Who Is Saint Figarland Garling in One Piece?

Being the ultimate antagonist, Imu’s wickedness knows no bounds. But, the world of One Piece has introduced us to another new ruthless character, Saint Garling Firgarland, who’s working with Imu. Figarland Garling is confirmed to be linked to one of the well-known characters, Shanks, and is set to play a significant role in the endgame of One Piece. Now, if you are curious and want to learn all about Saint Figarland Garling in One Piece, keep reading as we explain his origins, powers, and how he relates to Shanks.

Spoiler Warning: 

This article contains spoilers for the story of One Piece. We suggest you watch the anime and read the manga first to avoid ruining your experience.

Who is Figarland Garling in One Piece?

The most recent addition to One Piece’s cast of villainous adversaries is Figarland Garling. As his name reveals, he is a descendant of the Figarland family and is also the former “Champion of God Valley.” The fact that Garling has the Saint in his name confirms that he is a world noble. But the most intriguing aspect is that he used to be the Supreme Commander of the God’s Knights.

Later in the story, as Saint Saturn was executed by Imu-sama for his failure on Egghead island, we see Saint Figarland Garling being chosen as the replacement for the elder. So, Saint Garling is now officially a part of the Five Elders as the new Warrior God of Science and Defense.

Figarland Garling’s Young and Old Age Appearances

The recent God Valley flashback in the One Piece anime gave the fans a glimpse of a much younger Figarland Garling (38 years ago) who participated in the Native Hunting Competition organized by the Celestial Dragons. As you can see, he does not have his trademark crescent-shaped beard. But his handsome face did make the women around swoon over him.

What else does this face remind you of? As speculated, his features resemble a prominent character, and it’s none other than Shanks. We explore more about their connection below. But before that, we had always thought the young Figarland Garling had red hair, as his son, but the One Piece anime confirmed that Garling is blonde. This has left the fans disappointed, but since his character is associated with the moon, the blonde color choice makes some sense.

In his current appearance, he has crescent moon-shaped white hair and a beard combo, and wears sunglasses. He is always seen carrying a sword of an unknown grade (read about sword grades in One Piece), and he might be one of the strongest swordsmen, whose powers we have yet to see.

How Powerful is Saint Figarland Garling?

When it comes to powers, St. Garling Figarland has been deemed to have both superior authority and physical powers as well. In terms of authority, since he used the Supreme Commander of the God’s Knights, he had absolute control of this all-new organization. Now, he has also become an Elderstar, which further bolsters his authority over the rest of the others.

Now, in terms of how powerful he is, we certainly don’t know his power levels yet. He has appeared briefly in the manga so far. As he has become an Elder now, we can speculate that he would receive the Yokai powers from Imu as the other elders did.

In the recent battles in the Elbaf arc, the God’s Knights members are confirmed to be immortal as they possess instant regeneration powers. As the Supreme Commander of the organization, Garling must be equipped with immortal powers as well. So we’ll have to wait a bit to learn about how strong he is, and also his devil transformation in the world of One Piece.

Figarland Family: Is Garling Related to Shanks?

The one question that is running through everyone’s minds is, “Is Saint Garling Figarland related to Shanks?” The author Eiichiro Oda has meticulously dropped hints throughout the series that indicate that there is some sort of connection between these characters.

The Figarland family was first mentioned in the One Piece Film: Red (see all the One Piece movies in order) by Gorosei. The Five Elders hypothesized that Uta was a member of the Figarland family, which indirectly implied that Shanks is a descendant of the Figarland family (as Uta is recognized as Shanks’ daughter).

Now that the Figarland family has been established as canon with Garling’s introduction, there was heated discussion among fans that Shanks was born a Celestial Dragon. All the questions began to vanish when Oda introduced Figarland Shamrock as Garling’s son in the Elbaf arc. Shamrock is confirmed to be the elder twin brother of Shanks, which further reveals that Garling is also the father of Shanks at the end.

Now that the complete members of House Figarland have been revealed, we are left to patiently wait for the day when they cross paths with each other, especially Shanks vs. Shamrock will break the internet.

In the meantime, what are your thoughts on Garling and the Figarland house in One Piece? Let us know in the comments below.