The most renowned character in One Piece was created years in advance of the well-loved manga’s release, as seen by early works by Eiichiro Oda.
The concept art for one of the One Piece author’s unfinished projects was just made public by his first editor. The manga, titled “Forward,” was proposed by 19-year-old Oda. However, since it was never serialized, it appears that the project was abandoned.
The main character of Forward is a young man by the name of Monkey D. Pao, who resembles our own Monkey D. Luffy quite a bit. This figure was designed to be someone who enjoys “stretching and sleeping.” Does that sound familiar?
In addition to providing an example, Oda said, “Those who can laugh off their weaknesses are the strongest.” This seems to allude to the character’s strength. It’s possible that Monkey D. Pao becomes stronger the more he laughs.
This reminds me of a legendary character from One Piece who is also very strong and well-known for their laugh. When Luffy changed into the Sun God Nika in Gear 5, the narrative saw an abrupt and dramatic entrance of the god.
We discovered that laughter is a key component of Nika’s abilities thanks to Gear 5. However, Luffy and Nika are not the only ones with this amazing talent. During the Void Century, the enigmatic Joyboy held the same abilities as well.
Joyboy shared similar abilities to Luffy and Nika, including the ability to stretch, laugh manically, and do anything he pleased. He was a genuine human, though, not a deity like Nika.
Since most details regarding Joyboy are unknown to us, including his true name, it’s possible that Monkey D. Pao is a historical figure. We know he also belonged to the D clan, so that makes sense. It’s also fascinating because he is related to Luffy by blood.
Even if all of this is only speculation, it is not unfeasible. Oda has already added a character from one of his past works to the canon of One Piece. It was established that Monsters’ lead character Shimotsuki Ryuma was the rival of Thriller Bark and the fabled warrior from One Piece, having separated by thirty years.
It’s interesting to note that 1994 is when Forward was conceived. Therefore, it’s quite probable that Pao, like Ryuma, may end up in the canon of One Piece.
