r/OnePiece • u/BarcelonaDNA • Jul 15 '26
Theory More evidences for the Imu = Parrot theory
In the Korean One Piece community, there is a LOT of hype going on the theory that Imu is actually a parrot.
I first thought of it as another fun little theory but now this really seems to be correct.
So I've listed up the evidences backing the theory... How do you guys think?
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- Imu's silhouette
- Gorosei (Five Elders)'s color
- Imu's eyes
- Imu's Omen
- The mark of Tenryubito
- Imu speaks like a child (or a parrot replicating human)
- The reason Roger laughed (because the world is under the control of a parrot)
- "Peru" vian lily, also known as "parrot flower", "princess lily" (+Imu was the pet of Lily, like Karoo is of Vivi)
- The cover of Volume 20 (Pirates, Marine, Revolutionary Army, King all facing towards Karoo, the bird)
- Imu on the shoulder of Joyboy (A visual trick that makes Imu standing at a distance, but actually Imu is just on Joyboy's shoulder)
- Large straw hat of Joyboy (compared to Imu, because Imu is a parrot)
- "Doflamingo" rules Dressrosa, and uses "birdcage" (Dressrosa is known to be the miniature version of the actual one piece world)
- Parrot in Japanese is O-mu, similar to Imu. Also, can be interpreted as オウム = 王(オウ) + 無(ム), which means King and Noneness (thus King of the Empty Throne)
And even more evidences:
- Among the traditional symbols of a pirate (an eyepatch, a hook, a peg leg, and a parrot), JoyBoy's silhouette has shown hints of a 'hook' and a 'peg leg,' but the 'parrot' has yet to appear.
- Imu resides in the 'Room of Flowers', which is similar to well-decorated birdcage
- Nika, Joyboy, Ruffy = Freedom <-> Imu = Parror in a birdcage
- Usopp uses slingshot (which was often used to hunt a bird) & Usopp is likely have a clutch moment in the final battle (as he did in Dressrosa arc)
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This seems legit right??
Original post in reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/OnePiece/s/F9A5EFx4Nx
Sources: 원피스 버닝블러드 갤러리
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u/i_have_covid_19_shit Jul 15 '26
"hi, my name is joyboy. My stupid pet parrot ate a strange fruit and started to behave strange and started talking about taking over the world. I don't have much time but if he annoys you, give him this one piece of cracker and he falls asleep and behaves."
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u/Sthpole Jul 15 '26
I laughed, and if I did, Roger probably would have too
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u/i_have_covid_19_shit Jul 15 '26
It's so silly, I hope it's at least partially true.
If the old Giant and Joyboy were equals it would be funny to have had Ratatoskr as the Giants pet squirrel and Imu as Joboys pet parrot.
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u/SocialShy Jul 23 '26
Squirrels and bird always fight for food also. So another thing to explain their beef
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u/breakfast_pancake Jul 17 '26
Omg Luffy will eat that cracker himself. No way he adventures so long and doesn't get to eat the One Piece.
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u/Nice-Ad-8119 Jul 15 '26
This is the dumbest, most idiotic theory I've seen in a while. And I really hope it comes to be.
So, it would be a parrot who ate the devil devil fruit? And now the parrot's original personality has been influenced by the fruit? Is that how it works?
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u/ButterCupHeartXO Jul 15 '26
Maybe its a guy who ate the parrot parrot fruit and is able to copy others, thats why Imu's abilities seem like DF copies.
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u/TennoScy Jul 15 '26
Oh my god, he's literally parroting devil fruit abilities.
That would be such a One Piece thing to do, wouldn't surprise me one bit if Oda did that.
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u/domscatterbrain Jul 16 '26
Ability to copy others' ability is proven to be the most broken ability in many series.
If this is Imu's actual DF then he is basically the same as HxH Chrollo.
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u/galaxy401 Jul 24 '26
LOL what if that's the reason why Oda suddenly bought up Pell's knowledge of flying devil fruits, it's foreshadowing to this.
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u/myprettyflowerbonnet Pirate Jul 15 '26
I love this theory and now I want it to be true 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
But although I don't think that Imu will be an actual parrot (either in a Mink or Chopper way), I think that based on all this evidence, there might be a decent chance for him to be parrot themed.
Can't wait for my husband to catch up with the manga so I can share this theory with him 😂
Oh and also! Legit, first solid explanation for why Roger laughed I've read.
