This article contains spoilers for the One Piece anime and manga.
Summary
- Fans disappointed by Garling Figarland's blond hair reveal, expected red like his sons.
- Oda's choice, not anime studio, behind Garling's hair color differentiation from Shanks.
- Red hair lineage surprise confirmed to come from Shanks and Shamrock's mother, not Garling.
One Piece fans have been very critical of the anime adaptation of the series by Toei, sometimes for justified reasons, while not so much at others. The most recent controversy with the newest episode centers around one of the major villain series, and many fans are disappointed.
One Piece: One Piece's Next Arc Might Already Be Decided By Oda
One Piece is currently in its Elbaf arc. Oda has already decided the next arc of One Piece.
Garling Figarland’s Official Color Scheme is Finally Revealed
Garling is Blond, Unlike Shanks
One Piece Episode 1129 dropped officially today, and with long-anticipatedicipated flashback featuring the God Valley Incident has started. Fans have long been waiting for this, but with the recent episode, some are disappointed - not because of the animation or direction, but because of one character, Garling Figarland.
Garling Figarland is being built up in the One Piece manga as quite a major antagonist. He also happens to be Shanks’s father.
What fans are disappointed by when it comes to Garling specifically is his official color scheme. Fans have already seen Garling previously in the anime, but only as an older man. As an elder, Garling was shown to have light blond hair. Some fans assumed this color was used for him because he’s old. However, this episode revealed that he always had this blond hair, even when he was younger.
This definitely upset many fans who believe Garling should have red hair just like his sons, Shanks and Shamrock.
It Was Already Known That Garling Wouldn’t Be Blond
Oda Colored Garling’s Hair Differently Than Shanks
While many fans are upset about this and are blaming the animation studio, the different hair color for Shanks and Shamrock is not a choice made by them, but by Oda. In fact, this wasn't even news to those who actually read the chapters carefully.
Readers could tell from the manga that Garling wasn’t a redhead. Oda’s coloring of Garling’s hair is completely different from Shanks and Shamrock. Oda leaves Garling’s hair as white in the manga, while Shanks’s is a grey shade. So, it’s quite odd that so many fans anticipated that younger Garling would have red hair when it was very clear his hair would be a different, much lighter color.
Watch closely, children! — Garling to Shanks and Shamrock on God Valley
If anything, fans should be excited that the red hair doesn’t come from Figarland Garling, because this means this hair color is actually from Shanks and Shamrock’s mother. Who this woman is is totally unknown right now. She will definitely have some importance in the story in the future, whether she’s alive or dead. After all, Shanks’s red hair is his defining design trait, and what he has named his crew after. So, it can’t be just a simple choice from Oda with no importance. Shanks definitely knows about his mother, and carries her legacy with him, which is why the red hair is so important.
Where to Read One Piece?
Available on Manga Plus
One Piece chapter 1149 will be delayed. One Piece is going to drop on Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on May 25. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1149 is May 25, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Network
- Fuji TV
- Directors
- Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
Cast
-
Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
