Announced last year to mark the 1000th episode of the anime ONE PIECE, it has finally arrived in Japanese cinemas ONE-PIECE: RED, a film that promised to bring Shanks the Red back to screens. The Kaiser effect was felt at the box office with ONE PIECE: RED surpassing its predecessor.
In fact, ONE PIECE: STAMPEDE sold significantly fewer tickets in the first few days of the screening. And it is precisely this film that we return to talk to ONE PIECE: RED. Producer Shimizu Shinji has worked on several Toei Animation projects over the years, including the ONE PIECE: GOLD films and the last two released in Japanese theaters. According to Shimizu, ONE PIECE: STAMPEDE was the most difficult project his career: "The schedule was very tight, but thank God the film went well."
So the challenge is done, but STAMPEDE isn't the ONE PIECE film most treasured by the producer. In fact, Shinji immediately replies, "That's a simple question. Obviously it's RED. After that I definitely enjoyed Death Trap.” Recall that ONE PIECE: Death Trap was the fourth film in the franchise and was released in 2003 where the crew was much smaller than it is today.
ONE PIECE: RED continues its run in Japanese theaters and now in some countries around the world, while the special episodes on RED with Uta also continue.
