One piece Chapter 1179 was significant to the story in more ways than one, but most importantly, it finally revealed the complete character design of the series' villain, Nero Ima, one of the first 20 kings and creator of the World Government. As is clear in One pieceImu Nero is the ruler of the current world order and sits on the Empty Throne. Oda hid Ima behind a silhouette for years, but Chapter 1179 saw him take off his covers and finally reveal his true form for all the fans to see.
One Piece: 6 Void Century Devil Fruit Users
The Void Century was a mysterious time period with some of the most powerful Devil Fruits ever.
Assessing the key features of the true form of a world sovereign
Saint Imus Nero's character design is unique. One Piece characters usually have certain quirks that are very well reflected in all the designs that Oda draws. However, Nerona Imu is remarkably different. In fact, at first glance, you could even say that Imu doesn't look like a traditional One Piece character design at all, but that's what makes him incredibly unique.
Imu has a somewhat feminine appearance, which is a telling sign of royalty in various stories. Imu also has white hair that covers half of his face, as well as giant horns that could indicate a connection to the Ancient Giants world of the One Piece. At the same time, Imu has tanned skin, which is incredibly rare in the One Piece world and only the Lunar race is known to have. More than that, Imu has white tattoos all over her body, which could be from some scientific ability they have. The fact that Imu has a black ring around her neck indicates that their Devil Fruit, called Akuma no Mi, has been fully awakened. In addition, Imu also wields a weapon that looks similar to Bisento and has a sharp blade on top that probably belongs to the highest grade blade category.
Od's character design for Sovereign of the World also shows him supported by black wings after his transformation, as well as a pointed tail, again suggesting that he has the powers of a devil. This is supported by the reveal of the Devil Fruit ability itself, which has no name but is titled “The Devil's Fruit” or Akuma no Mi, confirming the fact that it is the most powerful ability of all.
One Piece: The 39 Strongest Characters in the Series
These are the strongest characters that sail the seas of the One Piece world.
Severing Imu's connection with the Lunarians and the Giants
In terms of physical appearance, Imu's tanned skin and ash white hair stand out the most. As established by Oda long ago in the Wano Country arc, these are the traits of the Lunar Race of the One Piece world. The Lunars were once known as the Gods of the World, and it is said that once upon a time they existed atop the Red Line in a place they called the Land of the Gods. At some point the World Government set up Marijoa on top of the Red Line and the Lunarians were scattered around the world.
Now things are starting to add up and it seems that Imu might be one of the Lunars, or at least half Lunar, who is primarily responsible for the extermination of this race. It also makes sense why Imu chose to put Marijou on top of the red line, since it was meant to be his home in the first place. Imu's horns also suggest that he has some connection to the giants of the world, but this could also be a key indicator of their Devil Fruit ability, especially since it allows him to transform into a devil himself. The connection to the giant race remains to be confirmed, but it is interesting nonetheless.
How the World Ruler's design suggests an awakened ability
Whenever Oda performs Devil Fruit Awakenings, he gives certain pointers towards it. For antagonists One piece the world, specifically those connected to the world government, Oda puts black cloud rings around their necks. Rob Lucci and Kaku both had these rings after touching their awakened Devil Fruit form, and so did the Five Elders. Shamrock showed the power of Cerberus in the Elbaph arc and also had a black ring around his neck, signifying the use of Devil Fruit Awakening.
It is by design of the Great One… none of us can stop it. — Holy Shepherd Ju Peter, Chapter 1179
Imu rules with this dark ring, only in his case the eyes are set into it, indicating complete mastery of the fruit and that it has been transcended. It would be surprising if Akuma no Mi Nerony Imu didn't wake up.
GameRant Quiz
Start
Easy (15s) Medium (10s) Hard (5s) Permadeath (5s)
Why One Piece's Ultimate Villain boasts the best design
Quite clearly, Imu's character design is absolutely incredible from top to bottom. This character design is unique and the feminine touch Oda gave him makes him even more interesting. Plus, it echoes all of Imu's key traits very well and makes him a terrifying villain that Luffy and Loki face in the Elbaph arc. Of all the character designs Oda has done recently, Imu might have one of the most terrifying yet surprisingly elegant, and fans absolutely can't wait to see what the Sovereign of the world will do when she gets to the land of war.
One Piece Chapter 1179 is available to read on Manga Plus.
One piece
- Release date
-
October 20, 1999
- Network
-
Fuji TV
- directors
-
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
-
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
-
Mayumi Tanaka
Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
-
Kazuya Nakai
Roronoa Zoro (voice)
