One Piece Creator Sends Special Message to His Hometown’s Students

One Piece remains one of the most popular Shonen series alongside the likes of Dragon Ball and Naruto, thanks in part to the work of one man in the form of Eiichiro Oda and his tireless effort to create the regularly released manga that documents the story of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, and he has a special message to the students of his hometown. Growing up in the city of Kumamoto in Japan, Eiichiro Oda recently spoke with T1 Park Magazine to share a word of advice for the students currently wrestling with the coronavirus pandemic.

Eiichiro Oda has his hands full currently not just with creating one of the biggest story lines in both One Piece‘s anime and manga, but also assisting the fine folks at Netflix in the creation of a live action series that will depict Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates in an entirely new way. While we don’t have a release date yet for the arrival of the live action adaptation of the long running Shonen series, Netflix has already added the first few sagas of the anime to the streaming service. Oda himself is one of the hardest working figures in the medium of manga, having gone on record about the long hours he puts in to create the world of the Grand Line, and with his advice to the students of Kumamoto, is hoping to spread some much needed advice for many.

Twitter User Sandman_AP shared this excerpt from the interview with T1 Park Magazine that has Eiichiro Oda telling students of Kumamoto currently affected by the coronavirus pandemic to “stop reading manga and prepare for your own future” as COVID-19 has essentially “stopped” the world:

Eiichiro Oda has worked on One Piece for decades, hinting that the conclusion of the story of the Straw Hat Pirates is moving ever closer. With the Wano Country Arc placing the Straw Hat Pirates and their enemies into a giant battle unlike anything that the series has seen to this date, it’s clear that Oda’s hard work has been paying off in spades!

What do you think of Oda’s message to the students of Kumamoto? 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!