One Piece Movie 9: Episode of Chopper Plus: Bloom In Winter, Miracle Sakura (2008)

The 9th One Piece movie is a ‘What If?’ story recounting an alternative tale of how the crew of the Sunny met Chopper. You know it’s different as Robin, Franky and the Thousand Sunny were not in the manga or anime when Chopper first appeared originally.

The 2nd movie to focus on Chopper. You might be thinking why bother watching the Drum Island Arc storyline again if you’ve seen it once before as the majority of the original storyline still remains. Some little things have been changed but really have no real impact on the story but it still makes this an interesting movie to watch. The events in Chopper’s past haven’t been altered at all but of course with the new characters that weren’t in the storyline originally now popping up it still worth checking out this movie. It’s not my favorite One Piece movie by any means and many fans have complained that the filmmakers were lazy in not giving them a new storyline instead of rehashing an old arc with some minor changes. You’re not going to miss anything by skipping this movie but if you’re a die hard One Piece fan then I think you won’t be disappointed if you watch this. I liked it.

Sadako’s Rating: 4 stars out of 5

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One Piece 3D Movie: Mugiwara Chase (2011)

In the 11th One Piece movie shot in glorious 3D, Luffy drags his crew on a chase to retrieve his strawhat which has been stolen by a mysterious bird but by doing this he leads them into an ambush by the Marines who captures both Luffy and the bird. But why has the bird stolen Luffy’s hat? Is it linked to a sick old man that Chopper took onboard the Sunny?

It took me about 5 minutes to get used to seeing One Piece in 3D and overall I really liked the finished result. I know a lot of fans are sceptical about watching this as they’re used to seeing the animation in 2D and the trailer they might have seen looks like it’s out of a videogame – the only thing I can say is give it a go. You might be pleasantly surprised? This movie is the shortest One Piece movie to date and only runs for 30 mins. There’s no big storyline obviously as there’s no time. Of course I would have liked this movie to be a lot longer but I can’t complain as it’s still a great little adventure for the whole crew.

Sadako’s Rating: 4 stars out of 5

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One Piece 6: Baron Omatsuri And The Secret Island (2005)

The Going Merry crew face their most dangerous opponent yet in Baron Omatsuri as they face the Ordeal Of Hell challenge on his paradise island that harbours a deadly secret which might spell the end for Luffy and his nakama.

What many will notice about this movie is the animation has changed, it’s not in the usual One Piece style. Not that it made an ounce of difference to me. The movie storyline which is darker doesn’t contain half as much action as the other 5 movies I’ve seen either which many annoy fans but I did feel that in Baron Omatsuri the Going Merry crew had met their match and was a worthy opponent for Luffy who was ready to die for letting down his nakama. The strong bond that exists between the 6 friends also breaks down which is very unusual. This is probably my favorite One Piece movie so far because it dares to be different and we see a new side to the Going Merry crew. For One Piece fans this is a must see.

Sadako’s Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

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One Piece Movie 4: Dead End Adventure

In order to gain money, the crew of the Going Merry enter the Dead End Race, a dangerous anything goes sailing competition. On the starting island of the race the crew is introduced to that year’s favourite, General Gasparde, a former navy general who deserted after killing his men. A subplot in the movie involves a cabin boy named Anaguma on Gasparde’s ship, who in order to save Biera, the boiler man, is allowed off the ship to claim the bounty of whichever pirates he chooses to kill. As fate would have it, he picks the Going Merry as his target. A bounty hunter named Shuraiya Bascùd is also introduced as the ‘Pirate Executioner’, and seems to have a dark past involving Gasparde, and at the climax of the film, goes head to head with both Needles and Gasparde himself, a battle that Luffy interrupts and ultimately finishes, once and for all.

Longer in running time with more character development, the 4th One Piece epic is certainly the best I’ve seen so far in the franchise. The animation is very well done as it always is, the villains and secondary characters are interesting such as the Pirate Bounty Hunter Shuraiya and the action is exciting along with the typical One Piece humour which balances out the overall storyline very nicely. Luffy gets to meet a worthy and very powerful opponent that tests him to the limit in a spellbinding finale. An absolute joy to watch.

No trailer but a fan made video highlighting the best bits from the movie

Sadako’s Rating: 4 stars out of 5

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