Naruto Editor Reveals Why the Hit Series Studied One Piece

These days, the world has its eyes trained on One Piece and for good reason. It has been 20+ years since the series debuted, and creator Eiichiro Oda has yet to let up his grip. One Piece remains one of the top-performing titles at Shueisha, and since its launch, the fandom has seen hits come and go. No such series has managed to hit the heights that Naruto did, and in case you were wondering, the team behind the ninja manga studied One Piece extensively.

Don’t believe it? Well, Yahagi Kosuke is the one who told Shonen Jump readers all about it. The editor, who oversaw Naruto from the beginning, spoke with a number of editors during a roundtable in 2019. It was there Yahagi owned up to the lessons that One Piece taught Naruto.

“To begin with, One Piece started serialization before Naruto. [Kishimoto] also said, ‘It can never compete with One Piece. One Piece is too interesting.’ I also thought it was too interesting, but I said, ‘You shouldn’t say that,’” the editor shared. “So when we started working on Naruto, we broke down and analyzed ‘What is so great about One Piece?’”

Continuing, Yahagi pointed out some of the most impressive pieces of One Piece that went on to influence Naruto. The editor said Oda made his manga feel like an RPG with all its different settings. Audiences would follow the Straw Hat crew as they went through various lands to complete a mission before the cycle began anew. Beyond that, Yahagi praised One Piece for giving dedicated arcs to its main characters rather than singling out Luffy for adventure.

“The more I study One Piece, the more amazing it is. I can’t compete with this. If I want to compete with the manga, I’ll have to surprise people with action. I’m conscious of that. Kishimoto himself said, ‘I can’t write a story more moving than One Piece,’ so I thought I’d try to compete somewhere else. There’s no point competing under the same magazine…Naruto went in its own direction. And its creator’s art was amazing,” the Naruto editor shared.

Clearly, Naruto follows the same shonen staples that One Piece abides by, but both series do their own thing. If you have never checked out Naruto, well – the series is easy enough to find. The main series and its sequel can be read on the Shonen Jump app. So for more info on Naruto, you can read its official synopsis below:

“Twelve years ago the Village Hidden in the Leaves was attacked by a fearsome threat. A nine-tailed fox spirit claimed the life of the village leader, the Hokage, and many others. Today, the village is at peace and a troublemaking kid named Naruto is struggling to graduate from Ninja Academy. His goal may be to become the next Hokage, but his true destiny will be much more complicated. The adventure begins now!”

What do you think about this Naruto confession? Let us know what you think over on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!