DVD Review: One Piece Season Two First Voyage
FUNimation Distributes Eiichiro Oda's Shonen Jump Anime
Jul 20, 2009
Shonen Jump's One Piece is a genuine phenomenon in the world of anime. First created as a manga in 1997 by Eiichiro Oda, it was adapted for anime by Toei Animation in 1999, and has been in production ever since, airing more than 400 episodes and nine feature-length films.
Now FUNimation is releasing the first seasons of One Piece, uncut and uncensored, on DVD. For those who only saw the heavily-bowdlerized versions that appeared on 4Kids and the Cartoon Network's Toonami slot, this is your chance to see this acclaimed adventure-comedy as the creators originally intended.
FUNimation Distributes Shonen Jump's One Piece, Created by Eiichiro Oda
For those unfamiliar with the One Piece universe, it follows the adventures of a good-natured crew called the "Straw Hat Pirates": rubbery captain Monkey D. Luffy, brooding swordsman Roronoa Zoro, motherly navigator Nami, clown-faced marksman Usopp, and chivalrous chef Sanji, who has a massive crush on Nami. They're traveling all over the world so that Luffy can find the legendary One Piece, an artifact that will make him King of the Pirates.
Not surprisingly, there are many obstacles in their way, including other pirates who would love to get their hands on the One Piece.
For those already in the know, Season Two First Voyage features episodes 54 to 66, which originally aired in 200 - 2001. As mentioned previously, these DVDs are uncut and uncensored: Sanji still maintains his cigarette habit (replaced with lollipops by 4Kids) and the original blood and violence is back. Granted, the violence is only slightly more graphic than what moviegoers saw in Disney/Pixar's Up but it's not surprising that censors decided to eliminate it for TV broadcast.
One Piece is a good place to start if you're unfamiliar with anime's artistic gestures: it's a good-hearted, hilarious series that doesn't stint on the action sequences. The distinctive character designs means the sudden shifts into chibi ("small child" animation for comedic sequences) won't throw newbies off. The animation does feature cost-cutting measures like the regular use of stock footage, or camera panning across static images.
But the characters are memorable and the scripts are well-written: it's not surprising that this series has lasted 10 years. Whether the Straw Hat pirates are crossing paths with a grotesquely fat commodore, a senile dragon, an air-slicing bounty hunter or a gigantic whale, there are no shortage of goofy laughs or tautly plotted fights.
DVD Extras
Surprisingly, there's not a huge amount on here. There are "staff commentaries," plus the opening and closing sequences, with songs but without the credit crawl. For those who want to watch the whole DVD in one sitting, there's also a "marathon feature" which runs all the episodes back-to-back.
The Final Analysis
Sure, the animation in these 8-year-old cartoons looks rough, but a great story and fun characters will negate that every time. Luckily, One Piece possesses those qualities in spades, which explains why it's lasted so long.
One Piece Season Two First Voyage gets an 8/10.
 |
