Tag: One Piece

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ONE PIECE FILM RED [Anime News] – Raiding Theaters This November!

Crunchyroll, one of the leading ultimate anime destinations worldwide, announced it will release the highly-anticipated One Piece Film Red in theaters in Australia and New Zealand on November 3 and in the United States and Canada on November 4, which will follow on the heels of the movie’s October 13 release in Austria and Germany. Produced by Toei Animation and One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda, One Piece Film Red is the 15th film from the hit global franchise and now its highest grossing theatrical release earning over $93M (as of September 8) at the box office in Japan since premiering there on August 6.

Tickets for Australia and New Zealand are scheduled to go on sale on October 5, with North American tickets available starting October 6. The movie will be presented in both subtitled and dubbed versions in theaters. For more information, visit http://onepiece-filmred.com/.

Ahead of the film’s theatrical opening, Crunchyroll and Toei Animation will host separate subtitled and dub premieres of One Piece Film Red in Australia and United States, respectively. In Australia, a limited number of lucky fans will be able to experience the subtitled premiere as part of Crunchyroll Expo Australia on Friday, September 16. In the United States, the North American premiere will be held on Thursday, October 6 in New York, to coincide with New York Comic Con.

One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda serves as the executive producer of One Piece Film Red, which is directed by Goro Taniguchi (One Piece Defeat Him! The Pirate Ganzack! OVA) and written by Tsutomu Kuroiwa (One Piece Film: Gold).

Produced by Toei Animation and based on the top-selling manga title of all time, One Piece features an epic quest to find “One Piece,” the legendary treasure of the former King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger. One Piece’s global pop culture status is the crowning achievement for this anime franchise, which encompasses theatrical films, home videos, video games, and an ever-expanding catalog of licensed merchandise that includes accessories, toys, novelties, furniture, housewares, and apparel.

Film Synopsis

Uta—the most beloved singer in the world whose voice has been described as “otherworldly”—is renowned for concealing her own identity when performing. Now, for the first time ever, she will reveal herself to the world at a live concert.

With the Navy watching closely, the venue fills with Uta’s fans—including excited pirates and the Straw Hats led by Luffy, who simply came to enjoy her sonorous performance—all eagerly awaiting the voice that the whole world has been waiting for to resound. The story begins with the shocking revelation that she is the enigmatic Shanks’ daughter.

About Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll, LLC is an independently operated joint venture between US-based Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Japan’s Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., both subsidiaries of Tokyo-based Sony Group. Films distributed and marketed by Crunchyroll – domestically and internationally – have a proven track record of both box office and critical success. Not only have Crunchyroll films seen box office success, but have also been recognized with numerous awards accolades and been accepted and screened at international film festivals around the globe.

About Toei Animation Inc.

Based in Los Angeles, Toei Animation Inc. manages the distribution of Toei Animation’s top properties, including franchise series Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, One Piece, Digimon, Saint Seiya and many others, to North America, Latin America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Toei Animation’s Los Angeles office further handles all categories of consumer product licensing based on its film and television brands within these territories. For more information, please visit toei-animation-usa.com.

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ONE PIECE – STAMPEDE [Film Review]: Sails Away.

Destiny “Evangelical” Edwards
@mochaloca85

This week, American theater audiences were treated to One Piece: Stampede, the franchise’s 14th film and a celebration of the anime’s 20th anniversary. The basic premise is that Buena Festa invites the Straw Hats –and nearly every other Pirate crew that has appeared in the series– to Delta Island for Pirate Fest. The focal point of the film is a hunt for the treasure of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, which eventually turns into a barrage of team-ups…

The animation and character designs are gorgeous, and the movie is full of action. The pacing is the best I’ve seen in an anime film in quite some time. Every scene felt like it had a purpose; nothing seemed unnecessary.

