One Piece Collection 24 packages together the One Piece Season Nine Voyage Five and One Piece Season Ten Voyage One releases together. Between the two sets, there are 24 episodes included. Episodes can be watched with either the English dub or with the Japanese audio with English subtitles. It should also be noted that in addition to watching episodes or using the “Play All” option, there is also a marathon feature, which allows you to watch all the episodes on a disc back-to-back without interruption. In the marathon feature, the opening credits only play once, there are no next episode previews.

One Piece Collection 24
English Publisher: FUNimation Entertainment
Format: DVD
Release Date: February 2, 2021

The set begins with the final 10 episodes of the Fishman Island arc. As expected, Luffy and the Straw Hats are able to take down Hordy and the New Fishman Pirates. Unfortunately, though, even with this success, they still have to figure out a way to stop the Noah from falling onto Fishman Island. Shirahoshi plays an important role in stopping this disaster from happening. But Luffy is hurt badly enough from everything he’s gone through that he needs a blood transfusion. At first, no one on Fishman Island is willing to help, even though Luffy just saved their hides. While this is unfortunate, it’s also very realistic, especially since there’s still a law saying that fishmen cannot give blood to humans. However, Jimbei steps forward because he has the right blood type. At least Neptune is gracious enough to circumvent this law in order to help the man who just saved him and his people. Luffy makes an offer to Jimbei to join the Straw Hats. While Jimbei doesn’t accept right away, he says he will join them later. So there’s something to look forward to at some point later down the line. And I think Jimbei would make a good addition to the crew. Jimbei also gives the crew a piece of information that serves as foreshadowing for the next arc in One Piece.

But before the Straw Hats leave Fishman Island, Robin talks with Neptune about the poneglyph she found and read and learns the story behind what’s written on it. It’s also revealed that Shirahoshi is one of the ancient weapons referenced in the poneglyphs, although Neptune wishes that weren’t the case. Considering how Shirahoshi was so instrumental in this story arc and how she became friends with Luffy, I guess it shouldn’t be too surprising that Shirahoshi could have a bigger role to play later on in the series.

The audience is also introduced to Big Mom, who is one of the Four Emperors of the New World. She has an agreement with the candy factory of Fishman Island to receive monthly payments of candy. However, since the candy that was taken to a celebration (which was ultimately gobbled up by Luffy), they don’t have the candy to pay. Luffy gets involved and through a transponder snail conversation, makes an enemy out of Big Mom. This is a problem for Jimbe, however, because he has ties with Big Mom. Oops! But it looks like this is setting things up for Big Mom to be one of the antagonists Luffy will have to deal with in the New World.

We get an episode of the Straw Hats making it into the New World, and then this is interrupted by a four-part episode that serves as a prelude to One Piece Film: Z. This story introduces a character named Lily, a giant who has eaten the Mini Mini Fruit, which allows her to shrink. She asks the Straw Hats for help rescuing her father, Panz Fry. Most of the story focuses on the rescue attempt, which ends up being successful in the end… which is what a viewer would expect from a shonen anime series like One Piece. The final scene of the fourth episode of this storyline sets the stage for One Piece Film: Z. I haven’t seen the film, so I can’t say how well these episodes complement it. However, I have to say that these four episodes were my least favorite ones included in this set. Maybe after I get a chance to watch One Piece Film: Z, I might develop a better appreciation for these episodes.

The remaining nine episodes in the set start the Punk Hazard arc. Remember how I mentioned that Jimbei provides information that foreshadows the next arc? The Straw Hats end up at Punk Hazard after receiving a distress signal on their transponder snail, and it turns out the island has two parts: one part that is covered in fire and one part that is covered in ice. The fire and ice came from a big battle between Aokiji and Akainu over the title of Fleet Admiral. Luffy, Zoro, Robin, and Usopp end up on the fire portion of the island, where they discover a dragon, as well as a pair of legs that are still alive. I was just as amazed as the characters when a dragon appeared in this show. Yes, a lot of strange things have appeared in this series prior to the Punk Hazard arc, but a dragon was something I had never even thought of appearing at any point in this series.

