Culture news The interpreter of Luffy in One Piece is categorical: the end of the manga is near
The interpreter of Luffy in the One Piece anime reveals that the end of the eponymous manga is undoubtedly closer than we think. And she gets her information from Eiichiro Oda himself!
Spoiler:
This article discusses events relating to the Egghead arc of One Piece and may therefore reveal the most recent events.
The end is near
It is on the occasion of a interview broadcast on Japanese television that Mayumi Tanaka – the interpreter of Monkey D. Luffy – declared that the end of One Piece was fast approaching ! Answering various questions asked by Noriko Hidaka (who already voiced Belmer in the anime), and alongside Kappei Yamaguchi – the interpreter of Usopp – the actress is asked about her feelings after more than 20 years of career as a voice actor of the captain in the straw hat. But while she says she has somewhat struggled to modulate his voice to match the change in tone implied by Luffy's mental evolution following Ace's death, she takes the opportunity to talk about the end of the manga which seems to be fast approaching.
She then explains that during her annual meetings with Eiichiro Oda, the author of One Piece, the latter who had until then made the habit of telling her that his work “would end in about 10 years”. However, this statement was not renewed this year, leaving the actress to think that the manga was living its very last years. “It seems that the fruit of his labor has finally truly entered its final phase, we arrive at the conclusion of the story” she declares, taking advantage of the announcement to declare that her interpretation of Luffy would undoubtedly be the last time that she lends her voice to a man in an anime.
Closer than you think
If this announcement causes a pang in the hearts of fans, they are not necessarily surprised by the announcement. If Usopp was known in his village for shouting, to anyone who would listen, that “the pirates had landed”, Eiichiro Oda liked to proclaim every year that One Piece “should be finished in about 5 years”, just before relaunching new arcs and plots. But recently, and by his own admission, the end of the Onigashima arc launched the home stretch of his work.
Currently busy on the futuristic island of Egghead, recent revelations concerning products derived from the work indicate that the mugiwara crew would, by the end of 2024, find themselves on Elbaf, land of the giants, a teased island and waiting for readers for almost 20 years. Today, Fans are eagerly awaiting Chapter 1115, which will, in all likelihood, feature the continuation of Dr. Vegapunk's posthumous speech regarding the secrets of the world. One Piece is now more than ever in the spotlight and is already in the Pantheon of the greatest manga masterpieces.