One Piece’s Author Eiichiro Oda Officially Reveals His Biggest Influence

Eiichiro Oda is now world-renowned, especially among fans, because he created One Piece, the best-selling manga of all time. It quickly became incredibly popular, surpassing many well-established and newer hit series. Like all creators, Oda had influences, and in a recent interview, he shared who inspired him the most.

It’s now confirmed that Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, was heavily inspired by Akira Toriyama, best known for Dragon Ball. Toriyama’s impact extends beyond One Piece, influencing the entire manga world.

Eiichiro Oda Reveals His Biggest Influence

  • Akira Toriyama Was Oda’s Biggest Influence
  • Oda Admired Toriyama To A Great Level

One Piece has been running for over 28 years and has become incredibly popular. However, it started small, and its creator, Eiichiro Oda, faced difficulties getting it published in Weekly Shonen Jump. Despite these challenges, Oda remained persistent and dedicated to the magazine. He specifically wanted his manga to appear in Shonen Jump, alongside the work of manga master Akira Toriyama.

Akira Toriyama is a legendary figure well-known to fans of manga and anime, primarily for creating the hugely popular Dragon Ball series. He had a major influence on Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece. Oda has admired Toriyama’s artwork since childhood and dreamed of collaborating with him at Weekly Shonen Jump. In fact, Oda considers Toriyama to be the very best, a high praise coming from a fellow artist.

Eiichiro Oda considers Akira Toriyama his biggest influence, saying he was immediately captivated by Toriyama’s incredible artistic skill. While Oda has been inspired by many artists, Toriyama’s impact is unmatched. Oda specifically aimed to publish his work in Shonen Jump because that’s where Toriyama published his. Though he missed the chance to be published during the Dragon Ball run, Oda was thrilled when his series, One Piece, launched alongside Toriyama’s Cowa! in 1997. Being published in Jump at the same time as Toriyama was a dream come true for Oda.

Unfortunately, Eiichiro Oda wasn’t able to publish *One Piece* at the same time as *Dragon Ball*, as he started his series a bit after *Dragon Ball*’s peak. He did get to publish alongside *Cowa!*, another work by Akira Toriyama, but *Cowa!* wasn’t nearly as popular as *Dragon Ball*.

Akira Toriyama’s Work Has Been Revolutionary In The Manga Industry

Inspired One Piece and Many Other Big Manga

Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the world’s most popular manga, was heavily inspired by Akira Toriyama, and he wasn’t alone. Toriyama had a massive impact on nearly all shonen manga artists. His influence can be seen in hugely popular series like Naruto, Bleach, and Jujutsu Kaisen, among many others. Without Akira Toriyama, the landscape of Weekly Shonen Jump and shonen manga as a whole would be drastically different today.

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2025-10-07 02:06