One Piece Creator Is More Excited for Monsters Than Anyone

One Piece has become one of the biggest heavy hitters in the anime world for good reason. With the Straw Hat Pirates’ journey releasing anime episodes and manga chapters for decades, creator Eiichiro Oda has had his schedule fit to bursting. Thanks to the continued success of the mangaka, Netflix is releasing an anime adaptation of one of the creator’s first works, Monsters, on its platform this month on January 21st and Oda could not be more thrilled.

Monsters was a one-shot released in 1994, years before Luffy had gathered the Straw Hat Pirates in an effort to make Monkey the king of the pirates. Taking place in the same universe, Monsters would follow the story of the samurai named Ryuma as he fought against dragons rather than sailing the seas in search of the One Piece. Ironically enough, Ryuma would make an appearance in One Piece proper during the Thriller Bark Arc, though he certainly didn’t look like his former self. Brought back from the dead as a zombie when coming face-to-face with the Straw Hat Pirates, it will be interesting to see if the samurai will return to the shonen series one more time before its grand finale.

Eiichiro Oda’s Love of Monsters

Oda recently took the opportunity to share his thoughts on his story that pre-dated the Straw Hats finally receiving an anime adaptation decades after its debut. Here’s what the mangaka had to say, “I can’t believe “Monsters,” the one-shot manga I drew in my youth is getting an animated adaptation! THIS IS THE LIFE!!! “

If this is your first time venturing into the initial story that focused on the Grand Line, Netflix has released an official description for Monsters that reads as such, “MONSTERS takes us back in time to the story of the samurai Ryûma. Years before, a dragon horn with magical powers was stolen, and the samurai finds himself caught up in the catastrophe around that dragon’s horn, and the devastating appearance of a dragon in town…”

Do you think that the star of Monsters will return to the Grand Line one more time before One Piece’s finale? What other manga do you want to see receive an anime adaptation that has yet to receive one? 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. 

Via Pew Piece