Eiichiro Oda’s rebellious nature led One Piece to become an inspiration for others.

SUMMARY

One Piece’s greatest accomplishment is that it inspired a vast number of other manga creators.
Oda never intended for the One Piece manga to inspire anyone; instead, he wanted to defy convention in the manga community.
He previously stated that when he first started, the rules of the manga world were different, and he sought to distinguish himself from other manga creators.

There is no denying that Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece has had a huge impact on the growth and popularity of the anime and manga world. The series has earned worldwide recognition and has become one of the biggest anime franchises in the world. Still, One Piece’s greatest honor is that it served as an inspiration to a large number of other manga creators.
Straw Hat Pirates (Credit: Toei Animation)
From My Hero Academia to Edens Zero, many manga creators have tried to carry on Oda and One Piece’s legacy with their own adaptations. However, this was never the intention of Oda. Oda’s purpose in creating the One Piece manga was never to inspire anyone but to rebel against the norms of the manga world.

He once revealed in an interview that when he started, the rules of the manga world were different and he wanted to stand out from other manga creators, which is why he decided to take a separate path and create his own art style, which initially was criticized but later on became an inspiration for many.

Things Were Different When Eiichiro Oda Started His Career as a Mangaka

In 2018, My Hero Academia Vol.Origin featured an interview where Kohei Horikoshi (My Hero Academia’s creator) got a chance to sit with his idol and discuss their work. This interview was translated by Edomonogatari. During the interview, Horikoshi revealed that One Piece’s most unique aspect that influenced him was the character’s ability to say whatever they wanted.

Replying to Horikoshi’s comment, Oda stated:

But in the era when I was first serialized, things were different. Characters who said whatever they were thinking, like Luffy, were seen as disgraceful.

One Piece | Toei Animation
According to the One Piece manga creator, although this trait became quite popular in the industry, it was initially seen as disgraceful. He stated that things were different back then, and every character, even the protagonist, had to follow a certain limit as to what they could and could not say, but Oda went against it.

Eiichiro Oda Wanted to Be a Rebel Against The Times

Continuing on his statement about One Piece’s serialization, Eiichiro Oda stated that he did not like the norms that limit the character’s mindset and their ability to express themselves. This is why he was hellbent on rebelling against these rules, and he did so with his magnum opus, One Piece.
One Piece | Toei Animation
Oda stated:

When I was young, I was fixated on rebelling against the times. For example, it was popular for girls to have the tips of their hair curled inward, so I drew them curled outward.

He further talked about his art style and revealed:

I simply had to stand out. My art style used to be criticized as weird, so I never could’ve dreamed that people would later want to pursue a career in manga because of me.

Oda even confessed to the fact that, because of his rebellious nature, his artwork was criticized, and people found it weird.

He even revealed that he never thought that his need to stand out would lead One Piece to become an inspiration for other manga creators to draw their own dreams and enter the manga world.