One Piece: Eiichiro Oda was “itching to draw” Joyboy almost 20 years ago

One Piece has only just revealed Joyboy’s origins, but Eiichiro Oda may have been waiting to draw him for close to two decades.

One Piece manga is currently in the Egghead Arc, recently revealing Vegapunk’s shocking message. It is the first arc of the Final Saga, and has consistently dropped important pieces of lore. Joyboy, for instance, was first mentioned in the Fish-Man Island Arc, but little was known about him until now. Warning: Spoilers ahead!

In his broadcast, Vegapunk promises to share the truth about the world. He starts by revealing that the world will sink into the future. This prediction is based on the fact that Mother Flame destroyed the Lulusia Kingdom, raising the sea level by one meter.

The genius scientist also reveals that he doesn’t know everything about the Void Century. He talks about Nika and Joyboy’s origins. Nika, the legendary Warrior of Liberation, is from Elbaf, the kingdom of Giants.

Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha

Meanwhile, the first Joyboy was a young man from the ancient kingdom. He had the power to stretch his body like Nika. Additionally, Joyboy was the first pirate in history. Although Oda has only recently revealed Joyboy’s origins, he hasn’t revealed his face yet.

According to an interview in 2007, Oda shared his thoughts about drawing a pirate with an eyepatch. He stated: “A pirate with an eye patch will appear in the final phase of One Piece. I’m itching to draw that character as soon as possible. Maybe people have a preconception that many pirates wear eye patches, but actually, I’ve never drawn any pirates with eye patches.”

Since Oda has just revealed Joyboy was also a pirate, there’s a possibility he will have the eye patch. Likewise, Joyboy is a big part of the Final Saga, just as Oda mentions here, and he’s becoming increasingly crucial. However, nothing is certain as of yet, since Oda has yet to reveal Rocks’ face as well, so we’ll have to wait for more confirmation.

One Piece manga is on another hiatus after Chapter 1114. For more Straw Hats shenanigans, check out our One Piece filler guide and 10 strongest characters.