When & Where Does ‘One Piece Film: Z’ Take Place?
One Piece Film: Z was the 12th One Piece anime movie and a tie-in to the main anime series. The film was announced in November 2011 by Fuji Television and premiered officially on December 15, 2012. The manga’s author, Eiichiro Oda, supervised and executive produced the film, as he did before and after. The plot of the movie is actually connected to the Z’s Ambition mini-arc from the anime series, which actually served as a prequel for the movie. In this article, we have decided to tell you when and where One Piece Film: Z takes place.
One Piece Film: Z came out on December 15, 2012. It is a follow-up of the Z’s Ambition anime filler arc, and it is set somewhere between the Fish-Man Island Saga and the Punk Hazard Arc. It is officially part of the Dressrosa Saga and is set in the post-time skip period, being the first One Piece movie depicting the characters post-time skip. The characters have visited several different locations in the movie itself.
In this article, we will give you more details about the plot of One Piece Film: Z and how it could tie into the main plot of the manga. We are going to see whether there is a possibility that One Piece Film: Z could be canon, which would certainly rock the world that Oda created, especially the opinions and ideas we had about Shanks.
One Piece Film: Z is not canon, which is why it is impossible to pinpoint when exactly it takes place
Fans will know that anime movies are mostly non-canon in all major anime series. Sometimes they can be canon, but in most cases, a movie is just an expansion of the original plot and is considered to be filler content that is not connected to the canon; in fact, in many cases, these movies either openly contradict the canon, or are simply impossible to place on the timeline.
One Piece Film: Z is a non-canon movie, and while we can place it on the timeline, there are still elements that openly contradict the canon content.
We know that the film continues the Z’S Ambition filler arc, which was the first mini-arc of the Dressrosa Saga. The mini-arc began right after the larger Fish-Man Island Saga and was a prelude to the canon Punk Hazard Arc.
The events depicted in the arc and the movie take place after the time skip, making Z the first post-time skip movie in the series. More precisely, this would mean that the movie is set between episodes 578 and 579 of the anime, which is when we think you should watch it.
The characters visit numerous locations in the movie
As for where it takes place, we think it is best to read the plot to see where they’ve been since the movie depicted more than one location.
Zephyr, a former admiral and now head of the paramilitary organization known as Neo Marina, accompanied by his subordinates Ain and Binz, storm a Navy base and steal the infamous Dyna Stone, a secret weapon of comparable power to the Ancient Weapons.
After battling Kizaru, Zephyr is injured and accidentally rescued by the Straw Hat crew; once he discovers that they are pirates, he attacks them together with his men, who have come to retrieve it after locating it with a Vivre Card.
Ain uses his powers to rejuvenate Nami, Chopper, Brook, and Robin while the crew has the worst but manages to run away. The Navy headquarters decides to mobilize once Zephyr’s plan is understood, which aims to destroy the New World through the Dyna Stones by blowing up the three Endpoints, i.e., islands in which there is a high quantity of magma in such a way as to unleash an eruption that could destroy the entire second part of the Red Line.
Meanwhile, Luffy’s crew reaches Dock Island, where a carpenter named Mobston tells them how many pirate crews have been defeated by the Neo Marines for about a year. In search of information on Z, the crew meets former Admiral Aokiji, who left the Navy after being defeated by Akainu at Punk Hazard in the battle to decide who would succeed Sengoku as Grand Admiral after the battle of Marineford.
Kuzan explains to them the Zephyr’s plan, and the crew discovers that he is on the island. Luffy and the others attack him without, however, being able to get the upper hand and allowing him to walk away undisturbed with the captain’s straw hat.
Meanwhile, Garp tells Koby and Helmeppo the story of Zephyr: once an admiral, when a pirate killed his wife and son, he became an instructor and trained many cadets who later became famous Marines. One day most of his recruits were killed, and Z lost his arm in a pirate attack; when he was chosen to join the Warlords of the Sea, the man left the Navy to form his new group, the Neo Marines.
Luffy and his companions go to the island where the Neo Marines will initiate their plan and face it: this time, they manage to get the better of it, and Luffy defeats Z after a hard fight, just as Kizaru and the Navy also arrive on the island. Z then decides to face his former comrades alone to allow the crew and his subordinates to retire; Ain tries to change his mind by running towards him, but Kuzan creates a thick wall of ice to divide them and at the same time prevent the Dyna Stone from exploding.
Z dies during the fight, and later Ain, Binz, and Kuzan bury him by placing what remains of his smasher on his grave. The film ends with a flashback in which a boy dressed as a superhero faces bullies who are mistreating a little girl: while other children cheer for him, the little boy declares that he is a fighter for justice and that his name is Z. During the end credits, the Luffy’s crew returns to Dock Island for the last time to give back to Mobston what he had lent them.
