It’s that time again! (and I’m a bit late whoops…). While some of you might not be familiar, every week that Shonen Jump comes out, each manga author includes a small message about their current life in the issue. Oda is no different, so here are all of his comments across 2019, helping bring an insight into his life!

Note that Shonen Jump begins its year of issues in December,  hence why this starts in December of 2018 and ends in November of 2019, it’s just the way they’ve structured Jump releases across the years.

Below are all the messages from December 2018 to November 2019, with additional notes for me to help clarify all the references to Japanese stuff you might not be familiar with. I also included a list of many of the things Oda mentions at the end of this, so please check that out!

To close it off, here’s a list of some of the things Oda brought up in his messages! I highly recommend going through these to understand Oda a little bit better1

– Song Mr. Children made for Strong World:

– Article on Akashiya’s visit to Oda’s house

– Official One Piece Instagram!

– Trailer for “Unnatural”, the TV drama Oda mentioned:

– Matsunojo Kanda’s Kodan performance of the start of Wano

– Oda changing editors

– Trailer for Juhan Shuttai, the other TV drama Oda mentioned:

– The hit song “Lemon” that Oda joked about being able to play on biwa:

– And to give an idea of what Oda meant, here is a cover of the song with an Ehru, an instrument similar to a biwa lute:

– The drawing Oda did for Ryota Yamasato’s wedding as promised:

– Nakkin, the series of youtube videos Oda mentioned enjoying. Get some eye bleach

– Gerradon Kisaragi’s videos, which Oda also mentioned enjoying. So this is what Oda is into these days huh…

– Oda’s interview with Fischer’s

– Gatebox, the new gadget Oda talked about. A true man of culture

Reminder that this thing is worth like 1,500 dollars. Yes.

That is all! See you next year!