Garp vs. Shanks: Who Is Stronger & Who Would Win in a Fight?

There are numerous exceptionally powerful characters from the world of One Piece that we can always use in our comparison articles, making our job easier and more fun. In this article, we will compare two very popular characters closely related to Luffy. They are Monkey D. Garp, Luffy’s grandfather, and Shanks, the guy who saved Luffy’s life when he was a child. This article will reveal who is stronger and who would win in a fight.

Shanks would be able to defeat Garp in a direct fight. This would be an epic match, as Garp is much stronger than he lets on, but so is Shanks. Knowing that Shanks has probably revealed only a small portion of his powers so far, we can assume that his full potential – seeing how he is a feared and respected Yonko – outmatches Garp at his peak, which is why there should be no doubt about the winner in this fight. Garp has a lot to give in a fight and would probably give Shanks a very hard time, but he would probably not win, as Shanks is arguably the strongest character in the series currently (even Blackbeard is afraid to face him).

What follows, of course, is a detailed analysis of the answer we have given you above. We will portray Monkey D. Garp and Shanks in more detail, giving you a thorough analysis of the issue at hand and the balance of power between the two characters using our usual formula. Through several categories, you will see who the stronger of the two is and why our answer is like it is, i.e., why we’re certain that Shanks is stronger than Garp at this point of the story.

Physical abilities

Garp has incredibly strong fists. In fact, they are so potent that he was able to injure Luffy and cause him to feel pain with a single punch, and during the War, he was able to harm Marco while he was in his Phoenix form. He asserted that during his preparation for Chinjao, he had crushed eight mountains.

As demonstrated when Captain Morgan attacks him and can sustain the cut from his ax, Garp also possesses incredible stamina and an outrageous tolerance for pain. As he could avoid every Straw Hat and get to Luffy to wake him up, Garp has proven to have extraordinary speed (perhaps faster than CP9’s Soru).

Shanks hasn’t participated in any important fight so far, so his abilities are still an enigma in the broadest sense. Since he is one of the Four Emperors, his physical strength is supposed to be immense, making him one of the four strongest characters in the universe. In fact, Shanks might be the current strongest Emperor. Whitebeard caused countless pirate leaders to tremble at the mere mention of him, but Shanks was fearless and strong enough to face down the world’s fiercest pirate. Recently, he was also able to cut down Kidd without any problems whatsoever.

There is a big dilemma here: we cannot objectively value Shanks’ physical powers due to a lack of information. And while we think that Shanks would ultimately triumph, we will split the points here to make it more interesting in the long run.

Points: Garp 1, Shanks 1

Devil Fruit

Monkey D. Garp is one of the rare characters that are on such a high level of power but don’t have any Devil Fruit powers. Monkey D. Garp never ate a Devil Fruit in his life, which is why, ultimately, we don’t have anything additional to say regarding this category, at least when Monkey D. Garp is in question.

The same can be said about Shanks. It is a known fact that Shanks has been able to achieve everything he has achieved without a Devil Fruit (or without using his Devil Fruit powers, but that is a conspiracy theory at this moment), which puts him in the same category as Garp.

We usually split the points in such categories, but seeing that this is not the first time that we’re dealing with a situation where neither character has anything to offer in a category, we’re going to act like we usually do in such cases – by not giving a point to anyone.

Points: Garp 1, Shanks 1

Haki

Because Garp is a Vice Admiral, he can use Haki, as it is a condition, seemingly. Garp is capable of employing Observation Haki. As Koby awakens Observation Haki, Dr. Fishbonen encourages him to ask Garp for assistance in mastering it because he has enough knowledge to assist others.

Garp has demonstrated that he is an extremely proficient Armament Haki user by injuring Luffy numerous times despite the latter’s rubber body. In his recent fight against Kuzan, he has also demonstrated his ability to use Conqueror’s Haki, proving that he can use all three types of Haki, which is extremely rare.

Like Garp, Shanks can also use all three types of Haki in the series. When Shanks and Whitebeard battled, the “heavens” above them tore apart, displaying the immense strength of Armament Haki that both Emperors had imbued in their weapons. He imbued Armament Haki onto his blade during the Battle of Marineford to repel an Akainu attack in the shape of a Logia.

Shanks has a very high level of mastery of Observation Haki, as he noticed a weird presence among the residents of Wano County. Moreover, Shanks has access to Conqueror Haki’s one-in-a-million power, which he employs to frighten the Sea King away before it can attack Luffy and kill all of Whitebeard’s crew.

As you can see, both of them can use all three types of Haki, and since it would be unfair to judge them based on how proficient they are, we have decided, as we always do in such cases, to simply split the points as one would expect from such a situation.

Points: Garp 2, Shanks 2

Weapons

Until now, Garp has been seen throwing cannonballs (including a gigantic one). His fists could also be considered a weapon, but that’s about it regarding his weapons skills. He seems to be a lot like Luffy in this aspect, i.e., he does not use weapons and relies on his physical strength (and Haki) rather than any other powers; he is probably more proficient with weapons than Luffy, who is horrible in that aspect, but we do not think that he is among the better weapon users in the series.

Shanks is frequently represented as a skilled swordsman. One may presume that Shanks is a very skilled swordsman, given that Mihawk is the best swordsman in the world and also his former rival. Even though it is rumored that the redhead once used dual swords, which would account for Mihawk’s lack of interest in combating him after losing his arm and would match the double swords of the redhead’s Jolly Roger, it is assumed that the redhead preferred his left arm before losing it because he is always shown holding his sword in his left hand during flashbacks. Nevertheless, he could parry Whitebeard with a weapon, even without one arm.

There is absolutely no doubt here that Shanks wins this category. Garp’s proficiency with weapons is very thin even on a good day, whereas Shanks was a rival of Mihawk’s back in the day. We’re quite sure that even with one arm (and his weaker one, at that), he could put up a good fight against Mihawk, just as he parried Whitebeard’s attack. Therefore, Shanks wins the final point.

Points: Garp 2, Shanks 3

Shanks is by all means stronger than Garp and would be able to defeat him in a fight

The points confirm it, and there is really not much we can add here regarding these two. Shanks is a true powerhouse character, and while Garp certainly could and would put up a good fight, we think that Shanks would ultimately be able to win.

There is no one single category in which Garp triumphs over Shanks, whereas Shanks is better with weapons, and, ultimately, he would probably surpass Garp in terms of pure strengths, but we’ve explained why we decided to split the points there. The only thing that we cannot assess is their proficiency with Haki, but as we’ve said, we don’t think that would ultimately matter.

At this moment, Shanks is arguably the series’ strongest character, as even the dreaded and despised Blackbeard is scared to take him on. Whether that will remain like that in the future has to be seen, but we don’t think Garp would be the one to take Shanks down.