John Irons: “What is Luffy’s mother like? Was she beautiful? What happened to her? Did she die when Luffy was a baby?”
Oda: “I think she’s alive. I’m still thinking hard about this. [Laughs] But if she does appear in the story, then she’ll be a very tough-looking woman. And strict. There’s no way that she’s a beautiful mother. She’s got this typical middle-aged woman’s permed hair. Speaking about families, I did a backstory for Nico Robin and her family.
That was actually the first time for me to draw a mother in a character’s memory. Up until that point, I’d never drawn a blood relation. In Chopper’s case, he’s called a son even though he’s not blood-related. So I’ve put in a message there saying that you can still call someone who’s not related by blood your family.” (American Shonen Jump, December 2009)
