SBS Volume 20




 * D (Dokusha means Reader)
 * O (Oda)

Chapter 177, Page 26
'''D: HELLLOOOO to all you good little children reading the SBS Corner! Well, you sound enthusiastic. A nice friend of ours has come today. Here he is, "Eiichirou-kun". (applause) Thank you for coming. Why don't we have Eiichirou-kun announce the title of the Corner, okay? Go ahead.'''

O: (Yes, this day has finally come. I can start the SBS).

SPLIT THE ESPANOLA.

(Dammit, I screwed up!)

D: (Note: the question was written in Chinese)

O: Pardon? Hmm... Oh I see. It's a letter from a One Piece fan in Taiwan. Well, since Japanese also uses Chinese characters, I think I can make out the meaning. It's PROBABLY asking this:

"Why do all the crew members other than Nami wear only one outfit?"

There is a reason for that, you know. First of all, they definitely have many changes of the same outfit. And also, Nami doesn't give them much allowance. Stuff like that.

D: Oda-sensei, out of the 5 crew members Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, Nami and Sanji, what animals do you think they most resemble?

O:
 * Luffy's a monkey.
 * Zoro is... a shark.
 * Usopp, an armadillo.
 * Nami's a cat.
 * And Sanji's a duck.

But there's one thing I AM confident about.

I THINK CHOPPER IS A REINDEER. (DOOOON)

Chapter 178, Page 46
''No questions. Just a little game made by a reader.''

Chapter 179, Page 66
D: Doesn't Buggy bleed when he splits his body up?

O: C-come on... don't be difficult. He would be too scary if he started gushing blood everywhere.

'''D: I have something secret to discuss with you, Master Oda (this is a normal letter). Please (x10) tell me your home address. I hope this finds you in good health, kuhahahaha.'''

O: Okay. Post number 202... whoa. If I told you that, you'd be ringing my doorbell and running away every day.

D: Tashigi's age, height and weight please!

O: Tashigi? Tashigi is 21. Surprisingly adult, isn't she? She is 170 cm tall. And she is a lady, so no weight for you.

'''D: Question, Odacchi! Ace ate the Mera Mera no Mi so he can...'''


 * (1) "Can turn his body into flame"?


 * (2) "Can shoot flame from his body", which one is it?

O: The answer is (1). But his secret move "Hiken" (Fire Punch) is a skill where he raises his "firepower" and turns his fist into a huge flame, so it ends up looking more like (2).

'''D: THE SBS HAS STARTED. (past tense).'''

O: Hahaha! Yeah right... Whoa!! It HAS started!! (slow-witted).

Chapter 180, Page 86
'''D: One of my friends said to me, "How can you read SHOUNEN Jump when you're a GIRL?!" But I answered him by saying, "What's wrong with a girl buying and reasding Shounen Jump? Am I a criminal? I was a man in my former life!!!" (probably...).'''

O: I see. So you had one of those quarrels, "Pen Name Nishi-chan". But never fear, damn you! It's okay, dammit! 'Cause besides, Shounen Weekly Jump is a boys' magazine with a 30% female readership, to tell you the truth. Basically, out of every 10 Jump readers, 3 of them are girls. And that percentage carries over into One Piece readership as well. Just make some simple calculations and assume you have 1,200,000 friends around the country. If you understand the zeal of a young boy's soul, then of course, boys, girls, old guys and ladies can all bring it on! Come at us, dammit!

'''D: Oda-sensei! There was a music question in my finals! And on the question was about "Bach". Apparently, historians label Bach as a "Baroque" artist... So maybe Igaram (who looks like Bach) + Baroque style = "Baroque Works!!" So... Am I right? '''

O: Yup. That's right. It's going to be extremely difficult for me to explain this one. Baroque was a style of art, literature and music prevalent in 17th century Europe. In my own very simple description, it was absurdly extravagant. Excessively ostentatious. Therefore, I made the Baroque Works a collection of characters that are each over-the-top in their own ways.

