Over its many years, the One Piece franchise has spawned a litany of movies of varying quality. The adventures of protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his crew are some of the most iconic and recognizable in anime, but their quality seems to vary greatly. Fans may also wonder “Which One Piece movies should I watch?”, and they may be surprised by how quickly this thins out the catalog of One Piece tie-in movies.

Completionist fans, or fans who are simply curious about old and obscure tie-in anime movies, can enjoy every single One Piece movie, but discerning fans are advised to sort One Piece movies worth watching from the chaff. Even if this is one of the best anime series of all time, not everything One Piece touches is gold, and it has its fair share of duds in its movie lineup. The good news is that the few truly great One Piece movies more than make up for the many duds surrounding them.

Updated on February 6th, 2024 by Louis Kemner: This feature about which One Piece movies are worth watching has been updated to adhere to CBR’s current publication standards.

All One Piece Movies Worth Watching

One Piece Film: Strong World Pits Luffy’s Crew Against an Impel Down Ecapee

One Piece Film: Strong World Scores:

• MyAnimeList:8.07
• IMDb: 7.6
• Anime Planet: 4.24/5

One Piece Film: Strong World was the first of several One Piece animated movies to actually have “film” in the title, and was also the first to be supervised by author Eiichiro Oda himself, which ensured its quality as a tie-in product. With Mr. Oda’s tutorage and some fantastic animation, the tenth One Piece movie is a pure hype-fest. Fighting to save East Blue, the Straw Hats face off against the Golden Lion Shiki, a member of the Pirate King’s crew and the first man to ever escape Impel Down.

He kidnaps Nami and is all-around bad news. Because this is still a movie, Shiki and his backstory technically aren’t canon, but it’s pretty easy to imagine they are. The climactic fight is one of the best in all of One Piece, with each Straw Hat getting their time in the sun. This is accompanied by some of the best One Piece music. It’s overplayed endlessly later on in the series, but it sounded good here.

Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island Portrays the Straw Hats With a Unique Animation Style

Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 7.76
• IMDb: 7.2
• Anime Planet: 3.86/5

Mamoru Hosoda, director of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Wolf Children and more, certainly doesn’t seem like the type of guy to take on a One Piece movie. When he did, though, it was truly something special. Never has One Piece been anywhere near as experimental, gripping and terrifying as it was in this film. The aesthetic is creative, there are some serious stakes, and the plot is uncharacteristically dark.

One Piece fans will be taken on a journey by Hosoda’s stylized animation, watching as the Straw Hats’ getaway to Omatsuri Island morphs into something way more serious than anyone expected. Even for those who aren’t well-acquainted with One Piece, this film stands out as a dazzlingly unique piece of media, rejecting the usual One Piece flair while still capturing the spirit of the series. Definitely check it out.

Dead End Adventure Features a Cool Ship Race

Dead End Adventure Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 7.53
• IMDb: 7.2
• Anime Planet: 3.9/5

Dead End Adventure (2003) is the first One Piece movie worthy of an essential viewing tag. Granted, it’s yet another high-budget filler arc, but this one’s good enough to justify its place in the franchise. The Straw Hats are embroiled in an exciting ship race including some fantastic movie-exclusive characters. The cast has expanded to include fan-favorite Nico Robin, and the animation looks great. Due to some care in production, or possibly direction by Kounosuke Uda (the usual One Piece director), Dead End Adventure gels with the original series a lot better than its predecessors. Also, a certain essential movie down the line includes a cameo from a character in this one, so that’s another reason to add it to a completionist’s watch list.

One Piece Film: Z Introduces a Cool New Marine AdmiralOne Piece Film: Z Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.13
• IMDb: 7.7
• Anime Planet: 4.19/5

One Piece Film: Z is the second tie-in movie to both have “film” in its title and Eiichiro Oda’s involvement, marking it as a must-watch One Piece movie. Similar to Strong World, Film Z goes far beyond bering a mere filler-style story arc, and actually fleshes out this world and its characters in meaningful ways, even if this new material isn’t fully canon. The story centers around Black Fist Zephyr, a former Marine Admiral, and incorporates an array of key marine figures, including fan-favorite Aokiji.

Zephyr is one of the best villains in the series, receiving a sympathetic past that actually gets us feeling for him. The animation looks about as smooth as it ever has in One Piece, with the Zoro and Sanji fights receiving some true eye candy. The final fight may be a bit lackluster, but people call Z the best One Piece movie for a reason.

