“I wouldn’t join his crew”: Eiichiro Oda had the Perfect Explanation of Why One Piece’s Story Stretches Over Decades

In 2019, Eiichiro Oda stated that One Piece would end in five years. Almost five years after Oda’s shocking comment, it is certain that the manga is not ending this year, and will perhaps miss 2025 as well. One Piece has built a reputation for its sprawling length that took decades of serialization and yet, there seems to be no end in sight for the manga series.

That being said, despite the overwhelming scale of the story, One Piece shows no signs of stopping its momentum. In an interview with Yomiuri Shimbun in July 2018, Eiichiro Oda reflects on the series, talking about Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates.

Eiichiro Oda Had Planned To Assemble Ten Crew Members Within The First Year

When asked why the story continues without a moment’s rest, Eiichiro Oda revealed in the interview that he had initially planned to assemble a crew of ten within the first year and a half. Needless to say, it took him 25 years to reach the headcount of ten crew members, and the story’s not done yet. This is what Oda had to say:

“Initially, I thought about making the crewmate-gathering process like those video games where the villains join your party once you defeat them. But after serious consideration, I realized that if some kid were to come up to me out of nowhere and say, “Let’s become pirates,” I wouldn’t just agree. Unless he had a compelling story, I wouldn’t join his crew. My original plan was to assemble a crew of ten within the first year and a half. After 20 years, the story’s about 80% complete, yet there are still only nine crew members.”

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Oda missing his 2024-2025 deadline adds to the myth that he himself doesn’t know where the story is going. Although the manga is entering its Final Saga, it doesn’t mean that the ending is nigh. With the story sprawling over decades and building up its lore, it would make sense for Oda to lose sight of the ending.

However, Library of Ohara disagrees with this notion, stating that Oda had known as far back as 2002 that it would take 20 more years to draw everything. However, with the introduction of new arcs like the Elbaf arc, Oda’s previous estimation of ending One Piece by 2024 is proved false.

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Despite the massive length of the manga series, fans are in no rush to see this manga end. Hailed as the best-selling manga of 2023, One Piece has stood the test of time, with the fandom only growing more insatiable.