Oda's Interviews

FolhaS

This at best points to something being planned, not the Germa as we know them being planned. I could believe them being planned if a hint of Sanji's abuse or anything specific regarding them was mentioned anywhere in th first 800 chapters. And you don't know an overlooked detail has any significance until it's brought up. Can Nami's super-sensitiveness to weather be more than just talent? Maybe Usopp's knowledge of pirate lore and piracy in general has something to do with his supposed caretaker being a pirate? It's not like there are no theories concerning them in the fandom.

One more example. Sanji's name could be seen as a subtle hint to him being third son, yet we know Oda only used it because he couldn't use Naruto. Without this detail it could totally be used as a foreshadowing in discussion like ours. That things fall in one place doesn't mean they were always supposed to.

Anyway, w probably won't know unless Oda specifically confirms one way or another (maybe when Logs reach Zou/WCI?). But with how sloppy their inclusion in the manga feels (at least for me) and in the light of the recent knowledge of just how many things in OP were improvised, I find it more likely that nothing specific about Germa existed at the time the supposed "foreshadowings" happened.

Don't forget Sanji's reaction to Duval's mask, that's a clear reaction to his abuse.
Or him saying to Kuma that he'd be the one to cause the governament the most trouble, since he is the son of a WG family, albeit a disgraced one.
And, I'm not sure on this one, but I think some SBS or Databook revealed that Sanji was from the North Blue before we got to Jaya. But again I'm not sure if I'm recalling things correctly. But the fact that he came from the North Blue and had never been in the Grand Line was pretty significant since it meant someother way, that was never presented until now, to cross the Red Line.

The thing with his name could also have been what made some of his backstory. Naruto is/would be a reference to the spiral on his eyebrow while Sanji is a reference to the hours on a clock, iirc, it's possible that since Oda had to come up with a new name he ended up thinking more about the character too and made him the third sibiling of a family with that naming pattern.
There are plenty of things that were possibly improvised, like the Germa being a power rangers parody, the fact that they all share those eyebrows, that Judge was a parter to Vegapunk, etc, but Sanji being from a royal family seems to have been planned for the better part of the series even if that wasn't the plan the first time he appeared.

And since you mentioned the other characters' backstories Imma trow my two cents on them.
Nami is just a random girl. Franky's dad was just a bad parent to show how pirates are not always "good guys".
Usopp lived alone, he had his family's house to live in and the village seemed to take care of him as a whole. I mean, he was 17 when he appeared, why would he still not be living with that particular guardian at that age?
Zoro had/has a normal family on his native island. He has a last name, unlike most Straw Hat orphans, and no one mentioned him being orphan or homeless in his flashback. He just went to the dojo one day and that's the exciting part of his story.
Robin's father just wasn't needed for the story so he never appeared (as you see this applies to most of these entries, actually). My head canon is that Olivia was a single mother, maybe she once met someone on her travels and came home preagnent.
As for Brook, I'm in the camp that believes him being a soldier before he became a pirate is actually a plot thread. It seems that being a cop and then turning pirate is a running mottif in OP but it always has some explanation eventually. Lafitte also used to be a cop until he was expelled for being too violent, Brook doesn't share that trait so it must have been something else. Plus, he's old it will probably relate to some old story of how the WG worked back then.

Kaido King of the Beasts

The whole thing about the Duval plot screams that Sanji's backstory wasn't improvised. Maybe Oda hadn't thought of it when he introduced the character but Sanji has been around as long as I've been alive so I'd expect that. But when Sanji's family and their actions were revealed, everything about Duval fit to a tee. Especially the iron mask lol

NateRich

@Oda:

I'm really surprised they survive till now since I thought about half of them would drop out of tough New World already.

I wonder who he had in mind to take the fall

ScotchInformer

Japaness

Koliber

@FolhaS:

Don't forget Sanji's reaction to Duval's mask, that's a clear reaction to his abuse.

He never reacts to the mask if I recall correctly. He reacts to him being th one Duval wants to kill and seeing his face.

Or him saying to Kuma that he'd be the one to cause the governament the most trouble, since he is the son of a WG family, albeit a disgraced one.

As far as he's concerned, he's Zeff son. It was true for hims since 10 years for him at that point and neither expected nor wanted to meet his family. There's no way he meant him being Vinsmoke at that moment.

And, I'm not sure on this one, but I think some SBS or Databook revealed that Sanji was from the North Blue before we got to Jaya. But again I'm not sure if I'm recalling things correctly. But the fact that he came from the North Blue and had never been in the Grand Line was pretty significant since it meant someother way, that was never presented until now, to cross the Red Line.

It was in the manga, but it could have been just planned to be used as an introduction for Norland.

There are plenty of things that were possibly improvised, like the Germa being a power rangers parody, the fact that they all share those eyebrows, that Judge was a parter to Vegapunk, etc, but Sanji being from a royal family seems to have been planned for the better part of the series even if that wasn't the plan the first time he appeared.

