It is known that the drawing style of a mangaka changes greatly over time. A long serialization forces a young author to gain experience, to find lines that fit much better into the atmosphere of the story, but at the same time are manageable on a weekly basis. Aside from that, Mangas like ONE PIECE also have to adapt to the times.
Especially in long-lasting serializations of more than five years like that of Eiichiro Oda, we experience the greatest changes in artistic style. Now arrived at chapter 1025, ONE PIECE introduced us to a Monkey D. Luffy in 1997, which is very different from what we see today, with a slightly rounder stroke and a clearer design. The same goes for the others, and a fan-made infographic shows us the transformation of all Mugiwara for each year starting with their introductory chapter.
The user KidMedia has published the picture you can see below on the ONE PIECE SubReddit. The characters who have changed the most since it came out are inevitably the first to appear in Oda’s early years working on Weekly Shonen Jump. Zoro, Nami, and Sanji have more mature frownsUsopp completely modified the nose and brought it into the now familiar cylindrical shape.
The entrances to the Rotta Maggiore, Nico Robin and Chopper have also changed, especially the reindeer. The following – Franky, Brook, and Jinbe – have had some changes, but very minor changes. What do you think of the Change of drawing style in ONE PIECE? Do you like the changes Oda has made over time? Is it possible at the same time to read ONE PIECE again after a long time?
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