15 films across the franchise’s long history. One Piece Film Red is the 15th movie and fans are curious to find out if the movie is Canon or not. Very few of One Piece’s movies are considered canon. It now includes Movie 15 but is still up for debate. The most recent film (as of writing this), is Movie 15. Traversing across social media one will find the same question asked.
Could Film Red Be Canon?
Film Red has the potential to be canon. Mostly because One Piece’s creator Eiichiro Oda worked very closely on the film. Unlike the predecessor films before Strong World, Oda only approved the storylines and did character designs. Movie 15 has other reasons it could be canon as well.
Mostly, due to consistency with how the contained world of the movie’s story and the writing of the characters next to the main story holds up. In this case, it is more so narrative, characters, and world consistency. If Movie 15 were more adjusted to fit into the main canon could it work as its own arc? The answer is yes, factoring in consistency.
In Defense of Film Red
A lot of discussions turn into arguments across social media about when Film Red takes place. Almost always including, “Why does it matter? It’s not canon.” So this is for those who are interested in where Movie 15 fits in the canon.
Only when shifting the timeline around just a bit. Since there are big holes in the continuity of this film when lining it up with the canon. Which for the most part is due to Oda doing his own thing and not conforming to the pressure of production. And said production not wanting to wait for Oda to pen the end of an arc.
Movie 15: Film Red
Movie 15: Film Red is another movie that is unique in premise and has excellent execution. Taking place after Wano (somehow) the Straw Hats are attending a highly anticipated first-ever live performance by, The World’s Greatest Diva: Uta on Elegia Island. After performing her opening song. Luffy recognizes her as the same Uta from his childhood and runs onstage.
During their reunion, Luffy lets slip that Uta is Shank’s daughter. The Big Mom Pirates launched a surprise attack trying to kidnap Uta for her Devil Fruit, the Uta Uta no Mi. She makes quick work of them while putting on a show, performing another song during battle. Luffy and Uta continue speaking afterward.
Uta then tells Luffy he should give up being a pirate. To which Luffy even declines the thought. Uta reveals her goal to make a world of peace, attacking the Straw Hats and capturing everyone but Luffy. Rescued by Law and Bartolomeo.
Meanwhile, the Marines send Admiral Kizaru and Fujitora to Elegia to capture Uta. Because the World Government deems her Devil Fruit too dangerous. During this Luffy, Law, and Bart are joined by, Koby, Helmepo, and Blueno.
Koby reveals that everyone who is attending the concert is trapped in a world created by Uta’s Devil Fruit in order to attain her goal of world peace. And that the world will cease to exist if Uta were to fall asleep. Uta is preparing for this and has been consuming a mushroom called a wake shroom.
They allow the eater to stay awake but at the cost of their life if they fall asleep. In the real world, the Marines finally arrive. But Uta using her abilities puppeteers the unconscious patrons while performing another song. This forces the Marines to fall back to avoid hurting innocent civilians.
In Uta’s World, the captured Straw Hats manage to escape a deduce they can find a weakness in Uta’s powers inside Elegia’s castle. Discovering the library Robin deciphers that the only way to potentially bring everyone back is to make the worlds converge by summoning Tot Musica.
A being that resides in between the real world and the one created by Uta Uta no Mi users. Meanwhile, Uta’s concert begins falling apart as the concertgoers are ready to go home and resume their lives. Turning them all into inanimate objects in a fit of denial. In the real world, Shanks arrives. Shank attempts to stop her but the Navy interrupts with orders from Sakazuki to engage disregarding innocent civilian lives.
In the dream world, Luffy confronts Uta again and is almost killed. If it was not for Gordon, Uta’s adoptive father who took the hit in his stead. Successfully summoning Tot Musica, it consumes Uta. In a joint effort using Usopp and Yassop’s Observation Haki which allows the groups to conduct coordinated attacks. Managing to defeat Tot Musica together, however, it is too late.
Tot Musica had already consumed everyone in the Uta’s World. Uta sings one last song to free everyone from the Dreamscape. The Red-Haired Pirates with Uta escape along with the Straw Hats. Luffy finally awakening sees Shank’s ship and the Red Hair’s surrounding a coffin.
Uta and One Piece Canon
Uta is canon within the manga Eiichiro Oda saying so, but Movie 15 isn’t. Even though it is not canon that does not mean the idea of it being canon isn’t. Stated much earlier what aids consideration is consistency to the work that Oda has already laid out in the main story.
Aside from music sequences of course; or reworking them, to fit the usual flow of how One Piece arcs unfold. Movie 15 could most definitely be canon. It is well-paced and the story itself has the aura of an arc like Post-War arc with it being a more Luffy-focused story.
Meaning, that even though it is all about Luffy those arcs focus on how Luffy became the dreamer we know. The film focuses on Luffy’s past with Uta, which is also a whole year before Luffy receives his Straw Hat jumpstarting his dream.
Flashbacks spread through the narrative expounding on what led to the current events. Uta is a very compelling antagonist with an interesting past. Similar to other antagonists or villains within the main story, Uta’s reasonings for her present-day actions stem from a tragic event(s) that altered her life forever.
Connecting with Luffy’s past also makes the emotional punches of Movie 15 hit harder. Seeing how close the two were as children then seeing the kindredness never left when reuniting years later. Luffy as we know him holds all of his friends dear, so the turmoil he expresses throughout is very true to him.
Hurting his friends is something Luffy has never complied with even when given reason to. So having to fight one of his oldest friends is killing him inside. Throughout Movie 15 Luffy displays this through hesitations he never typically has when fighting an opponent. The lack of any real counter is parallel to how it was with Sanji during the Whole Cake Island Arc.
The support Luffy receives from his friends, appearances of several mainstays, and important characters in the main narrative. And the consistency with their characters adjacent to the main story is also sound reasoning. When looked at in this light, Film Red could very well be an arc in the established canon.
Closing Thoughts
Said multiple times throughout this page. Being considered canon is entertaining the idea of it somehow being a part of the main story. And a key factor is consistency (if I had a dollar…). Movie 15 is a great and engaging movie.
A fun while simultaneously emotional watch with great pacing, and an interesting premise. A musically inclined arc would definitely be interesting. Songs in the movie could be done in a way similar to the Homies in Whole Cake Island Arc. And another Luffy-focused arc is always welcome.
One Piece: Film Red isn’t currently streaming but the Blu-ray is on Crunchyroll and Amazon.