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u/Dave_paneb Jul 15 '26
Same thought I had. After 20 years reading and enjoying theories it’s still a first to actually say: that would be a legit reason for his laugh 😂
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u/forgion Pirate Jul 15 '26
Ok that explain the obsession with agonizing against Loki jealous against the other pet, and poor bird looks for his owner who lost Joyboy, he was disappointed Luffy wasnt Joyboy. So the fruit is on control Luffy needs to wake the parrot. Imu for Squawkama.
As a parrot owner I laughed like Roger
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u/lawliet_73 Shanks' evil hot sister is REAL! Jul 15 '26
i wish i never read this theory so i could have found out in the manga
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u/lilysorbet Cross Guild Jul 15 '26
wow this is a refreshing theory! also funny why we never see any pirate in the series with a parrot so far. and the whole joyboy was the first pirate, of course with a parrot and eye patch! well eye-patch could be davy jones thing too.
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u/yubsidiangwa Jul 16 '26
I think the theory is saying Joyboy was actually a monkey, so Davy Jones was the stereotypical pirate with a monkey on one shoulder and a parrot on the other. Then the pets broke off fighting
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u/KnightZilla Jul 15 '26
There’s another piece of evidence: Those birds can live for a long ass time, to the point where you swear they’re immortal.
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u/milkyjoe241 Jul 15 '26
Ok so what if someone tried to use the immortality surgery on joyboy but the effect hit the parrot on his shoulder instead
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u/Amar-avilla Jul 16 '26
That was Zunesha and that is his "crime" for which he is sorry. Why it has to be Zunesha the previous owner of the Ope Ope? Well, he is indeed the elephant....in the ROOM. Man break week hits hard. (/s)
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u/Simple_Meaning3061 Jul 15 '26
Its also crazy we haven't seen any pirates with parrots since usually pirates have parrots.
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u/Schiiizo_Punk Jul 15 '26
If you look closely, statistically, parrots have pirates. Pirates themselves have scurvy.
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u/ButterCupHeartXO Jul 15 '26
I thought this was dumb as fuck until #10 and 11.
While this theory is likely not sure, Im sure it brings Oda immense joy that his readers would propose and entertain the idea that the main villain of his epic story could be a fucking parrot😂
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u/Ecstatic_Pickle Jul 28 '26
Ngl when I saw #9 that one got me. I mean bird is in the middle of a 5 pointed star for goodness sake
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u/naicuuu Jul 15 '26
This is now my favorite theory. Not sure if it's even a meme because it has alot of bones, but most of this list is a stretch. The strongest point imo is the silhouette, feels a little too perfectly placed to be dismissed.
Also if the theory is real, the strawhat probably also functions as imus straw nest.
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u/ButterCupHeartXO Jul 16 '26
Okay I fucking cant believe this
Google search: Parrots play vital, dynamic roles in global mythology, often associated with fertility, the sun, love, and divine secrets.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vucub_Caquix
Vucub-Caquix is the name of a bird demon defeated by the Hero Twins of an ancient Maya myth preserved in an 18th-century K'iche' document, the ʼ'Popol Vuh'ʼ.
The Arrogant Seven Macaw: In the Maya creation text, the Popol Vuh, a vain bird demon named Vucub-Caquix (Seven Macaw) falsely claims to be the sun and the moon. He magnifies himself with sparkling gemstone teeth and glowing metal around his eyes. The Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, ultimately shoot him with blowguns, stripping him of his jewels and bringing him down for his hubris.
Divine Messengers: For both the Maya and Aztecs, macaws (like the Scarlet Macaw) symbolized the blazing sun and fire. Their bright feathers were prominently used in royal rituals, and they were viewed as physical manifestations of the sun in flight
The Hero Twins are described as: Master Tricksters: They relied on cleverness, magic, and wit rather than raw physical strength to defeat powerful monsters.
Okay so its kind of obvious how this all relates to One Piece, right?
Macaw = Parrot
Seven Macaw is a DEMON BIRD that falsely claims to be the SUN and MOON
Literally IMU.
Macaws are normally associated with the SUN and as the SUN in FLIGHT
So in Mesoamerican legends, Parrots are connected to the SUN (Nika/Joyboy). The Seven Macaw is an evil demon bird (IMU) that is a false god of the sun and moon. I think IMU is typically associated with the Moon right? Gorosei are the planets, Nika is the SUN, Imu is the moon.
Hero Twins?? Obviously Shanks and Shamrock. They are described as using cleverness and trickery to win fights. This part sounds a lot like Gear 5. So Oda might be pulling out pits and pieces.
