One Piece Creator Talks 25th Anniversary

Eiichiro Oda has had a big year and is taking the opportunity to celebrate One Piece's anime turning 25.

One Piece's anime adaptation has been following the Straw Hat Pirates for decades. While the final saga is playing out in One Piece's manga, the anime series is only dipping its toes into the arc that will see Luffy and his crew sail into the sunset. As the twenty-fifth-anniversary approaches for the Toei Animation production, creator Eiichiro Oda has taken the opportunity to talk about the accomplishment as he continues to work on the manga and forge Luffy's future.

Aside from creating the story of the Grand Line, Eiichiro Oda recently played a major role when it came to creating the successful live-action adaptation of One Piece. Acting as Executive Producer, the showrunners detailed how almost all of the decisions made for the series had to go through Eiichiro Oda for approval. So involved is Oda in the Netflix series, that the streaming service had the mangaka confirm that a second season was in the works. Sharing that the live-action series would be adding Tony Tony Chopper to the Straw Hats, Oda is clearly planning to remain a part of Netflix's take on the world of the Grand Line for the foreseeable future.

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(Photo: Toei Animation)

One Piece's Anime Turns 25

In a special message to fans, Oda had the following to say when it came to One Piece's twenty-fifth-anniversary for the shonen's anime series, "Let it sweep you away, One Piece! The anime is now on its 25th anniversary! Isn't that awesome? I watch it sometimes, but did you know that right now, you can watch the whole One Piece anime on YouTube 24/7? The planning is crazy! If you watch it continuously, you can finish it in twenty days! And yes, you can also catch up on the latest episodes! Let the emotional background music flow. Seems like they will do this for the whole year, it's like magic." 

While the final saga might be underway in the manga, the franchise might still have several years ahead of it. One Piece may still be releasing new episodes for its thirtieth-anniversary five years from today. Eiichiro Oda will one day stop drawing One Piece's manga but it seems as though he might still be connected to the franchise for the rest of his life. 

What do you think of Oda's message to fans on One Piece's 25th anniversary? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Grand Line. 

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