Summary
Nowadays, authorEiichiro Odais known around the world for his masterpiece,One Piece,which is one of the best and most influential manga series of all time. What’s even more surprising is that he is still releasing new chapters of this thrilling pirate adventure even to this day. But everybody has to start somewhere, and that’s also true for Oda.
Before beginning work onOne Piece, Oda had already written six one-shots. These were:Wanted!,God’s Gift for the Future,Ikki Yako,MonstersandRomance Down Versions 1 & 2.All of these one-shots shapedOne Pieceone way or another and, with therecent release ofMonsters: 103 Mercies Dragon DamnationonNetflix, it’s the perfect time to analyze how they influenced the beloved series.
7Bounties & Wanted Posters
Wanted!
In 1992, Eiichiro Oda wrote and illustrated his first manga, titledWanted!. This is a story about bounty hunters and gunslingers that takes place in a western setting. While gunplay is not something that he would implement regularly inOne Piece,there’s a big element about this one-shit that would play a key role in his flagship series, and it is right there in the name.
Wanted!is all about people with bounties on their heads and the posters that inform bounty hunters about their rewards. This would later inspirethe pirate bounties and their respective wanted postersthat the Marines issue inOne Piece. Because of this, some of the characters from this one-shot, likeWild JoeandGill Bastar, have made cameos in theOne Pieceanime.
6Fantasy Comedy
Wanted!, God’s Gift For The Future
WhileOne Pieceis obviously an action-adventure shōnen manga, it stands out from its contemporaries thanks to its humor.This is a very funny series, to the point that it could be considered a comedy. And Oda practiced his skills with his previous works.
Humor is a big element of his early one-shots, especially inWanted!andGod’s Gift For The Future.These stories not only make readers laugh, but also feature fantastical characters, like ghosts or even God himself. Oda knows how to create a fascinating world and use it both to move the plot forward and to create funny scenarios.
5Swordsmanship Ranking
Monsters
Swordsmen are a crucial element ofMonsters, one of Eiichiro Oda’s most popular one-shots. The moment the story begins, readers are introduced toCyrano, who is considered one of the best swordsmen in the world. At the end of the story, it is revealed thatRyumais King himself, who’s believed to be the #1 best swordsman.
This is very similar to a big plot point inOne Piece.Roronoa Zoro(who seems to have been inspired by Ryuma) wants to becomethe world’s greatest swordsman. In order to do so, he’ll have to defeatDracule Mihawk(who seems to have been inspired by Cyrano). On top of that, Oda would later make the plot ofMonstersandShimotsuki Ryumahimself canon to theOne Piecestory.
4Mythological Creatures
Ikki Yako, Monsters, Romance Dawn V2
The world ofOne Pieceis fantastical in nature. Not just because of the superpowers granted by theDevil Fruits, but also because of its incredible flora and fauna. Actual creatures from mythological tales exist in this world without needing a Devil Fruit. There are dragons (with both western and eastern designs), krakens,the mighty Sea Kings, and many more.
It’s evident that Oda has a fascination with these types of fantastical creatures, as they’ve been featured in some of his early one-shots.Ikki Yakois about cannibalistic demons,Romance Dawn V2has a Roc bird, andMonstersexists mainly because he wanted to draw a giant dragon being decapitated.
3Strong Female Side Characters
Monsters, Romance Dawn V1, Romance Dawn V2
There’s a lot to be said about the way Oda designs and writes female charactersinOne Piece. But there’s no denying that women in that series stand out from other ones in the industry, whether it’s because of their striking designs or fierce personalities. Female characters likeNami,Nico Robin,andBoa Hancockhave gone on to become some of the most iconic ones of all time.
When reading Oda’s one-shots, it’s apparent that he always had in mind the idea of a strong female character that was never meant to be a romantic interest.FlarefromMonsters,SilkfromRomance Dawn V1,andAnnfromRomance Dawn V2are perfect examples of this. It seems like they were sources of inspiration for Nami, in both design and personality.
2Dumb Protagonist With A Heart Of Gold
God’s Gift For The Future, Monsters, Romance Dawn V1, Romance Dawn V2
Eiichiro Oda experimented with different protagonist archetypes during his early career. But he obviously decided that there was one that would work the best for the type of story he was interested in telling:an absent-minded protagonist who doesn’t hesitate to help others when it’s necessary.
This can be seen inBranfromGod’s Gift ForThe FutureandRyumafromMonsters. Even when he created an earlier version ofLuffyfor bothRomance Dawnprototypes, he had the same cheerful personality that he still has to this day. Oda just needed to flesh him out a little bit more before creating the final version of the character forOne Piecethat everybody loves.
1A Story About Pirates
Romance Dawn V1, Romance Dawn V2
Needless to say, bothRomance Dawnone-shots greatly influencedOne Piece, as they are basically the prototype versions of this manga. In the author notes of the second volume, Eiichiro Oda explains that he wanted to write a manga about pirates ever since he was in high school. Thus, he took his time to slowly build what readers know today asOne Piece.
There are a lot of elements in his flagship series that he first experimented with in those prototypes. InRomance Dawn V1Crescent-Moon Gallymentions theBest 3, which seems to have been an earlier version ofthe Yonko AKAThe Four Emperors. And while Oda would later ditch the concept ofPeace MainsandMorganeers, he would still play with the concept of good and evil pirates in the final version ofOne Piece.Oda obviously thought a lot about the pirates that would inhabit the world of his long-running manga, andOne Pieceended up benefiting from all his clever ideas.
