The Dragon Ball franchise has not only left a huge impact on generations of children, teens and young adults, but also on the manga industry. So, after the original Dragon Ball manga concluded in 1995, a huge vacuum was created in its place.
While many wanted to take advantage of it and further their own manga, very few could actually survive in the market. The same is true for Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece. In an interview with Weekly Shonen Jump, the mangaka opened up about the intense competition that occurred in the aftermath of Dragon Ball‘s conclusion.
The Gaping Hole Left by Dragon Ball
In an interview with Weekly Shonen Jump, Eiichiro Oda talked about his memories from when One Piece had first begun serialization. One Piece debuted in July 1997 in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, two years after Dragon Ball ended in 1995. After the legendary manga had ended, there was an intense competition among mangakas to capture Dragon Ball‘s slot in the magazine.
“To us that was a shock, and there was a time when the newbies started a fight for Dragon Ball’s slot saying “I want that slot!”. Then for 2 years it was a repetition of being destroyed by being compared to Dragon Ball, and I’ve finally survived.”
Eiichiro Oda freely admitted that Dragon Ball left a gaping hole once it stopped serialization and new writers hungered over the spot. However, most manga that came afterward were compared to Dragon Ball and ultimately could not hold their own.
In fact, after Dragon Ball and Slam Dunk ended one after another, people assumed that the magazine was bound to face some financial issues. Yes, both series were so popular that their endings cast a shadow in people’s minds.
“Jump’s cover was published in the issue where my serialization started and at the side of One Piece’s drawing there was written “magazine surpasses Jump”. It wasn’t my responsibility at all (laughs) but I remember thinking it was really frustrating.”
Amongst Jump’s ‘crisis’ and people’s expectation of finding the next Dragon Ball, Eiichiro Oda was able to survive with One Piece, the series that currently holds a place amongst the Big Three of the anime world.
Intense Competition Sparked by Jump and Dragon Ball
As if being constantly compared to Dragon Ball was not good enough, some mega-hit mangas were also born during this time. Detective Conan and Rurouni Kenshin began ruling over the hearts of people, so you can only imagine how hard it was to succeed during those years.
Oda admitted that after Dragon Ball ended, Detective Conan and The Kindaichi Case Files were ruling the Shonen genre and the hearts of manga readers. For Eiichiro Oda, it seemed like a steep battle to climb because the manga world was being led by battle focused series and so everyone commented that a mystery manga can’t top other shonen series.
“Even Watsuki-sensei (author of Rurouni Kenshin) took the stance that “Mangas that are not right in the center (battle-oriented) like mine can’t be the Jump’s top.” That’s why during that time I always saw Detective Conan as an enemy so I didn’t read it at all always thinking ‘I’ll drag you down”
However, after One Piece began serialization, Eiichiro Oda worked extremely hard out of desperation. He ultimately stopped looking at his competitors and claimed the top spot for himself.
You can read One Piece manga on Viz Media and watch the anime on Crunchyroll.
