SBS Volume 16

D: To Oda-sensei, and all you readers out there!! We're going to have today's SBS started by the wildly popular "Ishi-20" (MD-20)! All right, Isshi-20, go ahead!

O: The operation?! Oh well, I guess I'll go ahead and start the...

D: Odacchi! Have no fear, for today, yes, today is the day you will start the SBS! So, are you ready?! Huh? Odacchi? Oda-chaaaaan! Ahh! There he is! ODA-CHA...AAH...AAAH...AAAACH--START THE SBS!!--OOOOO! OH NO, I SAID IT!!

O: Sneezes don't sound like that!

D: Oda-sensei! Good day! I have a quick question for you. Are the names "Kuina" (Rallidae) and "Tashigi" (Snipe) actually taken from the names of birds? Please tell us! By Bird Encyclopedia Checker.

O: That's right. More specifically, they are the names of birds that cannot fly. But just because they say a bird cannot fly, doesn't mean that it never will. After all, I saw a duck fly in an anime I watched when I was little, called "The Wonderful Adventures of Nils". By the way, Nojiko (Yellow Bunting) is a bird's name, too.

D: I couldn't help but notice something... On page 137 of Volume 15, the woman appears to have spring onions in her basket! Three of them! But the same lady later appears on page 162! Is it me, or does she have a bunch more of them? If she's got so many, does it mean they're having roasted onions for dinner? Or onion stew? Just tell me what she was going to cook!

O: Whaaat?! I am shocked, people. I seriously jumped out of my seat when I read this postcard, and this wasn't the only one. To tell you the truth, when we were drawing the chapter, my staff said, "Look, the onions multiplied", and I laughed, "Whatever, nobody will notice", but clearly the readers are not be trifled with! Let's see, the woman's name is Negikuma Maria (Onion-Bear Maria), age 43, housewife, and today was her eldest son's birthday. She wanted to bake a delicious onion cake for her son, so she was running about the town, gathering up onions wherever she could. So the answer to your question is "Onion Cake". Word is, it's horrendous.

D: I read Volume 15... and in it, Dr. Kureha says not to forget about his sickness, but sickness is written additionally with furigana as "Happy". What does she mean? Please, tell me, Oda-shaaaaaaaan!! (Crying)

O: She's talking about how being sick reminds you of the happiness you take for granted when you're not sick.

D: Hey! Monkey D. Luffy! I'm the one who's gonna be the Pirate King! You got a problem with that, Pirate King?!

O: All right, everybody, let's all be a Pirate King! Hey, wait!! Okay, next.

D: I am Jim Joel Satou!! And I have a question.

O: You'd get food poisoning.

D: I thought of a catchphrase for One Piece. "Friends and enemies, they're all weirdos".

O: "Readers and author, they're all weirdos". Wait, no, the author is normal!

D: Oda-sensei!! Those birthdays (in Volume 15) were way too convenient! I want to have a word with their parents! HOWEVER! Who are Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji's parents?!

O: Ahhhh... did I really take the easy way out? I guess you're right... I just made them up as jokes, based on their personalities. You really can't choose a birthday over such trivial reasoning... I'll reflect on my thoughtlessness...

D: What are Vivi-chan and Chopper's birthdays? Are they February 2 for Vivi and December 24 for Chopper?

O: YES, PERFECT! BWAHAHAHA, I LOVE IT!!

D: What kind of spot-billed duck is a SUPER spot-billed duck?

O: You mean Karoo? Well, he's an amazing spot-billed duck. He's huge, he has no webbed feet (land-walking type), and most importantly, he has teeth when he eats. Karoo's awesome!

D: Hello. I have just one thing I need to say. Please take a GOOD look at the Black Den Den Mushi when its lid is on. After you answer exactly WHAT that thing is supposed to be, you may go ahead to the next question.

O: Uhhh... I... I don't know? I don't remember drawing it, exactly... but looking at it, it seems like poop to me... like a big twisty turd pile... (refer to Volume 15, p. 31)

D: Odacchi, you are amazing. You made up your own letter. You know what I mean. That "thing" on page 180 of Volume 15. How are you supposed to pronounce that? Please tell me.

O: ぴº. This is how you sound it out. Without letting your lips touch, you must explosively let out a deep breath and stick your chin out at the same time. Ready, set, ぴº!! Well? Did it work? (In Japan, the sound "Pi" is usually written ぴ)

D: Hello, nice to meet you. When I saw this Q&A Corner in your books, I wanted to write my own postcard, and "find some sign of Oda-sensei's playfulness!" But then I couldn't find any. Everyone else is good at that.

O: Are you totally cracked?!! SBS IS OVER. SEE YOU NEXT VOLUME!!!