One Piece - Defeat Him! The Pirate Ganzack

'Defeat Him! The Pirate Ganzack (also known as Defeat the Pirate Ganzack!') was the first animated adaptation of One Piece, an original video animation (OVA) produced for the 1998 Jump Super Anime Tour. It was given a limited screening across Japanese theaters, and released on home video the following year, with copies bundled into select issues of Shonen Jump.

As it predates the "official" Toei anime, this OVA features markedly different animation (supplied by Production I.G.) and voice actors. It also does not adapt or reference any specific story from the manga, though its status quo vaguely fits the period between the Orange Town Arc and the Syrup Village Arc.

Synopsis
Adrift in a small dinghy on a sunny, windless day, Luffy, Nami, and Zoro sit paralyzed with hunger. As Nami berates the two men for squandering the month's provisions, a Plesiosaur suddenly attacks, snapping their dinghy in half. Overjoyed at this new source of meat, Luffy and Zoro prepare to counterattack, but are quickly overpowered and swept away in the tide; while a panicking Luffy drags Zoro deeper and deeper down, the monster carries Nami off.

Some time later, a half-drowned Luffy washes up on an island. Here, two pirates prepare to loot his body, only to be challenged by Medaka, a small, heavily armored girl who demands they return her father. Though Medaka proves little match for the pirates, she annoys them enough to give chase, and inadvertently trample Luffy enough times to force all the water from his lungs. Awakening in a rage, Luffy crushes the two pirates with a single punch, and promptly collapses from hunger.

Awed, Medaka brings Luffy - and a hastily found Zoro - into the local village, where an elder named Skid offers them food. While Luffy and Zoro eat (and speculate on Nami's fate), Skid warns them of Ganzack, a vicious pirate whose crew has enslaved the whole island. While the women, children, and elders have been left in the village as hostages, all the able-bodied men - including Medaka's father Herring - have been put to work in the Devil's Tower, a massive structure on the far side of the island.

These accounts are interrupted by a tremor from the Devil's Tower, which spills Luffy's meal. Grimly, Medaka explains that the village has given the last of its food to Luffy and Zoro; only the tower, she adds, might contain more. On hearing this, Luffy immediately rushes off to the tower with Medaka, an exasperated Zoro following in their wake.

Infiltrating the tower, the trio find it contains an armory, with Ganzack's men forcing the villagers to build guns and cannons; the tremors had come from artillery tests, fired from the tower's mouth. Heedless of the dangers, Medaka cries out to her father as soon as she finds him, alerting dozens of hostile pirates. Unfazed, Luffy and Zoro eagerly meet the challenge - until a masked figure suddenly swoops in and kidnaps Medaka.

While Zoro holds off Ganzack's men, Luffy chases Medaka's kidnapper out of the tower and down to the shore, only for the kidnapper to reveal herself as Nami. At first puzzled, Luffy is shocked when the Plesiosaur reemerges with a pirate in crab-like armor atop it; this pirate is none other than Ganzack, and Nami has already thrown her allegiance to him.

Defiant, Luffy proves an even match for both Ganzack and the Plesiosaur, but eventually falls to a secret weapon in Ganzack's armor: a sticky, unbreakable foam that binds his entire body. Shortly after, Ganzack's men manage to force Zoro's surrender by threatening to fire on the slaves; as Zoro is taken away in chains, Herring quietly heartens the other slaves, and shows that he has smuggled some dynamite out of the ammunition stores.

At a banquet, Zoro, Luffy, and Medaka are in chains. Ganzack makes guesses on their price, and after hearing this Nami waits in great anticipiation of the auction that is to come. Ganzack insults Luffy and mocks him by stepping on his hat. Luffy demands Ganzack to return the hat, it being a gift of Shanks.

An explosion then takes place. The people from the village run out and start throwing dynamite, which they were forced to transport against the pirates. While the islanders and pirates fight, Nami goes and unlocks Medaka. Before Nami can unlock Luffy or Zoro, Medaka runs away with the keys, saying "I hate pirates".

In the meantime, Ganzack defeats the rebellion and shoots at Medaka's father, saying he has "no need for wild livestock", but the bullet bounces from Medaka's helmet, as she jumps in. Ganzack prepares to kill her and her father, but then jumps aside from Luffy's rubber punch. He then shouts and presents his armored battle ship. The islanders are stunned as to what they have been making. The ship then fires the cannon and destroys part of the island. Luffy and Zoro decide to go to the ship and fight. Medaka wants to come too, but her father does not allow it. Despite this, she still jumps on as Luffy pulls himself and Zoro to the ship. While fighting with Luffy, Ganzack's armor deploys various projectiles, yet does not hit him. He proceeds to get angry and fire a chain toward Luffy, tying him up. He prepares to cut his head off, but Medaka jumps in the way and shields him (in her armor).



Her helmet flies off as she falls to the ground. Luffy, shocked, grows so angry that he breaks free of his chains. He then grabs Ganzack, spins him around and slams him to the ground. After Ganzack's down, Medaka gets up and shows Luffy that she is okay. Meanwhile, Zoro fights down the pirates and moves to the sea monster, but is beaten to it by the dynamite-throwing islanders.

Ganzack gets to his feet, refusing to recognize defeat. He announces that he is going to be the Pirate King, yet Luffy beats him away and he crashes with the projectile he fired at the island.

Luffy, Nami, and Zoro are seen in a small boat, Nami disappointed that Ganzack did not have any treasure, while Luffy enjoys the heavy stock of food. Medaka, without armor, then runs to the boat (without it, Luffy did not recognize her at first) and gives Luffy a life preserver, saying that now he will be okay, even if he cannot swim. Medaka then calls him a hammer, while Luffy struggles unsuccessfully to get the life-preserver off. While he does so, the life wheel is presented to our view from another side, showing the Japanese words for "Thank you" on the bottom of the wheel.

So they depart, Luffy with wheel and all, while shouting that they will venture to the Grand Line. Medaka runs after them and encourages Luffy to become a great pirate.

Trivia

 * Three of the voice actors in this OVA would later participate in the Toei anime:
 * Wataru Takagi (Zoro) would go on to voice Bellamy.
 * Takkou Ishimori (Skid) would go on to voice Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
 * Ikuya Sawaki (Herring/the Narrator) would go on to voice Admiral Fujitora.

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