One Piece Fan Letter is precisely what its title describes in the best possible way.

What a breath of fresh air this was. It's hard to encapsulate all my feelings in a single review, but suffice it to say I thought this was a triumph. One Piece is many things to many people, yet it will always be a story where ordinary people save one another and change the world in extraordinary ways. Fan Letter captures this essence and distills it into twenty-four minutes of delightful animation, all the while setting up and executing the character arcs of a whole cast of side characters far removed from the main narrative.

I think the appeal here is just how low to the ground this all is. The young girl and two marine brothers are literally and metaphorically watching world events from the sidelines, some in the distant past of the narrative and others much closer to now. They do not have exceptional powers or fated prospects but are scrambling beneath cannon bombardments and shoved aside in the press of the crowds. We see major battles through their eyes – distant laser beams visible only from the sparks of light and titanic punches that can be felt miles away as they shake the earth – and realize what it means to be an average person in these times.

But through it all, they keep striving. Like us, they are inspired by Luffy, Nami, Brook, and the other Straw Hats. Like us, they wait eagerly for updates on the happenings of pirate crews around the world. And like us, they think Chopper is simply too precious for this world.

All of this is presented in an utterly charming visual language. The characters are buoyant and fluid. The backgrounds and interior locations are familiar yet new, densely detailed, and well-populated. It all sings for twenty-four glorious minutes without skipping a beat. Throw in the surprise cameos from Straw Hat members, genuinely funny dialogue, and just-complex-enough a plot, and it's a total home run. It reminds me a lot of the BUMP OF CHICKEN noodle commercial from a few years back, eliciting a lot of the same deep emotions and themes that run through the series in a disarming and surprising package. I think this is not only a must-watch for One Piece fans, but it might also help those who don't know the series well understand the heart that makes all this tick.