I could believe in the general plan, but nothing specific.

Nami is just a random girl.

There's no way to know this.

Franky's dad was just a bad parent to show how pirates are not always "good guys".

You sound like we needed that point driven home after majority of the series antagonists were pirates.

Usopp lived alone, he had his family's house to live in and the village seemed to take care of him as a whole. I mean, he was 17 when he appeared, why would he still not be living with that particular guardian at that age?

Why? Who knows? It may be a hook point in case Oda wanted to do next Usopp-centric arc though. Or it may not, that's my whole point.

Zoro had/has a normal family on his native island. He has a last name, unlike most Straw Hat orphans, and no one mentioned him being orphan or homeless in his flashback. He just went to the dojo one day and that's the exciting part of his story.

Why do you assume him being an orphan would be mentioned, but him having family wouldn't? Zoro is the only one without any parent/parent figure known. His relatives (dead or not) appearing at some point wouldn't seem out of place.

Robin's father just wasn't needed for the story so he never appeared (as you see this applies to most of these entries, actually). My head canon is that Olivia was a single mother, maybe she once met someone on her travels and came home preagnent.

This is not true. He was mentioned, Olivia was explicitly stated to set out on her journey to end what her husband couldn't.

FolhaS

He never reacts to the mask if I recall correctly. He reacts to him being th one Duval wants to kill and seeing his face.

As far as he's concerned, he's Zeff son. It was true for hims since 10 years for him at that point and neither expected nor wanted to meet his family. There's no way he meant him being Vinsmoke at that moment.

It was in the manga, but it could have been just planned to be used as an introduction for Norland.

I interpreted him as being mad at someone using an iron mask to hide a face similar to his. Since it was right after Thriller Bark and his words to Kuma I believe it is related to his backstory.
He neither expected nor wanted to meet his family but his words were very specific "I'll be the one to cause the most trouble to the WG", not the marines not the world at large, he's not threatning anyone, he's stating a fact. "You'll find out that I'm a big headache for you guys". At this point it's pretty clear that Oda had something specific in mind i.e. him being royalty. If you have any suggestion to what else he could have meant I'm interested.
And Norland is an important side-character to the OP world but I don't think he would rank above Sanji. Oda didn't need anyone from the crew to be familiar with the children's story for the plot to work. It could have worked with Robin, the new member of the crew, knowing the history because she's an historian, or Cricket could just have told them. Sanji being from the North Blue was relevant.

I could believe in the general plan, but nothing specific.

That's what I said in the exact same setence you quoted here.

There's no way to know this.

i started this part of my post with "Imma throw in my two cents", it means I don't exactly have anything to prove it but since there's also noting to disprove it my opinion is as valid as anyone's.

You sound like we needed that point driven home after majority of the series antagonists were pirates.

Antagonist doesn't mean evil/bad. DoFlamingo was an antagonist yet he valued his family very dearly, his pirate family not his father.
A lot of crews in the series, despite being bad or cruel to the population are actually very caring/loving to each other. Not in this case.

Why? Who knows? It may be a hook point in case Oda wanted to do next Usopp-centric arc though. Or it may not, that's my whole point.

Since the straw hat's ship doesn't turn back I find it doubtful. Usopp's arc/moment will come when he gets to see his father again, that's the plot thread set up since then.
We saw him with the people he cared most on his island, the 3 members of his crew and Kaya. It was the same pattern to mostly every other straw hat.

Why do you assume him being an orphan would be mentioned, but him having family wouldn't? Zoro is the only one without any parent/parent figure known. His relatives (dead or not) appearing at some point wouldn't seem out of place.

Because that was the case for the other characters, those kind of things are mentioned. I don't know your personal experiences but having parents is the norm, being orphan is the abnormal thing that needs adressing.
If Oda took the time to show and expand on the other straw hats family situation because it was abnormal and an important part of their character it makes more sense that Zoro had a more normal experience since it was never shown.

This is not true. He was mentioned, Olivia was explicitly stated to set out on her journey to end what her husband couldn't.

I absolutly did not remember this.
Now I wonder if he was killed by the Governament because he was investigating the ponygliphs or if it was just some disease or something that stoped him from reaching his dreams.

Just to wrap things up, OP seems to be 50/50 in terms of planning.
Half of it was there in someway since the beggining the other half is Oda doing his best every week. But that doesn't mean he's doing everything on top of his knee.
Ace wasn't meant to be Roger's son when he first appeared but he was meant to die halfway through and that's why he already had a tatto memento of Sabo, who would somehow take his place as Luffy's older brother.
The supernovas were a spur of the moment but that doesn't mean that Oda only planned for Law's connection to DoFlamingo in Punk Hazard.

