Eiichiro Oda is a modern man when it comes to women in his super hit anime One Piece, which is premiering on Netflix soon. He doesn’t care for the whole “damsel in distress” thing and he makes sure to make the female characters just as strong as males.
The reliably reclusive Oda gave a rare interview to The New York Times, and he touched on how important it was to have a strong female presence in his source manga, which would go on to be adapted as an anime, then a live-action series for Netflix. He said he made sure that Nami and Robin aren’t just there for eye candy or as plot development points for other characters.
“There are many strong women in the world of One Piece – women with intelligence like Robin, or with abilities like Nami. There are even attractive and strong women among the enemy pirates,” Oda said.
Oda also shared that when he read manga as a kid “there was always a point where the heroine existed just to be rescued.” He didn’t really like that, and he didn’t “want to create a story about women being kidnapped and saved.”
“I depict women who know how to fight for themselves and don’t need to be saved. If a moment comes where they’re overpowered, their shipmates will help them out, and vice versa.”
Very progressive take. He creates strong women that are also beautiful, like Vivi or Carrot. One Piece fans have been clamoring for the live action adaptation of the animated show and manga every since it was announced. At a recent screening in Santa Monica, a throng of fans wore Monkey D. Luffy’s signature straw hat.
One Piece will be available to stream on Netflix on Aug. 31.
