Released in 2012, One Piece Film: Z is also One Piece's 12th film, and, despite not having watched all 11 precursors, it would come in around 2nd place were I to rank them. One of the (currently, and I believe) 5 films to have Oda work on it, I was excited to watch it, especially after seeing the build-up presentation of four episodes in the anime, which was set just before the film. My opinions after watching it? See below, in my first movie review.
STORY: 6 (Fine)/10
There wasn't anything too interesting to the story, and seeing as it could be summarised within two minutes (including ... every scene), it is difficult to understand how it managed to last so long. There was nothing special about it at all, and I don't like the idea of the End Points, mostly because two of them were destroyed, meaning the New World now (luckily non-canonically) depends on a single island's safety. However, story is my main problem with One Piece movies. Of the movies I have watched, Dead End Adventure had my favourite and even that is about a 7 in terms of story.
ART: 8 (Great)/10
I greatly enjoyed the new character designs from this movie, but I was disappointed that Z wasn't designed after a famous Japanese actor, as the other admirals are. The black and red (and various other colours for some) Straw Hat designs that appear later in the film were very aesthetically pleasing, but the Hanami (Cherry Blossom) season designs, particularly Franky, seemed a bit much for me, although Franky, as a character often over the top, was quite humorous. I also enjoyed the island the Straw Hats visited after hearing Z was there, where they met Aokiji again. In terms of animation, around the 91 minute mark, Toei's movie team really showed us what they could do. Although this is a lot more common nowadays, it is important to note this movie dates back to 2012, and that the dynamic, fast-paced and many-angled animation is something I am sure served as a great testament to how great One Piece could look, before the regular anime was able to reach the same level.
SOUND: 7 (Good)/10
I often run through this section quickly, but I have some things to say here. I didn't properly listen to the opening, but the ending, which was two songs played one after the other, I definitely did not enjoy as they were both English songs I didn't like. The music played throughout was good, but I can't exactly recall it. Z sings a song that appears multiple times in the movie, and I did like this. The voice acting was great, being One Piece.
CHARACTER: 7 (Good)/10
My favourite part of the cast was seeing Aokiji as someone other than an antagonist for the first time in a while. When he was introduced, this did happen, but he did not do much. After that, he, as a marine admiral, fought against Luffy, and later, he allies himself with a certain someone... (that I'd not like to spoil for people who are only caught up to when this movie is set). I liked Z as an antagonist, especially in the last five minutes of the movie, although I did think his idea of killing everyone in the New World just to exterminate some, not even all, of the pirates, was rather weak. After all, we know Blackbeard came to Drum Island and Whitebeard and Shanks both arrived at Marineford, so it's not so hard to figure out that powerful pirates don't always stay in the later parts of the Grand Line. I'd like to see Z become canon - not this movie, but him as a former admiral that left the Marines for the same reasons. He is definitely a memorable protagonist, one of the at least top two of the films I've seen so far.
ENJOYMENT: 6 (Fine)/10
I watched this film in three sittings and over two days, so that would have affected my enjoyment, but the story didn't seem very exciting, and while it had it's moments that I liked, especially the end, it wasn't anything special. My favourite part was definitely the fight animations and new character designs. Despite my relatively negative feedback, I think most One Piece fans will enjoy this, particularly if you have a lot of time and don't have to make an effort to finish it.
If you're a One Piece fan with a spare two hours, I definitely recommend a One Piece film. With friends, watch the later movies first, like Stampede, Gold and Red (probably in that order, unless one seems particularly interesting to you), but if you have time to kill, this is worth a watch - especially if you're near when this film is chronologically set - in that case, getting to see the elevated animation is great! So, if you enjoy One Piece, don't miss this film!
Alternative Titles Synonyms: One Piece Movie 12 Japanese: ワンピース フィルム Z Information Type: Movie Episodes: 1 Status: Finished Airing Aired: Dec 15, 2012 Producers: Shueisha Licensors: Funimation Studios: Toei Animation Source: Manga Demographic: Shounen Duration: 1 hr. 47 min. Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older Statistics Score: 8.121 (scored by 180,319 users) 1 indicates a . Ranked: #4742 2 based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #855 Members: 284,078 Favorites: 622 Available AtResources |
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