Ronit J

• Director: Kônosuke Uda
• Writer: Masahiro Ito
• Year: 2006
• Synopsis: The Straw Hat crew salvage a treasure chest but it turns out to be an old lady hiding inside it. To get the Straw Hat Pirates to take her home, she promises them the treasure of a golden crown to Mecha Island.

I really did not like this one. From it’s boring plot, to its ridiculous ‘treasure hunt’ mystery, to the excessive boob jiggling… this was by far the weakest piece of One Piece content I’ve ever seen. Ratchet was an annoying villain with a comically stupid plan. There were some interesting ideas with the Giant Turtles, but sadly this one just left me feeling like I watched a bad fan fiction film.

• Director: Kazuhisa Takenouchi
• Writer: Yoshiyuki Suga
• Year: 2004
• Synopsis: The Straw Hat Pirates learn about the Shichiseiken on Asuka Island. Zoro disappears and the marines attack the island. Luffy and his gang fight off the marines when they find happen to find Zoro in enemy lines.

While I really enjoyed the cool sword fighting scenes, something about the way Zoro behaved just didn’t seem right. Saga was a badass villain, and the idea of this film seemed great. But, I found the execution quite lacking. A pretty forgettable film, if you ask me. I watched this back-to-back with Dead End Adventure, so maybe it was OP fatigue?

• Director: Kônosuke Uda
• Writer: Yoshiyuki Suga
• Year: 2003
• Synopsis: Luffy and his gang finds out about and joins the death race DeadEnd and the ex-marine Gasparde and the bounty hunter Shuraiya clash as the conspiracy of the race unfolds.

Of the earlier One Piece movies, this one was the first true feature. I loved the concept and gags, which made this quite the enjoyable watch. Yet, the overall film did feel a tad forgettable. It had the One Piece formula, but seemed to lack the One Piece spirit. Honestly, this and Cursed Holy Sword are kinda on the same level for me. But, I’m ranking this one above Cursed Sword because Dead End Adventure felt closer to canon One Piece.

• Director: Junji Shimizu
• Writer: Hiroshi Hashimoto
• Year: 2002
• Synopsis: As the Straw Hat Pirates sail through the Grand Line, a sudden eruption of geysers beneath the Going Merry sends the crew flying over a nearby island. In the chaos, Chopper falls overboard and becomes separated from his friends. While Luffy and the others land on the far side of the island, Chopper finds himself hailed as the new king by the local animals. However, danger looms as a group of human “horn hunters” arrives. Their leader, Count Butler, is a violin-playing man who consumes horns to gain strength, and he seeks to devour the island’s greatest treasure to inherit immense power. Can Luffy and the crew stop Count Butler’s scheme and save the island? And will they be able to show Momambi that not all pirates are the villains he believes them to be?

• Director: Hiroyuki Satô
• Writer: Yasuyuki Tsutsumi
• Year: 2011
• Synopsis: Luffy wakes up only to find out his precious straw hat is missing. Naturally, a wild chase ensues.

Okay, this is the shortest of the films (30 minutes only). And honestly, the plot is pretty stupid. It felt like this was produced purely as an experiment to see how audiences would react to a 3D animated One Piece film. But, if you look past its silly plot, the action and animation is pretty awesome. It reminded me of some PSP/PS2 games, particularly Dragon Ball Z. But apart from that, there’s not much to say about this one.

• Director: Junji Shimizu
• Writer: Hiroshi Hashimoto
• Year: 2001
• Synopsis: Relaxing on a cozy beach, the Straw Hat Pirates are taking a rest from their quest. Right until Luffy noticed the Going Merry has been hijacked and sailed off from the beach. This leads them to search the ship and find the thief who took it from them. They ran into a duo named the Theif Brothers, who informed them that their ship was stolen by a group of pirates called the Trump Kyoudai. When they encountered the Trump Pirates, Nami ended up getting kidnapped as well as Luffy’s hat. They tracked down the pirates to their base on Clockwork Island. Now Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, and the Theif Brothers must reclaim the Going Merry, Save Nami, and get back Shank’s straw hat.

• Director: Junji Shimizu
• Writer: Michiru Shimada
• Year: 2000
• Synopsis: There once was a pirate known as the Great Gold Pirate Woonan, who obtained almost 1/3 of the world’s gold. Over the course of a few years, the pirate’s existence faded, and a legend grew that he disappeared with his gold to a remote island, an island pirates continue to search for. Aboard the Going Merry, Luffy and his crew, starved and reckless, are robbed of their treasure. In an attempt to get it back, they wreck the getaway ship, guided by a young boy named Tabio, who’s a captured part of El Drago’s pirate crew. El Drago’s love for gold has driven him to look for Woonan’s island, and thanks to Woonan’s treasure map, he finds it. During this time, Luffy’s crew have been split up, and despite their own circumstances, they must find a way to stop El Drago from obtaining Woonan’s gold.

• Director: Gorô Taniguchi
• Writer: Tsutomu Kuroiwa & Brooklyn El-Omar
• Year: 2022
• Synopsis: Uta — the most beloved singer in the world. Her voice, which she sings with while concealing her true identity, has been described as “otherworldly.” She will appear in public for the first time at a live concert. As the venue fills with all kinds of Uta fans — excited pirates, the Navy watching closely, and the Straw Hats led by Luffy who simply came to enjoy her sonorous performance — the voice that the whole world has been waiting for is about to resound.

