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Eiichiro Oda talks about 'One Piece' ending

Chrno

Chrno

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Oct 25, 2017
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Thanks to a new interview, the man behind One Piece has revealed his ending has yet to be uncovered… and he'll go to great lengths to ensure his final chapter surprises everyone.

Recently, the artist spoke with Fuji TV about One Piece when the network filmed a special about his eclectic home. It was there Eiichiro Oda was asked if he knows how his manga will end, and the artist said he's known about it for decades.

According to Anime News Network, Oda began refining his ending after it came to him in college. Fuji TV went on to ask how the artist would react if a fan were to correctly guess the ending he's got in mind. Stubborn, Oda said he would have to change his ending if that were to happen, so it seems he is confident that no one will figure out where the Straw Hats will end up.

When asked if the treasure was really something immaterial like family bonds, Oda said that was not the case.

"No, I hate that kind of thing," the artist stressed.

"That's like the ending of The Wizard of Oz, which I watched when I was a kid. Adventuring that long, and having the adventure itself be the treasure, is really dissatisfying. Those kinds of stories are impossible. It feels like, 'I've gone on this long adventure, so give me the treasure!'"
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In the same article, Oda stated that the series would end with just over 100 volumes. If that's true, I'd say we have 2 years~ to go.

Edit: As a lot of people here mentioned, Oda is usually very tongue-in-cheek during interviews that include the remaining length of the series. I'd take the "little over 100 volumes" with a grain of salt.


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John Dope

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Oct 27, 2017
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He's been pretty consistent over the years when this question is brought up and I'm just happy we are reassured that it's not some corny treasure like power of friendships or bonds or bullshit like that. I still think we have ~5 years left though simply because the man can't help himself when he goes to new arcs and wants to draw everything that comes to his genius brain
 
DanarchyReigns

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Oda already confirmed before that the actual One Piece is NOT "the friends we made along the way" or some crap like that. He's right to hate that trope.
 
Alice

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These articles always baffle me. Like, why do they act like "knowing the ending in advance" is special, when it's literally one of the very first things us writers actually think about?
 
LinkStrikesBack

LinkStrikesBack

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Chrno said:
There was another article where Oda stated that the series would end with just over 100 volumes.. If that's true, I'd say we have 2 years~ to go.
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Yeah, that's not happening unless wano is the second from last arc, lol. Even if that is the case, whole cake island took almost two full years alone and I don't see why wano and the following arc would be that much shorter
 
DanarchyReigns

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Alice said:
These articles always baffle me. Like, why do they act like "knowing the ending in advance" is special, when it's literally one of the very first things us writers actually think about?
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You would be surprised at how many manga artists don't have an ending in mind when they start.
*cough*Kubo*cough*
 
fertygo

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Alice said:
These articles always baffle me. Like, why do they act like "knowing the ending in advance" is special, when it's literally one of the very first things us writers actually think about?
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I actually gonna surprised if most mangaka especially battle shounen in popular publication have time to think ahead for the ending.
 
Kcannon

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lol, when he says "just over 100 volumes", he probably means like 30 or so more volumes.

I doubt Wano will even end in the 100th volume. Oda is known for extending stories more than he expected.
 
Big One

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One Piece is probably ending in the next 10 years or so. Wano is gonna be long and we still have Elbaf to cover.
 

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I saw that it was a mistranslation and he's actually saying that it won't be done in 100 volumes.
 
DanarchyReigns

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The latest volume released in Japan was 91. It's not ending anytime soon.
Along with Wano set to be a fairly long arc (it's something Oda wanted to do for years), there's still elements like Elbaf, the Void Century, the final Road Poneglyph, the truth of the World Government, the great war that Whitebeard foresaw before his death...

The series won't end when Luffy finds the treasure, that would just be the start of endgame.
 
OP
OP
Chrno

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Brock Reiher said:
I saw that it was a mistranslation and he's actually saying that it won't be done in 100 volumes.
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1492811419846.png


here's hoping.
 
Kreed

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Alice said:
These articles always baffle me. Like, why do they act like "knowing the ending in advance" is special, when it's literally one of the very first things us writers actually think about?
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Many Manga readers seem to be under the impression that authors "wing it" when it comes to writing their stories and are often impressed when authors do simple things like foreshadowing or show any sort of sign that their story has been planned in advance.
 
Vimto

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PeakPointMatrix said:
I expect when we DO finally reach the last arc, it'll be a Naruto style 3-year war affair.
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Only difference is I don't think it will be a fight in one place like Naruto, it most definitely will have multiple fights at different islands between different factions.

One piece world is massive, I trust Oda to show it during the final war.
 
GameShrink

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I still kind of buy the whole "One Piece is a revolutionary weapon hidden away by the civilization that was destroyed by the Celestial Dragons before they became the WG" theory, and that One Piece's endgame will be a rehash of the Whitebeard arc where Luffy brings together all of his allies for a final assault on Marine HQ.

The "memories" of the actual straw hats that have been passed down through generations of great pirates are what unlock this weapon, and those with the "Will of D" are descendents of that destroyed civilization who have the ability to access those memories.

It's not a new theory, but I also wouldn't actually expect Oda to be aware of what the community is guessing, busy as he is.
 
