Full-Circle Moment: One Piece Boss Pays Tribute to the Hunter x Hunter Creator Who Once Honored Him

Fan wars may pit One Piece against Hunter x Hunter, but the rivalry ends at the drawing board: Eiichiro Oda still recalls the day Yoshihiro Togashi presented an award to him, cementing their mutual respect. The two world-building giants almost debuted side by side, fueling comparisons that only underscore how both reshaped modern manga.

One Piece and Hunter x Hunter have been compared forever because they came up in the same Shonen Jump era and both drip with world-building. But behind the fan rivalry? The two creators are basically each other’s biggest supporters. Case in point: Eiichiro Oda still talks about the day Yoshihiro Togashi handed him a manga award, long before Luffy ever set sail.

Oda’s throwback: the award that stuck with him

According to translator @sandman_AP on X, Oda told an aspiring mangaka in 2017 that Togashi gave him a manga award 24 years earlier. Do the math and that lands around 1993, which is pre-One Piece and right in Togashi’s Yu Yu Hakusho run. Oda said he never forgot it, and even used the story to encourage that amateur to aim high and build the kind of mentor-style connection he once had: essentially, go make someone proud of you when you go pro.

That early nod clearly mattered. Before One Piece broke the world, Oda had short works that didn’t catch fire. The idea that Togashi read his stuff back then and saw potential tracks with what Oda keeps saying about how much that support meant.

Why Oda rates Togashi so highly

Oda has always been open about the people who shaped him. He’s repeatedly praised Akira Toriyama’s influence. And when it comes to Togashi, he doesn’t just thank him for the early boost; he respects how Togashi runs his stories on his own terms, even when reader expectations get loud.

It’s not uncommon for mangaka to feel like slaves to their readers. But with Hunter x Hunter, Togashi-sensei never fit that mold. He’s always drawn what he wants, on his own terms. He appreciated my manga even before I began One Piece, and I’m truly thankful for that.

That’s Oda in another interview translated by @sandman_AP. And yeah, it hits a nerve: plenty of creators feel boxed in by what they think fans want. Togashi’s stubborn focus on his own story clearly left a mark on Oda.

The fandom reaction: rivals on paper, allies in real life

When fans clocked these stories about Oda and Togashi, the usual who’s-better fight took a backseat to something nicer: appreciation. The mood was basically, hey, two titans can absolutely share space, inspire each other, and still make wildly different epics. One post from user Pirate Path on November 11, 2025, summed it up by calling Togashi a legend and praising how early he spotted Oda’s potential.

Quick timeline

• Circa 1993: Togashi presents a manga award to a pre-One Piece Oda (per Oda’s recollection).
• 1997: One Piece launches.
• 1998: Hunter x Hunter launches.
• 2017: Oda tells an amateur mangaka about the award moment and urges them to build that kind of mentor-pride relationship (as translated by @sandman_AP).
• Later interview: Oda praises Togashi for resisting reader pressure and backing Oda’s work even before One Piece.

The takeaway

Strip away the fan wars and it’s simple: Oda and Togashi respect the hell out of each other. One helped nudge the other before the breakout hit. The other never forgot it. If you’re making stuff, that’s the playbook: take the support, do the work your way, and pass it on when it’s your turn.

If you want to revisit the actual pages: One Piece and Hunter x Hunter are both available on VIZ Media.