When it comes to the most iconic anime in the world, the list can go on and on, but it would be incomplete without two significant works; Dragon Ball and One Piece. For years, Eiichiro Oda has come to praise Akira Toriyama for the masterpiece that shook the world. He has gained popularity not just in the eyes of the audience but also that of other renowned mangakas as well.
Honoring the fact that the two had great respect for each other, they often wrote anecdotes about one another, giving boosts of confidence neither knew they needed. Toriyama’s untimely passing came as a sudden sorrowful surprise to either world, making it seem as if a part of what made it whole was taken away in an instant.
So, to learn what the Dragon Ball creator said about Oda’s magnum opus in their last meeting might as well pain every fan.
Akira Toriyama Found His Push to Read One Piece
In an interview with Eiichiro Oda in One Piece’s artwork book, Color Walk 1, Akira Toriyama gave his insights on what he felt made Oda’s work stand out. He admitted that it took him a push to get into the manga, claiming that before that, he never understood what the hype about One Piece really was.
“There’s nothing else for me to say! My own child also reads One Piece really voraciously, too. So, I also read it.”
The Dragon Ball mangaka revealed that it was only after his child started reading the series that his own curiosity started to pique.
He wondered what made the manga so great and felt as if trying his hand wouldn’t be too bad, considering that the entire world was going bonkers over it, including his child.
Akira Toriyama Changed His Mind About One Piece
Up until his own child began reading the manga, Akira Toriyama was oblivious to the fame that One Piece was gaining. However, that all changed when he actually gave it a try. He, too, got sucked into the craze that was created by Eiichiro Oda’s work. To get praised by the creator of Dragon Ball is a big feat on its own.
“I really understood why everyone was crazy about One Piece! So, just keep doing your best from now on!!”
To have Toriyama become a fan of their work is an even bigger achievement, and Oda managed to do it. Needless to say, he pushed the One Piece writer to keep on going in the trajectory he had created, and it would reap him good things in the future.
Toriyama urged Oda to continue on, pursue greatness, and make Luffy and One Piece the absolute bomb that it is today.
