One Piece: Stampede Review

By Justin Williams

Story - 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. All bets are off when the most iconic pirates of “One Piece” history band together for a swashbuckling showdown, the likes of which have never been seen.

“One Piece: Stampede” is not only a celebration of 20 years of the franchise. It might be the best One Piece movie to date. Everything that you love about this anime franchise the humor, the drama, and amazing action sequences is here. The film has a few surprises cameos and teams ups that long-time fans will enjoy. The plot is pretty simple and straight forward. The Straw Hats crew are in a race to Gol D. Roger’s treasure. In addition, the crew has answered an invitation for the Pirate Festival in which there is a collective bounty on all the pirates in attendance. This premise is a great setup to bring back characters from the past for epic cameos and callbacks of One Piece lore. While all the fun and memorable returns are great for the Straw Hat crew, However, a new pirate by the name Bullet has a score to settle. If you have never seen One Piece and thinking you will be lost not knowing the lore of the manga and 900+ episodes have no fear. Thankfully this film is considered non-canon and it does enough of in the first half to introduce you to the key players in One Piece like Monkey D. Luffy. Unfortunately, this film is more focused on action and callbacks than the actual plot. With that being said if you want to get a deeper history of certain characters you find appealing I suggest watching the show. This being the 20th anniversary of One Piece it can be forgiven for lack of plot and characterization. However, I will say the character of Bullet gets the most and well deserved time. He is a pompous villain that motives are entertaining and fun. He’s charismatic and I enjoyed every single bit of his screentime. Overall the story set up while might feel generic and underwhelming for some is a blast for the fans. The callbacks, the surprising team moments and little small character moments that will bring a smile too long fans’ faces.

Animation: The animation in this film is gorgeous. The character designs, the use of color and the cinematography are all spot on. The fight sequences in this film are probably some of the best in the series in terms of One Piece movies. The production surely steps it up in regards to quality for this 20th-anniversary celebration. I will say my only complaint is the out of place CGI usage for the final fight.

Voice Acting: Voice acting is great in both English & Japanese dubs. Returning cast members do well as they always do. I will say that I really enjoyed the performance of Bullet. Both actors do a great job of bringing arrogance and charisma to the role. If you’re a fan of One Piece then these are the voices that you are using too.

Final Grade B+/ 4 out 5 Stars: One Piece: Stampede is a great celebration to the franchise. While the film is not to heavy on plot and characterization. It does bring in some great action sequences, some shocking team-ups, and callbacks that will have fans of the franchise smiling. A charismatic new villain with some cool motives and some small character moments will make this one of the top contenders for the best anime movie of 2019.