The legendary Weekly Shonen Jump editor who discovered Akira Toriyama and edited Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball recently appeared at Napoli Comicon. Kazuhiko Torishima shared his thoughts on Dragon Ball DAIMA, the manga industry, and how Eiichiro Oda's approach to One Piece has changed in recent years. Torishima has always been candidly harsh on manga, to the point that Akira Toriyama based Dragon Ball's Demon King Piccolo on him.
X user @XMathemagicianX attended Torishima's Napoli Comicon interview, and shared his thoughts in a Twitter thread. Torishima heavily criticized modern manga, slamming most series for having too much narration and exposition. Compared to other manga like Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, and Demon Slayer, Torishima actually had some positive things to say about One Piece. That said, Torishima was highly critical of Eiichiro Oda's storytelling in modern One Piece.
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Akira Toriyama's Original Dragon Ball Editor Reveals Why He Doesn't Like One Piece Anymore
Modern One Piece is Too Wordy & No Longer For Kids
According to Kazuhiko Torishima, One Piece's biggest problem right now is that the series is no longer tailored to kids. @XMathemagicianX relayed that Torishima said, "Weekly Shonen Jump, and manga in general, became much wordier as the readership aged. Mangaka began writing for adults instead of kids, changing the whole style." Eiichiro Oda has been writing the One Piece manga since 1997, so it stands to reason the series would grow alongside its audience. Torishima considers this a major issue for the industry, however.
For better or worse, One Piece chapters are filled to the brim with dialogue. To Torishima, this makes modern One Piece (as well as modern manga) "too wordy and unappealing to kids." The average Dragon Ball page can be read in just a few seconds thanks to Toriyama's direct, deceptively simple (but still complex) paneling, and "as needed" approach to text. With this in mind, it makes sense Torishima would struggle to connect with a series like One Piece that isn't afraid to get wordy in order to world-build or develop its main cast.
That said, Torishima did praise Eiichiro Oda and One Piece for its character work. Torishima credited One Piece's fame and popularity specifically to Luffy being such a relatable main character for readers. He also called Oda smart for introducing other relatable Straw Hats like Zoro, Nami, and Usopp, who he all praies as "amazing characters." Torishima particularly likes Usopp "for being the most normal" character in the main cast.
Torishima Believes Oda is Too in Love With Manga
Dragon Ball Succeeded Because Toriyama Hated Drawing Manga
Kazuhiko Torishima also acknowledged that Eiichiro Oda has a genuine love and passion for manga. However, Torishima did not mean this as a positive thing. According to @XMathemagicianX, Torishima "doesn't consider being a huge manga fan a good trait." Per Torishima, "the difference between One Piece and Dragon Ball is that Oda is too in love with manga and his own story, while Toriyama hated drawing manga."
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Torishima continues, "Toriyama hated manga, so he made them as synthesized as possible, but that's exactly why Dragon Ball became such a masterpiece: anyone can read it easily. One Piece, on the other hand, is too heavy and unapproachable for kids." Due to being a huge fan of the medium, Torishima suggests that Oda is too invested in his story. "Kill your darlings" is a common piece of writing advice that encourages writers to get rid of story details they's deeply passionate about for the greater good of the narrative.
Where Toriyama went with the flow, Oda has big plans for One Piece that he won't break, even if it means filling panels with more dialogue and harder-to-parse action. Even in the face of Torishima's criticisms, One Piece remains the most popular manga and anime franchise in the world as Oda sets up the series' Final Saga.
Source: X (@XMathemagicianX)
