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One Pieceis amongst the most popular anime and manga franchises in the world today. It’s been serialized since 1999 and even holds the Guinness World Record for the most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author. The themes of friendship, loyalty, and fulfilling dreams have a universality to them. Add to that some stupendous art, emotional storytelling, and high-octane action sequences, and it becomes easier to understand whyOne Pieceis as popular as it is.
Also read:“I want to end with One Piece with a big party”: Eiichiro Oda Won’t Kill Off Characters Like Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan
However, as it nears the end of its historic run, fans are naturally worried about the fate of their favorite characters. They wait every week for new manga chapters or anime episodes to see if the Straw Hat Pirates and other popular characters make it out alive or not.
What did Eiichiro Oda have to say about killing off characters in One Piece?
Mangaka Eiichiro Oda has naturally given several interviews given his fame and the popularity ofOne Piece.In one interview, when asked about his plans on killing off characters, he said:
“I don’t want to draw scenes where people die because I want to draw a party after the battle.”
Some fans might like that, and others won’t since it’s a subjective matter. But what’s true is that we’ve seen the Straw Hat Pirates, led by Monkey D. Luffy, have a rambunctious party time and time again along with their friends and allies. This is often at the conclusion of a story arc after they’ve defeated the villains of that arc and are celebrating their well-earned victory.
Also read:“All of us want to honor that”: Unlike Henry Cavill’s The Witcher, Netflix One Piece Stars Promise Sticking to Source Material
Oda has also citedTom and Jerry,the popular cartoon, as an inspiration forOne Pieceand that’s certainly not a series where anyone dies despite severe bodily harm, albeit in a comical way. ViewingOne Piecethrough that lens helps us better understand the tone that Oda is going for.
Why could not killing off major characters in One Piece be a mistake?
Of course, it’s not like Oda hasn’t killed off a single character in all ofOne Piece.So many characters have someone dying as part of their backstory, and in fact, the series is founded on the death of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. It’s his treasure, the titular One Piece, that so many pirates are searching for. Portgas D. Ace, Luffy’s adoptive older brother, is another significant character who died during the course ofOne Piece.That death, while emotional and impactful, is the exception rather than the rule which could potentially be a mistake.
As an example, another popular anime and manga series,Naruto,made the significant choice of not killing off major characters towards the end of its run. The character of Might Guy was on death’s door during the final story arcs by the hands of the infamous Madara Uchiha, only to be saved by Naruto himself who had gained new powers. These new powers were granted to him by Hagoromo Otsutsuki, a godlike figure in the ninja world, which was a Deus ex machina that saved Might Guy.
Also read:One Piece: After Naruto, Dragon Ball Pays Homage to Eiichiro Oda as Life Comes Full Circle for Legendary Mangaka
While killing the popular, eccentric Might Guy might’ve saddened some fans, there’s no doubt that it would have added much more to the story. It would have had a strong impact on Naruto and the other shinobi fighting in the war and would have been the natural consequence of Guy using up all his power in a last effort to kill Madara Uchiha. Killing characters in meaningful, impactful ways enriches the story.
It remains to be seen what mangaka Eiichiro Oda decides to do withOne Pieceand the Straw Hats, as well as their allies and friends. But we still have a wait on our end, as we’re still years away from a potential ending.
Source:The Digital Fix
Articles Published :130
Madhav is an avid gamer, a fan of Virat Kohli’s cover drives and loves watching anime. He likes reading fantasy and mystery novels too!
