Is ‘One Piece Film Strong World: Episode 0’ Canon?

In April 2010, a small number of 3,000 lucky fans in Japan got the opportunity to watch the ‘One Piece Film Strong World: Episode 0‘ OVA episode, which was an adaptation of the cult classic Chapter 0 that Oda wrote. The fans were winners of a contest that ran from November 16, 2009, to January 15, 2010, and they got the chance to see the OVA. Ten years later, the OVA has finally been released publicly on YouTube (although for a limited time only), where every fan can now finally see it. In this article, we will tell you whether the OVA is canon and whether you should watch it or not.

The story of the OVA closely follows that of Chapter 0

Three years before the golden age of piracy, at Marineford, the headquarters of the Navy, an alert is triggered following the confrontation between the pirates of Gol D. Roger and Shiki. Knowing this, Vice Admiral Garp ends his meeting with Chief Admiral Kong and refuses to be promoted to Admiral. He boards a boat with Sengoku, who would have preferred to stop Shiki alone. In the New World, on the Ed War sea, Buggy is frightened by Shiki’s fleet and asks his captain to give up, then tries to convince Crocus to talk to the captain. The latter retorts that he is ready to fight.

In the meantime, Shiki invites Roger to join forces with him in his quest to dominate the world using his expertise in ancient weapons. Roger declines because he does not want to give up his freedom. The two crews engage in combat, and Roger’s Pirates succeed in sinking basically 50% of Shiki’s vessels thanks to the weather conditions, which change drastically. He woke up with a piece of his ship’s helm trapped in his brain after the Battle of Edd War.

Two years later, Roger’s Pirates split after taking control of the Grand Line and ascending to the position of King of the Pirates. News of Roger’s Navy arrest spread a year later. Shiki is incensed to learn this and resolves to attack the Naval Headquarters, believing that the pirate Roger is too strong to be detained and that he is the only person deserving of standing by his side to rule the world.

In response, Sengoku and Garp say that they won’t allow him to carry out their plan and that his East Blue hometown of Loguetown would, in fact, be the site of his execution. Garp will tell Shiki that East Blue is an example of a haven of peace, but Shiki is astonished and refuses to believe that the Pirate King was killed in the world’s weakest sea. So started a protracted battle that would eventually level half of Marineford. Shiki is caught and taken to Impel Down after the battle.

Although it is listed as a non-canon work, the OVA adapts a canon chapter

Now that you know what it is all about, we can discuss whether the “One Piece Film Strong World: Episode 0” OVA is canon or not. The One Piece Wikia officially lists this OVA as a non-canon work. Since it has not been publicly available for more than ten years, it makes sense that many fans considered it a non-canon work, especially since OVA works are often non-canon.

But, this is a very strange situation, to be honest. Namely, “One Piece Film Strong World: Episode 0” is an adaptation of Chapter 0, which is a canon chapter written and illustrated by Oda, despite being a prequel chapter. This is why it makes no sense that an adaptation of a canon work is considered non-canon, which is why we really do think that “One Piece Film Strong World: Episode 0” is a canon OVA and that you should watch it.

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