Red-Haired Shanks

Name: Red-Haired Shanks
Japanese Name: 赤髪のシャンクス
Affiliations: Red-Haired Pirates,
Yonkou, ex-Jolly RogerPirates
Occupations: Captain, Pirates
Nickname: "Red-Hair"
1st Appears: Chapter 1; Episode 4
Age: 37
Height: Unknown
Devil Fruit: No
Bounty: Unknown

Red-Haired Shanks is the pirate who inspired Luffy to go on his journey and is the captain of the Red-Haired Pirates. He is also one of the Yonkou. Shanks always wears a long black cape over his shoulders and until he met Luffy, wore a straw hat that he had worn for many years beforehand. He always wears trousers that are cut below the knee as well as a pair of sandals and is unshaven with a short beard. The most striking thing about Shanks is the color of his red hair, of which his nick-name 'Red Haired Shanks' comes from. He also has three scars across his left eye, which were revealed to have been given to him by Blackbeard, as well as having a missing left arm. He usually carries a Sabre on his right hip.

At the start of One Piece, Shanks bore much more similarity to Luffy. As Oda's style changed, Shanks began to become more distinct. The shape of his eyes are drawn much sharper. His nose has become more redefined, similar to how Nico Robin's nose is heavily defined from other character's in the series.Little is known about what Shanks can do. While Shanks has yet to display the full extent of his combat abilities, it is heavily implied that he's one of the strongest characters in the series. After saving Luffy from a Sea King, Shanks was able to frighten it off with a single angry glare using Haki. He does not have the abilities of a Devil Fruit as he is capable of swimming. Later, while boarding Whitebeard's ship for their meeting, half of Whitebeard's crew lapses into unconsciousness and the ship itself begins taking damage from Shanks' mere presence. Whitebeard's men attribute this to his superior "Haki." Also, when Shanks and Whitebeard hit each other with their weapons, the sky above them split, hinting the incredible power of the Yonkou.

So far in the series, Shanks has only been seen wielding a sword in combat. While his use of it was only briefly shown, the fact that he was able to match a blow from Whitebeard is a clear indication of the strength he puts behind his attacks. Before losing his arm to rescue Luffy, Mihawk would often seek out Shanks for duels. Since Mihawk is classified as the world's greatest swordsman, and Shanks is a former rival of his, it can be assumed that Shanks is an extremely proficient swordsman. It's also possible that his sword is one of the greatest swords.