This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Final Saga.
Long before One piece the Final Saga even started, Eiichiro Oda, the author of the story introduced fans to Saint Ima Nero, the secret ruler of the world. In the Reverie arc, Imu was seen sitting atop the Void Throne of the World Government, controlling everything from the shadows. There were quite a few things that stood out about this character, but the most interesting of all was his appearance. It's been 7 years since then and Imu's appearance is as big a mystery as ever. Imu debuted as a shadowy figure that doesn't appear to have any real form.
They certainly have a humanoid body, but all that can be seen are red, glowing eyes. Even their hands are shrouded in shadow. Now, after seven long years, Eiichiro Oda seems to have confirmed it Imu's body isn't just hidden in silhouette for the sake of surprise. Their true appearance is dark and it is part of their powers. Naturally, this surprised quite a few fans, and Oda is sure to touch on it again in the future.
Oda confirms that Imu's true form is the shadow figure itself
IN One piece chapter 1165, Eiichiro Oda gave fans a proper battle between Domi Reversi Rocks and the team of Roger and Garp. This battle was absolutely sensational and explained a lot of things regarding the concepts of Haki and even Immortality in the One Piece world. Most of all, though, it finally solved the misery of Imu's actual appearance.
Allow Him to show you the sovereignty of God! — I'm going to Elbaf
For years, fans have wondered what Imu really looks like. Oda is known for using silhouettes to hide characters until it's officially their time to be fully revealed. Most fans assumed that was the case with Imu as well. However, it seems that Imu is not only hidden by Oda's silhouette.
Imu's action appearance is as a shadowy black monsterand this was directly confirmed in One Piece Chapter 1165. Shortly before, Imu took control of Saturn's body in the God Valley and then proceeded to tank strong attacks from the likes of Roger, Garp, Rocks, Kaido, Big Mom, and Whitebeard. Despite their combined strength, it barely made them flinch. shortly after Roger and Garp confirm that Imu does in fact look like a shadow monster.
Roger and Garp confirm Imu's true appearance
During the battle against the Domi Reversi Rocks, Roger and Garp talked specifically about Ima. Roger made it clear to Garp that the shadowy figure from earlier belonged to the World Governmentand that despite this they claim to be good. To this, Garp replied that he agreed with him, but would stay with the Marines to protect them from the government.
Did you know that the world government had this shadowy figure? And they call themselves good! — Roger to Garp
The key detail here lies in Roger's own words. Roger himself saw Ima as a drop of shadow, and so did Garp. in other words Imu is not just a silhouette, but actually a shadow monster. He is darkness itself and his powers manifest as pitch black shadows for some reason. Imu Oda's character design does not hide. In fact, it's been clear since day one.
Imu's true form will be revealed in the Final Saga
Of course, Imu wasn't born a shadow blob. Instead, Imu either gained this power or was somehow cursed with it. Either way, fans will soon get to see Imu's true form. Oda is sure to give fans a good look at Imu's true self. If it's a Devil Fruit ability, then once Blackbeard cancels their power, their true selves will be revealed. If it's a curse, then Imu will surely do everything in their power to break free, and at some point they will probably succeed.
Eiichiro Oda's One Piece will be on hiatus next week. One Piece Chapter 1166 will be released in two weeks. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1166 is November 23, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.
- Release date
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October 20, 1999
- Network
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Fuji TV
- directors
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Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imayomura, Yashiôhiro Mayuū Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
- Writers
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Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda
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Mayumi Tanaka
Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
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Kazuya Nakai
Roronoa Zoro (voice)
