Released By: Manga Entertainment
Rating: 15
Running Time: 250 Mins
Audio: English & Japanese: DD 5.1
Release Date: 30/6/2014
Reviewed By: Sandra Scholes
So far we've got some cool box sets, but now we get the full length movie to enjoy. Strong World opens with Luffy and co setting a course for home and more peaceful waters, but something gets in their way when Golden Lion Shiki disturbs their path and makes his demands.
Shiki is a crazy type who wants a navigator from their ship to go to a dangerous island filled with monsters and he has decided he wants Nami to be that navigator. Not that she has much choice in the matter though as he has told her that if she doesn't come with him her friends will die.
One of the more attractive reasons for watching anime movies is that they are good to view even if you have no idea of the plot and characters. Strong World is one of these and comes across as self explanatory for the most part.
Monkey D Luffy, the leader of the Straw Hat Pirates shows us his aerial base jumping moves with his Gum-Gum Balloon as he is out to save his friends while on an expedition in a new world. Here is where he comes into contact with some unusual creatures, first being chased by a strange alligator, human looking octopus with a lot more tentacles than it should have, giant praying mantis and a stripy bear who wants to fight him as well as every other animal it comes across. It looks from the start as though it has picked on the wrong human to have a fight with as he knocks the bear into next week. After this, Luffy already thinks this place is crazy, but he still can't find his crew who have become his friends over the past few series. The early fight sequence does a lot of show Luffy's fight techniques from when he first ate the fruit at the beginning of the first series. It gives people new to the series a chance to see whether they will want to go back to the start of One Piece as a series and get to know the characters more. It could be said that having movies made of series is a good idea if they want to get new people to watch them as they are two hour + tasters of what the series is all about.
In Strong World, you get to see why Luffy is the leader, and a strong one. He isn't the sort of cruel captain that he's encountered on many journeys before, he's a fair and balanced person who trusts the judgement of his crew and won't let them down. Due to his eating the unusal fruit he has gained special powers that make him bendy and able to make some amazing moves against his enemies as you see at the start of this movie. Just seeing him in action is crazy, you can't take your eyes off him in case you miss something interesting. Something else you get to see is the impression of size and scale when eh is fighting the bear, expanding his arms and legs as though they are made of rubber. If you thought that was all they had, they have literal warrior ants complete with spears, dangerously long eel sharks and other mind bending creatures who make an appearance later. According to the story , the new world's creatures have evolved far beyond man's expectations. Where only the fittest will survive. This, Luffy thinks is why the creatures all want to fight each other.
Originally released in December of 2009, Strong World was the first time Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece got to keep an eagle eye on how the story turned out and we are very glad he did as it is obvious how good the movie is because of it, the action is enthralling, the comedy ramped up, and the production value is improved two fold.
Bonus Material: Behind the Scenes of One Piece: Introducing Brook, US Trailer and Trailers for other anime series.
Verdict: Engaging, fun and very, very impressive.
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