Have you ever felt like asking “When will it ever end?” while watching or reading One Piece? With 1100+ chapters, it is quite common to find the series overwhelming. But if it’s massive for fans, did you ever think how overwhelming it would be for the editors who have been entwined with the work since day 1?
These poor souls have to develop ideas with Eiichiro Oda, and listen to him spin a thousand theories about the best way to catch fans by surprise. In a recent interview, one hilarious fact about a One Piece editor came to light.
Why did One Piece‘s editor fall asleep during a call with Eiichiro Oda?
According to an interview, the longest phone call meeting that Eiichiro Oda ever had with an editor lasted for a full 12 hours. The editor at that time was Akira Hattori and due to the discussion’s length, the poor editor ended up falling asleep.
Akira Hattori was One Piece‘s editor from the Sabaody Archipelago arc to the Fishman Island arc. The long discussion was probably to plan for the Summit War Saga. As you might already know, the Summit War is the third longest saga in the series, and has some particularly intense moments in it.
In fact, the Marineford arc, a primary development before the time skip, also took place in this saga. As one of the most important wars in One Piece took place in this saga, you can only imagine how much planning and drafting it required before it became the tearjerker that it is.
It is next to impossible to discuss all of this in a single phone call, do don’t blame Hattori if he zoned out in the middle.
Some Fun Facts Regarding Eiichiro Oda’s Interaction with Editors
An interview with Suguru Sugita, ex-editor of One Piece, revealed that Eiichiro Oda exposed the ending of his manga to his editor. He told the ending just seven hours after Sugita was assigned to him. It was done on a mere phone call.
“He asked me whether there was anyone around. I told him no, and he said, “alright, I don’t have anyone around me either, so let’s talk,” and then he told me.”
However, this juxtaposes Oda’s reaction immediately after knowing who his new editor would be. Apparently, when Eiichiro Oda first met Sugita, he shouted “CHANGE!” Which meant that he wanted a different editor, before they even got to know each other. Was it a joke or was Oda serious? We will never know.
When asked if Eiichiro Oda will pick up another long serialization after One Piece is over, Sugita answered that he would be too old to pick up another manga after One Piece. He also talked about some of the rules he had to follow as an editor of One Piece, to ensure that the mangaka could maintain a healthy work environment.
“He asked me not to pitch him too many ideas. The reason behind that is that if it’s another person’s idea, then he won’t be as inclined to draw it. Because it’s his own story, he wants to draw his own ideas”
Some of the interviews from One Piece’s editors prove that while Eiichiro Oda is a genius, he also has his oddball moments. Creativity does accompany its fair share of craziness so maybe it’s just that.
You can read One Piece manga on Viz Media and watch the anime on Crunchyroll.
