Today (21st), Eiichiro Oda, the author of "One Piece," announced that he would temporarily suspend the serial publication for a period of three weeks. Behind this decision is a series of tragedies that hit the Japanese anime industry in March. This month, first, the author of "Dragon Ball," Toriyama Akira, passed away on the 1st, then on the 4th, the voice actress of "Chibi Maruko-chan" anime, TARAKO, passed away, and on the 10th, the popular illustrator and animator Inomata Mutsumi also passed away. The occurrence of these events has made the entire Japanese anime industry feel sad, and Eiichiro Oda's current physical condition has also attracted attention on the Japanese internet.
Eiichiro Oda personally released this news with a hand-drawn graphic, and while announcing the suspension of the serial publication, he said, "I need to rest~~!" and explained the reason for the rest. He said: "Recently, something happened to Toriyama Sensei, which might make everyone worry too much. I am not sick. But there is really something wrong with my body, please think of me as going to the factory for maintenance." Eiichiro Oda also mentioned the need to think about "ONE PIECE" and said that he is still quite busy. He plans to resume the serial publication on April 22nd and asks readers for their understanding.
At the age of 49, Eiichiro Oda underwent astigmatism surgery last year and therefore took a break for a while. His work requires long-term thinking and drawing, which is quite a burden on the body, so the decision to temporarily suspend the publication has been understood and supported by readers. Readers have left messages saying, "It's a pity for readers to suspend the publication, but don't be too hardworking. Come back after taking good care of your body," and "The maintenance of the body is very important, looking forward to a more interesting 'One Piece'."
