I went to see Film Red on Friday evening with my friend who is also a One Piece fan but hasn't read/watched everything. We both thought it was excellent. It was unique having a OP musical, and it worked within the world due to Uta and her Devil Fruit. Ado is one heck of a musical talent, I did not expect to love all the songs as much as I did. Fantastic performance by Ado throughout, I was taken aback by how well she portrayed - so many different - emotions throughout her singing, and it was amazing how the soundtrack really further explored/fleshed out her character arc. Uta is like Zephyr in that while they ultimately are only the focus character of a non-canon movie, they're two of the best antagonists in the whole franchise. I was surprised by Uta not just being a kidnapping target or a pawn of other villains, but actually being the big bad. I think she was a brilliant character with her fans being a good reminder that the Great Age of Piracy has caused a lot of problems for many people as not all pirates are happy adventurers like the Strawhats and I liked her motive of trying to stop all the violence & suffering. It was a childish plan, but that was very intentional - the more the film went on the clearer it became that she's emotionally stunted & never got to properly grow up due to her trauma & loneliness. The twist with the audience once the Admirals arrived was a good mindscrew for a few moments until you figured out what was happening. I loved Uta & Luffy's relationship (he fell for the same trick in the chicken-eating race over 12 years later ) and her being this previously unknown childhood friend of Luffy & Shanks' daughter worked very well. The former gave a unique dynamic and personal challenge for Luffy that we haven't really seen in the franchise before. Every Strawhat got at least one moment and their interactions were on point. But I liked how we got a great variety of characters and a good variety of focus within that, with Law(which I was very happy with as he's my favorite character), Koby, Bartolomeo and even Blueno having major roles. But I think this was very well managed because unlike Stampede and some specials & video games, they didn't go overboard with featuring too many characters and the other characters were well utilized & it made sense why said characters were involved, plus it was ultimately a plot-driven move with a story to tell with Luffy, Uta & Shanks. This is the most we've ever seen of Shanks and the Red-Haired Pirates, and it did not disappoint. Spoiler This movie effectively disproved Shanks as a villain, but that one quote by Uta - while she has no idea how right she is - about Shanks only using Luffy is interesting; he definitely isn't only using him, he cares about him a lot and he's not a bad guy, but he definitely has secret plans involving the Gomu Gomu no Mi. However, that is one element I loved about the movie - Shanks is a good guy, but he was still responsible for the events of the film. Gordon cared for Uta as well and also wasn't a bad man, but ultimately this movie was due to Shanks & Gordon, with the best of intentions, making a series of the wrong decisions. Shanks & the crew loved her and were trying to protect her, but Uta was emotionally broken with a ton of issues due to their decision to leave her, such that even when she found out the truth a year prior she still had all these abandonment issues feeding her negative emotions. It was awesome seeing Shanks and his crew fight for the first time, and the ending fight was unreal. It was unique seeing so many characters fighting one large enemy in the end, Oars is the only instance in the manga and this was a much grander scale, and there was the whole "two worlds, attack at the same time" element. Koby really shone here being the one to organize & direct all the fighters in the Song World and Usopp & his dad perfectly synching was too cool. The final attack with Luffy & Shanks was an epic ending. Uta's last moments were quite touching. It was a somber note to finish up on, but brave for that reason I think. Absolutely loved this film, typing this makes me want to go back & see it again . My favorite One Piece film, maybe my favorite anime film. So much of what makes the series amazing, with a fresh new element due to being a musical.
@SmokeyPrime I’m so jealous… I have no movie theaters near, and even then none likely to have this movie playing. I’m stuck waiting to see this movie till it comes out on home media in August next year probably…
That's a shame, but when it does become available it'll be well worth the wait. Maybe it'll be out via some streaming service in the not too distant future so you won't have to wait that long.
I’d doubt it, I’ve always found myself not being able to see an anime movie until it gets released on Home media. Which is usually a year after release in Japan.
One Piece Film Red Declared 'Anti-Democratic' by Japanese Human Rights Lawyer Lawyer Hajime Kambara launched a lengthy Twitter thread breaking down his views about the film. Kambara, who went to see the movie with his daughter, criticized it for reflecting a "chivalrous, gangster ideology" with its cast of "macho," bodybuilder-like male characters. He also accused the movie of depicting a revolutionary movement that is "destined to lose popular support" because of its leader's "self-righteous" motivations. Notably, Kambara's critiques ultimately extended beyond the film itself to Japanese society as a whole, which he denounced as "hopeless" for its popularization of Film: Red and other similar anime. Kambara goes on to criticize the anime's creators as being stuck in the Showa Era for its display of toxic masculinity and for fostering the "regression and corruption" that is present in Japanese society. While several Film: Red supporters urged the lawyer to read the One Piece manga and then reevaluate the movie, Kambara dismissed these requests, arguing that since he is giving his opinion of the film, it is unnecessary to read the original work. He also challenged these fans by asking them why they were not protesting the film if it was so radically different from the manga.
