Summary
Ever since the very start of the series,One Piecehas been filled to the brim with incredible symbolism that has often been the selling point of many character arcs. In such cases, characters are based around key concepts that give a hint of who they are and even how powerful they may be. Such trends can be seen with the many pirates, places, concepts, and every other kind of character or classification that the show has.
Among such symbolism, that of the legendary Figarland family is undoubtedly one of the best inOne Piece. Although the connections betweenthe members of this familyare all but confirmed in canon, those belonging to it perfectly fall under a naming and theme convention that works so perfectly well that it not only shows the dynamics of this mysterious clan but also may give a hint as to their goals and the true power that they hold.
Powerful Celestial Dragons
First Appearance
One Piece, Chapter 1, “Romance Dawn - The Dawn of Adventure”
Debut Story Arc
Romance Dawn
To understand the importance of the Figarland family, one must first understand the structure of the Celestial Dragons. While they refer to themselves as Gods, they are merely corrupt nobles whose status puts them higher than anyone else, and within their ranks,there are the Gods' Knights. These Knights are the second-highest officially recognized authority in the world, under only the 5 Elders themselves. Figarland Garling is the Supreme Commander of this faction.
In theOne Piece: Redmovie, it was teased that Shanks was also a member of this family and was taken away by the Roger Pirates after the God Valley Incident when he was a baby. While the events of the movie aren’t canon, the prospect of Shanks being Garling’s son, which was mentioned in the film, seems to be highly likely. Lastly, Chapter 1134 of the manga confirmed the long-standing theory of Shanks having a twin brother, who appeared on Elbaf.
The Symbolism Of The Figarland Family
The Things That Make Them So Powerful
Chapter 1125 of theOne Piecemanga was one of the most important chapters in the entire series as it showed the aftermath of the events that transpired on Egghead. The heroes got away and were well on their way to Elbaf, although the forces of the World Government at the time were not so lucky. As the Elder tasked withcleaning up the mess on Eggheadbut ultimately failing, St. Saturn was eventually killed by Imu, who did so by seemingly taking away his powers and immortality from half a world away.
This meant that there was an opening in the ranks of the 5 Elders after Saturn died, which was promptly filled in by the highest-ranking member of the Celestial Dragons after the Gorosei; Figarland Garling. At the current moment, nothing is known about Garling’s powers, only that he is incredibly strong since he was likely the one to have given Whitebeard a permanent scar during their probable clash on God Valley.
Those who protect scum are lower than the scum they protect!
Despite this, fans have begun theorizing about what his powers could be, with the most common consensus being that heate a Mythical Zoan fruit, the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Fenrir. This would be a fruit that allows him to transform into a huge and powerful wolf from Norse mythology who kills the chief deity of the pantheon, Odin, perhaps symbolizing the importance of what Garling may end up doing in the Final Saga.
The main reason why fans attribute this beast of all things to Garling is because, in real life, the planet Saturn has a moon named Fenrir. Seeing as how the Gorosei are named after planets and how Saturn has died, fans believe that giving Garling the Fenrir Mythical Zoan symbolizes how the position of Warrior God of Science and Defense has now passed onto someone else, who is the closest person to Saturn in terms of being the next obvious choice of becoming an Elder. Moreover, turning into Fenrir fits in with the theme of the rest of the Gorosei having monstrous transformations that have taken inspiration from real-life mythologies.
Garling having the power to transform into Fenrir works for the rest of the Figarland family as well. This is because, in Norse mythology, Fenrir has two twin suns, Sköll and Hati, the former of whom chases the sun and the latter of whom chases the moon, symbolizing the day and night cycles of the world. In this instance, Shanks is the embodiment of Sköll; a good person whoseeks the Sun God (Luffy)to bring about a new dawn for the world, casting away the corrupt and tyrannical rule of the Celestial Dragons.
On the other hand, Shanks' newly revealed twin from Chapter 1134 represents Hati, the wolf that brings about the cover of night. However, this analogy has a negative connotation, since the night in this instance symbolizes how he seeks to keep up the rule of the Celestial Dragons and keep the rest of the world shrouded in darkness. By analyzing this symbolism for the Figarland family, one can see very clear parallels that not only give an insight into these characters' past, but also into their abilities and what they may represent within the larger story.
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One Piece
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga’s popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