Meanwhile, the Straw Hats who are on board the Thousand Sunny are put to sleep with sleeping gas. They are kidnapped (except for Brook, who they assume is someone who is already dead), and the kidnapped Straw Hats are imprisoned in the icy part of Punk Hazard. In their cell, they see pieces of the head of a man that has been cut. They put the pieces back together, and the head tells them that his body was cut into pieces by a Shichibukai. The head belongs to a samurai, who becomes quite upset when he learns that his face was put back together by pirates. When the Straw Hats break out of their cell, Sanji forces the samurai’s head to come with them.

Both groups have their adventures. Luffy and his group encounter a centaur, whose group was attacked by samurai. When the centaurs see Zoro’s swords, they assume they are with the samurai and become hostile. Brook wakes up on the ship, which has been taken to the icy side of Punk Hazard. The imprisoned Straw Hats come across a nursery of children as they try to escape and end up trying to help the children as well.

I can’t forget to mention that these episodes see the return of Smoker, Tashigi, and Trafalgar Law. These three characters end up on the icy side of Punk Hazard, and we get an amusing scene when the imprisoned Straw Hats come across these three characters in their attempt to escape.

It’s hard for me to say too terribly much to review the actual Punk Hazard arc, since it’s just getting started in this set. It seems to be off to an interesting start, though. I can’t wait to see how this story continues in One Piece Collection 25.

When it comes to the bonus features, there are no bonus features included on the first disc. The second disc includes a video commentary for Episode 567, “Stop, Noah! Desperate Elephant Gatling!” This feature runs for 23 minutes, and it includes Mike McFarland (ADR director), Colleen Clinkenbeard (voice of Luffy), Larry Brantley (voice of Hordy Jones), and Johnna Miller (a copywriter at FUNimation Entertainment) giving commentary on the episode. This is done in a “picture-in-picture” way, with the episode running as a picture inside the shot of the four commentators. This is basically like a regular commentary, except you get to see the people providing the commentary. There is also a regular commentary for Episode 571, “She Loves Sweets! Big Mom of the Four Emperors!” There’s a textless version of the opening song, “We Go!,” as well as trailers for other releases from FUNimation Entertainment.

The third disc includes a commentary for Episode 576, “Z’s Ambition! A Dark and Powerful Army!” The fourth disc includes two Japanese commercials for One Piece. The first one is a commercial for a Luffy special that aired on Japanese television before One Piece Film: Z was released to theaters. The other is a Japanese commercial for One Piece Film: Z. Both of the commercials are subtitled, so non-Japanese speakers can understand what’s being said. I loved the inclusion of these commercials, especially since it’s the first time I have ever seen FUNimation do this for a One Piece release. I hope they include other Japanese commercials for the franchise on future releases. There’s also a textless version of the opening theme song, “We Go!”

If you’re a One Piece fan who wants to own the series on home video, but don’t want to spend the time and money to track down each individual set that’s been released, these Collection sets are a good way to go.

Additional posts about One Piece:

• Anime DVD Review: One Piece Collection 23

One Piece Collection 23 packages together the One Piece Season Nine Voyage Three and One Piece Season Nine Voyage Four releases together. Between the two sets, there are 22 episodes included. It should be noted that Episode 542, which was a crossover between One Piece and Toriko, is not included on this set. It’s one of the few episodes of the series that FUNimation Entertainment does not have the rights to.

Episodes can be watched with either the English dub or with the Japanese audio with English subtitles. It should also be noted that in addition to watching episodes or using the “Play All” option, there is also a marathon feature, which allows you to watch all the episodes on a disc back-to-back without interruption. In the marathon feature, the opening credits only play once, there are no next episode previews.

