One Piece Film: Red is the 15th One Piece movie that fans seem to be excited for. Announced during the celebration of One Piece's 1000th episode, One Piece Film: Red is currently in production. 2022 seemed to be the year for another One Piece movie for several reasons. Looking back at the release of the previous One Piece movies, there is certainly a pattern there. One Piece Film: Strong World came out in 2009, which was followed by One Piece Film: Z in 2012, just three years after. Four years later, One Piece Film: Gold was released in 2016, and One Piece: Stampede was eventually out in 2019, just three years later.
Given that 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece, it was quite easy to see that there was going to be a new film to commemorate the occasion and the fans' hunch was proven right on November 20, 2021. With production for One Piece Film: Red already underway, here's everything you need to know about the upcoming film that has everyone excited.
What Is One Piece Film: Red About?
The main plot of One Piece Film: Red hasn't been revealed fully yet, however, the short teaser that the fans got during its announcement gave out enough information for fans to piece things together. As seen often in One Piece movies, it seems that the Straw Hat Pirates will be heading to an event. This time, the destination appears to be a music festival. Upon working with the Film Red team, Eiichiro Oda highlighted that he wanted a female character to play a crucial role in the movie, and this individual is one with fiery red hair and quite possibly a resident of a Sky Island. She's also a singer by the looks of it as the key visual describes her voice to be "almighty."
Speaking of red hair, the mysterious Red-Haired Shanks is going to be involved in a movie for the very first time. Shanks' scar was seen on the D in the title logo, and Eiichiro Oda later confirmed his presence in the movie. By the looks of it, the girl with the red hair has some sort of connection to Shanks, however, fans will have to wait to see what kind of relationship they actually share.
Who Is Working On One Piece Film: Red?
The biggest question that fans have when it comes to any One Piece movie is whether Oda is involved in it or not. It's already been confirmed that Eiichiro Oda will, in fact, be involved in One Piece Film: Red. He's already confirmed to be the producer and the supervisor of the movie. Although Oda has supervised quite a few One Piece movies before, this is only the second time that he's acting as a producer after One Piece Film: Strong World. According to the staff working on One Piece Film: Red, Eiichiro Oda's involvement in the movie is more than ever before, surpassing even that seen in Strong World.
Apart from Oda, the rest of the staff for One Piece Film: Red is certainly very impressive. Goro Taniguchi serves as the director of the movie. Taniguchi has previously worked heavily on Code Geass and most recently served as the Director and the Storyboard artist for Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection. Interestingly enough, Taniguchi isn't a stranger to Eiichiro Oda's world and has previously worked on the very first One Piece special, "One Piece: Defeat The Pirate Ganzak."
The writer for One Piece Film: Red is Tsutomu Kuroiwa, who also held the same role in One Piece Film: Gold and its special, One Piece: Heart of Gold. The rest of the staff for the movie hasn't been revealed yet. The character designs for the movie were revealed during Jump Festa 2022, and it appears that Masayuki Sato is once again in charge. Toei Animation is certainly going to bring the very best of its staff for Film Red, so there's no denying that the movie is going to look absolutely beautiful.
The storyboard for One Piece Film: Red has a total of 850 pages and the official Twitter account for One Piece has already revealed bits of it to tease fans and keep excitement for the movie up and running.
Is One Piece Film: Red Canon?
Looking at Oda's involvement in a One Piece movie being bigger than ever, it's no surprise that fans are wondering whether Film Red is canon or not. To put it simply, One Piece Film: Red isn't canon. Eiichiro Oda prefers to handle the main story in his manga at the moment, meaning the movie are just there for the enjoyment of the fans without connections to the main storyline. However, that's not to say that Film Red won't have bits and pieces of important scenes from the One Piece canon.
One Piece: Stampede revealed the name of the Final Island "Laugh Tale" months before it made its way to the manga. At the same time, a short conversation between Roger and Rayleigh was also featured in this film which ended up being a part of Chapter 968 months later. Given that One Piece Film: Red is going to see Shanks' involvement, fans should be expecting a similar scenario to play out here. It is entirely possible for Oda to give the movie staff bits of information from the One Piece canon which they can incorporate in the story.
When Is One Piece Film: Red Going To Release?
One Piece Film: Red is going to be released in Japan on August 6, 2022. An international release date for the movie hasn't been provided yet. Fans hope that the movie's international release isn't too far behind the initial one, as was the case with the likes of One Piece: Stampede and the movies that came before it. Nonetheless, One Piece is celebrating its 25th anniversary in style, and with Oda's involvement and an incredible staff to bring his vision to life, along with the appearance of some of the series' absolute best characters such as Shanks, could see Film Red become the absolute best movie to date.