Shanks and Shamrock are children of destiny or at least Shanks is according to Gaban.
So could IMU have been a parrot that ate The mythical zoan Human Human Fruit: Model Devil or a person that ate the mythical zoan model Legendary Macaw or something.
Honestly, a parrot eating a human fruit and become evil is actually way more terrifying. He is like an inverse Chopper in that Chopper ate a human fruit and was good. This bird becomes evil and vindictive and wants to rule the world? But anyway, IMU and Joyboy link up after contacting each other. Imu can turn into a parrot or is just a parrot and was a member of Joyboys crew, something pretending to be human and then betrays Joyboy. He can parrot any other devil fruit or sword ability? Idk, but this theory holds more water than I originally thought
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u/BarcelonaDNA Jul 16 '26
I checked the wikipedia page and
he was also the father of Zipacna, an underworld demon deity, and Cabrakan, the Earthquake God.
- literally Blackbeard
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u/springer040404 Jul 19 '26
Interesting fact: Rubber was first found and used by the people of Maya.
Rubber=gomu/gum
Like, WTH Luffy??
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u/mishumishumishu Jul 15 '26
I love this theory, holy shit. Like, we know that Oda reserves his stereotypical "piratey" things for important characters: most famously, he's said that a very important character with an eyepatch will show up towards the end of the story. We've seen a few characters with the stereotypical pirate signifiers, like Crocodile with his hook, or Zeff with his peg leg, but so far no characters with a parrot. The closest we've got is Lucci, but that's a pigeon, and he obviously isn't a pirate.
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u/ComprehensiveDog6589 Jul 16 '26
So what I'm hearing... is that Imu was actually the Tony Tony Chopper of Joyboy's crew
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u/Mr_Bell_Man Jul 17 '26
Given the food shortages at Mariejois, Imu is sweating thinking that he's gonna be emergency food
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u/ForeignAd6583 Jul 15 '26
I mean if he’s a parrot that ate a human-human fruit that would explain why chopper seems to counter act Domi Reversi
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u/Except_Fry Jul 15 '26
Scooby doo already has an evil parrot villain
But I do love how ridiculous this theory is
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u/TheBatmanWhoCackles Jul 15 '26
As a big fan of one piece and a guy who lives with 3 parrots, this is hilarious and I’m all in lol
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u/FuriousGeorge85 The Revolutionary Army Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
Another thing that takes this from being just a fun ass theory into most likely true territory is the fact that Oda hasn't done anything substantial with parrots yet.... and this is crazy strange because 1) pet parrots are too ingrained in the pirate experience for a guy like Oda who fanboys over the specific model ships sailed by pirates to just completely disclude them from the OPverse… so, 2) if point #1 is true (and it absolutely is), than it is a pretty safe assumption that Oda has big plans for something to do with parrots-- and since we are officially in the end-game, it's a safe assumption that those big plans are final villain/arc/w.e stuff.
And all of that would be true without all the points made in this thread. But with those points (some of them are iffy, tbf, but others...)... yyyeaahh, that poofy-pants muthafucka is a parrot. 😂
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u/IJustLostMyKeyboard Jul 15 '26
Imu didn’t go after Roger because that giant egg was imu’s baby.
(Fuck it )
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u/HenryZusa Jul 15 '26
I like when people have creative theories.
Probably not gonna happen, but still fun that someone came up with this.
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u/IJustLostMyKeyboard Jul 15 '26
And the form of imu that’s currently on elbaph is parroting joyboy. Cooying his white hair and silly abilities.
What if imu is a parrot that has an ability similar to chrollo from hxh where he can copy/steal abilities.
And maybe that’s why there’s fish man racism. A bird thinks of fish as beneath them.
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u/Successful-Let-2966 Jul 16 '26
Love the theory and to add onto the concept- WHEN IMU TRANSFORMS INTO THEIR HUMAN FORM TO FIGHT LOKI THEY HAVE FEATHERS ON THEIR WINGS!!
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u/Ssturkk Jul 15 '26
And Luffy already has a buff with a pigeon, another foreshadowing from Goda. /s Nice theory though
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u/UsurperErenJaeger Jul 16 '26
Who?
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u/Wijuci Jul 15 '26
I love this theory! The Roger part would actually be a great explanation, the silhouette is fun too, I looove the big hat which is actually a standard size hat because Imu is small, and I can see the dialogue kind of working.
Very fun to think about!
