It is safe to say that ‘One Piece’ is one of the most successful manga in history. More than one hundred volumes published and an audiovisual adaptation in anime format that exceeds thousand episodes airedhas been keeping its audience hooked since 1997.
It narrates the adventures of a boy named Monkey D Luffywho, together with a crew of eight companions, aspires to become the king of the pirates by seizing the One Piece Treasure. He has pursued this goal since, as a child, he survived almost certain death thanks to the help of Shank, chief of the famous red-haired gang and one of the four chief emperors of the sea, who lost his left arm in the rescue. His generous action made him become the young man’s greatest idol, who, inspired by him, embarks on many exciting journeys.
It was created by the renowned Japanese cartoonist, Eiichiro Odawho to this day still continues to shape a story that continues to grow, because although he intended to put an end to the story five years after its premiere, the great fanaticism that it caused made him see that he still had material for others twenty-three more.
And things are going “in crescendo”, because recently it has been announced that Netflix is preparing a non-animated version of the series. And the November 3 opens in theaters ‘One Piece Film Red’the 15th installment of a saga of films parallel to the original plot, which is aiming high in Spain after its overwhelming success in Japan.
The peculiarity of ‘One Piece Film Red’
It is clear that there is something special in ‘One Piece’ so that it attracts the public so much and keeps its most faithful fanaticism alive after twenty-five years of fiction. However, there is also something unique and innovative in the new feature film of the franchise, which dares to stir up Luffy’s childhood and recover a character as mythical as Shanks. And not only that, but the appearance of a new character that intertwines them, Utawill reveal unknown details of the past of the two pirates and unleash chaos that will bring them back together.
The director of the film, Goro Taniguchisays that it is “like a continuation of the first episode, since they are very remote events that help to reconstruct the life of the characters from the beginning. It will allow those who don’t know much about the manga to get hooked on the plot, and it will reveal new details to those who have followed it.”
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In addition, the style of the film is unconventional within what is seen in anime, since music takes on an unprecedented importance in this production. Uta is the most famous singer in the world and her enormous power lies in her voice, so the action scenes are very naturally complemented by the songs. “This film has been created in full coordination with Eiichiro Oda, and he wanted a girl as the lead because he said that I was sick of drawing strong, muscular old men. I preferred to do something different that could appeal to a different audience as well,” says Taniguchi.
Perhaps that is the reason for the triumph of ‘One Piece’, a creator who is not afraid to innovate and who surrounds himself for these new projects with a team that knows the essence of the story very well. As the director of the feature film, goro taniguchiwhich curiously was the first in the world to animate Luffy; character designer, Masayuki Satō, who has collaborated in the creation of all the films; or the screenwriter, Tsutomu Kuroiwa, which also repeats for the second time in the filmography. It remains to be seen whether production, which will be dubbed into both Spanish and Catalan, achieves the expected success in Spanish cinemas.