“I have no idea how other people would feel”: One Piece is Written Not Just for the Audience But a Specific Fan Eiichiro Oda Owes His Success to
Eiichiro Oda, the writer and creator of One Piece, currently stands as one of the most prominent mangaka. Despite his busy schedule, he still manages to find time to maintain correspondence with his fans through formal interviews and informal channels such as SBS columns.
In an interview with Viz, Eiichiro Oda reveals the specific target audience for One Piece and the answer is quite unusual. According to the interview, Eiichiro Oda says that he tries to stay focused on making manga just for a single audience.
Oda Writes One Piece For A Single Audience
Only a few mangakas have been able to reach the heights that Eiichiro Oda has reached with One Piece. One Piece is set in a fantasy world that is dominated by pirates, depicting the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a young captain who wants to become the King of Pirates. One Piece quickly gained popularity; gaining an anime adaptation only after two years and holding the best-selling manga title from 2008 to 2018.
However, when he was asked about his secret for dealing with success, Oda said that he never truly felt the pressure about being successful. He goes on to say:
“I always try to stay focused on making manga for just a single audience, because in most circumstances, you read manga by yourself. So whenever I draw manga, I have only one reader in my mind—myself as a 15-year-old. I have no idea how other people would feel, so I turn back to the 15-year-old me to make a judgment on what is awesome or not.“
He also mentions that he always tries to stay true to himself and it somehow resonates with the readers of One Piece. One Piece‘s concept appeals to a wide audience and is simple enough to explain to curious newcomers, which is why the show keeps gaining new followers.
The ‘Real Secret’ Behind One Piece‘s Scenes and Actions
One Piece has one of the most dedicated fandoms, and the series has garnered so much attention not only for its incredible action-packed scenes but also for the range of emotions it elicits from the viewers. When asked about the secret behind the tear-jerking scenes, Oda says that he gets bored easily, so if his manga is only about action or comedy, he would get too bored. So he changes the style of his series frequently to keep up his motivation. He further says:
“The real secret? I think of the plots and scenes when I’m tired. The only way that I can think of a new idea is to think about it a lot without sleeping or eating. That’s the only way that I know, because humans can only come up with truly new ideas when they reach their limit.”
Oda also adds that every time he completes his manuscript, he gets completely exhausted, which is to be expected from any mangaka of his level. Very few mangakas prefer to use the digital method over the handcrafted way, and Oda relies on his signature tools to make his mangas as handcrafted as possible.
