‘One Piece Film Red’ wins Special Award for music

One Piece Film Red has received a Special Award for music at the 46th annual Japan Academy Film Prizes.

• READ MORE: Japanese singer Ado is forging her own path: “It’s a learning process and there are no mistakes”

The Japan Academy Film Prize Association revealed on January 11 that the music team for One Piece Film Red will be receiving the Special Award at the ceremony set to be held at Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa in Tokyo on March 10.

The team comprises of rising vocaloid singer Ado and song composers Mrs. Green Apple, Vaundy, FAKE TYPE., Yūta Orisaka, Hiroyuki Sawano, and Motohiro Hata, as well as film composer Yasutake Nakata. The film’s Uta Project released the seven songs Ado contributed to the movies from June through August last year, which have been collected as part of the ‘Uta no Uta One Piece Film Red’ album.

Ado also serves as the singing voice for One Piece Film Red character Uta, and performs the film’s theme song ‘Shinjidai’, or ‘New Genesis’. Uta is a key focus of the film as “the world’s most beloved singer”, though she rose to prominence while concealing her identity.

She is eventually revealed to be a childhood friend of series protagonist Monkey D. Luffy, and the daughter of his longtime idol Red-Haired Shanks. In an interview with NME last year, Ado described the process of working on the film, noting that she had recorded the songs before Uta’s spoken voice was recorded.

“When I initially took this job, I didn’t know who the voice actor would be. During the recording, I really didn’t have an idea what her voice would be like,” she said, adding that she had to relate to the character’s emotions and her relationship with Shanks to portray her singing voice. “I was anxious until the finished music reached everybody, but I feel confident about it now because many people were pleased with the songs,” she concluded.

One Piece Film: Red officially became Japan’s ninth highest-earning film of all-time after eleven consecutive weeks at the top of Japan’s box office following its August 6 release, surpassing the likes of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Bayside Shakedown 2. It is also the sixth all-time highest-earning anime film in Japan, standing alongside other beloved anime movies such as Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train, Spirited Away, and Your Name.

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