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One Piece: Red is the 15th movie in the series. It was first released in Japan on August 6, 2022. One Piece author Eiichiro Oda served as the film's general producer and supervisor.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1064 and the One Piece Film: Red movie.
An absolute box office success in Japan, where it has already become the highest-grossing film in 2022, One Piece: Red has dubbed releases planned worldwide.
A record-breaking event, One Piece: Red didn't betray expectations. It not only featured the moving story of Uta, the adopted daughter of Shanks, but also gifted fans with some thrilling actions involving the Red Hair Pirates, a crew that has been hyped up for a long time. The movie also depicted a strong connection between the Red Hair Pirates and the Strawhats.
Recently, some of the scrapped ideas for the movie were revealed, fueling the curiosity of One Piece fans. Follow this thread to find out more.
New Impel Down, the return of Enel, and other discarded ideas for One Piece: Red
The source of this information
The Artur - Library of Ohara account is easily one of the most trusted popularizers for analysis and news regarding the One Piece series on Twitter. Artur shared some exciting information about the original ideas that were later rejected for One Piece: Red.
The source of this information was an official interview with Tsutomu Kuroiwa, the screenwriter of One Piece: Red. The interview is available for everyone to read on the official website, which Artur linked to on his Twitter account.
The former user of Nika-Nika Fruit
The screenwriter revealed that they initially thought of basing One Piece: Red on the encounter, through time travel, between Luffy and the previous user of the Nika-Nika Fruit.
Originally believed to be the Paramecia-class Gom-Gom Fruit, Luffy's Fruit was recently revealed to be a Mythical Zoan, the Human-Human, Model: Nika. During the battle with Kaido, Luffy was unconsciously able to awaken his Devil Fruit, unleashing the Gear 5 form.
Luffy became a "Warrior of Liberation," a legendary individual who would fight following his imagination while bringing joy and freedom to those around them. Gear 5 was, unsurprisingly, called "the most ridiculous power in the world." This newfound ability allowed Luffy to extend the rubbery nature of his body to his surroundings, influencing and reshaping the environment.
Nika was a mythical figure in ancient times, who was regarded as the "Sun God." According to the legend, Nika is a very benevolent individual who would one day come to liberate enslaved people from their oppressors, and would bring spontaneous smiles and laughs to everyone.
The legend also claims that Nika was a brave warrior, whose signature trait was the ability to fight freely, with his imagination being his only limit. This was due to his body having rubber-like properties. Eating the Human-Human Model Nika Fruit and awakening its powers, Luffy enabled himself to transform into the legendary 'Sun God,' gaining all his abilities.
Many One Piece fans pondered that the person who could have met Luffy wasn't Joy Boy. Given the latter's importance, it wouldn't make much sense for such a prominent figure to be revealed in a movie. Thus, it means that someone else owned the Nika-Nika Fruit after Joy Boy and before Luffy.
Moreover, the allusion to time travel was a significant revelation. Time travel is a recurring trope of fictional series of all kinds. If it were introduced in One Piece, it would definitely be a big hit, opening up exciting scenarios. For instance, it would be nice to see the present protagonists traveling into the past and participating in significant events.
However, time travel is always a complex concept. If it were ever implemented in the series, One Piece author Eiichiro Oda would have to be very careful to avoid the creation of time paradoxes or any other inconsistencies in the plot.
Time travel
Time travel was not only involved in the idea of Luffy meeting the former user of Nika-Nika Fruit. Another scrapped concept involved having Luffy travel into the past to meet Shanks in his younger days.
One Piece fans consider "Red Hair" Shanks as the symbolic bridge connecting Luffy to the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, through the signature straw hat. Shanks inherited it from Roger and entrusted it to Luffy many years later.
In his youth, Shanks was an apprentice in Roger Pirates, the first and only crew to conquer the entire Grand Line and find the One Piece. When Roger returned from Laugh Tale, the young "Red Hair" asked him something. After the Pirate King's answer, he shed tears. An afflicted Shanks was also present during his former captain's execution in Loguetown, showing the depth of their bond.
It's unknown when the world-renowned rivalry between Shanks and Dracule Mihawk, the World's Strongest Swordsman, started. Regardless, their ferocious battles are known throughout the entire Grand Line. Even Whitebeard, a man who was as strong as Roger, acknowledged those clashes as memorable. A time travel into the past could have allowed fans to see these fantastic fights.
