One Piece: Un'amicizia oltre i confini del mare

From development, to writing, to direction, and beyond, this eighth full-length feature of the franchise made an interesting choice. I see no problem whatsoever with adapting an episode from the manga, long and full as it is of tales ripe for translation into another medium. However, the doing here is rather inelegant as within minutes we're hastily introduced to two new supporting characters who will (supposedly) be integral to this one story: flashback, present day, flashback, then back to the present and the active narrative. We're effectively tossed headlong into the plot with exposition that disjointedly conveys necessary information that serves as foundation, and I have to think that it would have taken very little - additional scenes of a few minutes at most, rewriting, re-editing these early minutes - to provide a more cogent and lucid introduction to this one saga. Wherever the responsibility lies between the producers, writer Kamisaka Hirohiko, and director Imamura Takahiro, the incidence is notable and unfortunate, and not the best start for 'The desert princess and the pirates: Adventure in Alabasta' as this seem geared specifically for those who are already familiar with the manga or anime.

Would that the issues with this 'One Piece' film ended at the beginning. There's also the matter of a primary character, who has already been part of the Straw Hat Pirates in prior theatrical releases, being depicted at an earlier point in the manga when they were not. Granted, it's not as if the movies are directly tied to each other in a sequential order, and we could perhaps consider this in some measure as a partial treatment of the character's backstory. Even so, this matter was also easily solvable by more freely adapting the narrative. Moreover, in a plot of the Straw Hats encountering three parties who are at odds, with one manipulating the other two, and further including a character who can freely alter their appearance, I believe the feature sometimes struggles to identify the parties at hand, or where loyalties lie. Even if we generously suppose that the dialogue has been mangled in translation for subtitles, the fundamental scene writing is just as shoddy about communicating the course of events. And it's not just about the writing, for in what I assume to have been the choices of director Imamura in shaping the writing to his vision for the animation, the manner in which some particular shots or scenes present is terribly confusing as they are so inadequate in terms of imparting the intended idea.

Truthfully, I think this is a rare instance in which the animation itself is at fault. I don't mean to suggest that the artists at Toei turned in poor work, because that's absolutely not the case; as is routinely the case, the visual experience is characterized by terrific detail and texture, gorgeous backgrounds and environments, vibrant designs for characters and other active elements, fluid movement and action, and so on. Yet the creative decisions that guided those artists, that dictated how a shot or scene should appear, leads to some outright misuse of animation. And as much as I blame Kamisaka and Imamura for the failures of this picture, editor Goto Masahiro is culpable as least as much if not more. The narrative flow is all over the place, incohesive and almost incoherent, as the presentation flits heedlessly between multiple concurrent scenes. Violent action sequences and dramatic moments of critical importance are recklessly chopped up, obliterating their would-be potency and further complicating the the horribly weak plot development that stems from the troubled writing and direction. It seems time and time again that characters and even the smallest of minutiae come and go from out of nowhere, and beats transpire in a manner just as slipshod. The end result is that a tale which should be sober and thrilling, with high stakes and great risk for our heroes, is instead entirely unable to make any of it meaningful and impactful for us. There's barely any sense of basic narrative structure here. What happened?

I read an outside synopsis of the plot and I see a story that should have been compelling and absorbing as Luffy and his nakama are pushed to their limits. That is not the story we get in 'The desert princess and the pirates: Adventure in Alabasta.' There's barely a story at all as the writing, direction, animation, and editing butcher it, which is all the more astonishing since, again, the saga on hand is discretely adapting a plot from the manga. Sincerely, what happened here? I can only assume that the production was rushed, or that individuals with control over the outcome but without a creative bone in their body (i.e., suits in the executive suite) pushed for certain choices. For as excellent as all the previous 'One Piece' films were, this one is a mess, and almost unwatchable. I see the tremendous potential that it bore, but from start to finish that potential is almost completely squandered. Accentuating the point: amidst the exposition in the earliest scenes, we see the Straw Hats undertake preparations to counter a dangerous foe - but those preparations never, ever come into play as this is written, nor addressed again, except in the most meaningless fashion. The very notion was a waste, and frankly, so is the movie as a whole. Sloppy and flailing in pretty much every way that matters most, a mere ninety minutes feel far, far longer than they are, and the sad truth is that this 2007 feature was mismanaged from top to bottom. Where other films of the franchise are outstanding, this one was just a mistake, and I rather recommend you avoid it altogether.

A few months ago I was really into watching the series and figured I should get around to the movies it seems there's a lot of them to go with at least Netflix has a handful to enjoy. Alabaster arc was pretty good except a little to much of the desert nice to see some of the same bits that were from the series, I need to see the one about the 2 year gap after the crew disappeared that will be good. I've been to watch the movies and live action this one is awesome for its vibes! The music, colors, great story, wonderful characters, and intriguing enough all of the One Piece content overall is worth it!

