Tarantino May Have (Inadvertently) Helped Create One Piece
Wait, which One Piece character is based on Steve Buscemi?
Just as many other mangakas, Eiichiro Oda got his inspiration for the characters of his massively popular One Piece series, in media products and personalities of the Western world.
Turns out, a certain One Piece character is based on American actor Steve Buscemi. If you are a long-time fan of the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and Straw Hat Pirates, then you probably already guessed who.
Several years ago, in a Q&A session for Volume 68 of the series, Eiichiro Oda himself revealed that Sanji was in fact based on Mr. Pink, the Buscemi's character from cult Quentin Tarantino 's movie Reservoir Dogs.
Curiously, before the mangaka revealed it, the One Piece fandom actually thought that Sanji was based on Leonardo DiCaprio. Fans based these assumptions on the peculiar way Sanji looked, with his long white hair and tasteful outfits.
As it turned out, Eiichiro Oda was fascinated by how amazing Buscemi was in Reservoir Dogs.
The mangaka apparently didn't want Sanji bearing any specific and easily guessable physical resemblance to anyone. Oda rather took Mr. Pink's attitude and mannerism as inspiration for the character of Sanji.
One Piece is a hugely successful manga series. It has sold over 500 million copies and became the most bestselling manga series in the world.
Its popularity is only rivaled by the likes of Batman or Superman.
In almost 26 years in existence it garnered a massive and devoted fan following, and the series is sure to hold much more secrets to it than just the Tarantino-fueled inspiration for Sanji.
Besides, One Piece will soon get a Netflix adaptation, with the first episode set to premiere in 2023.