subject: DVD Review: One Piece – Third Season, Second Voyage [print this page] DVD Review: One Piece Third Season, Second Voyage With episodes still being released in Japan, it's rather daunting to be an American fan of One Piece. After all, with over 400 episodes in production getting 2-discs at a time with 13 episodes a pop is going to take up a lot of shelf space, but I digress. The show is a ton of fun and anybody who takes the plunge will be hooked.
Is that really a good thing though? I mean, you do the math for how many dvd sets you're going to have to buy in order to collect the whole thing. On one hand it's a great experience and every Region 1 otaku should give it a chance. On the other hand your wallet is already bitching about the pain and hitting the button for more morphine.
At this point in the run, even here in the States, I'm not going to bother recapping the show for you. Instead I'll give you the dyslexic dvds version:
One Piece is about some fruits that eat magical pirates which grant unique abilities. A group of pirates known as the Hat Straws, led by a lanky kid named Luffy, set out on a quest for the One Piece known as treasure. The end.
Okay, so maybe I left out some details in the dvds. But hey, you want the helmet wearing cliff-notes version, you got it. If you want to read more on the back story of the show, head on over to my other reviews. You can find them in the Anime Reviews section towards the top of this page.
This installment of One Piece picks up at episode 157. The Straw Hats have already made their way to the sky island known as Skypiea. In the episode that brought the last volume to a close, the pirates had a bit of a clash with the White Berets. That conflict leads them down a dangerous path in these episodes as they find themselves on the wrong side of the law. Then again, do pirates ever find themselves on the right side? Eventually events lead the pirates to a place known as the Upper Yard, where they have an encounter with a priest's balls. There's also something to do with God and there's a lot of fighting to be had in the meantime.
Once again One Piece really packed a punch. It was lighthearted and entertaining as it has always been, though this installment in particular seemed a little less dramatic than some of the past. Such is the way long shows like this go, however, and fans can look forward to the series reinventing itself every once in a while. Granted the characters and personalities stay the same, though one has to wonder how many of the things from the Skypeia saga are going to continue into the future. Only time will tell really. Until then consider One Piece a highly recommended watch, and this Third Season, Second Voyage release is quite entertaining.
One Piece is presented on dvd with its original 1.33:1 fullframe aspect ratio. The picture quality is very good with sharp lines, vibrant colors, and very little in terms of grain or compression. The show does suffer from a slight amount of aliasing, but overall it's attractive looking and solidly transferred. The audio quality is much the same with Japanese 2.0 stereo and English 2.0 stereo or 5.1 surround. The quality of the dub is good on both accounts, though the English 5.1 is arguably better, even if only slightly. The directionality is a miniscule improvement over the 2.0, though quite frankly the tracks all feel relatively flat in some respects.
One Piece is an epic anime by anyone's standards, and I can't sing FUNimation's praises enough for grabbing the license and releasing it here in the States. Previously it was housed under the horrible 4Kids brand and was edited to the point of excess (No guns, no blood, and changed character skin color.). Thankfully this version is uncut and unedited. Repress that memory of 4Kids, FUNimation has your back and this particular collection of episodes lives up to expectations. Strongly recommended this dvd box set!
DVD Review: One Piece Third Season, Second Voyage
By: dreamfine2
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