The pedestal Eiichiro Oda stands on now didn’t come to him on a silver platter. It was a step by step process that took time to grow. One Piece wasn’t a story that was immediately planned to go on for so long. Just like a ship at sea, the story went with the flow. Things turned around for the series with the author’s initial goal more than tripling early in its time.
It allowed the boost that the series didn’t even know it needed. However, for the widespread popularity of One Piece, the Wano arc holds a certain grip. The introduction of Gear 5 and the arc gave the franchise such a push that things got cranked up to eleven overnight.
The Roots of One Piece
Eiichiro Oda’s world of One Piece has grown in the most unimaginable ways. With the manga, it has not one but two animes, games, and to top it all off; a highly successful live-action adaptation. All that has come his way is rare to find but the way it impacted the series’ popularity can hardly be ignored. The way Oda’s chef d’oeuvre became mainstream, it was also introduced to a large number of fans who haven’t much experience in watching other anime.
Criticism of one in comparison to another when the latter hasn’t even been watched is unjust. Many would gatekeep the series, defending its every flaw and bump. Others would talk ill about some of the most well-regarded anime and manga just to help One Piece grow. Iconic works like Bleach, Naruto, and others became victims of the same.
However, much to everyone’s surprise, one of the biggest to take a hit from a fresher One Piece fandom was Dragon Ball. There is a reason why Akira Toriyama’s series isn’t regarded as the big 3 of Shonen. It is because the manga and anime revolutionized the genre. It paved the way for all the other manga and even inspired almost a majority of them all. Eiichir Oda was no different.
Eiichiro Oda’s Respect for Dragon Ball
During an interview for the One Piece Artbook: Color Walk 1 (via the Grand Line), Eiichiro Oda couldn’t help but fawn over the one mangaka who redefined his world, Akira Toriyama. While fans create discourse over who and what is better, the real masterminds behind the scenes had a camaraderie worth great respect.
He’s god! He is in an entirely different dimension. All in all, he’s just too good at drawing!
While fans find ways to undermine Toriyama and his genius, Oda wasn’t one to bend to the trends. Dragon Ball has always played a big part in paving the way for some of the biggest anime and manga out there, to discredit it is only disrespectful.
For Oda, he was immediately drawn to the series. It took him only one episode to understand that there would never be anyone like Toriyama. It has been world-famous for much longer than One Piece was even a fragment of an idea.
