In recent photos from his visit to the set of the One Piece live-action Season 2 in South Africa, his face was, as usual, covered with his iconic avatar – a man with a fish head. But why does Eiichiro Oda avoid showing his face?
1. Oda’s Reason
In an old interview, Kazutoshi Sakurai once asked Oda, “So, you don’t like showing your face, right?” Oda replied: “Exactly. Luffy and his friends are the stars, so there’s no reason for me to show my face to become famous.”
It seems this is the primary reason Oda avoids publicizing his appearance. To him, Luffy and the crew are the true stars of One Piece, and the creator does not feel the need to step into the spotlight.
Of course, there are old photos where Oda’s face can be seen, but these are rare and mostly from a long time ago.
2. Many Manga Artists Prefer to Stay Private
Oda is not alone in this practice. Notable manga artists such as Koyoharu Gotouge (Demon Slayer), Hideaki Sorachi (Gintama), and Gege Akutami (Jujutsu Kaisen) also conceal their faces.
This tendency among manga creators is fairly common, and the primary reason often comes down to privacy.
3. A Reminder: This Is Not a Photo of Eiichiro Oda
While discussing why Eiichiro Oda does not like to show his face, it is worth addressing a common misconception. There is one specific photo that is often mistaken as being of Oda, but it’s actually not him.
If you search for Eiichiro Oda on Google, you might see this photo of a smiling man appearing at the top of the image results. However, the person in the photo is actually Eiji Aonuma, a key figure in the development of The Legend of Zelda.
Unlike Oda, Eiji Aonuma frequently takes pictures. Yet, for some reason, his smiling photos often appear when people search for Eiichiro Oda. Combined with Oda’s tendency to stay out of the spotlight and the scarcity of recent photos showing his face, many people have mistakenly assumed these images of Aonuma are old photos of Oda.