Stampede may be non-canonical, but it doesn’t feel like filler. But its biggest strength is in how well it handles the enormous cast. It primarily focuses on three groups of characters, but even characters that aren’t part of those central crews get chances to shine. The story wraps up neatly and there’s even a post-credits scene.

Swashbuckler Smash!

Being an anniversary crossover movie, Stampede is absolutely littered in Easter eggs. Being a filthy casual (I’ve only seen about a third of One Piece’s 900-plus episodes), there was no way I could catch them all. Hell, there were characters whom I had to look up on the wiki because I didn’t recognize them.

But this isn’t necessarily a detriment to enjoying the film. The story is easy to follow, and I was thoroughly entertained. That said, Stampede is 100% a love letter to the show and manga (manga artist and One Piece creator, Eiichiro Oda, served as creative supervisor and writer) and true fans of the series will absolutely adore it. 3.75/5 Bibles (filthy casual score) / 5.25/5 Bibles (true fan score).

-Destiny Edwards

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MY HERO ACADEMIA (Season 4) / ONE PIECE – STAMPEDE [News / Trailer]: Anime FUNhouse.

Anime’s favorite super heroes in training are back at U.A. High School for another thrilling season of My Hero Academia. Funimation, a leader in sub and dub anime content and subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television, announced today that Season 4 will premiere on Saturday, October 12, 2019. Subtitled simulcast episodes will stream day and date with the Japanese broadcast on both FunimationNow, in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland and Australia, and Hulu. FunimationNow will also stream SimulDub episodes of the top-rated anime series.

In preparation for My Hero Academia Season 4, fans can binge watch sub and dub episodes of the three previous seasons now on both FunimationNow and Hulu or on home video. My Hero Academia Season 3 Part 2 was released earlier this month in both DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo and is available now in the Funimation Shop.

My Hero Academia continues to be one of the most awarded anime series each year since its debut in 2016. During 2018, which included the first theatrical release for the franchise, its numerous honors included IGN’s “2018 People’s Choice – Anime of the Year” award, #1 on Anime News Network’s “Best of 2018 Mega Poll,” #1 on Gamespot’s “Best Anime Shows and Movies of 2018” and five awards at the 2018 Crunchyroll Awards including “Best Film of the Year.”

Season 4 Synopsis

The villain world teeters on the brink of war now that All For One is out of the picture. Shigaraki of the League of Villains squares off with Overhaul of the yakuza, vying for total control of the shadows. Meanwhile, Deku gets tangled in another dangerous internship as he struggles to keep pace with his upperclassman—Mirio.

For more information about “My Hero Academia” Season 4 as well as how to “join the Academy,”, visit funimation.com/myheroclass.

Anime’s favorite pirates are back on the big screen and set to plunder North American audiences later this year with today’s announcement that Funimation Films, the theatrical division of Sony Pictures Television’s Funimation, has acquired the new feature length film One Piece: Stampede from Toei Animation, Inc.

Stampede is the 14th film from global hit One Piece anime series which marks its 20th anniversary this year. One Piece: Stampede is already a smash hit since its opening in Japan in early August – grossing more than $28.7 million to date and setting the Japanese record for the biggest opening-day audience for 2019. Funimation Films will distribute the movie in both the U.S. and Canada this fall with theatrical dates to be announced later.

“We are so excited to bring ‘One Piece: Stampede’ to North America as part of our 20th anniversary celebration of this beloved anime series,” said Colin Decker, General Manager of Funimation. “It’s a blockbuster film that will delight new audiences and long-time fans alike,” said Colin Decker, executive vice president and general manager of Funimation.

“One Piece: Stampede is a bold celebration of One Piece and its unique blend of action, humor and heart,” said Masayuki Endo, President and CEO of Toei Animation Inc. “Even among those who are new to the anime, Monkey D. Luffy and his crew are instantly recognizable pop culture stars. ‘Stampede’ has plenty of surprises for every viewer, and we’re excited for North American audiences to participate in this important anniversary event.”

