Eiichiro Oda breaks silence on Monsters anime adaptation

Tulisha srivastava
A still of Ryuma from Eiichiro Oda's Monsters

The Monsters anime adaptation is just a few days away, and here’s what Eiichiro Oda has to say about it.

One Piece’s creator, Eiichiro Oda, released a series of one-shots before the official release of the manga. These were later compiled in the “Wanted!” volume featuring five side stories. One of these stories follows the legendary swordsman Ryuma Shimotsuki.

He lived around 400 years ago, whose legend is still popular in the land of Wano. Titled “Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation,” it is an original net animation that was announced in July 2023.

Directed by Sunghoo Park, the anime adaptation is all set for its grand premiere on January 21. The studio behind the anime, E&H Production is established by Director Park. Following his work in Jujutsu Kaisen, Sunghoo Park is famous for his attention to detail. Delve deeper to find out what Eiichiro Oda has to say about the Monsters anime adaptation.

Eiichiro Oda hypes up Monsters anime

The 8th issue of Weekly Shonen Jump includes One Piece Chapter 1104. According to leaker PewPiece, Eiichiro Oda commented: “I can’t believe ‘MONSTERS,’ the one-shot manga I drew in my youth is getting an animated adaptation! THIS IS THE LIFE!!!”

The one-shots were published from 1992 to 1996 before the One Piece manga debuted in 1997. During One Piece Day 2023, the anime adaptation was announced with a teaser video along with some major announcements about Gear 5 and the One Piece live-action.

What is Monsters anime about?

Monsters anime is a canon story following the events from 400 years when Ryuma made history. One Piece fans will finally find out the legend behind Ryuma slaying a dragon.  In SBS Volume 247, Eiichiro Oda says: “Despite being a zombie, the character appearing in Chapter 450 is indeed Ryuma.

“The samurai protagonist of the MONSTERS short story. In the world of One Piece, however, he is a legendary warrior who has already passed away due to illness and etched his name in history.”

As per Netflix, its official synopsis reads: “A samurai’s path leads him to a waitress whose hometown was destroyed by a dragon. He doesn’t want any trouble  but it finds them anyway.”

About The Author

Tulisha is an anime writer at Dexerto. In the past, she has worked for Comic Book Resources. She is most knowledgeable about Shonen series, particularly One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen. You can contact her at tulisha.srivastava@dexerto.com