This One Piece movie takes place in Alabaster which is a fictional city in the One Piece Anime world. All the usual heroes team up to fight the known Crocodile bandit and many other Pirates. The best part of this is a newer character named Vivi (a princess) who adds much needed emotion to balance out the awesome brutal fight scenes! One Piece is an awesome Anime. It's also very rocky, but it always seems to hang on the cliff and pull it's self back up. That's the verbal message found throughout the film. Which I find kind of funny. It practices what it preaches.

DUB; I have to say I know there were some problems with the English dub on the external level. There were two dubs. One bad, one amazing. When you would watch the T.V. series online for free you had a 50/50 chance of getting one or the other and I have to say it seems like this movie is the bad. Luffy sounds like a stupid little kid who has no power behind his voice but he does pull off the emotion it just seems a tad wimpier than the other dub which brings me to my next point.

ANIMATION: A lot of people are saying the Animation is better. I'm not convinced. I thought there was a lot of crappy CG here, and a lot of still shots which are a sign of cheapness (or making little kid films). But most importantly Luffy seems like he is drawn by the x**-holic artist and he looks more wimpy than I remember. Yet I do want to say the Animation is still very cool overall.

BOTTOM LINE: One Piece teaches us that even though a movie can have a ton of characters and story lines it doesn't necessarily mean it will be confusing, and that despite some obvious flaws it can still be better than a lot of other Anime out there. The emotional depth of the characters made this great. The scenes with Vivi and Luffy are emotionally pummeling and make you feel like you are in the best 90's Disney movie ever. There are no strings left untied, except for one or two which makes you want more.

RATING: During the movie many times I thought this was like a 6 or 7 but One Piece fought it's way to an 8 because it had a lot to say. I would still recommend sticking with the "good dub" in the first season of One Piece. That I believe is more enjoyable. Hopefully in the future One Piece can take some notes from Inu Yasha which is a little less crazy but sucks you in unpretentiously. If it does this One Piece could be one of the best Animes around. But like I said I think the T.V. series does this already so watch that first.

Okay, I, just yesterday, went to my local Wal-Mart to buy One Piece The Movie: The Desert Princess and The Pirates Adventures in Alabasta. Being the One Piece buff I am, it's only natural that I anticipate. I mean, this is the new One Piece movie, right. I got home right after buying it, popped it into my DVD player, and sat down on my couch to watch.

Shortly after pressing play, my ears were greeted by a billowing wisp of air from my television speakers, as well as a beautiful orchestral blare. The movie kept going on like this and it was a truly beautiful thing to see and hear.

The animation has greatly improved from the TV anime. Though it's not on the same level as Miyazaki's critically acclaimed Spirited Away, it doesn't mean it can't startle you now and then.

The voice-overs are expertly done, and will blow you away once you hear them. I especially loved Pell's voice, as it suited the character so perfectly, I nearly jumped up from the couch and shouted, "Yes! Do it again!" The score has been crafted by careful hands here, and expertly comments the mood of each individual scene.

This movie is entertaining and I recommend it to anybody who is a One Piece fan or likes a good action film.

10/10 (Highly Recommended)

This takes place during the Alabasta Arc. when the StrawHat Pirates help out Vivi (a valiant princess)save her kingdom from the Baroque Works' conspiracy plot. The Kingdom of Alabasta is a dessert island that hasn't had a drop of rain for 3 years. King Cobra(Vivi's father) tried every he could to help his people and kingdom from falling. After all the unsuccessful promises on rain. Most of the locals and villagers plan to start a war against the kingdom itself. But little do they know is that the whole thing is a setup made possible for them all to kill each other.

Those who seen the Alabasta episodes would be familiar with the whole story and what happens. Only difference is that this movie only shows you the important events and side stories in an edit way.

You might ask what is so great about watching a movie that retells a story we already seen from the TV series. Well I'll tell you why. This movie is an alternate retelling of the Alabasta episodes. When it comes to alternate you see events and small elements that weren't in the TV episodes.

Such as different animation quality since it's a cinema film. The flow of the story is slightly different. The battles are much more massive. The drama has a bit more suspense. The background and locations are richer with the use of CGI. And the fights and visual effects are more complex. All of this makes the whole Alabasta story entirely different from what we've seen before on TV.

Another good reason in seeing this film is those who miss Vivi will get to see her again in this movie. And those who like to see Luffy fight Crocodile will be able to see it again in an entirely different view.

Overrall, Toei Animation did a great job in alternating this story arc. It be a masterpiece if it included more events and characters that were left out. If that happened it be a much longer movie. To all One Piece fans, this movie will be released by Funimation in 2008. Be sure to check it out sub or dub by then.