One Piece Fan Letter

Megumi Ishitani’s Cinematic Masterpiece

I was left with chills in almost every scene, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. The blend of emotion, action, and storytelling was absolutely beautiful, reminding me of exactly why I love this series so much. The marines, in particular, stood out for me. The reanimation of Marineford was visually stunning, and seeing Oars Jr. in that heartbreaking moment hit hard.

The Straw Hats brought their signature humor, adding a refreshing contrast to the heavier themes. What really struck me was how we were treated to a brief but powerful revisit of the Marineford war, a pivotal arc for ... any fan. One of the standout moments for me was when a marine, initially about to abandon his brother, saw Luffy's relentless determination to save Ace and turned back to help. That shift in resolve, inspired by Luffy's sheer will, was truly touching and beautifully handled.

Megumi Ishitani’s direction felt like a love letter to the fans, a reminder of the series' emotional depth and epic scale. This episode was a much-needed refresh, and I absolutely loved every minute of it.

I'm not overhyped like most people here but I gotta tell yall, It's a decent filler episode. It's not great, doesn't bring anything new to the table other than fanservice. Actually, it's the first time I see someone portray the fanbase of something so well into an episode, that's pretty fun to see. But you have nothing truly engaging here. In 24 minutes, I couldn't care less about the nami-wannabe or the marine brothers. The greatest part in this episode is indeed the powerscale discussion, that's funny AF cuz it actually escapes from most filler-anime cliches and that's rare to see. As the name sugests, ... it's a special, it adds nothing to the main story, it only celebrates in some way. If you are unsure whether or not you should watch cuz It's filler, It's worth a try. But is not necessary to the story.

No one is being gaslit into thinking this is what quality animation and direction looks like. Megumi Ishitani is perhaps one of the most overhyped directors in the industry and there's a reason you only hear her name from One Piece fans. Imagine if the entire medium used her philosophy in production. Anime wouldn't even be associated as aesthetic relative to other visual mediums like Western cartoons; it would NEVER be as popular as it is today.

You have MS Paint tier art with minimal numbers of frames being used sporadically while the storyboards try to imitate the likes of Ryogo Narita's works only for it ... to fall flat on its face and be a tryhard mess. The ugly audiovisuals coupled with the schizophrenic pacing makes this a nauseating experience to anyone who isn't a diehard for the series. Especially because there's nothing of substance in the actual writing itself (but perhaps that's a blessing in disguise)--Really all this is is just a poorly produced filler episode with lots of fanservice. The CGI on that ship looked horrendous as well.

I'm supposed to believe this is what episode of the year material looks like?