SPOILER-FILLED REVIEW
Uta is inseparable when talking about Film Red. This is one of those cases, I believe, where viewer reception to a story is contingent upon their attachment to a character. A One Piece musical starred by a young diva of relevant relations with Luffy and Shanks, with utter focus on her character journey as she descends towards the depths of an antagonist's despairing motives. The first four words already spells "novel" in capitals, and it keeps on getting unconventional. And that's just the synopsis alone. The experience is entirely something else, something that I never expected out of any One Piece story, canon or not. To put it out of the way, One Piece Film Red was a delectable taste of a grand recipe revamp that shines through with a positive aftertaste despite executionary shortcomings on the narrative and animation and a not-so-full-proof Devil Fruit mechanics.
And yes, I have no major problems with Uta herself.
The movie partitions our lead's character journey through seven Uta no Uta (Uta songs) plus some essential flashbacks. It feels proper to judge the effectiveness of a musical through its creative presentation of the starring actor by means of songs suitable to piece together the fragments that make up the theme and message.
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New Genesis
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New Genesis introduces Uta's motivations for building a brighter future by escaping through the portal of music where dreamland resides. It serves as the bedrock in explaining her dreams. The upbeat nature of the music echoing through the whole setting masks her methodology's characteristics, which makes the way Uta's performance all the way through these opening sequences is airtight aid the twist's catharsis and telling of her personality filled with genuine empathy, albeit misguided. New Genesis perfectly paves the way for the rest of the story along the path it aims to tread.
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I'm Invincible
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Here Uta shows off her fearsome abilities by effortlessly fending off powerful foes while performing a happy pop song. In a way it takes a laughter and a few from me seeing how breezy that feat was for her to achieve. It was around this portion that the tone starts to show hints of shifting. Film Red does a good job in playing with the atmosphere in the right notes and beat as it effectively drew me in to the narrative.
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Backlight
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Spawns of fury light the stage with a burning number coming from Uta. Even against the Straw Hats her fearsome control over her overpowered Devil Fruit took her to a landslide victory. We receive a glimpse of her rage and her conviction that it is ultimately "for love". Such a powerful performance that reveals her stance on the story and confronts Luffy's ideals with opposition. The gremlin-like effects and voice style on some lines additionally adds a degree of mockery, screaming an unleashing of bottled emotions. Miles away indeed from the upbeat nature of the first two idol songs.
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Fleeting Lullaby
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Uta maintains the pixie tone in singing her lullaby which elucidates her wish for a new world by taking up the responsibility and justifying her actions through the promise of paradise in the dreamworld. Moreover, we know now that she is experiencing a deep sense of loneliness and therefore increasing self-certitude to carry out her plans due to a longing for everlasting connection with everyone, especially her fans; escapism through dreams, taking the whole world to slumber with a fleeting lullaby while remaining as the sole person awake until her body breaks and everyone unites through death. What makes this ironic is Uta actually being the one closing her eyes to reality.
The way we learn more about Uta through songs that lean on madness and insanity despite her flashbacks and her promising ideals amplifies the tragedy. And it's just badass that this song choreographs Uta as the puppeteer giving the navy a run for their money.
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Tot Musica
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Tot Musica is the climax we all needed. It showcases what lies at the precipice of Uta's mind when cornered by contrarians stranger and familiar and the taxing side-effects of the wake-shroom. A grand culmination of suffering with epic music blaring on the background which captures the distorted notes of Uta's holistic state. It speaks for itself, a legitimate yell for a brighter future clouded by desperation and tunnel vision which manifests as the essence of the apocalypse. When the only way you could believe life can be happy is away from reality, spelling out death by implication, even resorting to using the very cause of your trauma to hopefully turn it all around, then it's one hell of a situation. Cataclysmic stakes led by a colorful character such as Uta paints tragedy in more profound layers, and I love how Film Red handled the plot like that.
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The World's Continuation
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The world's continuation, where we can find the fulfillment of dreams in reality. Uta gazes back to the simple things in her life which shape a castle of meaning and answers and how it clicked on her that there can be positivity lying ahead, and that everyone should brave themselves to confront it. It's a highly appropriate song in reclaiming the consciousness of her victims from the Uta World to the real world. Thus the music sheet filled with devastating noises closes and the wind blows open the sound of a hopeful future.
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Where the Wind Blows
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The film calls back the first song we saw Uta sung back when she was still a child as the closer as she breaths her last in the arms of her father. It evoked high emotional resonance to me as it augments Uta's genuine wish to be the one sparking change in an era fraught with conflict and loss.
Where the Wind Blows echoes a commonplace message which desires to revitalize the hopeless, remind the strayed, and embrace the lonely.
Every individual song performance sung by the phenomenal Ado provides an avenue to explore Uta's character in a more creative and engaging way. Not only that, it speaks to the story's setting which takes place in the Great Pirate Era drowning the voice of light in an age of heated differences clashing together everyday. Film Red's Uta expresses a fervent wish for world peace, an ideal world. I guess something like this can fit well in the political One Piece world and is expected to come one way or another. That answers its relevance as an entry in the series.
Beside the songs is the sense of urgency due to the pivotal ground Uta stands on in connection to Luffy and Shanks. We are used to Luffy's crew saving someone important every arc, but when this someone who needs saving is his childhood friend AND Shanks's daughter AND turns out to be the villain, now that twisted shade swells in devastating melancholy. It ultimately lies on Uta's credibility to be the antagonist, which through the songs and the flashbacks solidify it properly, allowing the drama to become as full-blown as it can be with success.
One Piece Film Red is not without flaws of course. The novelty is not a problem per se, but in many occasions the execution was jarring in the musical performances. It's just hard to make everything work perfectly in incorporating sung songs in the middle of a battle. Knowing that it's One Piece, the exotic approach distances satisfied reactions further. I think it worked out well for the most part though. Something to be reflected upon, however, is how there are plenty more eye candy battle scenes with fluid animation rather than the act of singing and dancing in anime. The latter usually lacks substance or is presented awkwardly. Also, they should have casted someone else that fits kid Uta's voice to sing Where the Wind Blows and not Ado navigating all ways to make it suitable (it didn't sound so good to me).
Overall, I enjoyed Film Red because I enjoyed Uta as the heart of the story. I restrained myself making this an Uta analysis and neglecting the film as an entity along with its other factors, so I hope it all ended well in that regard. It's what I was most difficult for me, seeing as how interconnected the character is to the movie itself. Bridging to other related topics was an ordeal. Anyways, good movie!
Song rankings because why not
- Tot Musica
- The World's Continuation
- Backlight
- Fleeting Lullaby
- Where the Wind Blows
- I'm Invincible
- New Genesis
