Set in the world of mangaka Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece, Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation is an anime short film directed by Sunghoo Park and developed by the Japanese animation studio E&H Production.

The wandering Samurai known as Ryuma de King (Robbie Daymond) is trying to get a free meal from the barmaid Flare (Brianna Knickerbocker), but is stopped by the swordsman Cyrano (Ray Chase) who kicks him out. Ryuma exits and then is framed by the thief D.R. (Kyle McCarley) who blows a horn that summons a dragon. With the town turned against him, Ryuma must muster all of his courage even as Cyrano continues to steal the spotlight.

Sunghoo Park is known for his work on the first season of Jujutsu Kaisen, and he continues to prove his talent here. He directed the film and wrote it, working with several other talents to bring this short to life. It was done expertly and I had a good time watching it.

Oda is a writing talent. With One Piece focusing so much on Monkey D. Luffy’s quest to become Pirate King, this was a good prequel that had a good connection to master swordsman Roronoa Zoro, voiced again by Christopher Sabat. This made it more fun as we explored another part of the history within his world.

Though short, this is an exciting action flick that has something for everyone. One Piece fans can enjoy a prequel and casual viewers can enjoy some epic swords-wielding right along with some fun comedy.

Check out the trailer below:

PARENTAL CONCERNS: Action violence, Minor gore, Minor foul language

This review is based on the dub featured on Netflix.

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