Chapter 181, Page 106
'''D: I have a request. The other day, I found a White Walky (aka Hairy Hippo) on the side of the road. Please raise it in your house, Oda-sensei. From, New York Cocoa.'''

O: NO THANK YOU.

'''D: This is a question from a Tokyo-area 28 year old male (working in the manga editor field). I would like to know the names of all the Super Spot-Billed Duck Squad members. Oda-sensei, I simply MUST know. T-they're so cute... I know this must be very hard for you, but please... do it for me.'''

O: Hey! Hey!! Hold on just a dang tootin' minute. I know who you are. You're that former One Piece editor with a weakness for cute things, working for a certain Jump editorial department, Da-asa or Asada or whatever, right?! You, sir, are relentless. And now you're sending business questions to the SBS via email?! This is supposed to be sacred ground for my readers... ah, well. Oh but, thanks for helping me out for those 4 years. In any case, since OTHER people have asked this too, I'll answer it. The bottom row, starting from the left, is Cowboy, Bourbon Jr., Carue, Kentauros, and Hikoichi. The top row is Stomp and Ivan X. That's all. I had the names all established, but putting them all in the manga would be too hard to figure out, so I decided not to.

Chapter 183, Page 146
'''D: Okay, there's something I need to ask you about, Odacchi. I was reading WANTED! (Odacchi's one-shot collection) today, and I was wondering, doesn't it seem like a bunch of your characters pick their noses a lot? (P.N. Pleasure)'''

O: Yeah, they do. Pick, pick, picky. So you wonder why... well, doesn't everyone pick their nose? The other mangakas just have their cameras pointed away when it happens. If you don't pick your nose... your boogers would collect up!! Oh dear... another dirty topic. Printing this kind of stuff makes all the female readers cringe. It'll happen again. But the guys laugh their asses off!

Right?! Okay, next.

'''D: To Oda-sensei. Hello! I simply must ask you a very serious question. On page 94 of One Piece Vol. 18, the "Spiders Cafe" looks an awful lot like the "Bagdad Cafe", directed by Percy Adlon. Did you use that as inspiration? I really like that movie, so please tell me if it's true.'''

O: Wow, I'm impressed. 15 years old and you like that movie? That's right. I just loved the atmosphere of that movie so much. But that kind of refined coolness is so out of place in a shounen manga, I was really the only one who knew what it was from. Anyone with good taste should watch it. It'll stick in your heart. "Baghdad Cafe".

'''D: Oda-sensei, I went to a flower shop, and they were selling "Crocus" flower seeds. Does that have any connection to Crocus-san?'''

O: It means "trust" in the language of flowers.

Chapter 184, Page 165
'''D: All the guys at school talk about is "Nami's chest"! Please scold them for me!!'''

O: Ahhh... but... Well, there's no age written on this postcard, but judging from the writing, I'd say you're probably in middle school. And you know guys in middle school. They're all little pervs. They can't help it. i really don't have the right to scold them. (hey).

D: WHAT HAPPENS IF A PERSON EATS A HITO HITO NO MI?

O: I suppose I should say they "BECOME HUMAN". Uh, I guess you could say that means like becoming an adult, or finding your true spirit or something. So basically, people will live more human-like. Well. I guess you could say that. Or not. Basically, not. Goodbye. (runs away).

'''D: Oda-chan!! Today is the day for you to answer this!! What about Sanji's left eye?!'''

O: There it is... again. I get a lot of these. So many, in fact, that I usually just ignored them... all right. I will finally answer one of One Piece's 7 great mysteries, "Sanji's Left Eye"!! Come on out, Sanji!!

S: Hey. You called? What? You want me to show you my left eye?! THAT'S what you called me for? Honestly... fine, fine. You wanna see it? There you go, take a good look. See?

O: WHOAAAAA!!! FOR REAL?!! WOW...!!

THE SBS IS OVER!! SEE YOU NEXT TIME!!