One Piece the Movie: Dead End no Bōken (Japanese: ONE PIECE THE MOVIE デッドエンドの冒険, Hepburn: Wan Pīsu za Mūbī Deddo Endo no Bōken; lit. One Piece The Movie: Dead End Adventure) is a 2003 Japanese animated film directed by Konosuke Uda and written by Yoshiyuki Suga. It is the fourth animated movie in the film series of the One Piece anime and the franchise's first full-length feature, released independently of any "Toei Anime Fair" event. It was released on March 3, 2003. Desperate for cash, the Straw Hat Pirates enter a secret race between pirate crews known as the Dead End Competition. There, they must battle against powerful people, including the bounty hunter who wants to kill Gasparde and a climactic battle with marine-turned-pirate Captain Gasparde.
Contents
Plot
In a port town pub, the once again flat broke Straw Hats witness a suspicious exchange between a customer and the proprietor. Nami immediately senses money and endeavors to convince the host to give her whatever information he had given him. The other Straw Hats join in and soon he is persuaded. He shows them to a backdoor, behind which they find a long and winding tunnel. That tunnel leads to a large underground chamber, where a number of pirate crews have a gathering. The island they are on, turns out to be the starting point of an irregularly occurring, anything-goes sailing competition. For a moment, the Straw Hats weigh whether it is wise to join in the race, considering that two giants and a crew of fish-men, who were once the rivals of Arlong's gang, were participating as well. But once they learn the height of the price money, not entering is out of the question. From the bookmaker they receive an eternal pose, to lead them to the goal of the race. Free food is available at the bottom of the chamber and Luffy makes extensive use of it. His eating habit of stealing other people's food quickly angers the bounty hunter Shuraiya Bascùd (シュライヤ・バスクード, Shuraiya Basukūdo), as well as a group of men led by Gasparde (ガスパーデ, Gasupāde). Gasparde is a deserted naval officer, with a bounty more than three times as high as Luffy's and said to be the race's favorite. A fight arises, and after Luffy and Shuraiya beat up his men.