Terrestrial broadcaster GMA Network has listed on their schedule that the anime film One Piece Film: Gold will premiere this Saturday.
The anime film will premiere on March 2, airing every Saturday mornings at 09:15am, right after the animated show Ben 10: Alien Force.
The 120-minute film will be split into several parts, which will be airing on the 30-minute timeslot for the next couple of weeks. Yo-kai Watch: The Movie, which is the first movie of the popular game franchise, was split into six parts and aired from January 19 to February 23.
The glittering Gran Tesoro, a city of entertainment beyond the laws of the government, is a sanctuary for the world’s most infamous pirates, Marines, and filthy rich millionaires. Drawn by dreams of hitting the jackpot, Captain Luffy and his crew sail straight for the gold. But behind the gilded curtains lies a powerful king whose deep pockets and deeper ambitions spell disaster for the Straw Hats and the New World alike. (Synopsis from Funimation Films)
One Piece Film: Gold is the 13th anime film based on the popular manga series by Eiichiro Oda, which has been running on Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine since July 1997 and currently has 91 volumes.
The popular manga is also running in English language through Viz Media’s Shonen Jump digital manga service.
The film was a follow-up to the television special, One Piece: Heart of Gold, which was aired on Japanese television in July 2016.
The anime film has earned a total of JP¥5.18 billion (about PHP2.4 billion) in the Japanese box office for its run from July to September 2016, becoming one of the Top 5 Grossing Japanese films in 2016.
One Piece Film: Gold was directed by Hiroaki Miyamoto, who previously worked on several episodes of the television series, while Black Butler live-action movie scriptwriter Tsutomu Kuroiwa handled the screenplay.
Masayuki Sato, who previously worked on several of the popular franchise’s film adaptations, returned to work on the anime film, which was produced by Toei Animation.
Singapore-based anime licensor ODEX has previously screened the anime film in Philippine cinemas in Original Japanese Audio with English subtitles in late-August 2016.