Under the creative supervision of original creator Eiichiro Oda, One Piece: Stampede is directed by Takashi Otsuka and features character designs by Masayuki Sato. The film is a celebration of the anime series’ 20th anniversary and takes place outside the current One Piece storyline – therefore the movie can be enjoyed equally by both current fans as well as those unfamiliar with the series.

-Press releases provided by Funimation

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JUMP FORCE / SOUL CALIBUR VI [E3 2018]: Anime Fight Club.

“Super Saiyan” Moody
@TravMoody

With the newest anime fighter from Bandai Namco, I got the best of both worlds at E3 2018–having, yesterday, a pair of hands-on matches at the Xbox E3 Showcase, and, today, learning more detail with a roughly 20-minute behind closed doors panel at Bandai Namco. Both got me psyched for the game.

Jump Force is a stupid name, but fun as heck; if you like super saiyan super powers exploding all over the screen in a massive 3D arena fighter, this one’s for you. This one will be for a lot of anime fans, really, since Jump Force will have fighters from multiple manga staples such as the Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece, Death Note (Not playable yet, but Light Yagami and Ryukand were revealed at the trailer’s end) and more — hopefully Tokyo Ghoul, Bleach, One Punch Man, Yu Yu Haksuho, and My Hero Academia. I swear this game was a fuckin’ Facebook joke of mine about potential DBfZ DLC! Nuttier, these wildly popular anime doodZ can come together license conflict free due to the game being based on the weekly Shonen Jump manga. Slick. Real slick…

The only two levels we had to choose from in this early demo were the French Alps and New York’s Times Square. As mentioned, both stages are huge.. setting the stage for more strategic thought and calculation than the more confined, hyper warp speed, super tag action of Dragon Ball FighterZ. But while the two games are different in direction, they both pack the same level of pair-up power. Team-ups are nowhere near as frequent, as least in this early impression, but the vast spaced allow for much more verticality; the Matterhorn stage sorta reminded me of an epic brawl from Final Fantasy XV, just without all the swords, weapons, and slowdown. Hi, Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm!

The art style was told to us as a mesh of human realism and Jump manga. Stages depict intense, far less cartoony landscapes while the characters look rougher around the edges, but only slightly; of course Namco wants weebs to recognize these awesome characters without criticism. The game is a blast to play, although it’s yet to be seen how the roster, story and online play hold up. For now, 2019 is just too far away. 3.75/5 Shonen Jump Bibles.

-Travis Moody

Artez “The Aztec” Bailey
IG @aztecstudiosla

After being on break for a few years, Soul Calibur is coming back strong. It’s a series that started out as Soul Edge, and now — 20 years later — Soul Calibur VI looks better and more over the top arcadey than ever. After getting some VIP hands-on time at Bandai Namco with my favorite character, Taki, of course, and watching a preview video, I’m excited and ready.

Xbox One X and PS4 Pro heads will love to hear that SC6 looks great in 4K, especially the game stages, has new fighting combos and an in-depth story mode; also, when your swordfigher fill up their battle gauge and you pull of string of combos, it’s similar to the rage attack in Tekken 7 — but without having to take a lot of damage to use it. Counter attacks and Guard Impact parries felt great at stopping combos; and, so goes the trend, Critical Edges are special action slow-down cutscene moves that can give you the advantage with the correct counter button. The demo host declared that this only makes the game slightly more inviting to n00bz, but Soul Cal vets shouldn’t be worried as Critical Edges and Soul Charges can only be used at critical moments of a fight.

And lest we not forget that, much like past installments when we had special bonus characters like Link, Spawn and Kratos, this time around we’re equiped with fan favorite Geralt of Rivia, also voiced by the game’s same actor Doug Cockle. Hopefully there’ll be a few more surprises in store for what appears to be the top contender for Fight Game of the Year. 4.75/5 Bibles.

-Artez Bailey

Be sure to look out for Bandai Namco’s Soul Calibur VI on October 19th, 2018.