be central to the Elbaf Arc. It was recently revealed that St. Garling Figarland, who is Shanks' father, has risen to the ranks of the Five Elders. He will play a key role in further history.

But more than that, Shanks' doppelgänger, who is likely his twin brother and the son of Saint Garling, was recently spotted arriving on Elbaf. This character is going to be incredibly important and will definitely come face to face with Luffy pretty soon considering he is the main villain of the arc by the looks of things. Shanks' doppelgänger is looking for none other than Loki. More importantly, Loki also harbors deep secrets about Shanks that he wants to share with Luffy, albeit at a cost.

Obviously, even if Shanks doesn't return to Elbaf, fans will learn a lot of his backstory through his brother, who Luffy will even inevitably fight, and of course Loki, who harbors some deep secrets about Shanks that he hasn't shared with Luffy yet. . This year is going to be Shanks' year because fans will essentially learn a lot about his family, his past, and his true connection to Elbaf. Fans also get to see his true power level, and of course, if Shanks focuses on exciting battles like against Blackbeard, then 2025 could be One Piece's best year yet.

One Piece is available to read through Viz Media. Fans can read the series officially and for free on Shonen Jump and Manga Plus. The next One Piece chapter, One Piece 1136, is scheduled for release on January 19, 2025.