Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

One Piece: Collection 31 Blu-ray Movie Review

One Piece: Collection 31 sets sail for new adventures. The collection brings together even more exciting episodes with the Straw Hat Pirates. Luffy and his team of experts set out for new adventures and the journey is one that is never over. The Straw Hat Pirates have become a staple of Japanese animation.

One Piece is one of the most beloved of all Japanese anime series – the longest running anime ever produced. The set includes episodes 747-770. Released for home media by Crunchyroll (formerly Funimation), the series is based on the popular and fan-favorite manga by Eiichiro Oda. A great collection for series fans.

The 31^st collection of One Piece episodes delivers more exciting adventures with Luffy and his team of Straw Hat Pirates. The 31^st set delves into new adventures – now sailing alongside the Barto Club, the Straw Hat Pirates find themselves off on a new journey while seeking out the Silver Mine. The stakes become high. Luffy and Bartolomeo are both risking their lives for the journey. The Straw Hat Pirates narrowly escape the clutches of doom, but find themselves quickly along for an even bigger mission at sail – traveling to the land of Zou.

Once arriving at the mysterious city of Zou, the Straw Hat Pirates are surprised to find that the city is now in total disarray and it is only an echo of its former glory days. The land is devastated. Dogstorm and Cat Viper were engaged in a deadly battle – making things even more complicated. Yet the most surprising turn of events might just be a special offer given to none other than Sanji. The adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates are never over and the journey ahead is one with plenty of surprises – setting sail one moment at a time.

The characters of One Piece remain at the heart of the entire production: Monkey D. Luffy (Mayumi Tanaka), Nami (Akemi Okamura), Usopp (Kappei Yamaguchi), Tony Tony Chopper (Ikue Ōtani), Franky (Kazuki Yao), Sanji (Hiroaki Hirata), Brook (Yūichi Nagashima), Roronoa Zoro (Kazuya Nakai), Miss Wednesday (Misa Watanabe), and Nico Robin (Yuriko Yamaguchi). The series just wouldn’t be the same without the great ensemble cast of characters. The large and expansive cast help the sea-faring action-packed fun to be all the more engaging. Under the leadership of Straw Hat Pirate’s Monkey D. Luffy, the crew is always setting sail on more exciting escapades – and the journey just wouldn’t be as fun without them.

As the series continues to adapt the original manga by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece remains as an essential anime that is crafting a legacy as one of the most popular franchises ever produced. It is no surprise. The hit manga is equally engaging and creative fun (while the anime does a pitch-perfect job of bringing the manga to life for audiences).

As someone who grew up with One Piece, often reading volumes of the manga (as well as installments in the Shonen Jump monthly publication), it is terrific to see the anime do such fantastic work in keeping to the style and tone of the original. This is no doubt one of the main reasons the series has managed to be so successful for so many years.

The animation remains breathtaking. The art style is creative, bold, and energized. The animation does a great job of showcasing the colorful and vibrant aesthetic. The animation direction by Kazuya Hisada (Dragon Ball Z) is stellar and provides the series with plenty of ambitious scale.

The high-quality animation helps One Piece to remain as one of the most thrilling anime productions. The work does a stellar job of staying true to the original manga. The art style (as well as the character designs) works wonders. The animators on One Piece had big shoes to fill in staying true to the artistic voice of Oda and the results are certainly satisfying. One Piece manages to look and feel grand in scale with epic animation that showcases the high-seas adventures well.

The original score composed by Kōhei Tanaka (Desert Punk, Angelic Layer) and Shiroh Hamaguchi (Ah! My Goddess, Final Fantasy: Unlimited) is outstanding. The music is spectacular fun to listen to and it serves the production well. The score manages to find a good balance of energy and serene style. Capable of highlighting both the lighter comedic and character moments alongside the major action beats, the score infuses together the genre sensibilities of the production for something exciting and catchy. The music never bores and is always one of the most charming components of the production.

The action scenes are invigorating and play a major role in why One Piece became a runaway hit with audiences. The action elements are always exciting and there is a greater sense of energy and urgency with One Piece than many other productions. Many other series only wish that the action beats could be as effective and exciting as the sequences on One Piece.

As an action-adventure series, One Piece doesn’t fail to provide fans with something epic and ambitious in scope. The Straw Hat Pirates face many challenges along the way and the animators do a terrific job of bringing these action scenes to life. One Piece: Collection 31 is no different in this regard, with the action scenes being tense and thrilling.

Screenwriter Hirohiko Uesaka (One Piece Episode of Sabo, One Piece Film Strong World) begins to near the end of their run as the chief screenwriter of One Piece. Uesaka is a talented scriptwriter and the episodes are entertaining (with a good balance of comedy and adventure). The scripts handle the character moments well and don’t forget to emphasis the work of creator Oda.

Director Toshinori Fukazawa (Digimon: Data Squad, Zatch Bell) remains an essential part of the team. Director Fukazawa understands the importance of balancing the fun and dramatic. One Piece is an incredible directing achievement in anime. The series has fantastic fun exploring the odyssey of the characters and director Fukazawa helps showcase the journey with a vibrant creative style – writing through the lens of a filmmaker. One Piece: Collection 31 certainly continues to serve as a showcase for how high the bar has been set by One Piece.

One Piece: Collection 31 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Crunchyroll (formerly Funimation), One Piece: Collection 31 is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The presentation looks exceptional in high-definition and these adventures look crisp and beautiful with exceptional color reproduction. A fantastic presentation by Crunchyroll.

The line-art is detailed and vibrant. There is a lot to appreciate about the high-quality presentation. It is fascinating to see the series transition from the standard-definition era (on the early sets) to the sleek aesthetic of the modern episodes. One Piece also benefits a lot from the widescreen aspect ratio and the expanded image (compared to earlier seasons) makes the epic adventure all the more remarkable on Blu-ray. Colors certainly appear more robust and have greater depth compared to the earlier season releases only available on DVD.

One Piece: Collection 31 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The set includes a selection of audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 2.0 stereo and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). The lossless audio encoding is excellent on the release. Fantastic and crisp sounding dialogue.

The score is well reproduced and sounds clear and deep. Impressive encoding and a good effort from distributor Crunchyroll. It is nice to have the lossless audio of the Blu-ray as the streaming option has lossy audio by comparison (and the Blu-ray disc reproduces the audio with even greater clarity as a result). Lossless audio remains an essential selling point of picking up the Blu-ray discs over simply streaming.

One Piece: Collection 31 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The one area of the collection that could have been more impressive is the supplemental package. The only extra is a title-free theme. On the bright side, the release does come with a nice o-card slipcover (matching the other collections – well designed so as to fit on the shelf alongside the other sets).

Textless Opening Song "We Can!" (HD, 2:32)

One Piece: Collection 31 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One Piece: Collection 31 continues the thrilling journey of Monkey D. Luffy and the rest of the crew comprising the Straw Hat Pirates. The adventure and action-packed excitement of One Piece is an essential reason to explore this beloved anime franchise.

The Blu-ray release includes a worthwhile high-definition presentation and lossless audio. The release only disappoints with an underwhelming supplemental package. Nonetheless, One Piece fans should find the set satisfactory on the whole and the collection will look great on the shelf next to the other releases. Highly recommended.