One Piece reveals its best character design in history with Nerona Imu

One Piece Chapter 1179 was significant to the story in more ways than one, but most importantly, it finally released the full character design for the endgame villain of the series, Nerona Imu, one of the first 20 kings, and creator of the World Government. As is clear in One PieceImu Nerona is the ruler of the current world order, and he sits on the empty throne. For years, Oda Imu hid behind a silhouette, but Chapter 1179 has seen him take off his cover and finally unleash his true form for all fans to see.

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Assessing the key features of the true form of the world sovereign

The character design of Saint Imu Nerona is unique. Usually, One Piece characters have certain quirks that are reflected very well in all the designs that Oda draws. But Nerona Imu is remarkably different. In fact, at first glance, you might even say that Imu doesn't look like a traditional One Piece character design at all, but that's exactly what makes him incredibly unique.

Imu has a somewhat feminine appearance, which is a sign of royalty in various stories. Imu also has white hair, which covers half of his face, as well as giant horns, which could mean a connection to the Ancient Giants of the One Piece world. Meanwhile, Imu has brown skin, which is incredibly rare in the One Piece world, and only the Lunar race is known to have. More than that, Imu have white tattoos all over their bodies, which may be due to 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 to that, Imu also has a weapon similar to a Bisento, with a sharp blade on top, which likely belongs to the Supreme Grade Blades category.

Oda's character design for the World Sovereign also shows him supported by black wings upon transformation, as well as a pointed tail, again hinting that he possesses devil powers. This is backed up by the reveal of the Devil Fruit ability itself, which has no name but is titled “The Devil's Fruit”, or Akuma no Mi, reinforcing the fact that it is the most powerful ability of all.

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Breaks down Imu's connection to moons and giants

When it comes to Imu's physical appearance, what stands out the most is the brown skin and ash white hair. As established by Oda long ago in the Wano Country arc, these are characteristics of the Lunar race in the One Piece world. The Lunars were once known as the Gods of the World, and it is said that long ago they were at the top of the Red Line in a place they called the Land of the Gods. At some point, the World Government established Marijoa on top of the Red Line, and the Moons were scattered all over the world.

Now things are starting to add up, and it appears that Imu may be one of the Lunars, or at least a half Lunar, primarily responsible for the extinction of this race. It also makes sense why Imu decided to build Marijoa on top of the Red Line, since it was supposed to be his home in the first place. Imu's horns also suggest that he has some sort of connection to the world's giants, but this could also be a key indicator of their Devil Fruit ability, especially since it allows him to transform into the devil himself. The connection to the giant race remains to be confirmed, but it is interesting nonetheless.

How the World Ruler's design indicates an awakened ability

Whenever Oda shows off Devil Fruit Awakenings, he gives certain indicators that point towards it. For the antagonists of One Piece the world, especially those connected to the World Government, give Oda black cloud rings around his neck. Rob Lucci and Kaku both had these rings after they tapped into their awakened Devil Fruit form, and so did the five elders. Shamrock displayed the power of Cerberus in the Elbaph arc, and it also had the black ring around its neck, signifying the use of Devil Fruit Awakening.

Imu also uses this dark ring, only in his case there are eyes embedded above it, indicating complete mastery of the fruit and the fact that it has been taken beyond all limits. It would be surprising if Nerona Imus Akuma no Mi wasn't resurrected.

Why One Piece's ultimate villain has the best design

Clearly, Imu's character design is absolutely incredible from top to bottom. This character design is unique, and the feminine touch Oda gave it makes it even more interesting. On top of that, it reflects all the key traits of Imu very well and makes him a fearsome villain for Luffy and Loki to face in the Elbaph arc. Of all the character designs Oda has done recently, Imu might have one of the most intimidating yet surprisingly elegant, and fans absolutely can't wait to see what moves the world ruler makes when he lands in the warland.

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 Imamura, Toshihiro Ma Shihi Endo, Toshihiro Ma Shihi Endo, Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

Author

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)