One Piece Film: Red Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

One Piece Film: Red Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Neil Lumbard July 16, 2023

One Piece Film Red celebrates 25 years of One Piece and the broadcast milestone of passing the 1,000^th  episode of the anime series. The biggest box-office smash hit in Japan in 2022, One Piece Film Red is the 15^th theatrical feature-film in the One Piece film series. The feature became the highest grossing One Piece theatrical feature.

The film was number one at the box office in Japan for 11 straight weeks, grossing $246.5 million. Created by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece Film Red is produced by Hiroaki Shibata (Digimon: Data Squad, Ayakashi - Samurai Horror Tales) and Kei Kajimoto (One Piece Film Gold, One Piece Stampede). The theme music was composed by Yasutaka Nakata  (opening theme) and Motohiro Hata (ending theme).

One Piece Film Red features animation produced by Toei Animation (Digimon Adventure, Dragon Ball Z). Executive produced by Hidenobu Muramatsu (Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal), Katsuhiro Takagi (One Piece Stampede, Digimon Adventure tri.: Reunion), Keisuke Furusawa (Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie, Saint Seiya: Legend of Sanctuary), Mitsuyuki Nakamura, Takahiro Noda (Precure Super Stars!, Eiga Precure Miracle Leap: Minna to Fushigi na 1-nichi), Toru Ota, Yasuo Miyakawa (Gintama: The Final Movie, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny), Yoshihisa Heishi (The Promised Neverland, Moriarty the Patriot). Fans of the long-running anime franchise will be overjoyed to step back in to the world of the Straw Hat Pirates.

Pop star Uta (Kaori Nazuka) has an incredible singing voice. Uta is beloved for her music as a pop idol. Uta has the ability to make a difference with her singing and she has made an impact with her song “New Genesis” being a big hit. Uta’s music is energetic and full of life.

The pop idol is putting on her first-ever live performance to a crowd that includes the band of merry-pirate heroes of Monkey D. Luffy (Mayumi Tanaka), Nami (Akemi Okamura), Sanji (Hiroaki Hirata), Tony Tony Chopper (Ikue Ōtani), Usopp (Kappei Yamaguchi), Roronoa Zoro (Kazuya Nakai), Nico Robin (Yuriko Yamaguchi), and the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates gang. Everyone is excited for the show. The hits from Uta keep on coming.

The singer casts a magical spell over the audience and uses her mysterious Devil Fruit powers to achieve something more magical than music alone. Luffy reunites with Uta as it is revealed in the story that he knew her because she is actually the adopted daughter of Shanks (Shūichi Ikeda). Yet some diabolical pirates decide to liven things up by attempting to kidnap Uta.

The result? Uta ends up fighting with Luffy over his life as pirate. Uta argues he should give up the pirate life and move on. As a confrontation unfolds, Uta’s concert might actually have more to it than meets the eye. Can Luffy and Uta see eye-to-eye by the end or will everything hang in the balance?  Uta created a concert that might be impossible for everyone to escape.

One Piece Film Red is a wonderful celebration of the beloved franchise. The series began as the fantastic manga by Eiichiro Oda and the latest film demonstrates a clear affection for the series roots. Oda is a gifted manga author and someone with a clear understanding of the medium. As the manga became a smash-hit anime, One Piece became even more popular. Reaching the 25^th anniversary milestone was a big moment for the whole franchise. One Piece is the most successful and longest running anime of all time with good reason.

The characters are essential to the franchise. The sprawling ensemble cast has such a wonderful and lovable cast of characters. Luffy remains the headstrong leader of the Straw Hat Pirates (using his Devil Fruit gummy powers to stretch out his entire body and take on the villains).

The ensemble element has always been part of the charm and even as One Piece continues to add more characters to the mix, the main franchise hero remains Luffy. The character designs for One Piece Film Red are by Masayuki Satō (One Piece Stampede, Gilgamesh) are excellent and do a great job adapting the work of Oda. These characters provide this installment with the heart fans have come to expect.

