Created by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece is one of the most beloved and long-running manga and anime series in history. The dynamic and diverse crew of the Straw Hat Pirates, led by the optimistic protagonist Monkey D. Luffy, is the key element to their long-term success. However, many fans may be unaware that Oda had a whole other idea in mind when it came to how this crew would come together.
Oda had a specific goal in mind when he started creating the world of One Piece, which is to bring the ten-member crew of Straw Hat Pirates together within the first year and a half of the show. But as the narrative progressed, Oda noticed that he was deviating from his initial strategy. After giving it some thought, he concluded that recruiting crew members was a far more complicated process that required a more natural approach.
Eiichiro Oda’s Original Plan For Straw Hat Crew
In an interview conducted by Yayoi Kawatoko in 2018, Eiichiro Oda reflected on the journey of the One Piece series along with Luffy and his crew. He expressed how One Piece has been a journey filled with unexpected twists, not only for the characters within the story but also for himself. When Oda began writing One Piece, he envisioned the Straw Hat crew coming together in record time.
Oda was originally thinking of taking a similar method, having been influenced by the approach of many video games, where the villains join the protagonist’s party once they are defeated. The plan was to swiftly introduce new characters, have them join Luffy’s group, and then embark on the following adventure. As he stated,
Initially, I thought about making the crewmate-gathering process like those video games where the villains join your party once you defeat them.
Oda imagined that by rapidly assembling the crew, he could dive into the heart of the story, which revolved around Luffy’s quest to become the Pirate King. Within the first year and a half, he aimed to have ten crew members. But as he started crafting the characters’ backstories, Oda saw that this strategy would fall short of capturing the depth and variety that he was trying to portray.
While Oda’s change in approach may have slowed down the recruitment process, it has enriched the narrative in several key ways including character development, relativity, emotional investment with the characters as well as the overall depth of the story.
Oda’s Change in Plans
As the storyline developed, Eiichiro Oda struggled with the concept of gathering a crew in such a short period of time. He started to doubt the integrity of such an approach. He pondered about how relationships and issues come together naturally for people, as he remarked,
I realized that if some kid were to come up to me out of nowhere and say, “Let’s become pirates,” I wouldn’t just agree. Unless he had a compelling story, I wouldn’t join his crew.
This realization led him to reconsider the pace at which the Straw Hat crew was forming. Oda realized that for any character to join Luffy, there has to be a strong stimulus. This meant providing them with distinct motivations, backstories, and storylines that connect with the audience’s emotions.
Oda made the decision for new crew members to join the Straw Hats more significant by exploring their personal journeys rather than viewing them as merely crew members. This change in approach meant that it would take much longer than anticipated to assemble the originally envisioned team.
My original plan was to assemble a crew of ten within the first year and a half. After 20 years, the story’s about 80% complete, yet there are still only nine crew members.
It turned out to be a wise move for Oda to delay the Straw Hat crew’s complete assembling. Each crew member’s path to becoming a member of Straw Hat was paved with hardships, opportunities for development, and emotional experiences that made their crew more tightly-knit.
As the One Piece series progresses to its potential climax, the Straw Hat Pirates’ journey has become not just about reaching a destination, but about the meaningful connections and experiences formed along the way.
You can watch One Piece on Crunchyroll.
