Posted: 11/30/2011

One Piece: Collection No. 3

by Ruben R. Rosario

Now available on DVD from Funimation.

The Straw Hat Pirates have finally reached the Grand Line, but what awaits our heroes past the reverse mountain? Dragons, giant whales, a town of bounty hunters, pirates and of course treasure, all to be found in One Piece Collection No.3. Luffy and the gang find a little girl named Apis and do what they can to help get away from the marines. Shortly after, the town gets a nice welcome into Whiskey Peak, but little do they know that the town is full of bounty hunters, known as Baroque Works, that’s bent on getting the bounty on their heads. Join the crew once more on the adventures of a lifetime in One Piece Collection No. 3.

This is the first time in the series that we are introduced to filler material in One Piece with the Warship Island arc. It really makes sense too, with them being pirates on the high seas, this little side adventure is really fun and adds to the charm of this series. Once we get into Whiskey Peak, many things change and the crew finds themselves in one of the biggest thus far, with the introduction of Baroque Works. While the series has had the chance for the Straw Hats to do some something for a good cause, like beating Arlong for Nami and Cocoyashi Island, the beginning of them going against Baroque Works definitely ups the ante. The some really great unpredictable moments that make this series refreshing to watch, as well as its endearing characters, that are modern archetypes in the shonen genre, but carry much charm.

One Piece Collection No.3 comes with a standard 4:3 video track and two audio tracks, the 2.0 Stereo Japanese track and the 5.1 English track. The video on this set of discs looks much better than the previous two sets and seems as though the broadcast of One Piece was no longer interlaced. The English cast continues to do a good job, but I still prefer the original Japanese language track. There’s little to no extras on this set, with just a few commentaries on a few episodes by the English cast and a couple trailers for some older Funimation shows. Again, with this set, one shouldn’t complain about there not being enough on here, for the price point and all the One Piece contained, this collection is totally worthwhile. If you’re scared because One Piece is too long or just doesn’t interest you, you’d be doing yourself a disservice not picking any of it up. One Piece Collection No.3 is proof of how fun and awesome this show is. Highly Recommended!

Ruben R. Rosario is a graduate from Columbia College Chicago with a degree in Audio for Visual Media. He works as a freelance location sound mixer, boom operator, sound designer, and writer in his native Chicago. He’s an avid collector of films, comics, and anime.

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