Akira Toriyama’s editor on Dragon Ball, Kazuhiko Torishima, recently confirmed that One Piece is the only reason Shōnen Jump Magazine is still alive today, which confirms the incomparable impact of the series on Japanese entertainment. Despite being known for originally doubting the value of Eiichiro Oda’s manga, Torishima has clearly changed his mind, as revealed in a recent post from @pewpiece on X.
One Piece’s impact on the anime industry is no secret. This year, to commemorate the series’ 25th anniversary, Eiichiro Oda’s series became the very first anime to appear on the largest screen in the world, the Las Vegas Sphere. From June 10-16, fans of all ages were able to enjoy a 90-second display of the anime on a monstrous array of LED lights. Furthermore, One Piece also made history at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2023. At 50 feet tall, 43 feet long, and 39 feet wide, Luffy was the widest balloon in the Parade’s lineup.
While these monumental achievements will always be remembered, an additional credit was recently added to One Piece’s resume. Weekly Shōnen Jump, one of the most popular publications in Japan (and now, the world), has one series to thank for its success, and it isn’t what fans may think. Former manga magazine editor, Torishima, stated that One Piece is the only reason Shōnen Jump Magazine is still alive and well today, providing further confirmation of the impact of Oda’s masterpiece.
According to Torishima’s recent interview, after Dragon Ball ended, Weekly Shonen Jump suffered from poor sales and a lack of new talent. Toriyama’s style and work were so revolutionary that it took some time for a new generation of artists to come out, who had learned the lessons of the master. That’s when Eiichiro Oda and One Piece came along, in 1997, before Kishimoto made his debut in 1999 with Naruto, and Tite Kubo with Bleach in 2001.
Many fans believe that after Dragon Ball ended its serialization, Naruto became Shōnen Jump’s saving grace, but according to Torishima, this is far from the truth. In a recently released interview with Imaginez with Discovery, legendary manga editor Torishima mentioned that One Piece almost didn’t make it to serialization. While it is hard to imagine a world without Oda’s masterpiece, higher-ups at Shōnen Jump (including Torishima) initially doubted the potential of One Piece, but, after seeing the passion that Oda held for the series and the lack of available talent at the time, they decided to give the series a shot.
While Dragon Ball was Shōnen Jump’s crown jewel before One Piece came along, its editor, Torishima, made some seemingly harsh comments about the series in a previous interview. In a discussion with the CEO of Japanese game company, CyberConnect2, Hiroshi Matsuyama, Torishima pointed out the lack of life lessons in Toriyama’s series.According to Derek Padula, he stated that Dragon Ball is “a work without substance”:
Torishima: “That’s when I decided to make Dragon Ball a work without substance.”
Matsuyama: “Without substance?”
Torishima: “That’s right, Matsuyama-Kun, have you learned anything by reading Dragon Ball, that you can remember?”
Matsuyama: “Well, of course, um…”
Toriyama: “No, there’s nothing you can learn by reading Dragon Ball. It’s not a lesson in life, it’s useless in our lives; it’s just a funny comic. And that’s fine!”
In addition to his controversial statements about the beloved Dragon Ball franchise, Torishima also claims that he was one of the editors at Shōnen Jump who turned down One Piece multiple times. Onw popular manga artist, Yasuaki Kita, briefly quoted on his X account a conversation that he and Torishima, who was editor-in-chief at the time, had when One Piece first made its way into Shōnen Jump Magazine:
Kita: “One Piece will be a pillar of Shonen Jump.”
Torishima: “There is no way One Piece will become a popular manga! Don’t talk nonsense!”
Despite the initial hesitancy towards Oda’s masterpiece, One Piece later proved to be the best thing that could’ve happened to Weekly Shōnen Jump. Eiichiro Oda began working for the magazine at 17 years old. Since then, his manga series has become the best-selling piece of literature written by a single person of all time, outselling the Batman comics and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter.
Confronted with such success, it’s perhaps understandable that Torishima has now changed his tune, and also presents himself as someone who, as editor-in-chief of the magazine, believed in the editor behind One Piece, Takanori Asada. While he previously doubted the series’ potential, Torishima has confirmed once and for all that One Piece’s impact on Shōnen Jump rivals only that of Dragon Ball.
Created by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece is a multimedia franchise that began as a manga series and follows the adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates as led by Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy, an enthusiastic pirate with a thirst for adventure, is afflicted by a mysterious curse that gives him various powers he uses to protect himself and his friends. The manga eventually gave way to the anime series, with the two being some of history’s longest-running anime and manga series. Along with over fifty video games made over the years, the series entered the live-action world with Netflix’s 2023 adaptation.
