Connect with us
Does One Piece: Stampede sail all the way to Laugh Tale, or remain anchored in an East Blue of mediocrity?

Anime

‘One Piece: Stampede’ is an All-Star Behemoth Buckling Under Predictability

Does One Piece: Stampede sail all the way to Laugh Tale, or remain anchored in an East Blue of mediocrity?

As the fourteenth film in Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece saga, One Piece: Stampede was released in 2019 to critical and financial success. As a big-budget commemoration of the anime’s 20th anniversary, Stampede has lots to live up to, from successfully stamping a momentous two decades, to satiating the hype of a passionate global fanbase. Does it sail all the way to Laugh Tale, or remain anchored in an East Blue of mediocrity?

It’s party time at the Pirate Fest!

The Pirate Fest, a grand gathering of the sea’s most infamous individuals, is underway! At the festival, the Straw Hats compete with their Worst Generation rivals to retrieve a treasure of Gol D. Roger. But behind the scenes, festival organiser Buena Festa and legendary pirate Douglas Bullet are scheming something sinister.

Cutting to the chase, One Piece: Stampede soon kicks into an all-out battle against said Douglas Bullet, with Luffy working with friend and foe alike to fell his opponent.

Much like Dragon Ball Super: Broly, also animated by Toei Animation, each frame of One Piece: Stampede is a treasure to behold. Fluid animation and colors spell eye-candy magic, and the odd bit of 3D animation isn’t (too) visually jarring.

One Piece: Stampede nails its mission statement of lightning-paced popcorn entertainment to a tee. Goofy shonen films don’t have to transcend ‘awesome action and silly superpowers’. Rather than shooting for the moon and coming up short, Stampede settles for smashing the sky. With white-knuckle fights and satisfying character moments conveyed with a zippy pace, One Piece: Stampede assuredly brings what fans want. And whilst not as developed or memorable as other film baddies (One Piece: Strong World’s Shiki or One Piece: Z’s titular Z), Douglas Bullet is terrifyingly tough enough to tick the boxes.

Playing It Safe

Whilst the ‘playing it safe’ ethos of One Piece: Stampede succeeds on the surface, the imaginative innovation of One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island is missing, and the excess of characters prevents the possibility of channeling the simplicity of One Piece: Dead End Adventure. Stampede works as anniversary celebratory bombast but isn’t the series’ smartest, and with the core of the film occurring in a single spot and under dull skies, location fatigue rears its head.

For some, the draw of One Piece: Stampede is its constant character cameos. From the instantly recognizable to the deep cuts, it’s a fun gimmick for fans, although the absence of big names like Kuzan and Jinbei are noticeable. Some cameos fall on the side of groan inducing-ly forced, shoehorning a requisite Zoro fight, or overtly shouting to audiences “Remember them?!” Having no effect on the story, these cameos are clunky and break narrative immersion.

Far from the worst of One Piece’s wildly varied films, Stampede is what it needs to be. It lacks the creative spirit of One Piece’s heights and is dampened by its inconsistent cameo execution, but it’s a fine anniversary celebration for one of manga and anime’s, if not the world’s, best works of fiction. For the uninitiated, it’ll be like an avant-garde acid trip, but for those clued-into Luffy’s antics, it’s a barrage of ballistic glee!

Written By

I invest my time in playing all manner of video games, and as of 2017, writing about all manner of video games.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Facebook

Trending

Warfare review: Joseph Quinn and Will Poulter suffer the horrors of combat — but to what end?

Film

‘Bob Trevino Likes It’ Review: Found Family Ties, Emotional Honesty, Great Acting

Film

IShowSpeed Brings Chaos And Star Power To DICK’S Sporting Goods

Celebrity

Dawn Robinson Blasts Jermaine Dupri For Criticizing Her Living Conditions

Celebrity

Grimes shares autism and ADHD diagnosis, reflects on childhood learning struggles

Celebrity

‘Black Bag’ Review: Love as a Spy Game

Film

Summer Walker Channels Marvin Sapp After Chris Brown Announces More Breezy Bowl XX Dates

Celebrity

Doctor Who Season 2 Trailer Teases The Doctor Getting (Literally) Animated

Film

The White Lotus Creator Mike White Responds To Composer’s Controversial Exit

Celebrity

Jess Hilarious & Loren LoRosa Settle Their “Breakfast Club” Differences In Gut-Busting Skit

Celebrity

Snow White Review: The Latest Disney Remake Is Better Than Expected But Still Pretty Dopey

Film

Bill Murray Says There’s One Director He Wishes He Had Worked With: ‘It’s One of the Few Regrets I Have’

Celebrity

Billie Eilish and Finneas Join Jason Owen’s Sandbox Management

Celebrity

Eminem Officially Becomes A Grandpa As Daughter Hailie Jade Welcomes First Child

Celebrity

This Cancelled Minecraft Movie Concept Art Looks Better Than What We Got

Film

22 acts we can’t wait to see at Coachella 2025

Celebrity

Connect