One Piece Film: Red has been a trailblazer that has been making history while telling the (musical) story that follows Uta, the daughter of a fan-favorite, Shanks. An explosion of colors and sound, the movie with bright visuals and music carries a somber undertone. The story follows Uta, who wields a Devil Fruit connected to her singing and is Shanks’ adoptive daughter and a childhood friend of Luffy’s. While she has the best intentions with her plan to use her power and status as an idol to reshape the world, Uta’s ideal proves to be unattainable, and she faces a grim end.
Film Red has some incredible quotes, including some very meaningful lines from Uta’s songs. Uta, the girl with an almighty voice, fiery locks, antagonist, misguided righteous savior, damsel in distress, and tragic hero all in one.
10 “We Can Eat Delicious Food, Play Chicken Contests, Arm Wrestle, And Live Happily As Before.”
When Uta says that to Luffy, it becomes so sadly obvious how unfortunately immersed in her delusion she is, to the point that she sees herself as indeed saving the world and people with her plan, and that is contextualized by the previous explanation from Gordon and the flashbacks, which showed how Uta’s fans also contributed to lead her to think of that, by calling her their savior.
The nature of Uta’s ill-conceived plan is being unveiled, as well as the tragedy that could have been avoided with a simple conversation. But then again, lack of conversations is what drives a lot of stories that would not exist if humans, both in fiction and in real life, just stopped hiding important facts from their loved ones.
9 “Listen, Baby, I’m Gonna Make You Happy, Whether You Like It Or Not.”
Well, if that is not extremely creepy, right? This line of another of Uta’s songs just lets out that, even if her intentions are good, she is not respecting any free will of people. She took it upon herself to decide that people would and should be happy, executed her plan, and did not leave any place for others to have a word on that.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions most of the time, so it is no excuse for the ill-conceived plan of Uta’s, even if her upbringing, detached from others and alone does explain how delusional she is, and that renders her a very tragic and sad character indeed.
8 “I Think Of Us Playing By The Sea… Just You And Me.”
This apparently simple quote from one of Uta’s songs illustrates how she feels about her friends, whom she misses so much, as explained by Gordon. After the disgraceful turn of events in Eligia, she grew so lonely and, without companions, reminiscing on how things had gone so wrong, she used to sing about her feelings and past, especially Luffy.
She had found a haven in her songs, while she spent time alone and, as such, detached from reality, she grew up obsessed with her misplaced objective of “saving” everyone by trapping them in a dream world, with the purpose of making her worldwide audience be happy forever and put an end to their suffering.
7 “They Just Fell Asleep.”
The recon mission by the Navy really underestimates both Uta’s powers and plan, and the dire situation they are facing. With the people asleep, and Uta’s ongoing plan, even if she is driven by the best of intentions, this is the worst kind of thing to be said in face of something as dreadful as the impending possibility that a lot of civilians might “just” never wake up!
Even if it looks like a mere statement of a fact, this further “just” reinforces how much the Navy in the universe of One Piece does not really care about people at all. Well, “just” another atrocity to add to the huge number of them on the part of the Marines.
6 “Equality Is So Gross.”
This statement represents everything that is wrong, not only in the world of One Piece but in our real world as well. Those in positions of power will always want and need others in lower positions, for they do not want the utopia of equality to come true.
As the story unfolds, and things become even clearer, not only for the viewers but also for Uta, she gets even fiercer in her desire to have her plan completed, even more when her vision seems to bring happiness to all people in a world full of wrongdoings and inequality.
5 “Let Those Brass Instruments Touch Your Heart.”
Interesting that this line of one of Uta’s songs reflects a major point concerning music. Music makes it possible for humanity to express themselves from the heart, and in a universal language that is understood and appreciated all over. Brass instruments create sounds by a player’s lips vibrating together against the mouthpieces.
Hence, the tension created by the musicians with their lips determines the notes that are produced. So, with this single phrase, Uta summarizes the power she has with music — she literally creates songs —, and how she intends to capture people’s hearts, as well as their very souls, with her unfortunately misguided plan to save the world.
4 “Why Would You Go Back And Have A Hard Life When You Can Enjoy It Iere?”
Uta cannot fathom why people would want to go back to the real world instead of living “happily” in the virtual world she created. While escaping is sometimes needed in real life, living in a permanent state of supposed bliss would be the end of all life, for humans need challenges and conflicts, and experiences for life to have meaning.
Fans can clearly see here the effects of Uta being brought up alone, with no contact with the real world, and believing in something that was a lie ended up causing her delusion and making her the tragic character that she is. The more she repeats or rephrases her concepts of what happiness is, the sadder her character turns out to be.
3 “Your Soul Is More Important Than Your Body, Isn’t It? In The New Age, Every Soul Will Live Forever.”
Uta is eating more of the wakeful mushrooms when she asks that, with the intention of killing herself as a sacrifice, from her distorted point of view, for saving those people and letting them have a happily-ever-after. This philosophical questioning throws more light into her character, which is pivotal in the movie, and from whom fans get to know more about Shanks. Even if this movie is not canon, her character is.
Furthermore, One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda had two very specific requests for this film, that a director who was not necessarily involved in the TV series would be brought to it, and that an important role was to be given to a female character. Well, Uta is not only important, but she is also both central to the story and far from a shallow character. So, this is a quote that summarizes the philosophical approach she was given.
2 “There Is no Peace Or Equality In This World.”
Nobody can disagree with Shanks — there really is no peace or equality in their world, and, while fighting for equality can win some battles, raging wars is something the real world’s history has in common with the world of One Piece. When he says that to Uta, he also acts under the assumption that he is doing the right thing.
When one believes they are doing the right thing, however misguided they are, can they be to blame for the horrid consequences their acts can bring about? This is a piece of questioning and philosophic questioning that concerns Uta, Shanks himself, and Gordon, because the three of them acted with alleged good intentions, and ended up bringing chaos and destruction.
1 "You're The Only One Who Can Help Us."
At the beginning of the film, fans get to see people saying this. This is the very first moment that foreshadows how Uta is going to take over the mantle of the people's savior and fit within the archetype of the righteous martyr to finally have a "live" concert after having spent time in the shadows, with a plan based on what she thinks is the truth about the world, and which, in her mind and from her point of view, needs to be saved from pirates.
