One Piece Film: Red first debuted in Japan on July 22nd, 2022 in Tokyo, and on August 6th for the rest of Japan, and as of November 27th, Eiichiro Oda’s newest entry in the One Piece franchise earned ¥18.54 billion ($133,486,146 in USD) in Japan alone, making it the highest-grossing One Piece movie. It’s also the highest-earning movie of 2022 in Japan, the 6th highest-earning anime movie of all time in Japan, and the 9th highest-earning film of all time in Japan. One Piece Film: Red has been number one in box office ranking in Japan for eleven consecutive weeks, a feat only three other Japanese movies have ever accomplished. It is so popular that even the Japanese Samurai Blue saw it before their first pool match in Qatar. In light of this incredible earnings report, a Japanese human rights lawyer denounced the movie as fostering ‘anti-revolutionary, anti-feminist, and anti-democratic’ ideals.
Japanese human rights lawyer Hajime Kambara took to Twitter to send out an extensive takedown of the movie and its themes. In his first tweet, relating how he took his daughter to see the movie, he said that he felt that the movie promoted a ‘right-wing counterrevolutionary’ ideology. He explained that ‘If the people want peace, the opposite will happen.’ He also went on to state that all of the male characters looked like bodybuilders, who engage in nothing but violence. He finished by declaring that mangaka Eiichro Oda is ‘anti-feminism and anti-democracy.’
娘の付き合いで「ワンピース」なる映画を初めて観たが、「民衆が平和を望むと逆の結果になる」という、右翼の大好きな反革命思想に満ちた映画であった。
ボディビルダーみたいな男性がわんさと出てきて、ひたすら暴力を振るうだけのストーリー。作者はアンチフェミニズム、アンチ民主主義なんでしょう pic.twitter.com/NjpcZ7p3Uh
— 弁護士神原元 (@kambara7) November 13, 2022
Well, with regards to male characters looking like bodybuilders, there is that One Piece-themed gym in Shibuya, but Mr. Kambara probably didn’t mean that. As for feminism, Eiichiro Oda is completely fine with his female characters being drawn in lewd situations, but again, it’s doubtful Mr. Kambara knew about that, either.
Hajime Kambara continued on, pointing out that, at the beginning of One Piece Film: Red, people are seen suffering from a war, and no resolution is presented. He lashed out at the movie, insisting that if there is any ideology, it is a ‘chivalrous, gangster’s ideology.’ He summarized that the ‘anti-revolutionary ideology and chivalry, anti-feminism and anti-democracy’ values he perceived in such a popular movie means that there is no hope for Japanese society.
映画の冒頭に戦火に苦しむ民衆の姿が描かれても、結局なんの解決も示されない。この映画に思想らしき思想があるとすれば、せいぜい任侠道であり、つまり暴力団員の思想ではないか。
反革命思想と任侠道、アンチフェミニズムと反民主主義。こんなアニメに人気が集まる日本社会は、本当に絶望的だ。
— 弁護士神原元 (@kambara7) November 13, 2022
Mr. Kambara then took aim at the entire anime industry and described the anime’s creators as being stuck in the Showa era (1926-1989), that they foster regression and corruption, and that this is an indicator of Japanese culture as a whole. He compared Japanese anime to Disney, and explained that Disney’s productions can be enjoyed by both children and adults, whereas anime is just bad.
ディズニーは子ども向きでも大人の鑑賞に耐える作品が沢山あるのに、日本のアニメは本当にダメ。作り手の価値観が昭和で止まっているからだろう。
国が衰退する過程では、思想や価値観のレベルでも後退し腐敗するんだろう。
アニメだけの問題ではなく、日本社会全体が衰退している問題なのだろう。
— 弁護士神原元 (@kambara7) November 13, 2022
His tweets earned enough attention to warrant fans of One Piece, and the movie One Piece Film: Red, to comment and offer rebuttals. They pointed out that One Piece portrays heroic characters as members of a revolutionary army who aims to topple an iron-fisted regime that controls and subjugates the entire world.
Mr. Kambara’s reply to being asked to read the original series was to question why he should, when he was just commenting on the movie. He further asked that if the original series is so different, why do the fans of the series not protest against the movie.
このツイートに、「映画だけじゃなくて原作を読め」というコメントが付くんだけど、俺は映画の感想を述べているんだから、原作読む必要ないでしょう？
仮に原作と映画が違うなら、原作が好きな人が映画に抗議したらいいんじゃないでしょうか？ https://t.co/hCc3nahgrF
— 弁護士神原元 (@kambara7) November 13, 2022
At this point, Hajime Kambara may have looked over the original manga, as he acknowledged that pirates in general are anti-authority. He observed that in the movie, the pirates and the navy worked closely to resolve the plot. He also pointed out that Uta, the antagonist of the movie, is the true revolutionary, but her revolution is destined to lose. So as to avoid spoilers, Uta’s goal would have doomed a great number of people, rather than save them from any authority figure.
Mr. Kambara went on to insist that, though the pirates are anti-authority, he perceived the whole movie to be anti-revolution.
原作では海賊は反権力だとかいう反論もあるんだけど、少なくともこの映画では、海賊と海軍は結構馴れ合いでしたね。
この映画で革命家はウタでしょう？ウタの革命は独善的だという理由で民衆の支持を失う運命なのだ。
海賊は反権力かもしれないけど、映画全体としては反革命という理解でいいのでは？
— 弁護士神原元 (@kambara7) November 13, 2022
Hajime Kambara concluded his derision of One Piece Film: Red by insisting that all of the male characters are macho chauvinists and that Shanks is from the Showa era, a ‘Ken Takakura-type’ character. He also repeated the earlier claim that creators are stuck in the Showa era.
It is likely that someone pointed out that One Piece has a diverse cast of characters and body types, even among the main group. After all, Luffy’s normal body type is slim, as is Sanji’s, and while Zoro is somewhat built, he’s nowhere near as built as Frankie.
で、海賊はとにかくマッチョ。みんなボディービルダーみたいな身体付き。海賊の親分（ウタの育ての親）は昭和の男（高倉健系だね）。
こういうステレオタイプでマッチョで男尊女卑で昭和な感じが未だウケるのは謎だよね。
やっぱり、日本は昭和のある時期から時間が止まっているのでは？
— 弁護士神原元 (@kambara7) November 13, 2022
What about you? Do you agree or disagree with some of the arguments? Let us know in the comments below.
