One Piece: Film Red Sails Into UK Cinemas This Autumn
One Piece is one of Japan's most successful franchises. The pirate saga is the biggest selling manga in history and the anime has recently sailed past its 1000th episode. It's also spun off several big-screen outings.. and its next has been confirmed to be heading westward.
One Piece Film Red, the 15th film in the series is due to open in Japan on August 6. UK distributor Anime Limited have announced that they will be bringing the film to cinemas in the UK and Ireland this autumn.
The film is overseen by original creator Eiichiro Oda, who is on board as executive producer. Oda also devised the story for the movie and has designed the new characters. The screenplay is written by Tsutomu Kuroiwa and the director is Goro Taniguchi.
What seems to set this apart from other films in the franchise is that music is set to play a big part. The film will feature a character named Uta who is the world's most popular singer. She also happens to be the daughter of red-haired Shanks, the pirate who originally inspired the series' hero Monkey D Luffy.
Uta — the most beloved singer in the world. Renowned for concealing her own identity when performing, her voice has come to be described as “otherworldly.” Now, for the first time ever, Uta will reveal herself to the world at a live concert. As the venue fills with all kinds of Uta fans — excited pirates, the Navy watching closely, and the Straw Hats led by Luffy who simply came to enjoy her sonorous performance — the voice that the whole world has been waiting for is about to resound. The story begins with the shocking fact that she is Shanks' daughter.
The film will screen as part of Anime Limited's Cine Matsuri series, which is a jam-packed program of anime films that will screen in the UK and Ireland throughout this summer and autumn.
The film has yet to be confirmed for release in the United States, but Anime Limited say that the film will be available both with original language and English dub. This would seem to confirm that Crunchyroll (formerly Funimation) will also be releasing the film stateside, although they have yet to make an official announcement.
