One Piece Film 9: Episode of Chopper Plus (2008)

Anyone who has watched One Piece doesn’t easily forget the Drum Kingdom arc. It’s the story carrying the sad yet warm circumstances of how the reindeer Tony Tony Chopper came to join the Straw Hat crew. Film 9, Episode of Chopper Plus, is a work that redraws that original arc for the theater. You might wonder whether you need to watch a story you already know all over again, but the newly applied animation and the more condensed construction quickly dispel that doubt.

What it’s about — How a lonely reindeer becomes a comrade

When their crewmate Nami catches an unknown illness, the Straw Hat crew arrives at the snow-covered island of Drum Kingdom in search of a doctor. In this country live Doctor Kureha, an eccentric witch-doctor who hides in a castle atop a mountain, and Chopper, a reindeer with a blue nose. Chopper, who speaks human language and stands on two legs, has lived as an outcast, accepted by neither humans nor animals because of his appearance. Meanwhile, the tyrant Wapol, who once left this country, returns seeking to revive his reign, and Luffy’s group must face both Nami’s treatment and the enemy threatening the nation. The film places at its center why Chopper was so lonely and what his relationship was like with the quack doctor Hiriluk who took him in.

Direction — A winter island redrawn with new animation

The greatest advantage of the remake is the leap in animation. The screen, redrawn to the 2008 theatrical standard, has clearer lines and deeper colors than in the television-series era. The cold texture of the winter island where the blizzard rages and the dynamism of the action climbing up and down the mountain come alive far more. Director Junji Shimizu trims away the side branches of the long original arc and concentrates the weight on the story of Chopper and Hiriluk.

Thanks to this, the emotional curve becomes clearer. In particular, the scenes surrounding Hiriluk’s final moments, and the direction of the second half where cherry blossoms scatter like snow, can make you well up again even as an original fan. That said, in compressing a vast original into two hours, the political situation surrounding Wapol and some supporting characters’ circumstances pass by quickly. To viewers who already know the main story, it feels like a digest cut to the essentials; to those encountering it for the first time, the explanation may come across as a bit sparse.

Performance — Chopper’s voice carrying loss

The voice actors’ performances are another pillar of this work. Ikue Otani, who voices Chopper, holds in a single voice the innocence of a young reindeer and the deep sense of loss of having lost the one person who accepted him. The change of trembling with loneliness then finally opening his heart comes through clearly through voice alone. Mayumi Tanaka’s Luffy, with his signature simple, straightforward energy, lets some air into a story that could grow heavy. The voice actors playing Hiriluk and Kureha also sufficiently support the weight of their characters, overwhelming the screen at the emotional climax.

What the film says — Family is bound by the heart, not by blood

The core of Episode of Chopper is the meaning of “being accepted.” The story of the one person who extended a hand to Chopper, who belonged to no one, and of the Straw Hat crew who welcome him as a new comrade, ultimately converges on the message that family is bound by the heart, not by blood. The process of a being shunned for looking different finally finding his place compresses the warmth that runs through all of One Piece.

Ratings and reception

The IMDb rating is 6.9 out of 10. Owing to the nature of a Japanese-animation theatrical feature, broad critical tallies on Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic are scarce, so it’s hard to pin down with a separate freshness figure. Within the fandom, the improved animation and the emotion-focused construction draw praise, while opinions lamenting the gaps created by compressing the original also coexist. It’s a typically fan-friendly remake, with satisfaction higher the more one loves the series.

Verdict

Episode of Chopper doesn’t tell a new story. But it clearly succeeds at redrawing an already-beloved story more finely and intensely. If you want to meet the starting point of the character Chopper in the most beautiful animation, there’s no choice like it. It’s a work like a devoted tribute for fans, all the more touching because you know the original’s emotion. The ★4.0 rating is the score I send to that sincere remake.

Recommended for

• Those who want to see the emotion of the Drum Kingdom arc again in better animation
• Those curious about the beginning and backstory of the character Chopper
• Those who want One Piece’s warm sentiment condensed into a two-hour runtime