One Piece Film: Red Review

One Piece is a long-running franchise from Japan. Since 1997 there have been 104 volumes in the manga series, had over 1000 animated episodes, and One Piece Film: Red is the fifteenth feature film in the franchise.

On the island of Elegia, the Straw Hat Pirates attend a concert hosted by the world-famous singer Uta (Kaori Nazuka). At the concert it’s revealed that Luffy (Mayumi Tanaka) and Uta were childhood friends and various pirates attempt to abduct the singer. However, Uta has powers based on her music and she has developed an ideology to rid the world of pain, suffering, and most importantly, pirates.

For a series like One Piece to have lasted as long as it has, it needed to have a large and devoted fanbase. The manga is still being published and the animated series is still being produced. Yet my exposure to the franchise has been minimal and One Piece Film: Red was not the best entry point for a newcomer. That statement will probably mean my review will be dismissed by fans, so it’s best to think of it as the opinion of an outsider.

The heart of the film was the relationship between Luffy and Uta, and Uta’s abandonment issues. Uta’s abandonment fuelled her hatred for piracy and ideals to bring peace and love through her music. There was a building block for an emotional story, especially with Uta’s backstory but it was a messy film.

One Piece Film: Red had little setup. After a quick introduction to the world of piracy, it opens with the various pirates attending the concert. It was a film that required the audience to know who many of the characters were and who all the factions were. Fans of the franchise will argue that One Piece Film: Red was made for them, but my counterargument is Jujutsu Kaisen 0 and Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero were also based on long-running franchises and were more accommodating to new viewers. Jujutsu Kaisen 0 was a prequel so acted as a clean slate, whilst Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero had an exposition dumb to allow new viewers to catch up.

One Piece Film: Red was a film that bombarded the audience with information. Within the film it was stated that Uta was like Jigglypuff in the Pokemon series: both were brilliant singers, but their singing sent people to sleep. There were ideas like Uta needing magic mushrooms to make her powers work, a musical monster that could be awakened, and Uta trapping the concertgoers in a dream world so the events of the One Piece Film: Red took place in two different worlds. There was so much going on that it made One Piece Film: Red overly complicated.

Tonally One Piece Film: Red was also all over the place. It shifted from zany, physical comedy to melodrama. This is common in anime shows, there are many shows that are generally comedic but can be dramatic and heart-wrenching. However, there’s usually more balance since a series can slowly progress into being more dramatic for an emotional crescendo, or have an episode focused on a dramatic or tragic story. It doesn’t work so well in a film to flip tones so readily.

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 and Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero were more consistent with their tones. Jujutsu Kaisen 0 was a dark modern fantasy, whilst Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero was mostly a light-hearted affair.

One Piece Film: Red was a film made for fans. They are the people who would enjoy the characters and action, but general audiences are more likely to get lost in all that’s going on.