This was an interview with One Piece author Eiichiro Oda which was published in the One Piece: Blue Grand Data File volume. Unlike many interviews where author Oda is in the presence of co-workers or individuals he does/must respect, this was a one-on-one interview and it is very possible to see his jovial and relaxed nature coming through which readers have come to love through his SBS segements. This book went on sale in Japan on August 7th, 2002. The information is accurate as of publishing, but no date was provided for the interview. To my knowledge this is the first time this has appeared in English anywhere so I would appreciate your cooperation in not spreading a copied and pasted version for posting on other websites. I do, however, strongly encourage anyone to use this as a resource or as a starting point to create their own translation. I have attempted to "translocalize" this as much as possible. That said, in instances where I have altered the original text I have clearly made note of any such changes below Oda's answer. I should also point out that since much of the interview centers on a 'personal' and thereby distinctly foreign aspect of Oda's life (to anyone not born to Japanese parents in Japan at any rate) I have made every attempt to explain or provide additional information on people, places or things that Oda mentions which non-Japanese individuals may not be familiar with. Please direct any other questions you might have to me and I would be happy to discuss them with you. Thank you all and please enjoy.
Profile
Q.01 What is your
birthdate?
Showa 50
January 1st
[Showa 50 is 1975]
Q.02 What is your
blood-type?
A
Q.03 Where are you
originally from?
Q.04 In your childhood,
what kind of boy were you?
A bug
collecting kid.
Q.05 What were your
favorite and least favorite subjects?
Liked Fine
Arts and hated Math.
Q.06 As a student, what
club activities were you in?
Soccer
club.
Q.07 What JUMP manga of the
past did you like?
DRAGONBALL
Q.08 What manga artist
influenced you and also, which manga artist do you respect?
Akira
Toriyama sensei
Q.09 What motivated you to
think about becoming a manga artist? Also, around what age was this?
Because you
don’t have to do a [real] job. At age 4.
Q.10 If you didn’t become a
manga artist what kind of work would you have gone into?
Never
thought about it.
Q.11 Which historic figure
do you like and respect?
Nobunaga Oda (I don’t respect him. Just our last
names are the same so no real reason.)
Q.12 What individual do you
have an aspiration to become like?
Akira Toriyama sensei
Q.13 What is your motto
sensei?
Never
thought about it.
Q.14 Up to now, what has
someone said to you that has left a lasting impression?
“Writing is
expressing!”
Q.15 What real pirate has
left an impression on you and is there a certain figure you’re interested in?
Edward Teach (Blackbeard)
Q.16 What do you think
you’ll have become in 30 years?
SOMETHING AMAZING
Q.17 Is there any one thing
that you simply cannot forgive?
Someone who
doesn’t give a greeting.
Q. 18Who are your good
manga artist friends?
Our group
of assistants from Nobuhiro Watsuki sensei’s place. (Hiroyuki Takei, Mikio
Itou, etc.) Shimabu- (Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro)
[Nobuhiro Watsuki
was the author of Rurouni Kenshin.]
[Hiroyuki Takei went
on to create Shaman King.]
[Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro
was author of Seikimatsu Leader Den Takeshi. Mere days after the volume which this interview is contained in was put on sale, ‘Shimabu-‘ was arrested for paying a 16-year-old girl to perform lewd acts.]
Q.19 Recently what has made
you most happy?
My
connection with the animation allows me to make friends with a lot of people.
Q.20 What are you most
interested in right now?
Stuff
related to a man named ‘Sou Kuramoto’
[Sou Kuramoto
is famous for his writing abilities in both film and drama. He wrote the
screenplay for the film Eki ‘Station’ which starred the legendary Ken Takakura
(Mr.
Baseball, Black Rain). He has also written one of
Q.21 Is there a particular
item you’re into collection now?
Playmobile
Q.22 What is your hobby
sensei?
Appreciating
film.
Q.23 If you were an animal,
what would you be?
A sloth
that means serious business if it really means it.
Q.24 If you were to keep a pet,
what kind of living creature would you own?
Ostrich
Q.25 (Tashigi, Kuina,
Nojiko and so on are characters with bird names but) What kind of bird do you
like best?
Seagull
Q.26 What sport do you like
(or are talented at) and what sport do you dislike (or have a tough time with)?
