Eiichiro Oda has introduced a lot of characters in One Piece, but according to fans, the cutest character among them is Tony Tony Chopper, the doctor of the Straw Hat Pirates. Chopper first appeared during the Drum Island arc, and the backstory of the character melted the hearts of every One Piece fan.
The major credit for Chopper’s cuteness goes to Ikue Ootani, the voice actor for the character. Ootani is known for playing Pikachu in Pokémon, Konohamaru in Naruto, and Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya in Detective Conan. Ootani’s voice is one of the cutest voices in the anime industry, and her roles certainly reflect that.
During an interview, Oda talked about Ootani’s role as Chopper. He praised her and stated that because of her, Oda had to change one major rule about mascots. Mascots are cute or comedic side characters who tend to leave a huge impact on viewers and fans. In a way, these mascot characters represent their anime series.
Eiichiro Oda Changed Chopper to a Mascot Character Because of Ikue Ootani
In 2022, Oda gave an interview along with the creator of Detective Conan, Gosho Aoyama for the Weekly Shonen Jump 34. This interview was later translated and shared by @Orojapan1 on X(Formerly Twitter). During the interview, Oda revealed why he changed Chopper to a mascot character in One Piece.
Oda stated:
“I’ve also changed Chopper to a mascot character after hearing the anime voice. I have a policy “Not wanting to draw mascots” but Ootani Ikue’s voice was too cute(laughs)”
According to Eiichiro Oda, he had a policy about not wanting to draw mascot characters for anime. He wanted his series to not have a single character define or represent his entire work. However, when he heard Ootani’s voice as Chopper, he found it so cute that he decided to change Chopper into a mascot.
Tony Tony Chopper’s Change from a Normal Character to a Mascot Character
While many One Piece fans might not have noticed it, Chopper went through a lot of significant changes during the course of One Piece, when Oda decided to change Chopper to a mascot character. Not only did his physical appearance change, but even his Devil Fruit forms went through some decent changes.
When Chopper was introduced, he was not as plump as he is today. He looked like a reindeer and was more furry. His cuteness mostly came from his voice or his actions, especially when someone would praise him. The final form of his Devil Fruit transformation was essentially a huge reindeer monster, which was too scary.
However, after the time skip, Chopper was deemed the mascot character of One Piece as he went through a lot of changes. He became a little chibby, and his clothes were also changed. He became much cuter, and even his transformations became less scary. He even gained control over his monster-point transformation.
You can watch One Piece on Crunchyroll.