Re-watched the Films (except for Red due to not being available yet) with friends last night. Had an awesome time, and would rank them as such: 5) Stampede - C+ A bit more positive than negative but it was a poor note to end the marathon on. By far the worst film. The focus on Usopp's character development was brilliant, and I loved Smoker being a main character. Visually the movie looked great too and some of the interactions between characters whom we haven't seen together in canon were cool. But this was a cameo fest with a weak plot (the pirate race was a cool concept but the Film wound up being 70% just fighting Bullet), Bullet is easily the worst Film antagonist, if he's counted he's potentially the worst villain in One Piece - dull personality, crappy motives and unimpressive fighting style. Easily the weakest Luffy/villain rivalry of the Films to this point, I had no investment in the final fight and it was such a random collection of characters, the Worst Gen would have been far more narratively fitting. Instead, Kidd & the rest of them aside from Luffy, Zoro & Law were portrayed horribly. 4) Strong World - A- This one didn't hold up as well as it did when I was younger, but it's still great. It's a fun adventure that's elevated by giving a personal stake to the crew in defending East Blue. We get lots of fun moments with the crew in action & playing off each other, with their arrival in Shikki's fortress being one of their most badass moments. The biggest problem with the movie is that it's plot light - the crew have been separated, but they all very quickly reunite in the village, Shikki kidnaps Nami again & then the crew launch their final offensive against Shikki's fortress; there really isn't too much there to be honest. But, while it's plot light, I would say it's story heavy - the movie's greatest strength is focusing on Luffy & Nami's relationship. It's a fantastic film for Nami with her getting a ton of focus & getting to show off her ingenuity, determination & her love for those close to her. She's the emotional core of the movie, and highlighting the relationship between Luffy & her throughout the movie was a smart play; it's one of the most important & developed dynamics in the franchise, so it was a great lynchpin for the film. 3) Gold - A This was my first time seeing this one and I was blown away. Seeing One Piece as a heist film was really fun, it was cool to get a One Piece story focused around stealing gold. Tesoro was quite strong as the villain, even if he was a Doflamingo expy; he had a sorrowful backstory & I love that psychology of doing unto others what the Celestial Dragons had done to him. Plenty of nice moments for the crew, I liked Franky having a major role and Nami once again shone in a main role. Nami's backstory, while acknowledged as really sad, wasn't as overwhelmingly devastating as some others we've seen like Robin's or Brook's, but why it's always been one of my favorites is - while similar is true for Robin - what we don't see, what was left as a blank period: all that time as a thief having to sneak around & steal to try to pay off Arlong. It undoubtedly was a difficult & turbulent task, so I loved the backstory addition with Carina here and seeing one of those darkest, most difficult points in that period of her life. That said, I don't think fans could complain with her having a reduced role in the next two films . I liked the switch-up in Act 3 as well compared to the prior two films with Sanji having to team up with Robin to fight one of the executives & there being 3 of them instead of 2 so that Usopp, Brook & Chopper could team up to fight one, as opposed to Zoro facing one & Sanji the other as previously. 2) Z - A As opposed to Strong World, this one might have been even better coming back to it. It was always my favorite before Red and I still absolutely loved. The action is absolutely gorgeous, the crew all get featured well, Aokiji gets a ton of focus, we get a bit more insight on the Marines perspective, there's a strong plot with good narrative progression (unlike SW), and Zephyr is a top 5 villain in the franchise, with Ain & Binz being quite good underling characters. This was a superbly executed, powerful, at times somber story; the ending was always emotional but coming back to it - with different life incidents behind me - it hit me harder, I was crying during Zephyr's final stand against the Marines. 1) Red - A Z definitely comes close, but Red is still the best One Piece, and anime, film in my opinion. It doesn't elicit as strong an emotional reaction from me as the ending of Z, but it did touch me at different points, I was engrossed by the story, the musical performances were phenomenal, we got a great variety of characters without it feeling forced & everyone getting at least one moment and I loved the story of Luffy, Uta & Shanks.
One Piece Inspires Costumes in Photoshoot with Actor Jonathan Majors Jonathan Majors is a One Piece fan.
'Luffy' Crime Ring Suspects Extradited to Japan on Former One Piece Airplane Four suspects accused of orchestrating a string of burglaries in at least 14 prefectures in Japan since last year were extradited from the Philippines to Japan last week. The suspects used the alias "Luffy" when organizing the crimes. They should have used the name Lupin.
Well, I started to play catch up again on the manga and I have to say I am completely lost as to what the hell is going on. SPOILERS First there's some energy beam that destroys an island from the sky. Bonney shows up in the form of a child, but then she's back to normal in the next chapter, only for them to look really old for half another chapter, back to being normal looking. The other half of the crew is taken to an island where their clothes magically change into what is supposed to be outfits from the future. I think that's supposed to be the same island Luffy is on, but I can't tell for sure. There's like 7 Vegapunks, but now CP0 is attacking them because they're supposed to assassinate him even though he's the government's top scientist. Ugh. My brain hurts. Like I get them hunting him down for learning of what happened in the past, but I'm not sure I understand why the characters were aging for random moments or what exactly is going on on this island.
The aging is Bonney’s Devil fruit. And what’s there to know what’s going on? The Government is now looking to kill Vegapunk, just as the Straw Hats arrive on the island. The answer, well probably only the Five Elders can give that. Oda isn’t just going to drop every answer in our lap.
That was Bonney's power? Weird. It has been a long ass time since I remember her ever appearing, so I've forgotten what her power is then.
The energy beam is meant to be vague/mysterious. All we know is what we saw - it's some sort of weapon (the last Ancient Weapon, Uranus perhaps?) that Imu-sama has at their disposal. We'll learn about its true anture as the story progresses. Lulusia was a kingdom that had rebelled against its king & the World Government and it was believed to be the island that Sabo was hiding on, Sabo having seen Imu-sama and thus learnt the truth about the WG during the Reverie (but the light beam hit the island before he could relay this to Dragon). Imu-sama wiped it from the map for these reasons.
No, that stuff I understood just fine. It was the stuff on Vegapunk's island that was vexing and the Kuma stuff currently going on. Like Kuma randomly comes out of the sky, lands on Marijoa and starts to attack it. At least, that's the way it was described in one chapter while in the latest one I just read it seems like he is climbing up Vegapunk's tower. Or maybe that it just one of his clones while the real thing is in Marijoa.
Thanks. I'm all caught up again, which is sad. One thing I forgot to mention is they finally showed us what everyone has been theorizing about the world of One Piece being essentially a post-apocalyptic world.