One Piece Collection 23
English Publisher: FUNimation Entertainment
Format: DVD
Release Date: November 13, 2018

The first five episodes in the set continue the backstory arc that started at the end of One Piece Collection 22. Over the course of these episodes, Queen Otohime gains support for her petition for equality between humans and fishmen. But there are cracks forming between members of the Sun Pirates. Tiger and Jimbei are against killing humans, but Arlong and Hordy believe that humans should be killed. This crack becomes wider when Tiger agrees to take a human slave girl named Koala back to her home. But this leads to an attack on Tiger, who dies because he refuses human blood to be donated to him. Tiger’s death causes the splitting of the Sun Pirates, with Arlong creating the Arlong Pirates and Macro creating his own crew. Jimbei becomes one of the Seven Warlords.

When a Celestial Dragon named Mjosgard appears on Fishman Island and threatens Otohime, Shirahoshi unknowingly uses her power to summon the Sea Kings and save her mother. After Mjosgard is healed, Otohime agrees to go to the surface with him to negotiate. When Otohime returns to Fishman Island with a signed paper from the Celestial Dragons supporting her cause, and she successfully gathers signatures for her petition. Unfortunately, this success is short-lived when the box of signatures burn and Otohime is struck down by an assassin’s bullet. It appears that Otohime was killed by a human, and the success that Otohime was about to accomplish is completely destroyed. This is definitely something that One Piece has been good at: building something up and making it look like something good is about to happen, but the event is destroyed by someone or something… and the destruction is usually done in the most cruel way.

After making it through all this backstory, I was glad to see Nami forgive Jimbei. Nami has reached a point where the only Fishman she harbors any resentment for is Arlong. And her resentment of him is completely justified. I’m just glad to see that she realizes that not all Fishmen are like Arlong, and that she refuses to discriminate against a group of people just because she was treated badly by one of them.

But then, Hordy launches his plan. He intends to execute Neptune, and that any Fishman associated with humans will be exiled from the island. He also has a signature box from Shirahoshi’s brothers’ attempts at trying to keep their mother’s dream alive and says he will use the signatures he finds in the box to track down and kill Fishmen.

And this is the focus of the remaining episodes of the set. Shirahoshi and Luffy go to Hordy, and Luffy launches an attack. The other Straw Hats eventually join them, and they all get to showcase the new abilities that they honed during their two years apart. The Straw Hats are up against a lot of enemies, but with their new powers, they are able to keep taking them on. Hordy reveals the truth about Queen Otohime’s death, and the citizens of Fishman Island are horrified.

We can’t forget about Vander Decken and his obsession with Shirahoshi. After she rejects him, he decides to kill her… by using an abandoned ship called the Noah. He targets her with his Devil Fruit power, and Luffy finds he has more to deal with than just Hordy. In true One Piece style, the stakes continue to get higher and higher as the episodes progress. However, this arc isn’t finished with the final episode of this set, so the stakes could continue to get even higher.

Even though the big battle that takes place on this set spans 17 episodes and still isn’t finished at the end of it, I still found it to be exciting and entertaining to watch. And to be honest, I’ve seen enough of One Piece to expect this kind of pacing for the battles that take place in each arc. I’m actually looking forward to acquiring the next One Piece Collection set in order to find out what happens next.

When it comes to the bonus features, the first disc includes commentaries for two episodes: Episode 541 (“Kizaru Appears! A Trap to Catch Tiger!”) and Episode 543 (“The Death of the Hero! A Shocking Truth of Tiger!”). The second disc includes a video commentary for Episode 552 (“A Surprising Confession! The Truth Behind the Assassination of Otohime!”). It is an episode commentary done with visuals, and there are three commentators: ADR director Joel McDonald, Jim Foronda (the English voice for Vander Decken), and Larry Brantley (the English voice for Hordy Jones). Sometimes, the image is done as a “picture-in-picture,” and alternates between the commentators being the main image and the footage from the show being the main footage. To be honest, this feature didn’t do much for me. I didn’t think that being able to see the commentators really added to the commentary, This disc also includes a textless version of “We Go!,” as well as trailers for other releases from FUNimation Entertainment.

