In the arch of Elbaf One pieceOda introduced the Holy Knight properly for the first time ever. Holy Knights Shamrock and Gunko were among the first to sign up. While Shamrock is not as relevant in this arc, Gunko is central to it and serves as the primary antagonist who is controlled by Imu. Gunko also has a deep connection with Brook as they were once part of the same kingdom. Most fans assume that Gunko is a new creation by Eiichiro Oda, but a new look at the author's designs suggests that Gunko was actually introduced 19 years ago by the creator One piece. Gunko was always planned to have a deep connection with Brook and once again showcase the author's brilliance.
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Analysis of Od's design for the Holy Knight from Thriller Bark
Often different One piece magazines provide a look at Odo's early designs of various arcs and the characters that come with them. One such magazine that was published a long time ago revealed the story concepts of Thriller Bark. By 2007, Oda had already designed the first sketches for people like Brook and all the other zombie characters that appeared in Thriller Bark. Among them was also a bound woman with long hair and one eye sticking out. This bound woman also wore a cape and her overall appearance was suspiciously similar to Gunk. She was also drawn next to Dead Bones Brook. Putting two and two together, it's clear that this woman ended up being the prototype for what fans know today as Gunko of the Holy Knights.
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The real significance of Gunk's character before the Timeskip
It's possible that Oda intended for this woman to be incorporated in some major way into the Thriller Bark arc, but chose not to for plot reasons. Before the timeskip, Gunko had no significance at all in the story, but Oda clearly set up Brook's connection to her in the magazine through his initial designs.
At the same time, Brook revealed that he was the leader of a battle convoy once upon a time, suggesting that Oda had already planned a story around him and Princess Shuri. While the vast majority of information was kept under wraps at the time, that's what makes One Piece as exciting as it is because the pair didn't meet again until nineteen years later.
How Princess Shuri is connected to Brook's story arc
As revealed in the Elbaf arc of One Piece, Princess Shuri has a very significant connection with Brook, as he practically raised her by himself. Brook was the leader of a battle convoy for a certain kingdom in West Blue and served under Princess Shuri's father, even going so far as to call him his benefactor. When the king had a child, Princess Shuri, Brook was the one who sang to her and even raised her. However, at one point the princess lost all control and even proceeded to kill her own father.
Brook has obviously never forgiven her, but he doesn't know about Imu's influence on her. It was clear that Imu was controlling her, either through mind control or Domi Reversi. The Holy Knights presumably proceeded to destroy the kingdom, forcing Brook to become a pirate.
One Piece Chapter 1178 is setting up a major defeat for the Straw Hats in Elbaf
Elbaf will mean a great defeat of the straw pirates like never before in One Piece.
Measuring the future importance of Imu's vessel
Princess Shuri will be incredibly important in this overarching story of the Final Saga. Since Shuri has always been around Imu, their importance will only grow from here, especially since Elbaf will likely remove this character from under Imu. Princess Shuri stands as the main villain of the Elbaf arc due to Imu's mind control, but in the end it is highly likely that Luffy and Loki will succeed in purging Imu from her body. This would free Princess Shuri from Imu's control and even make her a potential Straw Hat candidate.
From there, Imu loses a vital ally and turns her sights on Vivi. More than that, Gunko could then become part of the Straw Pirates, or at least an ally of the group, and lead the charge against the World Government, especially since he knew all the secret details of Imu's empire, making her a valuable asset.
One Piece Chapter 1178 will be available to read on Manga Plus on March 29, 2026.
One piece
- 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)