I like
soccer, I don’t dislike any sport.
Q.27 What food do you like
and what food do you dislike?
I like
meat, I don’t dislike any food.
Q.28 If there’s a kind of
food you’ve recently gotten into, please tell us what it is.
Melted
cheese
Q.29 How do you spend your
days off?
Somehow or
other I just get outside.
Q.30 If you had the time,
what would you do?
Fishing,
camping.
Q.31 What place(s) do you
definitely want to visit once?
Q.32 Are you with the
indoors clique or the outdoors clique?
Indoor
wishing I was outdoors.
Q.33 What do you do to blow
off stress?
Write an
interesting manga.
Q.34 What’s your favorite
place?
A teensy
garden.
Q.35 In your normal
lifestyle, when do you feel happiest?
When
writing an interesting manga.
Q.36 Other than One Piece,
is there a manga genre you’d like to try and write?
ROBOT MANGA
Q.37 Is there a secret
which no one around knows?
The secret
of the naming of the title One Piece.
Q.38 Has another person ever
pointed out a habit of yours?
It seems
when I concentrate I stick my tongue out.
Q.39 Please describe your
personality in one word.
Wonderful
Q.40 What kind of thing
written in a fan letter makes you most happy?
“Thank you”
Q.41 If there’s something
you’d like to say to readers on this occasion, please shout it out.
THANK YOU FOR
Interests
Q.01 Do you have a favorite
television program?
I don’t
really watch television. But if there are some comedians on I’ll watch.
Q.02 What animation do you
like?
Q.03 What manga do you
like?
Akazukin
Cha Cha, Gag Manga Biyori.
[Here is a link to Akazukin Cha
Cha ‘Red Riding Hood Cha Cha’ info I found on Absolute Anime.]
[Here is a link to the Gag Manga
Biyori ‘Gag Manga Weather’ DVD promotion site. Beware, no
English.]
Q.04 What magazine do you
read with great pleasure?
JUMP
Q.05 Which performer are
you into?
B&B
[Yoshichi Shimada
and Yohachi Shimada’s manzai comedy pair that is now no longer
performing. In fact, it is impressive that Oda even knows they exist. They
began their routine in 1972 before Oda was even born. This is likely due to a
brief revival of their routine in the early 1990’s. Both members were pupils of
Yonosuke
Shimada (hence their stage name including Shimada) who was also the
mentor for the incorrigible Shinsuke Shimada. Most recently, Yohachi
Shimada had a role in the film Samehada Otoko to Momojiri Onna
‘Sharkskin Man & Peach Hip Girl’ which is available in the
Q.06 Morning Musume. Who do
you like best?
KEN SHIMURA
[If you’re a Morning
Musume fan then I suppose this steams you but Oda’s emphatic
response is really quite funny. Morning Musume is the ever-changing choir
famous for its prepubescent singers with an army of Lolita-complex crazed fans.
In the early 21st Century timeless comedian Ken Shimura did several
acts on television with the girls and even participated as his famous character
Baka
Tono ‘Idiot Prince’ in a MM subgroup (yes, one of the many)
single, Ai~n! The Dance Song. Oda is essentially dumping
any and all interest in the real group here. Note that more than once, Oda has
made reference to Ken Shimura’s routines. He has stated that on the cover of
Vol. 3, Luffy is performing one of Shimura’s poses, ‘Ai~n’. Chopper’s happy
dance seen throughout the series is also mimicking the dance of yet another one
of Shimura’s characters. Most recently in Vol. 34, Oda again referenced
Shimura’s Idiot Prince character by placing a wig from Foxy’s dressing room on
Luffy in the SBS. WHEW!]
Q.07 Up to now, what video
game have you gotten into the most?
Dragon Quest
[Oda used the usual term ‘dorakue’ for the
series]
Q.08 Which singers do you
like?
Bryan
Adams, Izumi Katou, Eminem, Brooke Benton.
[Bryan Adams? 0_o Eminem?! O_O Anyway,
here is Izumi Kato’s official site. Any other of
these jokers should be relatively familiar.]
Q.09 What kind of music do
you listen to at your place of work?
Soul.
Q.10 Please tell me your
top three favorite films?
Seven
Samurai, Young Guns, Nightmare Before Christmas.
Q.11 What movie genre do
you like and dislike?
