The Red Hair Pirates are the first pirate crew to appear in the manga series and second to appear (next to the Alvida Pirates) in the animated series One Piece. They are the main influences of both Luffy’s (Shanks inspired Luffy) and Usopp’s (wants to become a brave warrior of the sea like his father Yasopp) journeys.
The Red Hair Pirates are the only Yonko crew so far that does not have any known crew members that are Devil Fruit users.
A clue to the crew’s strength is that the World Government greatly fears what would happen if the Red Hair Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates joined up. Right after their battle with Kaido in the New World, they sailed to Marineford in just one day. When Shanks and his crew finally showed up at Marineford, with words alone they were able to bring the war to halt. The captain was able to rescue Coby from Admiral Akainu’s attack with only a clash of his sword and even the arrogant Blackbeard refused to engage Shanks’ crew saying they simply were not ready to fight them yet.
The anime initially only showed Shanks’ three named crew members (Benn Beckman, Lucky Roo and Yasopp), however there are at least 4 additional members who have been in the series since Vol.1 that were left out and at least two that appeared in Chapter 1 and early artwork that have not been seen since being in the manga. Since most of the crew were generic pirates in the anime these unnamed crew members have not appeared in the anime yet. However, some of the generic crew members that appeared in the anime in Luffy’s flashback returned when Mihawk visited Shanks.
- There is a relatively thin member of Shanks’ crew, with blond hair. His trademark features seem to be his nut-shaped hat with the crew’s Jolly Roger on it, and his white gloves, objects he retain in both of his appearances. On his first appearance in Foosha Village, his hair was shorter, and he was seen smiling. At Marineford, he added to his attire a coat draped over his shoulders like a cape and a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes. His hair has grown longer, almost reaching down to his waist, and he has a stern facial appearance, maybe due to the circumstances. In his hands he carries what looks like a sword.
- Another member is a bald man, with black spots around his eyes, similar to a panda. In his first appearance, he was just as tall as his other crew members, and was quite thin. At Marineford, he seems to have grown more muscular, and his size is enhanced, towering over most of the main members, except for Lucky Roo and another unnamed crew member. He has a scar running down the left side of his face, down to his muscular neck, and a monkey is seen perched on his shoulders. The monkey may be Monstar.
- There is also a tall man with light brown hair and a dragon tattoo on his right arm. In Foosha village, he was already muscular, but was quite thin in size. At Marineford, he is bigger and the tallest one of the members visible, his hair is longer and his tattoo has changed shape: the dragon now faces the opposite direction, is bigger, and extends to the pirate’s muscular neck. He retains the orange sunglasses and the sword he had in his earlier appearance.
- Another member is a man with blond hair tied in a ponytail pointing upwards on the back of his head. In Marineford, like the others, he seems to have gotten bigger, and carries a sword on his right shoulder.
- Another member that appeared at Marineford was a man with shaggy hair and pointy teeth giving him a lion-like appearance.
