SBS Volume 4

Important Questions Answered

 * Ages for: Luffy, Shanks, Nami, Zoro, Usopp.
 * Origin of Zoro's name.
 * About Buggy's hair...
 * About Mohji's hair...
 * Luffy's reason for not killing villians
 * Symbols on Klahador's shirt
 * Who is Mikio Ito?
 * Oda's profile
 * Oda in Mizu no Tomodachi Kappaman
 * Number of Devil Fruits

Volume 4, Chapter 27, Page 28
SBS Corner (Shitsumon o Boshuu Suru = I'm taking questions)

of your letters. with the letter "D" (dokusha = reader), and my response with the letter "O" (Oda). I will pick from the letters and postcards at random.
 * Finally, here is the SBS corner I announced in Volume 2. Thank you so much for sending in all
 * In this section, I will mark the reader's comment (which may not necessarily be a question)

D: What are the ages of Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Shanks?

O: There were a lot of letters asking about ages. A whole lot. I think it must have been the most frequently asked of all the questions. Well, here's your answer. At present, Luffy is 17, Zoro is 19, and Nami is 18. Because we don't know where Shanks is for the moment, I'll tell you his age from 10 years ago. He was 27 at the time he was hanging out in Luffy's village. As it happens, Usopp is 17 along with Luffy.

D: Why are all the bad guys so suspicious-looking?

O: Uh... suspicious...? Well now that you mention it, they DO look rather fishy, don't they? But you know what, I think suspiciousness is mysterious. It makes things fascinating, 	doesn't it?

'''D: Oda Eiichiro-sensei, can you really stretch out your arms and legs? It was written in Jump.'''

O: Whoa! I thought I said that was a secret.

Volume 4, Chapter 28, Page 48
'''D: I have a question about you, Oda-sensei. What do you do with everything your fans send you?'''

O: It's in my house. All of it. Also, I read EVERY ONE of the letters and postcards sent to me. It really does pump me up. I'm not at all exaggerating when I say it's what makes me want to keep being a mangaka. Thank you.

D: Doesn't Zoro's name come from the famous pirate, "Francois l'Ollonais"?

O: You got it. I took the name from Francois l'Ollonais, said to be the cruelest of all the "Pirates of the Caribbean." That, along with Morgan and Alvida, are names derived from actual pirates.

'''D: This is about Captain "Buggy the Clown"! Is that Captain Buggy's real hair that sticks out of both sides of his hat? Or is it a decoration (like a wig)? I'm really curious to find out! If it really is his own, then Captain Buggy sure has long hair...''' O: Yes. This question has been asked several times. I believe this will answer your curiosity.

Buggy: Die, flashy.

Hey, gimme my hat back, flashily.

Yep, it's my real hair.

Volume 4, Chapter 29, Page 70
D: Why does Luffy have so little "tension"?

O: It must be because he's so stupid. Heheheh.

'''D: Luffy's treasure is his straw hat. Is your treasure a straw hat too, Sensei? If not, tell me what is!!'''

O: My treasure? Why, that would be ALL YOU READERS.

D: How did Mohji's hair get like that? O: He was born like that. Only those 2 spots grow out quickly. If he left his hair alone, he'd end up looking like a rabbit.

First: He looks like this. "What?"

Second: It goes to this. "You got something to say? hop"

Third: Then this. "What. ROWWR."

D: I thought up a new special move for Luffy.


 * 1) First, he uses the "Gomu Gomu Balloon" to make his stomach swell up.
 * 2) Then, use the "Gomu Gomu Pistol" (or one of Zoro's swords) to pop a hole in his stomach.
 * 3) Explosion!!  The name of the move is Gomu Gomu "Bomb"!!'''

O: Thank you for sharing. But then Luffy would, you know... die.

Volume 4, Chapter 30, Page 90
'''D: How far can Luffy's arm stretch? Please tell me.'''

O: Pretty far. Right now it can stretch about 72 Gomu Gomus. Luffy was just saying the other day about how he wanted to try to reach 100 Gomu Gomus.