One Piece Film: Gold Takes Place in a Glitzy City

One Piece Film: Gold Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 7.89
• IMDb: 7.1
• Anime Planet: 4.14/5

Several of the most recent few One Piece movies (excluding Straw Hat Chase) have a lot in common: great art, exciting cameos, conspicuous fan service, tried-and-true One Piece storylines and some Oda-approved exposition. One Piece Film: Gold is the longest movie yet, following the Straw Hats’ adventures in Gran Tesoro, which is kind of like the Los Angeles of One Piece. Untouched by the World Government, viewers can expect Gran Tesoro to allow a lot of familiar friends and foes to mix together in extravagant chaos.

Fans are treated to some fun fights and funky music throughout this movie, though on the downside, Gold also has some disconcerting CGI, and the movie might feel like it’s dragging at times. Still, despite its faults, One Piece Film: Gold definitely ranks highly among the One Piece movies worth watching. It looks good, has lots of cameos, and there’s certainly nothing out of the ordinary, so enjoy some high-budget, celebratory One Piece.

One Piece: Stampede Is an Exciting All-Out Brawl Between Pirate Crews (2019)

One Piece: Stampede Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 8.21
• IMDb: 7.5
• Anime Planet: 4.28/5

The 20th anniversary of One Piece ushered in One Piece: Stampede, and it’s a whole lot of fun. Its plot may be mediocre at best, but it delivers some truly immense fan service as a fantastic One Piece movie worth any fan’s time. With lovely art and animation, fans are treated to a raging tempest of a story containing an incredible variety of cool cameos from all ove the series. This fantastic One Piece movie introduces Bullet, one of the strongest One Piece villains, who dukes it out with the colorful cast.

Any fan who loves the Worst Generation, old antagonists or long-forgotten filler characters is sure to get a lot out of One Piece: Stampede. As for its place in the One Piece continuity, Stampede takes place after the Whole Cake saga but before Wano, so Luffy’s climactic fight here must, unfortunately, omit the internet-breaking Gear 5.

One Piece Movies to Skip

One Piece is a Goofy New Adventure in the East Blue Sea (2000)

One Piece Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 7.09
• IMDb: 6.6
• Anime Planet: 3.64/5

One Piece (2000) may sound important, but it’s really just a pleasant nostalgia trip. It’s set very early on in the series, before even Sanji joins the crew. Luffy, Zoro, Nami and Usopp frolic around East Blue, eventually facing an evil pirate named El Drago in what could very easily slide into the first thirty or so anime episodes. The animation isn’t anything special, but there is some nice comic relief. Some speculate the movie was a last-minute film convert, meaning it was originally going to be part of the main series as a filler arc. It would barely even be passable as filler, let alone a weak standalone product. Despite that, the first One Piece movie garnered some relatively decent scores online, suggesting it’s actually worthwhile for fans who want all the One Piece content they can get. Still, it’s easily skipped compared to the franchise’s six strongest movies.

Clockwork Island Adventure Is a Generic, Mildly Entertaining One Piece Movie (2001)

Clockwork Island Adventure Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 7.1
• IMDb: 6.7
• Anime Planet: 3.7/5

Clockwork Island Adventure is a fine movie, but there are simply better One Piece films to watch. As someone steals the Going Merry, the crew (now featuring Sanji) set out to get it back. This leads them to Clockwork Island. The animation has improved a lot from the first movie and the aesthetic is still early One Piece. There are some nice character designs, along with some fun fights as the Straw Hats take on the curiously named Trump Siblings. Even with all its laughs, action and fan-service, the movie does nothing to justify essential viewing. It’s still very skippable, but not a bad watch, as its lukewarm but not atrocious scores online would suggest.

Chopper’s Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals Has a Funny Premise But Doesn’t Feel Substantial (2002)

Chopper’s Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 6.85
• IMDb: 6.2
• Anime Planet: 3.6/5

This is a whole movie just for Chopper, so it’s not a shock it’s often considered the worst of the One Piece movie lineup. As the title suggests, the story revolves around Chopper becoming king of an island of animals, which isn’t exactly the most exciting premise. Overall, though, it’s vintage One Piece: the crew makes it to a new island, defeats all the bad guys there, and that’s that. The final battle, at least, is entertaining. Unless a viewer is a true Chopper fan, this is a definite skip.

The Cursed Holy Sword Gives Roronoa Zoro Some Cool Sword Fights (2004)

The Cursed Holy Sword Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 7.12
• IMDb: 6.6
• Anime Planet: 3.81/5

This is a whole movie just for Zoro. On paper, it sounds pretty great, and is certainly more promising than another Chopper movie. Zoro is, after all, beloved by many, and he’s somehow the only Straw Hat yet to receive a lengthy arc in the anime. In this film, Zoro mysteriously leaves the crew, similar to Nami, Robin and Sanji in their respective anime arcs. Considering the recent “Whole Cake Island Arc,” this format holds a lot of promise. The film isn’t terrible, and it has some predictably exciting sword fights. Unfortunately, the characters are all a bit off, and it feels like the film wasn’t made with the whole series in mind. For this reason, most consider the fifth movie one of the weaker ones.

