Can we talk about how weirdly mature Film's Z message of "You can do what you want, but be prepared to face the consequences of doing so."

It's not a subtle message at all, but I think it's one that is really important to One Piece and the idea of freedom.

Most of one piece deals with characters following their dreams, or their fear or inability to do so. But very rarely in the main manga do we see a character punished directly BECAUSE of their dream.

Usually when it happens its due to an obvious evil character getting in the way, or cruel fate stopping them from succeeding.

But Z as a character is different, he actually managed to reach his goal, but yet he suffered directly BECAUSE of it. He did what he wanted until the very end...

You could actually make a decent argument that it somewhat flies in the face of the main theme of one piece, and I kind of love it for it.

The moment where we see Luffy and his crew sale away during Z's last stand, with no one smiling and Luffy actually reflecting on Z's words is kind of potent.

Sadly I don't think the series will ever really explore that concept properly, maybe it will with Blackbeard, but even then he seems more like a dark reflections of dreams rather than the manifestation of regret one might feel for chasing them and tossing everything else away.