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| Taking a break from their usual adventures, the Straw Hat Pirates decide to attend the world’s first concert and the most popular singer Uta. But as soon as the concert started, Luffy rushed onto the stage and announced that he and Uta were not only childhood sweethearts, but also that she was the daughter of the infamous pirate “Redhead” Shanks. Little does Luffy know, however, that Uta is so far removed from the girl they were when they were kids – and that her concert has the potential to disrupt the current world order.
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Review: |
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The Straw Hat Pirates took a break from their usual adventures and decided to attend a concert by the world’s most popular singer, Uta. But as soon as the concert started, Luffy rushed onto the stage and announced that he and Uta were not only childhood sweethearts, but also that she was the daughter of the infamous pirate “Redhead” Shanks. Little does Luffy know, however, that Uta is so far removed from the girl they were when they were kids – and that her concert has the potential to disrupt the current world order.
Review: |
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I’ll be the first to admit that I know very little about the whole – and more than episodes, I’ve long since given up on starting it (let alone catching up). At this point, my entire knowledge of the subject comes from the first two Pirate Warrior games, general cultural penetration, and in
seen in the 9th movie (let I’ll tell you, I’ve never seen so many people cry at the same time in a theater). 290 However, hugely popular in Japan, I decided to check it out even though I knew nothing about it. While there are indeed dozens of characters in the movie, each with their own unique superpowers, I didn’t understand that the movie itself was not only understandable, but also fun for a newbie like me. That’s mostly because it’s not actually a movie about any of the previously identified characters – it’s about a new character created solely for the movie: Uta. 290 The song is the heart of the film; everything revolves around her character development and backstory. She is the protagonist, antagonist and victim of this film. Each scene of the film digs deeper into her past, building on tragic revelation — each time redefining her actions with newly collected context. 290 Song’s “evil plan” revolves around the fact that the world is going to be bad for ordinary people. It’s a world full of exciting adventures if you’re one of the many super-powered pirates, but a scary place for ordinary civilians. At any time, some super powerful bastard could destroy your village, enslave you and your family, or just take all your food and starve you to death. Meanwhile, the Marines, the closest to the police force, seem more concerned with defeating pirates than civilians caught in the crossfire. In short, the entire world order is a disaster and requires massive change. Uta can single-handedly bring about this change. 290 Without going into spoiler details, Uta has the ability to create a new world – a world without violence and hunger where people can basically party and have fun every day. Those who tried to disrupt this new order – namely the pirates – were basically suspended and forced to watch everyone else have a good time. Uta doesn’t want to kill anyone – her only goal is to make everyone happy. Even a pirate who gave up being a pirate is welcome in her new world. This makes her an interesting counterpart to our usual heroes because her goals are so nonviolent and pure. 290 of course, the evil of her plan is that it does not allow for personal agency. She wants to force as many people as possible into her new world, whether they want to live there or not. At the same time, however, it is clear that if she were completely transparent about her goals and simply allowed people to join her of their own free will, there would be no doubt that the power on top of the world would stop her. (After all, if all the disenfranchised disappeared from the world, who would the mighty lord rule?) Through Uta, the film asks the question: “It’s more important to live in paradise or have free will. ?” — and allowed the audience to come up with their own answers through the song’s tragic story. There’s no doubt that the film is full of despair — maybe too much. In fact, as a whole, I wouldn’t even call it bittersweet. 290 While there is no doubt that Uta himself drove the plot of the film, that’s only half the experience; the other half is the music. Basically a musical. Uta is a singer and her power to create the world comes from her songs. She sings nonstop throughout the film, and her songs are set against the backdrop of both the calming scenes and the countless battles in the film. 290 The original song for each movie was composed by another popular Japanese composer. The styles of these songs vary widely – from 300 JP
and slow-tempo ballads to R&B and hard rock — and are expertly used in scenes that match the tone of the song . Even more incredible is that Uta has only one song Voice actor-Ado- Her performance is unforgettable. She perfectly interprets every musical style, making the film worth watching for the soundtrack alone. The animation is likewise at a high level and tailored to the music, so much so that several scenes of the movie could also be music videos. 290 All in all, this is a surprisingly deep and emotionally impactful film. Even if you’ve never watched an episode of the TV show, this movie gives you everything you need to connect with the heart of the movie (i.e. Uta) and the people who are important to her. The film itself explores themes of free will and suffering, while setting a ton of action to an absolutely stunning soundtrack. Just don’t expect to feel good about the world from it.
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