The third disc in the set includes commentary for Episode 559 (“Hurry Up, Luffy! Shirahoshi’s Life in Jeopardy!”). The final disc in the set includes an 11-minute feature titled, “One Piece: Pop Up Moments.” This feature includes two employees of FUNimation, Bryn Apprill (the English voice for Shirahoshi), and ADR Director Kyle Phillips. In this feature, various scenes from this set are highlighted, and we see the commentators appear in a “picture-in-picture” image, as they share their thoughts on the scene being shown. This was an OK bonus feature, but I know that FUNimation is capable of more than this. To be honest, I thought the bonus features on this set were a disappointment compared with many of the previous collection sets.

If you’re a One Piece fan who wants to own the series on home video, but don’t want to spend the time and money to track down each individual set that’s been released, these Collection sets are a good way to go.

Additional posts about One Piece:

• Anime DVD Review: One Piece Collection 22
• Anime DVD Review: One Piece Collection 24

One Piece Collection 22 packages together the One Piece Season Nine Voyage One and One Piece Season Nine Voyage Two releases together. Between the two sets, there are 24 episodes included. Episodes can be watched with either the English dub or with the Japanese audio with English subtitles. It should also be noted that in addition to watching episodes or using the “Play All” option, there is also a marathon feature, which allows you to watch all the episodes on a disc back-to-back without interruption. In the marathon feature, the opening credits only play once, and there are no next episode previews.

One Piece Collection 22
English Publisher: FUNimation Entertainment
Format: DVD
Release Date: September 25, 2018

This set begins right after the two-year timeskip, and the first six episodes see the Straw Hats reuniting at the Sabaody Archipelago and heading to Fishman Island on the now coated Thousand Sunny. Of course, it wasn’t easy for the crew to reunite, especially when a group of pirates disguising themselves as the Straw Hats try to intimidate people and convince pirates with high bounties to join their crew. But the fake Straw Hats learn the hard way that you really shouldn’t be trying to pass yourself off as someone as notorious and wanted as Luffy and the others. One of the higher bounty pirates who is insanely violent is captured by the Straw Hats and taken with them as they head to Fishman Island. Caribou’s capture and eventual escape play an important role for the story that unfolds during this set.

When the Thousand Sunny arrives at Fishman Island, the crew is approached by Hammond, a fishman who says he is part of the New Fishman Pirates. Luffy is given an offer to join this group, but he refuses. In order to make it onto the island, a Coup De Burst is used. When they arrive on the island, the bubble surrounding the ship bursts, and the crew is separated. Luffy, Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper are found by their friend, Camie, and taken to her place to recuperate. They are taken to meet Camie’s mermaid friends, and Sanji gets so many nosebleeds because of going two years being around cross-dressers, that he loses a lot of blood and needs a blood transfusion. The twist as to who the eventual blood donors for Sanji are is kind of amusing.

A fortune teller sees a vision of Fishman Island in fire and Luffy standing by the flames. She assumes this means that the Straw Hats are going to destroy the island, and the three sons of King Neptune try to track down the crew. Meanwhile, Neptune finds Luffy and the others (who have reunited with Nami in the meantime) and invites them to the palace because they saved his daughter’s pet in a fight they had as they came to Fishman Island.

A lot actually happens at this point. Luffy finds Shirahoshi, the mermaid princess, who’s locked in a tower because she’s being stalked by Van Decken IX, who is obsessed with marrying her. He believes that if he can’t have her, then no one will. Luffy and Shirahoshi become friends, and he helps her escape so she can visit the Sea Forest. It turns out the Thousand Sunny, Franky, Robin, and Jimbei are also here. Franky meets a relative of his master, Tom, and this relative is recoating the ship. Meanwhile, the palace is attacked by the New Fishman Pirates, and Decken tracks down Shirahoshi.

