The special begins on a recap of the Marineford War arc that moves too quickly. The sequence would be easier to process if it had been one continuous take moving horizontally. A later scene returns to the war at a slower pace but is blobby not bloody. Outside of the level of consistency nothing in the animation goes beyond what Masaaki Yuasa had done by 2014. After Ryuu Nakayama brought empathy to Chainsaw Man through nonstop naturalistic animation and in the year where Midori Yoshizawa cut to a live action all red POV shot of a mad dash down the street it is hard to be impressed by the cutesy endearing but not profound movement of one sweet Nami fangirl. Compositionally the girl zooming through town on a vehicular bubble is a dynamic delight while other shots seem literally flat. The art style itself is affectation for its own sake. It doesnt express anything about the One Piece world that Odas art style has not already. Ishitani indulges in the brilliant premise but not enough. The depth of fandom is how celebrities appear liberated from the mundanities and cruelties of ones particular life. A rowdy bar argument about who may be the worlds strongest swordsman seems too detached as if we are watching from the vantage point of someone who does not share their excitement. A shopkeep in love with Brooks music sports deep black makeup under her eyes a Goth touch implying an inner life that is otherwise unexplored. The protagonists love of Nami bluntly exposited as being predicated on Nami not having big muscles or a devil fruit is not overpowering because Ishitani does not show us the suffocation of only the powerful being free to be heroes. The specials best scene which is moving as opposed to pleasant depicts the violent backstory of a Marine in love with Straw Hat Luffy. The Marines leg is shredded by a falling boat a harrowing tactile detail that makes up for the films other depictions of war. Though it contains the films best expression of the awe a distant role model can inspire the heart of the flashback lies in the relationship between the Marine and his younger brother. A reverse chronological montage conveys the older brothers understandable irritation and the younger brothers heart melting sweetness. The rest of the sequence uses a star of light as a primal symbol for Love. The best images are all contained in these few minutes: blood gushing from a screaming mouth an admiring yet bitter gaze at the back of a hero running ahead a coward turning from what is obviously right. The ending is saccharine built around the lazy device of a vague speech set to music. The climax would be more affecting if the flurry of images shown were new and not shots that were already shown earlier. The protagonist bravely chooses to focus on the moon instead of the finger but the depth of that choice is underemphasized. A postcredits sequence would have been unnecessary if the final scene had properly expressed the gravity of the situation. The film as is could use a beautiful epilogue but the one we got expresses nothing that is not already in the story proper. We can use all the auteurs we can get and as few showboats as possible. One Piece Fan Letter toes the line. Ishitani would do right to sacrifice the noticeable for the substantive.