This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Elbaf arc.
Summary
- Imu's identity is intentionally shrouded in mystery.
- Gender clues in the Elbaf arc hint at Imu's female body.
- Imu's title may suggest a woman's body despite being referred to as male.
The character of Imu in One Piece is full of mystery from top to bottom, however, out of all the questions that fans have about this legendary individual who appears to have stood the test of time, one that stands out more than anything else is their gender.
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To this day, fans don't know if Imu is a man or a woman, and the fact that Oda has kept their appearance hidden right from the get-go is certainly very interesting. That said, Oda has already dropped some clues about Imu's gender, especially with the recent events of the Elbaf arc. It appears that Imu's gender is now clearer than ever before.
Oda Has Kept Imu's Identity A Secret On Purpose
- Imu Appears As A Shadow
- Imu's Voice Isn't Revealed In The Anime
One Piece fans know already that Oda has chosen to keep Imu's true identity hidden for the time being. Whenever Imu appears in One Piece, their body is shrouded in darkness. Of course, this is most likely symbolic as well, given that Imu represents the darkness of the world, but at the same time, fans also know that Oda has done this on purpose because Imu's appearance might hold some very big secrets about the world.
And one more thing! I want Vivi, right now. — Imu to the Five Elders
Fans had hoped for the One Piece anime to provide some clues about Imu's identity to the fans through their voice, but the anime chose to completely hide the voice by mixing in both male and female voices, which makes it impossible to tell what gender Imu truly is. That said, Oda has already revealed the answer to the fans.
Imu Might Have The Body Of A Woman
Imu Is Referred To As A Man, But the Body Could Be Different
One Piece fans thought that the Imu debate ended when Oda had the Five Elders refer to Imu as Imu-Sei. Usually, the ‘-Sei’ prefix is used only for male Celestial Dragons, while the female ones have ‘-Gou’ after their name. Since Imu is called Imu-Sei in One Piece, this must mean that Imu is male. But, the mystery is even deeper.
I am Kaiken of Marijoa, Saint Sommers! — Sommers In One Piece 1147
In One Piece chapter 1147, Sommers introduced himself as the Kaiken of Marijoa, or in other words, the dagger/sword of Marijoa. Kaiken are daggers that are usually hidden as part of a bride's clothes to protect herself. In other words, Kaiken is the weapon of a woman in Japan. At the same time, there exists Aegis, which is the opposite of Kaiken, and it is known to have been used by Athena, the Goddess of War and wisdom. Aegis and Kaiken are like Sword of Shield, both meant to protect the only one that matters — Imu.
If Kaiken is a dagger that protects a woman, and Aegis is the shield that is used by Athena, then this is a very subtle but strong hint by Oda that Imu is truly a woman. Or, to make it clearer, Imu holds the body of a woman despite actually being male. The body could be of Lily herself, and it was all made possible using the power of the Ope Ope no Mi, which Doflamingo himself wanted to grab ahold of the National Treasure of Marijoa.
One Piece chapter 1148 will be out soon, in two weeks' time. As usual, 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 11. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1148 is May 11, 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
