When did this project get off the ground?
It was right when the comic reached the tenth anniversary so more than two years ago. But I was way too busy with the comic during the tenth year and really didn’t do much for the films. So after I somehow made it through the tenth anniversary the movie was still on my plate and it was a rush job to finish the plot which at first I called, “The Crystal Ship’s Log”. Then when I finally thought it was settled, there was something that didn’t sit well with me about it… Just at the stage when the entire plot had been lined up I said, “Um, actually, I’d like to nix this.”, and so it came down to, “Well, there’s no way we’re ever going to make our scheduled release in March.”
-Speaking of that, when it was still in “The Crystal Ship’s Log” stage, what did you plan it to be about?
The very first thing I thought was, “I’ve gotta be able to do something here that only I can do.” In other words, since I’m the author, what could I use that prerogative to create? I mean, that was the entire purpose of my involvement. I came to the conclusion that since the only person allowed to mess with the very core of the characters is me, I thought about doing something related to the origin of Luffy; going way back, a story that happened around just before Luffy began training with Ace. It was devoted to Luffy’s memories during that period, about a certain special animal he met around that time and it all came around to link up with modern Luffy…a real emotional story with a big chunk devoted to memories.
But as I was in the middle of writing it I started to worry, “Is this kind of cushy story the kind of thing I would really want to see?” I don’t believe I’ve ever written something purely for the purpose of making a ‘good story’. If that’s something that happens in the comic the overall story has to be longer and then I don’t mind a ‘good story’ in there among other things as a dash of spice, however, for something as short as a movie, if I just made a ‘good story’ it all came down to where I could fit in the kinds of things boys really want to see: action and strong characters.
-After all it’s a given that your primary audience is boys.
And so I thought, “I should make a movie filled with the kind of stuff they actually want to see and when it’s over, they’ll be left with lots of memorable scenes.” Things that boys will remember are ‘cool scenes’. I had just churned out this touching story but no matter how ‘good’ a story it was, the only people that would probably enjoy it were adults. And that’s not my role. I draw comics for boys. I realized in the middle of it all, “I might’ve misunderstood what everyone was expecting.” It wasn’t the kind of thing I wanted to write anyway, so even if there was a call for something emotional, I didn’t have to please everyone asking for that. Starting from scratch I fixed the theme on ‘excitement’ and from the planning to the setting, changed it all just like that.
-So the dignity you carry as a boy’s comic author Oda-san, is it safe to say that was something you’d already set in stone from when you started One Piece?
Yeah I think so. Because I mean, I approached it thinking that since I’m drawing for a boys’ comic magazine, then it’s my job to make sure they enjoy what they’re reading. When you actually do become a professional you’ll start getting fan letters and other things and you’ll soon find that the overwhelming majority of them are from girls. Boys just aren’t the type to pick up a pen*. (laughs) They don’t have things like stationary or stamps and they don’t think about going through the ‘grueling task’ of writing someone just to say, “That was cool.” Boys are a life form that enjoy something but won’t bother to tell you that they actually do.
So I learned that girls will flood you with their opinions and when I took at step back and looked at the world of manga, I realized that there are a lot of people out there that made me think, “This [author] is really just going along with the girls’ opinions.” And ultimately, if you’re considering those opinions as the ‘needs of the customer’ when you write the story, you’re just left with a girl’s manga. (laughs) It’s like, if you do that, you’re only writing to entertain girls, and that’s just wrong.
-And yet boys, who you see as most vital, won’t let you know what they think.
That’s right. And since that’s the case, I knew what I had to do was go back to my own memories, set my sights on the kinds of things I would enjoy if I was still a kid. It’s not like boys leave me without anything though; if your parents send you a Christmas Card* you’d send something back right? (laughs) So when they do send letters they’re exactly the kind of responses you’d expect from boys like, “I like the fights.”, or, “I like this attack.”, and as I read through them I think, “Ah, I thought they’d like that.”. The boys’ reactions are what I take very seriously, but I get a kick out of what the girls have to say too. You can almost hear their high-pitched screams of excitement through the letter. But if I let those opinions sway me then it’s more than just losing my place in a boy’s comic magazine, there’d be no value in my existence as a boy’s comic author.
