Newtype Exclusive Interview with Creators Behind ONE PIECE FAN LETTER - Part 1

A story of the ordinary and unassuming every-day people

A letter to convey one's feelings to the person whom they admire—a fan letter. On October 20, 2024—exactly 25 years since the anime's very first episode was broadcast—a special animated short was aired. It was a story that had never been told in ONE PIECE before. It was an episode that focused not on pirates, but rather those who lived on the sidelines during the era of the great pirates, when Monkey D. Luffy and his friends were in search of the world's ultimate treasure, the “One Piece.”

The short was helmed by director Megumi Ishitani, who directed ONE PIECE episode 1015 “Straw Hat Luffy! The Man Who Will Become the King of the Pirates!” with character design and animation direction by Keisuke Mori, who did the character design and original storyboards for “Where the Wind Blows” music video (ONE PIECE FILM RED), and script by Momoka Toyoda, who is in charge of series composition for the Special Edited Version of ONE PIECE's “Fish-Man Island” arc. These three colleagues from Toei Animation have combined elements from the short story collection ONE PIECE novel Straw Hat Stories into one, weaving the simple but unforgettable tale of a girl who sends a fan letter to Nami, the lady pirate she most looks up to.

The work is a fan letter to the ONE PIECE anime from “the staff who have worked on its creation for many years” and “the fans who have always supported it.” This passionate letter, totaling over 500 cuts and 24 minutes in length, was delivered to viewers throughout the world.

Interview with Director and Co-screenwriter Megumi Ishitani, Screenwriter Momoka Toyoda, and Character Design/Animation Director Keisuke Mori

ONE PIECE FAN LETTER was truly an incredible work. What was the impetus for creating this animated short?

Ishitani: The idea sort of just came to me last summer, like, “The 25th anniversary of ONE PIECE is coming up. Should we do something?” And that's how the project began. I knew we had to make a video, but I had no idea of what yet. I wasn't even sure how long it would be, so it could have been a 5-minute music video for all we knew. The three of us got together to work out a plan.

So you invited (Keisuke) Mori and (Momoka) Toyoda, is that right?

Ishitani: Mori works super fast. I knew I would need his help since I'm so slow, and he also takes storyboard direction very seriously. He values the storyboard even more than I do, and I'm the one who created it. For example, if I received a rough draft that differed from the storyboard direction, I might compromise like “sure, okay,” but in Mori's case he would correct it to match the storyboard without compromising on anything. As for Toyoda, she and I kept in touch even after she left Toei Animation, and I heard she had become a screenwriter. I read one of her screenplays and knew she was the right person for the job.

What did you like about Toyoda's writing?

Ishitani: Anyone can come up with a story, but there aren't many screenwriters who can structure it so that the most important themes get across to the audience. She was able to do that. One of Toyoda's hobbies is actually measuring out the length of each plot development in the movies she watches and analyzing their structure.

The three of you were colleagues at Toei Animation, correct? When did you first become acquainted with one another?

Mori: I actually first met Ishitani before I started working at Toei. When we took part in Animation Boot Camp.

Ishitani: I was just about to say. I remember thinking, “This guy's really good,” about Mori.

Mori: And I thought the same thing about you. I participated in the program with fellow animator Itsuki Tsuchigami, and I remember us talking about how good Ishitani was on the bus ride home.

Ishitani: Really? That's the first time I've heard about this. I think I was pretty bad at first, so maybe you were just impressed with the rate I was improving?

Mori: No, I don't know anything about your improvement (laughs). I just thought you were really good.

Ishitani: I'd finally been making use of my art school education and drawing, but Mori, who was self-taught, was so much better than I was. It really made me aware of the talent I lacked as an animator. After that, we ended up meeting again on a completely separate occasion and had a chance to talk a little. I saw he had some croquis sketchbooks on him and got him to show me. When I asked how long it had taken to draw it all, he said he'd done them pretty quickly.

Mori: I've never been the type to struggle when it comes to just drawing.

Ishitani: I realized that to be an animator, I would have to really love drawing. That's when I decided to pursue directing rather than becoming an animator.

And how did you meet Toyoda?

Ishitani: I met her after I'd been hired at Toei Animation. When I was working on my graduation exhibition for grad school, I needed help with all the scanning, so I put out a call for help on Twitter (now X). That's when Toyoda, who was set to join the company at the same time as me, reached out. I was impressed by her light footwork and absence of fear toward the unknown...but I also learned she could be careless (laughs).

Toyoda: Oops... (laughs).

Ishitani: Back then, I would draw very delicately with a pencil. When Toyoda scanned them for me, she would haphazardly rub the surface of the paper with her hands every time. I couldn't keep myself from warning her.

Toyoda: I remember being really scared (laughs). I was warned by my colleagues even before joining the company...that I probably wouldn't survive in animation at this rate (laughs). I'd initially joined Toei with the intention of becoming a director, but after seeing Ishitani's graduation project I realized it was totally impossible for me. From then on, I attended a lot of screenwriting meetings within the company and decided to scope out a path to become a screenwriter instead.

It seems like all three of you have had some influence on each other's lives. On that note, what was Mori and Toyoda's first meeting like?

Toyoda: We started at the same time, so we were colleagues. We would all have lunch together.

Mori: When we first joined the company, our whole hiring group often got together for meals.

Toyoda: I'd always thought Mori was a pretty quiet person, but once I got to work on a project together with him, I realized he actually laughs a lot. We never worked together during our time at Toei Animation, so this was my first opportunity to really talk to him.

Mori: Yeah.

Ishitani: When the three of us got together, we tried to establish common ground by discussing various films. If one of us had seen something, those who hadn't seen it would watch it and then we would discuss our impressions in detail.

Mori: That's how we got a feel for one another's tastes. We didn't just discuss what we liked about a film or what made it good, but also the parts we disliked or felt we couldn't excuse. It was especially important to figure out what we couldn't accept and definitely wanted to avoid.

Ishitani: That's right. All of us agreed on the parts we felt were wrong with the films we watched, so I felt like the three of us would be able to do well together.

Join us for part 2 as the creators delve deeper into how ONE PIECE FAN LETTER came to life.

This interview was originally published in Newtype's January 2025 issue.

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