One Piece Music Symphony – Melbourne – 19 July 2024 – a night for the fans with the bells and whistles

One Piece Music Symphony was a special event for One Piece fans offering some of the most memorable tracks from the entirety of the anime series, from the beginning with the starting point in Romance Dawn to Egghead Island (the current arc). The night was a two hour affair from 8:00 pm to 10:30 pm (with a 15 minute intermission) full of amazing moments captured by the ensemble and the gorgeous selection of videos from the anime highlighting the excellence of the tracks. One Piece tracks hit the spots when they need to, from quiet moments, fun and light-hearted times, to the epic beats during the titanic showdowns of some of Luffy’s most fiercesome foes.

One Piece Music Symphony seems to have been going on for more than a decade, moving from one city to the next. It was fortunate that it eventually made its way to my home city for a grand night at the Melbourne Convention Centre on Friday, 19 July 2024.

The Melbourne Convention Centre can be reached easily by tram or car. If you take the train, you can arrive at Southern Cross Station and then take any tram south and get off at the stop just outside Crown Casino. Otherwise there is parking available at either Crown or the Convention Centre itself. The Melbourne Convention Centre is usually home to many big events, so it’s always worth checking out the schedule to see what’s on and what’s coming up,

The event was well advertised on social media, Facebook and Tiktok, and other forums. From its website, the event’s synopsis was:

ONE PIECE Music Symphony 25th Anniversary Concert. Celebrate the 25th anniversary of “One Piece” with a special orchestra concert – the ONE PIECE Music Symphony! The most memorable moments of the beloved TV series will be projected on a giant screen to the sound of a 50-musician orchestra!

This “One Piece” 25th anniversary world tour of the ONE PIECE Music Symphony will present a new program, featuring all the most memorable moments from TV series’ past 25 years — from the gathering of all members of the Straw Hat Crew to the most recent episodes — in a film concert with projection on a giant screen!

The music program will feature fan-favorite songs, such as “We Are!,” “Sai sai saikyo!!!,” “Oitsumerareta,” and “Binks no Sake”, and a few new pieces specifically made to celebrate the occasion.

Before the concert began, you had to pass security screening at the venue which prohibited large electronic devices like laptops and all liquids. Past security, you could purchase expensive soft drinks from $5, confectionary bars from $4, alcohol from $10, and other hot foods. Plus they had a small merchandise stand only selling their One Piece Music Symphony poster for $20 and T-shirt for $50. I was told that the other merchandise didn’t arrive in time, but could be purchased online.

Inside the main hall was a congregation of fans, some dressed up, some just eager to see what all the commotion was about. There was a mix of straw hats to other main characters including Zoro, Law, and more. For me, I did my part by wearing a Marine cap (which didn’t feature much in the cosplay).

Before the start of the concert, all attendees were told that photographs and videos were prohibited. (But people did it anyway and there didn’t seem to be any infringements or infractions issued.)

During the first half of the concert, the music focused on the before time skip portion of One Piece with tracks focused on each of the Straw Hat members, barring Jimbei. These tracks were nice in being able to reacquaint the audience with each of the Straw Hat members, since the accompanying videos showcased their stories and key moments. The first half culminated to “Bink’s Sake”, which encouraged the audience to sing along.

There were a lot of One Piece opening songs like “We Go”, “Over The Top”, “Us” (Assu), and “We Are” – all normally sang by Hiroshi Kitadani. It would have been great to have those tracks accompanied by lyrics or even the man himself, Hiroshi Kitadani. (Other concerts had Hiroshi Kitadani appear on stage.) But alas, all the opening songs that were played were a welcome addition to the setlist. And it came as a surprise to many that songs like “Over The Top” and “Us” (Assu) even made the setlist.

The second half of the concert had most of the epic tracks I was keen to experience, including all the well-known tracks. The second half covered key moments from Dressrossa, Big Cake Island, Wano Arc, and to the audience’s surprise, Egghead Island. These included the battles against Doflamingo, Katakuri, and Kaido, as well as the epic moment that Luffy transformed into Gear 5 for the first time. The way they played the track titled “Overtaken” (or “Oitsumerareta”) for the Gear 5 build up was epic and the audience could feel it.

Like any good concert, even after “We Are” was played (where the audience could sing along), we were treated to two extra tracks, including the last one “Family” captured the essence of One Piece – the crew’s bond through their many shared moments, including moments of levity.

Overall, the whole concert was a brilliant night with lots of fantastic moments captured by the ensemble and accompanied by the gorgeous visuals on the large screen. Any One Piece fan would enjoy this event.

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