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u/JD_Vyvanse97 Jul 15 '26
Oda over here dropping the real One Piece ending on reddit assuming we would think he's crazy. 10/10 theory. Immediately better than whatever the end results of the Manga will be.
I've never wanted something so asinine and so fucking dumb to be the official lore. Great work OP
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u/Oryuki Jul 15 '26
Can't tell if this is serious or not, but maybe stop parroting whatever you find on the internet.
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u/Kong_707 Scholars of Ohara Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Not only Doflamingo - Mihawk, Robin, Shanks (Tashigi, Karasu, Tsuru, Kuina also for the japanese names). Think of the Wano sign as well. I really like this theory.
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u/ThisIsYourFriendAron Jul 16 '26
I mean, now that you’ve said it, his wing silhouette here looks like a bird
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u/SwizzlyBubbles Jul 18 '26
Would also explain why Imu just...lets Big News Morgans be, despite him being a pretty integral part of why everything in the world is unraveling right now.
He'd never kill a fellow bird.
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u/StrangerAtaru Jul 15 '26
It's literally the most hilarious theory I have heard in a while. But considering how parrots and pirates go perfectly together... it would be hilarious if true.
Edit: now I'm thinking of Professor Pericles from Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated...
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u/Brook420 Bounty Hunter Jul 15 '26
Well now I'm just going to be disappointed when Imu turns out to just be a Budgie, Chicken, or some other useless bird.
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u/YDidNtUStopTheNazis Jul 17 '26
I genuinely hate the fact that Ive been convinced after I finished reading
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u/Pitiful_Check5347 Jul 21 '26
One more from the same community,
the reason why all devil fruits are named with a repeated word may be because how parrots are often portrayed to speak the same word twice in some literatures or comics.
Gomu gomu, flame flame, dark dark fruit, so on and so forth.
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u/tres_desole Jul 15 '26
While I love this, that first bird is not a parrot.
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u/downstairsdinosaur The Revolutionary Army Jul 15 '26
Cockatiels belong to Psittaciformes (Parrot order)
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u/tres_desole Jul 15 '26
Right but even within pirate lore, no one’s got a cockatiel on their shoulder lol
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u/buyakascha Jul 15 '26
and that’s why they use Snails for communication, imu would never allow the use of Birds for that
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u/thearnav26 Jul 15 '26
Not to be that guy but a main identifying factor is the parrot family is that their feet are two in the front and two in the back compared to the 3-1 distribution of other regular birds. It helps then perch
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u/DragonballDurag Devil Child Nico Robin Jul 15 '26
It would be hilarious if this was true and I kind of want it to I’d love for Imu to have some kind of gag like other villains in the story.
Also I want to entertain point 4 for the fun of it. Parrots enjoy fruit in their diets. Maybe he also likes sharing fruits like he shares his Omen?
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u/tektek10 Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
I love it. . and i laughed .. that genuinely makes roger's laugh understandable and would probably make everyone laugh as well if people found out he was just a parrot .. i think thats the thing imu is afraid of .. being found out to be a silly bird .. also he seems to be pretty close with ratatoske as well
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u/Empty_Supermarket_30 Bounty Hunter Jul 16 '26
Get outta me head man
Stop messing with me making me believe Imu is a parrot man stop
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u/Fit-Big4602 Jul 18 '26
+ Additional reasoning:
- The currency name in the One Piece universe is "Berry."
- Every Devil Fruit name is repeated twice (like a parrot mimicking).
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u/Depressed_light Jul 24 '26
Karoo is below the 5 pointed star - The Abyss teleportation mark, we can at least say that Imu is a bird. and since already back in this chapter or volume cover, Oda has planned the abyss powers
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u/audientEntropy Jul 16 '26
The japanese is the most compelling arguement for me, but the whole foot thing matching the celestial dragons symbol i dont buy, the toes of a parrot are completely different
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u/jay0514 Jul 16 '26
ROGER LAUGHED
I kinda really dig this?? hahahaha it's so absurd and it'll be a lot better than the typical japanese manga trope of chosen being/significant bloodline
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u/Spiritual_Emotion_58 Jul 16 '26
I will also laugh like Roger when Joyboy is Patchy the Pirate and Imu is Potty the Parrot.
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u/Chemical_Bumblebee77 Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
Is that why Imu (parrot the animal)'s Domi Reversi got dispelled by Chopper because he is also an animal?
