Curate, connect, and discover
I have maybe stupid thought/question. It’s thought that changes into question. And it could be dumb so I choose anon option.
Let’s go! “it channels strength, in a way that is characteristic of shanks throughout the whole manga.” This got my attention because maybe I’m an idiot but a lot of those moments are shanks mask. He is playing big bad emperor, he needs to do it to protect his fleet. We see it more recently. I understood this that way. “mihawk isn't afraid of shanks, but he's still alert while approaching him”. That also. Tbh I always saw them as two close friends who occasionally spared for the title. But this looks weird to me now? I just thought shanks face is a joke because he is just hangover but acts like something big is going on. But your interpretation seems to be more into shanks is channeling his emperor persona. And yes mihawk is dangerous but I never thought he would attack shanks? He constantly is against that. I’m not sure why, can we trust him it’s only arm or something more? Does he care about shanks that much? Not attacking luffy would point to it. So if that’s the case why is shanks like that? Putting this strength face on? Sorry if it’s stupid.
it's not stupid at all, i see your point of view and all your questions are valid to me.
i think when talking about shanks we necessarily have to split between two separate readings of his character, and look at him from two different points of view: the one of the readers and the one of the other characters.
it's obvious that shanks has two sides to him; his emperor persona is in direct opposition to his sillier, more carefree side. when we see shanks in the manga, we always look at him from the point of view of other characters, mainly luffy, buggy or, like in the case we are talking about, mihawk. as the point of view varies, so does shanks's demeanor, depending on what type of relationship he has with said character. after a brief menacing introduction, and after luffy's wanted poster is revealed, we see a side of shanks that is adjacent to the one we see in luffy's flashbacks: mihawk is an old friend of his, so he invites him for a drink and makes space for him to celebrate with his crew. the air felt thick before mihawk mentioned luffy, but only because his visit was sudden and unannounced. don't forget mihawk was a warlord at the time, so of course shanks got defensive. they weren't exactly on bad terms, it's true, but they're both two affirmed figures now, so it's fair for them to be more cautious in the presence of the other.
if we hop behind the fourth wall and look for a non-diegetic explanation, then, it's more or less what i explained in my previous post. we, as readers, have a more global understanding of shanks. we know shanks puts up a front, an armor of sorts: behind his façade lies a more solemn version of himself, one that takes his place very seriously and appears more meditative and resolved. is this side of him a travesty, too? there's no way to know as of now.
i love how puzzling shanks is, it's my favorite part of his character. he's unpredictable, sometimes basically indefinite. it's not a character flaw, though. everything we know about him passes through other characters' visions, which contributes to the confusing outline the readers have of him. it's a tool that helps us know him without ever seeing his side of the story.