The last couple of episodes in the set see important backstory revealed for Jimbei, as well as information about Shirahoshi’s mother, Queen Otohime, as well as Fisher Tiger, the man who freed Boa Hancock and her sisters when they were slaves. I found Jimbei’s backstory to be a little more interesting, though, because he has connections with Arlong. Nami’s reaction to learning of this connection was realistic. Unfortunately, the set ends before all of the backstory is revealed, so you have to see the episodes included on One Piece Collection 23 in order get the remaining information.

A big theme in these episodes is how often the Straw Hats are separated from each other for various reasons. While this has happened in the series before, it just hits the viewer more with how often they are being split up when they’re finally reunited after being apart for two years.

As a viewer, I was happy to finally see the Straw Hats make it to Fishman Island. This plot point was referenced before Luffy and his crew were separated at the Sabaody Archipelago. Even though the road (or sea in this case, I guess) wasn’t a straight one and had many twists and turns, the group still managed to make it… although it was two years later than originally planned.

The new look of the various crew members took a lot of getting used to, especially the characters who had the more drastic redesigns. However, by the end of this set, I was finally accustomed to the characters’ post-timeskip designs. Even with the redesigns for the characters, I enjoyed the episodes included on One Piece Collection 22 and getting to see how the characters have changed and evolved. I’m curious to see how the story will progress going forward.

When it comes to the bonus features, the first disc includes commentary on Episode 519, “The Navy Has Set Out! The Straw Hats in Danger!” The second disc includes a feature titled, “One Piece Cast Goes to Matsuricon 2016: Live Dub.” This roughly 19-minute feature shows several of the One Piece English dub actors doing a “live dub” of some scenes from the series. Sometimes, they would have the usual actors doing their characters, and sometimes they would switch people around. This was an interesting idea, although the scene they were “dubbing” wasn’t projected, so it could be hard to remember what scene they were doing. I think that having that visual context would have made this bonus feature a little stronger. There’s also commentary on Episode 526, “Undersea Volcanic Eruption! Drifting to the Fish-Man Island!” There are textless versions for the two versions of “We Go!” that are included on the first two discs of the set, as well as trailers for other releases from FUNimation Entertainment.

The third disc in the set includes commentaries for two episodes: Episode 532 (“A Coward and a Crybaby! The Princess in the Hard Shell Tower!”) and Episode 534 (“The Ryugu Palace in Shock! The Kidnapping of Shirahoshi!”). The fourth disc includes a feature titled, “One Piece Cast Goes to Matsuricon 2016: Q and A Panel.” This roughly 33-minute feature is a question and answer panel session of some of the One Piece voice actors that took place at Matsuricon in 2016. I really enjoyed this bonus feature, because the voice actors were very endearing, and through some of their answers, I felt I got to know them a little better as people. And some of those answers were highly amusing. There’s another textless version of “We Go!” on this disc, as well as trailers for other releases from FUNimation Entertainment.

If you’re a One Piece fan who wants to own the series on home video, but don’t want to spend the time and money to track down each individual set that’s been released, these Collection sets are a good way to go.

Additional posts about One Piece:

• Anime DVD Review: One Piece Collection 21
• Anime DVD Review: One Piece Collection 23

One Piece Collection 21 packages together the One Piece Season Eight Voyage Four and One Piece Season Eight Voyage Five releases together. Between the two sets, there are 24 episodes included. It should be noted that Episode 492, which was a crossover between One Piece and Toriko, is not included in either this set or on One Piece Collection 21. It’s one of the few episodes of the series that FUNimation Entertainment does not have the rights to.

Episodes can be watched with either the English dub or with the Japanese audio with English subtitles. It should also be noted that in addition to watching episodes or using the “Play All” option, there is also a marathon feature, which allows you to watch all the episodes on a disc back-to-back without interruption. In the marathon feature, the opening credits only play once, there are no next episode previews.

