- Tokuhiro says it is painful that many people ask him about Oda, not about Tokuhiro himself. (Oda was an assistant of him before he made a debut as mangaka.) Oda feels sorry about it.
- Oda has been sending New Year's cards to Tokuhiro for more than 20 years. In the card, Oda includes much information about how he is getting along.
- Oda worked as an assistant under 3 mangakas (Tokuhiro, Watsuki and Kaitani), but he spent his time most under Tokuhiro. Oda says he learned much from Tokuhiro. Thanks to that, when Oda started working under Watsuki, Oda got praised, "Apparently, you already mastered basic drawing skills!"
- Tokuhiro was a great mentor for Oda regarding drawing boobs.
- Oda has a bright personality and was a life and soul among Tokuhiro's assistants.
- When Oda was an assistant, he already had the idea of creating a pirate manga.
- Oda was impressed at Tokuhiro's great skill of drawing muscles. Tokuhiro kindly gave him a book about body building. (Tokuhiro's hobby is/was body building.) Oda stills owns that book.
- Tokuhiro told Oda that the more mangaka draws in details, the more audience can feel his enthusiasm. Oda always keeps it in mind.
- Many mangakas suffer from callus on fingers due to drawing too much, but Oda has never experienced it before. He says his fingers are soft and squishy
- Oda says ONE PIECE is inspired by many films.
- Tokuhiro said that although there are millions of story patterns, only a few/several of them can really fascinate audience. Oda was shocked to hear that and wasn't able to believe, but as he has been building up his career as mangaka, Oda came to realize it.
- The camera work of ONE PIECE was influenced by the manga titled "ふんどし刑事ケンちゃんチャコちゃん" (meaning "Loincloth Detective Ken-chan and Chako-chan") , which was made by Tokuhiro. Oda was impressed that Tokuhiro's camera work eloquently expressed his characters' emotions.
- When Oda was an assistant of Tokuhiro, Oda drew a panel in which many people gather. Oda gladly submitted the drawing, but later he was shocked that the face shapes of the people he drew were exactly the same. Oda regretted it, but he has been hesitating to confess it for more than 20 years.
(Greg amazingly predicted the contents of Oda's confession!!)
https://twitter.com/ochimusha108/sta...66133379223554
- Since this blunder, Oda made an effort to draw various kinds of face shapes. He says it was a turning point in his career. He believes ONE PIECE became popular thanks to that blunder panel. Oda says it is important to create manga characters so that audience can distinguish them just by seeing the silhouettes.
