The swashbuckling adventures of Luffy and his companions in the world of One Piece are always exciting, full of emotional moments, hard-fought battles, and struggles to overcome. In between them, however, One Piece‘s creator Eiichiro Oda loves to “take a break” by granting his readers the most bizarre requests in the SBS corners that can be found in every published volume. One of such requests resulted in Oda drawing the members of the Straw Hat pirates as a regular (sort of) family, and the result is hilarious.
The SBS (Shitsumon o Boshū Suru, “I’m Taking Questions”) is a Q&A column featured in every volume of One Piece starting from number 4. Oda uses it to reply to fans’ letters on a variety of subjects, from silly ones to revealing details on the characters that do not find room in the manga. The information provided in this section is usually considered canon, and sometimes the fans themselves will give suggestions, such as the date of birth for specific characters or their favorite foods. Often, Oda will receive requests to draw one or more characters in a certain way, such as the gender-flipped series of the Straw Hat Pirates, the Shichibukai, and the Eleven Supernovas.
In the SBS for volume 48, a fan asked what role would each Straw Hat Pirate have if they were a family. In Oda’s answer, the roles were the following: Franky was the father, Robin the mother, Zoro the eldest son, Sanji the second son, Usopp the second, Luffy the fourth, Chopper the youngest son, and Nami the daughter. At that time, Brook had not been introduced yet in the manga, so in volume 50 Oda added him to the list, including also a drawing in chibi style (very stylized and deformed), that changed some of the roles and added a good bit of comedy and information for each character.
Usopp’s portrayal as a “mother full of lies” is pure genius, as well as Zoro’s depiction as a stern, traditional father who holds bushido in the highest regard. Franky is depicted as a stereotypical Japanese punk, with the typical “punch perm” hairstyle that was popular between the 1970s and the 1990s among yakuza and bōsōzoku (motorcycle gang members). He is also sitting in the yanki zuwari squatting position, considered very rude by Japanese standards. Brook is now a perverted grandfather, as Burozou, and he maintains his fixation with women’s panties, while Sanji is obviously very good at soccer, given his proficiency with kicks. Chopper has become the family pet, as a cat with antlers, and he loves winter, as Japanese cats love to snuggle under the kotatsu, a heated table used during the cold months. Finally, Luffy is the youngest son, and being “tight with the lunch lady” makes perfect sense for him, considering how gluttonous he can get, especially when his favorite food, meat, is around.
Readers should never skip the SBS section in One Piece volumes: besides giving a lot of new information on the world of the manga and its characters, they often include treats like the drawing of the Straw Hats as a family that showcase Eiichiro Oda’s great creativity and sense of humor.
