One Piece was originally supposed to have a completely different name. The earliest known sketches by Eiichiro Oda, the manga artist of the pirate adventure, have now surfaced. They reveal many details about the Straw Hats and how the anime was initially supposed to be named.
What kind of sketches are these? The discovered drawings date back to 1994, so 30 years ago. At that time, Eiichiro Oda was only 19 years old. The manga for One Piece didn’t exist until three years later.
The images show the first prototypes of Luffy, Nami, and Nika. Sanji and Zoro are also depicted in additional sketches:
Especially Luffy has changed significantly in the images. His early name was Monkey D. Pao, and he was supposed to wear a bandana. The pattern on his bandana might look familiar to you, as it was later used as the pattern of the Gum-Gum Fruit, which granted Luffy his devil powers.
Moreover, the bandana suggests that Luffy was originally meant to be the thief. In today’s One Piece, that role belongs to Nami, as she chases after every treasure.
That Oda had already developed his first ideas for One Piece early on shows how far ahead he plans. He hinted at an arc 25 years ago that will soon become important. The other sketches of additional characters also reveal how far he has thought ahead.
In One Piece, there are not only cool characters but also cool ships. You can see the five best in the MeinMMO video:
Oda created Nika 30 years ago
Who is the old man in the bottom left? The elderly gentleman in the lower left corner of the image is the original idea of Nika. His laugh reveals that he is the sun god from One Piece.
At that time, he was supposed to be a 5008-year-old tree spirit inhabiting the rubber tree. Presumably, he would have given Monkey D. Pao his rubber powers. He was supposed to be named Merry, but he had to give up the name to the Straw Hat crew’s first ship.
Another note reveals why Merry was to become Nika: Oda wrote a marginal note that those who can laugh at their weakness are the strongest. This is reminiscent of the sun god Nika, who is always laughing and thus gains incredible abilities like changing his body size.
What about the other characters? The sketches reveal more exciting details:
- Zoro and Sanji were originally named Ryuma and Romeo. Oda had the idea of incorporating samurais, dragons, and knights into the anime. However, he discarded the idea and positioned Ryuma as the protagonist of his own manga, which we now know as Monsters.
- Nami’s design already resembled her current appearance back then. However, she was originally supposed to be named Rizeru.
- In the lower right corner, another man can be seen. Unfortunately, there is no hint as to who he might be.
The original notes also leave some possible theories. The “rubber tree” might still play an important role today and be the source of all the devil fruits. Oda has not yet revealed where exactly the fruits come from. Although there is a theory from Dr. Vegapunk, it has not been proven so far.
In the current manga chapters, the special powers of the devil fruits are becoming evident. Because there is a character whose devil fruit has also evolved. This means that not only Luffy has gained special devil powers: One Piece: In the upcoming manga chapter, there is a person who becomes like Luffy.