Koliber

@FolhaS:

I interpreted him as being mad at someone using an iron mask to hide a face similar to his. Since it was right after Thriller Bark and his words to Kuma I believe it is related to his backstory.

I guarantee you that if anyone else in SHs turns out to have a second backtory, you'll find lots of the scenes you could reinterpret with the knowledge. And some that will stop making sense altogether.

He neither expected nor wanted to meet his family but his words were very specific "I'll be the one to cause the most trouble to the WG", not the marines not the world at large, he's not threatning anyone, he's stating a fact. "You'll find out that I'm a big headache for you guys". At this point it's pretty clear that Oda had something specific in mind i.e. him being royalty. If you have any suggestion to what else he could have meant I'm interested.

Sanji was disowned by his father, why would he expect anything to come from his royal status? It makes no sense. And what could he mean? Well, in my opinion, Sanji meant he was just that good. He was the one to fuck up both Enel and Crocodile without being able to fight them due to his quick thinking. He also saved SHs back in EL. It's a boast mostly, but not a baseless one.

And Norland is an important side-character to the OP world but I don't think he would rank above Sanji. Oda didn't need anyone from the crew to be familiar with the children's story for the plot to work. It could have worked with Robin, the new member of the crew, knowing the history because she's an historian, or Cricket could just have told them. Sanji being from the North Blue was relevant.

When introducing blood transfusion plotline in FI Oda decided to make it through Sanji's gag, even though he could do it without relating it to any of the SHs, hell Robin as historian could have some knowledge on this. Yet he still decided to do it. Also, introducing a story that has become a children's book by someone who heard it as a child makes lots of sense.

That's what I said in the exact same sentence you quoted here.

By specifics I don't mean just Super Sentai theme or anything like this. I very much doubt them being villains or Sanji being abused was a plan, contrary to what you're assuming if I understood you correctly.

i started this part of my post with "Imma throw in my two cents", it means I don't exactly have anything to prove it but since there's also noting to disprove it my opinion is as valid as anyone's.

Yeah, you can guess, I can guess, but the point is Oda might use them as a platform or advancing the plot which won't mean he planned it from the beginning.

Antagonist doesn't mean evil/bad. DoFlamingo was an antagonist yet he valued his family very dearly, his pirate family not his father.
A lot of crews in the series, despite being bad or cruel to the population are actually very caring/loving to each other. Not in this case.

Buggy murdered his crew member because he thought he made a comment about his nose, Kuro planned to murder his entire crew after ensuring rich life for himself, Krieg wanted to kill Gin, his most trusted crew member, Crocodile was ready to kill his people left and right. Before Franky's flashback, Arlong was the only one we knew cared for his crew. Also, Oda is usually really straightforward with points he's trying to make, if it was one of them, it'd be mentioned a few times.

Since the straw hat's ship doesn't turn back I find it doubtful. Usopp's arc/moment will come when he gets to see his father again, that's the plot thread set up since then.
We saw him with the people he cared most on his island, the 3 members of his crew and Kaya. It was the same pattern to mostly every other straw hat.

The idea here would be that his caretaker wasn't in EB by this point. Katzzar (I think) once made a nice theory about this being Vista and Vista being his uncle (evidence being him supposedly having beef with Yasopp, Usopp's great knowledge of pirate lore, including DBF and specifically immediately recognizing WB's flag, Vista having italian origin name, just like Banchina IIRC). I don't think it has significantly less evidence than Sanji being a prince.

Because that was the case for the other characters, those kind of things are mentioned. I don't know your personal experiences but having parents is the norm, being orphan is the abnormal thing that needs adressing.

Again, the whole point is Oda can change his mind. I do not claim he has anything planned for Zoro, just the no door is shut. But if he turns out to be the lost heir to the legendary swordsman family of Wano, some fans will claim that him having no background revealed was an obvious give away.

Just to wrap things up, OP seems to be 50/50 in terms of planning.
Half of it was there in someway since the beggining the other half is Oda doing his best every week. But that doesn't mean he's doing everything on top of his knee.
Ace wasn't meant to be Roger's son when he first appeared but he was meant to die halfway through and that's why he already had a tatto memento of Sabo, who would somehow take his place as Luffy's older brother.
The supernovas were a spur of the moment but that doesn't mean that Oda only planned for Law's connection to DoFlamingo in Punk Hazard.

Well, the more behind-the-scenes info from Oda we get, I start thinking it's much more in favour of improvising. Oda is just quite good at connecting things.
E.g., Usopp being the only one (aside of Robin) to not defeat a CP9 and getting motivation talk from Sanji about "things he can do but not anyone else" seems like a perfect conclusion for his character arc in W7 saga, right? But he was originally planned to fight Blueno. Vivi's farewell scene makes you (or at least it made me) think that the "X" marks were created for the purpose of this scene, yet it was literal last minute decision to add them to it. I could go on. There are many thing he planned, but I think these are mostly the biggest events.

