It’s time for another big adventure from the Strawhats. This one brings back the Foxy pirates who actually got reasonably popular after their original story arc. That said, it is one of the weaker films in the series mainly because of how low key it is. Everyone gets to appear and have some fun but there isn’t a ton of action in this one. It’s an adventure first and foremost so you will see the characters have to use their smarts to win this time. Pure strength won’t get the job done, not against the master strategist who appears!

The film starts off with the Strawhats having fun as normal and then they land on a fun island. Sanji in particular is super excited because there are a lot of girls there who were stranded and need a ride back. What he didn’t realize is that this was actually Foxy and his gang of henchmen. Some of them were girls but the rest just had good disguises on. They are here to challenge Luffy and friends to a Davyback fight where the loser must have someone join the winner’s crew. Obviously the stakes are way too high to even think of accepting this but Luffy and friends do anyway. After all the worst thing can’t happen as long as they win right? What they don’t realize is that one of Foxy’s new teammates, Komei, is actually a government agent who is here to shut the Strawhats down once and for all. Can they get away from this trap?

The movie’s whole dilemma only stands a chance because the sleepy mushrooms actually affect Luffy. I think it’s debatable on if they would do anything thanks to his immunity though. Sure this isn’t a lethal poison but the sleepiness is still an adverse effect which Luffy’s body should have knocked out. At least if you ask me that would have been the most likely scenario. Still, that’s how they manage to take out the most powerful members of the crew since otherwise Zoro would have ended this in an instant.

It’s pretty in character for Luffy and friends to eat the mushrooms so I don’t have any issues there. It’s just a shame that the rest of the team aren’t really great fighters. It’s why a lot of people say that the Strawhats need to get stronger because only a select few really carry the team at this point. They desperately need to shed that reputation and this film doesn’t help with that. The power levels will also make you sneeze in this film. Like at one point Luffy goes to attack Komei and the guy just slaps some oil onto the boat so Luffy slips.

The whole thing is mega embarrassing and it’s why some people have a hard time thinking of Luffy as a mega powerhouse. I wouldn’t take the scene too seriously but either way it does show that Luffy got absolutely crushed in this fight. Once we get to the serious battle it’s all over fairly quick. Komei is good at planning things out but he’s no big fighter. Once you get past his defenses then it’s really all over for the guy. He’s just not going to be coming back from that.

I did like Komei as the villain though. He gives off the right vibes for a strategic villain like this. Yeah it may be hard to take him seriously at times but he does say all of the right things. I just have the sneaking suspicion that I won’t remember the guy very well after a while so that’s why I can’t call him amazing or anything like that. He’s still better than Dojaku though who just feels like an absolute henchman the whole time. Not the kind of guy who could ever end up being the powerful leader type.

As for Foxy’s group, they were being manipulated the whole time so I wouldn’t say they look good or anything like that. You’d think they would have realized that the new members weren’t what they seemed to be. That may be a little easy to say in hindsight though. Foxy’s slow power is still super broken and overpowered so he could become a real threat if he was ever to return. The rest of his crew are super weak though so he has to carry the team on his own.

The animation in the film is good but again it isn’t trying to do anything fancy here. The animation is going through the motions but this definitely feels like an ordinary episode. he soundtrack doesn’t really have any standout themes either. So it’s all rather ordinary. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but just something to keep in mind. You will not be finding a cinematic experience here. Although for some it probably feels more comfortable that way so this one ends up being easy to plug in at any point.

Overall, It’s nice to see the Strawhats getting to just relax and have fun once in a while. Even with the government threat and all, I imagine it probably feels like a vacation next to the other big battles that they’ve been in. If you enjoy One Piece then you will like this adventure as well. There is nothing to dislike here after all. If they ever bring the Foxy pirates back again, I’d like to see them do a proper competition of sorts without it being interrupted immediately. Maybe do it without the stakes of losing a member so that way you don’t actually know which team would win. It’s a nice way to building tension since of course in a proper fight the Strawhats would obviously win. In a competition it is less certain. Also we really need Zoro to be a main character next time around instead of missing most of the adventure. I get that you don’t want it to be too easy for the heroes but sidelining him like that is definitely not the right answer.

Overall 7/10