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'One Piece' author claims a certain seven villains extended the series far longer than he intended

6 Comments
By Koh Ruide

"One Piece," the manga about a boy’s desire to become the pirate king, is one of the longest-running series in manga history. It’s been overwhelming success thanks to author Eiichiro Oda’s mindblowing commitment to a hellish work schedule for the past two decades, continually pumping out tales of adrenaline-pounding combat, heartwarming friendships, and fascinating characters.

Speaking of characters, Oda admitted in a recent author’s column (photo above) that seven "One Piece" villains in particular transformed what would have been a considerably shorter, simpler adventure into the gigantic series it is now. Translation below.

“The reason why 'One Piece' has been continually running for the past 20 years is because of the Seven Warlords of the Sea (the Shichibukai). 'One Piece' was initially intended to be a tale of fighting against the Four Emperors (the Yonko), wrapping up after just five years. It struck me that having these cool Seven Warlords of the Sea in the comic would be awesome; it was just a passing thought really. And then, just like a horror movie, it’s spiraled into such a long series!!

Why couldn’t it be Five or Two Warlords of the Sea? I thought that “Seven Warlords” just sounded so much cooler!! Well, I’ve no lingering regrets since I’ve already drawn what I’ve wanted to draw.

Just a little more!!”

We have to say that we agree with Oda’s sentiment that “Shichibukai” (Seven Warlords of the Sea) does in fact sound a lot cooler than “Nibukai” (Two Warlords) or “Gobukai” (Five Warlords).

Though to say that Oda’s imagination got a little out of hand is an understatement, since these seven powerful, notorious pirates alone breathed at least an extra 15 years of life into the series. These characters’ decisions and actions influenced other story elements, the ripple effects of which took years to realize.

All good things must eventually come to an end, however, as Oda has promised an ending to "One Piece" in the near-ish future. But due to his tendency to implement cool ideas that extend the manga’s life, who knows how long it will end up actually going for.

Source: Imgur via My Game News Flash

Read more stories from SoraNews24.

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© SoraNews24

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6 Comments
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Biyono i agree. One piece is an awesome series, it has always have a special Place in my heart like dragonball and pokemon.

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Well if I live for more 1000 years, i will ask Oda sensei to continue the story for 1000 years too :)

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its good story, i following it sience i was a kid, but well, it had a lot "dramas" that make this story long enough (such as alabasta, skypiea and dressrossa arc) i wish oda would recap the next episode and no more pointless story and too much dramas (in this case, its anime version) i think if oda keep pointless story and drama like this, im afraid it will take another 10 years!. the next episode (according bigline stories) is wanokuni arc, beating kaidou, beating big mom (coz they dont do it yet), beating, kurohige, beating shanks, founding 4 misterious island, founding raftel, after story (which mean meeting laboon as brook's purpose). also and dont forget about another story like mugiwara crew connection with another sayaku sedai, battle with sichibukai (i dont think buggy and hancook will have another fight), discovering last ancient weapon and other crew's dream (ex:founding all blue) the point is, if oda keep doing this we'll have to wait mooore time until the end of story, well, i dont mind it if one piece had a long story, but i hate a single arc with over hundred episode, its boring to wait 1 episode each week for hundred times for a single arc (it may took 2 or more week due oda's healty and take some rest) cmiiw. love, OP fan.

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Really 20 years? It is so easy to become engrossed by the story and characters, it really doesn't seem that it has been that long. One Piece is truly an epic story of , well, the epic kind. And I for one will be sad when it ends. But until then, there are a few, maybe some years left to the story and for the moment all is right with the universe.

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This is my favorite anime/manga of all time, I respect Oda so much, there is no other artist out there with his passion and work ethic and dedication for creating such beautiful and mind blowing manga. He is a genius with the ability to foreshadow things 5, 10, 20+ years into the future!!! That's insane! This is why Oda is refered to as GODA in the anime community and will continue to be, because he is an incredible story teller and artist. Please everyone I advise you read/watch this manga/anime, it's long, oh it's incredibly long, but if you see it through, if you are willing to bear the moments that may seem endless and boring I promise you the overall experience of reading this manga will leave you amazed and your heart attached to the story and characters! Everyone has their opinion on what makes a great anime but you can't deny that Oda's passion and work ethic isn't top of the line! Common people 20+ years! Non-stop. Even on his sick days he has a tendency to draw. This man's dedication is like Michael Jordan playing through a fever in the 4th quarter! He is the Muhammad Ali of manga, the Babe Ruth, the Rocky, the 2Pac, there is no one greater than the Great God Oda!

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I'm still not sure quite why this is still so popular, I've long since grown tired of it and tend to just skim through the story in the English digital version of Shonen Jump. The Dressrossa Arc in particular took far too long to resolve going on for 2 years, hopefully now that he's already working on the first of the Four Emperors the whole thing may be done in the next 5 years.

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