Oda’s stance on his literary work hasn’t changed from when he had his debut. Published in the same magazine as professionals, he first discovered the extent of his abilities. So, even when it came to our meetings to talk about my storyboards, I’d listen to what my editor had to say, and I’d submit it again, changing the parts I could also agree with, while leaving the parts I thought didn’t need change as is.” If I do it, then it’ll work out.’ You could say I was also overconfident (laughs). “But me, I believed that ‘That’s just that person’s own failure.
#Eichiro oda pro#
Editors come into contact with a lot of pro on a daily basis, and through those experiences, they each form their own “doctrine.” And then they give advice based also on the failures of the many different newbies (new manga artists) they’ve encountered. “Well… back then I really was really stubborn. When we told Oda-sensei what Kujima had said, he responded: But Oda-sensei wouldn’t alter things he himself had decided not to change… He was quite the headstrong individual (laughs).” When I’d point out things that needed to be changed, he’d come back with an edited version that sometimes surprised me from how well done it was. “To people around us, it probably looked like we were having a fight (laughs). The meetings with his editor were just like fights!?īack then, Oda-sensei and his editor Kujima, who was already a core member of the editorial staff, always got into heated discussions when they’d have their meetings, according to Kujima. Even then I was determined that what I believed was right, and even though I was told by my editor where I was wrong, I was never able to just easily nod and change a storyboard that I’d worked so hard on to think of.” And I guess that this gap in perception was big, every time I’d go to the Editing Department, I submitted a new storyboard, but a great number of those never got published. Back then, I just mainly thought that, like movies, if my story was interesting then it’d be good enough, and you’d notice that in the storyboard I drew for my one shots.īut editors also want there to be appealing/interesting characters, pillars to my manga, to go along with my story. I was a young fool, so I really underestimated manga (laughs). “At first when I moved to Tokyo, I thought, ‘Oh well I’ve already gotten an award, so I’ll be on top in no time.’ However, none of the storyboards I drew got accepted.
From then on, he silently decided he would work to become one.Įiichiro Oda’s Ikki Yako (top right of scan).Īfter finishing up his one shot, Kami Kara Mirai no Present, he moved to Tokyo, and together with his Weekly Shonen Jump manga editor, Kujima, he spent roughly the following 3 years honing his skills. When he was four years old, he learned of a profession in which you could live off of drawing art: manga artist. The story of him deciding on his career path is very well-known. Oda-sensei has loved to draw ever since he was very young, thanks to the influence of his father who also drew as a hobby. With a determined resolve, on to the road of manga! That being said, we hope you enjoy this first part of the book where we go down memory lane with Eiichiro Oda and his very first editor Kujima, to the start of his trip down the long road that is manga creation, up to the start of his manga series, One Piece. We at the One Piece Podcast will be bringing you a translation of all the interesting material in this book, but we do not condone non-fair-use of images, so we will only be giving you a taste of the amazing material included in here. However, it also includes a DVD of Oda drawing and an interview with him on the accompanying DVD - so if you’re interested in seeing all that, be sure to check out Japanese auction sites or Amazon and get your hands on a volume of this. There are a lot of interviews and interesting material in this “ mook” including interviews and pictures of his office area. Luckily, our Japan correspondent Alison was able to acquire one of these volumes* and bring us an exclusive view into the mind of the manga artist we all admire: Eiichiro Oda. 2, 2015, the third volume of the so-called “ Jump-Style! Manga Course Fascicle with DVD“, featuring none other than One Piece manga creator Eiichiro Oda, was released in Shizuoka Prefecture.