A never-before-seen prototype of Eiichiro Oda One piece the manga was revealed by the series' first editor.

Originally titled Forwarddates back to 1994, when Oda was just 19, and offers a glimpse into the ideas that would eventually evolve into the One piece Series.

Forward features a protagonist named Monkey D. Pao, an optimistic boy whose design bears a striking resemblance to Luffy. Pao's headband even sports a pattern reminiscent of the Gomu Gomu no Mi, the Devil Fruit that grants Luffy his rubber-like abilities.

Another key character in Forward is Rizel, a thief who shares similarities with Nami. The prototype also sheds light on the team building dynamics of the series.

According to Oda's early drafts, Nami was initially planned to be the first crew member to join Luffy on his journey. This detail was reflected by her presence on the cover of Chapter 1 alongside a then-absent Zoro.

It also featured a character called Merry, the Rubber Tree Spirit, who is a whopping 5,008 years old and has a laugh eerily similar to that of the mysterious Nika, “Wahahaha.”

This revelation has led fans to suggest that Oda may have envisioned the Gomu Gomu no Mi and even Merry possessing a will of their own from the beginning. It also foreshadows the Gomu Gomu no Mi's connection to the Sun God Nika.

Furthermore, Oda had already revealed that his prototype works, as Monstersfeatured characters and themes that later evolved into One Piece characters.

The samurai Ryuma, who appears next to a dragon in Monstersis an example of this.

Oda always wanted to draw a combination of a samurai and a knight. This idea ended up manifesting itself in the characters Zoro and Sanji.

“Ryuma, the samurai, appeared together with the dragon in my prototype works, MONSTERS. I always wanted to draw the combination of samurai and knight in MONSTERS, but in the end they became the prototype version of Zoro and Sanji.“.

THEa piece began serialization in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1997. The manga, which is currently in its final saga, has become the best-selling manga series in history.

The manga chapters have been collected into 108 tankobon volumes as of March 2024. An anime adaptation by Toei Animation has been airing since 1999. Meanwhile, a remake of the anime to cater to new audiences is currently in production at WIT Studios – titled The One Piece.

Source: Ohara Library