One Piece has ushered in a number of villainous teams for Luffy's crew to contend with, not even counting pirate crews like the Beasts Pirates and the Doflamingo family. CP9, now CP0, and the Five Elders are all dangerous squads for Luffy to contend with, and now there is another: the Holy Knights. Also known as the God Knights, this mighty team is symbolic of the arrogant authority and self-indulgence found in the Red Line's holy land.
It didn't take long for One Piece's Elbaph Arc to spill the beans on who belongs to the God Knights, their typical duties, and what their combat powers are like. Already, One Piece fans have a clear idea on how this team operates and what everyone can expect from them. This includes a blend of familiar elements, such as Devil Fruits and lofty authority, and some new tactics that rival even the strongest Haki on the field of battle.
The God Knights All Have the Depths and Abyssal Covenants
This Allows Them to Teleport Around or Summon Reinforcements
For some time now, One Piece has been developing parallel combat or "magic" systems to exist alongside Devil Fruits. Not even Devil Fruits can do everything, and after so many years in publication, One Piece was due to expand the world's supernatural side with new abilities. The God Knights was the perfect group to show off some new abilities, such as the four Covenants. The Shallows type only binds the bearer to Imu's will, while the Depths and Abyssal Covenants offer remarkable abilities.
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All full-fledged members of the God Knights have the Depths Covenant, along with the Abyssal Covenant in most cases. With these marks in place, God Knights like Shamrock, Gunko, and Sommers can teleport to anywhere in the world, bypassing the need for fast-moving ships. This suggests great urgency on the God Knights' part, since they both can and must instantly appear anywhere Imu needs them for a mission. What is more, these Covenants grant the God Knights immortality, allowing them to outlast nearly any foe on the field of battle. Only a few combatants, such as Scopper Gaban and Roronoa Zoro, can bypass that immortality with their attacks.
The God Knights Typically Have Powerful Devil Fruits
Arrows, Thorns, and MMAs Have Defined the God Knights' Fighting Style So Far
This is one of the most predictable yet most exciting parts about the God Knights group. For decades, it's always been the assumption that when a powerful new group arrives, at least a few members will have impressive Devil Fruits, possibly with Haki to back it up. The God Knights are like this too, with them wielding never-before-seen Devil Fruits. Notably, the fruits' powers aren't as flashy as the likes of Big Mom's Soul-Soul Fruit or Kaido's mythical Zoan fruit, but these Devil Fruits still get the job done.
Gunko, for example, terrorized the Straw Hat crew with her Arrow-Arrow Fruit. It can force people to move in whichever direction the arrows are pointing, an effective way to turn a team's combat power against itself. Gunko can also form a bird with her arrows and fly around Elbaph with ease. Then there's St. Sommers, whose Thorn-Thorn Fruit is handy for hostage situations with pointy, invisible thorns to deter the God Knights' enemies. St. Killingham is the one who can turn people's nightmares into reality with his Dragon-Dragon Fruit, forming MMAs that can even keep giant warriors at bay.
The God Knights Have Exemplary Teamwork
Other Villain Groups Split Up to Fight the Straw Hats
Even when groups such as Baroque Works and the Big Mom Pirates have a numerical advantage over the heroes, those crews don't often press that particular advantage. Instead, to keep things simple, One Piece will split the team battle into a series of duels. Fans may recall Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy fighting the top three Baroque Works agents in the Alabasta Saga, for example. And even in the chaos of the Onigashima raid, the fighting was often a matter of duels. The teamwork among the Beasts Pirates was somewhat limited.
Find all 10 pairs
Find all 10 pairs
The same is not true for the God Knights, who are making teamwork the core of their fighting style. Their Devil Fruit powers and personalities may differ a great deal, but these warriors are quite adept at fighting together. Gunko and Sommers blended their fruit powers to create a tough hostage situation during the Elbaph Arc, for example, all while Killingham's MMAs keep everyone away. The God Knights will also swap members in and out to suit the mission's needs, such as Sommers and Killingham replacing Shamrock on Elbaph.
The God Knights Allow Imu to Possess Them Anytime
Imu Appears in Anyone With the Right Covenants
The God Knights all have unwavering loyalty to Imu, and that extends to possession, too. For the most part, the God Knights are content to merely obey Imu's orders and exercise that being's authority, but some situations call for more. As One Piece readers have already seen, Imu can directly take command of a God Knight's body to fight their enemies in person, as Imu did with Gunko. In a flashback sequence on God Valley, Imu did something similar with Jaygarcia Saturn.
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This suggests that both the God Knights and the Five Elders are fair game for Imu's possession because they all have advanced Covenants. That, and such fighters clearly have the strength and authority that suit Imu's tastes, with it being terribly unlikely Imu would bother to possess the Admirals or Vice-Admirals. While possessed, an Elder or God Knight will set aside their own powers in favor of the likes of Domi Reversi.
The God Knights Police the World Nobles
Only Someone Like a God Knight May Judge a Celestial Dragon
This aspect of the God Knights isn't often seen on-screen, since One Piece's current storyline favors action and flashback over the insular political landscape of Marijoa. Still, it's illuminating to learn how the God Knights operate in their homeland, and it says much about their lofty authority. So far, One Piece has led fans to believe the World Nobles can do anything they like as untouchable elites, but that's not quite true. Admirals cannot order around the Celestial Dragons or judge them, but the God Knights can.
The God Knights police the world's elite in the Holy Land, a task that no other group would be trusted to carry out. The God Knights may penalize or even execute a World Noble for serious grievances, such as if a Noble acts in the defense of the common masses. In particular, it's the supreme commander of the God Knights who may pass judgment on Celestial Dragons, such as Figarland Garling himself.
The God Knights Have a Simple Command Structure
The Navy Has Far More Ranks
The Navy boasts the biggest and most complex command structure in all of One Piece, from lowly Marine grunts to enlisted officers all the way to the Vice-Admirals and the Admirals. Even the Five Elders are a part of the Navy's command structure. Then there's the God Knights, a much smaller group that has no need for so many ranks or multitudes of Admirals.
This is the simplest and most practical aspect of the God Knights, a reflection of how small and cohesive this group is. The God Knights appears to only have eight members in it, so even if they adopted the Navy's ranking system, not all ranks could be filled. Instead, the God Knights have a Supreme Commander, a rank filled by Figarland Garling, along with a Commander rank right under that, held by Shamrock. The other members are simply full-fledge knights who obey both commanders and the will of Imu. There are a number of lesser, partial members known as the Devoted Blades of God, who serve as basic fighters who might be welcomed into the main group, should they prove themselves worthy.
One Piece
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Network
- Fuji TV
Cast
-
Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga's popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Number of Episodes
- 1122
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
- MyAnimeList Score
- 8.72