'''D: Nice to meet you. Thanks to you, Oda-sensei, I was able to successfully get into high school. Thank you very much.'''

O: Okay................ huh?

D: How do you decide on the characters' names?

O: I just try and come up with something that sounds, you know... good. I also get them from real pirates' names. Or not.

'''D: Why doesn't Luffy ever kill his enemies? If you look back, he didn't kill Mohji, he didn't kill Helmeppo or Captain Morgan, or anyone. Well, Zoro was the one who beat Morgan, but still. Why?'''

O: Ahh, good question. First of all, Morgan is still alive. He's being held in prison now by his former subordinates. So why didn't Luffy kill him? In this era, people put their lives on their beliefs and convictions, and fight. When he goes into battle, Luffy is destroying others' beliefs. And when these enemies' beliefs are shattered and defeated, they feel a pain equal to death. I think that for these pirates, killing or not killing is secondary to winning or losing.

Volume 4, Chapter 31, Page 110
'''D: So anyways, Sensei, do you like animals? It seems like there's at least one animal in all your cover pages...'''

O: I certainly do put animals on my covers. Well, if you like something, you like it, but I	would consider my attraction to animals to be only "average." I just like drawing them. It's really fun to draw them all puffy and funny. Like a panda that naturally looks like it's laughing its ass off, or a wombat doing something that would get it in trouble with the authorities. Oh, and I also like faces that look like an owl that was shot with a	peashooter.

'''D: Is the poopy-looking mark on Clahador's suit actually poop? Or does it have any other meanings...?'''

O: It's poop.

'''D: A question. Nami's three sizes (bust-waist-hip). Please, I'm really serious about this.'''

O: I see. A most pressing question. Okay, you got it. As a matter of fact, I don't even know myself, so we'll just go and measure her ourselves? Ready? Here we go!! Whoa!!

Nami: Oh, you want my three sizes?

O: Jeez, you scared me. I didn't know you were there, Nami... This is perfect. Let's get this over with! Here we go... "Bonk"!! OWW!!

N: I'll let you measure me, but... it'll cost you.

O: Huh...?! H... how much...? Whaaaat?! THAT MUCH?! You... you think I have that kind of money?! "Glint" There!! Now's our chance!! "Pow"!! Owwwee!!

N: No money? No deal! Bring your wallet next time! Bye!

O: ...c... crap! That sucked!! H... however! I swear that one day I WILL get her to let us measure her!! Just wait, boys! I'll keep my promise!!

Volume 4, Chapter 32, Page 130
'''D: I have a question. Why does Zoro always wear that old fogey stomachband (haramaki)? Please tell me.'''

O: How rude!! Just sit down right there!! Okay! Remember this!! The haramaki is the high-fashion-nice-fit battle garb of the proudest of Nippon's warriors!! Contemplate that! You may leave!

'''D: Who is this person "Mikio Ito" that appears in the three manga "One Piece," "Butsu Zone" and "Rurouni Kenshin"? It wasn't even cleared up in "Butsu Zone," so I would really like it if you would explain.'''

'''D: I'll ask you directly! Who is Mikio Ito? I'm really curious. I found him in Volume 1, p.14, the third panel, behind the first mate; p.16, the first panel, on the bottle; p.86, the second panel, behind Luffy.In Volume 2, the cover page on p.3, beside Zoro. He seems like a wanted suspect! So tell me. Who is he?'''

O: So you found've him. That's right, he exists. He certainly does. His name is Mikio Itoo (pronounced E-2). He's a quick draw. The traveling actor who appears in "Butsu Zone" (Which was drawn by "Sandan Takei" (aka Takei Hiroyuki), who is currently drawing "Shaman King" for Jump) and "Rurouni Kenshin" called "Mikio Ito" are actually the same person. Let's just say he's a "fellow explorer of the wilderness." How many times has he saved our lives with his covering fire? Maybe sometime soon, he will reveal himself to you all.