Moreover, given the nature of the time-transcending bond between Roger, Shanks, and Luffy, seeing the latter witnessing the "Red Hair" in the days of his youth would have been great. To this day, Luffy idolizes Shanks and deeply respects him as his role model, childhood hero, and the man who inspired him.
When Luffy was a child, Shanks protected him at the cost of sacrificing his arm and entrusted him with Roger's straw hat. He promised the child he'd return it to him only after becoming a great pirate. These events created a deep bond between Luffy and Shanks. Since then, they have yet to meet face-to-face.
The idea of Luffy traveling in the past and meeting a young Shanks was rejected. However, it somehow evolved into the concept of Luffy, Shanks, and their respective crews communicating and allying from the two opposite sides of the parallel words created by Uta.
A new Impel Down
Another dismissed idea for One Piece: Red involved building the movie on the rescue of Bentham, the former Baroque Works agent Mr. 2, from "New Impel Down," a flying prison.
The World Government's maximum-security prison for the most dangerous criminals and pirates, Impel Down, is a majestic structure located underwater in the middle of the Calm Belt.
After the mass breakout provoked by Luffy, which also resulted in some prisoners and Shiryu, one of the two most powerful jailers, joining the Blackbeard Pirates, Impel Down underwent changes in his organization.
After he failed to stop the prison's only mass breakout, Magellan, the former chief warden, decided to demote himself to the post of a vice warden. Hannyabal, his former subordinate, replaced him.
During the breakout, Bentham sacrificed himself to cover the escape of Luffy and the others. The former Baroque Works member stood up before Magellan without fear or regret. Bentham was easily defeated but survived the onslaught. However, he was incarcerated again.
The notion of the World Government deciding to create a flying prison in place of the previous underwater prison would have been fascinating. Furthermore, given the depth of the friendship and the bond between Luffy and Bentham, many One Piece fans would have likely enjoyed seeing the Strawhat Pirates go for a rescue mission on the latter.
The return of some old enemies
Artur also revealed that Oda intended to include Doflamingo and Crocodile in the plot of One Piece: Red. However, screenwriter Tsutomu Kuroiwa dismissed the idea. While Oda wanted to add more characters, creating a movie along the lines of One Piece: Stampede, Kuroiwa preferred to focus on the personal story of Uta and Shanks.
The captain of the Donquixote Pirates, Doflamingo, tyrannically ruled Dressrosa until his loss at Monkey D. Luffy's hands, after which he was stripped of his Warlord title and imprisoned at Impel Down. Before that, Doflamingo was one of the most influential pirates in the New World, supplying Beasts Pirates with artificial Devil Fruits and partaking in the Paramount War in Marineford.
Crocodile is a former member of the Seven Warlords and a former leader of the Baroque Works. Following the events of the Impel Down Arc, Crocodile escaped the prison, where he was incarcerated after losing to Luffy. After participating in the Paramount War, he headed out to the New World with Daz Bonez, his right-hand man.
A ruthless and intimidating mastermind, Crocodile, along with Dracule Mihawk, was involved in the foundation of Cross Guild, a new powerful organization with comparable power and influence to a Yonko crew. Mihawk and Crocodile decided to use Buggy as Cross Guild's figurehead leader to draw attention away from them.
The comeback of iconic old villains is one of the central tropes of the series. Thus, fans would have likely enjoyed the eventual return of Doflaming and Crocodile. With Doflamingo currently being held in prison, it's highly feasible that the idea of his resurgence was tied to the one about having One Piece: Red featuring a mass breakout. However, both concepts were rejected.
In addition to Crocodile and Doflamingo, even Enel, the tyrannical self-imposed God of Skypiea, was initially supposed to be featured in One Piece: Red. Believing himself to be a divine being who had the authority to do whatever he wished, Ener constructed a massive airship made of gold, the Ark Maxim, to reach the Fairy Vearth, which he thought to be a legendary land in the sky.
In fact, the Fairy Vearth was the Moon, and in the end, Enel somehow managed to reach it, becoming its ruler. Having eaten the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Enel has control over lighting. During the Skypiea Arc, the only one who could defeat him was Luffy because his rubber body was immune to electricity.
