Fifteenth feature film in the One Piece saga, Red, in theaters from August 10, celebrates in the cinema the 25th anniversary of this emblematic manga on piracy. We find the main heroes of the saga: the pirate Luffy with the straw hat and his crew, always in search of the treasure of the pirate Gol D. Roger (the famous One Piece). On the program: Japanese pop, dance, a very charismatic new character and of course a lot of fights.
When the film opens, the little band is busy with a completely different activity than the hunt for gold coins… Glowsticks and streamers in hand, the crew is preparing to attend the concert of the most popular fictional world created for the saga. “Uta!”, howls the little reindeer Chopper, team doctor and formidable fighter, seeing her arrive on stage. Alongside his nine traveling companions and millions of spectators, he is impatient to hear the artist he adores. But surprise: his captain Luffy recognizes as soon as she appears the one who was one of his best childhood friends. Above all, the singer is the daughter of the legendary pirate Shanks Le Roux, mentor of the young hero whom he has not seen for many years.
Happy and moving, this reunion could however quickly turn to tragedy, in one of these reversals of situation of which the saga has the secret. Is Uta still part of Shanks’ crew? How did she become a singer? Where has she been all these years?
In this new opus directed by Gorō Taniguchi, all the emblematic heroes of the series are present: Luffy’s crew but also their greatest adversaries like Big Mom, a powerful pirate who is the size of a giant, and her children, Oven and Brûlée. Repeatedly, sometimes only for a few seconds, iconic characters encountered by our team of fighters during their adventure in the paper version appear on the screen. What to satisfy the assiduous readers of the manga.
The animation of the drawings is close to that of the episodes of the series. The images are colored in pastel tones, bringing to the whole a good dose of “kawai” (aesthetics that evokes the world of childhood and cuteness). The film is completely part of the One Piece manga galaxy (we find the protagonists, certain places…) but the scenario is exclusive and is not linked to the main plot of the series. Our heroes find themselves here in a lighter and more festive setting. Already in the previous adaptation, One Piece: Stampedethe crew had traveled to a large gathering of pirates from around the world to celebrate. Red: One Piece is once again an opportunity to discover the characters from another, more relaxed angle.
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At the center of this new feature film, a character: Uta. Two-tone hair, red and white, purple eyes, she is particularly charismatic. She becomes all the more so when we learn that she is the daughter of one of the greatest pirates of the saga, Shanks Le Roux. On the ears, his yellow and futuristic helmet immediately tells us about his specialty: music. Her concert, pop and explosive, opens the film and is reminiscent of those of the very popular virtual singer in Japan, Hatsune Miku.
Finally, if the film brings together all the elements that made the success of the manga, in particular a clever mix of humor and drama, it also takes on the features of a musical comedy thanks to this protagonist. A real novelty. Singer Uta sets the pace with her catchy songs including New Genesis (interpreted with power by the Japanese Ado) who enchants us from the first minutes of the film. In the French version, the public will find the hoarse voice of Hoshi for this piece.
Without bringing any real novelties compared to previous films, this new opus does not lack energy and offers some beautiful musical scenes. It is precisely this aspect that makes its strength, making it accessible to both children and adults, faithful readers, or not, of the saga.
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Gender : Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Director: Goro Taniguchi
Actresses and actors: Hiroaki Hirata, Mayumi Tanaka, Akemi Okamura
Country : Japan
Duration : 1h55
Exit : August 10 2022
Distributer : Pathe
Summary: Luffy and his crew are about to attend an eagerly awaited music festival. The most popular singer in the world, Uta, will take the stage for the first time. The one who is none other than the daughter of the legendary pirate Shanks Le Roux will reveal the exceptional power of her voice which could well change the world…