One Piece: Stampede - (spoiler free) REVIEW

One Piece: Stampede is a party. It stomps through like a parade celebrating the franchise’s legacy, and everyone is invited! It has all the great qualities the anime is known for from the humor, adventurous charm, mystery, to the straight up absurd yet effectively dramatic approach to the action. It gives a minor introduction before the audience is on board the “Thousand Sunny” as it ships full sail without ever stopping even after the credits roll. Although it may be too insanely dense as introduction for newcomers, that’s also why it’s an absolute treat for the “Mugiwara” in the rest of us.

We find the Straw Hats attending a Pirate festival in an Island along with many other crews such as the Worst Generation, Bugy pirates, Foxy, and many more. They are sent there to look for a treasure Gold. D Roger left behind. While some are excited to compete in the search, others are suspicious, such as Marine member Smoker who goes undercover to find out the event’s true intentions. The rest of the memorable Marine members show up later on as well as a few surprise appearances. It takes little time setting the plot before it rides a speedy roller coaster pace for the rest of its 101 min run time. The movie entertainingly finesses fights after fights while dropping small doses of reference from the Cannon. Replay ability scores high as I found myself immediately wanting to watch it back after discussing with friends about the many easter eggs we caught or missed. You get a taste of every one of your favorite arcs which brings many jolts of heart-filling nostalgia!

The only drawback is in the antagonist, Bullet. His backstory may sound compelling on paper but he played the typical 90’s shounen Villain with only super strength before transforming to a giant excuse for use of CGI. Taking away points for this was somewhat contradictory as Bullet was well served as a vessel / punching bag to highlight the rest of the cast’s abilities (like picking partners with no outstanding traits in a porn to better spotlight the star of the show). While an under stable choice, he still does come off purposely dull in such a world known for introducing some of the most Iconic villains in anime.

One Piece: Stampede is the NBA All-Star game for its fans. All your favorites make an appearance and you cheer for each of their entrance. Luffy the main protagonist aside (who’s obviously MVP), the rest of the cast has their moments of shine even if its only scoring one basket, still a meaningful contribution to the victory that’s not only in their fight but for the overall spectacle. We get to see what its like when long storied rivals team up, the kind of things you would likely never see in the Cannon (regular season).

It’s a celebration of the anime’s rich history. It’s a love letter from Oda for those who supported the last 20 years, and we’re excited for more to come!

Verdict: 4.5 out of 5