SBS Volume 6

R(Reader)

O(Oda)

R: Ummmm, about 1 - 2 - Jango: what's that striped thing on his chin?

O: A mushroom. Before he ever became a pirate, he was a "wandering dancer." But business wasn't so good, so all he did was sleep. He didn't even take baths. And eventually a striped fungus grew from his filthy chin. He was so hungry, he tried eating the cap of the mushroom anyway, and it was disgusting! But he gulped it down anyways, and after that he somehow gained the ability to hypnotize people. Therefore, the striped thing on his chin is a "leftover mushroom."

R: When an artist is drawing for example, Chapter 10, what chapter is being printed in the newest Weekly Jump?

O: I see. I wondered about this myself, years ago. So I understand your curiosity. At this EXACT moment, Issue 46 of Jump is hitting the stands. It contains One Piece Chapter 60, "Solution." But I have finished the drafts up through Chapter 63, "I Ain't Gonna Die."  So a chapter comes out roughly 3 weeks after I finish it. But that's only my CURRENT schedule. Not all people drawing weekly serials have the same system. I could change if need be. There are various cases.

R: What happened to the key Shushu swallowed in Volume 2?

O: It came out. Shiny and brown.

'''R: Why don't Luffy and Zoro go by the names "Monkey" or "Roronoa"? Or are those their family names, the Japanese way?'''

O: Yes. That's it. First surname. Then given name.

R: Is there a mirror on Alvida's ship?

O:Something tells me there is no mirror.

'''R: When you read One Piece, some mysterious characters show up from time to time. Like, in One Piece Volume 5, p.182, in the third panel, there's an odd guy looking flustered in the back. Who is he?'''

O: So... you found him. He is a wrestler named "Pandaman." I will formally introduce him to you some time later.

'''R: I know there's the Gomu Gomu Fruit, the Bara Bara Fruit, and a bunch of others, but let me tell you the one I thought up. It's called the Gero Gero Fruit (Barf Barf Fruit). The power makes it so you're always ****ing, so no one wants to get close to you. Verrrrrrrry useful.'''

O: Then, You'll be the first one to eat it.

'''R: I noticed that you've never (I think) drawn Buggy-kun with his mouth closed. I want to see what his lips look like when they are shut.'''

O:

'''R: When the question came up about Nami's measurements, you promised to tell us sometime. So when are you going to tell us?!!'''

O: Hehe. I have made a friend that comes in quite handy for this. His eye is quite accurate. It's the "weird cook," who can tell a girl's measurements with just one look, Sanji-san!!

Sanji:Now, let's take a look... B 86! W 57! H 86! No doubt about it!!

R: Were there really woman pirates?

O: Yes, there were. But it was considered bad luck to bring a woman on board a ship in those days, and so many of them disguised themselves as men. There were two woman pirates, Mary Read and Anne Bonny, who were said to have fought more bravely than any man. By the way, my character Alvida was based on a female pirate named Awilda(or Alvida) who formed a pirate crew comprised entirely of women.

'''R: In an older manga called "Oni ga Kitarite" (by Shingagin-sensei) the second panel on p.16 of the first volume could only have been drawn by you, Oda-sensei. Were you an assistant there?'''

O: I can't endure any more of these letters, so I'll go ahead and clear up this matter all at once. Hiroyuki Takei, Shingagin, Mikio Ito and I were all assistants for "Rurouni Kenshin." So when my friend "Gagin" got his own series, I gave him a bit of help. Also worth mentioning is Shinya Suzuki, who just had his debut published, and was an assistant for Rurouni Kenshin, as well as an occasional helper with One Piece. And that's the connection between all of us. OK?

'''R: In Chapter 37, is the man who captured the fake Captain Kuro, the Marine Captain "Axe-Arm Morgan"? '''

O: He's Morgan. He was a sergeant at the time, and then got promoted to lieutenant commander. From there he strong-armed his way up to a captain, and was put in charge of a Marine base. When Kuro looked in his eyes, he must have sensed some sort of kindred spirit between them.