As the Straw Hats were reintroduced after the 2 year time skip in One Piece, Eiichiro Oda debuted some new character designs for the nostalgic crew. While characters like Franky and Usopp changed considerably, the biggest change was in Tony Tony Chopper, the doctor of the Straw Hat pirates.
Chopper has always been a cute character, but after the time skip, fans realized that the reindeer had undergone some severe changes. While some liked the increased cutesy feature, others were bothered by the drastic change in him. But the question remains: what tempted Eiichiro Oda to redo Chopper’s design?
Eiichiro Oda Was Deadset Against Mascot Characters But Made an Exception for Chopper
In an interview, Eiichiro Oda was asked if he liked Chopper’s design pre-time-skip or post-time-skip. The author explained why he had to change Chopper’s character design. Apparently, he did not plan on making drastic changes to Chopper in the beginning, but one event made him feel that he had to give Chopper an upgrade.
I transformed Chopper into a mascot character when I heard his anime voice. I didn’t want to draw a mascot character that would flatter audience, but the VA’s voice was so cute that I changed Chopper’s design.
As it turns out, Oda hates mascot characters and never planned One Piece to have one. This is why Chopper’s pre-timeskip character design looks so realistic to a half-reindeer. But he didn’t expect that fans would find Chopper so adorable. The character is often called cute and even mistaken for a raccoon at times.
Oda’s opinion changed when he heard the voice actress for Chopper. The main voice actress behind the character is Ikue Otani, a famed person in the industry who proved her worth in One Piece. Her voice suited the character so well and made it so much cuter that Oda had to inevitably change his mind.
Character Design of Pre-Timeskip and Post-Timeskip Chopper in One Piece
When Chopper debuted in One Piece, he had a furry, round body, a large fuzzy top hat, and a maroon pair of shorts. Most of the time, he is in his human-reindeer hybrid form, which makes him look like a toddler. Chopper immediately gained the title of being one of the cutest One Piece characters, a feat that Oda unconsciously achieved.
Thus, the next time Oda had the chance to change Chopper’s character, he did it to the best of his ability. Chopper was given a much more chibi appearance to suit the efforts of his voice actor as well as meet the demands of fans. Many female characters in the series, like Robin, Nami, Shakky, and Vivi, find Chopper adorable.
After the timeskip, Chopper received an extra blue cap; he also wore a tank top and an orange pair of shorts. His body has become more slim with thin limbs. His fur also changed color from dark brown to a lighter brown. A running theory is that Chopper lost weight during the time skip, and his fur became lighter because he was no longer at Drum Island, where the weather was snowy at all times.
One Piece is available to read on Viz Media, and the anime is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
