'One Piece: Red' Director Shares Shocking Revelations About Upcoming Film

Legendary mangaka Eiichiro Oda and Toei Animation are coming up with "One Piece: Red," a new film scheduled to release in August 2022. While there are just limited details available about the upcoming film, Oda has already revealed that a previous "One Piece" director will take charge of the movie. Interestingly, the same director has now broken his silence and shared more details about the highly anticipated anime movie.

Goro Taniguchi, the director of the very first "One Piece" anime, the original OVA released in 1998, will direct the upcoming movie. To celebrate the movie's announcement, Taniguchi released a statement, which was translated by insiders DarkPhoenix5656 and King_Jin_Woo on Twitter.

While it is true that Taniguchi was the first to animate "One Piece," he is not a part of Toei Animation. The director is known for his work on another hit anime series "Code Geass."

"You don't need me. I can't believe that once upon a time I was only slightly involved in 'One Piece.' I'm not even from Toei Animation, and it would be a hassle to invite such a person as a director," Taniguchi said.

"But the fact that they dared to talk to me in the midst of all this means that [series creator Eiichiro Oda] and his staff wanted to add something more, to challenge themselves more, to see a different view. I think that's what it means," the director added.

"The director is a way to free the anime 'One Piece' that has weaved its history up to this point. With the help of [screenwriter Tsutomu Kuroiwa], who wrote the script, and many other staff members, it is turning out to be an interesting story. Please look forward to it," Taniguchi noted.

Oda previously said he has grown tired of drawing "old men," hinting that "One Piece: Red" would feature a female character. The mangaka also assured fans that more "surprising" details are coming up.

The announcement of "One Piece: Red" triggered a lot of speculations within the community. Some fans believe the movie will center on the captain of the Red Hair Pirates Shank. Several others think the "female character" could be Luffy's mother.

"One Piece: Red" is set to release on Aug. 6, 2022.