Imperial Bishop

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Chrno said:
In the same article, Oda stated that the series would end with just over 100 volumes.. If that's true, I'd say we have 2 years~ to go.

Source
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Come on. You (and anyone has been following these kind of statements from Oda for the past ten-ish years) should know it's intentionally vague, tongue-in-cheek, and underestimated.

Where the manga is right now, no way in hell can the story conclude in 2 years. That's laughable.
 
sibarraz

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Part of me kinda want to see the "real treasure are the friends that we made in the way" as the payoff for this 20 years epic story
 

AlsoZ

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DanarchyReigns said:
You would be surprised at how many manga artists don't have an ending in mind when they start.
*cough*Kubo*cough*
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Not only do most fresh manga artists (who aren't leaving the story to someone else) not know if their manga will even make it past a volume or two before getting axed, they also have to be able to extend the story to any length if success demands it, while having to deal with editors influencing decisions to make things more marketable. And all that while working on an inhumane schedule that barely leaves time for thinking about the story.

Oda's unprecedented success gives him a lot of leeway with the magazine.
 
jayu26

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Alice said:
These articles always baffle me. Like, why do they act like "knowing the ending in advance" is special, when it's literally one of the very first things us writers actually think about?
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Evidently, not all manga writers/artists think about it or have one set in stone like Oda. And that's why the fact that his ending has not changed despite all these years and additions to the Mythology is refreshing.
 
sir_crocodile

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Normally Oda's full of it when it comes to how long there is to go, but it does feel now that we're getting to endgame, so this is probably his first ever estimate that I believe.
 

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Alice said:
These articles always baffle me. Like, why do they act like "knowing the ending in advance" is special, when it's literally one of the very first things us writers actually think about?
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That might be true starting out, but its clear that most long form fiction (TV, comics, anime, video games) are kinda just made up as they go along.
 
Horp

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One piece is a cake, but you can only take one piece.
In that way it's recursive and breaks the reality.
 
NekoNeko

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Nexas said:
That might be true starting out, but its clear that most long form fiction (TV, comics, anime, video games) are kind just made up as they go along.
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the problem is that you have no idea how long it will last so you end up going to different places where your original ending doesn't really fit anymore.
 
barit

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DanarchyReigns said:
The latest volume released in Japan was 91. It's not ending anytime soon.
Along with Wano set to be a fairly long arc (it's something Oda wanted to do for years), there's still elements like Elbaf, the Void Century, the final Road Poneglyph, the truth of the World Government, the great war that Whitebeard foresaw before his death...

The series won't end when Luffy finds the treasure, that would just be the start of endgame.
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Don't forget Blackbeard. He will probably get his own big arc and I guess he will be the final boss.
 

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Dipro said:
the problem is that you have no idea how long it will last so you end up going to different places where your original ending doesn't really fit anymore.
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That's definitely part of it. Maybe a work becomes more popular than expected, and goes on for years longer than the creator intended. Maybe it gets canceled midway through and they are forced to cobble together an ending based off of half-finished story arcs. Maybe a minor character or plot point becomes unexpectedly popular, and the author changes elements of the story to put greater emphasis on those. Long-form story telling is incredibly hard to do as there are so many opportunities for things to go off the rails along the way.

That's what makes One Piece so impressive. It's been in publication for over 20 years, and while I'm sure changes have been made along the way it's clear that Oda has had a pretty consistent vision of where the story is going this entire time.
 
VariantX

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Imperial Bishop said:
Come on. You (and anyone has been following these kind of statements from Oda for the past ten-ish years) should know it's intentionally vague, tongue-in-cheek, and underestimated.

Where the manga is right now, no way in hell can the story conclude in 2 years. That's laughable.
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Yeah. OP feels like its barely past half-way to its conclusion. The more I read, the bigger the world seems to get and we still don't have anywhere near the full picture.
 
Kingpin Rogers

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It's a time machine and Luffy becomes Gol.D.Roger. No it doesn't need to make sense, no it doesn't matter there would be a myriad of plot holes, yes it would be a satisfying ending to the series.
 
B-Dubs

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VariantX said:
Yeah. OP feels like its barely past half-way to its conclusion. The more I read, the bigger the world seems to get and we still don't have anywhere near the full picture.
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Nah, I feel like the story is just about the enter the final act. No way it's only 2 years left, but I could easily see 5 or so.
 
Chojin

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I'm telling you its a swimsuit that lets Devil Fruit eaters swim. Its in the title.
 

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You know I've been meaning to get back to One Piece. I told myself I would when it ended.

However, I'm exhausted of shonen. Yet, I still feel it would be worth picking up where I left off. Can anyone vouch for the series' quality?
 

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Bran-dono said:
You know I've been meaning to get back to One Piece. I told myself I would when it ended.

However, I'm exhausted of shonen. Yet, I still feel it would be worth picking up where I left off. Can anyone vouch for the series' quality?
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I think Vol 90, which isn't released outside of Japan yet, is arguably the best single volume in the series.
 
Gustaf

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Alice said:
These articles always baffle me. Like, why do they act like "knowing the ending in advance" is special, when it's literally one of the very first things us writers actually think about?
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i cant stop at the fact that you wrote "us writers"

i dont know why i found it so funny
 
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