Heart of Gold is the eleventh One Piece TV special, which was released on July 16, 2016. It is a prequel tie-in for the movie, One Piece Film: Gold.
Olga is a young girl who is wanted by both the Marines and Gild Tesoro, who are after the mythical treasure Pure Gold. Apparently, Pure Gold is so valuable that it is rumored that it can buy the entire world. But Olga, one of the few who know its location, refuses to tell anyone, not even the World Government. She soon meets the Straw Pirates, who also want the Pure Gold, but they are unaware that she has plans for them. What's more, a ruthless and notorious treasure hunter named Mad Treasure is also after the Pure Gold as well.
Surprisingly, Funimation announced the dubbed version of it, a rare first for supplementary material of the series (Funimation largely seems to ignore anything that isn't solely the main series). The special was released alongside the Blu-ray of Film: Gold on May 2, 2017.
Tropes:
- Agony of the Feet: While Chavez can walk across the stomach acid, it eventually starts burning his feet, forcing Luffy and Acier stop on the nearest island and allow him to rest before he can continue.
- Badass in Distress: Treasure and his crew capture Nami, Usopp, Chopper, Robin, and Brook, who remain captives for a large chunk of the special. Taken fairly literally when they still get to be badasses even as captives while trying to get around the booby traps in the temple.
- Booby Trap: The temple where the Pure Gold is kept has a few that require the explorers to pass their tests to proceed or face death.
- Broken Bird: Olga, once her backstory was revealed. Her mother was killed when she was young due to Acier creating Pure Gold, which quickly attracted opportunistic treasure hunters and pirates. In a fit of anger towards her father, Olga attempts to throw her ring, which Acier gave to her, into the sea, but the light radiating from Pure Gold inside attracted a Sea King that ate the island Olga lived on, leading Olga to live 200 years inside one of its stomachs. She finally got out, but people immediately tried using her to get to Pure Gold because they recognized her as a former citizen of Alchemi, which later led to her capture by the Marines believing Pure Gold should belong to the World Government. This caused Olga to believe that people only exist to be used and exploited as tools, a sentiment that is similar to Mad Treasure's until the Straw Hat pirates defrosted her by proving their loyalty again and again.
- Call-Back:
- Once again, Sanji's on a ship where someone shows up and tries to threaten people into giving them food because they're starving. He even makes the same dish.
- Once again, Sanji flies into a jealous rage upon discovering somebody has already eaten an invisibility-bestowing Devil Fruit.
- The Cameo: Rob Lucci (though his face isn't shown), Tanaka, Carina and Gild Tesoro make brief appearances in the special.
- Chain Pain: Mad Treasure ate the Chain Chain Fruit which allows him to create chains from his body which his uses as weapons, bindings and even armor.
- Chameleon Camouflage: Psycho P's Color Color Fruit allows him this whenever he uses his spray cans on himself or objects. It comes off looking like Invisibility.
- Chekhov's Gun: The invitation that Tanaka gives to Mad Treasure at the start of the special. Nami manages to swipe it from him which in turn leads the crew to Gran Tesoro and the events of Film: Gold.
- Chekhov's Skill: Acier's "Smug Look" which he was trying to uses as an example in comparison to a funny face. It allows Luffy to find him when Psycho P uses his powers to disguise his men as Acier.
- Continuity Nod:
- When Mad Treasure first attacks the crew, Ussop is shown to display Observation Haki alongside Luffy, Zoro and Sanji which he developed during Dressrosa.
- Sanji explodes in jealousy after discovering Psycho P has the Color-Color Devil Fruit, which grants the power of Invisibility as a secondary aspect. Because of this, he specifically focuses on defeating Psycho P, making a dramatic speech (rant) about how he's spent his whole life searching for a Devil Fruit with that kind of ability. All of this is a throwback to Sanji's desire for the power of invisibility so he could sneak into women's baths and his enmity for the fruit's possesor, Absalom, as seen in the One Piece – Thriller Bark Arc.
