by Animated movies are often talked about during summer vacation. France is no exception.
“ONE PIECE FILM RED” was released in France on August 10, four days after its release in Japan. Two hundred sixty thousand tickets were sold on the first day, and the number of mobilizations exceeded 570,000 in the first week. As a Japanese animation film, it broke the record for the number of people mobilized on the first day. Considering France’s population is 67.39 million, about half of Japan’s population, you can see how staggering the numbers are.
However, an incident that puts a damper on such a brilliant record has become a hot topic in French and social media. [Yuko Weissard/Journalist in France]
Fans rampage during the screening, and the movie theater becomes chaotic
The stage for the uproar was Marseille, where the preview was held on August 7. The audience was so excited that they wiped their whistles, threw popcorn, took off their jackets, and danced during the screening. Dozens of people shouted strangely as they jumped out in front of the screen, climbed onto the stage, and ran around.
A video of the incident has been circulated on TikTok and Twitter and viewed approximately 6.29 million times (as of August 30).
On the same day, at a preview screening held in Bordeaux, dissatisfied spectators set off fire alarms, causing not only One Piece but other films to be forced to stop showing. Rice field.
The media also picked up these insane acts.
‘Fans’ long-awaited event ruined.’
“Worst movie experience of my life”
“I wanted to see the movie, but it’s pissing me off.”
The internet is full of voices like this.
“Japanese animation movie” is a spear…
Such disturbances have occurred many times at screenings of Japanese animation films.
At the preview of “Theatrical version Jujutsu Kaisen 0” held in Paris on March 13 this year, some of the audience shouted, got up from their seats, took off their clothes and danced, and cheered. , After all, the video spreads. “Disastrous screening, guests just to scream and cause chaos,” he tweeted.
At this time, the long-established theater Le Grand Rex, which was the venue for the preview, replied to the tweet,
“Unfortunately, some audiences of Japanese animated films don’t understand the difference between sharing the joy of watching a movie and doing something crazy.”
Commented.
In addition, some audience members made a fuss during screenings of “My Hero Academia,” “Kimetsu no Yaiba,” and “Dragon Ball,” which became a problem. However, it seems that fans of Japanese anime are aware that people act like this because there are such disturbances every time a Japanese anime is screened.
“Japanese anime fans confuse movies with watching soccer games.”
“Fake ONE PIECE fans even ruin the image of the movie.”
“I don’t call people who cause such disturbances fans.”
“Like being in a zoo.”
“Even small children were surprised to see such a ruckus.”
In addition to lamentations and criticisms such as
“It is sad that this will damage the image of Japanese animation.”
“This kind of uproar may stop showing Japanese animation films.”
“There are many fans who are worried about this.” However, in some
Some participants commented, “It was noisy, but it was exciting and fun,” while others said, “Isn’t it great to be excited?” others,
“That’s what Marseille is all about.”
“If it’s Marseille, it’s normal.”
And, considering the temperament of the people of Marseilles in the south of France, many do not even see it as a problem.
“It’s also bad that the theater doesn’t take any measures.”
“We know that things like this happen, so from the beginning, we should divide the venue into two groups, one for those who want to enjoy the movie and the other for those who want to enjoy the festive atmosphere.”
“There was also an opinion.”
overexcitable attraction
“Why did the audience go berserk this time?”
When I first learned about the news, I thought it was harassment of the movie, but when I saw the videos circulated, it seemed that it was fun and heated up too much. For example, at the theater in Marseille, the audience began to take to the stage when the ONE PIECE characters united and fought against the enemy while unfolding their unique skills. I had the impression that the shouts from the audience were also joyful.
Of course, it’s a problem if other audience members make a lot of noise, so they can’t watch the movie. However, it is also true that the industry side welcomed “excited watching.”
Many cosplayers were in the audience at the ONE PIECE movie preview held at Le Grand Rex three years ago. I was doing things like inviting them to sing the opening song together. Instead, they shouted “ONE PIECE!” along with the screen, and even before the screening, the audience was cheering, and the voltage was rising.
Even at the preview screening of “Theatrical Version Jujutsu Kaisen 0” at a different location from the fire alarm incident, when a character appeared, there was applause, shouting his name and waving the screen of the mobile phone as a light. It looks like it was a blast, just like a live performance. The background of the comment “It was noisy, but it was great fun” introduced earlier is probably because of the custom of making noise in a festive state.
