One Piece Creator Shares Thoughts on Chapter 1000 Milestone

Eiichiro Oda has been telling the story of Luffy and his fellow Straw Hat Pirates for over twenty years, recently hitting the one-thousandth episode for the anime series as well as the one-thousandth chapter of the Shonen’s manga. Taking the opportunity to pull himself away from his desk, the mangaka took the opportunity to discuss the creation of the milestone chapter and how he struggled with creating a special installment for the Straw Hats, who of course, weren’t aware that they had reached such a massive moment in their swashbuckling careers.

In a recent interview, Eiichiro Oda had this to say about the release of the one-thousandth chapter of One Piece’s manga:

“Honestly, I didn’t have much motivation for chapter 1000, but people around me said, “One Piece is approaching Chapter 1000!” so then I thought, “Wait, am I expected to draw something special in Chapter 1000?” I gradually felt pressure around chapter 980 when my editors started some celebration plans. I had difficulty trying to spice up the story just in time for chapter 1000.

It was difficult since, in reality, Luffy and my characters don’t know they need to hype up their audience for chapter 1000. They are just acting for their own purposes. In retrospect, I’m pretty satisfied with my audience having enjoyed chapter 1000! Thank you for the celebration messages! I appreciate from the bottom of my heart that I”m allowed to draw manga for as many as 1000 chapters!”

The milestone episode of the anime reunited the Straw Hat Pirates in a major moment that definitely had an effect on the world of the Shonen franchise, showing that even though the series has been running for over twenty years, Eiichiro Oda still has the ability to create some heart-pounding moments in the series. Though Oda hasn’t been shy about the fact that the mangaka is looking to bring the story of Monkey D. Luffy journeying to become the new king of the pirates to a close within the next five years, it’s clear that One Piece will give fans some major moments before the series makes its curtain call.

What did you think of the one-thousandth chapter of One Piece’s manga? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Grand Line. 

Via Sandman_AP