Highlights
- Oda confirmed Shiki's canonicity but not Strong World events.
- Shiki's Float-Float Fruit was initially forbidden, but Strong World made it necessary.
- Shiki's return is unlikely in the Final Saga, but fans may see him in flashbacks.
One Piece Volume 109 is just around the corner, and fans know for a fact that whenever a new volume comes, so do the interesting questions that Oda answered in the SBS corner. Usually, the questions that Oda answers in the SBS volumes are funny responses to similar questions.
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However, every now and then, a fan, being intrigued by something significant in the story, asks about some exciting things. While this is rare, fans know that Oda has answered quite a lot of intriguing questions in the SBS corners over the years. With One Piece volume 109, Oda has now answered an incredibly important SBS question pertaining to the Golden Lion, Shiki, who fans have always wanted to see more of in the story.
Oda Talks About Shiki's Role In Strong World And His Devil Fruit
Shiki’s Devil Fruit Was Not Supposed To Exist
In One Piece volume 109, Oda spoke in length about Shiki the Golden Lion. Shiki is a character that fans were first introduced to before the timeskip of One Piece. Oda actually wanted to incorporate him into the conversation between Shanks and Whitebeard. However, back then, he decided not to go ahead with the idea because he felt that if he introduced too many individuals at the same time with legendary names, the fans would not be able to process all of it. As such, he left out Shiki from the meeting between Shanks and Whitebeard, but this legendary individual was then spoken of later down the line. In the Impel Down arc, Sengoku labeled him the only person to have ever successfully escaped from the prison Impel Down.
Then, fans also got One Piece: Strong World, which is a very intriguing film that Oda had a part to play in as well. In this movie, Shiki is the main villain, and Luffy ends up taking him down after he kidnaps Nami. More importantly, fans got One Piece Episode 0, which was a build-up to the events of Strong World. In this episode, fans got the canon events surrounding Shiki and his life as a pirate.
It was clear to see that Shiki could fight against Roger during the Edd War, and of course, take up arms against both Garp and Sengoku at the same time. He was the only person who managed to destroy half of the Marineford in this battle, and Shiki's strength was such that it was respected by even the likes of Roger, Whitebeard, and Garp. This made him a force to be reckoned with, and fans knew that they had an incredible character at hand for Strong World.
Unfortunately, Shiki was quite underwhelming in Strong World, as for someone on the same tier as the Yonko, not even having Haki or being defeated by the likes of Luffy before the timeskip was truly a pathetic performance. However, fans know that Strong World was never canon to begin with. Here is what Oda had to say about Strong World and Shiki that fans got to see in the movie:
Question: Golden Lion Shiki has finally appeared in the main storyline, so does this mean that the events of the movie - Strong World have been officially incorporated into the timeline of the main story?
Oda: Well, you can "forcefully" incorporate the whole movie but if you do that, it won't be that much connected to the main story. However, regarding "STRONG WORLD", what I think is, the "Shiki" that existed originally in the main story is the same person used in the movie. Yes, he's in the main story from the start. However, if it wasn't shown in the movie, Shiki was not supposed to have eaten the "Float-Float Fruit". I have a self-rule that I won't make a guy that can freely fly and float in the air, so I decided to seal away the "Float-Float Fruit" (Because this is a manga about pirates), but since it was used in the movie, I have to use it now on the original work. LOL. It's true that a strange "reverse importation" has occurred.
The biggest takeaway from this is that Oda did not actually intend Shiki to be used in a movie like that. However, in the end, he rolled with it. More importantly, he never intended for his Devil Fruit to be the Float Float Fruit. This is simply down to the fact that this fruit is way too overpowered as it allows people to fly or make other things levitate. This devil fruit ability is absolutely overpowered, and that is why Oda forbade it from ever becoming a thing. However, it actually ended up coming true, thanks to Strong World, and ever since then, he has had to stick with this fruit for Shiki.
Is Strong World Shiki Canon?
Shiki Is A Canon Character But Everything He Did In Strong World Isn't
As mentioned by Oda himself, one can try to force the Strong World movie into the events of the main storyline, but they simply wouldn't fit. This is essentially a confirmation from Oda that One Piece Strong World is not canon at all but it has a canon character, which fans know to be Shiki. He is the only canon thing from Strong World, and at the same time, so is his Devil Fruit. If there was ever any doubt about the canonicity of Shiki, or his entire character, now fans know that he is indeed canon and the same individual that showed up in the manga too. Of course, the events of Strong World are not canon, as confirmed by Oda himself, given that he clearly suggested that these events won't line up with the events of the manga.
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This essentially confirms something that every fan knew already, and that is Shiki's defeat to Luffy never really happened and that it simply wouldn't happen, given the stature of pirate that he was.
Will Shiki Ever Return To One Piece?
Shiki's Return At This Point Isn't Likely
Shiki is an absolutely monstrous pirate who successfully manages to escape from Impel Down. He is still out there somewhere, and technically, the chances of him being incorporated into the story once again or never truly zero. However, One Piece is in the Final Saga and if he hasn't shown up or made a move up until this point, it is highly unlikely that he will get to do so later down the line unless Oda has a change of plans. Fans will most likely get to see more of him through flashbacks, just as they did in the Kuma flashback recently.
Still, Shiki is a formidable pirate who fans would most definitely go on to cherish forever, as he was one of the strongest and most ferocious individuals on the seas long ago. Hopefully, more information pertaining to this monstrous individual is revealed later down the line, and fans can only hope that Oda does justice to him that Strong World could not do.
One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1120, is set to be July 14, 2024.
