Fans of anime will enjoy it. “One Piece Film Red,” the latest feature-length extension of manga artist Eiichiro Oda’s popular comic series and, as of this writing, Japan’s highest grossing movie of the year. Everyone else will likely struggle with this particular action-fantasy since most of its singularly appealing qualities — its J-pop score, attractive character designs, and impressive computer graphics — get bogged down by the project’s nature as the 15th theatrically released movie adaptation of a manga series that started 25 years ago.
An introduction “original story”Credit for Oda clearly demonstrates that pre-existing fans make the best audience “One Piece Film Red,”The adventures of Luffy, the happy-go lucky pirate voiced by Mayumi Tanaka and his misfit gang spell-casting seafarers continue. This is the new version. “One Piece”The movie, which centers on a super-powered pop star and her misguided attempt to destroy all pirates is likely to appeal to newcomers due to its easy-to-follow backstory, and some propulsive action scenes.
The first part of “One Piece Film Red” exhaustively sets up the basic details of this specific movie’s plot and its immediate circumstances. “The world is amidst the Great Pirate Era,”According to the voiceover narration, Luffy and his crew sailed to Elegia to see Uta (Kaori Nagaka), an eccentric pop singer who has a magical effect on her audience.
Luffy immediately recognizes Uta, a childhood friend that he hasn’t seen in years. Uta soon attempts to force Luffy, his friends and their families to join her in a musically-themed fantasy world. They try to decline Uta’s offer, but she traps them and the rest of her concertgoers on Elegia. Meanwhile, a battalion of ships circles the island, some of which represent the World Government’s Navy, and at least one of which hosts Red-Haired Shanks (Shuichi Ikeda), Uta’s deadbeat pirate dad. Fortunately, Uta’s music does, in fact, cast a spell thanks to real-life pop singer Ado’s charming vocals and some catchy power-pop arrangements by composer Yasutaka Nakata.
The majority of “One Piece Film Red”It serves as a glorified showcase for its characters. Most of them are introduced like rock stars but only occasionally re-emerge to speak their catchphrases and special moves. To be fair, Oda’s manga features some genuinely distinctive character designs, so it makes sense that the series’ creators would contrive excuses to highlight members of, say, the Big Mom Pirates or the Big Heart Pirates.
Some catchphrases, signature moves, and signature moves quickly make Bepo a fan favorite. Blueno is a fair-weather ally and Blueno is a sour-faced ex-villain. These characters also get to show off their signature spells and super-powers during action scenes, whose sugar-rush energy often matches the rest of the movie’s relentlessly upbeat energy.
Unfortunately, Uta’s over-arching story proves to be the most underwhelming part of “One Piece Film Red.”Flashbacks show how Luffy, Uta and Red-Haired Shanks are united by their complex feelings for Red Shanks. Red-Haired Shanks is a notorious pirate who abandoned Uta as a child.
Fans know that Shanks gave Luffy his signature straw hat, but Uta’s connection to Shanks never feels as consequential. She sings and raves a lot about how she wants to end the Pirate Age — “I’m Uta, the woman who’s going to create a new age” — but there’s not much to get about a character who keeps monotonously reminding viewers that she’s cheerful, over-powered and vindictive. There’s a tacked-on backstory concerning Tot Musica, a music-themed demon, but it’s never as interesting nor as well-developed as the movie’s pile-on of joyfully messy allusions to older characters and events.
Ado and Nakata’s music does, however, make Uta sound like a real pop star, as opposed to the polished but underwhelming songs used in this year’s other musically-themed anime features, like “Belle”Or “Inu-Oh.” Ado and Nakata’s score not only establishes Uta’s bonafides as a cult-friendly pop favorite, but also injects some much needed energy into the movie’s wildly over-extended narrative, which often lacks dramatic urgency.
Then again, “One Piece Film Red”Many of the same features fans have come a long way to expect are featured in this video “One Piece,”Its pacing is fast and the energy level high, are two of its best features. There’s also some welcome, if not always substantial or effective, attempts at ingratiating newcomers by explaining who everybody is and how they’re related, which goes a long way in a story that features small, but key interactions with, say, a Celestial Dragon named Saint Charloss (Chafurin), or members of Cipher Pol, the World Government’s spy agency. These annotations provide an opportunity to give insight. “One Piece Film Red”It has a slight edge over anime features that are based upon decades-old manga. “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” “Jujutsu Kaisen 0,”However, it is limited to that particular area.
If you’re at all curious about “One Piece,” you might still enjoy “One Piece Film Red”, since it’s a better-than-average highlight reel for Oda’s ingratiating and vividly realized characters. Just don’t feel bad if you exit the theater feeling confused and a little unfulfilled; this new feature’s more of an oversized sampler platter than a full-sized meal.
“One Piece Film Red”Crunchyroll: Nov. 4, in US theaters