FolhaS

I guarantee you that if anyone else in SHs turns out to have a second backtory, you'll find lots of the scenes you could reinterpret with the knowledge. And some that will stop making sense altogether.

Sanji was disowned by his father, why would he expect anything to come from his royal status? It makes no sense. And what could he mean? Well, in my opinion, Sanji meant he was just that good. He was the one to fuck up both Enel and Crocodile without being able to fight them due to his quick thinking. He also saved SHs back in EL. It's a boast mostly, but not a baseless one.

When introducing blood transfusion plotline in FI Oda decided to make it through Sanji's gag, even though he could do it without relating it to any of the SHs, hell Robin as historian could have some knowledge on this. Yet he still decided to do it. Also, introducing a story that has become a children's book by someone who heard it as a child makes lots of sense.

Viewing Sanji's falshback with the Vinsmokes certainly changes the prespective, can't disagree with that. I think my acessement at the time was that Sanji was just mad at someone having the same face as his stupid poster.
But I'm not saying Sanji was expecting anything in particular simply that he knew once he got famous enough someone would figure out that he was a prince he would cause a headache to the WG. Like in the DoFlamingo case, they couldn't have someone who was tenryubitu became a pirate just like that so they had to hush things about it and make him a shichibukai.

It always sounded to me that Sanji had some card up his sleeve to make such a claim. Zoro straight up said "I'll be the best swordsman in the world" but Sanji simply said they'd figure out he was trouble instead of saying something like "I'll be the baddest pirate from this crew".

By specifics I don't mean just Super Sentai theme or anything like this. I very much doubt them being villains or Sanji being abused was a plan, contrary to what you're assuming if I understood you correctly.

The villain/antagonist part and the abuse are not the specifics, it's the base.
There would have to be a reason for Sanji to whole heartdly claim Zeff to be his father. Simplest explanation: his family was mean to him, like in a fairy tale.

Yeah, you can guess, I can guess, but the point is Oda might use them as a platform or advancing the plot which won't mean he planned it from the beginning.

Buggy murdered his crew member because he thought he made a comment about his nose, Kuro planned to murder his entire crew after ensuring rich life for himself, Krieg wanted to kill Gin, his most trusted crew member, Crocodile was ready to kill his people left and right. Before Franky's flashback, Arlong was the only one we knew cared for his crew. Also, Oda is usually really straightforward with points he's trying to make, if it was one of them, it'd be mentioned a few times.

The idea here would be that his caretaker wasn't in EB by this point. Katzzar (I think) once made a nice theory about this being Vista and Vista being his uncle (evidence being him supposedly having beef with Yasopp, Usopp's great knowledge of pirate lore, including DBF and specifically immediately recognizing WB's flag, Vista having italian origin name, just like Banchina IIRC). I don't think it has significantly less evidence than Sanji being a prince.

Again, the whole point is Oda can change his mind. I do not claim he has anything planned for Zoro, just the no door is shut. But if he turns out to be the lost heir to the legendary swordsman family of Wano, some fans will claim that him having no background revealed was an obvious give away.

I'd never heard that theory about Vista. When was it shown that he has a beef with Yasopp?
And at least Sanji has had his past mentioned a couple of times, it makes more sense than Zoro who never once mentioned any kind particularity about him. What he'll get from Wano is a flaming sword, that's for sure.
it's about having enough room, for me. If they have a couple of things mentioned it feels like something could be developed from there, there's a bit more room to explore. If they have nothing mentioned about it then of course anything fits, right?, there's not even a house let alone a room to explore. It feels more cheap.

Well, the more behind-the-scenes info from Oda we get, I start thinking it's much more in favour of improvising. Oda is just quite good at connecting things.
E.g., Usopp being the only one (aside of Robin) to not defeat a CP9 and getting motivation talk from Sanji about "things he can do but not anyone else" seems like a perfect conclusion for his character arc in W7 saga, right? But he was originally planned to fight Blueno. Vivi's farewell scene makes you (or at least it made me) think that the "X" marks were created for the purpose of this scene, yet it was literal last minute decision to add them to it. I could go on. There are many thing he planned, but I think these are mostly the biggest events.

That Usopp thing is not a last minute decision so I wouldn't put it the same basket as something like the supernovas or Vivi's farewell. I was also blown away when Oda revealed that scene was a last minute adition.
But we can take Usopp which is now also the botanist in the crew while the original plan was to have a different character has the botanist. Brook was always meant to be a skeleton but not the kind we see today, he was much more piraty. There's a figure who appears in the first couple of chapters, alongside Buggy and Shanks, which was meant to be Blackbeard but later on Oda changed his design. No author simply puts the first idea they have on paper and call it a day. There's a big difference betwen "my first idea was this but then changed it half way through", which is the normal method, and "I used the South Park method and only had this idea last week", which is actually improvising.

