Shanks is one of the most important One Piece characters, being the man responsible for setting Luffy on the path to becoming the Pirate King. As a pirate himself, Shanks has done exceedingly well over the years, and with time, he's become one of the strongest ones to sail the seas in the Great Pirate Era.
Shanks shares quite an intriguing bit of history with Dracule Mihawk, a man who he is often compared to. The two have been rivals in the past and their duels remain famous to this day. Here are 5 ways Shanks trumps Mihawk and 5 in which the swordsman is better than him.
10 Shanks: Yonko
Shanks was once a member of Gol D. Roger's pirate crew, however, after Roger's execution, he set out to create his own. Six years prior to the current storyline of One Piece, Shanks finally became one of the Yonko, meaning he achieved the same status as some of the strongest pirates out there, such as Whitebeard and Big Mom.
Although strong, Mihawk isn't among the Yonko and instead, served the Government as one of the Shichibukai, which indicates that he doesn't carry the same presence about him.
9 Mihawk: Better Swordsman
Dracule Mihawk is the strongest swordsman in the world of One Piece, which automatically makes him superior to Shanks in one way, at the very least. When it comes to skill with a sword, Shanks is quite impressive, as seen in Marineford where he blocked Akainu's attack quite easily.
However, he still pales in comparison to Mihawk. Shanks likely has other skills as well, however, in terms of pure swordsmanship, Mihawk is indicated to be better than him.
8 Shanks: Fought The Strongest
Over the years, Shanks has fought some of the strongest known characters in the One Piece world and managed to hold his own against them. In fact, he's also someone who has clashed evenly against the strongest man in the world, Edward Newgate.
Although Mihawk carries the title of the strongest swordsman, he's never fought any of the Yonko that the fans know of. Mihawk also openly admitted to being inferior to Whitebeard during the Marineford arc.
7 Mihawk: Level-headed
When it comes to calmness, Mihawk is one of the few who are barely ever fazed in battle. He's someone who is never taken aback by anything, as seen during the Marineford arc of the story.
Mihawk's epithet of Hawkeyes hints that he's got incredible observation skills and once again, that has to do with the calmness of mind. Shanks' personality is more like Luffy and he's a completely different kind of pirate, although equally as good, if not better.
6 Shanks: Conqueror's Haki
Shanks is one of the very few users of Conqueror's Haki in One Piece. This ability was first used by him when he saved Luffy from the Coastal King back in East Blue. Later on, he displayed it properly upon stepping on Whitebeard's ship.
While Mihawk most certainly does possess regular Haki types, him having the incredibly rare Conqueror's Haki was never confirmed in the story.
5 Mihawk: Wields A Saijo o Wazamono
Mihawk is one of the very few characters who have been confirmed to be in possession of a Saijo o Wazamono grade blade in One Piece. These are blades of the highest grade and there are only 12 of their kind are known to exist in the story.
Mihawk wields Kokuto Yoru, one of the most powerful swords in the series. Although Shanks' Gryphon also looks to be quite a high-ranking blade, it's exact rank has not been confirmed in the story so far.
4 Shanks: Has Greater Influence
Shanks is the Captain of the Red-Hair Pirates and one of the strongest leaders in the story so far. His crew has several territories under their control in the New World and that just goes to show that he's an incredibly powerful force.
Mihawk, on the other hand, doesn't have the same influence since he doesn't captain any crew. In terms of influence over territories, Mihawk certainly falls short, however, that's simply the way that he prefers to sail the seas.
3 Mihawk: Lone Force
As mentioned above, Mihawk is one of the very few characters known to sail the seas without a pirate crew. While this does put him at a disadvantage in some ways, it also shows how confident he is in his ability.
Even after having his Shichibukai status revoked and the Admirals of the Navy on his back, Mihawk wasn't scared in the slightest, despite being just one person.
2 Shanks: Got Stronger After Duels With Mihawk
Shanks and Mihawk have fought each other countless times in the past. Their duels are said to have rung across the New World back in the day. While it isn't known who won those duels, what fans do know is that Shanks wasn't in his prime back then.
He became a Yonko after saving Luffy, which means he has likely surpassed Mihawk since then. Shanks' rise to Yonko happened about 4 years before the beginning of the story when he was 33 years old.
1 Mihawk: Black Blade
Mihawk is one of the very few characters in One Piece who is known to have a black blade at their disposal. According to what the fans found out in the Wano Country arc, blades can permanently blacken over time due to the imbuement of Armament Haki.
This strengthens the blade and also increases their rank, as mentioned by Tenguyama Hitetsu. Shanks, while also a swordsman, hasn't blackened his blade permanently yet.
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