【One Piece】Big Mom Is Insanely Strong, Kaido Is Immortal — So What About Shanks?
Aramaki / Ryokugyu
If Big Mom is “overwhelmingly strong” and Kaido is literally “immortal,” where does that leave Shanks? Japanese fans in 2018 weren’t convinced his hype still held up.
1: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 11:53) Whitebeard ← strongest as a single character Shanks ← got his arm bitten off by the Lord of the Coast (lol)
3: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 11:54) Even Kaido’s subordinates are fine after sinking into the sea.
4: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 11:54) The strongest individual is Kaido, period.
5: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 11:55) Shanks is the only one who can do backdoor deals with the Five Elders.
7: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 11:55) Other than yelling “Gura Gura,” did Whitebeard really have any strong feats?
16: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 11:57) >>7 Even while old and washed up, he split the sky together with Shanks. Changing the weather puts him on the same level as Akainu vs Aokiji.
20: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 11:58) >.7 That ability is busted on both sea and land.
23: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 11:59) The whole “Shanks is a top-tier monster” setting is honestly forced.
33: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 12:01) People say Whitebeard got weaker, but Big Mom is a total grandma too.
45: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 12:04) >>33 Whitebeard was probably sick. He was hooked up to IVs nonstop. Looking at Garp and Rayleigh, age barely matters in that world.
46: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 12:04)
>>33 Giants live way longer anyway.
39: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 12:03) He was a Rocks Pirates crewmate 40 years ago. Same ship as Kaido and Big Mom, most likely.
Shakuyaku “Just as I thought… I was chased by Garp once, a long time ago.” Monkey D. Luffy “Why?” Hatchan “Shakky used to be a pirate.” Shakky: “That was over forty years ago, though. I quit.” Luffy: “How old are you, lady…? (sweat)” Shakky: “Now I just enjoy cheering on rookies like you.”
76: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 12:12) Is it true Garp is Admiral-level in strength?
87: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 12:13) >>76 Then his “I’ll kill Sakazuki” line wasn’t just bluffing.
91: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 12:14) Whitebeard’s crew was basically built to support Whitebeard himself. They stall while he finishes everything.
97: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 12:14) Whitebeard’s subordinates were sheltered. Protected by tsunami spam instead of real combat.
98: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 12:14) Big Mom… fat Shanks… lost an arm to a sea monster (lol) Kaido… just immortal Whitebeard… a loser
“Naval Battleship Barrage!!!” “The Buster Call is starting!!!”
141: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 12:20) >>120 If Garp shows up, Buster Call is an instant loss.
127: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 12:19) Shanks and Whitebeard have offense but paper defense. Meanwhile Big Mom doesn’t even get scratched in base form.
138: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 12:20) >>127 Whitebeard got stabbed clean through by his own subordinate’s sword. That’s a certified “loser.”
182: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 12:25) Mihawk → evenly matched with Jozu and Vista Akainu → Vista and Marco’s Haki doesn’t even work Shanks → evenly matched with Mihawk in his prime Isn’t Shanks kinda weak?
214: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 12:27) >>182 Only in swordsmanship was he equal to Mihawk. Back when he had both arms, his overall pirate strength was Shichibukai-tier. After losing an arm, his Haki evolved — classic “lost something, gained power” trope.
232: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 12:29) >>182 Whitebeard’s division commanders are way too garbage. Marco should at least be Katakuri-level, if not Cracker-tier.
Sakazuki “Are you really in a position to worry about others…?!!!!! You got in my way, so I missed a bit… If I’d pierced his heart, it would’ve been easier. Right, Jinbe?”
“Are you still going to protect that one with his chest torn open…? He’ll be dead soon.”
Jinbe: “!!!!?” “Crocodile!!”
Crocodile “Someone take him and get him on a ship already!!!” “If there’s something you wanna protect, then protect it properly!!!” “Don’t let these bastards have things their way anymore!!!!”
416: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 12:45) >>309 If Crocodile’s Haki had been stronger, he would’ve died back then.
335: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 12:38) Those two were probably former Rocks Pirates executives.
Charlotte Linlin / Big Mom: “You owe me a huge debt, don’t you… Kaido?” Kaido: “That’s ancient history!!!” Big Mom: “No. A debt for life…” Kaido: “………………!!”
Kaido “I’m the one who’s got a grudge against that brat (Monkey D. Luffy)!!!! If you’re coming, I’ll kill you, Linlin!!!”
Charlotte Linlin / Big Mom “Go ahead and try. This isn’t a negotiation—I was just giving you a heads-up.” “Let’s get along, like we used to…!!!!”
337: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 12:38) Isn’t Kizaru way too weak? He struggles against random old men.
415: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 12:44) Top of a 5,000-man fleet including subordinates Attacked Enies Lobby Punched a Celestial Dragon Broke into Impel Down Charged into Marineford with dozens to hundreds of 100M+ bounty pirates Defeated three Shichibukai and recruited Jinbe Attacked Big Mom’s crew, defeated two top officers including No.2, and destroyed her castle
211: Anonymous Pirate (2018/06/12 12:27) No wonder — he fought Kaido head-on.
Gecko Moria “Oh! You finally showed up, huh?!” “Kishishishishi!!! Hurry up and make me the Pirate King!!!!!”
Gecko Moria “I’ve got it now!! Three hundred million worth of combat power!!!” “With this, the strongest ‘Special Zombie’ in history will be born!!!!”
Gecko Moria
“Now then… all the shadows of Thriller Bark…!!! Become my power!!!!”
“Shadow’s Asgard.”
“Kish… kishishishishi!!! One thousand bodies absorbed…!!!!!!!”
Where This Thread Actually Lands
This thread doesn’t end with a clean power ranking. Instead, it exposes how differently fans judge “strength.”
Kaido is evaluated as a system-breaking existence — immortal first, fighter second.
Big Mom is respected for defense and consistency, not elegance.
Whitebeard is reframed as a single-unit weapon, propped up by a weak crew.
Shanks suffers the most — judged not by feats, but by narrative shortcuts (lost arm, offscreen authority, political access).
What’s striking is that 2018 fans already doubted hype without mechanics. “Strong” meant survivability, defense, logistics, and repeatable feats — not symbolism.
Final Take
This isn’t a Shanks hate thread. It’s a standards thread.
By 2018, Japanese readers had quietly shifted from “who looks coolest” to “who still makes sense if the world were real.”
And by those standards?
Kaido wins — not because he’s flashy, but because he simply doesn’t break.
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