RJ Writing Ink Talks about How One Piece has changed the World for the Better

Have you ever heard of One Piece? I’m hoping that you have at this point, considering how a good chunk of the human population has heard about it by now. My journey with One Piece began when I was ten, when the promo commercials for it led to me being in the trenches back when 4Kids was still dubbing it. I stopped watching it after they stopped dubbing it, because I unironically thought it was ruined; I had no idea just how bad I really had it! Fast-forward a few years, and I started reading the manga on the computers at my high school library on lunch break, and I’ve kept with it ever since. And since then, I can honestly say this about One Piece: it’s one of the greatest stories humanity has ever created.

When Eichiro Oda started writing and drawing One Piece almost 30 years ago, I doubt that he imagined just how big it would be. He was just a young man trying to follow in the footsteps of his hero, the now-late mangaka Akira Toriyama. But in those three decades, his story has risen to become the most popular manga ever written, making him famous across the world. Hundreds of millions of lives have been touched by his story of adventure and freedom, to the point where it’s started to help change the world for the better. I know that there are people out there who can write or explain this better, but with the Netflix adaptation having released its second season, and the anime about to return, I wanted to do this. I want to talk about the positive impact that One Piece has had on the world and why it’s one of the GOATs of storytelling.

Oda Met his Wife Thanks to his Creation

Let’s start out with something small. Something that, while it doesn’t affect the world on a global scale, has affected its creator on a personal level. Besides making him one of the greatest mangaka of all time and beloved across the world, One Piece has had a more personal impact on Oda: it’s how he met his wife.

It happened back in December 2001 at Jump Festa, an annual expo One Piece’s publisher does every year to promote its magazines. His wife, Chiaki Inaba, was playing the character Nami in a live-action musical of One Piece, which is how they met. They ended up dating for two years, and in 2004, they tied the knot. It’s a bit of joke amongst fans that his wife playing Nami is a reason why he favors her more over the other women in his series!

Please Don’t Let your Life’s Work Kill you, Oda-Sama

Being a mangaka, Oda tends to be very busy most of the time, often dealing with grueling work hours and little time to look after himself or his family. Despite this and despite little being known about his private life, though, I assume that he has a very happy family life, as he makes time for them when he can. He’s also started giving himself more time off in recent years as he’s seemingly realized that keeping up his demanding schedule all the time will lead him to an early grave. And with the passing of his hero, Akira Toriyama, two years ago, his well-being has become all the more important. And as a fan, I support this decision. I love One Piece, but if it ends up being the death of Oda, I don’t think I could ever live with that guilt.

To the uninformed, you would think that writing a manga isn’t that stressful a job, but you would be wrong. Being a mangaka is an incredibly stressful job, complete with challenges such as unrelenting deadlines, edits to be made, and of course, the expectations the fans may have. It can lead even young adults to develop severe burnout and other stress-related health issues. The fact that Oda has been doing this for most of his life and has only ever missed his deadline once is an achievement unto itself. That stress gets even more understandable, though, when you consider that One Piece has some of the best world-building in literature since J.R.R. Tolkien.

The World Building of One Piece needs to be Studied

No, I am not kidding. J.R.R. Tolkien was the father of modern fantasy, with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings only covering a small part of the greater history that he crafted for Middle-Earth. A history that he spent his life creating and was posthumously published as The Simarillion. With myths and legends that span tens of thousands of years, The Lord of the Rings was merely a tiny part of a much greater story. It looks rather small and simple in comparison to some of the other things!

In constant, though, we have One Piece and its worldbuilding. It starts off as a simple story about a boy who dreams of adventures and becoming King of the Pirates. However, as the story continues, the larger and grander the world it takes place in becomes. From lands with their own unique geography and cultures to elements that defy logic and physics, the world of One Piece is shown to be more amazing than anyone thought possible. More importantly, though, it becomes apparent that Luffy’s quest to become King of the Pirates is more important than he could possibly realize. In truth, Luffy is the latest link in a story that spans across millennia of history and is poised to have him become a sort of messianic figure for his world, fighting back against the darkness that controls it.

