Before the official release of the manga One Piece, Eiichiro Oda had already presented several one-shot series, one of which is titled Monsters. Oda created Monsters in 1994, focusing on the story of Ryuma Shimotsuki, a legendary figure who lived about 400 years ago in the Wano Country.
The anime adaptation, directed by Sunghoo Park, known for his work on Jujutsu Kaisen Part 1, has recently been released on Netflix. However, in a recent interview, Oda explained why he decided to adapt Monsters into an anime, with the title Monsters: Ippaku Sanjō Hiryū Jigoku.
According to a renowned translator of One Piece, Oda stated:
“I think, ‘I guess making this anime is going to be troublesome.’ In fact, before this adaptation took place, over ten years ago, during Jump Festa or Anime Tour, there was a suggestion to make an animated film for Monsters. However, at that time, I had to decline.”
“I don’t think it would be enjoyable for the audience, especially those who are eagerly waiting for One Piece, to see a world that I created previously. Personally, I had been inspired by Akira Toriyama’s animated adaptations for a long time, and I was very pleased to see one of Toriyama’s previous one-shot stories adapted into anime.”
“At that time, I couldn’t imagine that the fans of One Piece would be excited about Monsters. Now, discussions about anime adaptations have emerged again. The Wano Country arc has been completed, and connections between the story and Thriller Bark have been established.”
“I think it’s also a good story arc of One Piece, so I agree. I only saw the blueprints, but I can’t interpret every relationship with One Piece in detail. On the character design board they sent me, Zoro appears at the end, and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s perfect.’
Monsters is also the first work of Eiichiro Oda to be adapted into anime after One Piece. And in case you didn’t know, the title Ippaku Sanjō Hiryū Jigoku is actually the Japanese name for a single-dimensional technique that Zoro used to attack King in chapter 1062.
