This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Elbaf arc.
Summary
- Oda explicitly stated no romantic relationships within the Straw Hat crew, focusing on adventures & actions.
- Fans keen on Luffy's romantic interest won't be satisfied, as Oda hints he may end up sailing the seas alone.
- Luffy won't be tied to anyone romantically, including popular guesses like Nami or Boa Hancock.
When it comes to romance, Oda tends not to focus too much on it, by his own admission. That said, Oda certainly does have a record of drawing some very beautiful and mostly tragic romantic relationships in his story. Of course, when it comes to the fans, they often wonder about the romantic relationships of the Straw Hat Pirates.
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Even though right now is too early for them to focus on romance, once the story does end, fans often wonder who will end up with whom. Luffy, the protagonist of the story, is one character fans always want to know more about. Come the end of the story, Luffy might end up with someone, and Oda has already had his say regarding this matter.
Oda's Take On Romance In The Straw Hat Crew
- Oda Doesn't Want Any Romance In The Straw Hat Crew
- According To Oda, This Can Turn Off Fans
When it comes to romance within the Straw Hat crew, it is safe to say that Oda isn't the biggest fan of the idea. Oda has been asked about romance in the crew in the past, which isn't too hard to imagine. His response, however, has been stern, and he has reminded fans time and again that there will be absolutely no romance among the crew members of the Straw Hat Pirates. When Oda was asked about Nami's romantic partner, he simply responded by saying that she likes all of them and sees their good qualities, but there are no romantic relationships in this story. Oda reiterated that One Piece is not a romance manga, and that it's mostly for adventures and action. Romance isn't something that concerns him.
They're all in love....with the adventure, that is! — Eiichiro Oda
In another interview, Oda stated that he doesn't want to draw romance at all. According to him, it always backfires as characters lose fans because of it. Oda wants to leave fans with their own imaginations, but he will never put a label on any Straw Hat couple.
More recently, with the One Piece Live Action, Oda told Steve Maeda, the showrunner of the series, that he only had one condition for him, and that's simply to not have any romance blossom among the crew members. This strict policy tells fans that Oda doesn't want Luffy to end up with anyone on the crew.
Oda Doesn't Want To Draw Much Romance
Oda Wants To Avoid Romance In General
Even though Oda has previously specifically pointed out romance within the Straw Hat Pirates and said that he doesn't want to draw it, he also stated that he doesn't want to draw romance in One Piece in general. According to him, he gets asked by female fans to draw romance in the plot, but he prefers to not do so. To Oda, Luffy being loved by women is fine, but it is a problem if he reciprocates his feelings, which is consistent with what he's shown in One Piece so far. Here's what Oda had to say about this:
I don't draw romance because OP is a manga for boys. Female fans ask me to draw romance, but if they want to read it, they should read shoujo manga, and it's not my job. I don't care how many women love Luffy, but I don't think it's good if they love each other. — Oda, 2009
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Oda Hints That Luffy Will Be By Himself
According To Oda, Luffy Might Not Be Tied To Anyone
Fans have wanted to know who Luffy will end up with since the very beginning of the series. Naturally, Nami, the main female character of the series, is a very popular guess for many. However, Oda has explicitly stated that he won't do romance with the crewmates. As such, Luffy and Nami ending up together is out of the question.
Boa Hancock is yet another love interest. Hancock is already in love with Luffy, but Luffy doesn't seem to have any feelings for her, apart from considering her a very good friend and someone who he owes his life to. Luffy ending up with Hancock has a higher chance overall, but Oda doesn't seem to want to tie Luffy to anyone at all.
The likeliest outcome is for Luffy to be by himself, and sail the seas with the immense freedom he has as a pirate. Luffy will likely always be at the sea, just like Roger was, and he will either have no romantic relationships, or his relationship with Hancock will be one that doesn't require him to give up his love for the seas. One way or another, Luffy will be by himself
One Piece chapter 1146 will be out very soon, later this week. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on the upcoming Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on April 20. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1146 is April 20, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Network
- Fuji TV
- Directors
- Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
Cast
-
Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
