Japanese work culture is super strict, and it’s a common issue for people to work hard and long hours. That problem is incredibly apparent in manga, where thousands of mangaka try to get serialized in Shonen Jump. An entire week and having 3 hours of sleep is common for mangaka. Lack of sleep, pressure by readers, and body issues for spending 60% of the day to draw great art with a good story, makes come artists have hiatus breaks that can last for years on end in the case of Berserk, Hunter x Hunter and Vagabond. A single page at a time with little sleep, basic necessities, or free time.
In Oda’s case, hes been doing a weekly manga since 1997 wiritng up to 1079 chapters, with only few breaks per year.
During TV show “Honmadekka” on January 9th, 2019, a famous Japanese comedian visited Oda’s studio and talked a lot with him.
Oda revealed that he goes to bed at 9am and wakes up at 12pm (3 hours sleep).
His assistants go to bed at 5am and wake up at 12pm.
Oda often skips meals for a few days to concentrate on his work. He suffers from moderate diabetes and gout from spending too much time in a chair.
Eiichiro Oda’s work rhythms are really insane!
