Shanks is one of the most popular and strongest One Piece characters, as we all know. On the other hand, we have Gildarts from Fairy Tail, who is one of the most popular characters in his franchise and is actually inspired by Shanks. Both have shaped the history of their respective franchises and that of the manga and anime. Even though we know that both are quite powerful, we can't help but wonder who is stronger. Who would win in a fight between Shanks and Gildarts?

Physical powers

Shanks hasn't participated in any significant battles. Therefore, his skills are still generally vague. He is one of the Four Emperors, and as such, he should possess one of the four greatest physical strengths in the cosmos. In fact, Shanks may be the strongest emperor currently. Shanks was fearless and strong enough to face the fiercest pirate in the world, which speaks for itself. Whitebeard made many pirate leaders tremble at the mere mention of him.

Gildarts has proven to be extremely durable, as shown by his resistance to the Crimson Lotus: Explosive Flame Knife (the same one Natsu used to defeat Laxus) by taking just a step back and only damaging his cape. Gildarts has proven to be incredibly strong; this is demonstrated when Natsu attempts to attack him, but he overpowers him with one hand and sends him flying into the ceiling.

He is also shown to be able to not only move, but also demonstrate an attack with surprising agility and strength while under the influence of Bluenote Stinger's gravitational field, a notable feat, as Natsu, a potential S-Class Mage known for his physical prowess, nor I. I am not even able to withstand it.

Gildarts may be powerful, and it's really hard to compare these two fictional worlds, but we think Shanks is physically stronger. The guy can destroy entire ships and counter ships like Whitebeard, so we think that should be enough here.

Points: Jarrets 1, Gildarts 0

Special Abilities

Regarding Shanks, we will discuss his relationship with Devil Fruits, as they are the main source of special powers in One Piece. Devil Fruits are often a character's best power and represent a character's signature power. But many powerful characters in the series have never eaten a Devil Fruit, and Shanks is the most notable example, especially since he was able to become a Sea Emperor without a Devil Fruit, being the only one among the Emperors without a Devil Fruit.

Of course, when it comes to Gildarts, we'll be discussing his magic. Crash is a very powerful spell that shatters anything the user touches. It can even disintegrate magic, negating its effects while weakening and redirecting its power. This highly developed and destructive magic, which even an extraordinarily powerful person like Gildarts finds difficult to handle, renders even the most powerful spells ineffective. There are several variants: Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth: Empyrean, Mizuwari, All Crush, and Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth: Absolute Heaven.

Since Shanks doesn't have Devil Fruit powers, while Gildarts is a very powerful and powerful magician, this point must be put to Gildarts without much debate, and that's how we decided to proceed.

Points: Jarrets 1, Gildarts 1

Special potential

When it comes to One Piece, this is where we'll discuss Haki. Few characters, including Shanks, can use all three varieties of Haki. The "heavens" above Shanks and Whitebeard were torn apart as they participated in their brief battle, demonstrating the tremendous power of the Armament Haki they had imbued into their weapons. During the Battle of Marineford, he imbued his blade with Armament Haki to repel Akainu's assault while the latter used his Devil Fruit abilities.

Shanks is also extremely skilled with Observation Haki as he can detect a strange presence among the people of Wano County. He can also use Conqueror's Haki to knock out the entire Whitebeard Pirates in addition to scaring off the Sea King, who attacked Luffy.

When it comes to Fairy Tail, this is where we'll talk about a character's magical power. Gildarts is an S-Class Mage in the Fairy Tail guild with tremendous magical power, which he can channel into a powerful aura surrounding him. Even S-Class or future Mages are knocked to the ground and lose their balance when exposed to this aura. The power of the aura can be detected at much greater distances. Due to his strength, he was even able to convince Natsu, known for his strong sense of will and determination, to submit. Once developed, it turns a brilliant white.

This category was extremely difficult to evaluate in this regard, as Haki and a character's magical power are not directly comparable. Both are extremely powerful and possess enormous powers, but it is impossible to directly compare them, which is why we decided to divide the points.

Points: Shanks 2, Gildarts 2

Combat Skills

It is common to see Shanks described as an expert swordsman. Given that Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman, was once a rival of Shanks, one might assume that he is a very skilled swordsman. It is assumed that the redhead preferred his left arm before losing it, as he is always shown holding his sword in his left hand during flashbacks. Rumor has it that the redhead once used dual swords, which would explain Mihawk's lack of interest in fighting him after losing his arm and would match the dual swords of the redhead's Jolly Roger. Even though he was missing an arm, he could parry Whitebeard with one weapon.

Gildarts is a very good unarmed fighter. During the S-Class Exam, he easily defended himself against Natsu's brutal attacks with one hand and without moving a single step.

This is a category Shanks definitely takes. Sure, Gildarts is a skilled fighter, but Shanks has focused everything he has on weapons and hand-to-hand combat, so there's no doubt he's one of the best and would surpass Gildarts here.

Points: Jarrets, 3, Gildarts 2

Both Gildarts and Shanks are powerful, but the red-haired pirate is the winner of this match.

And there you have it, our analysis is more or less complete. We've analyzed both characters and our conclusions are the same, confirming that Shanks is indeed stronger than Gildarts.

It should be noted that it was quite difficult for us to compare these two characters, as the worlds of One Piece and Fairy Tail are very different. The latter is based on magic, which is not really present in the former, whose powers and abilities are based on combat skills and special powers provided by Devil Fruits and Haki.

From this perspective, Gildarts' magic would certainly pose a problem for Shanks, especially since he doesn't possess a Devil Fruit. However, we had some difficulty comparing Gildarts' Haki with Shanks' Haki, as the two skills are similar but very different. Considering we had to split the points, we concluded that the only category in which Gildarts clearly wins over Shanks is his magic.

On the other hand, Shanks is a better fighter and is undoubtedly stronger. And while the scales are certainly different in these two worlds, we cannot deny that Shanks is a true powerhouse and his actions in One Piece undoubtedly prove that he would be able to defeat Gildarts in direct combat. Therefore, we have concluded that when it comes to physical and combat skills, Shanks definitely wins.

Based on these individual findings, we concluded that Shanks would have what it takes to defeat Gildarts. Shanks has proven he can take on all sorts of opponents, and Gildarts doesn't have such an advantage over him that he could defeat him.

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