How One Piece Film: Red's Producer Says Fans Should Prepare For The Film
As its title implies, "One Piece Film: Red" is a movie that focuses primarily on the story of esteemed swordsman and pirate "Red-Haired" Shanks (Shūichi Ikeda/Brandon Potter), and a famous singer named Uta (Kaori Nazuka and Ado) — who also happens to be Shanks' daughter. Longtime fans of the "One Piece" anime series will know that Shanks is an extremely important character within the context of the series, despite rarely ever interacting with the Straw Hat Pirates themselves.
Not only did Shanks lose his left arm while saving the life of the series' protagonist Monkey D. Luffy (Mayumi Tanaka / Colleen Clinkenbeard), but he also inadvertently helped Luffy acquire the "Gomu Gomu no Mi" Devil Fruit, and even gave Luffy his iconic Straw Hat. Although Shanks has primarily been a background character throughout the "One Piece" anime (watching Luffy's exploits from afar but never truly reuniting with him) the upcoming film will see Shanks' Red-Haired Pirates and Luffy's Straw Hat Pirates crossing paths as both attend Uta's concert — possibly even setting up this long-awaited reunion between Shanks and Luffy.
With the international release date for the film set for November 4th, 2022, fans will simply have to wait and see what unfolds during the events of "One Piece Film: Red" — though, in the meantime, producer Shinji Shimizu has a few tips on how fans should prepare for the upcoming film.
Fans should prepare for some heartbreaking moments
During an August 2022 interview with Anime News Network, producer Shinji Shimizu of Toei Animation said that fans should prepare for the upcoming film to pull on their heartstrings — as the emotional scenes in "One Piece Film: Red" made several cast and crew members cry while recording. "Bring lots of boxes of tissues to the movie theater," Shimizu said. "When they were doing the ADR voice recording sessions, the staff members would be crying. Even Oda-san got a little misty-eyed."
The fact that even "One Piece" creator Eiichiro Oda was becoming emotional just listening to dialogue should be a telltale sign that Shimizu's advice is well worth listening to. Indeed, Shimizu was specifically referencing a few incredibly emotional moments between Shanks and Uta, which we can catch a brief glimpse of in the film's trailer when Shanks is seen consoling a younger version of Uta. Both Shimizu's comments and the film's trailer make it clear that the scenes between Shanks and his daughter will be heartwarming moments for the audience, so maybe it's wise to heed Shimizu's advice.