One Piece Collection 21
English Publisher: FUNimation Entertainment
Format: DVD
Release Date: December 5, 2017

The first two discs in the set make up a long flashback arc of Luffy’s childhood and growing up with Ace, beginning from when Luffy is first brought by Garp to live with the mountain bandit Curly Dadan and her henchmen. Garp had already brought Ace to them as a baby to look after and has decided that they should watch over his grandson as well. Luffy wants to become friends with Ace, but Ace wants nothing to do with him for a while. This is such a change from how close we saw Luffy and Ace were during the series. This arc also introduces Sabo, a boy of noble birth who has run away from home and lives among the junkyard at Gray Terminal. He’s friends with Ace, and the two of them are stealing treasure to save up for their own pirate ship.

Over the course of this flashback arc, we see Ace warming up to Luffy, and how the three boys form a brotherhood with one another. This flashback also shows just how incorrigible the nobles are, and you understand why Sabo ran away from home. We see tragedy befall Sabo when a Celestial Dragon shoots the fishing boat that he was aboard, although unknown to Ace or Luffy, Sabo isn’t dead. The end of this flashback shows both when Ace heads out and sea and when Luffy heads out three years later.

While it might seem like this type of a flashback is filler, it really isn’t when you think about it. Right before this flashback, Luffy has learned that Ace died and he’s taking it hard. This flashback could very well be Luffy remembering Ace and the things going through his mind as he’s trying to process his grief. I also appreciated this flashback because it introduces Sabo, a name that Ace mentioned as he was dying in Luffy’s arms.

The second half of the set sees Luffy deciding what we wants to do, and how he gets a message across to his crewmates about the change in plans. It’s a crazy stunt that he pulls, but it’s effective and gets the attention of the media. Considering how widespread his crew is at this point in time, getting a special tattoo on his arm and getting his picture taken by the press by pulling a crazy stunt was the most effective way for Luffy to reach the others.

With these episodes, it becomes apparent that what I thought was filler episodes (what was happening to the rest of the crew while Luffy was trying to rescue Ace) is actually canon material. This is especially made clear with the episodes in the final disc of the set, because these episodes explain what these characters are going to be doing during the two years that they wait to reunite with Luffy. The final episode of the set also shows the audience the type of training that Luffy will be undergoing with Rayleigh over the next two years. From the preview that’s at the end of the final episode of this set, the next set is going to open with the timeskip.

Overall, I found Collection 21 to be an important release for the series. The episodes included here give the audience backstory on Luffy and Ace’s past, as well as preparing the audience for the timeskip that is about to happen.

The first disc includes a commentary on Episode 495, “I Won’t Run! Ace’s Desperate Rescue Operation!” The second disc has a bonus feature titled, “Inside Look: The Shot Heard ‘Round the World.” This roughly 14-and-a-half minute feature has Mike McFarland, Joel McDonald, as well as two other people associated with FUNimation Entertainment, and they talk about how Ace’s death affects Luffy and the overall story of One Piece. They also talk about their own reactions to this pivotal moment in the series. This disc also includes commentary on Episode 503, “Take Good Care of Him! A Letter From the Brother!,” as well as a textless version of the opening theme, “Fight Together,” and trailers for other releases from FUNimation Entertainment.

The third disc includes a commentary for Episode 506, “Straw Hats in Shock! The Bad News Has Reached Them!” The final disc in the set includes a bonus feature titled, “One Piece Outtakes: Part 1.” This nearly 11-minute feature has outtakes from some of the dubbing sessions for the various characters. Most include mistakes voice actors made, although some just seem to have been done as jokes. I’ve seen various “outtake” special features on anime DVD releases over the years, and this is probably one of the better ones. Most of the others I’ve seen come across as fake and scripted. Most of these, at least, feel like legitimate outtakes. This disc also includes commentary on Episode 515, “I Will Get Much, Much Stronger! Zoro’s Pledge to His Captain!,” as well as another textless version of the opening theme, “Fight Together,” and trailers for other releases from FUNimation Entertainment.

