One Piece Film: Red (2022) Movie Ending, Explained: The latest film in the super popular anime and manga series One Piece takes a very musical direction, which clearly resonated with fans as the movie grossed 246.5 million dollars worldwide. Add to that a score of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, and you have a very successful One Piece movie on your hands.
One Piece Film: Red (2022) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis
The Straw Hat Pirates journey to Elegia, the “Island of Music,” where a well-known singer named Uta is set to hold her first-ever concert. During her opening number, “New Genesis,” Luffy climbs onto the stage to meet her and discloses their previous acquaintance. It turns out that Uta is the daughter of “Red-Haired” Shanks, and they first encountered each other on Dawn Island twelve years ago. However, Shanks returned to the island one day without his daughter, simply stating that she had left their crew to pursue a singing career.
Following this, a few members of the Big Mom Pirates try to abduct Uta because their Empress desires her Devil Fruit. However, Uta swiftly overpowers them with the abilities bestowed upon her by the Uta Uta no Mi and sings “I’m Invincible” to demonstrate her power. Her Devil Fruit enables her to create various things through music, and her singing puts anyone who hears it under her spell. Later, Uta advises Luffy to abandon his life as a pirate since she intends to make the concert go on forever and establish a world brimming with happiness and peace.
When the Straw Hat Pirates object to her proposal, Uta attacks and captures them all by singing “Backlight,” leaving only Luffy to be rescued by Trafalgar Law and Bartolomeo. Meanwhile, the Five Elders are keeping an eye on the performance of Mary Geoise. They see Uta’s power as a significant threat to the world and ponder if she is linked to the Figarland Family. Marine Fleet Admiral Sakazuki instructs a fleet of battleships, commanded by Admirals Kizaru and Fujitora, to travel to Elegia and neutralize her.
As Luffy’s team flees, they are pursued by Uta and eventually seek refuge inside Elegia’s castle. Here, they encounter Gordon, Uta’s adoptive father and the previous king of Elegia. Gordon discloses that he took in Uta after the island was ravaged twelve years ago, which was attributed to Shanks and his crew, who apparently pillaged the island for its riches and abandoned Uta. Gordon nurtured Uta’s musical talents and sheltered her from the outside world.
However, when Uta gained worldwide fame through a new model Livestream Den Den Mushi, she started to learn about the misery that pirates inflicted upon her fans. Soon after, Uta arrives, forcing Luffy’s group to escape quickly, and Gordon implores her not to proceed with her secretive plan. Despite Gordon’s pleas, Uta reveals her discovery of an inscription that leads to a song capable of unleashing great energy and immobilizing Gordon.
Luffy and a few others encounter members of SWORD, Koby, and Helmeppo, as well as World Government agents, Blueno and Kalifa, who work covertly. Koby explains that Uta’s Uta Uta no Mi allows her to transport people into a dream state known as the Uta World through her singing. Everyone who attended the concert is already trapped in this dream realm, which Uta fully controls. The Uta World vanishes whenever Uta sleeps. However, Uta has been ingesting Wake-shrooms, a drug that keeps her awake and significantly reduces her lifespan. If Uta dies, everyone within the Uta World will be stranded there indefinitely.
In the physical world, the Marine fleet arrives at Elegia to discover that all the concert attendees are sleeping. They block out Uta’s singing with earplugs, but she takes command of the audience, overwhelms the Marines, and removes their earplugs with her performance of “Fleeting Lullaby.” The Five Elders are aware that Uta’s remaining lifespan is extremely limited, and if she dies, 70% of the world’s population who watched the concert via streaming will be trapped.
The Straw Hats successfully free themselves and go to the castle to search for a weakness in Uta’s power. While in the library, Robin stumbles upon information revealing that the worlds can be merged by summoning Tot Musica, a demonic entity that exists in both worlds. If Tot Musica is attacked simultaneously in both worlds, those in the Uta World will return to reality.
Meanwhile, Uta continues her concert in the dream world, but her audience begins to resist the notion of being trapped in her world forever. As Uta becomes increasingly unstable, she transforms everyone in the dream world into inanimate objects, such as snacks and candy. In the meantime, Gordon informs Luffy that Shanks and his crew have joined them in the real world.
Shanks attempts to assist Uta, but Sakazuki commands the Marines to attack her, disregarding the safety of the concert attendees. This forces Shanks and his crew to defend both themselves and the civilians. As a result of consuming wake-shrooms, Uta slips into a state of delirium and sings the forbidden song, which summons the demon, Tot Musica. Luffy intervenes to prevent Uta from harming anyone, but she tries to pierce through him with her attack. However, Gordon takes the hit instead. He discloses that Tot Musica was the one who destroyed Elegia twelve years ago, following Uta’s accidental summoning of him. Shanks subsequently left Uta on Elegia so that she could pursue a singing career without being hunted as a pirate.
One Piece Film: Red (2022) Ending Explained
Even after hearing that, Uta admits that she was already aware of the past due to the use of Transponder snails and feels it’s too late to prevent the consequences of her actions. Uta becomes consumed by Tot Musica, but Shanks and Luffy remain resolute in their mission to rescue her from her actions. Meanwhile, in the physical realm, the Red-Haired Pirates connect with the Straw Hats through a psychic bond that Ussop and his father possess through their Observation Haki and work together to strategize and fight against the Demon King.
Both crews synchronize their attacks, striking the Demon King simultaneously in both realms, leading to the collapse of its defenses. In the end, after several attacks, Shanks and Luffy deal the decisive blow that defeats Tot Musica and liberates Uta. Shanks and Uta then have an emotional heart-to-heart talk, and Uta is able to let go of her aspirations and embrace the love of her family once again.
In the real world, Shanks provides Uta with an antidote for the wake shrooms she consumed, which would allow her to rest and recover. Nevertheless, Uta rejects the offer and discards the bottle, insisting that the only means to free everyone from her world is to sing another song. As she starts singing, the civilians and the Straw Hat Pirates gradually awaken from their slumber.
After rescuing everyone, Uta collapses into Shanks’ embrace. The Marines make a move to capture her, but Shanks employs his Haki to repel them, and they retreat as they don’t want to start a war with him with so many civilians in the area. During her final moments, Uta reveals that her goal was to bring joy to people in a dream world free from pirates, but she still longed to reunite with Shanks.
Upon awakening, Luffy finds himself on the Thousand Sunny, with his crew already having departed Elegia. He observes the Red-Hair Pirates’ vessel sailing away and catches a glimpse of the crew members standing solemnly over a casket, presumably holding Uta’s remains.