Enel's comeback from the Moon has always been a widely discussed theory among One Piece fans. While this option was about to become a reality in the latest movie of the series, it was ultimately rejected. Hence, if Enel ever returns to the series, he will likely do that in the manga.
Different ideas for Uta's character
The idea of basing One Piece: Red on the rescue mission of Bentham from the prison of New Impel Down was connected with the notion of having Uta visit the place to comfort the prisoners. She would have used her Devil Fruit Powers to help them break out and use them as tools in her attempt to take over the world.
Despite this being the first concept for Uta's character, it was scrapped. However, the idea of the girl having the plan to take over the world was somehow maintained in the final plot of One Piece: Red.
The adopted daughter of Shanks, Uta, was a musician in the Red Hair Pirates and Luffy's childhood friend and rival. When Uta was still a child, Shanks left her in the care of Gordon. Several years later, she became a world-renowned singer, hailed as a diva.
After communicating with her fans, who informed her of their sufferings and their wish to listen to her music forever, Uta thought up a plan called "New Genesis." To end the misery in the world and replace it with peace and happiness, she would have captured as many people as possible into the "Uta World," a parallel dimension created by her Devil Fruit powers.
Due to their impact on the lives of her fans, and due to her father and his crew abandoning her, Uta hates pirates, including Luffy. However, after seeing Luffy's determination to save herself and her fans, Uta regained respect for her past friend's dream to become the Pirate King.
One Piece author Eiichiro Oda initially intended Uta to use a Devil Fruit power which involved her trapping her targets inside a "book world." With a similar ability already being featured in the story with Charlotte Mont-d'Or's Book-Book Fruit, Oda decided to follow the advice of Goro Taniguchi, the film's director, who suggested a song-related ability.
Thus, Oda conceived the Song-Song Fruit, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allows Uta to transport the consciousnesses of people who hear her singing to a parallel dimension called "Uta World." Within that virtual space, she is omnipotent. Until she runs out of energy, she can control and manipulate reality as she chooses.
People trapped in Uta World can't leave it on their own. Their physical bodies in the real world remain unconscious, but Uta can eventually control them according to her will. However, the parallel dimension can only be maintained as long as she remains awake. Moreover, maintaining this ability for a prolonged period consumes a lot of stamina.
Despite Uta being characterized as a pop idol, she initially intended to be an opera singer or a country singer. The first concept also involved Elegia being an orchestral stage.
However, this later changed. The switch that brought Uta to a pop idol was likely an idea to better promote her character among the youngest audience. Also, Elegia was depicted as the Island of Music and the location for Uta's pop concert.
The anthropomorphized ships
One of the funniest concepts of One Piece: Red was the idea of making the spirits of the ships appear in some anthropomorphized form. While Oda's initial idea included Luffy, Law, and Barthomeo fighting against several of those spirits, he was later persuaded only to feature Sunny-kun, the spirit of the Thousand Sunny, the Strawhat Pirates' ship.
It would be nice if Oda showed the design of all the anthropomorphized ships in an SBS or a chapter cover. For instance, many fans expressed curiosity about seeing the spirits of the Law and Kid's ships.
Final Thoughts
Regardless of which ideas were scrapped and which ones were featured in the actual movie, most fans immensely enjoyed One Piece: Red. The revelation of Uta being the daughter of Shanks was shocking. Furthermore, the involvement of Red Hair Pirates, Strawhat Pirates, and Marines was smooth and entertaining.
One Piece fans especially enjoyed some sequences, such as Luffy performing a coordinated attack with Shanks, Zoro being portrayed with Benn Beckman, and the fight between Shanks and Marine Admiral Kizaru.
Fans also appreciated the relationship between Uta and Shanks. They once had a very close bond, which changed when Shanks left her. When she inadvertently summoned the Tot Musica demon, which went on a rampage of destruction, Shanks and his crew managed to stop it. They voluntarily took the blame for Tot' Musica's attack so that Uta was not burdened with the occurrence.
Not knowing that, Uta grew a hatred for her father and his crew. After Red Hair Pirates and Strawhats finally destroyed Tot Musica, Shanks and Uta rekindled their relationship, breaking into tears because of the emotion.
