In the world of One Piece there are many modern technologies. However, mobile phones are not one of them. Instead, both pirates and the Navy use snail phones. But did you know how exactly they work?
What are snail phones anyway? Even though they are an important item for communication, snail phones (also known as Den Den Mushi) are actually living beings. This means they also live in the wilderness as wild animals.
Among them, there are different species and kinds, which have different sizes, colors, or shells. For example, there are special snail phones that have adapted to very cold environments to live there.
However, their different adaptations are mainly good for humans. Not only are there snail phones that function like telephones. With other variants, you can also show videos and images. A famous one is also the small golden snail phone, with which you can call a Buster Call. So one can assume that humans influence the abilities a snail phone has.
Since they, like other pets, also have needs, one must take care of them. In a new SBS, Eiichiro Oda explained to a fan how to properly care for them.
There are also snail phones in the live-action series:
Pets that can consume a lot of energy
What does Oda say about snail phones? In the so-called SBS, Oda answers fans’ questions. These are published in the volumes, which are anthologies that contain several chapters of One Piece.
In Volume 114, a fan asks Oda if the snail phones of the Straw Hat crew get delicious food from Sanji as nourishment and how they are doing with the crew. The question arose because Oda had apparently mentioned in the past that snail phones do not care about being caught by humans, as they are fed.
Oda first stated that there is a snail phone for long distances on the Straw Hats’ ship, the Thousand Sunny. Additionally, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Robin, and Franky have baby snail phones for communication over short distances, which are also often used by other members.
Oda then provided additional information about the snail phones themselves:
[Snail phones] can usually survive about three months without food, as long as they have access to water; since telepathic communication requires a lot of energy, it is advisable to feed them with food scraps before or after a conversation.
Oda’s response in SBS 114 translated by Artur – Library of Ohara (Source: x.com),
The telepathy that makes communication function like a telephone requires quite a bit of energy. However, food scraps are sufficient for this.
Further, he explains how well the snails are actually treated with the Straw Hats. They are allowed to roam among Nami’s mandarin trees and Robin’s flower beds, and cabbage and lettuce seem to be their favorite foods.
As Oda explains, they are probably also regularly watered with the watering can, which they particularly enjoy.
Although snail phones work like telephones, they are not as widespread as one might expect from mobile phones. Mostly, Navy bases use snail phones, and pirates also show that it is more of an item for tactical coordination or information exchange than an item for normal people.
There are also snail phones that can eavesdrop on other snail phone conversations. The SBS regularly proves how important the world of One Piece is to many fans and how Oda expands the world-building without always stuffing the manga full of it. The mangaka also speaks for the live-action series: Eiichiro Oda defends the 2nd season of One Piece on Netflix and comments on the changes
