Summary
One Piecestands out as the longest running and weirdest manga to have ever been written for a mainstream audience. This can be credited toits author, Eiichiro Oda, who is able to weave new and interesting plot points effortlessly into his established outline for the series.
To expand on the weirdness, Oda also has his regular Q&A column, featured in collected versions of the manga. SBS (Shitsumon o Boshū Suru or I’m Taking Questions) often features Oda answering questions from his fans. A lot of these shape the canon of the series in a way that is minimal, but often serve to make it seem just a little bit more weird than it was before.
5No Romance Within the Straw Hats Confirmed
Source: SBS Volume 34; Chapter 317
A lot of Shonen manga such asNarutoand the variousDragon Ballseriestend to tease and eventually romantically pair off their leads. This is a broader popular convention for long-form stories in general thatOne Piecetends to break with. Oda confirmed that there are no plans for romance within the Straw Hat Pirates. This likely protrudes from Oda’s own preference of avoiding romance in his own stories, preferring to focus more on bonds of friendship.
That said, this restriction has not limited one-sided infatuation from outside or even within directed at the Straw Hats. In a particularly hilarious exampleis Boa Hancock, considered the world’s most beautiful woman, is deeply in love with Luffy. She notably views his female crewmates, Nami and Robin, as romantic rivals, despite the lack of any romance between either pirate and Luffy. Within the crew, Sanji, a man who is deeply attracted to most women, is also continually affectionate towards Nami, Robin, and even Vivi during her time in the Straw Hat Pirates.
While genuine romances do exist in the story, they are not a continual focus and tend to happen to characters less significant to the overall narrative. One example is Capone Bege, a mafioso turned pirate, who married into the Charlotte Family after failing to defeat the Big Mom Pirates. Although he had plans to defect, him and his arranged wife, Chiffon, are shown to care for each other, even having a child together. After leaving the crew, the pair, along with their crew, the Fire Tank Pirates, search for Chiffon’s missing sister and manage to reunite with her long-lost father, Pound.
4Birthdays
Source: Various SBS Entries Including But Not Limited To 87-98
Birthdays are fairly trivial inOne Piece, with their placement having little effect on the actual narrative. That said, fans of the series are still curious to learn when the birthdays of certain characters are. Although some were chosen as a joke by Oda, certain birthdays are actually dictated by the fans, with a level of logic behind them. Luffy’s birthday, as chosen by Oda, is notably Children’s Day in Japan, a likely a reference to his own childish demeanor. An example of a fan-picked birthday was Nico Robin, who was confirmed in SBS Vol 25 to be born on the 6th of February. This is because certain readings of 2 and 6 correspond to the first syllables in Robin’s surname and first name.
For a time, there were also extra segments in various SBS editions, where birthdays that couldn’t fit into the main Q&A were added. There is currently at least one official character birthday corresponding to every day in the Gregorian Calendar. A number of them have even more than one character present.
3Zoro’s Teeth Pain
Source: SBS Volume 95; Chapter 955
Roronoa Zoro’sthree sword styleis an unconventional technique, which, as the name implies, allows him to carry three swords at once. He accomplishes this by putting the third into his mouth, and clenching his teeth on it. A fan identified as N. Shinya-kun asked Oda if his teeth hurt from biting the sword. Oda confirmed that this is in fact the case, but said Zoro will keep biting until he becomes the greatest in the world, referencing his goal to become the World’s Strongest Swordsman.
Oda is not the only one to lampoon the swordsman’s technique. The satirical publication, Hard Drive, published an article about Zoro’s dental problems in an article titled “Anime Hero Assures Dentist He’ll Stop Carrying Sword in Mouth.” This article posits that not only does Zoro feel pain from his style, but that it also gives him numerous dental ailments.
2Kid and Killer’s First Love
Source: SBS Volumes 87, 98, and 104
The Kid Pirates are one of the fledgling crews inOne Pieceto come from the Worst Generation. Apart from the Straw Hat Pirates, they are the only crew with two members represented in the grouping, with both Captain Eustass Kid and Killer having high enough bounties to qualify. They seem to be quite reckless, as they notably were responsible for a lot of damage and civillian casualities, even journeying from South Blue to Sabaody Archipelago.Despite their differing ideals from the Straw Hats, the two crews have stood alongside one another in various battles. Even after the Kid Pirates werewiped out by Shanks, some fans speculate they will have a resurgence of some sort.
Despite their presumed significance, little is known of their past. However, across the various SBS entries one significant character from it is noted; Victoria Shiruton Doruyanika. Victoria was a crush of Kid and Killer, who ate udon noodles in curry broth with the pair. However, once she spilled it on herself, Kid and Killer laughed at her for it, which led her to beat them up and cut contact with them.
Their four-town island, Kutsukku Island, is unaffiliated with the World Government, and is effectively ruled by the gangs present there. Victoria was later murdered by one such gang, which led to the other gang bosses in the area; Kid and his future crewmates, to team up and avenge her, deposing the offending gang from power. She also inspired the name of the Kid Pirates' now destroyed ship, Victoria Punk. While it feels odd to identify most of this detail in the Q&A sections, it does highlight a lot of otherwise unknown info about this somewhat important pirate crew.
1Devil Fruits Affect Private Parts
Source: SBS Volumes 8, 12, 45, and More
Arguably the most infamous set of SBS answers from Oda concerns theDevil Fruit users’reproductive organs. A consistent rule of thumb is that any Devil Fruit power can be utilized by the user’s privates if it is something that can affect their whole body. Although Oda has yet to come out and say this is directly, he will assert as much every time he is asked about a specific user’s Devil Fruit. While this may seem obvious to certain readers, Oda will nonetheless double down and clarify whenever asked about a Devil Fruit user’s specific powers in this regard.
Examples include Buggy being able to detach his genitals and Robin being able to sprout her more indecent body parts elsewhere if she so desires. This aspect is not visually shown, likely due to the manga’s intended audience of young boys, but Oda seems consistent in his willingness to clarify this X-rated aspect of Devil Fruit powers.
