Eiichiro Oda began conceptualizing and writing the foundational ideas for what would become One Piece in 1996.
The Genesis of a Pirate Epic
The journey of One Piece started while Oda was working as an assistant to renowned manga artist Nobuhiro Watsuki. During this period in 1996, he began developing the core concepts that would later blossom into one of the world's most popular manga and anime series.
From One-Shot to Global Phenomenon
The initial manifestation of Oda's burgeoning idea took the form of two distinct one-shot stories. These preliminary works were both titled Romance Dawn. This title would later gain significant recognition as it was adopted for the very first chapter and subsequent volume of the One Piece manga. These Romance Dawn one-shots served as the crucial prototypes, allowing Oda to explore themes, characters, and settings that would ultimately define the grand pirate adventure of Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates.
