One Piece Film: Red Brings These Characters To The Screen For The Very First Time

"One Piece" is one of those anime that could easily keep you busy for months. Based on the manga of the same name by Eiichiro Oda, "One Piece" follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy (Mayumi Tanaka/Colleen Clinkenbeard) as he strives to become the king of the pirates. As the series already has 20 seasons under its belt and a staggering count of over 1000 episodes, the anime boasts hundreds of hours of content, and that's before you even figure in the many films that take place in the world of the show.

The latest movie in the "One Piece" universe is "One Piece Film: Red." The 15th film in the series, the new movie follows a concert on the high seas from famed singer Uta (Kaori Nazuka) and how the revelation of the singer's true identity changes the high-stakes pirating world of the show forever. However, as a producer for the film has pointed out, "One Piece Film: Red" will also showcase some new characters who have never been seen on the screen before.

"One Piece Film: Red" producer Shinji Shimizu sat down with Anime News Network to discuss the new movie, and he had plenty of information to share. Of particular note is that fans of the anime series will finally be seeing a gang of pirates come to the screen that has only appeared in the manga up until now: The Red-haired Pirates. "Yes, all of them are going to make an appearance for the first time," Shimizu confirmed.

Shimizu was also quick to confirm that the characters have a musical element in how they are designed and animated. "There is a kind of rock-and-roll motif going on, and I think that's something Oda-san was very aware of when he was designing them," Shimizu went on, referring to "One Piece" creator Eiichiro Oda.

Shimizu was also clear how long he'd been hoping to get a particular fan-favorite character from the series, Shanks (Shuichi Ikeda/Brandon Potter), into a movie at last and how "One Piece Film: Red" made that dream a reality. "Shanks is going to make an appearance in this movie. There's over 10 films in the One Piece film catalog, and very often, I would ask Oda-san, 'Can we put Shanks in the next movie? Can we put Shanks in the next movie?' and he rejected me every time until Red, so I'm very excited for him to finally make an appearance."

This sounds like pretty exciting news for fans of the series. Though the movie has already been released in Japan, fans can look forward to catching "One Piece Film: Red" on November 4 in theaters.