- The fact that the Color-Color Fruit exists marks yet another example of Devil Fruits having overlapping powers, such as Playing with Fire being an aspect of the Flare-Flare, Magma-Magma, Hot-Hot and Smelt-Smelt Fruits.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Olga was once a carefree and happy girl who lived a peaceful life on Alchemi with her parents until she became ill with the South Blue Emperor Fever, which in their time was incurable. Her father Acier created Pure Gold in his search for a cure, and while he was successful in halting Olga's disease, his Pure Gold attracted opportunistic treasure hunters and pirates, which led to her mother being killed. Then the Sea King Bonbonri swallowed most of the island when Olga, mad at her father for her mother's death, was about to throw her ring into the ocean, when the Pure Gold inside it attracted Bonbonri, causing both of them to be swallowed, too. Olga eventually escaped Bonbonri's stomach, but people started recognizing her as a resident of Alchemi and tried using her to get to Pure Gold, which hardened her heart completely and taught her that people exist only to be used as tools.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Olga is a greedy and manipulative young girl who has deep trust issues due to being constantly used as a means to get to Pure Gold. The Straw Hats successfully defrost her, bringing out Olga's good side and restoring her faith in people.
- Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: A Running Gag is that Olga will have what she thinks is an Inner Monologue, only to verbally say everything she's thinking, resulting in the people around her calling her out on this. It's especially embarrassing for Olga because she invariably does it when she's disparaging the people around them or plotting treachery against them.
- Disney Death: In true One Piece fashion. At the film's final climax, Mad Treasure is shown sinking into Bonbori's caustic stomach acids, still clutching his nugget of Pure Gold. In the ending credits, it's revealed he survived, somehow unscathed, and was dragged back to the island in the first stomach by his surviving crew members.
- Domesticated Dinosaurs: Olga has a pet dinosaur-like reptilenote named Elizabeth, which she uses to travel the ocean. Later in the special, Luffy and Acier come across a similar dinosaur named Chavez who helps them cross the acid juices to reach Alchemi.
- Drunken Master: Mad Treasure's henchwoman Naomi Drunk is a very rare Drunken Master archer, managing to be a pinpoint shot with her bow and arrows despite being perpetually sloshed out of her gourd.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Nami mentions that she knows Mad Treasure because she met him before due to being caught raiding his vault in the past alongside another competitor who used her as a decoy and left her at his mercy. Said competitor is Carina, a character in the movie, who likewise shows up at the end of the special.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Comedic example; when Sanji reveals he wants the Clear-Clear or Color-Color Fruit so he can use their Invisibility powers to peep on girls in their baths, Psycho P is revolted, especially because Sanji asserts that Psycho P's refusal to use his powers to do so is flying in the face of what any normal guy would do with them.
- Fanservice:
- Nami's "treasure hunt" outfit ends up showing a lot of skin and there are brief shots of her and Robin's breasts during so as well.
- Both Nami and Robin are forced to dress like Arabian dancers when Mad Treasure captures them.
- Gilded Cage: When we first see Olga, she is presented with a large collection of sweets, but she is fully aware she is a prisoner.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Gild Tesoro. Mad Treasure is after the Pure Gold on his behalf, but it is so low priority that Tesoro shrugs off Treasure's failure to collect it.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Subverted with Olga. She has blonde hair, but she is incredibly greedy and manipulative. And then played straight in the end, as she turns out to be a good person at heart.
- Heel Realization: Olga when she finds out the circumstances surrounding why the Pure Gold was created and mis-blaming her father for what happened to her mother.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Acier tries to do this to keep Mad Treasure from going after Olga and claiming the Pure Heart. It winds up failing however.
- I Have Your Wife: After Luffy and Mad Treasure skirmish on the beach and it's clear that Luffy is more than a match for him, Treasure ends the fight by revealing that he and his crew have captured five of Luffy's crewmates (Nami, Robin, Chopper, Usopp, and Brook), and threatens their lives to force Luffy to allow himself to be chained up and left for dead.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Olga is a greedy, selfish "young" girl, who openly plots her betrayal of the people she accompanies, but goes out of her way to save Luffy twice, and and shows that deep down, she's a sweet girl at heart.
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: Nami mentions that Luffy defeated Doflamingo while trying to convince Olga to lead them to the Pure Gold.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Mad Treasure gleefully sacrificed everything for the Pure Gold, hoping to gain immortality so he could hunt treasure forever. In the end, he just ended up stranding himself inside Bonbori, where he, Naomi Drunk and Psycho P will stay forever due to the Pure Gold concentrated in the Sea King's light.
- Living MacGuffin: Cipher Pol and Mad Treasure regard Olga as this, believing that she can somehow lead them to the legendary Alchemi - where Pure Gold comes from.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Would you trust a guy called Mad Treasure?
- No Challenge Equals No Satisfaction: Mad Treasure has acquired and/or stolen a lot of treasures over time, and has come to be unsatisfied with mere treasures in themselves, and states that it's the thrill of getting treasures that excites him. Throughout the chase for the coveted Pure Gold, perhaps the rarest treasure out of all, he's as much ecstatic about the hunt for the Pure Gold as acquiring it.
