Usually, anime movies aren’t very good, so fans ignore them. But many of them can be pretty remarkable and should be watched. One Piece has 15 movies as of now, but with so many films, it’s hard to know which you should watch. Read on for our list of all One Piece movies, Ranked!
Every One Piece Movie Ranked
One Piece movies expand the pirate world and create a lot of interesting islands and events surrounding new characters. And, as they are not canon, they also are over the top and change many things. Let’s go over all of them from worst to best.
15. One Piece 3D: Straw Hat Chase
Luffy wakes to find out his hat is suddenly missing; he and the rest of the crew fight against sea creatures and even the marines to search for the straw hat. It’s One Piece‘s first 3d CGI movie, and it definitely could look a lot better. It’s not horrendous, but when you’ll be missing the 2d animation almost the whole time.
It does have some funny moments, but the plot is probably the definition of filler; it couldn’t try to be less interesting.
14. One Piece: Chopper’s Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals
The crew arrives at Crown Island, rumored to have a mysterious treasure that will grant immense power to the one who gets it. Chopper is worshiped by inhabitants of the island, other animals who can talk and think like people, and becomes their king.
Besides being very pointless, the movie creates the expectation that it’ll be focused on Chopper, but that never happens. Also, the characters are probably some of the worst in One Piece. Not even one manages to be charismatic.
13. One Piece: Curse of the Sacred Sword
After being separated from Zoro, the Straw Hats arrive at a village that protects a powerful sword. But the marines also gather at the place and start attacking to steal the sword. When the protagonists are ready to make their move, they find Zoro working together with the enemies.
Zoro’s characterization is awful in this. His backstory is really weird and out of place; it doesn’t help that the rest of the story is also bad and uninteresting.
12. One Piece: Giant Mecha Soldier of Karakuri Castle
The pirates go to Mecha Island to find the Golden Crown, the treasure hidden there. They help Ratchet, the island’s leader, find it, but he betrays them and uses his mechanical castle to take control of the island and take over the world.
It’s pretty much a nothing burger. The movie isn’t awful, but it also doesn’t have qualities that’ll make you want to watch it.
11. One Piece: The Movie
The Great Gold Pirate Woonan obtained almost one-third of the world’s gold and soon grew legends saying he left all of it on a remote island. Luffy and his crew are dragged into the search for his treasure and have to stop the dangerous El Drago from getting it.
It’s a good start for the One Piece movie franchise. It’s one of the most “okay” films in the series, but at least you get a chance to see more of the Straw Hats interacting and being funny together.
10. One Piece: Clockwork Island Adventure
While relaxing on the beach, Luffy realizes the Going Merry is being stolen. Thus he and the crew goes after it, but Nami and Luffy’s hat end up kidnapped too. Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp must defeat the other pirates and rescue Nami and their belongings.
You probably realized the first few One Piece movies aren’t the best. But while the first film is serviceable, this is the point on the list where they start to get better. Clockwork Island still is pretty okay, but it has some endearing moments with the crew, and the fights with Sanji are great.
9. One Piece: The Desert Princess and the Pirates: Adventure in Alabasta
This is an abridged version of the Alabasta Arc. It’s a pretty good movie but not a competent recap, unfortunately. The Alabasta Arc is big, so it’s to be expected a 1 hour and a half retelling will have to be fast-paced and skip a lot of content.
Many One Piece fans will say this is a huge sin and probably want to burn us on the cross for saying this, but the best part of these retellings is that you’ll understand the general perspective of the story and skip A LOT of content. Hey, the anime has more than 1000 episodes and is still ongoing. People might not have time (or patience) for that, so this is a great alternative if you want to catch up faster.
Related: Best Pirate Anime Series and Movies
8. One Piece: Stampede
From now on, all the movies can be easily recommended and have many good qualities. The Pirates Festival, the world’s largest celebration created by and for pirates, is a competition where various crews fight each other to win a prize: one of Gol D. Roger’s lost treasures.
The animation and the fight scenes are gorgeous; it’s easily one of the best-produced One Piece movies. The story is also very enticing. But the reason this movie isn’t higher on this list is that it just becomes a gratuitous fanservice party after a while. Many will enjoy that a lot, but a lot of fans also think that makes the movie less interesting.
7. One Piece: Dead End Adventure
Desperate for cash, Nami joins the Dead End Competition, a race between pirate crews. They have to fight Gasparde, an ex-marine, the man hunting him, and other powerful bandits.
