One Piece Season Two 3rd Voyage DVD Review
FUNimation, Toei Adapt Shonen Jump Manga Series
Nov 4, 2009 Dominic von Riedemann
(Writer's Note: The following definition is taken from the Vaughan-Reidman New Monkeycide Dictionary)
Plot Bloat (plõt blõt) n. 1. The condition created in plots for books, film and television when too much detail is added to – or not enough taken away from – a story so that it will take up more time, space or pages. 2. Extra details, flashbacks or plot points suddenly woven into a main plot when an author (a) doesn't listen to his editor, or (b) suddenly realizes mid-plot that his story is wrapping up a lot faster than he'd like.
Also see: fantasy author Robert Jordan.
After a very promising beginning, the One Piece Season Two Third Voyage DVD – which covers episodes 79 to 91 – runs into trouble due to this all-too-common affliction. It features a story arc which could have been wrapped up in 9, rather than 12, episodes.
FUNimation Distributes Shonen Jump's One Piece Season Two Third Voyage, Animated by Toei Studios
Once again the Straw Hat Pirates, lead by 17-year-old Monkey D. Luffy are on the trail of the infamous One Piece, an artifact that will turn its owner into the King of the Pirates. However, when navigator Nami collapses from a mysterious fever, the crew must reach the nearest island to get a doctor.
Of course thinks aren't that simple. Luffy and the crew must deal with constant snowstorms, carnivorous rabbits (Monty Python, anyone?), a tin-plated tyrant, a mysterious reindeer-human hybrid and a female doctor who's never where she's expected.
This series could have been wrapped up in a lot less than 12 episodes, but someone senior must have realized that this story needed to get extended, so they had to add more bits in order to flesh it out. This meant more recaps, flashbacks and extraneous details that killed its momentum. It's a shame because, if the editors were allowed to do their job, this could have been a fun arc, with compelling characters, a hissable-yet-goofy villain and no shortage of bizarre hijinks.
But a flashback plot featuring a deceased doctor with mysterious plans for the island was given more attention than it truly deserved, and the characters sat around recapping stuff that had already been mentioned before until one was tempted to yell at the TV screen, "Get on with it already!"
There are also examples of ye olde characters-acting-stupid-to-further-the-plot (like when Luffy allows the villain to escape) and characters telling other characters how they're going to whup their behinds instead of getting busy with said butt-whuppin'.
One might complain about Robert Zemeckis padding out his plots, but at least he adds chase scenes and other action sequences. To be fair, Toei's animation is a lot more expressive than Zemeckis' mo-cap.
On the plus side, FUNimation didn't edit out any of the blood, cigarettes and carnage, so fans will see the show as it was originally intended.
DVD Extras
In addition to the usual textless songs and trailers, FUNimation promised staff commentaries, plus a "marathon feature" for those who want to watch the DVD in one sitting. Everything works fine, but the staff commentaries appear to have gone AWOL.
The Final Analysis
One Piece started off really well, but the plot bloat evident in these episodes severely damaged the goodwill created by this series. Hopefully future episodes will get some tougher editing, and One Piece will return to being the lean, mean comedy machine it started out as.
This DVD gets a 5/10.
One Piece Season Two Third Voyage DVD cover
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