Anime Review: One Piece Uncut Collection 20

One Piece Uncut Collection 20 (UK Rating: 12)

When the last collection concluded, Ace's execution had been gatecrashed. Firstly by one of the Four Emperors, the strongest man on the planet Whitebeard. This old pirate may be getting up in years but he is still on a level all of his own, with the power of his tremor-tremor fruit he can shake the very planet… and he's very angry. He didn't come alone, either, as he brought along an entire armada of allied ships, headed up by some of the most powerful captains of the New World, and then there are his division commanders - absurdly powerful individuals who are able to go toe-to-toe with the Shichibukai. The second group of gatecrashers was headed up by Ace's brother Luffy, recently escaped from the hellish prison of Impel Down. Luffy has gathered up plenty of new allies during his time in the pen, and brought them along for the ride. Former Warlord Crocodile and Jinbei, some of the leaders of the Revolutionary army, even Buggy the clown. They are all charging alongside Luffy in hopes of saving Ace.

It's an impressive force, but the Marines are prepared. They expected the rescue force - well, apart from Luffy's lot! - and have gathered their entire might along with planning for the defence. They have got the home field advantage. The three Marine Admirals are worth an army each and are backed up by the Seven Warlords - most of them, although one is smitten with Luffy and working to help him. No, not Kuma. Hancock.

As with all these releases, both the English and the Japanese dub are available here, and while the dub has come leaps and bounds from the horrific days of Sanji with a lollipop and "Zolo," it still can't live up to the original, sadly. It's okay… it's enjoyable… but the original is special. On the bonus feature front, there's the same marathon feature available here as the previous collections, which plays one episode after another without showing the opening or closing animations. However, it doesn't skip the recap of the previous episode or the introduction to the series that plays. Every. Single. Time. It really ruins the marathon feature and still requires some fast-forwarding. Speaking of flawed bonus features, there's more of Funimation's attempt at making the voice acting cast into comedians. This time, Ian Sinclair - voice of Brook - is messing around with some musical instruments. Then the crew embraces its inner Buzzfeed to put out a top 10 list, this time of favourite One Piece moments. For once, this isn't a cringey mess. It's actually nice to see the cast and crew share its love for the series.

8/10

Great - Silver Award

One Piece Uncut Collection 20 is the very best of One Piece; the finest part thus far of a story stretching back over twenty years. It is an absolute master-class in how to bring so many story threads and multiple characters, which have been expertly interspersed, all the way up to this amazing conclusion. Only the pacing issues from its adaptation into anime give it any sort of failing. Even these, though, can be forgiven thanks to the amount of heart in this collection. The greatest shonen of all time shows off its very best.