Dead End Adventure has a fun plot, a great villain, and a well-constructed climax. And the final fight between Luffy and Gasparde is one of the best in the movie franchise; we all love power-ups, but it’s a joy to see Luffy depending more on his environment and thinking instead of using a whole new power.
6. One Piece: Episode of Chopper Plus: Bloom in the Winter, Miracle Cherry Blossom
The episode of Chopper is an alternative and shorter version of the Drum Island arc. Unlike Adventure in Alabasta, this changes many plot points but still has the same general view. If you know about the changes and won’t get hung up on them, it’s also a way to skip a few episodes; however, in this case, it’s recommended to watch the anime.
What does it do so much better? First, it doesn’t need to adapt so many episodes, so the characters and the story can be more flashed out, and it’s not as fast-paced. But the best part is seeing things you can’t see in the anime. If you are going to write a movie that isn’t canon, use that and go all out. Luffy already has gear second, we see a new villain, and we can watch Robin and Franky interacting with Chopper and the crew way before their actual arcs in the anime. It’s a blast.
5. One Piece Film: GOLD
As soon as they arrive in Gran Tesoro, Luffy and his crew head to the casino and hit jackpot after jackpot. When Gild Tesoro, the city’s owner, offers a special gamble, they quickly accept. But it was all a scam. Now our favorite pirates find themselves penniless and beaten while uncovering a dark secret in the city.
This is the most over-the-top and crazy heist movie you’ll see, and that’s what makes it soo good. The movie presents a cool new location and gives chances for all characters to have their highlights. It condenses the anime’s strength into a 2-hour feature that is beginner-friendly.
4. One Piece Film Red
Uta, Luffy’s childhood friend, becomes a singer to build a new era of freedom by performing music for the world. However, due to her past, she hates pirates. When she finds out Luffy is one now, their heartwarming meeting turns into a mission to escape from Uta’s dream world.
The spectacular animation only loses to the breathtaking songs; be prepared to save and listen to One Piece Film Red‘s soundtrack by Japanese singer Ado a thousand times (and maybe a bit more). They aren’t only amazing but tie into the plot and message of the movie. Everything is made so that Uta is the focus of the movie, the main thing captivating watchers, and it works.
3. One Piece Film: Z
The Straw Hats meet the former Marine Admiral Z, a man who dreams of ending the pirate age and destroying all pirates. Luffy’s crew is utterly defeated by him and his minions, who also transform Nami and other members into kids. Z is so obsessed with his objective that he doesn’t care if it means killing innocent people too.
Z is one of the best One Piece villains; his design (the man has a Seastone arm, how didn’t anyone think of that before?) and his obsession are captivating. Seeing how even the Marines and other admirals know he is dangerous makes him even more terrifying, and his fights with some of them are incredible and get you more excited to watch him fighting Luffy. He is easily the best part of the movie, and we need him to be canon.
2. One Piece: Strong World
Shiki, the Golden Lion, is the first man to ever escape Impel Down and Gol D. Roger’s enemy. While preparing his plan to bring the World Government down, he keeps destroying East Blue islands, which attracts Luffy’s crew. The fight suddenly turns into a rescue mission, as Shiki becomes so impressed with Nami’s knowledge that he kidnaps her.
Strong World is one of the campiest entries in the franchise, with a 15-minute intro involving a mime, a gorilla, and a guy with swords for feet dancing, the Straw Hats invading a castle literally guns blazing mafia style, and more. Shiki isn’t as good as Z, but he feels like a real threat and having Luffy fight him, a pirate that Gol D. Roger fought, feels like an important step on his journey to becoming the Pirate King.
1. One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island
The Straw Hats visit Omatsuri Island, the only recreational resort on the Grand Line. But to their surprise, they need to go through the Baron’s “Ordeals of Hell” to enjoy the fancy cuisine, spas, and all the other benefits of the resort. But as the island’s mysteries are unfolded, their friendship and trust keep getting tested.
Everything about this movie is excellent and heightens the usual One Piece experience. The different art style, the background sound (and lack thereof), and the editing of the scenes; it’s all used to create a more absurd feel to the film, but it also works to create uneasiness and even a little bit of horror. It’s widely considered the perfect movie to show someone that doesn’t know One Piece, and it’s not a surprise. Besides having a perfect style, it also expands on the bonds of the characters, one of the most important themes of the anime.
Published: Feb 14, 2023 09:52 am