One Piece Shares Unseen Pre-Release Art by Eiichiro Oda

One Piece's early sketches have surfaced in honor of Monsters' Blu-ray launch.

By Megan Peters

One Piece made its mark on the world decades ago, and its spot is only growing. Eiichiro Oda never could have seen how big the series would become, but these days, One Piece runs the scene. Now, the artist is giving fans a never-before-seen look at its early days, and we have Netflix's Monsters anime to thank.

If you will recall, Netflix brought Monsters to life in an anime with help from Oda. The show is set within the One Piece universe as it takes us back to the day of Ryuma. Soon, the anime will get a Blu-ray release in Japan, and a new promo confirms the bundle will house pre-series artwork of One Piece.

As you can see above, the Monsters Blu-ray preview puts One Piece on the spot. Of course, it features some early sketches Oda did of Ryuma while crafting Monsters, but that is not all. We are also shown pre-serialization illustrations of Sanji, Zoro, Luffy, and more. Nami is also pictured in the shot, so you can see Oda was honing in the Straw Hats long before One Piece was released.

We have been shown pre-series illustrations of One Piece before, but it never fails to thrill fans when new art surfaces. Oda is sitting on a treasure trove of history that fans cannot even fathom. Thanks to Monsters, we're getting a new look at how One Piece came together decades ago. So if you fancy yourself a One Piece historian, you best listen up!

If you are not caught up on all things One Piece, the series is easy to find these days. The manga is ongoing, and it can be really weekly on the Shonen Jump app. As for the anime, One Piece has kickstarted its final act on Crunchyroll and Netflix. So for more info on the series, you can read its official synopsis below:

"As a child, Monkey D. Luffy was inspired to become a pirate by listening to the tales of the buccaneer "Red-Haired" Shanks. But Luffy's life changed when he accidentally ate the Gum-Gum Devil Fruit and gained the power to stretch like rubber...at the cost of never being able to swim again! Years later, still vowing to become the king of the pirates, Luffy sets out on his adventure...one guy alone in a rowboat, in search of the legendary "One Piece," said to be the greatest treasure in the world..."

What do you think of these special One Piece drafts? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!

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