General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20266 min read

One Piece Film: Gold (ONE PIECE FILM GOLD)

One Piece Film: Gold (ONE PIECE FILM GOLD) is a 2016 Japanese animated film, the thirteenth theatrical feature in the One Piece franchise, in which the Straw Hat Pirates visit Gran Tesoro, a giant entertainment city ruled by the golden emperor Gild Tesoro. Toei Animation released it in Japanese theaters on Saturday, July 23, 2016¹. Eiichiro Oda, the original author of the One Piece manga, joined the production as general producer, Hiroaki Miyamoto directed, and Tsutomu Kuroiwa wrote the script¹.

Key fact	Detail
Position in series	13th One Piece theatrical film¹
Japanese release	July 23, 2016¹
Director / writer	Hiroaki Miyamoto (third series director of the One Piece TV anime); script by Tsutomu Kuroiwa (Nazotoki-wa Dinaa-no Atode, LIAR GAME)¹
General producer	Eiichiro Oda, the manga's original author¹
Runtime	119 minutes²
Worldwide box office	$66,207,073, of which $47,824,455 came from Japan³
Critical scores	67% Tomatometer (9 reviews) and 81% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes; 43 Metascore on Metacritic; 7.1 on IMDb⁴^•⁵
Theme song	"Ikari wo Kure yo" (怒りをくれよ) by GLIM SPANKY⁶

Spoilers

Story and setting

The film sends Luffy and the Straw Hat crew to Gran Tesoro (グラン・テゾーロ), an independent state recognized by the World Government and the largest entertainment city in the world, where famous pirates, Marines, and millionaires gather. The city is an "absolute sanctuary" that even the World Government cannot touch, and everyone, Marine or pirate, follows the city's rules in its casinos and attractions⁷^•⁸.

Their host is Gild Tesoro (ギルド・テゾーロ), the "Golden Emperor" who rules the country and can move the World Government itself with the power of money, to the point of winning over even the Celestial Dragons. Behind the city's splendor lies his overwhelming control, and the crew is swallowed by the city's ruthless rules⁸. Toei's English synopsis frames the conflict as a question of freedom versus control, with Luffy and his friends putting their beliefs to the test in a battle for the seas⁹. Rotten Tomatoes summarizes the premise as the Straw Hat Pirates taking on Gild Tesoro, "one of the richest and most ambitious men in the world"⁴.

Place in the franchise

Viewing guides place the film after episode 750 of the One Piece anime¹⁴. Like the other theatrical features, it tells a story outside the manga's canon¹⁵. GamesRadar's guide to the franchise recommends Gold among the five films worth watching, alongside Strong World, Film Z, Stampede, and Red¹⁶. Tsutomu Kuroiwa returned as screenwriter for One Piece Film Red in 2022¹⁷.

Production

Toei Animation announced the film's production and poster visual in August 2015 and set the title and release date in a December 2015 press release. The poster placed the title logo against an all-gold background with Luffy's eye peering through the letters¹. Oda also drew the film's main visual, which the official website posted in February 2016¹⁰.

The staff credits include Yuuki Hayashi for music, Mayumi Kojima for the insert song, Masayuki Sato for character design and chief animation direction, Kazuo Ogura as art director, and Satoshi Nozawa as CG director⁶. The regular television cast reprised their roles: Mayumi Tanaka as Monkey D. Luffy, Kazuya Nakai as Roronoa Zoro, Akemi Okamura as Nami, Kappei Yamaguchi as Usopp, Hiroaki Hirata as Sanji, Ikue Otani as Tony Tony Chopper, Yuriko Yamaguchi as Nico Robin, Kazuki Yao as Franky, and Cho as Brook⁶. Guest casting included Kazuhiro Yamaji as Gild Tesoro, Hikari Mitsushima as Carina, Nanao as Baccarat, Kendô Kobayashi as Dice, Gaku Hamada as Mr. Tanaka, and Kin'ya Kitaôji as Raise Max⁶^•⁵.

Release and box office

After the July 23, 2016 Japanese opening, the film reached France on November 2, 2016, Spain on November 4, 2016, Italy on November 24, 2016, China on November 11, 2016, and South Korea on December 8, 2016, before its United States release on January 10, 2017 through FUNimation Entertainment³. Worldwide grosses reached $66,207,073, with Japan accounting for $47,824,455 and the United States $423,593; the Chinese run added $15,584,811³.

In July 2022, Fathom Events and Toei Animation Inc. brought the film back to United States theaters to celebrate its fifth anniversary and to promote the upcoming One Piece Film Red¹¹. The film later became available for streaming on Netflix in the United States⁴, and in Japan all fourteen One Piece theatrical films, including Gold, began streaming on Hulu on January 1, 2026¹².

Reception

Critical response was mixed. Rotten Tomatoes recorded 67% on the Tomatometer from 9 reviews, with 6 fresh and 3 rotten, and an 81% Popcornmeter from more than 250 audience ratings⁴. Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 43, based on 4 critic reviews (1 positive, 2 mixed, 1 negative), against a user score of 7.3 from 58 ratings⁵.

Individual critics split along familiar lines. Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times (70) wrote that viewers unfamiliar with One Piece may find themselves lost, since the filmmakers treat the regular characters and their relationships as givens, while fans will find the settings, characters, fights, and slapstick comedy they enjoy¹³. Andy Webster of The New York Times (30) called the film shrill and exhausting¹³. Marc Savlov of the Austin Chronicle (40) praised Toei Animation's 2-D animation, writing that it fills nearly the entire running time with skirmishes, melees, and battles royal¹³. Toussaint Egan of Paste Magazine gave 7.6/10 and called the film a solid entry point for viewers who want to enjoy the series without wading through filler episodes⁴. Yago García of Cinemanía described it as "a surreal Ocean's Eleven, deranged and animated"⁴.

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026