Warning: The following article contains spoilers for One Piece Film: Red.
We’ve all heard the saying “blood’s thicker than water” more than once. However, this maxim doesn’t apply to many of our beloved characters from the long-running anime, One Piece. They are often bound together through their devotion to the sea and their dreams surrounding it, all while having no blood relation whatsoever to their close companions. In fact, the camaraderie between the friends of One Piece shows us that maybe blood isn’t always thicker than water, and that having a blood tie to someone isn’t necessarily required to maintain the ideal human bond.
This bond appears to be in place for friendly and weather-beaten character, Shanks. We see him in One Piece‘s filler episode for the latest and 15th One Piece film, boasting the simple title One Piece Film: Red. Who is this non-blood-relative character who seems to be close to the red-headed pirate, and is this the “daughter” Shanks is rumored to have?
Does Shanks have a daughter?
Shanks does indeed have an adopted daughter—a talented, competitive, and cheerful girl named Uta. In the world of One Piece, the red-and-white pigtailed prodigy is the best singer around. She is also a great lyricist and composer of her own famous songs, having started her music career as part of Shank’s pirate crew. She had music lessons under the tutelage of former King Gordon, who once presided over the island kingdom of Elegia, where she lives. Known as the world’s greatest diva, she likes to dress the part, with her clothes complemented by her stylish hairdos and purple eyes.
This One Piece diva’s abilities aren’t just limited to her vocal and musical talent. After eating the Uta Uta no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, she received the power to transfer people’s consciousness to an alternate reality called “Uta World” when she sang, a world that she controls until her energy to do so depletes. She can also use a spear and a shield and has a jetpack that allows her to fly. Pretty cool, huh?
The One Piece filler episode and One Piece Film: Red explore Uta’s close relationships with both her childhood friend, Luffy, and her adoptive father, Shanks. With her father’s crew taking up space in Luffy’s hometown of Foosha Village, young Uta and Luffy once bonded over their individual dreams. Luffy shared his desire to become a pirate, and Uta expressed her wish to perform for the world, wanting to create a “New Genesis” through her singing. At that point in time, it’s clear that he envied Uta’s ideal proximity to his hero, Shanks.
However, the central tragedy of One Piece Film: Red is that this ideal proximity was severed by an ill-fated turn of events, leading to yet another dire situation years later.
Why are they living separately?
An unfortunate catastrophe has led to the estrangement of Uta and Shanks in One Piece Film: Red, and it was set in motion by a seemingly innocent activity – the little girl’s music lessons. While based on the island kingdom of Elegia with her father and his crew, Uta began to fine-tune her singing skills under King Gordon’s wing. Sadly, things took a nasty turn when she unknowingly sang the song of the monster, Tot Musica, the “Demon King of Songs.” The demon awoke in the tombs of Elegia and went on a rampage, destroying the island and its people.
Did One Piece‘s scruffy redhead abandon his daughter because of this disastrous event? Sort of. Not wanting his little girl to be held responsible and trying to put her musical dreams at the forefront, Shanks decided to take the blame for the incident after stopping the demon, departing with his crew from the burning island, taking its treasure and leaving Uta behind. Believing that her father destroyed the island and abandoned her there, she developed an aversion toward the pirates she was once fond of.
Do father and daughter reunite?
In One Piece Film: Red, Shanks and Uta are brought back together when he arrives to watch her concert, at which Luffy and his crew are also present. He desperately tries to save his daughter as the tragic action unfolds. He also helps Luffy destroy the Tot Musica demon. It makes a reappearance during the girl’s attempt to create a “New Genesis,” bringing her music fans into the “Uta World” to live forever in peace and happiness. After the drama of the story winds down, the diva and her father revive their fractured relationship.
The sad news is that it’s heavily implied that Uta ultimately succumbs to the effects of the “wake shrooms” she consumed. Having refused the antidote, she likely dies in Shanks’ arms at the end of One Piece Film: Red.