One Piece Creator Inks Chopper at 40 and 60 Years Old
The creator of One Piece knows where his characters are going, but he likes to imagine how things [...]
The creator of One Piece knows where his characters are going, but he likes to imagine how things may have gone in a different timeline. In the past, Eiichiro Oda has penned Luffy and many of the Straw Hat members as adults who've either won or lost in life. Now, Tony Tony Chopper is getting his dues, and fans are loving both designs of the doctor.
For those curious, the design went live in the most recent edition of SBS. Volume 97 went live in Japan this week, and it contained all sorts of fan-questions for Oda to answer. In one of them, a One Piece fan asked Oda to do a sketch of Chopper as an adult, and the artist really delivered.
You can see the artwork below in all of its black-and-white glory. The top sketch shows Chopper in a timeline where good things happen, so he's pictured at 40 and 60 years old. As for the bottom panel, it takes place in a cursed timeline, and the aged reindeer looks like he has been through the wringer.
40 and 60 year old Chopper by Oda (from Volume 97 SBS) from r/OnePiece
According to Oda's text, the top panel shows Chopper at 40 telling his comrades to leave a battle to him. The older shot then shows the doctor prescribing medicine to someone, and he promises it can even cure idiocy.
And the bottom panel? Well, it looks like things went really wrong for Chopper here. The older reindeer is shown bandaged up with a loose jacket over his shoulders. He is seen telling someone to never mention the name Straw Hat around him ever again. The next sketch is even darker at the 60-year-old is seen ordering a sacrifice to be brought in, and his sharp teeth make it seem like Chopper is eating people in this dark timeline. Yikes!
The second timeline will surely be avoided in the actual series, but this dark timeline has intrigued One Piece fans. When Oda has shared the future of every Straw Hat, it will not take long for fans to explore this timeline further with stories. But if those fan-works focus on Chopper too much, they might end up getting a hard R rating.
What do you think about these two designs? Which timeline do you think Oda will be going with for One Piece? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.