This is my first review on AniList, so this will be pretty rough. I was originally going to save my first review for something I can study across multiple viewings. Instead, I wrote my review on a movie I watched while vacationing in Vegas.
All criticism is welcome because, good lord, I'll need it.
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Story
I don’t want to go too into detail, as a lot of the biggest twists happen early in the film, and I'd rather not have people spoiled. Sadly, I thought the story was the weakest part of the film. Please note, I still enjoyed the story, especially with how it incorporates the themes of found family that One Piece is so well-known for (almost gave me those patented One Piece crying sessions). My main issue with the story is how awkward the writing can be, especially in the first 10-15 minutes of the film. I know that saying the story or writing is the weakest part of anything is a deal breaker for most people, but I still found value in Film Red's themes regardless, as well as the visuals and music.
I would compare this to other One Piece films, but this is only the second One Piece film I've ever watched. The first was “Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island” directed by Mamoru Hosoda, and I don't think it would be fair to compare Film Red to that masterpiece.
There is one gripe I have with the film, and it's with the performance scenes. Throughout the film, there are these performance scenes where Uta performs her music in-universe, each scene edited like a music video. I saw some reviews saying that these performances helped break up the monotony of some scenes, but I feel like some performances weren't implemented all that well. For example, there’s this one part where a massive fight is breaking out, and Uta is just hitting that Yoinky Sploinky in the foreground as people are getting shot. They just felt kinda awkward in some cases, but for the most part, these performance scenes were very much welcomed.
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Characters
When I saw the trailers for this movie, I was worried that Uta would mostly be used for waifu bait. Given that she’s an idol with her own songs and dancing tutorials (both in-universe and IRL), I was worried that we would be following this “flawless” character that wants world peace or whatever.
Luckily, those trailers were very misleading, and I believe intentionally so. Again, I don’t want to get into spoilers, but while Uta is indeed someone who wants everyone to be happy, she slowly learns that her idea of world peace and equality isn’t something obtainable, and she goes through the whole film coming to grips with that fact.
...At least, I think that's how her character works. It felt like her actions were guided by 3 different motivations, so it's hard for me to pin down her character. Still, she was hands down the most interesting part of the film, given that the film is focused mainly on her.
Also, yes, Shanks has more than 2 minutes of screen time... he probably has at least 10 minutes of screen time (I think). He's used very well, though, and his relationship with Uta is much more thought out than I expected.
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Visuals
Uta’s character design is beautiful. Her white dress and those hair loops fit that idol vibe perfectly. What I love the most about her design is how asymmetric it is. She has a single blue sleeve on her left arm, her hair is split between white and red, and even her bangs are different lengths. It’s such a unique design, especially for One Piece, which struggles to make unique female character designs.
The film offers a lot of great sakuga for the more impactful moments. Uta’s performance scenes are mesmerizing, and I loved their use of color for all of them. The fights were great, though I don’t believe they had as much love put into them as the performances. The rest of the film didn’t have all that much going on animation-wise, but I believe that was by design, as the performances really are the star of the show.
The CGI was pretty good… for the most part. There is one very specific thing that bothered me about the CGI, which I'll rant about right now.
For context, leading up to the film's release, the One Piece YouTube channel uploaded a bunch of content using a 3D model of Uta, making dance tutorials, live streams, and whatnot. I believe they were trying to do some VTuber type of thing, so I just thought, “whatever, it’s kinda cute,” and went about my day.
However, it wasn’t until two minutes into the film that I realized, “oh no, they’re gonna use that 3D model in the movie, aren’t they?” Sadly, I was right, as her 3D mo-capped ass was used at various points throughout the film. It doesn’t ruin the experience for me, and it’s mostly used in the background, but something about that 3D model sticks out like a sore thumb. The thing that got me was when they took those dancing tutorials (see example above) and placed them DEAD CENTER OF THE SCREEN, and I swear it's the goofiest sh°t I've seen all day.
tl;dr: VTuber cringe
(Correction: The model they used in the film is NOT the one from the dancing tutorials. Still, the mo-capped nature of Uta's movements during those scenes is very off-putting to me)
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Audio
Disclaimer: I’m not Fantano, so I’m not good at describing what music sounds like.
I don’t remember much about the background music, but what I remember hearing was pretty good. I liked the track they used for tense moments, which I believe sounded like some creepily distorted pop tune.
Ado’s contributions to the film are the best part of the soundtrack though. Ado's vocals can make any song good, no matter the instrumental.
Since music is such a big part of this film, here's my opinion on each of Ado's tracks and how they were used in the context of the film:
- New Genesis: I’m pretty sure everyone’s got PTSD
from this popping up as a YouTube ad or repeatedly playing at conventions, but on its own, this song bangs. This is the first performance scene in the film, and it’s beautiful. - I’m invincible: It's a basic Anime OP type-beat for me. It did grow on me over time, but I didn’t care for its use in the movie though, since it happens too close to the first performance.
- Backlight: Sounds badass, and the scene it’s used in is badass. The way she screams on the track is so raw it’s unreal.
- Fleeting Lullaby: Yeah, I can see someone hitting the Yoinky Sploinky to this. On one hand, it’s a great portrayal of her mental state at that point in the film. On the other hand, if Ado’s vocal performance weren’t as great as it was, I probably wouldn’t listen to this on my own time. If you like Calliope Mori’s music, you’ll like this song a lot more than I did, and whether you consider that a compliment or an insult is up to you.
- Tot Musica: Holy crap, this goes hard. I love how it sounds like this menacing war chant. The subtitles for the song turned to Nordic, for goodness sake. It's a massive spoiler to talk about its use in the film but trust me, it's incredible.
- The World’s Continuation: Beautiful song. Beautiful scene. Moving on.
- Where the Wind Blows: Aside from New Genesis, this was my only exposure to the film’s soundtrack, as its music video was one of the best music videos that came out this year. The way it was used in the film is great, too, with bits of the song being used throughout the film, making the full song hit like a truck when it eventually starts playing.
- Bink’s Sake: This wasn’t in the film. I just wanted to point out that Ado made a cover of Bink’s Sake.
Kaori Nazuka voices Uta in dialogue scenes, while Ado acts as her singing voice. Nazuka did a great job voicing the character, but she doesn’t sound like Ado that much. Most people probably won’t notice that when watching the film, but when you hear them side-by-side, the differences between their voices are pretty jarring.
I guess those who watched the dub won’t have to face that problem, as AmaLee plays Uta in both dialogue and singing scenes. Now, I loved AmaLee’s voice work when she played Kitagawa Marin in My Dress-Up Darling, but I don’t believe her vocals are strong enough to keep up with Ado's vocals. To clarify, I didn’t watch the dub, so those who did let me know how they felt about her performance.
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Overall, if you're a One Piece fan or have had any experience with One Piece, you will likely enjoy this film. I believe it's a solid watch despite its shortcomings.
This is a recommended 8/10__.
#Go buy the new Mercedes Benz EQB right now!
#It was the One Piece all along!
