One Piece’s Creator Confirmed The Reason Why He Never Kills Characters

One Piece is a series that often sees characters survive extremely fatal situations, but author Eiichiro Oda has explained why so few characters die in his long-running series. Until the recently concluded Wano arc, characters would often suffer fake-out deaths like Alabasta’s Pell and Igaram and Bon Clay in Impel Down, only to appear in later episodes or on the manga’s cover pages. However, there is one big reason why One Piece‘s author avoids killing off characters.

There have been enough fake deaths throughout One Piece‘s storyline that it eventually became a running gag that any supposedly dead character would return. While there have been exceptions, such as Ace’s tragic death, Oda has revealed the reason why characters don’t usually die is his love of drawing celebrations and parties.

A 2018 interview with Eiichiro Oda, translated by sandman_AP on X, reveals why One Piece has so few character deaths. “If someone dies, you can’t have an enjoyable party,” Oda said. He goes on to express how a good party is a strong expression of friendship, which is expressly conveyed during the happiest times in the series, often after the downfall of an oppressive villain.

Oda Prefers To Draw Happy Moments Over The Sad

Grand celebrations filled with food, drinks, and laughter often bookmark the end of the series’ most significant arcs. The Straw Hat Crew’s intervention often changes the lives of citizens who have been oppressed by One Piece‘s despicable villains for years (sometimes decades). Luffy has brought about liberation throughout his journey, and times of grand celebration usually follow, especially at the end of arcs like Alabasta, Skypiea, and Wano. As Oda explained, if beloved characters died and stayed dead, the endings of those arcs would be less joyous than they were.

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One Piece is usually guilty of portraying characters meeting fateful ends only to reveal they ultimately survived. Vivi’s bodyguard, Pell, survives carrying a city-destroying bomb that explodes at point-blank range during Alabasta’s tearful ending. The trend isn’t exclusive to early arcs, either. Pound, the 25th ex-husband of Big Mom, attacks his powerful stepson, Oven, to save the lives of his daughter and her happy new family. A giant flaming blade descended upon him as he viewed his grandson for the first time in a seemingly emotional death. Their sacrifices were often necessary for their arc’s happy ending, but their loss didn’t damper the ending’s celebrations. Still, they both survived to show up again in the series.

One Piece‘s Author Wants To End The Story With A Big Party

Eiichiro Oda has become a master of creating emotional storylines filled with tears and triumph over the 25 years of One Piece‘s serialization. Creating backstories filled with heartbreak and suffering makes moments of happiness and partying feel more substantial and earned. Many citizens in One Piece’s world have gone through hell, which is likely why Eiichiro Oda has so much fun drawing his characters living life to the fullest after hard-earned battles instead of grieving for their lost comrades, even if this means that One Piece‘s characters rarely stay dead.

Read the One Piece manga on Manga Plus and Viz Media.

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