One Piece Fan Letter

Although the golden age of piracy is about to reach new heights, most people do not seek the glory of finding the elusive One Piece—a treasure signifying a new conqueror of all seas that was once embodied by the legendary King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger. However, even if civilians generally despise pirates, they secretly cheer for at least one of them.

One red-headed girl from Sabaody Archipelago is no exception: She reveres Nami, the ingenious female navigator of Monkey D. Luffy's Straw Hat crew. Determined to deliver a fan letter to her idol, the Sabaody child is prepared to challenge forces of authority who strive to prevent Luffy and his friends from departing for their next destination: the New World. But to succeed, Nami's fan may need to risk her life and interfere with the Marines' plans, potentially causing devastating consequences for the wider world.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Girl Main

Kikuchi, Kokoro Japanese

Marine Older Brother Main

Kase, Yasuyuki Japanese

Monkey D., Luffy Supporting

Tanaka, Mayumi Japanese

Roronoa, Zoro Supporting

Nakai, Kazuya Japanese

Sanji Supporting

Hirata, Hiroaki Japanese

Nico, Robin Supporting

Yamaguchi, Yuriko Japanese

Tony Tony, Chopper Supporting

Ootani, Ikue Japanese

Nami Supporting

Okamura, Akemi Japanese

Usopp Supporting

Yamaguchi, Kappei Japanese

Portgas D., Ace Supporting

Furukawa, Shuu Assistant Producer

Ishitani, Megumi Director

Michibata, Nanami Episode Director

Toyoda, Momoka Script

Reviews

Oct 19, 2024

hirensuva30

Recommended

Megumi Ishitani’s Cinematic Masterpiece

I was left with chills in almost every scene, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. The blend of emotion, action, and storytelling was absolutely beautiful, reminding me of exactly why I love this series so much. The marines, in particular, stood out for me. The reanimation of Marineford was visually stunning, and seeing Oars Jr. in that heartbreaking moment hit hard.

The Straw Hats brought their signature humor, adding a refreshing contrast to the heavier themes. What really struck me was how we were treated to a brief but powerful revisit of the Marineford war, a pivotal arc for ... any fan. One of the standout moments for me was when a marine, initially about to abandon his brother, saw Luffy's relentless determination to save Ace and turned back to help. That shift in resolve, inspired by Luffy's sheer will, was truly touching and beautifully handled.

Megumi Ishitani’s direction felt like a love letter to the fans, a reminder of the series' emotional depth and epic scale. This episode was a much-needed refresh, and I absolutely loved every minute of it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Oct 22, 2024

Wyatt

Mixed Feelings

Funny

The special begins on a recap of the Marineford War arc that moves too quickly. The sequence would be easier to process if it had been one continuous take moving horizontally. A later scene returns to the war at a slower pace but is blobby, not bloody. Outside of the level of consistency, nothing in the animation goes beyond what Masaaki Yuasa had done by 2014. After Ryuu Nakayama brought empathy to Chainsaw Man through nonstop naturalistic animation, and in the year where Midori Yoshizawa cut to a live action, all red POV shot of a mad dash down the street, it is hard to ... be impressed by the cutesy, endearing but not profound idiosyncrasies of one sweet Nami fangirl. Compositionally, the girl zooming through town on a vehicular bubble is a dynamic delight, while other shots seem literally flat. The art style itself is affectation for its own sake. It doesn't express anything about the One Piece world that Oda's art style has not already.

Ishitani indulges in the brilliant premise, but not enough. The depth of fandom is how celebrities appear liberated from the mundanities and cruelties of one's particular life. Easy references are insufficient to engage this deep, human subject. A rowdy bar argument about who may be the world's strongest swordsman seems too detached, as if we are watching from the vantage point of someone who does not share their excitement. A shopkeep in love with Brook's music sports deep black makeup under her eyes, a Goth touch implying an inner life that is otherwise unexplored. The protagonist's love of Nami, bluntly exposited as being predicated on Nami not having big muscles or a devil fruit, is not overpowering because Ishitani does not show us the suffocation of living in a world where only the strong are celebrated.

The special's best scene, which is moving as opposed to pleasant, depicts the violent backstory of a Marine in love with Straw Hat Luffy. The Marine's leg is shredded by a falling boat, a harrowing, tactile detail that makes up for the film's other depictions of war. Though it contains the film's best expression of the awe a distant role model can inspire, the heart of the flashback lies in the relationship between the Marine and his younger brother. A reverse chronological montage conveys the older brother's understandable irritation and the younger brother's heart melting sweetness. The rest of the sequence uses a star of light as a primal symbol for Love. The best images are all contained in these few minutes: blood gushing from a screaming mouth, an admiring yet bitter gaze at the back of a hero running ahead, a coward turning from what is obviously right.

The ending is saccharine, built around the lazy device of a vague speech set to music. The climax would be more affecting if the flurry of images shown were new, and not shots that were already shown earlier. The protagonist bravely chooses to focus on the moon instead of the finger, but the depth of that choice is under-emphasized. A post-credits sequence would have been unnecessary if the final scene had properly expressed the gravity of the situation. The film as is could use a beautiful epilogue, but the one we got expresses nothing that is not already in the story proper.

We can use all the auteurs we can get, and as few show-boats as possible. One Piece Fan Letter toes the line. Ishitani would do right to sacrifice the noticeable for the substantive.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Oct 21, 2024

FilletMillet

Not Recommended

Funny

As a one piece fan, I'm disappointed. From how much fans were overhyping this I came into it expecting the best episode or something. In reality, it's just a cute little filler special full of fanservice; nothing to elevate the main material. It's nothing special. I couldn't care less about the new characters and their emotional struggles despite how hard and in your face the story tried to make me do so in the span of 24 minutes. Oda is also being weird again with that unfunny forced joke where the young girl tries to flirt with the drunk bar goers and nothing of value ... would've been lost just doing without it.

The visuals also look really cheap at times and I sincerely hope this isn't the direction that new one piece episodes begin taking. The music is forgettable, though it's not something this series was ever known for. I enjoyed the voice acting at least.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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Recommendations

	Poll: One Piece Fan Letter Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) IzanaSolos - Oct 19, 2024	287 replies	by maryxabela »» Yesterday, 7:12 PM
	Is One Piece Fan Letter worth watching (at this point in the story)? KitsuneZoro - Dec 16, 2024	12 replies	by KitsuneZoro »» Dec 19, 2024 4:17 PM
	let´s be honest. hype > quality....why? AkaiSanji - Nov 3, 2024	49 replies	by WEEBMACH1NE »» Nov 7, 2024 11:59 AM
	I watched this and I liked it(I've never watched One Piece) utopia- - Nov 3, 2024	18 replies	by AquaBlue-sama »» Nov 5, 2024 2:02 PM
	No, you shouldn't watch this around the Sabaody, or Marineford arc. Polatrix - Oct 26, 2024	10 replies	by Zarutaku »» Nov 3, 2024 6:49 AM