Uta

Uta is a world-famous singer or "diva" (歌姫) and the adopted daughter of the Emperor Red-Haired Shanks. She was also a musician in his crew, until he left her while she was still a child. She was left on the island of Elegia, with Gordon, who became her foster parent and supported her dream of starting a "New Era", and later her desire to achieve this dream through a broadcasted, world-wide concert held on Elegia.

She is the main antagonist of One Piece Film: Red.

Appearance
Uta is a young woman of medium height with long hair that is white on her left side and red on her right; the colors are perfectly separated at the middle of her scalp. Her hair is arranged into two long ponytails with two circular braids at the end; these circular braids are also seen at the top of her head. Her left eye is shrouded by her white hair. Sometimes, she is seen with a pair of feathery wings on her back, the right one pink and the left one white. Her left eye is shown to be bright purple.

She wears a short white dress ending at her upper thighs; the dress possesses a frilly neckline and a black bow and buttons down the middle. On her left arm, she wears a light blue sleeve that covers the entire arm with Luffy's childhood drawing of Shanks' "straw hat". Additionally, she wears a set of golden cone-shaped headphones with light-blue bands over her ears. She was also shown wearing a multi-colored jacket with numerous designs scattered on it.

Personality
For the most part, Uta seems to be cheerful and optimistic. She possesses a strong ideal to build a new era of peace and happiness through her voice, even if it means people would be forced to live forever in the Uta World. She is shown to be highly empathetic, as seen feeling righteous anger for a fan that wrote her a letter after losing loved ones. She holds great value to the opinion of her fans, doubting her plans temporarily after some of her fans opposed her actions, though she evidently holds her own ideals above them, as she turns her fans into objects to stop them from speaking their minds. She also hates pirates, due to how much they destroy the lives of her fans and due to her father and his crew abandoning her.

However, she is also highly ignorant of pirates in general, as seen in Uta Diary #4, where she discovered posters of Donquixote Doflamingo and Charlotte Linlin, and was completely unaware that they were a part of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and the Four Emperors respectively, instead commenting on their fashion and the photo itself. After her plans for New Genesis fail, she admits there are pirates who are worthy of respect, as she regains her admiration for her father's crew and confides in Luffy's dream to usher a new world by becoming the Pirate King.

Due to her traumatic past, her isolation in Elegia, and the continuous consumption of wake-shrooms, which causes the consumer to slowly lose control of their emotion, Uta became mentally unstable at times when her plans and ideals was met with resistance, causing her to have episodes where she would act erratic, ruthless, and borderline cruel to those around her, regardless whether they were her enemies or fans, as she was quick to abandon and try to kill Luffy when he refused to go along with her plans. This also made her incapable of reason or negotiation by anyone, and she would ignore the pleas and warnings of others as she had planned to use Tot Musica as a last resort despite the warnings of destruction it would cause. Her reunion with Shanks would cause her to descend to complete madness to the point she would perform the ritual.

As a child, Uta acted like a stereotypical diva, being infatuated with jewelry and glamour and not liking to get dirty. She could be overbearing and mean, particularly to other children like Luffy, and though she liked to throw out insults she would cry if her victim insulted her back. She looked down on some of the wilder, more boorish behaviors of her father and his crew, but was still proud of being a member of the Red Hair Pirates.

Shanks
Shanks is Uta's adoptive father. She does not address him as "father" or any of its synonyms, only referring to him as Shanks; she did this even when she was with him as a member of his crew due to the respect she had for him as a great pirate. They once had a very close relationship, though after the events on Elegia resulting in its destruction, he left her on a burning island with Gordon, and her view of her father changed. Seeing the Red Hair Pirates leave the burning island with all of its treasures with the false knowledge that the pirates were responsible, she grew a hatred for her father and his crew, which persisted even after she found out they were innocent concerning Elegia's destruction. After Shanks and Luffy together destroyed the Tot Musica with the help of their allies, Shanks and Uta rekindled their relationship. Shanks once again declares her his daughter and part of his family, causing her to tear up.

Monkey D. Luffy
She and Luffy were childhood friends and rivals, constantly entering competition only for Uta to win by distracting Luffy. She takes joy in the fact that Luffy always claims to be winner, even though he always loses. When Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates come to her concert, she is delighted to see him again and reminisces their joyful past together. However, after Luffy declares he wants to become Pirate King, Uta shows her disdain for pirates and attempts to convince Luffy to quit being a pirate and join her in the New Genesis. However, after seeing his determination in saving her fans and herself from Tot Musica, she regains respect for her friend and tells him that she believes in his dream to become the Pirate King.

Red Hair Pirates
Uta held a large amount of mutual admiration for the crew of her father as a child, seeing them part of her family. After she was abandoned on Elegia with Gordon, her view of them changed, and she grew to despise them and all pirates, even despite eventually finding out they were innocent. However, seeing the crew protect the fans she ordered to attack them and even shield them from Marine bullets with their own bodies, she regained her respect for them. After this, she sees the crew as part of her family again.

