How old was Eiichiro Oda when he started One Piece? Mangaka's career, explained

One Piece and Eiichiro Oda
One Piece and Eiichiro Oda's career over the years (Image via Toei Animation).

One Piece is one of the most successful manga series of all time and has become a worldwide hit throughout the years, arguably being more popular now than it has ever been in the past. However, while the series itself is quite popular and much analyzed, the truth of the matter is that very little is known about the author behind this manga, Eiichiro Oda.

Oda, much like other mangaka in the business, is a very private person, which is why most of his interviews are focused on just talking about One Piece and manga in general. There are not a lot of details regarding Oda's personal life, but he has been working on this series since his early 20s.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda.


Details of the career of One Piece author Eiichiro Oda

Oda officially published the first chapter of the series in 1997 - when he was 22 years old - through Shonen Jump, although the seeds for this manga were perhaps planted a few years before that.

His first-ever work was the Wanted! one-shot in 1992, which covered several stories that eventually became a part of his magnum opus as the years went on, leading some fans to consider them an official draft.

However, perhaps Oda's first significant manga was Monsters in 1994, which got an anime adaptation this year to celebrate its 30th anniversary. A lot of fans of his most popular work know this series because it is the introduction of the character of Ryuma, who is the main protagonist. It is revealed later, when Oda was writing the Wano arc, that Ryuma is the ancestor of Roronoa Zoro.

Oda released two versions of Romance Dawn, a proto version of the first One Piece arc, in 1996. These have become something interesting thing to look back on, as they planted the seeds of what eventually became the mangaka's greatest achievement.

Finally as mentioned earlier, Oda released the manga in 1997 and has been publishing chapters regularly ever since.


Oda's writing style

The Straw Hats in the manga (Image via Shueisha).
The Straw Hats in the manga (Image via Shueisha).

Eiichiro Oda has stood out in the manga industry for his writing skills, with his abilities for world-building often being praised. Most manga and anime have mentioned that Oda has managed to create a world that seems alive and filled with a lot of islands, each capturing different cultures, settings, and variety, thus crafting a series that is captivating and exciting.

He has also been praised for his characterization and flashbacks, with the latter being highlighted because of how emotional and powerful they can be. There are a lot of mysteries that have been slowly been hinted at in his series, such as the Void Century, the real identity of the World Government, the motivations behind Shanks' actions throughout the story, and several other elements that have made it one of the most celebrated manga series of all time.


Final thoughts

One Piece author Eiichiro Oda started writing the official version of the manga when he was 22 years old, although he had some one-shots that served as an inspiration for the series later on.


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Oda's inspiration for the One Piece series has finally been found (& the similarities are shocking)

Is Eiichiro Oda's Monsters anime canon to the One Piece series? Explained

What other manga has Eiichiro Oda written? The One Piece mangaka's body of work, explored

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Edited by Upasya Bhowal
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