Count Mario

@FolhaS:

I'd never heard that theory about Vista. When was it shown that he has a beef with Yasopp?

They're both looking at each other spitefully in this panel behind Marco:

!

The One Piece Blue Deep: Characters World databook says that something went down between Yasopp and Vista in the past.

andre

@Count:

They're both looking at each other spitefully in this panel behind Marco:

! http://images.wikia.com/onepiece/images/f/fb/Yasopp_and_Vista_Look_at_Each_Other.png

The One Piece Blue Deep: Characters World databook says that something went down between Yasopp and Vista in the past.

Oh how I miss databooks. I feel a duty to say this any time one is brought up in conversation.

Koliber

@FolhaS:

Viewing Sanji's falshback with the Vinsmokes certainly changes the prespective, can't disagree with that. I think my acessement at the time was that Sanji was just mad at someone having the same face as his stupid poster.

That's what I meant. The scene itself makes nothing to question whether it's just that or not, no mystery there. Which makes me unwilling to count it as foreshadowing of anything. If anyone else gets another flashback, you'll look at other scenes like this too, even though they don't appear to carry much weight (and possibly weren't originally supposed to).

But I'm not saying Sanji was expecting anything in particular simply that he knew once he got famous enough someone would figure out that he was a prince he would cause a headache to the WG. Like in the DoFlamingo case, they couldn't have someone who was tenryubitu became a pirate just like that so they had to hush things about it and make him a shichibukai.
It always sounded to me that Sanji had some card up his sleeve to make such a claim. Zoro straight up said "I'll be the best swordsman in the world" but Sanji simply said they'd figure out he was trouble instead of saying something like "I'll be the baddest pirate from this crew".

Well, you can interpret it however you want, but for me it just seems like reaching. He was quite shocked when Bege confronted him with the VInsmoke business, doesn't look like he expected it to happen. Also, why would anyone learn? Sanji wouldn't tell, Judge (based on Sanji's knowledge) wouldn't tell, he left at young age and never became famous as a Vinsmoke. And besides, the problem with Doffy wasn't him being former noble as much as it was him knowing too much and having no fear of his former fellows. Sanji never possessed any sort of forbidden knowledge, and defying kings isn't something rare in OP worlds.

The villain/antagonist part and the abuse are not the specifics, it's the base.
There would have to be a reason for Sanji to whole heartdly claim Zeff to be his father. Simplest explanation: his family was mean to him, like in a fairy tale.

And I'm saying that the only thing that I could see being planned is the core of him being a royalty, since the villain/abuse thing wasn't foreshadowed at all and has no effect on Sanji's current character. Him being from dethroned (and likely killed) family, wanting to leave Lola's angle (not because of abuse, but because he wanted to live his life as a cook) from otherwise caring yet maybe possessive family, or anything that has to do with his inability to fight woman (the only character trait Sanji had which origin w weren't sure about) - all of these would fit the same way if not better.

I'd never heard that theory about Vista. When was it shown that he has a beef with Yasopp?
And at least Sanji has had his past mentioned a couple of times, it makes more sense than Zoro who never once mentioned any kind particularity about him. What he'll get from Wano is a flaming sword, that's for sure.
it's about having enough room, for me. If they have a couple of things mentioned it feels like something could be developed from there, there's a bit more room to explore. If they have nothing mentioned about it then of course anything fits, right?, there's not even a house let alone a room to explore. It feels more cheap.

Again, things like Usopp's knowledge on DBF could be seen as a foreshadowing if h turns out to have had some pirate caretaker. Or maybe some of the lies and story he tells are based on the stories he heard once, who knows? The possibilities to make it look planned and organic are endless.

Shobu Yoruichi

If Law… a D. character... came from one day when Oda was thinking that the arc was boring... i'm just upset to think that likely the most important thread within the story isn't important enough to came as a whole since the beginning.

Mah boi Yasopp dislikes Vista??? Shoot him to death!! Newgate is no more, do it now!

sandman

Oda's drawing video got released exclusively for "LINE" app this week.

Nami says, "I won't forgive you unless you give me Otoshidama money for New Year!!"
Luffy and Chopper says, "You're right!!"
I think this drawing was made by Oda's iPad Pro 12.9. He loves Apple products.

[EDIT] It seems the thread about redon's safety is locked. I'm really relieved to hear that he is fine.
Someone just told me on Twitter that the thread on the Spanish forum was created by his stalker. My idiocy led many people on AP to spend their precious time on that horrible fake news. I don't know how to apologize to all people concerned, especially redon….

*This edit post will be deleted in a few days to avoid confusion.[EDIT]

Crossword

It's very interesting to see Oda draw something digitally. He always struck me as the kind of traditionalist who would only give up paper, pen, and marker if they were pried from his cold, dead hands.

