This article contains spoilers for One Piece's Final Saga.
One Piece fans know very well that Eiichiro Oda is one of the biggest names when it comes to authors in the world. He is, quite easily, the biggest mangaka to ever exist, and the popularity of his series all over the world goes to show for it.
One Piece: Dressrosa And 5 Other Arcs That Oda Could've Made Shorter
Dressrosa was quite the long arc in One Piece. It, and other arcs, could have been made shorter.
Undoubtedly, One Piece is massive and is bound to get even bigger, but what must also be acknowledged is the fact that One Piece is only as big as it is because of Dragon Ball. Akira Toriyama, the author of Dragon Ball, was a big source of inspiration for Eiichiro Oda. Eventually, however, Oda went on to surpass Toriyama and all those who came before.
Eiichiro Oda Considers Toriyama A God
- Toriyama Inspired Oda And Many Others
- One Piece Wouldn't Exist Without Dragon Ball
It is no surprise for any fan of anime and manga to know that Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball is quite easily the most important name when it comes to Shonen stories. He completely redefined what a Shonen story was supposed to be, and at the same time, he also created a formula that would then be followed for decades to come, and is even followed to this day.
For me, Toriyama is a God! — Eiichiro Oda
It is no surprise to know that all the big mangaka worship Toriyama. Be it the creator of Naruto, Hunter X Hunter, or One Piece, or even newer series like My Hero Academia or Jujutsu Kaisen; everyone acknowledges the impact of Akira Toriyama. Accordingly to Oda, Toriyama is a God when it comes to manga, and that's something he will always believe. After all, without Toriyama, One Piece wouldn't exist.
Oda Wanted One Piece To Be Different From Dragon Ball
Oda's Approach To Storytelling Is Very Unique
While it is true that Oda thinks of Toriyama as a God and that Toriyama inspired Oda and many others, it is also true that authors went on to surpass Toriyama. Oda, for instance, has written a story that is far more complex than Dragon Ball and is widely considered a generational masterpiece the likes of which will never be seen again. Dragon Ball may be better in terms of fights, but One Piece offers a unique experience of storytelling, and Oda himself acknowledges this:
I'm working hard to draw fights with dramatic stories. If I had drawn a pure battle manga, it'd have been easily overwhelmed by Dragon Ball. I had to avoid competing with DB which was so entertaining that I myself was addicted to. — Eiichiro Oda, 2007
August 9 Will Be A Big Day For One Piece Fans
August 9 will be a huge day for fans of the One Piece series.
One Piece Has Far Surpassed Dragon Ball
Oda never wanted to draw a pure battle manga, and that's not One Piece's best-selling point either. One Piece is far bigger than that, and fans know very well that Eiichiro Oda's masterpiece has, since then, gone on to surpass Toriyama's work. The sales of the series globally, and its popularity in Japan itself are proof of the fact that One Piece has now surpassed Dragon Ball, and by far.
One Piece Chapter 1157 will be out in two weeks. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on August 16. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1157 is August 16, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Network
- Fuji TV
- Directors
- Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
Cast
-
Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