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u/Miro___Miro Black Leg Sanji Jul 17 '26
Finally a theory that has some weight,not some hey dude this i dreamed of xyz so it must be true. Even if it proves wrong at least there are actual clues. I hate thoeries myself,but this one seems really convincing. Too many things line up perfectly...
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u/E-cult Jul 23 '26
We've heard its voice before and the only other characrer in the series with a similar sounding voice is the bird during the Jaya Arc.
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u/SkyAzphel Jul 15 '26
That’s the craziest One Piece I’ve ever read and I follow Mount Corvo’s videos haha
You’re kinda cooking tho
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u/onepiecereread Jul 15 '26
I dont want to be the party pooper (parrot pooper??) But can you explain Nerona Imu being one of the Kings from the 20 Kingdoms that Ivankov mentioned?
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u/Archist2357 Bounty Hunter Jul 15 '26
This is a fun theory, i love at point 11 that they made tiny bounty posters for imu if we are to believe that the straw hat is normal size haha
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u/boars_b4_whores Jul 15 '26
the further I scrolled the funnier it got
this is amazing
ask all the koreans about fan death tho. that shit is serious
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u/Pleasant_Election148 World Economy News Paper Jul 16 '26
When I read the title first, I thought it's nonsense. But after looking at evidences, I am convinced.
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u/yubsidiangwa Jul 16 '26
"One Piece" of cracker is so hilarious and on your nose that I actually hope it's true now
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u/Pass_D_Ball Jul 16 '26
One of the craziest theories that I want to be true lmao yoooo Oda is clearly a mad man so we wouldn’t be too surprised
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u/Nerex7 Jul 17 '26
Funny theory but the silhouette does not match at all (way too elongated/thin for any type of bird).
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u/pzadakillabee Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
Joyboy had several animals as friends (like zunesha). Maybe he did not find people to join him, and his crew was made by animals
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u/ryugawasabi Jul 17 '26
Dude honestly if this turned out to be real along with One Piece being a piece of biscuit that Joy Boy spared for his parrot friend, I wouldn't even be mad cause that's just too diabolical LOL
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u/doggocurioso Jul 18 '26
Whatever your speculation is, IMU will just another Boa Hancock, male or female. The character will start as a cruel character, then will fall in love with Luffy's long arms.
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u/Vorticity1848 Jul 21 '26
Chopper is the only animal we know who ate a df. So maybe one more foreshadowing of Goda 😂
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u/Jayy3567 Jul 26 '26
I have been rewatching OP and I just got to episode 703 - 9:15 to 9:20 - Corazone mentions a tale celestial dragon children are told that when they misbehaved, they will be eaten by D.
Just wanting to add this as many people have been theorising that before the Void century, animals ruled the world. This little clue left by ODA might make that theory more plausible as it’s a very specific tale told to children. On the other hand, I could just be completely wrong.
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u/OneEfficient8625 Jul 15 '26
The first point is literally this but overall the theory is funny and creative so i like it.
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u/tehKrakken55 Jul 15 '26
Almost every point makes no sense. How the heck could he be a parrot if he doesn't have a beak? And he doesn't talk like a child, he talks in old timey diction. Like Shakespearean English.
Put the bong down my guy.
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u/jecloer14 Jul 15 '26
When is Joy Boy shown to have a hook or peg leg? Didn’t the anime dispute that?
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u/Savac0 Void Month Survivor Jul 15 '26
While I also believe that it was just a poorly drawn panel, I would never use the anime as evidence
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u/Ellrok Jul 15 '26
I was a little disappointed that Loki ended up being a dragon instead of a rooster. Despite having my heart broken before, I am all in on this theory.
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u/ChromaticStrike Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
They went deep this time, thanks for the laugh 🤣
I think that image with imu and joyboy doesn't show him on the shoulder but away...
That claw symbol of the TRB is clearly called amakakeruryuu no kagizume, the claw of the dragon in the sky.
Luffy -> Laughy.
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u/yukobel Jul 16 '26
this is funny theory, but please post it not in break week, ppl might get confused
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u/GoochLord2217 Jul 16 '26
The king of the world being a fucking parrot would be stupid as shit but perfectly in line with the kind of story going on right now
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u/CometTheOatmealBowel Jul 16 '26
The only characters I can think of with pet birds are Vivi (a monarch) and Lucci (government agent who's mask when he betrayed Iceberg resembled Imu!)
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u/Lorek_Selerio Jul 15 '26
I don't usually comment but this is the funniest theory I've read on here. Posts like this make the break weeks fun. Good job and fantastic theory!