- Philosopher's Stone: The Pure Gold is clearly an invocation of this. It's an alchemically treated form of gold which emits a radiation that halts the aging process, so a person can gain immortality by constantly exposing themselves to its light. This is what makes it the most valuable treasure in the world.
- Poor Communication Kills: Because Acier never told her why he created the Pure Gold, Olga assumed her father did it for selfish reasons and believed that it was Acier's selfishness that caused her mother's death. When she discovered the truth, she realized that her grudge against Acier was misplaced and felt incredibly guilty about it.
- Prequel: To Film: Gold. The special ends with Nami showing the crew the invitation she swiped from Mad Treasure to Gran Tesoro and the crew excited at the idea of a vacation there. Of course, we all know that that will be anything but festive.
- Really 700 Years Old: Both Olga and Acier are actually 200 years old. This is due to the Pure Gold which has properties to slow down aging. Olga had a piece in her ring which kept her looking young while Acier likewise remained in his middle-age due to being inside Bonbonri whose lantern was collecting Pure Gold when he ate it.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning:
- Olga has red eyes. She has ulterior motives concerning the Pure Gold, and plans to use the Straw Hats to find its location. Subverted however as she never gets to act on them and isn't evil.
- In a different sense, the eyes of Observation Haki users flash red when they are alerting him of danger. The first time happens when Usopp, Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro see Mad Treasure's ship under Psycho P's camouflage powers, while the second happens when Luffy is alerted of Mad Treasure's incoming attacks while inside Bonbonri.
- Sequel Hook: The special sets up Gild Tesoro and Nami's former rival Carina, and at the end of the special the Straw Hats head towards Tesoro's casino. Both of these lead directly into One Piece Film: Gold.
- Shout-Out:
- Mad Treasure, Psycho P and Naomi Drunk's designs look like something of Jet Set Radio. The fact that Psycho P uses spray cans even further this.
- The Organ Test seems like one toward The Goonies though in that case getting the wrong note shot arrows at victim.
- In the dub Psycho P introduces himself "Straight out of North Blue".
- Slave Galley: Usopp, Chopper and Brook are forced to row Mad Treasure's boat after he captures them with Nami and Robin pounding the drum.
- Swallowed Whole: This turned out to be how the island, Alchemi, went missing when Bonbonri was attracted to Olga's ring and chomped off half of the island.
- The Stinger: After the credits, we see Tanaka inform Gild Tesoro and Carina of Treasure's failure, which apparently doesn't faze them in the slightest.
- Technology Marches On: More of "Medicine Marches On," as Olga's disease was cured in the 200 years since she and her father were swallowed by Bonbonri, as Chopper reveals at the end.
- Too Dumb to Live: Though Luffy defeats him and leaves the Pure Gold behind so he can escape with his crew, Olga, Acier and their dinosaurs. Mad Treasure still tries to go after it despite his crew yelling at him to leave it behind and get on the ship as the stomach is filling up with acid juices. Treasure doesn't listen and is consumed grabbing the Pure Gold. The credits revealed he survived but lost the Pure Gold to Bonbonri's stomach and stranded both his crew and himself within the sea king's stomach.
- Verbal Tic: Olga adds "-wasa" to the end of most of her sentences in the Japanese version.
- Villainous Friendship: Ironically, although Mad Treasure insists to Luffy during their climatic fight that he doesn't believe in friendship and he regards his own crew as mere tools to use and discard as he sees fit, his elite underlings Naomi Drunk and Psycho P both seem to consider him a true friend. They risk their lives to try and save him at the film's end, and end up being stranded inside of Bonbori with him due to their loyalty.
- Who Wants to Live Forever?: Subverted, though not to the extent of Living Forever Is Awesome, in fact never brought up. Olga doesn't seem to have a problem with living such an unnatural long life and never growing older, even casually mention how old she is to Luffy. She feels more mad at her father for (supposedly) getting her mother killed by creating the Pure Gold however.
- Womb Level: The majority of the special takes place in a giant Angular fish named Bonbonri that's so massive that it has three stomachs in it's body, each housing an island.
- Would Hit a Girl:
- Mad Treasure chokes Robin to make her read the poneglyphs that Naomi Drunk saw.
- Zoro has no problem fighting Naomi Drunk, althought he managed to defeat her by just scaring her.
