One Piece Film: Z

Plot

"Black Arm" Zephyr (黒腕のゼファー, Kokuwan no Zefā), a former naval admiral and leader of the Neo Marines which also includes his henchmen Ain (アイン) and Binz (ビンズ, Binzu), commences an assault on the navy on Firs Island, a volcanic island and one of the End Points. While there, Zephyr steals the Dyna Stones and fights Kizaru before he starts an eruption to defeat the Admiral only to be sent flying into the ocean. While having a cherry blossom party, the Straw Hat Pirates discovers and heals Zephyr. When Zephyr learns that Monkey D. Luffy is a pirate, he fights Luffy, Roronoa Zoro and Sanji. Having discovered Zephyr's location with a Vivre Card, Ain and Binz join the ex-Admiral to fight them. Ain uses her Devil Fruit powers to de-age Nami, Tony Tony Chopper, Brook and Nico Robin, while Binz uses his Devil Fruit powers to trap Franky, Usopp and Brook with vines. Realizing that Luffy is the grandson of Monkey D. Garp, Zephyr attempts to kill them, but the Straw Hats are forced to flee. At Marine Headquarters, the navy discovers Zephyr's whereabouts and decide to recover the Dyna Stones.

Landing on Dock Island, Franky repairs the Thousand Sunny, which has been damaged by Zephyr. They meet Mobston (モブストン, Mobusuton), whose granddaughter reveals that pirates who come to this island say that they have been attacked by Zephyr. Mobston, angered by Zephyr destroying their pirates' dreams, decides to give the Straw Hats his strongest equipment. While there, the Straw Hats gather information on Zephyr's location from the navy and meet up with Kuzan, who reveals that has left the navy after being defeated by Akainu on Punk Hazard. Using the Sea Train, the Straw Hats enter Secon Island just as the volcano erupts. They confront Zephyr, Ain and Binz, only to be easily defeated once again. Meanwhile, Garp reveals to Coby and Helmeppo that Zephyr once believed in the navy's justice and became an Admiral after serving as a soldier in the navy. When Zephyr's wife and son were killed by a pirate who resented him, Zephyr became an instructor. One day, most of Zephyr's recruits were killed and Zephyr lost his arm after being attacked by a pirate with Devil Fruit powers. Zephyr acquired a weapon developed by the navy's scientist to defeat Devil Fruit users and organized a strike unit. However, when the pirate who attacked him was chosen to serve as a Warlord, Zephyr left the Navy, organizing the Neo Marines as a result.

Back on Dock Island, Kuzan reveals that Zephyr is targeting the three volcanic islands known as End Points. If all three islands erupt in a short period of time of each other, it would result in a giant eruption covering the world's oceans and killing everyone in them. The Straw Hats confront the Neo Marines on the third End Point and are victorious. Kizaru and the navy confront Zephyr and the Straw Hats but the ex-Admiral allows the Neo Marines, Kuzan and the Straw Hats to escape the island. As Zephyr fights to his death and Ain and Binz mourn their loss, the Straw Hats return to Dock Island, giving their gear and weapons back to Mobston, before going their separate ways.

Development and production

In November 2011, Fuji Television announced that production on One Piece Film: Z has begun. One month later, Viz Media's Shonen Jump and Hisashi Suzuki, deputy director of Shueisha's Shonen manga group announced through their Twitter accounts that Eiichiro Oda would be the executive producer for the film. On January 30, 2012, Toei issued a press release announcing the film's plot and also announced the film's director Tatsuya Nagamine and the film's release in December.

The April 23, 2012 issue of Weekly Shonen Jump revealed character designs for Zephyr and also revealed minor information, including staff information as well as the premiere date, December 15. The screenplay was written by Osamu Suzuki, who serves as one of the writers of the television program SMAP x SMAP, and the film's character designer and animation supervisor is Masayuki Sato, who was previously involved as an animation supervisor and character designer of One Piece Film: Strong World.

Promotion

On April 21, 2012, Toei's official website for the One Piece films was updated with a teaser trailer.

A special pre-sale collaboration ticket with the Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods movie was made to commemorate the release of the two films. The dual-ticket good for both films has a special new illustration by both Akira Toriyama (author of Dragon Ball) and Eiichirō Oda. Limited to 8,989 across Japan, the tickets went on sale on November 23, 2012 for ¥2,600 ($31.51 US) apiece.

Music

The film's theme songs are covers of Nickelback's "How You Remind Me" and Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation", both performed by Canadian singer Avril Lavigne. Oda sent a personal thank you letter to Lavigne after hearing her cover of "How You Remind Me". "Bad Reputation" is one of Oda's favorite songs. Lavigne agreed to contribute the songs for the film. The film's soundtrack, containing 30 tracks, was released on December 12, 2012 by Sony Music Entertainment Japan.

Box office

One Piece Film: Z opened at number one in the Japanese box office, earning US$16,339,700 during its opening weekend. Film attendees received 1 of 2 million copies of an 84-page “Volume 1,000” of One Piece, which contains designs about Character Z (also known as Zephyr) and an exclusive One Piece Treasure World card. The movie is set to release across several other Asian countries which are Taiwan (January 25), Singapore (February 1), Hong Kong (February 14), Philippines (1 May), Thailand, and South Korea (dates undecided). One Piece Film: Z was released in France (dubbed in French) on Straw Hat Day, May 15, 2013.

The film grossed ¥6.85 billion (US$65.2 million) in Japan in 2013, becoming the 3rd highest grossing film of the year in the country.

Critical response

Toshi Nakamura, writing for Kotaku, called Z "something [he] was totally not expecting." Nakamura particularly praised the film's villain, calling its backstory "dramatic, and more importantly, convincing," as well as the pacing of the storyline, saying that it feels "organic." However, Nakamura had mixed opinions of the film's secondary characters, stating that "some of the characters have their own plot lines that connect nicely with the [film's] original story," but said they eventually end up as "foils to build on the character of Z." Although Nakamura disapproved of the film's unresolved plotlines, he would declare that the film is "definitely well worth seeing for any fan of the series."

Home media

Z was released in Japan on June 28, 2013 on DVD and Blu-ray, with both formats having a regular edition and a limited "Greatest Armored Edition". The regular editions for both formats include trailers, with the first copies having one of nine randomly distributed holographic stickers of a straw hat. The limited editions for both formats include all nine straw hat holographic stickers, Zephyr's weapon Smasher as a keychain, a stand with a voice recording, and not-for-sale press material. The limited editions also has a bonus DVD which includes the prologue to the film, titled One Piece: Glorious Island, "event footage", and interviews.

In the Philippines, Z was released on DVD and VCD by C-Interactive Digital Entertainment on October 17, 2013.

On April 7, 2014, Funimation announced its acquisition of the home video rights to the film in the United States and Canada. The film was released in a Blu-ray/DVD combo on September 30, 2014, which includes the English dub recorded by Funimation, promos for the film, and a video of Patrick Seitz at Sakura-Con in 2014.

Selecta Visión released the film in Spain on DVD and Blu-ray on November 30, 2016, featuring Japanese and Spanish audio, as well as subtitles in Spanish.