One Piece Red, released on August 10, offers some very colorful musical tracks in addition to an epic adventure. But who interprets the VF songs of this new feature film of the franchise?
Released in cinemas on August 10, One Piece Red immediately took the lead in the French box office with a start at more than 260,000 spectators!
It thus largely surpasses the latest successes on the big screen of the films that created the event: My Hero Academia World Heroes Mission (43,000 first day admissions), Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (113,000) and Demon Slayer The Infinity Train (58,000).
In the film, we find the hero, Monkey D. Luffy, accompanied by his faithful crew. The latter are preparing to attend an eagerly awaited music festival.
The most popular singer in the world, Uta, will take the stage for the first time. The one who is none other than the daughter of the legendary pirate Shanks Le Roux will reveal the exceptional power of her voice which could well change the world.
To build his story, the creator of the saga, Eiichiro Oda, wanted to highlight a female character who is very passionate about music. He was supported in meaning by the director Goro Taniguchi and the screenwriter Tsutomu Kuroiwawhich framed the narrative around bombastic musical moments.
“Those who know and appreciate One Piece know that music is a new theme in the films of the saga”explains the screenwriter.
“Our challenge being to open the film to as many people as possible, it seemed obvious to us to integrate a unifying and entertaining element throughout the world: the music. Everyone will be able to identify with and appropriate the film.“, he underlines.
To perform the songs of One Piece Red, the team called on a superstar in Japan: Ado. Aged only 19, she is one of the most listened to artists on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, the ranking of musical singles in the Land of the Rising Sun.
In France, it is the young Hoshi, 25, who pushes the ditty as the singing voice of Uta. A big fan of One Piece since childhood, the singer did not hesitate when she was asked to participate in the film.
“I knew One Piece when I was 7 years old. I went to a bookstore near my house a lot and I came across it. It means a lot to me because when I was little, as soon as I learned to read I read mangashe says.
“I really fell into it when I was little, it was a mixture of lots of things that I really liked. I remember that my mother gave me all the books that had already been released at the time for Christmas. , I had read everything I was thoroughly!”says Hoshi.
“I read manga before but I was in the middle of anime when I was offered this collaboration so it was incredible! When they came to me to offer it to me, I didn’t hesitate for a second because it was a childhood dream”, hammers the artist.
Hoshi still had some apprehension about the idea of embodying Uta through the songs and overall doing this project.
“I’m really a fan, I want everything to look like the original and I don’t want to disappoint One Piece fans! Especially since it’s the French version and I usually only watch in VO, so I know how much the fans pay attention to all the details.”explains the singer.
“I told myself that there will inevitably be people who will not like it, but I still want to pay tribute to this anime that I really love very much”assures the artist.
If Hoshi had a form of apprehension, it is because the exercise is very difficult. You have to adapt the songs at the same time keeping the same meaning, but without doing a literal translation of the lyrics.
“You have to make sure it’s pleasant to listen to and understand in French. It was a lot of pressure and work, but I tried to do my best”she says.
For the native of Versailles, it is very important that a popular anime like One Piece adapts the music in French because it is no longer or very rarely done.
“I find it important to make the songs available in French so that people have the choice of going to see the film in VO or VF, and that they also have the choice of listening to the songs in VO or VF.
It’s good for children to go see the film at the cinema or even for adults who don’t necessarily know the universe”she argues.
“For me the songs have a more global meaning than just the film because there is a character in which many people will be able to recognize themselves. They will recognize themselves both in the character and in the songs, and I find it beautiful to to be able to do it in French”concludes Hoshi.
One Piece Red has been in theaters since August 10.