Jujutsu Kaisen Animator Unveils Stunning Birthday Art of One Piece’s Shanks

One Piece has hundreds of characters, but only a select few have major fanbases. These characters are always significant to the story, an impressive achievement in itself with a series sprawling across over a thousand chapters. It’s a tradition for One Piece characters to get stunning birthday art released on social media or through official channels. Each illustration has a personal touch, further fleshing out the characters’ personalities and backstories by adding certain elements to the illustrations. Fans love to share and discuss these official illustrations during the birthdays of their favorite characters as they connect to the series on a deeper level. These arts are drawn by Toei Animators who contribute to the series.

For Shanks’ birthday, a popular Jujutsu Kaisen and One Piece animator, @Hone_honeHONE on X, drew a gorgeous illustration. In the art, Shanks is unsheathing his sword as the light’s reflection from his blade lands on his scar. His scar has a deep meaning in the story since it’s given to him by Blackbeard, one of the major antagonists in the show. HoneHone is credited for having recently contributed to Episodes 1074, 1114, and 1115 of the One Piece anime. They also drew Katakuri’s illustration back in November 2024. However, before One Piece, HoneHone was best known for his work in Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2. During the time Season 2 was airing, the animator publicly spoke about the challenging working conditions at MAPPA studio, earning recognition among the fandom.

Shanks Shares His Birthday With Two More One Piece Characters

One Piece character birthdays are either decided by Oda or fans, based on what the author deems fit. A lot of birthdays are chosen based on Japanese wordplay using numbers. In Japanese, numbers can be read in different ways, allowing for puns related to a certain character’s name. Since Oda doesn’t always follow a strict rule, oftentimes, fans come up with these wordplays, and they are featured in the SBS columns of the manga volumes. Shanks and Franky sharing the same birthdays is a coincidence.

In the SBS for One Piece Volume 54, a fan asks Oda to have March 9th as Shanks’ birthday because of his name. The fan came up with it since “Shan” means 9 and “Kusu” means 3. Additionally, in SBS Volume 43, a fan came up with the birthdays of several Water 7 characters, including Franky. Cyborg is read as “Saibōgu” in Japanese, and “Sa” means 3 while “Gu” means 9. Finally, in Mihawk’s case, it appears Oda decided the birthday on his own since there are no records in the SBS.

Whether it’s a coincidence or not is unknown. It could also be another wordplay like Shanks and Franky. Their birthday arts were also shared by @OPcom_info on X, the official account of the One Piece portal site. However, Shanks and Mihawk sharing the same birthday is surely fascinating. The two only have a five-year age gap, but they are often portrayed as rivals. A few years before the current timeline, they crossed swords, but the victor was undecided. They are both swordsmen and characters who are feared for their devastating powers, with One Piece fans debating over who is the stronger of the two. Hence, these two are often mentioned together, whether in the series or in real life.

H/T: @Hone_honeHONE on X