World’s Most Popular Manga ‘One Piece’ Turns To ChatGPT To Compose Next Chapter

OpenAI’s ChatGPT has risen to the forefront of mainstream consciousness, from appearing as TIME Magazine’s cover star to helping consumers generate facts for bottle caps.

Now, the intelligent chatbot has been recruited by one of the most famous manga creators on the planet, as One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda tapped on the technology to come up with a curious plot for the next chapter of the series.

“Hey ChatGPT, can you write the next chapter of the One Piece manga?” read the query Oda submitted, according to ONE Esports, adding that he wanted the artificial intelligence (AI) model to “write something really interesting.”

It appears that the algorithm managed to churn out two separate plots, the first of which featured the Straw Hat Pirates battling against a group of new enemies, including a shadow-wielding devil fruit user who later kidnaps Tony Tony Chopper.

In this story, Nico Robin reconnects with the ‘Shadow People’—a legendary race once featured in the long-running tale—and convinces them by visiting their island to help rescue the crew’s doctor.

However, Oda found the plot slightly too stale, and asked the chatbot to come up with another storyline for the manga. This time, ChatGPT suggested a chapter that would see aliens come on board the ship disguised as humans.

尾田さんがAIに質問してみたら…

話題の #ChatGPT に尾田さんが禁断の質問をした動画が送られてきました！その回答とは…！#ONEPIECE pic.twitter.com/HRU1oSC4GM

— ONE PIECE スタッフ【公式】/ Official (@Eiichiro_Staff) February 22, 2023

The new arrivals ask for the captain’s help to track down an evil spaceship that destroyed their home planet, but during their pursuit, come across a secret island that houses an evil witch.

Unfortunately, the witch tries to steal one of the aliens’ important objects, resulting in the aliens, captain, and crew joining hands to defeat the villain. This allows the group to eventually locate the elusive spaceship and rebuild their home.

Turns out, the mangaka was so impressed that he told the chatbot he would write the next chapter of One Piece “exactly like that.” Fans are now anticipating how the artist will turn ChatGPT’s plot into a real version of the comic.

Considering how Oda is one of the world’s most popular manga artists, and the longest-running comic series of all time with over 500 million copies sold, this certainly seems like high praise.

As Japan Times noted, the creator even achieved the Guinness World Record in 2022 for having the most copies of a comic book series published by the same artist. Will the AI-generated plot live up to fans' expectations of the famed series? We shall see. 

[via ONE Esports and Japan Times, cover image via Chingyunsong | Dreamstime.com]