Icefae

I have my hangups with Oda as a writer, especially since the timeskip, but I fail to see how improvisation is in any way the mark of a bad writer. It is immensely common for any serialized author to change and add ideas in their story while it is running. Arguably what really matters is that the theme and direction of the story is always consistent.

MadieV

It was not your fault. You tried to inform us what you heard and we appreciate it. Don't beat yourself over it @Sandman.

RomanceDawn

No worries Sandman, you couldn't have possibly known it was fake. No harm no foul. I think everyone is just relieved Redon is doing just fine.

Chrior

What? How could anyone have done that? Although I'm glad to hear it is fake though, thank god…

Koliber

@Icefae:

I have my hangups with Oda as a writer, especially since the timeskip, but I fail to see how improvisation is in any way the mark of a bad writer. It is immensely common for any serialized author to change and add ideas in their story while it is running. Arguably what really matters is that the theme and direction of the story is always consistent.

I think that improvisation (in a long running series with continuous storyline) is good as long as you can't see it being the case without being explicitly informed. Supernovae in SA are example of good improvisation, as it felt natural that we should be able to see other rookie (besides Bellamy) and Oda managed to fit them in his world just fine (well Law changed his personality somewhat after saving Luffy but aside of that everything seems fine), everyone was shocked to find out how late of an addition they were. Another examples are Hiluluk's sakura or Vivi's whole character.

But then you have Busoshoku Haki or Haki being as common as it is which makes it absolute nonsense that every (aside of Enel) major enemy in Paradise lacks it, seeing how notorious they were supposed to be. We clearly see how late of an addition it is and that Oda didn't know what exactly he's planning to do with it even after its introduction. It's probably the worst example in the manga.

KageKageKing

Redon has a stalker?

RomanceDawn

@KageKageKing:

Redon has a stalker?

We all do.

Even you…

Dranza

Glad Redon is fine omg. I'm relieved. It's OK Sandman it seemed real because of his inactivity which coincided with that fake post. <3

Icefae

@Koliber:

I think that improvisation (in a long running series with continuous storyline) is good as long as you can't see it being the case without being explicitly informed. Supernovae in SA are example of good improvisation, as it felt natural that we should be able to see other rookie (besides Bellamy) and Oda managed to fit them in his world just fine (well Law changed his personality somewhat after saving Luffy but aside of that everything seems fine), everyone was shocked to find out how late of an addition they were. Another examples are Hiluluk's sakura or Vivi's whole character.

But then you have Busoshoku Haki or Haki being as common as it is which makes it absolute nonsense that every (aside of Enel) major enemy in Paradise lacks it, seeing how notorious they were supposed to be. We clearly see how late of an addition it is and that Oda didn't know what exactly he's planning to do with it even after its introduction. It's probably the worst example in the manga.

I agree that Haki was a half baked addition and has had an astoundingly negative impact on the creativity of fights. Though I'm at least sympathetic to why Oda liked the idea and it's probably really fun to draw which is paramount as a manga author. At least I always figured Armament Haki was mostly added for the aesthetic.

Giamini

I don't really know where to put this but if it interests someone…

all the statistics of the year (in french)

FelRes

Looking at that, 40ish chapters doesn't even feel like much anymore now that we get these long ass ~100 chapter arcs. I remember thinking Fishman Island and Punk Hazard were long.

MasterKingJC

What arcs in One Piece were 100 or more chapters besides Dressrosa and Water 7?

GeeBi

@MasterKingJC:

What arcs in One Piece were 100 or more chapters besides Dressrosa and Water 7?

syrup village arc

sandman

New Year is approaching. It might be a good idea to make a brief compilation of important Oda's interviews in 2017.

There are some events which weren't planned well in advance. For example;

