I've been an advent fan of One Piece up to the end of Dressrosa, where I decided to take a break. Hearing a new recap movie on the horizon got me skeptical as usual. Recap movies don't always work out well. And I was right.
But this movie actually surprised me somewhat. Watching some of the scenes, I couldn't help get this craving to rewatch One Piece. the scenes they did include were phenomenal. The animation was well done, and the music stayed true to the old One Piece. I felt like a kid a again every now and then.
But the rest of the time, I was just confused. It really felt like the story was exponentially shorter than I can recall. They just removed so many of the iconic moments that made this arc so great. I mean, barely any of the crew had any growth, or proper fights.
So they got the wonder. But none of the suspense was there. This movie just reminded me of a time way back, when the Straw Hats weren't as unstoppable as they'd one day be. I mean pre-haki, where they were basically just fodder for even what we today consider mid-tier. This movie made it felt like Skypeia was a literal breeze to them. Take the ship, go to the cloud, beat a god and sail along merrily. Sure, that's basically what happened in the series , but it wasn't nearly as easy then.
In short, this reminded me of the adventures I so dearly miss years ago, but just left me craving for more then a simple drop of the ocean.
Overall, I give it a 6.