Volume 4, Chapter 33, Page 150
'''D: Write a profile for us, Ei-chan! (Is that your real name?)'''

O: It's my real name. Well, I was born on January 1st, 1975, Capricorn, blood type A, year of the Rabbit, and I like movies. I try my best.

'''D: I have a question for you, Oda-sensei. When did you decide to become a manga artist? And what did you do in order to become one? Please please tell me.'''

O: First of all, I decided to become a manga artist when I was 4, the moment I learned there was an occupation such as a manga artist, which meant I could grow and still not have to work! I first began actually drawing in 7th grade or so. As for what I did to become one, I sketched and scribbled a lot. Even now I have a little drawing pad I carry around and scribble in while I think of how the story should progress.

'''D: I realize this is kind of an obscure question, but in "Mizu no Tomodachi Kappaman" (Watery Friend Kappaman) by Masaya Tokuhiro, 1st volume, page 93, 4th panel, the name Eiichiro Oda shows up. Why, were you an assistant?'''

O: Serious fan, here! Well spotted. I was an assistant. My assistant history goes from Shinobu Kaitani-sensei's "Midoriyama Police Gang," Masaya Tokuhiro-sensei's "Jungle King	Taa-chan" and "Mizu no Tomodachi Kappaman", and then Nobuhiro Watsuki-sensei's "Rurouni	Kenshin." I learned many things from these three senseis. I really look up to them, as manga artists and as human beings.

D: About how many are there in the "Devil Fruit Series," and what other kind of fruits are there?

O: You'll find out what other kinds of fruit there are in the story, but as for how many, according to the rumors I've heard, there are more than a hundred. And there are plenty of Devil Fruit Users just waiting in the You-Know-Where.

Volume 4, Chapter 34, Page 170
'''D: I made that Luffy doll from Volume 2 and it turned out really well. It's on display in my room at this very moment. I hope you will keep making these. For example, Volume 3 could be Roronoa Zoro, Volume 4 could be Nami, and Volume 5 could be Usopp, so as the different models grow and grow, it will make people excited for the next volume.'''

'''D: Luffy, friends and enemies all have a fashion show!! You could have everyone show off clothing designs! How about that?'''

D: Luffy's Advice Column, answers your personal problems!

D: A display of all the different animals on Gaimon's island.

'''D: You should totally do a section called "One Piece Cross-sections." It could have diagrams of how Luffy's body works, what the inside of pirate ships are like, etc.'''

D: Please draw Luffy and friends like cowboys.

D: I would like an SBS section with art of Luffy and the other characters sent in by the readers.

D: Please show the original designs for Luffy and the others, like you did with Captain Morgan's "How he came to be" in Volume 1.

O: As you can see, I have gotten many, many ideas from you readers. Thank you very much. I'll try them out little-by-little as we go along. For the present we're going to have a new illustration corner from the master artist Usopp, entitled "Usopp Gallery Pirates." And now, a word from the host himself.

Usopp: Ahem. I will be accepting art from you readers. But it will have to be on a small scale. Oda said that too many pictures will make it harder to choose among them. Only the brave and serious should accept the challenge. First prize is a world vacation! Not! I'll send you an autograph from Oda!! What you send in will be... illustrations and fashion shows from whatever One Piece characters you choose! The address is at the end of the volume!

Volume 4, Chapter 35, Page 191
About sending to the new corner "Usopp Gallery Pirates"
 * In short, the content is as described before. Illustrations of whatever OP character you like, in whatever fashion you like.
 * You can simply send them in on postcards, but remember that these may be printed in a monochrome book, so it's in your best interest to draw it so that it will show up well after printing.
 * Don't draw in pencil.
 * We'll print your name with it, so if you don't want your real name, remember to write a penname.
 * Don't forget your address either, as we will send the first place winner an autograph.

 Post 119-0163 Tokyo-to, Kanda P.O. Box 66 Shueisha JC ONE PIECE [SBS!! Usopp Gallery Pirates]

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