One Piece Film: Z

The Straw Hat Pirates enter the rough seas of the New World in search of the hidden treasures of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger－One Piece. On their voyage, the pirates come across a terrifying, powerful man, former Marine iral Z.

Z is accused of having stolen the "Dyna Stones", weapons believed to have the power to shake up the New World. The Marine Headquarters believes Z is about to use it to end the pirate era, and with it, the lives of many innocent people. In fear of such a phenomenal event, marines start to take action against the former iral.

Even if it means stumbling upon marines and the navy, the Straw Hat Pirates decided to chase after Z and stop him from causing havoc. As they continue to embark on their ventures, the pirates bump into new and familiar acquaintances.

Monkey D., Luffy Main

Tanaka, Mayumi Japanese

Roronoa, Zoro Main

Nakai, Kazuya Japanese

Sanji Main

Hirata, Hiroaki Japanese

Nico, Robin Main

Yamaguchi, Yuriko Japanese

Tony Tony, Chopper Main

Ootani, Ikue Japanese

Nami Main

Okamura, Akemi Japanese

Usopp Main

Yamaguchi, Kappei Japanese

Brook Main

Cho Japanese

Franky Main

Yao, Kazuki Japanese

Zephyr Main

Suzuki, Masami Japanese

Oda, Eiichiro Producer, Original Creator

Cook, Justin Producer

Nagamine, Tatsuya Director, Storyboard

Nagasaki, Yukio Sound Director

Reviews

Sep 6, 2024

Sir_Zedmore

Recommended

Released in 2012, One Piece Film: Z is also One Piece's 12th film, and, despite not having watched all 11 precursors, it would come in around 2nd place were I to rank them. One of the (currently, and I believe) 5 films to have Oda work on it, I was excited to watch it, especially after seeing the build-up presentation of four episodes in the anime, which was set just before the film. My opinions after watching it? See below, in my first movie review.

STORY: 6 (Fine)/10
There wasn't anything too interesting to the story, and seeing as it could be summarised within two minutes (including ... every scene), it is difficult to understand how it managed to last so long. There was nothing special about it at all, and I don't like the idea of the End Points, mostly because two of them were destroyed, meaning the New World now (luckily non-canonically) depends on a single island's safety. However, story is my main problem with One Piece movies. Of the movies I have watched, Dead End Adventure had my favourite and even that is about a 7 in of story.

ART: 8 (Very Good)/10
I greatly enjoyed the new character designs from this movie, but I was disappointed that Z wasn't designed after a famous Japanese actor, as the other irals are. The black and red (and various other colours for some) Straw Hat designs that appear later in the film were very aesthetically pleasing, but the Hanami (Cherry Blossom) season designs, particularly Franky, seemed a bit much for me, although Franky, as a character often over the top, was quite humorous. I also enjoyed the island the Straw Hats visited after hearing Z was there, where they met Aokiji again. In of animation, around the 91 minute mark, Toei's movie team really showed us what they could do. Although this is a lot more common nowadays, it is important to note this movie dates back to 2012, and that the dynamic, fast-paced and many-angled animation is something I am sure served as a great testament to how great One Piece could look, before the regular anime was able to reach the same level.

SOUND: 7 (Good)/10
I often run through this section quickly, but I have some things to say here. I didn't properly listen to the opening, but the ending, which was two songs played one after the other, I definitely did not enjoy as they were both English songs I didn't like. The music played throughout was good, but I can't exactly recall it. Z sings a song that appears multiple times in the movie, and I did like this. The voice acting was great, being One Piece.

