This article contains spoilers for the One Piece manga.
Summary
- Gol D. Roger was the Pirate King who found the One Piece and started the new age of piracy.
- Shanks is the likely successor to Roger, not Luffy, due to similar fighting styles and strong Haki.
- Luffy aims to surpass Roger by taking down Imu as well, reaching a ceiling higher than both Roger and Shanks.
The One Piece story has been quite intense recently, especially with the arrival of a major enemy on the island of Elbaf. With every chapter, Luffy gets closer to his goal of reaching the One Piece, and becoming the Pirate King, just like Roger. While he wants to get to the One Piece, just like the Pirate King, it doesn't necessarily mean that Oda plans for him to become the next Roger of the story. Oda has already reserved this role for another powerful and beloved character of the series.
One Piece: Oda Hints At One Piece's Final Villain Being A Straw Hat
The final villain of One Piece might be a Straw Hat pirate. Oda has already hinted at that.
Gol D. Roger - The Pirate King Was The Greatest Pirate
- Started the New Age Of Piracy
- Found The One Piece and Conquered the Grand Line
Gol D. Roger is definitely one of the most iconic characters of the entire series and was technically the first character to make an appearance in the manga. Gol D. Roger was a huge mystery to fans for many years, and it’s only in the last few years that fans have discovered more about him and his crew.
Roger earned the title of Pirate King, and is actually the only known person to hold this title in the whole world, although it isn’t impossible that someone else achieved what he had centuries ago.
To get this title, this man and his crew basically conquered the Grand Line and reached the Final Island — Laugh Tale. There, they found the One Piece, a treasure greater than anything fans can imagine.
Not only did Roger achieve that, but he also single-handedly created the new age of piracy. Before his execution, he uttered his iconic words which sent men to the sea in search of the One Piece.
“You want my treasure? You can have it! I left everything I gathered together in one place, now you just have to find it” — Gol D. Roger
There is still a lot that fans don’t know about Gol D. Roger, but Oda will surely reveal more about him as the story goes on, especially now that the crew has encountered another member of Roger’s crew on Elbaf, the Mountain Eater Scopper Gaban.
The New Roger of One Piece
Shanks is the Closest to Roger, Not Luffy
Many fans of One Piece might believe that the next Roger will be Luffy, and that is definitely a fair assumption. However, this doesn’t seem to be what Oda is going for. Fans can see parallels between the Straw Hat Pirates and the Roger Pirates, but the new Roger is likely to be his very own protege, Shanks.
Both Shanks and Roger have very similar fighting styles. They both use one sword. But this isn’t all, of course. Both Shanks and Roger have insanely powerful Haki, and they both seem to be the strongest Haki users of their era. Also, neither of them has a Devil Fruit, which is definitely peculiar. But, above all, Roger's very own crew believed Shanks to be the next Roger, including Buggy. Shanks also inherited a dream from Roger directly.
Shanks could have already become the Pirate King if he wanted to. However, he never went after the One Piece until now.
“Wealth, fame, power. The world had it all won by one man: the Pirate King, Gold Roger. At his death, the words he spoke drove countless men out to sea.” — The Narrator
Fans also can’t forget that Shanks was basically raised by the Roger Pirates alongside Buggy as they both traveled with them on many adventures.
One Piece: Oda Has Finally Revealed The Official Opponents For Zoro And Sanji In Elbaf
Elbaf will be massive for Zoro and Sanji. Sanji and Zoro's opponents finally make their entrance in One Piece.
Luffy Has To Surpass Roger, Not Become Him
Luffy Has a Higher Ceiling Than Both Roger and Shanks
While Luffy definitely aims to become the Pirate King and get the One Piece, his goals go far beyond that. Luffy’s ceiling is far beyond Shanks’s and therefore Roger’s as well. Luffy doesn’t just have to find the One Piece, he also has to take down Imu as the current Nika, something even Joy Boy couldn’t achieve during the Void Century. Luffy is projected to go far beyond and a perfect parallel for him is Joy Boy.
Where to Read One Piece?
Available On Manga Plus
One Piece Chapter 1150 will be out today. 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 1150 is June 1, 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