Vivi being Princess
Shanks appearing in Marineford War
Ace being Roger's son (After Hattori became Oda's editor, Oda asked, "What if Ace turns out to be Roger's son?" Hattori was very surprised to hear that. Oda decided to go with this idea.)
Lucci being villain
Drum Rock mountain looking like a cherry blossom tree
Doflamingo and Corazon having blood relationship
Shichibukai appearing in manga. OP was originally supposed to be a story to fight Yonko, not Shichibukai.
Supernovas still surviving in New World. Oda thought about half of them would have dropped out already
Law being an important character. Oda thought Kidd would become an important character, though.
Oda asks his editor what kind of predictions audience have. He wants to go beyond their expectations.
Editor was against the idea of killing Ace in Marineford War arc.
Oda already had a plan that Kuma would break up Straw Hats later when he was introduced.
Oda watched 3 films per day in his youth.
Oda wants to be just a "friendly guy in neighborhood" for kids.
Oda says he is not a kind of mangaka who brags, "Even if I draw only one line, it can make much money!"
Oda doesn't eat food near deadline since it makes him sleepy.
(In 2015, he said he usually goes to bed at 2 a.m. and wakes up at 5 a.m.)
Many editors were against the serialization of OP except Hisashi Sasaki (Viz) .
Oda goes mad when editor doesn't answer his phone. Editor holds his cell phone in his arms when sleeping so that he can answer anytime.
Oda showed his best smile his editor had never seen before when he received a cake in OP 20th celebration party from his family and friends.
Oda tends to skip drawing trivial stuffs like Pandaman these days since his eyesight is getting weaker.
Shueisha allows Oda to take more breaks. He visits foreign countries at least once a year.
Oda offered to his editor that he would take care of his family if the editor gave up working due to illness or injury from overwork.
OP will enter Wano in 2018. (Oda said in another interview back in June that OP will enter Wano in 1-2 years.)
There are tons of new characters Oda wants to draw in Wano.
Oda says Wano arc will handle Ace. (Flashback about Little Oars Jr. ?)
Oda has been eager to draw Wano arc for 20 years since he started OP.
(Tokyo Tower Talk Festival *I don't have time to check those long streamings now, but If I remember correctly, it was mentioned by
one of the guests with a script, not by editors, so it might be better to take it with a grain of salt.)
The greatest enemy ever will stand in the way of Straw Hats in 2018. Oda says it may be related to Whitebeard.
He also says Marineford War will look cute compared to what is coming.

By the way, editors announced this summer that a special ONE PIECE book will be released around the end of the year, but according to the latest editors' live streaming in December, it will be delayed for some reason.

source:

Chrior

Oda has been eager to draw Wano arc for 20 years since he started OP.

I had completely missed this piece of information. Damn. Wano hype just can't stop growing and growing, huh?!

As always, thanks for your contribution to the OP fan community, Sandman!

auem

I can't wait to see this 'greatest enemy'.Out of all possibility discussed here, one name didn't come up much(or at all perhaps!)-that's Green Bull!
We have kins of marine becoming pirates and revolutionaries, why not a kin of pirate going to marine!It will certainly spice the things up.It is long shot though as someone related to WB serving under Akainu(and marine taking him in to begin with!:happy:).

Raistlin

Thanks Sandman…amazing stuff on rereading it all together in one spot.

@sandman:

New Year is approaching. It might be a good idea to make a brief compilation of important Oda's interviews in 2017.

There are some events which weren't planned well in advance. For example;

Vivi being Princess

Shanks appearing in Marineford War

Ace being Roger's son

Lucci being villain

Drum Rock mountain looking like a cherry blossom tree

Doflamingo and Corazon having blood relationship

Shichibukai appearing in manga. OP was originally supposed to be a story to fight Yonko, not Shichibukai.

Supernovas still surviving in New World. Oda thought about half of them would have dropped out already

Law being an important character. Oda thought Kidd would become an important character, though.

- Oda asks his editor what kind of predictions audience have. He wants to go beyond their expectations.

I wonder what fan expectations he's going to upend next lawl…go for it Oda!

Editor was against the idea of killing Ace in Marineford War arc.

Oda already had a plan that Kuma would break up Straw Hats later when he was introduced.

Oda watched 3 films per day in his youth.

Oda wants to be just a "friendly guy in neighborhood" for kids.

Oda says he is not a kind of mangaka who brags, "Even if I draw only one line, it can make much money!"

Oda doesn't eat food near deadline since it makes him sleepy.
(In 2015, he said he usually goes to bed at 2 a.m. and wakes up at 5 a.m.)

Many editors were against the serialization of OP except Hisashi Sasaki (Viz) .

Oda goes mad when editor doesn't answer his phone. Editor holds his cell phone in his arms when sleeping so that he can answer anytime.

Oda showed his best smile his editor had never seen before when he received a cake in OP 20th celebration party from his family and friends.

Oda tends to skip drawing trivial stuffs like Pandaman these days since his eyesight is getting weaker.

Shueisha allows Oda to take more breaks. He visits foreign countries at least once a year.

Oda offered to his editor that he would take care of his family if the editor gave up working due to illness or injury from overwork.

**- OP will enter Wano in 2018.

There are tons of new characters Oda wants to draw in Wano.

Oda has been eager to draw Wano arc for 20 years since he started OP.**
(Tokyo Tower Talk Festival *I don't have time to check those long streamings now, but If I remember correctly, it was mentioned by
one of the guests with a script, not by editors, so it might be better to take it with a grain of salt.)

- The greatest enemy ever will stand in the way of Straw Hats in 2018. Oda says it may be related to Whitebeard.
He also says Marineford War will look cute compared to what is coming.

Ahh the Wano hype…Never gets old for me.

Lol at 'greatest enemy' - everyone knows it's gonna be Big Mom again after Wano at Elbaf…silly Oda :whistling:

By the way, editors announced this summer that a special ONE PIECE book will be released around the end of the year, but according to the latest editors' live streaming in December, it will be delayed for some reason.

source:

ScotchInformer

Illustration from Eiichiro Oda Celebrating to 2018!

