May 20, 2011
I generally do not like Japanese anime movies based off long-running shonen anime series, because they are pretty much just long fillers. So finding out that the creator of One Piece, Eiichiro Oda, was the executive producer of the then upcoming One Piece film, One Piece: Strong World, got me interested in it. I still figured that it would be a filler movie, but I was wondering whether Oda's involvement in the movie would make it more enjoyable or not. I am pleased to say that it did.
(Story -- 5)
Though the story is pretty much your typical shonen anime movie story, it does have
...
a bit more substance to it. This is due to the fact that Oda wrote the story, and that it is considered canon. Even so, I do still think that the movie could have had a much better and entertaining story. But it is fair to note that shonen anime movies are usually watched by fans to see their favorite anime characters in high quality animation and not necessarily to see the story.
(Art -- 10)
The art and animation did not leave anything to be desired. The animation was very smooth, and the art was colorful and fitting. Compared to the first season of One Piece (which practically had still images for most of the runtime), I felt like this one was on steroids. I also felt that they finally achieved the 'atmosphere' which the manga evokes. Everything on screen was really lively, especially Luffy and his devil fruit abilities. In addition, I like Oda's animal designs immensely.
(Sound -- 7)
The movie had a couple of new tunes in it, which I thought were good. The sound effects were practically the same ones used in the show; therefore, they were nothing new or amazing. A couple of times, the lip syncing seemed off to me.
(Character -- 9)
The characters are at their best in this film. In previous movies, the characters seemed rather repetitive and boring, and it felt like the movie makers just took the running gags from the manga and placed them into the films. One Piece: Strong World made the characters surprisingly humorous and life-like -- even the villains made me chuckle now and then with their humor that definitely belonged to Oda. I feel that he added a breath of fresh air to the dying movie versions of his characters. But even though I felt that most of the characters were done well, I did not enjoy the new, movie-exclusive characters Billy and Xiao. I felt that they were way to stereotypical for their own good and just plain bland. Xiao (a little girl who requires the help of the Straw Hat Pirates) made me laugh only once at a gag that seemed to parody child characters in previous One Piece films.
(Enjoyment -- 9)
A slightly more captivating story, a more noticeable soundtrack, and the exclusion of a couple of movie-only characters could have made me give One Piece: Strong World full marks. As such, Even though, I still very much enjoyed this film.
(Overall -- 8)
In my opinion, One Piece: Strong World is definitely the best One Piece film, and is overall a very decent shonen anime movie. Any fan of One Piece should watch it, even if they do not like the anime or previous movies.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