Like
Westerns, dislike tear jerkers.
Q.12 What movie has made
you cry the most?
Nausicaa
Q.13 Do you have a
particular favorite Director, actor or actress?
Akira
Kurosawa, Hayao Miyazaki, Tim Burton, Baz Luhrmann, Tarantino.
[Baz Luhrmann directed Moulin Rouge]
Q.14 What novel do you
like?
The
Adventurers (Boukensha tachi)
[So long as I’m not confusing the piece,
the full title is The Adventurers - Gamba and His 15 Companions.
Of interesting note, that ‘companions’ is nakama in the title. Coincidence?
I THINK NOT! I have not read the book,
but it looks to be one of a series of books that deal with Redwall-like
adventures. An animated version of this was also released as a movie and
includes the voice talent of Masako Nozawa famous for playing the
voice of Son Goku and also in One Piece as Dr. Kureha.]
Q.15 What genre of Western
clothing do you like?
Period
fashion.
Q.16 What’s your favorite
play spot?
[Not too shabby Oda.]
Work
Q.01 What is necessary for
becoming a manga author?
Something
you want to draw. And a deep
persistant soul.
Q.02 Please tell us those
who you experienced being an assistant for in the past..
Shinobu
Kaitani sensei, Masaya Tokuhiro sensei and Nobuhiro Watsuki.
[Shinobu Kaitani
was author of Midoriyama Police Gang]
[Masaya Tokuhiro
was the author of Jungle King Tar-chan]
[Nobuhiro Watsuki,
as mentioned above, was the author of Rurouni Kenshin]
Q.03 Since becoming a manga
author, what has changed around you?
I get
called ‘sensei’ so I feel somewhat embarrassed but grateful.
Q.04 In the creation of
manga, what is your schedule for one week?
Three days
of sketching and three days of working on the final piece.
Q.05 What is your attire
while drawing manga?
Suit
(That’s a lie) Full-body tights (That’s an even bigger lie)
Q.06 Around what times do
you usually get up and then go to bed?
Depends
what I feel like.
Q.07 In order to become Oda
sensei’s assistant, what should one do?
Depend on
your luck.
Q.08 When is it that you
gets your ideas flowing?
When I head
to my desk and think.
Q.09 The characters that
appear in One Piece are filled with personality. Is there a secret key to
making your characters?
Meeting
lots of different people. And just how I feel.
Q.10 When creating new
characters, what do you use as a design reference?
Stuff like
Western clothing and things from around that area.
Q.11 In continually drawing
manga, was there ever anything that you would consider painful?
When I
can’t make a story well.
Q.12 If you were to make a
new penname for yourself, what would you make it?
Oda Topknot
or There We Goro.
[Oda actually says ‘Oda Chonmage’. A
chonmage is the topknot seen on samurai.]
[Oda actually says ‘Yokkora Goro’. The
phrase ‘yokkora shoi’ is commonly used when moving oneself, say for example out
of a really comfy chair (usually by older women) hence my attempt at somewhat
carrying the pun. Oda is also having fun here using the name Goro as the ‘go’
means 5 and the ‘ro’ is the last character of his first name.]
The Piece
Q.01 In One Piece, what is
your favorite story?
All of
them.
Q.02 If you were to eat a
Devil’s Fruit, which would you eat?
BARA BARA FRUIT
Q.03 Oda sensei becomes a
pirate. What is your crew’s name?
Our Feet
Firmly Planted in the Ground Pirate Crew
[Oda
actually says ‘Funbari Kaizokudan’. The verb funbaru is to firmly brace one’s
legs.]
Q.04 Will there be any more
members joining the Luffy Pirate Crew?
That depends on Luffy’s heart’s content.
Other
Q.01 Regarding Sensei’s
home prefecture, is there a special product from
Sliced raw
horsemeat and lotus root with mustard. They’re delicious so eat em’ up.
[The dishes in Japanese are ‘basashi’ and
‘karashirenkon’
Here is a picture of basashi and some
other interesting Japanese foods.]
Q.02 While sleeping, what
kind of dreams do you have?
Dreams
about products that can’t be made with present technology.
Q.03 You end up getting a
time machine. Where will you go?
SEE SOME DINOSAURS THEN SOME SAMURAI
AND THEN ROBOTS