However, I can name another show with bright and happy characters and visuals. Want to know what it's called? Happy Tree Friends. If you don't know what that is, look it up. I dare you. One Piece movie 6 is the Happy Tree Friends of the franchise. I knew nothing about this movie going into it just a few hours ago, so what I got was quite the surprise.
Right off the bat, the visuals and animation are quite different. Colors are a bit more dulled, giving it a slightly more realistic vibe to it. This may be a turn off to purists, but I quite liked the look of it. It comes off as quite artsy. The first act of the movie is quite light hearted and genuinely funny. I had to make sure I was laughing at a moderate level so as not to wake up my family in the rooms nearby. The movie starts with the Straw Hat Pirates receiving an invitation to Omatsuri Island. A place offering spa's, beautiful women, and exquisite cuisine, among other things.. Suspicious but intrigued, they set off for the island after the OK by their captain, Luffy. Upon arrival, they are introduced to Baron Omatsuri, head of the island. They are promised the luxuries of the island if they can overcome the "Trials of Hell", which are a series of silly competitions quite unlike the off-putting name.
By the second part of the movie, the humor tones down considerably. Tension begins to grow between the Straw Hats over the course of these trials. Robin and Chopper in particular make an attempt to uncover the secrets of the island, as it begins to come off as suspicious that even though it is a resort island, they are the only guests (aside from the islands natural inhabitants). Baron Omatsuri is hiding something. Chopper tries to look deeper into Omatsuri's past. Finding a poster of Omatsuri's old pirate crew, he notes that Omatsuri is quite young in the picture compared to the rest of his crew. Soon after, he is attacked by Omatsuri himself and is captured. Meanwhile Robin learns of a special flower from one of Omatsuri's lackeys called the "Lily Carnation", a special plant that grows nowhere in the world but this island. She begins her search shortly after and is also captured by the Baron when she finds the Lily Carnation, a massive root like "plant" on the island.The tension finally breaks between the remaining Straw Hats, leaving Sanji to blame Luffy for all the trouble as it was his idea to come to the island in the first place. With Usopp, Robin, and Chopper currently missing, Nami, Zoro, and Sanji set off to find them, leaving their Captain behind.
Rarely does One Piece, let alone children's shows delve into the advanced psyche of it's characters. The second half of this movie destroyed me because of it. It's because of that fact that I instantly had to write a review of this movie the moment I finished it. If you know me well, you should know that I love Psychology. Psychological horror/drama/thrillers is one of my favorite genres. But for One Piece, this genre is so unfitting that it is unsettling when it forces its way into being. In the end, it turns out Omatsuri is hardly a villain. He is not out to gain power like most baddies in stories but he is instead more of a tragic character, trying to deal with his own suffering. Eventually we learn that at some point prior to the story, Omatsuri's own crew died in a tragic shipwreck accident. On the island, the Lily Carnation flower previously mentioned, had the power to rejuvenate Omatsuri's crew, bringing them back to a healthy state of being again. The actual plant is used by Omatsuri to consume other unsuspecting pirate crews into the plant, leaving them to never be seen again. Luffy, like Omatsuri, has a deep and devoted love to his crew. After a series of battles, the Straw Hats (minus Luffy) are consumed by Lily Carnation. There is a primal fear unlocked in Luffy when he see's the fate of his crew. His crew. His family. There is this look of complete and utter terror on his face and is beaten down with ease by Omatsuri. Luffy is forced to endure what Omatsuri did years before; witness the death of his crew. It's horrifying. It is this fear of being alone.
Eventually, Luffy regains his strength and is able to battle Omatsuri once more. This time, we see the true form of the Lily Carnation reveal itself, unveiling itself into something I can only describe as nightmare fuel. The bodies of the Straw Hats are formed together into this massive...well...mass. The entire feeling of the final battle between Luffy and Omatsuri can be described simply by this one image. It will make you question if you are even watching One Piece anymore.
"Don't worry about us! Because, if you were to seek new friends, we'll be happy for you. See? Like the others..."
In the end, the Lily Carnation is destroyed along with Omatsuri, and the Straw Hat Pirates are freed from their near deaths, and reunited with their hero captain, Luffy, and all is well again.
This movie is obscenely dark not just on the One Piece scale, but on the scale of age appropriateness as well. This is a franchise marketed towards children. I am almost 18 and this movie terrified me by its finale. This movie is not for children. I guarantee it will scare them if they watch it. This is regardless a must watch for all One Piece fans and I found it's story and villain much more captivating than the most recent One Piece film villain, "Z" (who was still interesting, by the way!). It is emotionally investing and with such a good plot, that the entire way through I found myself asking, "what is Lily Carnation?" and "what is Omatsuri doing this for?" all the way up until the finale where it is all revealed. You will feel every bit of pain that Luffy endures for his crew, and it is heartbreaking.
However, this movie wins a lot of my respects for making a daring move to take this series into previously untouched territory. And it is a welcome addition to the series in my humble opinion.
Final Verdict:
8.5/10