If you’re a One Piece fan who wants to own the series on home video, but don’t want to spend the time and money to track down each individual set that’s been released, these Collection sets are a good way to go.

Additional posts about One Piece:

• Anime DVD Review: One Piece Collection 20
• Anime DVD Review: One Piece Collection 22

One Piece Collection 20 packages together the One Piece Season Eight Voyage Two and One Piece Season Eight Voyage Three releases together. Between the two sets, there are 23 episodes included. It should be noted that Episode 492, which was a crossover between One Piece and Toriko, is not included in either this set or on One Piece Collection 21. It’s one of the few episodes of the series that FUNimation Entertainment does not have the rights to.

Episodes can be watched with either the English dub or with the Japanese audio with English subtitles. It should also be noted that in addition to watching episodes or using the “Play All” option, there is also a marathon feature, which allows you to watch all the episodes on a disc back-to-back without interruption. In the marathon feature, the opening credits only play once, there are no next episode previews.

One Piece Collection 20
English Publisher: FUNimation Entertainment
Format: DVD
Release Date: September 19, 2017

Unlike some of the previous collection sets, there are absolutely no filler episodes included here. All 23 episodes work to advance the plot of the current arc that’s taking place at Marineford.

All of the episodes in the first half of this set lead up to Luffy making it to the scaffold where Ace is. Hancock gives Luffy the key to Ace’s handcuffs, while Buggy and his men take a transponder snail into their possession as part of their plan to make Buggy famous around the world. The Navy shuts off the other transponder snails that were transmitting to the Sabaody Archipelago because they want to maintain an illusion that they are winning the war against Whitebeard. However, they are unable to shut off the one Buggy has. Unfortunately, since Buggy and his men are focusing on Buggy, the people watching the broadcast are frustrated because they can’t see what’s actually going on.

Squard, one of Whitebeard’s “sons,” is tricked by Akainu, which leads to him to believe that Whitebeard has betrayed him and the others. Squard stabs Whitebeard through the chest with his sword, The physical wound doesn’t affect Whitebeard too much, but the emotional pain is there from Squard’s betrayal. When Squard realizes he’s been tricked, it takes an emotional toll on him… which will play an important role in one of the later episodes in the set.

Just when it seems like Luffy is about to successfully reach Ace, the Navy activates a wall to block him and the other pirates from advancing or retreating. This happens when Luffy has used his Gum-Gum power to launch toward the scaffold, and the rising wall knocks him down. I felt so bad for Luffy, because he was so close to reaching Ace.

There’s basically seven more episodes of chaos and fights that take place until Luffy can finally manage to reach Ace on the scaffold. It sounds like it takes a lot of episodes to reach this goal, but I didn’t think the story was stretched out. In fact, I appreciated seeing the tensions rising and the stakes upped. This is a war, after all, and it wouldn’t have been realistic if it had been too easy for Luffy to reach his goal.

The second half of the set is an emotional viewing experience. After rescuing Ace, Luffy teams up with him and it seems like everything is going to be OK. Whitebeard knows he’s not going to be leaving Marineford alive, so he gives his final order… as many of his “sons” need to escape from Marineford alive. It looks everyone, including Ace and Luffy, will manage to escape. But then, Ace is fired up by Akainu taunting Whitebeard. Unfortunately, this loyalty to Whitebeard ends up being his downfall. He takes on Akainu, but Akainu takes aim at Luffy with his power. Ace jumps in the way to protect Luffy and takes the blast instead.

And this is where the emotional portion of the story comes in. Episode 483 focuses on Ace and Luffy as Ace is dying, and this episode felt like an emotional gut punch. I was actually starting to cry right near the end of this episode. The relationship between Ace and Luffy, as well as Ace’s own emotions as he’s dying, are portrayed so well. And poor Luffy takes Ace’s death really hard, to the point that he basically shuts himself down. Jimbei has to take on a role of protecting Luffy throughout the rest of the set.

