Oda Reveals His Favorite Part Of Drawing One Piece 

This article contains spoilers from One Piece’s Post-Timeskip.

Summary

• Oda loves drawing relaxing scenes with Straw Hat Pirates on the deck of a ship.
• He prioritizes wholesome interactions over battles, creating a balance in One Piece.
• Oda mixes various story elements to prevent monotony and maintain motivation.

The author of One Piece, Eiichiro Oda is a phenomenal writer that fans have come to love over the years. Oda has written a story the likes of which can hardly ever be matched, and it is safe to say that One Piece has a fair shout at being not just the greatest manga, but at the same time, the greatest fictional story to ever be written. With the story now being in the Final Saga, fans are wondering as to what direction Oda will take from here onwards.

Naturally, fans have their eyes on the many exciting battles that will take place in the Final Saga, and at the same time, the major reveals that Oda will make in this part of the story. One would think that making these major reveals or drawing exciting battles is what Oda enjoys most about his manga. But, in the past, Oda has clearly commented on what he loves to do the most when drawing One Piece and the answer might actually surprise the fans.

Oda Reveals He Loves Drawing Relaxing Scenes The Most

• The Straw Hats rarely get relaxing moments in One Piece
• Oda loves to draw relaxing scenes

Oda is an individual with a rather surprising taste for a shonen author. While it is no surprise to know that Oda loves to draw boundless adventure and the many mysteries of the world, that is not what he enjoys drawing the most. According to Oda himself, if he had the opportunity to draw whatever he wanted, he would simply draw the Straw Hat Pirates relaxing on the deck of a ship. Oda loves fighting scenes, but that doesn’t mean they’re his favorite. It seems that Oda prefers drawing wholesome scenes with the Straw Hat Pirates rather than exciting battles. This might also be down to the fact that Oda doesn’t get the opportunities to draw these relaxing scenes anymore, especially after the timeskip, when the series has picked up base quite a bit.

With strong enemies just around the corner almost every time, what Oda can do with the Straw Hat Pirates is limited greatly. Perhaps, that is one of the reasons why he would rather draw the Straw Hats relaxing on the deck than fight. But, it is also down to personal taste. Oda is simply more into having the Straw Hats enjoy their day-to-day lives, and show the fans how their daily interactions would be. This is what he had to say about what he loves to draw in One Piece:

I’d rather draw Straw Hats relaxing on the deck of a ship than fighting. But if that’s all I do, my audience would not enjoy it. Although I enjoy drawing battle scenes, I love an atmosphere more like the Moomin Valley. – Oda, 1998

Oda himself clearly states that he loves drawing battle scenes. But, if he were to make the decision himself, he would certainly prioritize relaxing scenes for the Straw Hat Pirates. This is his preference, and it is very well reflected in One Piece as well. Clearly, One Piece isn’t centered around major fights. Of course, fights make up a massive part of the story, but that is not what One Piece is all about. In fact, fights are not even why fans love One Piece the way they do. It is Oda’s incredible character writing, worldbuilding, and a sense of adventure that One Piece oozes off that makes fans love the story as much as they do.

In many ways, most fans of One Piece share this love for the Straw Hat Pirates simply relaxing and doing mundane things atop the Sunny. That is what they have come to love over the years, and it just goes to show that they have this in common with Oda himself. Of course, then, there are also certain fans who only care about battles, and these tend to be fans of a certain swordsman.

Regardless, just because Oda loves to draw relaxing scenes in One Piece more, doesn’t mean that he gets to do so. As fans know, the Straw Hat Pirates haven’t had any time to relax as of late, and this is simply because the pace that One Piece is moving at is absolutely blistering. Fans have seen the Straw Hat Pirates move from one place to another and fight one enemy after the other.

Currently, One Piece is in the Final Saga, and as Oda has himself said in the past, this arc going to be the most chaotic of all, which means the Straw Hats will have little time to themselves.

Oda Likes To Mix Things Up

Oda Hates To Draw Linear Stories

While it is true that Oda prioritizes relaxing and calming scenes more than exciting battles, it is not all he likes. In fact, if Oda wrote a manga simply about the Straw Hats relaxing, it would not be as good as it is. Of course, you could still make a great slice-of-life series and that is something most fans would pay to watch, but, Oda himself would not be satisfied with his and be bored, based on his words himself. Previously, Oda has stated that he doesn’t want a monotonous story at all and that he wants to incorporate various elements of story writing into his One Piece, so that this series is perfect in every way. Here is what the order had to say in 2012:

I get bored easily. So if One Piece was just about the action, or comedy, or tear-jerking manga, more than anybody, I would get bored. So I change up my art styles to keep up my motivation to draw the series. I think of the plots and scenes when I’m tired. – Oda

As it’s clear from Oda’s words, he’s very careful about what to incorporate into his story and how. This is how Oda finds the perfect balance and is also why the story is as good as it is. Hopefully, Oda will continue this in the Final Saga as well and give fans the greatest battle in One Piece that they could not have even imagined. Of course, action in this saga is going to be more than One Piece has ever had, such is its nature. However, that only means that One Piece will likely see an increasingly healthy blend of other things as well, making for the perfect saga and possibly the best part of One Piece.

For now, the story is in the Elbaf arc, and its beginning parts are already exciting the fans, with a lot of them even stating that it feels like pre-time skip One Piece all over again. All the character interactions, exciting battles, and major reveals make this part of the story incredibly intriguing, and hopefully, it goes on to surpass all expectations and excite the fans even more going forward.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus apps. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1134, is set to be December 22, 2024.