Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the popular manga series One Piece, revealed in a 2015 interview that he was inspired by Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto when creating one of his own characters. Oda explained that he was particularly impressed by a scene in Naruto where a character becomes invisible and goes underwater, leaving only his silhouette visible. Oda used this as inspiration for his own invisible character, Shiryu.
The Inspiration of Naruto on Eiichiro Oda’s Creation
Shiryu is introduced in the Impel Down arc of One Piece as a former head jailer who has turned into a death row prisoner. Despite not having consumed a devil fruit, a source of special powers in the One Piece world, Shiryu already possesses great strength and speed. He eventually escapes from prison and joins the Blackbeard Pirates after encountering their leader, Blackbeard. Shiryu gains his invisibility powers after eating the Suke Suke No Mi, a type of devil fruit.
Oda has often expressed his admiration for Kishimoto’s Naruto. In a published conversation between the two mangaka, they discussed their friendly rivalry and what they admired about each other’s work. Oda has also acknowledged that Naruto is ultimately the more popular series, despite One Piece being the best-selling manga globally. Oda believes that the upcoming live-action One Piece series on Netflix may be the last chance for the series to gain global recognition.
The live-action adaptation of One Piece on Netflix, created by Steve Maeda and Matt Owens, will cover the early stages of the protagonist Luffy’s journey to become the King of the Pirates. Netflix recently released a first-look trailer for the series, featuring Luffy, Nami, Zoro, and the crew’s iconic ship, Going Merry. The trailer also gave a glimpse of Buggy the Clown, one of the series’ early antagonists. The series is set to premiere on Netflix on August 31.
The One Piece manga is available in English from VIZ Media, and the anime adaptation can be watched on Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll.
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