A World Shrouded in Darkness

An almost universal trait found amongst the greatest storytellers is that the tales that they tell are more than just stories. They are often a means for the storyteller to express themselves and how the view the world around them. Take Tolkien, for instance. It was inspired by his love of older epics and myths, but many also believe that The Lord of the Rings was inspired by his personal experiences fighting in the First World War. The way Frodo’s journey becomes progressively darker and more traumatic as time goes on, and how he’s unable to return to the life he once knew, is very similar to how those who have fought in wars can feel afterwards. Gollum can be seen as an allegory for how addiction and trauma can break us. And Saruman destroying the forests around his base at Isengard is much like how the war industry destroyed vast swathes of Western Europe during WW1. It got to the point where even a century after the war ended, parts of the former front in France remain uninhabitable.

Now, it should be acknowledged that One Piece is a fundamentally different story from LOTR. It is a very whimsical and comedic story, with Luffy himself being a walking embodiment of the power of Toon Force. But as silly and goofy as the story is, Oda also uses it as a means of exploring what he thinks are the biggest issues that humanity has to deal with. Almost all of the enemies that Luffy faces are people who seek to oppress others through any means necessary, including but not limited to:

  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Bribery
  • Brainwashing
  • Conspiracy to cover up the truth
  • Racism
  • Slavery
  • Genocide

In essence, take all of the worst things that humanity has done, and still does, and you have the enemies in One Piece. And Oda makes it clear in no uncertain terms that they suck and that they need to go. And that is where Luffy comes in.

A Warrior of Liberation

Luffy is, both figuratively and literally, the embodiment of freedom. He is a man who is determined to live life on his own terms, and anyone who tells him otherwise be darned. His actions often save the people around him and inspire them to change their lives for the better, but he doesn’t see himself as a hero the way most people would. Heck, he won’t bother to help out others unless they show the willingness to stand up for their own beliefs in the process. At the same time, though, he’s very quick to befriend others and can almost instinctively tell when someone is good, even if they deny it. He has the kind of charisma that could build an entire nation, but despite wanting to be King of the Pirates, he has no interest in ruling like a traditional king. Even when others are willing to bend the knee and serve him, he’ll refuse because that means that they can’t be his friends. In fact, we’re lucky that he has no interest in ruling over others, as the series demonstrates what happens when people like Luffy desire to dominate others, like Blackbeard and Imu. And for three generations of fans, that kind of mindset can stick with you.

In the decades since it started publication, One Piece has had an incredibly positive impact on the world as a whole. Like any large fandom, it has brought together hundreds of millions of people around the world who may otherwise have nothing else in common. It has sold over 600 million copies worldwide, and that’s not counting the fan scanlations that go up every week. That number represents 13.33% of the total human population on the planet, meaning that One Piece isn’t just the most popular manga of all time. It’s one of the most popular works of literature, period. There are people who have managed to make their careers online going over One Piece, and scholars are even starting to conduct studies on its themes. Decades from now, it’s highly possible that it will be held in the same regard as the likes of Shakespeare and Tolkien, studied by students in classrooms around the world as an example of peak storytelling.

In the more immediate future, though, One Piece has inspired the youths who grew up reading it and are still reading it. It’s inspired them to pursue their passions in life, to be friendly and help others smile when they need it most. And if you’ve been paying attention to social media, you’ll see how young adults have started using the Straw Hats Jolly Roger at protests around the world. Protests, I might add, that have toppled corrupt governments and forced oppressive authority figures out of power. We don’t know yet if these are for better or for worse, but the fact that so many young people have taken the lessons of One Piece to heart shows just how much of an impact it’s had on the world.

Everyone Needs to Read One Piece at least once

Now, One Piece will not last forever. My best guess is that it will end sometime in the next ten years or so. And the day it does end will be an incredibly sad day for fans all over the world. At the same time, though, I think it can also be a day of celebration. In fact, I hope that when the manga ends, all of the fans can gather together in groups around the world and just celebrate the story. If I had my way, the entire world would get together and party in peace. It sounds crazy, but with how popular the series is, it might be a possibility! And I know I will be there for it, Straw Hat on my head and pirate flag in my hands.