One Piece Film: Strong World

One Piece Film: Strong World is a landmark theatrical release that transformed the franchise's film quality. For this tenth film, Eiichiro Oda personally wrote the story and designed the villain — the legendary pirate Shiki the Golden Lion, the first man to ever escape from Impel Down, who possesses the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi allowing him to levitate objects. Shiki plans to use the East Blue's citizens as hostages to force the world to acknowledge him, and he kidnaps Nami to serve as his navigator. With the crew separated across Shiki's floating island fortress, Luffy must fight his way to Nami while his crewmates deal with giant monsters throughout the fractured landscape.

Strong World's Oda involvement elevates it dramatically above previous theatrical entries. The story feels authentically connected to the One Piece world in a way that earlier non-canon films never quite achieved. Shiki is a genuinely imposing antagonist — one of the few film villains who feels like he belongs in the same tier as the manga's most dangerous threats — and his connection to Roger's era gives the story weight and history. The animation quality marked a significant step up for Toei's One Piece theatrical production. While technically non-canonical, Strong World is widely considered the gold standard of One Piece theatrical films from the pre-New World era, and Oda's direct creative involvement makes it feel closer to official lore than any previous entry.