One Piece has no shortage of characters or Easter eggs. One character, Mr. Minamoto, was first revealed in the late 1990s, but never officially appeared in the manga’s storyline. Until now.
Way back in 1998, a One Piece reader asked why a tavern door repaired after mountain bandits broke it down. Eiichiro Oda replied, “That’s the handiwork of Mr. Minatomo, the carpenter. He’s very impatient, and if he sees a broken door or whatnot, he has to repair it right away. It was by no means my mistake.”
It was probably a mistake!
(Above is Mr. Minatomo’s first appearance in the reply to a reader question in 1998.)
Since then, the character has appeared several times in the anime as a non-canonical Easter egg. However, the most recent issue of One Piece, Chapter 909, finally features Mr. Minatomo’s official manga debut.
In the latest One Piece, Mr. Minatomo appears in two manga panels and complements Franky for the wall he built.
This character’s official debut only took over 850 chapters. That’s all!
For more on the One Piece manga, check out Viz.com.
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