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“You can come to my house to play”: Eiichiro Oda Found an Unexpected Friend in One Piece Live Action Star Mackenyu After a Card Game

Author

Daniel Johnston

Updated on April 03, 2026

Eiichiro Oda is one of the greatest mangakas, as his magnum opus, One Piece has sold 523.2 million, and has been running strong for more than two decades. As of now, the manga has entered its final saga. The artist has become a source of inspiration and an idol for countless people around the world, as he is esteemed for being immensely committed to his work.

One Piece
One Piece

Needless to say, Oda-san is extremely passionate about his work. However, Mackenyu recently shared an intriguing incident on how he made friends with Eiichiro Oda over a card game. However, the actor shared how the artist texted him, and fans could not believe it as they laughed at Oda’s text because it looked as if a character from One Piece had texted the star.

Eiichiro Oda’s Hilarious Text To Mackenyu 

Eiichiro Oda started writing manga at the age of 17. He was immensely engrossed and equally passionate about his art form. Fans consider him to be a creative genius as he is still finding new ways to keep the readers engrossed with his manga One Piece.

One Piece Creator Eiichiro Oda
Eiichiro Oda
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Despite so much success, Oda-san is extremely humble and has a down-to-earth personality, and this was showcased by Mackenyu, the actor who played the role of Roronoa Zoro in the One Piece live-action adaptation. In a post shared by Pew (@pewpiece) on X, Mackenyu shared how the artist had once invited him to his house for dinner, and later, they played a card game.

“Oda-san invited me to his house for dinner, and before we started eating, we played some One Piece card games with my assistant.”

Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro in One Piece live-action
Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro in One Piece live-action

The actor added how the artist later texted him to come over to play a card game, but if he did not wish to come, then he should not reply.

“I’m free today. You can come to my house to play. If you are going to come, please reply. If not, just leave it on read.”

This led to a hilarious response from fans as they tweeted how his text looked as if someone from One Piece had texted.

Bro didn’t wanna experience the rejection he said just don’t reply😭

— ©️ (@V1N1JR) March 4, 2024

This man oda is a real life eccentric one piece character 😂

— Middle Way (We are OnePiece) (@MiddleWay23) March 4, 2024

“just leave it on read”

I love oda man 😭

— Ri ☕️ (@EmperorRii) March 5, 2024

Oda. Men of culture. No need rejection. Leave it on read😭

— Gene (@lgene_tsa) March 4, 2024

Imagine leaving oda on read 😭😂

— clairvoyant (@AN0676285486837) March 4, 2024

While fans loved Oda’s humble gesture, they could not believe Mackenyu played the One Piece card game with the author himself.

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Eiichiro Oda’s Love For Manga Made Him a Mangaka

There’s no denying that the One Piece creator is the most popular and renowned figure in the manga and anime community. However, the reality would have been entirely different if he were not motivated enough to pursue his dreams. Intriguingly, Oda never wanted to work, and a “real job” is what he wanted to stay away from, as he chose to be a mangaka at the mere age of 4.

A still from One Piece: Stampede
A still from One Piece: Stampede

Eiichiro Oda’s passion worked out, leading to create One Piece, which happens to be one of the most popular anime and manga series, that takes its fans on a rollercoaster of emotion. Taking them on a rollercoaster of emotions. However, choosing his passion had its own consequences as he had to work more than a normal person. He woke up at 5 in the morning and worked till 2 A.M. It means that the artist toils for 21 hours and has only 3 hours of sleep; he resides in his workshop and his family visits there.

To think that Oda-san has been doing this for the past 25 years is truly commendable, and though it is not a real job for him, this is definitely more hectic than a real job.

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One Piece TV Series can be streamed on Netflix.