Author Eiichiro Oda has always been open about the manga artists who inspired him in his mangaka journey. In his new interview about Shonen Jump, the author talked about the list of manga and manga artists who helped him become the creator he is today. Apart from expressing his love and admiration for Akira Toriyama, Oda also revealed the manga title that made him pursue the path of a manga artist from a young age. Discover more about how Oda became a mangaka and the title that inspired him here.
Kaibutsu-kun Inspired Oda to Become a Manga Artist
There were two main children’s manga magazines, namely CoroCoro Comic and Comic BomBom, when Oda was a kid. Oda mentioned that he was always on the side of Comic BomBom. But his sister had a collection of CoroCoro Comics. At that time, author Fujiko A. Fujio is said to have carried the CoroCoro Comic. When Oda borrowed his sister’s collection and read more of Fujiko A. Fujio’s works, those manga began to spark the flame in young Oda’s heart.
Especially, Fujiko A. Fujio’s Kaibutsu-kun (The Monster Kid) shonen manga had an indelible impact on Oda when he was four years old. Oda emphasized that after reading The Monster Kid manga, he knew he had to become a manga artist in the future.
When I read Kaibutsu-kun at the age of four, I decided I would become a manga artist.
Since then, from the young age of four, Eiichiro Oda aspired to become a mangaka and is now lauded as the greatest mangaka of our generation. So, we can even say that without Fujio’s Kaibutsu-kun, One Piece might not have existed today.
While the Monster Kid manga helped Oda choose his career at a young age, his mangaka journey wasn’t as easy as one would think. Thankfully, Oda had his supportive parents by his side. Now decades later, Oda’s One Piece series stands tall as one of the inspirational tales for new manga creators who have started walking down this path.
Shashank Shakya
Aparna Ukil
