As a child, Eiichiro Oda was inspired by pirates and aspired to become a manga artist. At the age of 17, he submitted his work "Wanted" and it won several awards. At the age of 19, he worked as an assistant to Nobuhiro Watsuki on the manga Rurouni Kenshin. During this time, he drew Romance Dawn, the first chapter of One Piece. In 1997, One Piece appeared for the first time in the magazine Shonen Jump and promptly became one the most popular manga in Japan.