Honestly, this was the worst film of the lot for me. But that’s because I hate musicals. Remove the songs, and the film had some good and some bad. The good: I loved how all our favourite characters came together in an epic team up to fight against one god-level villain. The animation and action sequences were stellar. The characters were themselves, and I legit laughed out loud throughout the film. I guess Oda’s involvement as Producer really paid off.

• Director: Junji Shimizu
• Writer: Hirohiko Uesaka
• Year: 2008
• Synopsis: An alternate retelling of the Drum Island Arc.

Honestly, this was fun. But, it is also one of two skippable films in this list. That being said, it comes nowhere close to the original Drum Island Arc. You can’t just condense multiple episodes of a deeply touching story arc into a single feature film. You’re bound to miss key elements, and water down emotional development. Also, the inclusion of Wapol’s brother was an odd choice that I did not like. However, as a stand alone retelling, it’s pretty good. Hits most of the right spots, and is certainly better than the films that I’ve ranked lower.

• Director: Takahiro Imamura
• Writer: Hirohiko Uesaka
• Year: 2007
• Synopsis: A re-telling of the Alabasta Arc.

Alabasta was the first time in One Piece where ‘epic’ was an understatement. I thought it’d be impossible to condense that massive sprawling arc with its deeply relevant themes into a single feature film, but hey, they actually did it! Yes, it’s a watered down version of the original arc, but honestly, it hit all the right beats. At least for me.

• Director: Hiroaki Miyamoto
• Writer: Tsutomu Kuroiwa
• Year: 2016
• Synopsis: The glittering Gran Tesoro, a city of entertainment beyond the laws of the government, is a sanctuary for the world’s most infamous pirates, Marines, and filthy rich millionaires. Drawn by dreams of hitting the jackpot, Captain Luffy and his crew sail straight for the gold. But behind the gilded curtains lies a powerful king whose deep pockets and deeper ambitions spell disaster for the Straw Hats and the New World alike.

Honestly, this was my biggest disappointment of the lot. My expectations were pretty low for all the films on this list, except the latest 4 which actually had Eiichiro Oda involved as Producer. However, even as a disappointment, this film shines brightly with its amazing action set pieces, its quirky casino-themed island, and the emotional plot featuring debt and exploitation. Yes, some bits felt odd, but the ending really made me smile. I guess that’s why it’s higher up on the list.

• Director: Otsuka Takashi
• Writer: Tomioka Atsuhiro & Otsuka Takashi
• Year: 2019
• Synopsis: The world’s boldest buccaneers set sail for the great Pirate Festival, where the Straw Hats join a mad-dash race to find Gol D. Roger’s treasure. There’s just one little problem: An old member of Roger’s crew has a sinister score to settle.

Apart from Douglas Bullet being an absurdly boring antagonist, I really enjoyed everything about this film. It’s breakneck pacing serves to make every action set piece feel alive and kinetic. Which is saying something, given how this film is essentially one epic action set piece in the spirit of a Battle Royale. We’re going purely by my enjoyment, so even with a barebones plot and a boring villain, the film’s fight scenes reminded me of Marineford. So, I’ve ranked it high enough.

• Director: Tatsuya Nagamine
• Writer: Osamu Suzuki
• Year: 2012
• Synopsis: Zephyr, now known as Z, rides the seas with only one goal: Destroy all pirates and their dreams at becoming King of Pirates. When Luffy and his crew encounter him at sea, not only are they utterly defeated by the man with an arm made of Seastone, Nami, Robin, and Chopper are turned 10 years younger due to Z’s minion Ain. Luffy is so determined to win against him that he does not even notice Z’s master plan that could sacrifice thousands of lives.

I did not expect to like a any of the One Piece films this much, but I did! Not only was the story super interesting, the main villain Z / Black Arm Zephyr was a really compelling villain with a twisted—if not a bit farfetched—plot. And the way Luffy’s arc brings him and the Straw Hat Pirates face to face with Z also made sense. This was one of those stories that came really close to being the same quality as Oda’s own. This has to be because of his involvement as producer. Right? Great film.

• Director: Munehisa Sakai
• Writer: Eiichiro Oda & Hirohiko Uesaka
• Year: 2009
• Synopsis: 20 years after his escape from Impel Down, the legendary pirate Shiki, the Golden Lion, reappears causing massive upheaval to the Marines. During his long seclusion, he was able to come up with a scheme to bring the World Government to his knees. On his way to execute the plan, Shiki crosses paths with the Straw Hat Pirates and becomes so impressed with Nami’s knowledge of meteorology that he abducts her to forcedly enlist her into his crew. Luffy and the gang end up on a strange land populated with monstrous beasts as they desperately search for Shiki and Nami.

• Director: Mamoru Hosoda
• Writer: Masahiro Itō
• Year: 2005
• Synopsis: The Straw Hat Pirates received an advertisement on a recreational island. The offers all looked promising, so they sailed to the island for an opportunity to kick back and relax from their journey across the Grand Line. The site of the resort looks like a dream come true. Only our heroes find themselves greeted by the head of the island: Baron Omatsuri. He asks all 7 of them to compete in a series of contests for their granted relaxation. Luffy accepts the challenge, and they all find this island to be not so average. There is however a mystery shrouded on the recreational paradise. Such as why are the Straw Hat Pirates the only tourists around? And why is Baron hold the only flower of the island?