DISCLAIMER: This article does not feature any spoilers from the movie. All information is based on official pre-release material provided by Shueisha and Toei. Said material does dive into some aspects of the movie, so while there are no big spoilers, you might want to go in blind if you wish to know absolutely nothing. But rest assured, we’ll only dive into the main setting of the movie and nothing more

One Piece: Stampede is almost upon us, so to celebrate the hype of the movie, here’s all the basic information we know so far plus some helpful information to having the best experience in watching the film!

1. THE PLOT:

Here’s a basic synopsis of the story:

Stampede is centered around the world’s largest festival for pirates, the pirate expo! An event for pirates from all over the world to enjoy themselves at, the event features many attractions such as replicas of famous pirate memorabilia, a recreation of famous locals such as Roger’s execution scaffold and many more activities! Pirates from all over the world attend this exhibition, including Supernovas, Shichibukai, the Revolutionaries, the Cipher Pol, the Marines and of course the Straw Hat Pirates! The star attraction of the expo is a treasure hunt where many participants are pitted against each other to search for a treasure; but this is no normal treasure, as it apparently once pertained to Gol D. Roger himself! The Straw Hats join in the festivities and the race, but unbeknownst to them, there seems to be a dark plot behind the festival, with a former monster of Roger’s crew wishing to fulfill his ambition…

The movie takes place on Delta Island, serving as the home of the Pirate Expo. The trailers also feature a bunch of varied and stunning locations that the pirates will explore on the treasure race, so this movie is bound to look stunning!

2. THE CHARACTERS:

One of the main selling points of Stampede is its massive array of characters. Stampede is meant to be a big crossover of many of One Piece’s beloved characters, with many faces from across the series appearing in the movie. In fact, as of the moment of pre-release, here are all the officially confirmed characters!

With even more appearing in the movie yet to be revealed!

For those worrying that these might be too many characters, don’t worry, as while the movie features many faces, it mostly focuses on three core groups of characters:

• The Straw Hats (Luffy through Brook, with the exclusion of poor Jinbe), obviously being rather involved in the movie
• The Supernovas (the entire Worst Generation), all seemingly participating in the treasure race. There will also be a major fight scene of all the Supernovas (minus Zoro and Law) fighting against Bullet!
• The seven fighters (Luffy, Law, Sabo, Buggy, Hancock, Smoker, Lucci), a group of seven elite warriors that will fight against Bullet during the movie’s climax, being a fantastic collection of characters from across all factions in the series

The rest of characters mostly either play minor roles in the movie with reduced screentime or simply appear as cameos. This ensures that the important characters aren’t overshadowed, while giving weight to the importance of this event.

The movie does of course feature a few original characters just like the others, which are in this case the following four characters:

The Main Villain: DOUGLAS BULLET

Bullet seems to be hyped as an absolute monster, straight up one of the strongest characters in the series (maybe even close top 10 by the way he’s described). In the end it will take many fighters united to take him down!

The Staff of the Pirate Expo:

3. RELEASE SCHEDULE

The movie’s big release is, of course, in Japan, on August 9th 2019 on theaters across the country. If you’re among the lucky ones that get to watch this movie in Japan, congrats! But if you’re not, don’t worry, as you might have a few other options. First of all, here are the officially revealed release dates for Stampede in other countries:

• Japan: August 9th
• Hong Kong: August 22nd
• Thailand: September 2nd
• Singapore: September 12th
• Portugal: September 26th
• Spain: October 18th*
• Italy: October 24th
• Malaysia: confirmed theatrical release
• Indonesia: confirmed theatrical release
• Philippines: confirmed theatrical release

*(with early screening in Spain at the Sitges Festival a couple weeks prior)

Furthermore, GOLD was also released in the US, France, Germany, Belgium, Taiwan, Vietnam, China and South Korea, so you can expect a very high chance of Stampede showing in those countries as well.

And if you aren’t in any of those countries, then sorry, however, the bluray for the movie will likely be out towards the end of the year, so expect the movie to be fully available for any of your devices sometime before the holiday season!

4. HOW TO GET HYPED/MERCH

If you do happen to be in Japan (or simply want to get some merchandise to either pick up or import), here are a few things you can do to bask in the hype of the movie!

1. Get Volume Expo

For the first attendees of the movie, cinemas will offer Volume Expo, a small volume containing sketches and other information about the movie, similar to the previous volume 0, 1000 and 777 for the former big theatrical movies. A must-collect for those watching it in the theater!

2. Get the One Piece Magazine and the novel

The seventh volume of the OP Magazine comes out on the same day as Stampede and features an extensive look on the movie, artwork, interviews and more. Furthermore, the novel of the movie also comes out on the same day and while it might be just a… ehm, novelty, it might still be worth picking up

 

 

3. Get Volume Stampede

A small volume included with the issue of Saikyo Jump, featuring chapters that showcase the seven fighters. Look for this cover if you want to find it in a Japanese bookstore! You can also find the Stampede newspaper at 7/11 stores, so be on the lookout for it!

 

 

4. Visit the Stampede Café!

If you are in Tokyo, then consider visiting the Stampede café in Shinjuku! It’s nothing spectacular as it’s just a Stampede-themed café, but the food is good! Here’s a link to its location: tinyurl.com/y2n8ek9d

5. Get all sorts of merch!

There’s plenty of merchandise regarding the movie at Mugiwara shops and other places, between figures, pins, keychains and other items, so pick some up if you want!

 

 

5. USEFUL MEDIA

Here’s all the trailers for Stampede, as well as my coverage of all the information since the very start:

First Teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS9qIlJrLIE

Second Teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN-acsVclkA

Third Teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93EA8XQGBYM

Main Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8_YwFLCh4U

Opening 22 Stampede Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YK3t4fb6H4

Three Days Left Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJdBbDauwWU

Two Days Left Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxS7jBOsqIs

One Day Left Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlQFV4ne5Rk

My coverage of Stampede:

• Original Film Announcement
• First Stampede Update
• Second Stampede Update
• Information on Douglas Bullet
• Stampede Cinematic Trailer Analysis

6. FAQ

Is this movie canon?

It isn’t. But that’s the best part! This movie disregards completely any sense of continuity and brings together characters from across the entire series, regardless of if it would make sense for them to be there at that point, allowing for dream match ups that simply couldn’t happen in the main series.

When will this movie release in x country?

The movie’s release in each country completely depends on the local distributor, so please be patient to know if it comes out in yours. You can follow me on twitter as I make notice of every new country confirmed to have the movie.

Will you go watch this movie?

You think I won’t??

7. CONCLUSION: ODA’S MESSAGE

And to conclude, a message directly from Oda himself!

That’s all! I’ll see you tomorrow with more Stampede coverage when the movie comes out!