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.
Though much of the crews’ hierarchy remains uncertain, Shanks is identified as the groups Leader and as such maintains overall authority. Just below him and the next most senior are his three officers(Benn Beckman, Lucky Roo and Yasopp), all of whom have become infamous in their own right. The remainder of the crew is comprised of members with notable bounties themselves, who together share a great deal of trust in their leader.
Unnamed Crew Members:
- 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.
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. Even the arrogant Blackbeard (who strengthened his crew and had two Devil Fruits) avoided engaging Shanks’ crew, simply saying they were not ready to fight them yet.
According to the Marines, the Red Hair Pirates crew is the most well-balanced and impenetrable crew among the four Yonko crews!
