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ENGLISH 2010
Eiichiro Oda:
King of the
Mangaka
Prepared and
Presented by
Jackson Connolly
ENGLISH 2010 PAGE 2
Wealth, fame, power. Eiichiro Oda, the King Even as an adult, Oda retains his playful self
of the Mangaka, attained everything he had around his workplace. Carrying his free
ever wished for in his childhood: his dream spirit on his back, he collects and gathers
job, never working a day in his life. And Oda various artifacts of shows, movies, and
doesn’t shy from imbuing his life’s work, One musicians he enjoys. He loves to gather even
Piece, with his childlike and free spirit. Ever the strangest of objects and put them in his
since he was a child, Oda had been looking studio where he draws One Piece. His books,
towards his father, an ordinary Japanese pens, and other memorabilia around his
salaryman, with dissatisfaction. He saw his studio remain scattered and unorganized,
father and knew that working isn’t fun. scrawled across the floor, desks, and even his
When Oda was 4 years old, he had a work mat where he draws. And yet, even
realization; he loved to draw. Drawing could with all of these bright and large distractions
be turned into a job through manga. “Back plaguing his workplace, “When [he] heads to
then, that meant exactly the same thing as [his] desk to think” (N/A & Oda, Tell Me!
'not working at all'” (N/A & Oda, Manga Oda Sensei!!, 2002), it really gets ideas
Tengoku, 2007). Ever since then, he strived flowing in his head, as if he flies off to
to become a mangaka to make everyone another universe, his very own One Piece,
smile with his stories. No one could stop his where he remains as free as a cloud. A
free spirit from doing as he wished. In fact, universe full of the dreams of pirates, and
his enthusiastic attitude in tandem with his one single treasure; The One Piece, the one
determination to be a mangaka led him to treasure everyone is aiming for.
the top of the world of manga.
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In every sense of the word, Oda truly represents the ideas that he wishes to convey in his work, One
Piece, that he is free to do whatever. He embodies freedom so much so that it is as if he and his own
main character are the same person. With Oda’s renown as a mangaka, you would expect him to be
stuck in a superiority role to his juniors and assistants, especially in a culture as stuffy as Japanese
work culture. Yet, that is not the case at all. He expresses himself, regardless of office hierarchy.
Even in his office, he retains a laid-back attitude, leaning against his shelves of mountains and
mountains of memorabilia. He wears such casual clothing in front of his juniors, a simple black t-
shirt and red shorts, with a loosened up posture next to his assistant. And along with all of that, his
great big, toothy smile holding all that which he holds dear: His greatest accomplishment, One
Piece. No one is afraid to hold in their true selves, even with a man who is their superior at work.
When it all comes down to it, Oda is nothing but one thing: a child in a grown man's body. He does
only as he yearns to do, as free as he believes that he is. If it is required for him to complete his
adventure story, even if his motivation, if it is truly boundless, runs out, he will go “as far as [he] can
go without killing himself” (N/A & Oda, Manga Tengoku, 2007). If there’s anything else that he
would be as ecstatic about besides his own manga, it would be the readers who go out of their way to
read his story each and every week. He admires them just as much as they admire his own work. To
that, Oda would say to all of them,
“THANK YOU FOR READING” (2002).
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ENGLISH 2010 PAGE 4
REFERENCES
N/A, & ODA, E. (2002, AUGUST 7). TELL ME! ODA SENSEI!! ONE PIECE
BLUE. OTHER. RETRIEVED SEPTEMBER 7, 2023, FROM
HTTPS://WWW.THEGRANDLINE.COM/ODATEACH.HTML
N/A, & ODA, E. (2007, DECEMBER). MANGA TENGOKU. OTHER.
RETRIEVED SEPTEMBER 7, 2023, FROM
HTTPS://WWW.THEGRANDLINE.COM/ODATENGOKU.HTM
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