Here is my translation of Oda’s interview about General Franky. The interview was included as a set of General Franky character figure released in 2013.
Thanks so much redon for kindly sharing amazing pics with us via Twitter!
Question: You told us many detailed gimmicks of General Franky before we started creating this figure. What do you think about this finished product?
Oda: When I created General Franky, I kept in mind that I should make his transformation look as physically plausible as possible,
but I wasn’t sure if it really would work well. In this regard, the staffs did a decent job as a professional. Thank you so much!
Question: Why did you decide to make General Franky appear in manga?
Oda: Actually I wanted to draw Robot manga after finishing OP, but I was not sure how many years it would take until the end of the series, so I decided to make him appear.
His strength is limited in several aspects because if I made General Franky too strong, OP would not be a pirate manga anymore. His existence itself is nearly a joke.
Question: Have you been planning to draw General Franky since the beginning of the series?
Oda: Not at all. I was wondering how Straw Hats should become stronger after time skip.
Now that Marines have Pacifistas, I thought I can go so far as to draw nearly a joke character like General Franky.
Question: Why does Soldier Dock System have a motorcycle and tank?
Oda: Considering they have already a ship and airplanes don’t exist in Great Pirate Era, I thought my shonen audience would get hooked on motorcycle and tank.
Question: How did you come up with the gimmicks of General Franky?
Oda: I had a toy, the facial expression of which changed when rotating its neck. Other than that, I put everything I have seen in my childhood into General Franky.
Question: What kind of robot figures have you been inspired from?
Oda: I bought many robot character figures before drawing General Franky such as God Mars, Raideen, Gundam and Daimajin.
Although I wasn’t inspired from those figures after all, I still enjoyed collecting them since it made me feel nostalgic.
Question: Super alloy character figures of Merry, Franky and General Franky have been released. What else would you expect us to release?
Oda: I would ask for Luffy robot that appeared in spin-off manga “Chopperman”.
Toy Soldier in the current arc (Dressrosa ) would also be appreciated .Sunny as well.
Question: What robot animes did you watch during your childhood?
Oda: I loved a robot called Daimajin in “Yattodetaman” aired long ago. Of course, Gundam was my favorite anime, too.
Back then, so many robot animes were out there. I’m wondering why we don’t have enough amounts of robot animes these days.
Question: What kinds of robot character figures did you have/want in your childhood?
Oda: My parents almost never bothered to buy robot figures for me. I really wanted a robot figure of Daimajin.
I didn’t imagine I would buy it after becoming an adult. Daimajin figure is displayed in my studio now.
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