One Piece: Umi no Heso no Daibouken-hen

this special is pure comedy, especially during the first part. it has a cool premise, and nice unexpected elements, typical of the One Piece world. very similar vibes to the Skypea arc in the anime

if you like One Piece, this side story fits perfectly into the main story, sometime after picking up Usopp

when it comes to art, animation, music, sound effects are all typical early One Piece, there is no significant change from the base anime, it is not better, it is not worse, it is just in line. there doesn't seem to be any extra special effort like anime companies usually do for movies, ... and that's ok, this is a TV special after all, and honestly, I would not have written this entire last paragraph if mal would allow me to post a review with just the first two paragraphs

This is by far the most enjoyable, entertaining and well-writen of all the specials and ova’s. I frequent it above all others since it will immidiately lift your spirits everytime your feeling down.

The story, characters and the setting of the plot, all fit extremely well with the big upcomming adventure mood that the first two season have. You can really tell that the makers of this ova, did their uttermost best to emulate the entire scope and feel of the story and the characters.

Most of the movies can’t hold a candle to it. If one should make a list of all the movies, specials, ova’s, ... extra’s and featurettes in order of greatness and epicness this ova will certainly get fifth maybe even third place.

It’s a must watch for anyone who considers him or herself an one piece fan, furthermore this special can also be seen by somebody completely new to one piece, I personally think this special is a good way to get people to start watching one piece.

There is something about the OLD One Piece that feels so; HOME. So welcoming yet strange to the heart, it has a unique feel that is rarely replicated, even by the same series 20 years later, the risks are lower, but still life-threatening to the crew back then, the world feels so much smaller yet very promising to explorers like the Straw Hats. And the adventures, as small as they may be, are always inviting and friendly to the third party that is the audience.

The story at hand takes place somewhere between Logue town and the entrance to the Grand Line, possibly before the Warship ... Island. The crew has not seen what the Grand Line has in store, so meeting up with these colossal sea monsters must have been a shocking nightmare to some, and a challenging foe to others. With the crew being still at its earliest, only the first five present, they blend rather well into the story, probably aside from Sanji would probably have less screen time than some of the side-characters.

Al in all, it is a quick telling of yet another odd adventure out of many that the Straw Hats part-take in. Pretty generic good pirates save civilians from bad pirate, with the re-occurring trope of the little kid who starts off as dispising said pirates and ends up rooting for the Straw Hats by the end of it.