10 things you didn't know about One Piece's Eiichiro Oda

Eiichiro Oda, more commonly referred to as the mangaka of the generational manga series One Piece, is one of the most influential manga artists known for his expertise in writing and foreshadowing events. Even though the author's magnum opus is, arguably, the most popular series worldwide, the author prefers to keep his personal life hidden.

However, he has made some appearances on TV shows and has accolades that the fandom could be unaware of, or might have even forgotten, considering how long ago these events happened. Here are ten things the fandom didn't know about Eiichiro Oda that might impress the fandom in some way.

Disclaimer: Any opinions expressed in this article solely belong to the author.

Fan of Your Lie in April, Guinness World Record holder, and 8 other things fans didn't know about Eiichiro Oda, the author of One Piece

1) One Piece museum

The official announcement of the museum (Image via X/@pewpiece)

On August 27, 2024, the official X account of Eiichiro Oda's magnum opus revealed that the manga series' chapters would be showcased on a wall in the Museum of Art in Tachikawa, Tokyo, as a part of the 'ONEPIECEONLY' exhibition. The Exhibition took place on October 9, 2024.

In the past, the series has also received similar exhibitions in Japan (Mori Arts Center Gallery Tokyo and Tempozan Special Gallery Osaka) and in Taiwan (Huashan 1914 Creative Park Taipei).

2) The only manga series he is jealous of

Your Lie in April Volume 1 cover (Image via Kodansha)

The thing that the majority of the fandom had no idea about, Eiichiro Oda admitted that he was jealous of Naoshi Arakawa's Your Lie in April manga series. The author admitted this on the Japanese TV show 'Great People Whom the Elite Are Jealous Of'

The One Piece author explained that he was once given a deadline for the submission of his next manuscript, and, for a change of pace, he picked up Your Lie in April. Not only did the author forget his manuscript's deadline, but he also read it in one sitting and made his whole studio buy the series on their way back home.

Eiichiro Oda emphasized how Naoshi Arakawa conveyed music through manga and branded music as the most difficult genre in manga. The editors of Your Lie in April's Japanese magazine, Monthly Shōnen Magazine, replied to this praise by saying they were surprised.

3) Eye surgery

Eiichiro Oda's eye surgery announcement (Image via X/@newworldartur)

Before the commencement of the final saga of the series, Eiichiro Oda announced one of the series' longest breaks (5 weeks) due to eye surgery. According to the author's statement, he was seeing double images of everything, which is a sign of Astigmatism (eye disorder). So, after consulting his editors at Shounen Jump, the author decided to opt for eye surgery.

As expected, the author couldn't help but add his humor to the statement by saying that he could gain the ability to shoot lasers from his eyes after the surgery (which is an obsession of the Straw Hat boys in the series). Fortunately, Eiichiro Oda's surgery was a success.

4) Guinness Record holder

The Guinness World Record announcement (Image via X/@newowrldartur)

In 2015, Eiichiro Oda's magnum opus set the Guinness Book World Record for 'The most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author' with 320,866,000 copies in publication. Moreover, the record was updated in 2022 when One Piece reached 500 million copies in publication (digital+physical).

This record branded Eiichiro Oda's magnum opus as the best-selling manga series. Moreover, the manga was also the only series that was the best-selling one for 11 consecutive years (2008-2018). So, numbers are something that the author has his grip on from the very start.

5) Not open to suggestions from others

Monkey D Luffy as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Reading his humourous text in the SBS sections of One Piece, the fandom expects Eiichiro Oda to get suggestions from others for his series. However, the reality is different and it was addressed in the SBS section of Volume 56 when a reader suggested Oda a new devil fruit (The Stomach Growl fruit which helps its user keep a healthy stomach).

The author bluntly denied the fan's suggestion and stated that he doesn't ask for suggestions regarding his manga series (not even from his editors). The reason behind it was simple: the author didn't want to blame others if a concept failed. So, if he never received suggestions, a win would be a win, and a fail a fail, which he could take to his own face without blaming others.

6) Married the real-life Nami

Nami as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Although the author has kept his personal life in the shadows from the start, the fandom still witnessed how he met his wife. Chiaki Inaba, a former model and actress, played the role of Nami of the Straw Hat Pirates in a live-action musical of the series.

This was the moment when Oda felt the strings of fate between him and Chiaki, after dating for two years, they got married. Although there is other information online, there is no citation to it hinting at how the author loves to keep his loved ones away from the limelight.

7) Has not forgotten his roots

The Kumamoto Revival Project visual as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

Born in the Kumamoto Prefecture of Japan, Eiichiro Oda never forgot his roots after he reached the top of the world as an author. In 2016, when his hometown was struck by two high magnitude earthquakes, the author announced the 'Kumamoto Revival Project.'

The author donated 800 million yen for reconstruction of the damage caused by the earthquakes and drew merchandise to support the locals of this prefecture. He continued paying tribute to his hometown by drawing illustrations in his manga series featuring the prefecture's local mascot Kumamon (as seen behind Jinbei in the above illustration).

8) Amazed Shounen Jump at young age

Shounen Jump's response to Eiichiro Oda's first manga (Image via X/@sandman_AP)

In the first year of high school, a young Eiichiro Oda decided to quit soccer and kickstart his journey as a mangaka. His earliest manga known to this day is Fly High Boy, a one-shot, which was submitted to the Shonen Jump's 69th Hop☆Step Award. The manga did win the author the position of one of the finalists but was never published because it didn't win.

However, the reception it received from the editors proved that he was destined for greatness in the future. The score Oda received during the competition was 60% but the editors were intrigued by the actions of the author's one-shot's antagonist. So, this was proof that Eiichiro Oda has talent which he showcased later on by writing the generational One Piece.

9) Author of books in One Piece

Eiichiro Oda's name present on a book in the series (Image via Toei Animation)

Probably one of the most mysterious things related to the author when he was featured as the author of some books that appeared in One Piece episodes 21, 70, and 278 (books from Ohara).

Although nothing has been specified as to whether this was a personal request from the author or from the anime's production team to thank Oda for his work, this still remains one of the coolest Easter Eggs related to the series.

10) Life-size giraffe statue

Kaku as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

In 2022, Gosho Aoyama, the author of Detective Conan, visited the mansion of Eiichiro Oda. The visit revealed some possessions of the author that raised a question mark and one such possession was a life-sized giraffe (it wasn't revealed whether this statue had a relationship with Kaku).

Moreover, the visit soon turned into a field trip as they explored Oda's mansion and discovered some other possessions of the author which included a small train, a bathroom with a huge shark head, a crane game with One Piece cards, and some other questionable stuff.

Final thoughts

This article should have told at least one new thing to the anime fandom who have been following One Piece, but not Eiichiro Oda. Even though the author lives a luxurious life, he puts in work by hardly sleeping for a few hours, showcasing that wealth comes to those who work hard and pursue their dreams.

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Edited by Bharath S