Eiichiro Oda Slipped a Clever My Hero Academia Tribute Into One Piece — And Almost Everyone Missed It

My Hero Academia just wrapped its anime run on December 13, 2025, closing out nearly a decade of weekly chaos, power-ups, and tears. And in a very cool, very nerdy move, One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda marked the moment with a tribute that reaches back 22 years to a teenage Kohei Horikoshi and a single drawing of Smoker the White Hunter. This is the kind of deep-cut gesture I love.

The 2002 drawing that started it

Back in 2002, a 15-year-old Horikoshi sent in a Smoker illustration to One Piece's Usopp Gallery Pirate fan art section. It ran in volume 23, which is a huge deal when you are a kid from Aichi dreaming about making manga. The character he chose: Smoker the White Hunter, the Marine vice admiral who leads G-5 Branch's Unit 01. That little publication credit clearly meant something to him.

Oda brings it back at exactly the right time

Fast-forward to the end of the My Hero Academia manga. Oda decided to honor Horikoshi by redrawing that exact Smoker piece as the cover request for One Piece chapter 1122, titled 'The Time Is Right.' He even spelled out what he was doing on the cover:

'Cover Request: Redraw The Artwork Of Smoker a Boy From Aichi Prefecture Submitted 22 Years Ago.'

It is a simple idea, but the timing is what makes it land.

The anime-to-anime timing was not an accident

The very next day after the My Hero Academia anime finale on December 13, 2025, the One Piece anime aired its adaptation of that same chapter 1122. So Oda essentially saluted Horikoshi twice: once as the MHA manga was winding down, and again right as the anime crossed the finish line. It is a small, behind-the-scenes bit of coordination that says a lot about how much respect he has for Horikoshi.

• 2002: A 15-year-old Horikoshi gets his Smoker art published in the Usopp Gallery Pirate section of One Piece volume 23.
• Chapter 1122 ('The Time Is Right'): Oda redraws that Smoker piece as the cover request, noting it was submitted 22 years earlier by 'a boy from Aichi Prefecture.'
• Day after Dec 13, 2025: The One Piece anime airs the adaptation of chapter 1122, echoing the tribute right after the MHA anime finale.

That friendly rivalry you might have heard about

Horikoshi once said he wanted to surpass One Piece someday, inspired by something Oda told him. The exchange was documented in the My Hero Academia Vol. Origin book and later surfaced online via Edomonogatari. Did MHA actually top One Piece? No. But it did become one of the biggest modern manga and anime series, period. And with the main story over, fans are already crossing fingers for a sequel or a spin-off to keep the world alive.

The big picture

One Piece and My Hero Academia have both been pillars for anime and manga over the last decade-plus, and the way Oda timed this shout-out is a classy reminder of the mutual respect between the two creators. If you want to revisit either, both series are streaming on Crunchyroll.