One Piece is one of the best anime and manga series today, having firmly established its top-tier status over the years. It has become one of the most successful fictional works of all time. Starting in 1997, it has become an essential part of manga fans’ lives worldwide, who eagerly follow the story every week.
Eiichiro Oda created a story that has captivated fans for decades, but few know that One Piece almost never came to be.
At first, Oda struggled greatly to get his work published. He faced many failures and outright rejections after releasing his one-shot Monster. However, through relentless effort and dedication, One Piece eventually became Oda’s massive success after many setbacks.
Oda struggled to get One Piece published
Today, almost everyone has heard of One Piece, the best-selling manga series in the world. No other manga has matched its sales, so it’s surprising to learn that Oda had to fight hard to get his beloved creation published. He always wanted to be a mangaka, but the path was far from easy.
One of Oda’s early works was a one-shot called Monsters, published in 1994. After that, his career faced many hurdles. Weekly Shonen Jump repeatedly rejected his attempts to serialize a longer story.
Finally, a golden opportunity came in 1996 when he was allowed to publish Romance Dawn, the early prototype of One Piece, in Shonen Jump.
Romance Dawn performed very well, ranking third in a reader survey. This success convinced Shonen Jump to give Oda the chance to serialize his own manga.
Oda shared about this difficult period:
“While enjoying the ‘glamorous and fun’ life of an assistant, my own manga kept getting rejected. After Monsters was published in a special issue (Fall 1994 Special), I faced one failure after another.
Backed into a corner, I finally unleashed my secret weapon: a pirate story, and I drew Romance Dawn (version 1). Two years later, it was published in another special issue (Summer 1996 Special) and ranked third in the reader survey. There were even three professional mangaka competing, so ranking third meant I surpassed at least one pro mangaka, a big win! That gave me confidence, and I believe that recognition paved the way for me to serialize in Jump’s main section.”
One Piece launched a year after Romance Dawn and was officially released in 1997, as many fans know. But even after Romance Dawn’s success, it wasn’t easy. Oda revealed that One Piece was rejected several times during editorial meetings. Without his persistence, One Piece might never have debuted or would have been very different, never becoming the huge hit it is today.
“I realized that real opportunities can come unexpectedly, and you have to have strong faith to seize that moment. From there, I started thinking of the name One Piece. Although it was rejected a few times in registration meetings, finally, a year later, One Piece’s serialization began,” Eiichiro Oda said.
One Piece is vital to Weekly Shonen Jump’s success
One Piece has become a cornerstone of Weekly Shonen Jump. No other series has achieved such a feat, and beyond that, One Piece has stood by the magazine through its ups and downs. Most major series have started and ended, but One Piece remains strong and steady.
It’s easy to imagine that later big hits like Naruto, Jujutsu Kaisen, or My Hero Academia would struggle to make such a strong impact without One Piece being the familiar title that keeps readers coming back weekly. Jump surely owes a lot to One Piece.
Source: Gamerant