This article contains spoilers for One Piece Film: Red.
Summary
- Shanks has a daughter named Uta, revealed in "One Piece Film: Red."
- Uta was Shanks's crew musician but left to pursue a singing career.
- Uta's inclusion as canon in One Piece creates confusion about her character's details.
The One Piece canon, despite being incredibly long, is generally easy to follow. For almost the entire series, any event that happens in the manga is the main canon that contributes to the series overall. However, things like anime-exclusive episodes, movies, and light novels are considered to be non-canon and have no impact on the overall plot of One Piece whatsoever.
Strangely enough, there is one canon fact about One Piece that actually didn’t originate in the manga. Instead, this moment came from a One Piece movie. Although almost every other movie in the series is non-canon, this one fact related to the One Piece Emperor, Shanks, was made a part of the official canon of the series. Though this aspect of Shanks’s character is an interesting development, something like this should have come from the manga of One Piece first, before being fully explored in a movie.
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Shanks Has A Daughter In One Piece Named Uta
This Detail Was Only Shared In A One Piece Movie
In the One Piece movie, One Piece Film: Red, Luffy is reunited with an old friend, and idol sensation Uta, who met Luffy at a young age. It is revealed that Uta is actually the adopted daughter of Shanks and she would frequently spend time with Luffy when Shanks was stationed on his hometown island in One Piece's East Blue. However, soon after meeting her, Uta decided to go out on her own and pursue a career as a singer and musician, rather than following in her father’s footsteps as a pirate.
I think of us playing by the sea… just you and me. - Uta
When she was younger, the One Piece singer, Uta, actually functioned as the musician of Shanks’s crew. Although she never referred to him as her father, she had a strong relationship with him, especially during their time together on his crew. Although the events of the movie are non-canon, they did throw a bit of a wrench in their relationship, though the father and daughter made up by the end of the film. Regardless, the only canon fact that comes from the movie is that Shanks once had an adopted daughter on his crew as a musician who left to become a full-time singer.
This Fact Should Have Initially Come From The One Piece Manga
While Uta Didn't Have To Appear Fully Shanks Fatherhood Should Have Come Up
- Shanks Having A Daughter Is Too Important To Not Be In The Manga
- Showing Uta's Journey In The Manga Would Have Added To Shanks's Character
Including Uta as part of the canon One Piece series seems like an odd choice to make overall. With many fans that skip the movies, this seems like a relatively important piece of information to keep exclusive to the films. Shanks being a father adds a whole new level of depth to his character and helps explain the nurturing and protective actions that he showed Luffy as a child. By hiding this fact in the movie, a large percentage of the population of One Piece fans will never learn of Uta’s significance.
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However, by including this moment in the manga of One Piece, nearly every fan would be able to see Uta’s importance to the story and Shanks’s character. Although Uta does appear in a single One Piece panel in the manga, her true role as Shanks’s daughter isn’t revealed at all in the story. Although One Piece is already long enough and doesn’t need any more fluff, including Uta’s journey as an idol, or interactions with Luffy as a cover story would have been a good way to introduce her to the official canon.
Uta Being Canon Raises Some Confusion
The Extent Of The Character Being Canon Is A Bit Undefined
Instead, now, many fans are confused about what aspects of the One Piece movies concerning Uta are canon and which aspects aren’t. Although the character herself was considered canon, are aspects like her death considered canon as well? Although most fans agree that the events of One Piece Film: Red are not canon, it’s hard to find a direct line between what is included in Uta’s canon. This includes her Devil Fruit and abilities. Though some fans believe that this fruit is canon in the series, others argue that it doesn’t exist in the One Piece story.
There is no peace or equality in this world. - Shanks
In the end, a lot of this confusion would have been cleared up if the details about the mysterious One Piece pirate, Shanks, and his daughter, Uta, were introduced in the manga. From here, it would be incredibly clear to see what aspects are canon and which ones are not. Additionally, introducing Uta in the One Piece manga could help tie One Piece Film: Red and the rest of the series together.