Gordon
Gordon raised Uta after the destruction of Elegia. While he acted as her foster parent, he was also her singing teacher, teaching her how to develop her singing abilities further. Although a mutual respect is implied to have existed, it disappeared after she told him about her plan due to his vehement opposal. When Gordon attempts to protect Luffy from Uta's attacks and gets injured, Uta is shocked, implying she still cares about him.

Abilities and Powers
Uta's singing voice has been appraised as "otherwordly" (別次元), enough to grant her the title of the world's greatest diva. Aside from her singing talents, Uta is also great at music theory, showing amazing skill as a lyricist and composer by having written her most famous songs herself.

In terms of physical prowess, Uta has not displayed any superior abilities outside of being a talented and dexterous dancer, fully relying on her Devil Fruit ability to compensate. In fact, when Luffy fought her, he never actually directly attacked her body, knowing that he could potentially kill her if he did. She also does not have a lot of stamina, since usually she would fall asleep after only a few songs. In the movie, she counteracted this weakness by continuously consuming Wake-shrooms in order to last for hours.

Devil Fruit
Uta ate the Uta Uta no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allows her to transport people's consciousnesses to a virtual space called "Uta World" by singing. Within Uta World, she is essentially all-powerful and able to do whatever she wants until she runs out of energy.

Tot Musica
Tot Musica is a Demon Lord sealed under Elegia by a previous user of the Uta Uta no Mi. Uta can use her Devil Fruit ability to unseal it and have it fight for her.

Charisma
Arguably Uta's greatest weapon is her overwhelming charisma, which gained her worldwide popularity via her livestream performances. Robin had stated that she was the world's most beloved person, with Brook, a highly popular rockstar, claiming inferiority compared to her. Indeed, when she enacted her plan to pull people into Uta World, she managed to ensnare approximately 70% of the entire world's population. Also, while in Uta World, she commanded her entire audience in a pirate hunt, with the majority going along with her.

Weapons
She is seen wielding a spear and a shield and also used a jetpack that enables her to fly, though this was all in the Uta World. In the real world she had a knife, though never had the opportunity to use it.

Raised by Pirates
19 years ago, Uta's hometown was attacked by pirates, resulting in her parents' deaths. The pirate crew kidnapped Uta, but as they set out to sail, they ran into the Red Hair Pirates; the two crews fought, with the Red Hair Pirates emerging victorious. After claiming the pirates' treasure, Shanks discovered 2-year-old Uta in one of the treasure chests. With no way of finding her real family, and recalling how he himself was found as a baby by the Roger Pirates in a similar manner, Shanks saw this encounter as fate and decided to raise her as his own daughter.

As an infant, Uta regularly cried, which kept the whole crew awake throughout the night. While trying to figure out a solution, he noticed a mother singing a lullaby to her own child. As such, whenever Uta was upset, the crew banded together to sing for her, which made the infant very happy. Growing up, Uta found her own passion for singing and became the crew's official musician.

At some point, Uta ate the Uta Uta no Mi, giving her the ability to transfer people's souls into her "Uta World" with her singing.

Meeting Luffy
As a child, Uta sailed with her father Shanks as a musician in his crew, the Red Hair Pirates. When Uta was 9, the Red Hair Pirates set up a base at Foosha Village in the East Blue. Very soon after landing, Uta met a 7-year-old boy named Monkey D. Luffy who she did not think much of. Uta demonstrated her singing talents at the Party's Bar, to great acclaim. Afterwards, Shanks had Luffy show Uta around the village and surrounding island. Uta and Luffy's clashing personalities caused them to get into many competitions, but a friendship started developing between them as Uta told Luffy about the Red Hair Pirates, which the boy was interested in joining. Luffy took Uta to the top of a windmill to see the sun set over the coast, and it was there when Uta began dreaming of performing a concert for the entire world. Some days later, after the duo raced on boats and encountered the Lord of the Coast, Uta and Luffy were on a coastal cliff. There, Uta told Luffy her dream of using her music to create a "new genesis" in the world.

Later, the Red Hair Pirates prepared to make a temporary voyage out to sea. Luffy attempted to stow away with them, but Uta caught him resulting in his removal. Uta told Luffy to get stronger while she was away and that she would test him upon her return.

Tragedy on Elegia
Uta then traveled with the crew to Elegia, which was known for its talented musicians. Shanks allowed Uta to train herself in the art of singing under the apprenticeship of Elegia's king, Gordon. The people of Elegia immediately recognized her as a prodigy, resulting in her increased popularity. However, the tombs inside the island containing the demon Tot Musica also recognized her talents, causing the note sheets containing the key to releasing the demon to end up in Uta's hands. Unbeknownst to what the note sheets contained, Uta sang the song described on it and released the demon. Despite the efforts of Shanks and his crew to stop it, the demon destroyed the island and massacred the population, and was only stopped when Uta exhausted herself.

Afterwards, to save Uta from the guilt of destroying the island, Shanks made the decision to publicly take the blame for what happened. In order to let her develop into a proper singer, he left Uta with the only other survivor, Gordon, and took off with the island's treasures. Uta regained consciousness just in time to see them depart and was distraught with their betrayal and her own abandonment.

