SBS Volume 15
The BIRTHDAYS volume — Oda canonizes Luffy/Zoro/Nami/Usopp/Sanji birthdays (all goroawase number-puns) and confirms Zeff ate his own leg in the manga (Vol 7 / Ch 57), with the anime softening it for child viewers. Also: real-world ship-sailing-ceremony lore, kappa-belief gag, “tempura is Portuguese (no meaning)” reveal.
Q&A
Chapter 127, Page 26
Q1 — Miss Valentine hijacks
D: Hello, everyone! Today, Miss Valentine-san will start the SBS in place of Oda-sensei!! Take it away, Miss Valentine!! Miss V: KYAHAHAHAHA! START THE SBS! ♡ O: Uh…
Q2 — Tempura = Portuguese, no meaning (resolution from Vol 14)
D: Ei-chan! I can tell you the secret of “Tenpura”. It’s Portuguese. There’s absolutely no meaning to it. The Japanese in olden days simply wrote things down the way they heard the Portuguese say it. — From Knowledgeable Himeko in Yamaguchi O: Wow. Knowledgeable Himeko knows a lot!! Okay, then I have a question for you. Why is it that in page 51 of Volume 1, in an extremely important scene, that the three lines on Shanks’ pirate flag were forg… not there?… It’s a message to all the boys and girls saying to go out on a voyage to heal those three scars!! Right?! No, I’m sorry. I forgot…
Chapter 129, Page 70 — SAILING CEREMONY LORE
Q3 — “Sailing ceremony” (Vol 12, p 31) explained
D: On Volume 12, page 31, what is that “sailing ceremony” they do? — Vivi Fanclub No. 17 O: What they did was use their heels to crack open a barrel of beer to celebrate their entrance into the Grand Line. You could call it a “One Piece-Style Sailing Ceremony”.
Now, about a real “sailing ceremony”:
- Before they begin building the ship, there is a “building ceremony”.
- Once the ship is fully built, there is a “completion ceremony”.
- And when it finally goes to sea, there is a grand “sailing ceremony”.
In other words, the “sailing ceremony” is the biggest and most exciting celebration of the birth of a ship. To celebrate, you break a bottle of liquor on the bow of the ship, and if the bottle doesn’t break, the ship is cursed with bad luck. I’ve even heard that in Viking “sailing ceremonies” they spilled blood on the ship from a live sacrifice.
Chapter 130, Page 90 — STRAW HAT BIRTHDAYS
Q4 — Give me something of yours
D: Eiichiro Oda-sama… Give me… something (of your belongings). O: No.
Q5 — Oda is a poodle rumor
D: There’s a rumor that says you’re a dog… a poodle!! Is that true? O: Bowwow. Bowwowwow. Bowwowwowwowwow. (I am clearly not a dog).
Q6 — Man’s Heart and Spirit
D: Where do they sell a man’s Heart and Spirit? I have a secondhand woman’s Heart and Spirit. O: You do?!
Q7 — STRAW HAT BIRTHDAYS (canon)
D: What are Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Sanji’s birthdays? Tell us!! O: I’ve gotten a lot of these questions, so I’ll answer it now.
| Character | Birthday |
|---|---|
| Luffy | May 5 |
| Zoro | November 11 |
| Nami | July 3 |
| Usopp | April 1 |
| Sanji | March 2 |
Happy birthday! (The character birthdays are Japanese number puns / goroawase)
Q8 — Do kappas exist
D: DO YOU THINK THERE REALLY ARE SUCH THINGS AS KAPPAS? O: YES, THERE ARE. LOTS AND LOTS OF THEM. ABSOLUTELY.
Chapter 131, Page 110
Q9 — Elephant-nose radish offering
D: Would you like an elephant nose radish? (I caught one myself!) By Chojin Canadian-man. O: Mmm, looks good. Chomp Chomp Gobble Gobble… Urg! Urg… UHAAGH!! …Chomp Chomp Gobble Gobble.
Q10 — Career: pirate
D: In middle school I was given a form for planning my future course in life, but when I asked the teacher, “Can I write ‘pirate’ as my number two wish?” he said “Be serious”. O: Of course you are. How can anyone write that without putting their heart into it? Tell your teacher from me: “What’s wrong with being a pillager?!”
Q11 — Anime softened Zeff’s leg (CANON CONFIRMED: Zeff ate his own leg in manga)
D: When I watched the One Piece anime, at the part that corresponds to Volume 7, Chapter 57 (Because of Dreams), it says the reason Zeff lost his leg was because it got torn off in the shipwreck. Was that changed because of the young children watching the show? O: Yes. The concept of eating your own leg in that part of the story would be too much of a shock for young children. When you consider that a medium such as television has tens of millions of viewers, it would be a terrible mistake to fail to adapt to guidelines. It’s amazing that all those animators can continue to create such wonderful shows while still having to consider these issues all the time!!
Chapter 132, Page 130
Q12 — SBS = “Very Stupid Space”?
D: When reading the SBS in One Piece Volume 13, I thought SBS stood for S(uggoi) B(aka mitai na) S(pace) (“Very Stupid Space”). What should I do…? O: Well, 90% of the questions that come in to SBS are stupi… <ridiculo… jokes anyways, so what the heck. I don’t mind.
Q13 — Mr. 8 saxophone shame
D: I just wanna say this to Mr. 8! You’re a disgrace to the saxophone! What’s with that posture?! Your embouchure is pathetic! And at least wear a strap! — by the head of the Brass Club. O: Yeah, yeah! Tell him. You’re pathetic! His em… embousho… chure thing!! And his stri… strap. He really is a disgrace to the saxophone!! …Help me, Knowledgeable Himeko!
Q14 — Roger/Shanks bounties (DODGED)
D: Gold Roger and Red-Hair Shanks seem pretty tough, but what are the bounties placed on their heads, and will you marry meeeeeee? O: “ODA FLYING CROSS CHOP”!!! KAPOW!! THE SBS IS OVER!!
Notable canon leaks
- STRAW HAT BIRTHDAYS (Luffy 5/5, Zoro 11/11, Nami 7/3, Usopp 4/1, Sanji 3/2) — first Oda-canon birthdays for the core crew, all goroawase number-puns → Luffy Zoro Nami Usopp Sanji
- ZEFF ATE HIS OWN LEG — Oda explicitly confirms Vol 7 Ch 57 cannibalism is manga-canon; anime softened it to “torn off in shipwreck” → Zeff / Zeff Self-Cannibalism (potential new entry)
- Real-world sailing-ceremony lore (building → completion → sailing; liquor-bottle-on-bow superstition; Viking blood sacrifice) — sets up future ship reverence (Going Merry funeral)
- Shanks pirate-flag scar-count (3 lines) referenced as deliberate; Oda dodges Roger/Shanks bounties (will be ~6+ years later)