第209回：The Twinning

There’s something of a pattern in ONE PIECE whenever unambiguous character death comes into play. In the modern age of the story (i.e. not a flashback) whenever a character unambiguously passes away, in many (if not most) cases, there will be a character who inherits the deceased character’s position in the story. Sometimes it’s a passing physical resemblance or trait. Many times it’s an inherited role or position. Sometimes it’s both. And when it comes to Shanks and Shamrock, these two tick off both boxes. But before we look at those two, let’s review some of the deaths where this inheritance has occurred.

■ The Case of Ace and Sabo:
After Ace’s death, Luffy was left without a big brother and the Flame-Flame Fruit was thought to be lost. Enter Sabo! Er…re-enter I guess? Anyway, while Sabo doesn’t physically resemble Ace, he fills the position of being Luffy’s big brother and also inherited the Flame-Flame Fruit thanks to his efforts on Dressrosa.

■The Case of Izo and Kikunojo:
Izo’s death during the war was a heavy blow to both the Scabbards and the readers but Izo’s will (and family resemblance) lives on through Kikujono which helped soften the blow.

■The Case of Whitebeard and the Stolen Seat:
Whitebeard’s death might have been celebrated among the common folk of the ONE PIECE world who only knew him as a pirate but his death was in reality a tragic event that left the world in a more precarious position than before his death. Instead of being immediately replaced, Whitebeard’s position was promptly stolen with Blackbeard declared the end of Whitebeard’s era, and the start of his own. How pirate of him! In a sense, it’s Luffy who has taken up Whitebeard’s cape, and we’ve been following his adventures to see how he can live up to and exceed Whitebeard’s legacy as an Emperor. And it doesn’t end there. Hopefully we’ll ultimately witness Luffy meeting and exceeding Roger’s role as well!

And not for nothin’, but let’s not forget that Weevil is somewhere out there too! We might not fully understand his relationship to Whitebeard, but Miss. Buckin seems to have plenty of faith in him being Whitebeard’s ‘son’.

■The Case of Yasuie and ‘Hitetsu’:

Yasuie was killed by Kurozumi before the final battle of the Wano arc causing to Toko lose her father. It seems that ‘Hitetsu’ may play a factor in either being or determining her guardian. With a ten-year age difference between them, Yasuie and ‘Hitetsu’ are of an older generation that seem well-positioned and pricelessly experienced to guide Wano in its reconstruction. Yasuie’s fatherly will live on in ‘Hitetsu’ while his love for his land lives on in both Hitetsu and Toko.

■The Case of Ashura Doji and The Scabbards:
Ashura Doji is a bit more difficult to make an argument for in a strictly 1:1 replacement, but there’s no doubt that the members of the Scabbards who survived the conflict at Wano have absolutely inherited his will and will let his spirit live through them. It might be a stretch, but one can’t help but wonder if the sumo wrestler Urashima will pursue a role similar to that which Ashura Doji held in the Scabbards or in the local community as a tough but ultimately gold-hearted rogue.

There are other characters we can talk about but when it comes to death in manga… well… sometimes you just never know! Now that we’ve seen some cases of how this pattern plays out, let’s bring this back around to our main topic, the Garling twins!

“Their sons, do they seek tomorrow?”

Oda once discussed his experience as a child when he experienced a character death in the famous manga series, Fist of the North Star (don’t worry, no spoilers here) and mentioned that when said character died, he was so upset that he quit reading the manga. Perhaps the above ‘inheritance’ pattern stems from that aspect of Oda’s experience as a manga reader. I believe he’s attuned to the pulse of readers’ emotions and understands that when a character permanently dies, such a turn of events runs the risk of alienating readers from enjoying his series. Perhaps the ‘reason’ for this pattern is that Oda is either consciously or subconsciously ensuring that even when a character passes away, there’s someone who can pick up their role in the story and carry it with them.

And this…is exactly why I’m so worried about Shanks.

Shamrock and Shanks seem to be genetically identical and carry the blood of an immensely powerful family. This leads to one terrifying question:

Will Shanks survive to the end of ONE PIECE?

If either Shanks or Shamrock pass away, there’s a carbon copy of the other. What’s more –as mentioned in last month’s column- we know that Celestial Dragons’ eyes can be opened to the gross imbalance of power in the world and their hearts can be changed. On the admittedly small chance that Shamrock gets some reality pounded into his heart and realizes the error of his ways, things don’t look good for Shanks. He could theoretically carry out a life of penance, trying to live up to his younger brother’s example.

The illness that afflicted Roger, does that trouble Shanks as well? Will the One Piece itself that pose a threat to Shanks? Does it already? Will Shanks be forced to face his brother in a duel to the death? Will Shanks be faced with a choice of certain death and saving Luffy’s life?! The possibilities for placing Shanks in dire straits are almost endless.

Will Shanks live? Will Shamrock live? Will both of them survive?! Or…will Oda take ONE PIECE into the realm of full-on Greek tragedy with both brothers meeting their Maker?! Only time will tell. If Luffy can return Shanks’s hat, we’ll be closer to that answer than ever before.