When it comes to iconic manga, the most successful series of all time, One Piece, is impossible to ignore. Eiichiro Oda’s masterpiece has become a legend, running for nearly three decades and still beloved worldwide.
One Piece is undoubtedly a huge work, but there are still many things fans don’t know about its creator. Recently, Eiichiro Oda gave an interview that finally shed light on why he chose to become a mangaka. He revealed that his journey began with The Monster Kid, a manga many people have probably never heard of.
Oda reveals why he became a mangaka
Eiichiro Oda, the beloved author of One Piece, recently appeared in an interview published in Weekly Shonen Jump, offering a rare glimpse into his life, something he usually keeps private. The interview answered many intriguing questions, but most importantly, Oda shared what made him decide to become a mangaka.
Oda reflected on his childhood and vividly recalled the moment he told himself, “I want to be a manga artist.”
For Oda, this moment came when he was four years old, while reading Kaibutsu-kun, also known as The Monster Kid. This is an old manga created by Fujiko Fujio A that ran from 1965 to 1969. Fans can certainly thank this series for sparking Oda’s journey to create the greatest manga ever.
Oda shared:
“Even before Kinnikuman was released, I was already reading manga. Back then, there were two children’s manga magazines: CoroCoro Comic (by Shogakukan) and Comic BonBon (by Kodansha). Almost everyone was a fan of either CoroCoro or BonBon. I leaned towards BonBon, but my sister also had some other manga volumes, so I read Fujiko’s works too. When I read Kaibutsu-kun (The Monster Kid) at age four, I decided I would become a manga artist. I still clearly remember that moment. I’m from Kumamoto, but because my parents transferred jobs, I lived in Miyazaki for about five years starting in kindergarten. It was in that house in Miyazaki that I learned about a profession called ‘mangaka.’”
Although The Monster Kid ignited Oda’s dream to become a mangaka, it wasn’t the true inspiration behind his masterpiece One Piece. The biggest influence on him was Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball.
Toriyama’s art style and character development deeply impacted Oda, beyond just Dragon Ball and other works like Dr. Slump. Oda’s sole ambition was to be published in the same magazine and share the stage with Toriyama, a goal he ultimately achieved.
Source: Gamerant