Blackbeard enters the fray, which leads to a battle between him and Whitebeard. Unfortunately, Whitebeard doesn’t survive this ordeal, which adds another emotional layer to this story which had already become emotional. Coby finds some inner strength after seeing all the needless death that has happened around him after the Navy achieved its goal. Fortunately, Shanks appears in time to save Coby from being harmed by Akainu. Shanks has enough power to declare that the war is over. However, the Navy spins the situation into being a complete win for them and that they defeated all of the pirates. Of course, the audience knows this isn’t true. After initial jubilation from the public, it’s revealed that with the death of Whitebeard and his declaration before his death that the One Piece is real, the pirates are driven to be more unsettled and being more active. With this renewed activity, the Navy appears to have egg on its face for underestimating the effects that this war would have on the pirates.

It should be mentioned that when Shanks appears, Trafalgar Law and his crew arrive in their yellow submarine. I admit, I couldn’t help thinking about The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine” song when his sub surfaced. It’s revealed that Law is a doctor, and he takes the injured Luffy and Jimbei on board his submarine and operates on the two of them. The very last episode in the set sees Luffy being taken to Maiden Island, after an invitation is extended by Boa Hancock. The sub has to stay out in the bay, though. Right at the end, Luffy wakes up and keeps asking where Ace is. When he finally realizes that Ace is dead, it hits him hard. At this point, Luffy is going to have both physical and emotional healing that he needs to do, and I suspect that the episodes in the next collection will focus on Luffy trying to recover. The PTSD that he now has from this incident is going to be quite the hurdle to overcome.

Collection 20 is one of the stronger collections for One Piece that I’ve watched in a while. I was impressed that all of the episodes in the set progressed such an important storyline, and that there wasn’t any interruptions of any kind for filler material.

When it comes to bonus features, there are absolutely no bonus features included on the first disc. The second disc has a bonus feature titled, “Music Lessons With Brook.” This nearly five minute features Ian Sinclair, the English voice actor for Brook, offering to give a “music lesson” to the audience because he has background for playing some instruments. He is first asked to demonstrate playing a violin, and it’s obvious he doesn’t have a clue. He gets frustrated, and there is a “technical difficulties” screen. When he comes back, he is asked to play the piano… which he also doesn’t know and gets frustrated with. After another “technical difficulties” screen, he is upset and asked to play a flute. He figures this one out, and his mood improves. To be honest, I felt this feature became a little redundant and wasn’t that humorous. There are two audio commentaries included: one for Episode 476 (“Luffy at the End of His Tether! An All-Out Battle at the Oris Plaza!”) and one for Episode 480 (“Each on Different Paths! Luffy vs. Garp!””). There is a textless version for the opening theme song, “One Day,” as well as trailers for other releases from FUNimation Entertainment.

The third disc includes two episode commentaries: one for Episode 482 (“The Power That Can Burn Even Fire! Akainu’s Ruthless Pursuit!” and Episode 486 (“The Show Begins! Blackbeard’s Plot Is Revealed!”). The fourth disc includes a Top 10 Moments feature, which runs for about 18 minutes. Three voice actors, a director, and two other staff members share what they feel are the Top 10 moments in One Piece. Overall, I agreed with their top ten choices, except for the one that features the Foxy Pirates. Outside of that, it was a decent list. Although I felt that some of the commentary was a little on the annoying side. But I have to say that this was a stronger bonus feature that most of the recent features that focused on the voice actors acting like their characters. There’s another textless version of the opening song “One Day,” as well as trailers for other releases from FUNimation Entertainment.

If you’re a One Piece fan who wants to own the series on home video, but don’t want to spend the time and money to track down each individual set that’s been released, these Collection sets are a good way to go.

Additional posts about One Piece:

• Anime DVD Review: One Piece Collection 19
• Anime DVD Review: One Piece Collection 21