I love Oda’s world building because it is very creative. I also love how the formula for OP lets Oda joyfully expand upon his world. There’s quite a variety of islands that are all inspired by different things, which makes OP very unique.
However, I don’t think Oda’s world building should be compared to J.R.R. Tolkien. I believe that a better comparison is to C.S. Lewis.
For those who aren’t aware, Tolkien and Lewis are fantasy giants who also lectured at Oxford. Tolkien is the creator of Middle Earth, the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. Lewis is the author of The Chronicles of Narnia (7 books in total), The Space Trilogy, and various Christian apologetics such as The Screwtape Letters.
Tolkien is most well-known for his world building. He carefully crafted Middle Earth’s races, language, and mythos because he was a linguist first and writer second. Tolkien’s goal was mainly to create a myth of ancient England. His world is mainly influenced by Norse mythology and Catholicism. For example, Gandalf is based off of Odin but he’s also a representation of Christ’s transfiguration. Tolkien also includes dwarves, which are found in Norse myths. In Lord of the Rings, our hero Frodo, is a meek hobbit who is called to save Middle Earth. Hobbit are small and weak. Judeo-Christian values teach that the meek will inherit the earth.
Lewis created Narnia and like Oda he borrows from a variety of sources. Both Lewis and Oda are like children who take everything out of their toy boxes and start making up games with whatever they can find. A T-Rex can totally go to Mars!
The first book in the Chronicles of Narnia is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In the LWW, the four Pevensie children travel through a magical wardrobe into a world called Narnia. They then learn that Narnia is a land ruled by the White Witch (who by the way is the daughter of Lilith and a male giant. This fact just entertains me) and where it’s always winter but Christmas never comes. The children learn that when 2 sons of Adam and 2 daughters of Eve enter Narnia, then Aslan will return and the White Witch will be defeated. The interesting thing about Narnia is that it is a world where random things are thrown in but it all makes sense.
First, Aslan is Jesus and the whole story is a retelling of the passion of Christ. Then we have dwarves that work for the White Witch. There’s also satyrs and fauns that are creations of Greek mythology who dwell in Narnia. Best of all Lewis even includes Santa in this book. Seriously, Santa shows up and brings gifts to the children that will help them battle the White Witch. It’s so random but makes sense considering once the children arrive in Narnia, Christmas will return and spring will come. Lewis is the only writer I know who could blatantly add Santa into his story and have it make perfect sense.
I believe that Oda is more similar to Lewis then Tolkien when it comes to world building. Oda created a franchise where he can shift effortlessly to different genres, while retaining the adventure aspect of OP. For example, we went from WCI an island inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and other European fairytales to Wano, which was based off of Kabuki theater and Japanese mythology/eastern mythology, to the futuristic island of Egghead. None of us think twice about it. Oda is clearly influences by a multitude of myths, stories, and historical events. Like Lewis he isn’t afraid to add them to his story, whereas Tolkien was more methodical with his creation of Middle Earth.
Do you think Oda’s world building is comparable to Tolkien or Lewis? Do you think he stands on his own?
However, I don’t think Oda’s world building should be compared to J.R.R. Tolkien. I believe that a better comparison is to C.S. Lewis.
For those who aren’t aware, Tolkien and Lewis are fantasy giants who also lectured at Oxford. Tolkien is the creator of Middle Earth, the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. Lewis is the author of The Chronicles of Narnia (7 books in total), The Space Trilogy, and various Christian apologetics such as The Screwtape Letters.
Tolkien is most well-known for his world building. He carefully crafted Middle Earth’s races, language, and mythos because he was a linguist first and writer second. Tolkien’s goal was mainly to create a myth of ancient England. His world is mainly influenced by Norse mythology and Catholicism. For example, Gandalf is based off of Odin but he’s also a representation of Christ’s transfiguration. Tolkien also includes dwarves, which are found in Norse myths. In Lord of the Rings, our hero Frodo, is a meek hobbit who is called to save Middle Earth. Hobbit are small and weak. Judeo-Christian values teach that the meek will inherit the earth.
Lewis created Narnia and like Oda he borrows from a variety of sources. Both Lewis and Oda are like children who take everything out of their toy boxes and start making up games with whatever they can find. A T-Rex can totally go to Mars!
The first book in the Chronicles of Narnia is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In the LWW, the four Pevensie children travel through a magical wardrobe into a world called Narnia. They then learn that Narnia is a land ruled by the White Witch (who by the way is the daughter of Lilith and a male giant. This fact just entertains me) and where it’s always winter but Christmas never comes. The children learn that when 2 sons of Adam and 2 daughters of Eve enter Narnia, then Aslan will return and the White Witch will be defeated. The interesting thing about Narnia is that it is a world where random things are thrown in but it all makes sense.
First, Aslan is Jesus and the whole story is a retelling of the passion of Christ. Then we have dwarves that work for the White Witch. There’s also satyrs and fauns that are creations of Greek mythology who dwell in Narnia. Best of all Lewis even includes Santa in this book. Seriously, Santa shows up and brings gifts to the children that will help them battle the White Witch. It’s so random but makes sense considering once the children arrive in Narnia, Christmas will return and spring will come. Lewis is the only writer I know who could blatantly add Santa into his story and have it make perfect sense.
I believe that Oda is more similar to Lewis then Tolkien when it comes to world building. Oda created a franchise where he can shift effortlessly to different genres, while retaining the adventure aspect of OP. For example, we went from WCI an island inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and other European fairytales to Wano, which was based off of Kabuki theater and Japanese mythology/eastern mythology, to the futuristic island of Egghead. None of us think twice about it. Oda is clearly influences by a multitude of myths, stories, and historical events. Like Lewis he isn’t afraid to add them to his story, whereas Tolkien was more methodical with his creation of Middle Earth.
Do you think Oda’s world building is comparable to Tolkien or Lewis? Do you think he stands on his own?