Fans aren't kidding when they say that this is one of the darkest One Piece films produced. The movie's atmosphere is akin to that of a horror film set in the One Piece universe, rather than being another big-screen adventure like most of the other movies.
- The first sign that the island isn't on the up and up: After Chopper falls into the ocean, followed by Luffy (who tried to save him forgetting he can't swim either) and Sanji saving both of them. The camera pans down to the ocean floor... and a number of shipwrecks resting at the bottom of it.
- Robin naturally get suspicious of the island surroundings and manages to find out about a "Lily Carnation". She goes off to explore and finds some shipwrecked ships. Looking further she finds a wanted poster and notes that the Baron doesn't look any younger then he does now. The Baron soon confronts her and goes to shoot her with an arrow, all while Lily's eyes suddenly go multi-colored as she smiles wickedly through all this.
- Just the way the Straw Hats start turning on each other through the film. Sure they've had their squabbles (this was pre-Water 7 btw) but nothing too bad. Here both Zoro, Sanji, Usopp and Nami actually start getting to the point of despising each other due to some misunderstanding during the Quints game. By the dinner party, Zoro and Sanji's bickering has gone from playful to serious and Nami utterly refuses to talk with Usopp. To say it's unsettling is an understatement.
- Usopp's encounter with DJ Gappa. He just wanted to cool his head after Nami still acted coldly to him. Then this kid comes along demanding his hat. Usopp tries to brush him off...until his eyes change into a different color. And that's pretty much the last we see of him for the rest of the movie.
- There was one scene when Nami was speaking with one of the Baron's crewmates who suddenly became a plant and dissolved into a dead husk.
- Not long after the above, the little banquet held in the crew's victory suddenly takes a dark turn, the candles go out and the crew are thrown in pitch darkness. They note that Robin, Chopper and Usopp are missing and Sanji isn't helping matter with his accusations, making a stinging one to Luffy for dragging them to the island in the first place. If that wasn't enough, the Baron decides to continue the games with "Shooting" in which the staff will hunt down the crew "The Most Dangerous Game"-style, lead by DJ Gappa himself who's wearing Usopp's hat. Needless to say the crew are instantly suspicious about what happened to him and the Baron and Gappa refusing to answer them. Through all this, Luffy remains dead silent until it's only the Baron and him before demanding where his missing crewmates are. When the Baron retaliates with an arrow, Luffy manages to dodge it... only for it to suddenly stop and change direction to Luffy's horror, forcing him to run. He would've nearly been captured if Brief hadn't pulled him into one of his underground passages.
- The next scene after this sees Zoro, Sanji and Nami being hunted by the Baron's men. Since they went off on the own separately, we see Gappa easily using his plate skills to corner them and take them down, indeed looking something right out of a horror movie. Zoro manages to shake off his attacks and retaliate with Oni-Giri... and Gappa is unaffected much to Zoro's bewilderment before the Baron knocks him out with an arrow shot.
- The Straw Hats being absorbed into Lily Carnation.
- Luffy being a human pincushion of arrows trudging zombie-like while begging for his crew to return.
- Probably the worst part about the absorbing part is watching Zoro who was the last one to be absorbed. The rest of the crew appears to be unconscious but he has this anguished expression on his face as if he was completely aware what was happening and his mouth is open like he was screaming.
- At the end where the flower on the Baron's shoulder becomes a giant grotesque beanstalk where the bodies of the Straw Hats are jammed in it.
- The Reveal that the giant iron-like "stem" of Lily is actually made up of thousands of arrows (of despair!), mostly due to the scene being backed by an extended Scare Chord and screeching violins.
- The cutesy Lily avatar on the Baron's shoulder cheerfully exclaiming that it's hungry, and making biting and chewing motions both during and after absorbing the Straw Hats.
- Especially since the first half of the movie is relatively light-hearted, with a light touch of suspense.
- The scene after the death of Lily. In an instant, all of the pirate crew members brought back from the dead change back into plants. No transition, not their bodies steadily turning or degrading back into plants. Just an instant change. It's so unsettling because of how harshly and suddenly the illusion of life vanished, and all you're left with are these dead plant husks.
- The Baron's reaction to it isn't less horrifying. He had become evil in the first place because he had lost all of his crew at once, so when the illusions of them vanished, he became like a rabid dog, screeching "UNFORGIVABLE!"
- And then Luffy punches him so hard, the Baron dies.
- The Baron's reaction to it isn't less horrifying. He had become evil in the first place because he had lost all of his crew at once, so when the illusions of them vanished, he became like a rabid dog, screeching "UNFORGIVABLE!"
