SBS Volume 31
Skypiea late-arc SBS. Zoro’s “X-Pound Cannon” attack naming is canonized as referring to historical naval cannon shot-weight; Enel’s headband is cloth (no rubber on Sky Islands).
Q&A
Chapter 287, Page 44
O: BEGIIIIIIIIN THE SBS! Woohoo! I said it! I finally said it! I bet you all thought I’d given up on it lately, didn’t you?
Q (Seriously, why?): Oda-sensei, why don’t Luffy, Zoro or the others have armpit hair? I’m younger than Luffy and I’ve already got A JUNGLE DOWN THERE. A: Is it really fine to draw them? I mean, if that’s what people want, I’ll draw some thick bushes.
Q (Mikan): What does Zoro’s new attack “X-Pound Cannon” mean? A: “12-pound cannon” and “24-pound cannon” attacks refer to historical naval cannons that can shoot cannonballs of those weights. 12 pounds might not sound like much, but the cannon needed to shoot them will need to weigh over 1 ton. (1 pound ≈ 0.45kg). What you shouldn’t get them mixed up for is a fond de veau — that’s something used in French cuisine. (Note: Fond de veau is a Japanese pun pronunciation on “X-pondo hou,” the spelling for “X-pound cannon.”)
Chapter 289, Page 86
Q: Chopper’s antlers shouldn’t be attached to his hat! They should be attached to his head! What is going on with this image? A: I got a mountain-load of letters about this — NOT EVERYTHING SEEN BY THE EYES IS LITERAL TRUTH. In this scene, Chopper was SO surprised that he felt even his antlers were about to jump out. That’s what he was trying to convey by striking this pose.
Q (Animal Rights Organization Member no. 17): In Chapter 284’s cover page, you drew an adorable dog smoking a cigarette. Are you trying to give this dog health problems?! A: We were quite careless about this matter. I’ll make sure I properly scold Sanji. That troublemaker!
Chapter 290, Page 106
Q: The SBS used to be serious. When did it become this mess of a corner it is now? P.S. Did you know that there is a person inside Gachapin? A: GACHAPIN IS EXACTLY AS HE LOOKS. There’s no one inside of him so please don’t lie. Incidentally, Gachapin’s supposed to be a baby dinosaur while Mukku is an Abominable Snowman. Now, “baby dinosaur” is fine by me… but “abominable snowman”? Oh come on, he’s completely red! A red abominable snowman in the white mountains? TALK ABOUT BEING STARVED FOR ATTENTION. I LOVE MUKKU. So why’d it become like this? Dunno, but it’s not my fault for sure.
Chapter 293, Page 166
Q (Chii-yan): I would really like to see what “Nnke-kun” looks like, the partner of “Domo-kun” (Volume 2, p. 13). A: I came up with these guys back in my high school days. In my collection of “masterpieces” called “Wanted”, these guys are hidden in the oneshot “God’s Gift for the Future”. Since I’ve introduced them here, I might just slip them in for future chapters.
Q: Is the Almighty God Enel wearing a rubber swimming cap on his head? A: …Uh huh, sure (lazy answer). Oh wait — there’s no rubber on the Sky Islands. Umm… it’s made out of cloth. (super lazy answer)
Q (Toro): In the right corner of the first panel in Volume 26, page 54, is that the normally nonchalant Zoro diving into the sea cloud? He really must’ve wanted to dive in there! A: Yeah, what an idiot.
Chapter 294, Page 186
Q: You must have gotten a ton of letters saying you made a mistake about the battle scene around volume 28, p. 155. I came up with an explanation: during the “Surprise Dial Illusion,” Hotori and Kotori’s necks must have also spun around and around, right?! A: Ohhh! Akihiko! You’re such a greeaaaat guy! Yes, I got a lot of letters pointing out this scene. I mixed up which dial was on which hand (sorry). When I noticed, I worried over what I should do and decided to just ignore it for now, but then your letter came along. Thank you, Akihiko.
Q: Pandaman seems to appear in the anime during the same scenes as the manga. Did you have to tell the staff in which scenes he’s in? A: No, I’ve never told them even once. He even shows up in places where I didn’t draw him. It’s just the animators having some fun. I told the voice actors to have fun and ad-lib some lines if they feel like it.
Notable canon-leaks
- Zoro’s “X-Pound Cannon” naming — refers to historical naval cannons rated by shot-weight (12-pound, 24-pound). Re-keys all of Zoro’s pound-named techniques as nautical-historical, not arbitrary numbers. → Zoro
- Sky Islands have no rubber — Enel’s “swimming cap” is cloth. Affirms biome-distinct material economy of the Sky biome.
- Devil Fruit ban-list extends to the writer too: Oda confirms he’s stopped trying to manage every SBS-question-incident and just commits to ad-libs (anime Pandaman).