The doctor of the Straw Hat Pirates, Tony Tony Chopper, is one of the cutest and funniest characters in the entire A pieceHe joined the crew at the end of the Drum Island arc and has since been part of their adventures, their struggles and their journey to A piece Treasure.
As A piece Fans know that Chopper is part of the comedic trio of the Straw Hat Pirates, which also includes Luffy and Usopp. Although they have quite a bit of fun, it is usually at Chopper’s expense. Luffy unintentionally jokes about Chopper being emergency food, and it is one of the funniest things in the entire series.
However, there is another recurring joke in A piece about Chopper’s identity. Almost every character in A pieceincluding Luffy, does not recognize Chopper as a reindeer. This joke has been going on since he joined the crew, and what many fans do not know is that Eiichiro Oda got the idea for Chopper’s reindeer joke from his parents.
The A piece Gag about Chopper being a reindeer
Chopper is a reindeer who ate the Hito Hito no Mi. This devil fruit allows him to transform into a human and a hybrid between a human and a reindeer at will. And because of these transformations, most A piece Characters are unable to identify Chopper’s true species.
Thus, the world government is in A piece has called him a raccoon dog, which is also known to other characters. But every time he is called a raccoon dog by other characters, Chopper gets extremely angry. He has tried to clarify it several times, but it has become just a joke.
That’s not the worst part, though. Chopper is also considered the Straw Hat Pirates’ pet, which is why his bounty is in the triple digits. Not only that, but even Luffy once unintentionally made a joke about Chopper being a reindeer.
Eiichiro Oda got the idea for the chopper gag from his parents
During the Long Ring Long Land arc, when Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper were exploring the island, they came across a stretched deer. Luffy, being the goofy character he is, excitedly called it Chopper’s cousin, which freaked Chopper out since he was his captain.
In 2002, Oda revealed in the author’s note for volume 24 that he got the idea from his parents.
The mangaka explained:
When I recently visited my family, my parents said for the first time about ONE PIECE: “The story with the deer was really good.”
Eiichiro Oda was initially confused as to who they were talking about, but once he realized it, he came up with the idea that this would be a great comedic gag for Chopper’s character.
This joke caused so much excitement A piece Fans that Oda has expanded it and uses it to this day. After the time jump, however, the comedic aspect of A piece faded as the series entered the crucial part of the narrative.
From August 19, 2024, you can A piece on Crunchyroll.
