Japanese mangaka, Eiichiro Oda, is known the world over. With his manga, One Piece, being one of the most widely recognized works from Japan, he is one of the most respected mangaka in the industry. However, just like any other human being, Eiichiro Oda also gets jealous, particularly of other manga, as he has revealed in the Fuji TV program, Ichiryuu ga Shitto Shita Sugoi Hito.
The legendary mangaka was asked by the program on which person from his field was he most jealous of. There, he admitted that he is really jealous of Naoshi Arakawa’s tragic musical manga, Your Lie in April, which is really different from One Piece, both in genre and story-wise.
Oda has said that “Before a deadline [I got it] as a change of pace, but I ended up reading the whole thing and forgot about my manuscripts. I got the whole studio buying it on the way home.” Wow, to get the always-working Oda to take time off from his always-packed schedule, to read another person’s work is simply astounding!
Oda has said that music is a really difficult genre to convey in manga, but he praised Arakawa for being able to convey music through a medium that does not make any sounds.
He singles out this one particular panel, which he describes as: “It’s a frame with atmosphere. Japanese people sometimes convey a unique sense of distance in their films and illustrations. It’s so good, you want to see what the next panel is.”
Meanwhile, the editors over at Monthly Shonen Magazine, which serialized Your Lie in April, expressed their shock that Oda has said that he loves Arakawa’s manga. As legendary as he is, Oda is from the rival Weekly Shonen Jump! Magazine.
They tweeted that they were surprised, but then again, who wouldn’t be? This is Eiichiro Oda we are talking about!
一流が嫉妬したスゴい人という番組で『四月は君の嘘』が、尾田栄一郎先生が嫉妬した作品として紹介されました‼ コミックス&電子書籍全11巻で発売中です。それにしても、話を伺ったときにはびっくりしました(月マガ シロー)
— 『四月は君の嘘』公式 (@shigatsuhakimi) December 29, 2015
Shigatsu deserves this ~ <3
We think so too!