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.
Upon asking Oda whether the ending of One Piece was already determined, Oda answered:
Eiichiro Oda: “Yes, I already decided on how it’s going to end. Should I tell you now?”
Momoko Sakura: “Well, I want to know, but I probably shouldn’t. But, the One Piece, it’s not something like “the growth your heart went through”, right?”
Eiichiro Oda: “Hahaha, no no, I won’t be pulling off some kind of Wizard of Oz thing like that. After having gone through an adventure like that, it wouldn’t be fair to not actually give them a reward.”
Then we could deduce that the One Piece ISN’T “a dream”, or “the bonds created among the straw hat crew” etc.
Excerpt from an interview:
D: Oda-sensei, I have a question. If One Piece was set in the real world, which countries would the nine Straw Hats come from?
Oda: Well. I’ll just put what fits with the character’s image.
Luffy: Brazil
Zoro: Japan
Nami: Sweden
Usopp: Africa
Sanji: France
Chopper: Canada
Robin: Russia
Franky: USA
Brook: Austria
ONE PIECE GOLD