Review by jraymondshaw

This one got me emotional, to be honest.

Uta, the antagonist, is just endearing. I'm pretty skeptic whenever a VG or anime universe features their "world's greatest pop star," but I really enjoyed the songs and the animation that went with them! Watching this hyper-optimistic diva slowly darken was gorgeously tragic, and I think it gave Luffy's journey an added richness.

But that said, it's far from perfect. The character cameos are so relentless that they blunt the impact. It's not really remarkable that REDACTED is there, because everybody else in the series seems to be crammed in there along with them! The fight animations are intense, and yes, the animation is very good! But because of the size of the character roster, the fights start to get unintelligible. And personally, I balked at my screen more than once as the various character motivations are revealed. Not everything seems to add up.

It is a beautiful film, but it's also a total mess. Which, if you love One Piece like I do, may be the flavor you're after.