The animation in One Piece Film Red is stellar and a clear highlight of the production There is a sense of ambitious scale to the entire production. The art style has always been one of the main strengths of the franchise. Art director Hiroshi Katō (Neon Genesis Evangelion, Ah! My Goddess) and chief animation director Masayuki Satō (One Piece Film Z, Ashita no Nadja) make this production a stunning one with some of the best animation in the One Piece franchise to date. The production looks bigger in budget compared to some installments and has a sense of ambition that makes the project extra special. A testament to the enduring legacy of the franchise and the efforts of the animators.

The cinematography by Tsunetaka Ema (Made in Abyss, Strike Witches) provides an engaging and robust cinematographic style. The lush use of color in the cinematography makes the filmmaking even more memorable. A colorful and upbeat cinematographic style – recalling the franchise origins. Such an impressive effort by Ema.

The score composed by Yasutaka Nakata (Modest Heroes, Space Station No. 9) is a highlight and the music is certainly one of the most engaging elements of One Piece Film Red. The score fits in well alongside the song selections. There is plenty to appreciate about the music in the film and the enormous creativity the music adds to the action sequences. Though the score might seem to sometimes take a backseat to the songs in One Piece Film Red, the score is also powerful.

Written by Tsutomu Kuroiwa (One Piece Film Gold, One Piece: Heart of Gold), One Piece Film Red is a heartfelt entry in the series. The script was well written and it does a good job of highlighting series characters from both the beginning of the One Piece saga as well as characters who have joined the franchise over subsequent years. One Piece Film Red has good writing and a fun concept (with the concert element effectively enhancing this installment).

Directed by Goro Taniguchi (Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Mobile Fighter G Gundam), One Piece Film Red is a wonderful celebration of all the things One Piece fans have come to love about the anime franchise. The director handles the 25^th anniversary celebration by making a feature that will please just about anyone who has ever enjoyed this anime franchise. Newcomers might need to start elsewhere as the film is for the fans but the fanbase will be thrilled by the stunning adventure. A must- see film in the series.

One Piece Film: Red Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Crunchyroll, One Piece Film Red is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the theatrical aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The presentation is top-notch with excellent video quality. The encode is excellent and there are few issues to report with the video – it appears crisp and detail is well preserved in the animation. The colors are fantastic and this enhances the animation in spades.

Outside of a few brief moments of slight banding, the image quality was excellent overall. The transfer will please fans. The only potential drawback is knowing that Anime Limited (in the United Kingdom) is preparing a 4K UHD option. Franchise fans who are 4K UHD equipped may wish to wait for the U.K. 4K UHD option and import.

One Piece Film: Red Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (with English subtitles). The lossless audio on the release is exceptional and engaging. The lossless audio quality on the release is impressive and well encoded. The benefits of the lossless audio were especially noteworthy during the music performances by Uta. The surrounds are actively engaged. The soundtrack capably preserves the soundtrack selections featured throughout the film. A nice lossless audio effort from Crunchyroll.

One Piece Film: Red Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes with a beautiful o-card slipcover with a nice glossy print and holio effect. The slipcover has unique key artwork from the artwork selected for the inner art sleeve. This adds a wonderful design choice from Crunchyroll and makes the release feel more special in-hand.

Disc 2:

The main bonus highlight of the release in the inclusion of all three One Piece series episodes featuring Uta. These episodes are all provided on the bonus features disc.

A Faint Memory! Luffy and Red-Haired's Daughter Uta! (HD, 23:55)

A Pledge for the New Genesis! Luffy and Uta! (HD, 23:55)

The Captain's Log of the Legend! 'Red-Haired' Shanks! (HD, 23:55)

Trailers (HD, 2:41)

Web Preview (HD, 00:47)

One Piece Film: Red Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One Piece Film Red is an exciting and action-packed installment in the mega-popular anime franchise. As the longest running anime franchise in world history (with the series celebrating a milestone of over 1,000 episodes), the 15^th theatrical feature in the One Piece film series celebrates the series with a compelling story and plenty of mesmerizing visuals for franchise devotees.

Luffy and co are back in another new adventure here and the stakes are higher than ever. The Blu-ray release has fantastic video and audio presentation. The release also includes a bonus disc with bonus episodes from the One Piece anime series. One Piece fans won't be able to resist this fantastic release. Highly recommended.