Shobu Yoruichi

If this is the year of the dog…

Nami's a bitch, huh?

moujane

@Shobu:

If this is the year of the dog…

Nami's a bitch, huh?

Hahahaha I'm dead rn

it would make a lot of sense lmao

SquallL

Oda just hinted what awaits us Year of Goddess Nami!

Big Black Hole

@sandman:

The greatest enemy ever will stand in the way of Straw Hats in 2018. Oda says it may be related to Whitebeard.
He also says Marineford War will look cute compared to what is coming.

Blackbeard making his move? :wassat:

The fat guy definitely needs to make an appearance (outside of a Den-den-Mushi) in the New World.

K. Kira XXIII

Weevil? That also fits.

uniaka ikuzakas

This post is deleted!

Kai D. Ou

How does Weevil fit? The Straw Hats have already faced Big Mom and Katakuri. Weevil's frozen bounty was slightly higher than Law's and thry became Shichibukai around the same time.

K. Kira XXIII

Bounties?

Weevil is hunting Whitebeard commanders. He is his son, was looking for Luffy due to his connection to his fake children. Supposed to be very strong. Big Mom has not technically stood in Luffy's way. Also his expertise may be elsewhere when it comes to his strengths compared to Katakuri. In this case, he probably hits way harder.

AdmiralBahaw

Year of the Dog

Akainu = Red Dog

Akainu is related to Whitebeard due to the fact that akainu inflicted most of the damage to wb.

Akainu a living legend in this era.

Kai D. Ou

@K.:

Bounties?

Weevil is hunting Whitebeard commanders. He is his son, was looking for Luffy due to his connection to his fake children. Supposed to be very strong. Big Mom has not technically stood in Luffy's way. Also his expertise may be elsewhere when it comes to his strengths compared to Katakuri. In this case, he probably hits way harder.

It clearly said the greatest enemy that has stood in the Straw Hats' way. That includes all the Admirals in MF and Big Mom. It never said the strongest opponent Luffy has soloed.

That's clearly Kaido, considering Wano is starting this year. (Maybe Green Bull if he/she is super OP)

Blissed

Yea it's definitely Kaido.

K. Kira XXIII

@Kai:

It clearly said the greatest enemy that has stood in the Straw Hats' way. That includes all the Admirals in MF and Big Mom. It never said the strongest opponent Luffy has soloed.

That's clearly Kaido, considering Wano is starting this year. (Maybe Green Bull if he/she is super OP)

How does Kaido relate to Whitebeard besides a loosely connecting him through Oden and the remnants of the Whitebeard commanders? Weevil is supposed to be as strong as Whitebeard during his younger days (according to one translation).

How is Green Bull even an option if Weevil that is better connected to Whitebeard and his legend isn't?

Kai D. Ou

@K.:

How does Kaido relate to Whitebeard besides a loosely connecting him through Oden and the remnants of the Whitebeard commanders? Weevil is supposed to be as strong as Whitebeard during his younger days (according to one translation).

How is Green Bull even an option if Weevil that is better connected to Whitebeard and his legend isn't?

When was the first time we heard of Kaido doing something in present time? He was going to Marineford to kill Whitebeard, and Shanks stopped it.

What happened the first time we saw Kaido in person? He was complaining about how Whitebeard managed to die.

@K.:

How is Green Bull even an option if Weevil that is better connected to Whitebeard and his legend isn't?

For the last time, Weevil can't possibly be the "greatest enemy to stand in the Straw Hats' way" in any way, shape or form. The Straw Hats have been up against Admirals and a Yonko. Taking out WB allies is a joke, since Ace took out Doma (who was the strongest) way before Marineford.

K. Kira XXIII

That's barely a relation. Might as well say Shanks, he buried the guy.

Kai D. Ou

@K.:

That's barely a relation. Might as well say Shanks, he buried the guy.

The relation is that Kaido is obsessed with Whitebeard. Even 2 years later, he's still talking about Whitebeard.

Watch Kaido is actually Whitebeard's son, and Weevil is a fake.

Redx

@K.:

How does Kaido relate to Whitebeard besides a loosely connecting him through Oden and the remnants of the Whitebeard commanders?

Well duh thats the mystery. lol.

K. Kira XXIII

We already know Kaido is coming so the secrecy doesn't match the statement.

The relation between Kaido and Whitebeard is fickle to connect those two.

I still don't see the problem or why Weevil's strength is being questioned.

Redx

@Koliber:

But then you have Busoshoku Haki or Haki being as common as it is which makes it absolute nonsense that every (aside of Enel) major enemy in Paradise lacks it, seeing how notorious they were supposed to be. We clearly see how late of an addition it is and that Oda didn't know what exactly he's planning to do with it even after its introduction. It's probably the worst example in the manga.

This guy had some great points on that.