Kaze wo Sagashite

Kaze wo Sagashite (風をさがして, Search the Wind) is the 12th opening in the One Piece anime series sung by Yaguchi Mari and Straw Hat.

Opening
The opening is mainly divided in 3 parts
 * 1) The first verse displays the Straw Hats happily enjoying themselves on an island before being force to flee together in front of a giant tortoise.
 * 2) The first chorus animates several Color spreads and the traditional crew gathering.
 * 3) The second verse and chorus display spoilers of the Impel Down and Marineford Arc mingled with some group shots of the main characters.

First verse
Luffy is lying on a grassy field as his hat flies off his head and into the sky. As he chases after it, the One Piece title shows up amidst a cloudy background. It then pans down to Luffy running toward his crew to catch his hat, stopping when it comes down enough for him to catch it. We then see Nami and Sanji making a cake together with a blue bear holding an umbrella and a squirrel eating a cupcake while another lies down knowing it's full, Franky and Usopp fitting armor and cannons on an alpaca, Zoro and Robin playing reversi together with a huge dog watching (with Robin clearly winning), and Chopper orchestrating a band of animals(mandrill, monkey, frogs, canarys etc.) as well as Brook, who is playing on the piano. Luffy grins at it all then suddenly looks up in shock as the camera pans to the front of his face. Quick cuts to each of the crew also giving out surprised reactions and we soon see why; the land they're on is the back of a giant turtle. Luffy laughs as he and his crew run for it.

First chorus
Cut to an overhead shot of the Thousand Sunny as it sails the ocean, a huge seagull swoops by with Luffy riding on it and they take off further into the sky. It then cuts to shots of various colorspread animated including: the Straw Hats riding on train at night in the sky (save for Franky who rides a seagull and Brook, riding on an additional train cart), Nami and Robin enjoying ice cream with the others in the background, Franky and Luffy boxing with the crew and various animals cheering them on and finally the group enjoying a meal in an elephant boat in the sky. It goes to Luffy again running toward his crew as the camera sweeps over them and into the air.

Second verse and chorus


Cut to Ace being lead to the gallows, hanging his head in despair as a shadow creeps over his face. We then see Luffy running across Impel Down levels, as various scenes that occur on that arc play in the background: running in Level 1 while Buggy, a Blue Gorilla and the Basilisk appear in the background, then dodging attacks in Level 2 while Mr. 3 uses his wax attacks, then speeding through Level 3 as shots of the Manticores, the Puzzle Scorpions and the Sphinx appear, then running on the scorching floor of Level 4 while Mr. 1 and Blackbeard appear in the background, then warming himself in Level 5 while Mr. 2 Bon Kurei fights the Wolf Unit and a silhouetted Inazuma is present in the background; then Luffy reaches his hand out. Quick cuts to silhouetted Magellan and his Hydra, the Demon Guards, Saldeath, Shiliew and Sadi-chan and finally Hannyabal amidst some of the Impel Down guards who give a salute. Interesting to note, the named Impel Down staff members are no longer silhouetted in the opening following the episodes when they make their appearance.

Cut to Sengoku who grimaces as the camera zooms out to show Marineford. Countless Marine soldiers, along with the Giant Squad and a line of battleships, stand prepared for the oncoming attack. The camera pans by each of the Shichibukai at Marineford and then by the three Admirals. The camera then cuts to Whitebeard giving a devilish smirk in front of a swirling background. We finally see a view of the sky as we see Buggy, Mr. 3, Mr. 1, Crocodile, Jinbe, and Ivankov plummeting down towards Marineford, with the shadow of a last figure still in the air. Cut to Marineford one last time as the camera zooms in on Ace as he lifts his head up. Finally we cut back to the shadowed figure who is revealed to be Luffy as he falls yelling. The camera freeze frames on him before closing on the One Piece title.

Trivia

 * Usually the Japanese Shonen Jump gives forewarning on when a new opening is scheduled, but neglected to do so for this one. Thus many viewers were caught off guard by the sudden change in openings.
 * The opening for episodes 426 - 429 aired without giving credit to the singer, on the DVD that was corrected.
 * Like the previous opening, there have been cases where characters have not been colored properly. When Luffy falls from the sky at the end of the opening, he is seen wearing his greenish blue vest. This contrasts with the cover of Volume 56, in which Luffy wears a yellow vest that he got from Inazuma after being defeated by Magellan. Also, when Crocodile is seen falling, he is seen in the colors similar to the outfit he wore in the Arabasta Arc, instead of his new colors. Also, Hancock's qiqao is incorrectly colored yellow in the opening as it was purple in the episodes and next opening.
 * In the first verse where Franky and Usopp are fitting armor and cannons on an alpaca is an adaptation of the cover page from chapter 536.
 * Although Luffy and the others are shown falling from the sky in this intro, the event does not actually happen in any of the episodes that this intro accompanies.
 * This is the first opening that does not end with the Strawhat crew.
 * The outfit Luffy was wearing at the beginning of this opening is the same he wore in the cover page from chapter 431.
 * This opening was very controversial due to the song itself being far too colorful and childish in contrast to the dark setting of the Impel Down and Marineford arcs. The composer of the song also created controversy when he assaulted one of his staff members and said in an interview that "adults shouldn't read manga". It was also later discovered he wasn't very familiar with the series and when the intro was previewed to his daughter, she criticized it as well but he submitted it regardless. Due to this, opening 12 was very poorly received, and One-Piece fans even protested and demanded that Toei change it.