I went to see “ONE PIECE FILM RED,” and I found that the scene where the audience was screaming at the preview was the highlight. Moreover, this work has so many music scenes that it has been described as “like a Disney musical movie” and has intense visual and auditory stimulation. If the activities of the characters who are fans were added to that, the tension would have risen too much, and they would have jumped out of the audience.
“It was an excessive activity, but is it the audience’s love for anime?” Nathalie Cieutat, deputy general manager of the distribution company Pathé Films, also said
“It’s part of traditional French practice, it’s not malicious, and we don’t care.”
As for the movie itself.
“ONE PIECE FILM RED” is expected to reach 1 million viewers in France, but if you look at the critical reputation, there are many low ratings despite the number of viewers and topic. For example, on a review site called “ALLOCINÉ,” the average rating from 15 media outlets was 3 out of 5, and the average rating from a particular audience was 2.8.
For example, the Le Monde newspaper gave a two-star rating,
“Keep your eyes open for graphic feats and prepare to endure sweet pop songs.”
It may be one of the reasons that the song situation is different between Japan and France. In Japan, it has become a hot topic that the famous singer Ado sings the song in the play, and many people also appreciate the music.
On the other hand, the French dubbed version is a cover version by French singer HOSHI. It seems that songs are less highly rated in France than in Japan because themes are not as topical as in Japan.
The popularity of ONE PIECE in France, where the president is said to be a fan
Many fans of Japanese anime in France are called “geeks,” which means so-called otaku, but ONE PIECE is popular among many people, from small children to teenagers.
In the first place, France is said to be the second largest manga country after Japan. About 100 million copies of ONE PIECE comics have been sold in 60 countries, including France, of which 28 million copies were sold in France.
The French version of the comic is currently being published before the English version. Volume 100 has a circulation of 250,000 copies for the first edition, which is on par with a work that won the Prix Goncourt, France’s prestigious literary award.
Every year in France, young people are given a “Culture Pass” worth about 40,000 yen (300 euros) that can be used for cultural activities such as cultural facilities and book purchases. However, more than half of the pass is used to buy manga, so much so that it is ridiculed as a “manga pass.” Nevertheless, manga occupies the top even in the data purchased in about half a year from the end of May 2021. Among them, One Piece is by far the most bought, with 308,743 copies purchased (2nd place and below are Kimetsu no Yaiba (196,114 copies), Attack of Giants (186,578 copies), and also Japanese manga).
French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited Japan last year for the Tokyo Olympics, reported on his Twitter account that he received an original drawing with a handwritten message from One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda. The president’s account usually receives thousands of likes, but this tweet received 95,000 likes.
At that time, some people said that the president of France was also a fan of One Piece, but there was also a view that this was a strategy to attract the attention of young people in the run-up to the election. I do not understand. Either way, ONE PIECE is a famous work in France, and there is no doubt that it has a wide range of fans.
Is it not uncommon for people to “become violent in the heat up”?
In France, there are occasional troubles such as excited fans rioting, quarreling, and throwing flares at soccer matches. During political demonstrations, television coverage of rioters dumping garbage cans on the streets, overturning and setting cars on fire, and destroying stores and bank ATMs. It is not uncommon for French people to see things like “heating up and going wild,” even if it is not a familiar sight.
Therefore, making a fuss at a movie theater has a slightly different nuance than doing the same thing in Japan. Perhaps it has a meaning like “gassing” that releases stress. In Japan, it’s about going crazy and making a fuss at karaoke and drinking parties.
Again, disturbing other audiences by making noise without moderation or disturbing the screening is unacceptable. The theater Le Grand Rex is mentioned above also.
‘We will take appropriate measures to prevent this from happening in future screenings’
I also commented.
France has many fans of Japanese anime. Therefore, I hope many people will enjoy the movie, not as a way to relieve stress but without disturbing the viewers and damaging the reputation of Japanese animation films.
Vasard Yuuko
Translator and journalist. He graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University’s School of International Politics, Economics, and Economics. She turned from an IT venture and writes as a web media writer for women and an editorial reporter for a food magazine. She moved to France in 2016 and is currently disseminating local information on YouTube.
