Legendary Dragon Ball Editor Criticizes Modern One Piece & Eiichiro Oda

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Kazuhiko Torishima, the famous editor who first recognized Akira Toriyama and worked on both Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball, recently spoke at Napoli Comicon. He discussed Dragon Ball DAIMA, the current state of the manga world, and how Eiichiro Oda’s creative process for One Piece has evolved. Torishima is known for giving very direct and critical feedback on manga – so much so that Akira Toriyama actually based the villain Demon King Piccolo in Dragon Ball on his personality.

A Twitter user named XMathemagicianX shared notes from an interview with manga artist Torishima at Napoli Comicon. Torishima expressed strong criticism of many current manga, saying they rely too much on telling rather than showing. While he found fault with popular series like Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, and Demon Slayer, he had some praise for One Piece. However, he was particularly critical of how Eiichiro Oda has been telling the story in recent chapters of One Piece.

Akira Toriyama’s Original Dragon Ball Editor Reveals Why He Doesn’t Like One Piece Anymore

Modern One Piece is Too Wordy & No Longer For Kids

Kazuhiko Torishima believes a key challenge for One Piece currently is that it’s moved away from being aimed at younger readers. He explained, as shared by @XMathemagicianX, that manga in Weekly Shonen Jump and elsewhere have become more complex and wordy as the audience has gotten older, with creators now writing for adults instead of children. Given that Eiichiro Oda has been creating One Piece since 1997, it’s natural the series has evolved with its readers, but Torishima sees this as a significant problem for the manga industry as a whole.

One Piece chapters often have a lot of dialogue, which creator Torishima feels makes the series—and many modern manga—less appealing to younger readers. In contrast, Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball moves quickly because of its straightforward art style and concise use of text. Torishima’s preference for this direct approach explains why he finds it hard to fully enjoy One Piece, a series that frequently uses lengthy conversations to build its world and characters.

Despite any differences, Torishima highly respects Eiichiro Oda and his work on One Piece, especially the characters. He believes One Piece‘s success is largely due to Luffy being a character readers can easily connect with. Torishima also commended Oda’s cleverness in creating other relatable crew members like Zoro, Nami, and Usopp, calling them all fantastic characters. He particularly enjoys Usopp, noting that he stands out as the most down-to-earth member of the group.

Torishima Believes Oda is Too in Love With Manga

Dragon Ball Succeeded Because Toriyama Hated Drawing Manga

Kazuhiko Torishima noted Eiichiro Oda’s deep love for manga, but surprisingly, he doesn’t see this as a strength. According to a post by @XMathemagicianX, Torishima believes being a huge manga fan isn’t necessarily a good quality for a creator. He contrasts One Piece and Dragon Ball, saying Oda is too passionate about manga and his own story, whereas Toriyama disliked the act of drawing manga.

Torishima explained that Toriyama didn’t actually like making manga, so he kept it simple and direct – and that’s a key reason why Dragon Ball was so successful and easy for anyone to enjoy. He contrasts this with One Piece, which he feels is overly complex and difficult for children to get into. Torishima, a lifelong manga fan, believes Oda is too attached to his own creation. He suggests Oda needs to be willing to cut unnecessary details, a common writing technique known as ‘kill your darlings,’ where writers remove beloved parts of their work to improve the overall story.

While Toriyama often let his stories develop organically, Eiichiro Oda has a very detailed vision for One Piece and sticks to it, even if it means using more dialogue or making the action sequences more complex. Despite feedback from fellow manga artist Torishima, One Piece continues to be the world’s most popular manga and anime series as Oda begins setting up the story for its final arc.

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2026-05-10 21:05