Rise to Stardom
She would find out 11 years later that the Red Hair Pirates were innocent and that she was responsible for the island's destruction, but her grudge against her father, his crew, and pirates in general persisted.

10 years later, she became popular as a diva after her breakout hit, "New Genesis", became popular. Since then, she had increased her fame by "streaming" her songs and dances worldwide via Den Den Mushi. Using these, she communicated with her fans, who informed her of their miserable circumstances and their wish to listen to her music forever. Taking these wishes literally, she thought up a plan called New Genesis to end pain and misery in the world and replace them with peace and happiness by capturing as many people as possible into the Uta World created by her Devil Fruit powers.

Uta's Past Arc
Uta stood alone on the coast of Elegia and proclaimed that she was about to make her dream of performing a concert for the whole world come true. She reminisced on her childhood with Luffy and her departure from Shanks, before going to prepare for the concert.

One Piece Film: Red
Once she was ready to act out her plan, she launched her first live concert, attracting people from across the world. By streaming her concert, she ensured the containment of people unable to visit her concert physically. However, the Five Elders realized what she was trying to do and had a large Marine fleet led by Issho and Borsalino set out for Elegia. As soon as she started singing, she encompassed every listener into her Uta World, but not before eating a mushroom that allows her to remain awake with the aim of eventually dying and live in her Uta World forever with her fans.

Meanwhile, Uta reunited with Luffy and they reminisced about their past together. She attempts to find out Shanks's whereabouts from Luffy, but fails. After Luffy stated his dream to become Pirate King and his profession as a pirate, her attitude towards him and the Straw Hat Pirates changed. She tried to persuade Luffy to quit being a pirate, and after his refusal, summoned soldiers to attack the Straw Hats. She managed to capture all of the Straw Hats, but they later managed to escape with the help of Law, Koby, Blueno, and Bartolomeo, who had also joined her concert. Uta manipulated her fans into helping her and they set out to retrieve Luffy.

Back in the real world, the Red Hair Pirates, who had also realized what her plan was, arrive on Elegia and stop the Marines from attacking Uta due to the high amount of civilians surrounding her. Uta retaliates by using her fans, including the bodies of Koby, Helmeppo, and Law, to attack the Marines and the Red Hair Pirates. In the Uta World, she beats up and captures Charlos for his practice of slavery and his attempt to have her killed. This frightens her fans, and they start doubting her plan, with some of them exclaiming they prefer living in the real world over living in the Uta World forever. This confuses Uta, but she would then be distracted by a reunited Straw Hats Pirates and their many allies demanding their release. After she is captured by Bartolomeo through his powers and the Marines causing more and more of her fans getting injured in the real world, Uta sings the Tot Musica and released the demon that had previously destroyed the island.

As the effects of the mushroom start to increase, Uta loses control, causing the demon to ravage both worlds. Through extraordinary teamwork between the Red Hair Pirates and Katakuri on one side, and the Straw Hat Pirates and their allies on the other sides, the Tot Musica is destroyed. A weakened Uta is caught by Shanks, and the two rekindled their relationship. He ushered her to sleep to stop the mushroom from killing her, but she refused, telling him that everyone would still be trapped in the Uta World if she doesn't release them through singing. She reconciled with Luffy and succeeded in releasing everyone from the Uta World. As the Marines approached Uta to capture her, Shanks warned the Marines off, calling Uta his daughter and part of his family, bringing her to tears.

Uta then departed the island together with her father and his crew on the Red Force. It is currently unknown if she is still alive or not.

Wano Country Arc
Shanks thought of Uta as he asked Admiral Ryokugyu whether the admiral was underestimating the new age of pirates.

Major Battles

 * Uta and her soldiers vs. the Straw Hat Pirates

Songs

 * New Genesis
 * I'm Invincible
 * Backlight
 * Fleeting Lullaby
 * The World's Continuation
 * Tot Musica
 * Where the Wind Blows

Playable Appearances

 * One Piece Bounty Rush
 * One Piece Thousand Storm
 * One Piece Treasure Cruise
 * One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 (DLC)

Trivia

 * "Uta" (歌) is the Japanese word for "song, poetry".
 * Uta was created due to Oda desiring to have a female character star in Film Red, in contrast to the last several films whose major new characters were older men.
 * Uta is the first main female antagonist in a One Piece movie.
 * Uta is the only known female member of the Red Hair Pirates.
 * Uta's English voice actress Amanda Lee released English covers of Uta's songs on YouTube, starting with her rendition of "New Genesis" on November 9, 2022, ending with the seventh song "Where the Wind Blows" on March 17, 2023.
 * During the production of Film: Red's English dub, official covers for Uta's songs were being developed under the assumption they would be incorporated later on. They went unfinished and were absent from the final version of the dub, after Toei Animation later clarified their disinterest in giving the staff license to do so.
 * Uta and Shiki are currently the only movie characters that have been canonized into the main series.
 * Uta is the second movie antagonist who knew a member of the Straw Hat Pirates back when they both were children, with Saga from Movie 5 being the first one.

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