The Giant Mechanical Soldier of Karakuri Castle Shows Luffy Learning More About His Gears (2006)

The Giant Mechanical Soldier of Karakuri Castle Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 7.19
• IMDb: 6.4
• Anime Planet: 3.78/5

At a glance, this movie seems to deal with the fantastic villain Charlotte Katakuri, but this movie’s title actually says Karakuri, and is far less memorable than the events of Whole Cake Island with the Big Mom pirates. This is the castle of Karakuri, and it’s a “meh” One Piece film adventure at best. The crew goes about their usual shenanigans, this time on Mecha Island. The seventh movie actually does have some interesting stuff, however: Luffy discovers his Gear Second power-up, something that didn’t appear in the anime. Unfortunately, this isn’t enough to make the film essential viewing for anyone aside from One Piece completionists.

The Desert Princess and the Pirates: Adventures in Alabasta is a Pointless Rehash of the Alabasta Arc (2007)

The Desert Princess and the Pirates: Adventures in Alabasta Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 7.31
• IMDb: 6.8
• Anime Planet: 3.71/5

It’s nice to have a glossy retelling of One Piece’s “Alabasta Arc,” and it could be worth a watch if fans want to relive Alabasta a little differently. It will always be a great arc, including one of the best One Piece fights in Luffy vs. Crocodile, as well as some other nostalgia hits like Zoro vs. Mr. 1. The film condenses the arc (sometimes a little uncomfortably) and makes some changes to allow for a shorter runtime. Smoker, for instance, isn’t present here. If a viewer is not a fan of how early One Piece looks, this might be more to their liking. If not, viewers should probably stick to the original, which endures with some brilliant episodes. Of course, because this film is a readaptation, it can’t really qualify for essential viewing, and thus it can’t possibly rank among the best One Piece movies worth watching.

Episode of Chopper Plus: Bloom in Winter, Miracle Sakura is a Needless Rehash of the Drum Island Arc (2008)

Episode of Chopper Plus: Bloom in Winter, Miracle Sakura Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 7.44
• IMDb: 6.9
• Anime Planet: 3.81

This is the second Chopper-centric One Piece movie, and it is just as unnecessary as the first one This One Piece movie is a reimagining of the anime’s “Drum Island Saga,” pulling Vivi from the crew and slipping in the previously absent Robin and Franky, as well as the Straw Hats’ second ship, the Thousand Sunny. There’s also a new villain standing alongside Wapol, though it’s not completely clear why.

It seems this was an experiment in retelling a classic One Piece arc quite differently, and while the film isn’t terrible, it’s nothing special, even for devoted fans of the series. With so many changes, as well as art and music that are only mediocre, this is another one of those rather pointless movies. Like its Alabasta equivalent, it’s still a welcome addition to the lineup. Definitely not essential viewing, though.

One Piece 3D: Straw Hat Chase Is Rather Basic and Has Unimpressive Graphics (2011)

One Piece 3D: Straw Hat Chase Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 6.93
• IMDb: 6.5
• Anime Planet: 3.67/5

More of an experimental stroll than a film, the eleventh One Piece movie dips its toes into 3D animation and does not succeed. It only runs for thirty minutes and looks a lot like a PlayStation game and very little like an anime movie. On one hand, it’s great to have some more innovative One Piece, and the cel-shaded 3D animation doesn’t look as absurd as fans might expect it to. But with such low stakes, such a simple plot and such little imagination, there’s very little to gain from the movie. It’s best to forget this one exists, and the novelty isn’t nearly enough to make it one of the best One Piece movies by any stretch.

One Piece: Film Red Is Just a Weird Idol Movie (2022)

One Piece: Film Red Scores:

• MyAnimeList: 7.83
• IMDb: 6.7
• Anime Planet: 4.11/5

While many viewers seem to agree the most recent film in the franchise, One Piece: Red, contains gorgeous artwork and animation, as well as an intriguing storyline, there is some debate on whether it’s actually essential viewing. For most casual fans, this film is definitely skippable, as it isn’t considered canon to either medium. The plot did tie in highly relevant One Piece characters like Red-Haired Shanks the Emperor, but by the time Film Red wrapped up, very little had actually changed for any character, and Uta’s arc, while intriguing, felt too self-contained in this movie. This movie is best off for any dedicated One Piece fan who wants to see all the movies and/or enjoys pop idol anime and wants to see One Piece‘s take on that genre. Film Red also scored fairly well online for a blatantly skippable One Piece movie.