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With the release of One Piece episode 1082 earlier this weekend, fans saw Shanks arrive in Wano. He made his presence immediately known to those fighting on the country’s outskirts. Although Shanks’ “wifi Haki,” as so many fans have called his focused Conqueror’s Haki blast, was the highlight of the episode, there’s another aspect of his appearance fans are honing in on.
During Shanks’ attack on Ryokugyu in One Piece episode 1082, he questions if the newest Marine Admiral really is that afraid of the new era that has just bloomed. During this scene, he thinks of several characters, including Luffy, Momonosuke, Hiyori, and what was seemingly Uta, Shanks’ daughter who was first introduced in the franchise’s Film: Red movie.
While this is obviously far from the first time fans have seen Uta animated, her appearance in One Piece episode 1082 does mark her first appearance in the mainline anime series. With this, fans are now questioning if Uta is now officially anime canon, even looking to the manga’s equivalent of the episode’s events for such answers.
One Piece episode 1082’s adaptation of Uta’s corresponding manga appearance canonizes her beyond doubt
With the appearance of Uta in both One Piece episode 1082 and the corresponding source material from chapter 1055, it seems that Uta has indeed been made officially canon. With this, Shanks officially has a daughter in the mainline series, albeit an adoptive daughter if her origins as revealed in Film: Red are to be canonized (which is assumed by fans).
That being said, there are some asterisks to Uta’s inclusion into the canonical mainline series, mainly focused on the events of Film: Red where she was first introduced. While Uta the character is fully canon, this does not mean that the events from her debut film are considered canon, as seen with Shiki the Golden Lion in the Strong World film.
Likewise, her brief appearance in One Piece episode 1082 sees her appear as her younger self, seemingly before Shanks abandoned her on Elegia to pursue a life of piracy without her. In other words, it can only be assumed that everything up to this point in Uta’s life is officially canon, leaving her Devil Fruit powers and idol status unconfirmed.
This also brings into question whether or not Uta was abandoned within the canonical series, as well as whether or not she was abandoned with Gordon on Elegia as Film: Red showed. At the very least, however, her being found and raised by Shanks as a young girl seems to be confirmed canonical based on this scene from the latest episode.
As for what this means for Uta as a character beyond One Piece episode 1082, it’s truly hard to say, as not even the manga has reincorporated her into the story as of this article’s writing. That being said, there hasn’t exactly been a good opportunity for author and illustrator Eiichiro Oda to reincorporate her into the story, so there could still be future plans for the character in place.
If nothing else, the door is seemingly open for future appearances from Uta in the mainline canonical series. Until then, however, fans will have to patiently wait and be happy with her being confirmed as canon in the first place.
Be sure to keep up with all One Piece anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.
