One Piece’s creator, Eiichiro Oda is known for his character designs. His ability to draw unique characters is quite famous in the anime and manga world. He has literally drawn entire races for his masterpiece’s storyline and he still continues to impress the One Piece fans with characters that have never been seen before.
However, he doesn’t just get the perfect character design on the first try. Over the years, he has created multiple character designs and rejected them so that he can achieve the perfect aspect for the character that matches his presence with the storyline or arc he is in. The perfect example of this is the Navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates, Nami.
Compared to the beginning of One Piece, Nami has developed quite a lot in terms of character and her physical appearance just like other characters. However, a resurfaced concept art of Nami has led fans to believe that her initial character design would have been a better choice for her than her current one.
Nami’s Concept Art Resurfaces on the Internet
Recently, an X(Formerly Twitter) account by the name of @opdaiIy shared the original character designs of Nami and Sanji from One Piece. These designs instantly went viral and attracted a lot of attention from One Piece fans. The original designs of both Sanji and Nami are completely different from how they look now.
Nami was originally intended to wear a ragged pair of jeans with a single stripped legging, and her hair was done in bunches. She also had noticeable scars on her body and boots. The fans were taken aback by her single metal armored boot, gauntlet, and enormous war axe. The axe is almost as tall as she is, and it is shackled by a bulky-looking chain.
Although this character design would have changed the entire storyline of Nami, it would surely have made her more threatening and would have helped her add more power to the Straw Hat crew. She would have been much stronger than a lot of characters in One Piece.
One Piece Fans Believe Eiichiro Oda Should Have Kept Nami’s Original Design
As the tweet regarding Sanji and Nami’s original design went viral, One Piece fans started expressing their opinions about Oda’s art and his vision for the main characters of the One Piece storyline.
While many understood that this character design for Nami would have changed her entire character development, others believed that Eiichiro Oda should have kept Nami’s original design as it would have helped her and the Straw Hat crew during their battles.
Some fans even believed that if Nami’s original design had stayed in the One Piece story, she would have taken down Arlong and the other Fishmen by herself.
With those looks,nami could have defeated Arlong and the fishmen from the beginning
— el llanero y rango (@Arturojose51894) April 6, 2024
I’m so obsessed with both of these, we were kinda robbed https://t.co/UsnbZY50Ds
— Monkey D. Freaky (@nicorobinkissr) April 6, 2024
i need nami to whip out the comically large axe just one please oda i beg https://t.co/MFdcdGHD9R
— vivian 🪷 (@vivianity_) April 6, 2024
This Nami would've been so much better than what we have rnan https://t.co/mf5tPTHB7g
— coco 😀 (@serizawascrocs) April 7, 2024
og Sanji do eat fr and Nami looks tough.. i wonder if she’d have a different personality https://t.co/0kJTiGIKjW
— タイラ (@tyrafm) April 7, 2024
prosthetic arm big axe Nami save me…… https://t.co/qk2cDfScpF
— 𐀔 aracel¡ • CB•K12•PRLS 𐀔 (@sopademiso_) April 6, 2024
Although the original Nami’s design looks way cooler than the current one, it would have changed the personality and the development of Nami as a character and would have robbed One Piece fans of the many great moments that involved her as the central figure.
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