Eiichiro Oda is the author of One Piece and has let the Straw Hat Pirates eat all sorts of dishes. He himself recently discovered a brand new utensil.
What could that be? In the Japanese magazine Weekly Jump, Oda writes a sentence in a small column every week. These are often everyday or funny messages to the fans.
In the last week, there was said to be a comment from him describing a situation at McDonald’s. The mangaka reportedly ordered a salad there and marveled at a particular utensil, as can be read on Reddit:
According to this, he used a wooden fork for the first time and was amazed at how easy it was to use. If the comment really came from last week, Oda would have managed to avoid wooden forks for 51 years.
Wooden forks as a special feature when eating
Why can this be a good thing? Forks are found in every household in Germany, and most children learn to eat with them early on. In Japan, however, it is customary to eat with chopsticks. For soups, they also use special spoons.
However, when it comes to traditional pasta, steak, or cake, western utensils like a fork are common in Japan as well. Therefore, forks can actually be found in Japanese households or restaurants. It’s not as if a fork is an exotic tool there. It’s not the fork itself that is the problem.
The special thing is: In Japan, a lot is still processed with plastic. Plastic forks are more common there than wooden forks. An infographic shows that Japan was far and away the largest exporter of plastic waste in 2021 (via Statista).
Therefore, it is quite possible that Oda has simply never encountered wooden forks but rather plastic utensils. Alternatively, it may simply be that he rarely eats out and only started doing so after visiting the filming location of One Piece on Netflix.
In Germany, such plastic utensils have been banned since July 3, 2021 (read more on Verbraucherzentrale NRW). Since then, it is rather common to take wooden utensils with you when meeting friends or relatives outside, be it during barbecues or picnics.
What do others say about it? Many users on X find it crazy that Oda would eat at McDonald’s as such a wealthy man. Current estimates (read more on Vermögen Magazin) suggest that the author has a net worth of around 183.64 million euros.
Fans are also worried that the food at the fast-food chain could affect his health. Oda has had health issues in the past. At times, he even had to send his blood values to the doctor daily.
It is surprising that the mangaka has never used wooden forks. After all, he has all sorts of curious stuff in his home. A few years ago, Oda even gave a tour of his house. A gigantic giraffe is not the only oddity: “I spent my money on ridiculous things”: The mangaka of One Piece gives a house tour
