When you think of anime, you think of One Piece. That’s how enormous and impactful the franchise has become since the first One Piece manga was released in 1997.
Now, 26 years on, One Piece has been adapted into one of the best anime series of all time, has been the subject of several anime movies, and even has its own live-action Netflix series on the way. But it all began at the Tezuka Osamu Manga Awards, with Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, receiving accolades for the work both in 2001 and 2002. And now, the creator of some of the best anime characters of all time is paying it forward by judging the competition himself.
As part of the Tezuka Manga Award Committee, Oda shared a touching message to budding manga artists at the 105th Tezuka Manga Award Ceremony. A Reddit user later translated the message, which provided some invaluable advice.
“It’s great that there are many promising young manga artists from now on,” he said. “My overall impression is that there are many series in which they have a clear idea what they want to write, which is a very positive aspect. However, I also believe that it would be beneficial if they could focus on creating easily-understandable illustrations and include necessary explanations to engage readers. I want them to do their best without losing sight of what they want to draw.”
For more on One Piece, check out our guides to the best One Piece characters, all the One Piece filler episodes you can skip, and the One Piece Netflix live-action cast.