Nami and Shanks similarities
Oda has intentionally written many similarities between Shanks and Nami, and I find it amazing that not many One Piece fans have noticed it.
Everyone knows that Nami appeared alongside Luffy and Shanks on the very first color cover of Chapter 1. But why? After all, Nami didn’t meet Luffy until after Zoro became his first mate.
Well, there’s a logical explanation for this. In the early days of One Piece, Oda originally planned for Nami to be Luffy’s first crewmate. This is shown in a lot of concept art as well as in both demo versions of Romance Dawn.
We later see another color spread of chapter 28 where all the current Straw Hats are featured alongside Shanks:
However, in 2001 — four years after Chapter 1 was released — Oda published Color Walk 1, a collection of his color spreads, and included this:
Here’s an illustration showing all the Red-Hair Pirates together with Nami. It makes you wonder — why is Nami standing alongside the Red-Hair Pirates? This was released four years after Chapter 1 — if this was just old concept art, couldn’t Oda have simply edited Nami out? After all, Oda himself revealed that he removed Jinbei from early concept art to avoid spoiling that he planned Jinbei to join the Straw Hats Pirates.
Some fans believe that Nami being shown with the Red-Hair Pirates may have later inspired the creation of Uta in One Piece Film: Red
Ironically, Film Red also showed another hint at the connection between Nami and Shanks. When Uta uses her full power, the movie’s subtitles change into Norse runes.
This is not a coincidence. Uta is Shanks' daughter and Shanks is very heavily inspired by Scandinavian culture.
Oda has always loved Vikings — they were, after all, his main source of inspiration for creating One Piece.
Just as Vikings inspired Oda’s interest in pirates, it’s was only natural that Luffy’s own inspiration to become a pirate through a similar scenario with Shanks.
So what is Shanks connection to Vikings? Well, there are plenty of clues. Besides being a redhead and having a Viking-inspired ship, Shanks also sacrificed his arm to save Luffy’s life. This is very similar to the Norse myth where Týr, the god of war, sacrificed his arm to bind the great wolf Fenrir.
Ironically, Fenrir is said to be Loki’s son — so it’s pretty neat that Shanks not only loses his arm but is also responsible for binding Loki.
Ok, so Shanks is Scandinavian. What does that have to do with Nami?
Well, Nami is Scandinavian too. We got load of hints — her ginger hair, her role as a navigator, and her close friendship with Usopp, who always has strong ties to Scandinavian elements like the giants and Elbaph. It's intersting to note that Usopp’s father, Yasopp, follows a Scandinavian-inspired captain.
But the clearest proof is that Oda confirmed in SBS Volume 56 that if Nami had a nationality, she would be Swedish.
Ok, so Nami and Shanks are Scandinavians and have shared a few color spreads together. But so what? Lots of Elbaph residents are based of Scandinavians, and unlike Nami, they have actually met Shanks face to face.
This is exactly what makes the connection between Shanks and Nami unique:
Nami and Shanks are orphans, more specifically they are orphans from kingdoms torn apart by war. It’s quite possible that their real names aren’t actually Nami and Shanks — but something entirely different.
Both Nami and Shanks have worn the straw hat that belonged to their captains. But more importantly, while others might just see it as a simple hat, Nami and Shanks view it as a priceless memento of their captain.
If anything, Luffy acts as a bridge between Shanks and Nami. Everything Luffy learned about being a pirate from Shanks, he passes on to Nami, which changes her perspective.
As the story progresses and the more we learn about Nami and Shanks’ mysterious backgrounds, there’s no doubt we’ll discover even more similarities.
Since the current One Piece arc is set in Elbaph, which is based on Scandinavia, it’ll be interesting to see what else gets revealed. It might even offer some hints about where the final arc is heading towards.
Here are some other updated stuff I find interesting that have yet to be properly explained:
Left arm tattoos...
Nojiko is unfazed with Vegapunk announcement about the end of the world?
Shanks destiny.