'One Piece: Red' Drops Major Disappointing News For Fans Outside Japan

The hit series created by legendary mangaka Eiichiro Oda has released 14 movies since 2000 and following the announcement of its 15th movie a few days ago, a piece of major disappointing news for "One Piece: Red" fans living outside Japan has come out.

The "One Piece" anime adaptation recently celebrated the release of its 1000th episode but aside from the milestone, Toei Animation and Shueisha announced a new franchise movie titled "One Piece: Red."

The announcement also confirmed the upcoming movie's release date, which is set for August 6, 2022. Unfortunately, based on the international version of the film's latest teaser trailer, that date is solely for fans in Japan.

It looks like "One Piece: Red" is being listed with a coming soon release for other regions for now. The team behind the movie has not yet revealed the specific release window or date of its international version's premiere.

While this may sound disappointing to some fans, the coming soon tease in the latest trailer is, in a way, a confirmation that the film will be made available to fans living outside Japan. Over the past years, the gap between the film's release in Japan and its international launch has dramatically shortened.

This is the case with major franchises like "One Piece." With this, it is safe to assume that fans outside Japan could still see the upcoming movie sometime in the Fall or Winter of 2022, or in early 2023 if it meets any delay.

Nothing concrete was revealed about the plot of "One Piece: Red." However, it was earlier announced that the movie is directed by "Code Geass" series director Goro Taniguchi and written by Tsutomu Kuroiwa.

The upcoming film is being produced by the series' creator, Eiichiro Oda. As for the movie's plot, Oda did not reveal anything but teased fans about getting "tired of drawing legendary old grandpas in movies! I want to draw a new little female character! That's the character I want to make now! And that's how it started."

Many fans believe "One Piece: Red" centers on Shanks based on the design of the letter D on the movie's first teaser. Others connected Oda's earlier statement about the yonko "making a move before the ends" as a tease of the incoming franchise movie.