The Greatest One Piece Episode In Years Isn't Just Incredible, It's A Blueprint For the Franchise's Future

Published Sep 7, 2026, 7:30 AM EDT

Since graduating from The Los Angeles Film School, Jason has worked as an editor for the local news, as well as a producer of several short films and podcasts. His extensive knowledge of film production and narrative storytelling has enabled him to travel the world, writing about the projects he is passionate about in the realms of film, anime, and gaming.
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The last few years have seen a wonderful increase in the quality and direction of One Piece's anime episodes, which have continued to trend online with moments of epic action, as well as beautiful drama. While the greatest episodes of One Piece included all of that and more, one special filler episode broke the formula in many ways. Its original characters provided a fresh perspective for one of the series' most exciting moments, which is something the upcoming God Valley movie should mimic.

As Eiichiro Oda's One Piece continues to progress towards his epic’s ending, the final arcs of the long-running series have been a consistent treat for those who are caught up. Larger-than-life battles, shocking revelations that reshape previous relationships, and answers to decade-long mysteries come fast and furious during the Egghead and Elbaph arcs. But the true events behind the long-teased God Valley Incident are one revelation that has stuck with readers and whoever decides which One Piece movies get made.

The Egghead arc shared a glimpse of the atrocities the World Government's rulers were doing on God Valley through the perspective of the young slave Kuma. However, it wasn't until the Elbaph arc that the full scope of the world-changing event was brought to light. Readers finally witnessed the conflict involving the era's most powerful pirate crews, the Marines, and the World Government, with a surprising and tragic focus on the mysterious Rocks D. Xebec- a focus that hopefully the God Valley movie will maintain.

The God Valley Movie Should Be Different

Traditionally, One Piece movies focus on Luffy and the Straw Hat crew clashing against another crew in a self-contained adventure. Since the event took place decades before Luffy's birth, the God Valley movie may be the first One Piece movie without Luffy in it. This leaves the role of the film's primary protagonist open to a character who will need to carry the film, and arguably the best One Piece episode of all time provided the perfect blueprint to help them shine even brighter in the upcoming film.

Personally, I believe that One Piece Fan Letter worked on so many levels because it was able to effectively tell its own story within Eiichiro Oda's world while including everything that makes One Piece a king of shōnen storytelling. It was able to focus on the journey of an original character while also building up its side characters in a way that all came together for its protagonist's arc. If the God Valley movie can do the same but with Rocks D. Xebec, it could easily become the best One Piece movie yet, and maybe even the best animated movie of the year.

Fan Letter Showed How One Piece Movies Should Work

If the anticipated One Piece God Valley movie attempts to be a direct adaptation of the manga, it runs the risk of feeling too segmented. While the flashback’s richest content focuses on Rocks, the event also includes many heartbreaking and important moments focused on the young Kuma, Monkey D. Dragon, and Silvers Rayleigh. Jumping around to show each of their moments would likely distract from potential screen time that could be used to focus on Rocks’ story.

A lot of the best anime movies that are part of a larger franchise benefit greatly from producing a story that newcomers can enjoy without the full context of the overarching narrative. Fan Letter was able to accomplish that by introducing a new character and primarily focusing on their perspective of one of One Piece’s most epic moments. The next movie should mirror Fan Letter’s approach so that it can focus on a story that will entice new viewers while also giving one of the franchise’s most important characters the emotional and explosive cinematic focus Rocks is worthy of.

One Piece

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  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

• Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)