activeAnime

		▪	RELEASED BY:		FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT
		▪	ASPECT RATIO:		4:3 FULL SCREEN
		▪	AUDIO:		ENGLISH DD 5.1 / 2.0 AND JAPANESE DD 2.0
		▪	RUNNING TIME:		320 MIN
		▪	RATING:		TV 14
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		08/25/2009
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		08/26/2009
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		MARGARET VEIRA

The Grand Line is no place for a crew of yellow-bellied landlubbers!  Lucky for the Straw Hats, they’ve got Monkey D. Luffy – the bravest captain sailing the high seas.  So when a night of drinking turns into a daring attempt to protect a princess from treacherous assassins, Luffy’s crew is ready for action!  Their death-defying resue mission sees them cross paths with monstrous sea creatures, prehistoric predators, and battle-tested giants with an explosive thirst for ale.  Adventure like this might take the wind out of some swashbucklers, but it’s all in a days work for a rubberman determined to become the King of the Pirates!

Contains episodes 67-78 on 2 DVDs, uncut and unedited.

REVIEW:
Luffy and Zoro are having a fight??  Who would have thunk it!  More importantly, who will win?!  After that is settled with a timely intervention from Nami, Vivi reveals that she knows who Mr. 0 is and by mistake tells them!  Luffy and Zoro think of it as an adventure, while Nami tries to run!  No go.  The Unluckies, Miss Friday and Mr. 13, the Baroque Works enforcers and messengers, know what they look like!  Vivi keeps apologizing to Nami, even after Luffy agrees to take her home to Alabasta.  Something happens to Vivi’s friend and protector, Ingaram, that gets Luffy and the crew going on their way!  They also meet the partner of Mr. 0, Miss All-Sunday, who may have a surprise or two up her sleeve!

In a brief interlude, the story of Coby and Helmeppo, from Ep. 2-5, continues with them being in the Marines as chore boys.  After a few problems, they meet up with a very strict Marine, Vice-Admiral Garp.  Some of his mannerisms are strange, but he seems to really care what happens to those two!  And his second in command is like that too!

Now, after the interlude, welcome to Little Garden, the place where things are anything but little!  Of course, Luffy is gung-ho to go exploring and ends up playing on some brontosaurs, with Vivi looking on in wonder and fear.  Zoro and Sanji end up in a hunting contest, leaving Nami and Ussop on the ship!  What could possibly happen??
A volcano goes off and two giants, Broggy the Red and Dorry the Blue, continue their century-old fight.  Meanwhile, Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine lurk around on Little Garden, doing the bidding of Mr. 3, a wax artist, and his partner in crime, Miss Goldenweek, a realist painter.  Another explosion is heard, and someone gets hurt!  Who could it be?

One of the strange things that happens in this set is the way Mr. 3 captures three of the crew and puts them in extreme danger, including the giant Broggy.  Luffy goes through some mind control, and Zoro has a crazy idea of how to escape.  Ussop helps set them free in a most ingenious way, and then there is one of the best scenes so far!  Zoro with flaming swords!

While all this is happening, Sanji finds Mr. 3’s hideout and speaks with Mr. 0!  He also gets a crucial eternal pose!  And they’re off on another adventure!  And there is more adventure in this set than can be said here!

The animation is excellent as always, with a vibrancy and energy that is unique to One Piece!  The fight scenes are as full of action as ever, and the humour is there in spades!  One of the best scenes is when Luffy takes down Mr. 3.  The subtitles are very clear and easy to read.  They are also very close to the English dialogue in meaning and emphasis.

The audio is very well done.  An interesting fact is all the voice actors for One Piece have to be approved by the Japanese casting people!  All the background music for each episode is the same in both the English and Japanese versions.  The voices are perfect for each character, especially the ones that are being introduced in this set!

EXTRAS:
The extras include clean opening and closing songs, trailers of other Funimation productions, and an audio commentary in English on episode 67 by Scott Sager (ADR Engineer and Director; other projects:  Case Closed and Black Cat), Caitlin Glass (Vivi’s voice; other projects:  Peach Girl and Gunslinger Girl), and Stephanie Young (Miss All-Sunday’s voice; other projects:  Claymore and Desert Punk).  The box is a soft box with excellent art on both sides. The front has Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Princess Vivi and Mr. 3, the back has Zoro, and the inside has an old looking map.  The disc covers have Luffy and Mr. 3 on the first one and Nami, Vivi and Zoro on the second.  There is also a Marathon feature that allows the viewer to watch all the episodes without the openings, closings and next episode previews, although the opening of the first episode on each disc is played.

IN SUMMARY:
Full of adventure and fun, this One Piece box set is not to be missed!  Let’s go!!