One Piece Film: Red, the fifteenth movie in the One Piece franchise, released in the United States on Nov. 4, 2022. 

Based on the highest grossing manga series of all time, Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece, the movie follows main character Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Strawhat Pirates, as they visit pirate “Red Haired” Shanks’ daughter, Uta. 

One Piece is serialized by Shonen Jump since 1997. Still releasing chapters today, it claims not only the best selling manga series, but one of the longest consecutive mangas of all time. 

The series follows pirate Monkey D. Luffy as he and his crew jump from island to island in the grand line and the new world. The Strawhats race against other pirates to find the treasure of Gol D. Roger, the past pirate king, which he left in one piece. 

Uta, having the power of the “Uta Uta No Mi” devil fruit, sang for the majority of the film, making this the first One Piece musical. The songs in the film are provided by famous Japanese pop singer Ado, who blew up online in Japan two years ago. 

One Piece, having just come off its most popular arc of all time, Wano, and releasing chapter 1000, episode 1000 and volume 100 within this year, the film came to the United States with unbelievable hype. Raking in $171.9 million worldwide, it quickly became the tenth highest grossing Japanese film of all time. 

Throughout One Piece Film: Red, smooth, beautiful animation mixed with hit songs and intense fight scenes led to a spectacular experience. With its fair share of fan service, the film brought back fan favorite characters that have not made an appearance since the 90s. 

Looking at the plot, director Gorō Taniguchi weaves in an intricate story while not changing the main plot of the franchise. Just like all previous One Piece films, and the majority of movies based on manga, this is an entirely stand-alone plot. Keeping the movie away from the show’s plot allows the director to have creative freedom, while making sure to not gatekeep anyone who does or does not want to watch the movie to enjoy the series. 

My only gripe with One Piece Film: Red is the timeline. Since this story is stand-alone, the film takes place sometime after the last arc, Wano, and sometime before the current arc, Egghead. The main issue is they never stray from either island. So, using the moves they gain at the end of Wano spoils some of the greatest events for any viewers not caught up with the manga.

No matter if viewers just began in the East Blue, or if they have followed the Strawhats for years, One Piece Film: Red is an enjoyable experience. For those still on the fence about whether or not to start the series, watch the movie. If the jokes and combat are not suitable then do not start it, but with the series reaching its end this is the last chance to catch up before it wraps up. 

With the fifteenth film in the series reaching the big screen in the United States, taking over the box office is just a small feat for the future king of the pirates.