CHARACTER: 7 (Good)/10
My favourite part of the cast was seeing Aokiji as someone other than an antagonist for the first time in a while. When he was introduced, this did happen, but he did not do much. After that, he, as a marine iral, fought against Luffy, and later, he allies himself with a certain someone... (that I'd not like to spoil for people who are only caught up to when this movie is set). I liked Z as an antagonist, especially in the last five minutes of the movie, although I did think his idea of killing everyone in the New World just to exterminate some, not even all, of the pirates, was rather weak. After all, we know Blackbeard came to Drum Island and Whitebeard and Shanks both arrived at Marineford, so it's not so hard to figure out that powerful pirates don't always stay in the later parts of the Grand Line. I'd like to see Z become canon - not this movie, but him as a former iral that left the Marines for the same reasons. He is definitely a memorable protagonist, one of the at least top two of the films I've seen so far.

ENJOYMENT: 6 (Fine)/10
I watched this film in three sittings and over two days, so that would have affected my enjoyment, but the story didn't seem very exciting, and while it had it's moments that I liked, especially the end, it wasn't anything special. My favourite part was definitely the fight animations and new character designs. Despite my relatively negative , I think most One Piece fans will enjoy this, particularly if you have a lot of time and don't have to make an effort to finish it.

If you're a One Piece fan with a spare two hours, I definitely recommend a One Piece film. With friends, watch the later movies first, like Stampede, Gold and Red (probably in that order, unless one seems particularly interesting to you), but if you have time to kill, this is worth a watch - especially if you're near when this film is chronologically set - in that case, getting to see the elevated animation is great! So, if you enjoy One Piece, don't miss this film!

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Apr 21, 2022

lethargilistic

Mixed Feelings

irable message that fits well into the New World, post-timeskip "One Piece" narrative, when the series has firmly become a four-dimensional chess game with a million characters. Had myself a good giggle when the cover of "Remind me of who I really am" by Nickleback was followed by just straight-up "I don't give a damn about my reputation" by Avril Lavigne. So poignant.

The action was good for the most part. There were points when it was trying too hard and the 3D effects made it look ugly, see Zoro's final fight with the woman. But I still liked it.

The gimmick of this movie, aside from ... having an episode or two of the anime lead into it (haven't seen, may one day), is that Nami, Robin, Chopper, and Brook get de-aged. I... They could have just skipped the joke about Sanji wanting to watch Nami grow up because it would be hot. I'm sure there's wholesome joke material in that premise. Maybe Sanji is just a completely stoic of young girls on principle. Maybe he's fair more taken with Robin as an 18-year-old. I dunno. Pedophilia was not it.

Speaking of which, I feel like this is perennial with all the One Piece characters after Alabasta, but they just do not utilize Robin, Frankie, or Brook enough at all. They each get like one laugh line and onr fight scene moment each. I'm less interested in Frankie and Brook, tbh, even though I would appreciate the improved storytelling if their involvement increased. But it's really a crime that Robin rarely has anything to do in these.

Like, they de-aged Robin so they could have her do "sexy" dancing, but she still contributes less than Nami as a child. And can we talk about how obnoxiously horny "One Piece" got after the timeskip? The switch to the busty character designs was one thing—people come in all shapes and sizes. But the boob jiggle and close-up shots of Nami's and Robin's BODIES ballooning up into adulthood. Literal fetish stuff and completely objectifying them, as we don't see their faces.

But I liked Z. I liked how his story incorporated the marines into the plot without falling back on them being a nebulous enemy. All of the marine characters know Z and have an emotional investment in him, and that comes across.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Oct 25, 2023

Steamwood

Not Recommended

They gave a 60 year old man magenta hair, a terrible Southern accent, and Doflamingo's glasses and expect me to take him seriously?

I checked this out after hearing that it was one of the best One Piece movies, and I am leaving completely unimpressed. The plot is "bad guy wants to destroy everyone" in service of the same boring backstory you use when you have no ideas for why someone can justify their extreme means. The animation is good for about 3 minutes total. It's uncomfortable in the fanservice department given the messed up ages of the female crew. Barely any of the crew ... get to do anything fun except at the very end!

I wanted to check this out in the hopes that I'd been unfairly avoiding the anime and movies. Having seen what constitutes good for the adaptations of the series, I will continue to avoid them and stick to the manga!

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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