For the longest time, One Piece fans have been wondering about a plot hole early in the series about Shanks. But Netflix’s live-action One Piece series essentially solves the Shanks plot hole given how it adapted the manga’s events.
As with any live-action adaptation, Netflix’s One Piece series has some big differences from the anime.
While not all of them are ideal, the change to Shanks’ pivotal scene with Luffy is something that the live-action arguably did better.
Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers for the One Piece live-action in this article.
One Piece: Fans Are Still Wondering Why Shanks Lost His Arm
Shanks is undoubtedly one of the strongest pirates ever in One Piece. He has one of the highest bounties in the series, not to mention that his power has been shown clearly in the aftermath of the Raid on Onigashima.
Despite how powerful he is, fans continue to wonder about why Shanks lost his arm while rescuing the young Luffy. After all, Shanks lost his arm to a Sea King, which, while fearsome, does not hold a candle to Shanks’ power.
It can be argued that this is a younger Shanks, but at this time, he was already feared by other pirates and the navy for his incredible strength.
Another possible reason is that Eiichiro Oda may not have planned the series’ events in detail yet during this time, though that’s a bit hard to believe given how Oda is known for planning plot points years in advance.
The debate rages on regarding this Shanks plot hole, but the live-action Netflix adaptation’s version of events effectively solves this.
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One Piece Live-Action Solves the Shanks ‘Plot Hole’
In the One Piece live-action series, Shanks saving Luffy from the Sea King happens fairly similarly to the manga/anime version at first. However, it deviates heavily as the scene progresses.
Instead of saving Luffy in the water, Shanks saves Luffy while in the boat, using his arm to shield Luffy from the monster. This happens in an instant, so Shanks isn’t given much time to react.
After biting Shanks’ arm, the Sea King readies another attack but is stopped when Shanks faces it head-on.
While it wasn’t explained to new viewers, the live-action essentially showed Shanks using Conqueror’s Haki to drive the Sea King away.
This is a great change as the turn of events makes it more believable that Shanks got his arm bitten off. It also shows Shanks’ Haki, demonstrating his impressive power even at this time.
Aside from this change, the One Piece live-action series also departed from the original noticeably. Despite these, it has still been well-received by fans and critics alike.
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