One Piece: Stampede is the fourteenth movie from the One Piece series. The “Pirate Expo” is an event that occurs every few years. This expo, orchestrated by Douglas Bullet and Buena Festa, offered an Eternal Pose found by Gol D. Roger.
Demon Heir’s Freedom
Douglas Bullet is the former member of the Roger Pirates. A former child soldier, Bullet values strength above all else. As a result, Douglas loves challenging everyone he encounters. The only person to defeat him was Gol D. Roger. Bullet aims to become the Pirate King by killing the strongest pirates, specifically the Worst Generation and the four Yonko.
His distinctive laugh is: “Kahahaha.”
Like most members of the Roger Pirates, Bullet is powerful. Having a lot of experience on the battlefield from a young age, he gained tremendous fighting skills. As a 14-year-old, he destroyed an entire country. He ate the Gasha Gasha no Mi devil fruit. With it, he can “disassemble inanimate objects and assemble them into anything he wants with his mind.” Buggy suggests that his strength is comparable to Silvers Rayleigh. He survived a Buster Call commanded by Sengoku and Garp. While imprisoned in Impel Down, he trained, increasing his strength.
One Piece: Stampede begins by telling the story of his escape. During the Blackbeard Pirates break-in, Bullet escaped. At some point, he teamed up with Buena Festa. Together they devised a plan to lure pirates into a trap.
The Expo and unlikely alliances
The Straw Hats, the Worst Generation, the Barto Club, the Beautiful Pirates, the Bliking Pirates, Buggy Pirates, the Kuja Pirates, and the Marines all arrive at Delta Island. Expecting to compete for treasure that belonged to Roger, Bullet arrives. He challenges the Worst Generation. Together, Luffy, Eustass Kid, Killer, Basil Hawkins, Scratchmen Apoo, Capone Bege, Jewelry Bonney, X Drake, and Urouge battle Bullet.
He overwhelms them with superior strength and speed. The battle while onesided is a pleasure to watch. Bullet is a hulking figure. He’s able to withstand attacks from Luffy’s Gear Fourth: Snakeman despite being impressed by Luffy. Regardless, Bullet defeats the Supernovas. Meanwhile, a Buster Call fleet lead by Sentomaru arrives. Admiral Fugitora clashes with Zoro. The final part of the Bullet’s plan begins. Using his devil fruit he forms a massive colossus.
With another Buster Call on the way and Bullet rampaging, the remaining island inhabitants are in danger. Together Smoker, Hancock, Sabo, Law, Buggy, Crocodile, and even Rob Lucci join forces to stop Bullet. Ultimately, its Luffy delivers a devasting blow. After the fight, Luffy obtains the Eternal Pose and destroys it. Saying “he’ll make it on his own.”
A fun sideshow
One Piece: Stampede is an enjoyable movie, especially because One Piece movies can be hit or miss. While not canon, the Pirates Expo is a fun idea. The Pirates Expo is mostly an excuse to bring many of the series pirates together. It works both as a reasonable plan for Bullet to get the strongest pirates in one place and a reason for the movie to bring our faves together. If your unfamiliar with this series then the sheer volume of characters might be distracting. Furthermore, the significance of the alliances would be lost on you.
With so much going one and so many characters, many of the fights were cut short. I would have loved to see Zoro and Admiral Fujitora fight from start to finish. Regardless, watching Marines, Pirates, heroes, and villains fight alongside one another was delightful. Finally, the animation. One Piece: Stampede features top-quality animation. Every scene is fluid and consistent. The only issue is the CGI colossus that Bullet created. It was distracting and felt out of place. Overall, One Piece movies can feel like high-quality fillers. If that’s all One Piece: Stampede is, I still think it’s worth your time.
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