Tag: One Piece

Ongoing Investigations: Case #097

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hisuiconI finally saw the much-anticipated One Piece: Strong World movie. It was the first movie with a large amount of input from Eiichiro Oda so most people have been going in with very high expectations. There was even an official One Piece chapter zero comic made just to give back story to the movie and make everything canonical. Overall I found that I was hyping up Strong World in my mind better that it could ever have been. But it was still the most entertaining One Piece movie I have seen yet. The movie is a lavish affair even more so than the standard theatrical affair.  I noticed that they spend a good deal of attention to making Nami’s hair lavishly animated (as well as throwing her in the shortest of short shorts). In fact almost everyone goes through several changes of clothing which is surely done to sell tons of merchandise but I find it a welcome addition. Their best costumes  are when everyone is in suits as seen by the Portrait of Pirates figures. The plot is solid. While it never reaches the greatest highs on a normal One Piece storyline it never feels like a filler episode as well. Shiki is a decently memorable villain with a strong and unique power.  His subordinates were far less interesting. If you are a One Piece fan many of the movies are usually fun but utterly disposable but this is the one must see movie so far. I assume that Funimation is waiting for the DVDs to catch up to the point where Strong World takes place before licensing the movie which makes sense to me. I can’t wait to buy it whenever they pick it up.

Giant Killing is something I look forward to every week. And each episode pumps me up so much that it is kind of a crime they are only 22 or so minutes long. In the most recent installments the team is starting to take on bigger and bigger challengers, which is only natural. At this point, they are struggling again to regain their confidence but at the same time you can really see that the team is following Tatsumi, though doesn’t always blindly see his point of view. The Osaka Gunners are really out doing themselves rivaling ETU, especially because of the personality clashes on both sides. And I can see each side has some of the same types of people. Though I have to say, I find fake-Tsubaki utterly annoying and for the life of my I’m not sure why exactly. The coming episode maybe be the final part against Osaka and I truly don’t know which way the wind will blow. It is kind of amazing that Giant Killing is able to so readily keep you guessing about the outcome of games.

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September’s Final Denouement: What Lies at the End of the Grand Line?

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Filled with ever stripe of  One Piece spoiler you could imagine up to and including the current manga chapter (579) and anime episode (463+).

hisuiconEiichiro Oda just recently announced that One Piece is going on a month-long hiatus after chapter 597. So as the manga moves on to the next stage I thought I would be the perfect time for me to reflect  how I think One Piece  will end. As I have expressed on the blog before I enjoy trying to figure out what the mangaka has planned and see how many of suspicions are correct. Oda plans out his manga enough that I feel this is viable thought exercise because he is not just making up the story as he goes along. Everything below is my speculation but I feel my theories have a good deal of contextual proof and hints  backing them up as well. So let us sail to the end of the Grand Line and see what is there.

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One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island, Flower Power

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We talked at length about One Piece previously, but actually besides some random episodes and a few clips here and there, this movie is my first true foray into watching One Piece rather than reading it. My personal preference is to reading shonen manga, random fact, but with things like franchise movies it can be a good time to make an exception. However, greater than just the fun of films with favorite characters was the pull of director Mamoru Hosada whose work I wanted to explore further after enjoying The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars so. Starting with the sixth of the One Piece movies isn’t odd, especially because it is really unlike any One Piece you’ve seen before.

hisuiconBack in the age of chaos between the start of the infamous 4kids adaptation and the blessed license rescue by Funimation I would watch One Piece via fan subs as it was the only way to see a decent version of the series.  As I was working my way through the series I eventually caught up to the latest TV broadcast episodes so I decided to move onto the movies. Overall I was rarely impressed with any of the One Piece movies. Like every other long running shonen fighting series the theatrical films are almost all the same. They are very high budget filler episodes. They make a decent profit at the box office and spawn a bunch of lucrative merchandise but they are ultimately utterly forgettable in all respects. But every once and a while there is a shonen fighting movie that stand out. The 6th One Piece movie most certainly does not fit into the category of the standard formula.

This movie is of course an original one off but its unique qualities for this franchise making it anything but your standard silly adventure. The gradual build of the strange happenings feels like it is pulling you along and you’re compelled to see what is around the next corner. As the crew starts to realize something is very wrong, the entire show starts to take on a surreal quality. The movie, and the viewing of said movie, is like a dream or rather a dream you slowly come to realize is a nightmare. Even at the end of the film it is hard to say what all has taken place, what the crew will take away from the experience, or if they even remember it all.

hisuiconWe start with what seems to be a normal One Piece filler plot. The Strawhat Crew get an invitation to stay on a pirate resort island with all the amenities. When they arrive it is less than the spectacular vacation getaway they were promised and they are soon forced to play in a series of strange pirate games that are supposedly a test of the crew’s teamwork. Of course there is something more sinister going on in the background. But this is where things begin to really go off in their own direction. The story of Baron Omatsuri and the island go straight to horror without even stopping to pass go or collect 200 berries.

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