I initially made this following 1181's release, but Reddit filters blocked it. It still holds some relevance to the story currently so here is a repost!
There has been much debate over whether or not Mihawk's title remains valid after Imu's appearance. Here is my take on it. For reference, I am not a member of the agenda of either Mihawk or Shanks, as this debate as roared up since 1181's raws have been released.
I am simply going to lay all of the evidence out on the table and see what you all think.
Slide 1 demonstrates the definition of a swordsman (credit: merriam-webster.com) as someone who is skilled in swordplay.
The following slides are an exhibit of Imu's performance from 1179 through to 1181. Initially when we see Imu (Slide 2), he is wielding a polearm, which is not a sword. He goes on to transform his weapon into a mace (Slide 8) in order to clash with Ragnir. But then, Imu transforms the weapon into a sword and pierces Loki through the chest in a move known as "Nemesis" (Slide 4). This clearly demonstrates a level of skill that Imu has with a sword. He then goes on to use the weapon as a flail, before transforming it back into its original polearm form. This creates the implication that the polearm is the base form of the weapon, and hence is Imu's primary weapon of use.
Historically, polearms were used on battlefields as a primary weapon for post-classical battles across Asia and Europe (source Wikipedia: polearm). Special bladed polearms such as halberds and poleaxes were common in the 14th to 16th centuries.
The link to the post below seems rather helpful in this instance too, as in Japanese militial history swords were often used as a secondary or tertiary weapon to the polearm
Imu clearly demonstrates a similar order of weapon priority, with Nemesis being used as a secondary attack, similar to Kizaru's "Ame no Murakamo Sword". It is worth noting that whilst Imu falls into the category of "swordsman", he isn't primarily such and is more considered the Devil Fruit user in this circumstance, similar to how the community view Aokiji and Borsalino. This topic has been previously discussed on OPPS.
https://www.reddit.com/r/OnePiecePowerScaling/comments/147fiui/is_kizaru_a_swordsman/
There are three conclusions we can draw here, either
Option A: Imu is a swordsman and Mihawk is somehow stronger than Imu (personally I don't think this makes sense where we're currently at in the story but it is indeed the stance that some have decided to take)
Option B: Imu is not a swordsman, and Mihawk retains his title as the World's Strongest Swordsman.
Option C: Imu is a swordsman, and since he is clearly or most likely stronger than Mihawk. Mihawk's title of the World's Strongest Swordsman should not be considered valid despite the evidence that draws people to that conclusion.
For people who choose Option C, it is worth noting that Oda has chose to manipulate what has been said in the databooks and the narrator (for example, Sabo's death in the databooks and Roger's name in the narrator boxes) in order to conceal key plot points.
All of these conclusions can be argued with solid evidence, though A remains inconclusive as we're yet to see more from Imu or anything from Mihawk outside of titles.
My personal pick here is option B, but what do you all think? Difficult topic to discuss...
