REVIEW: How the 'One Piece Music Symphony' connected with Filipinos
Fans of the beloved animé series One Piece got a chance to listen to some of its best music being played by a 50-piece orchestra during the two-night One Piece Music Symphony concert at The Theater at Solaire in early November.
Original One Piece composer Kohei Tanaka had a direct hand in arranging and curating the music included in the music symphony—now on its 12th year touring Asia, 11th in Europe, and third in the US—under license from Toei Animation.
One Piece tells the story of Monkey D. Luffy and his ragtag band of pirates—the Straw Hat crew—who are on a mission to find the mysterious One Piece. Along the way, they topple fascist governments and fight dictators. This is why at several protests all over the world, including the Trillion Peso March in September, protesters wore yellow straw hats and carried a pirate flag.
Above the musicians onstage was a giant screen, where excerpts from the series flashed in sync with the live music from the orchestra. Fans of the show listened to the music while watching the scenes, while lovers of orchestra music watched the musicians, only occasionally glancing at the anime playing.
With access to all the original music, the One Piece Music Symphony concert became a sort of love letter to both the series, which has been running for 26 years now, and the fans who have been with it from the start. It included fan-favorite tracks, such as Haha Naru Umi, Ore No Saikouchiten, and Sekai No Ichiban Oden Dai. The upbeat Uuuus!, the opening theme of the latest season in the series, was a big hit, especially with its drum solos.
Because of the nature of the concert—having a full orchestra set up in a venue where world-class productions are staged—the mostly young audience approached it with a hushed reverence.
But halfway through the concert, lyrics appeared on the screen for certain songs like Binks No Sake and We Are!, prompting fans in the audience to sing along. It must have been one of the few times The Theater at Solaire voluntarily turned itself into a huge KTV room.
By the end of the concert, the audience had shed their subdued politeness and were whooping after every song, lyrics or no lyrics.
The successful meeting of a classic orchestra and an animé demonstrated one thing: that art bridges genres seamlessly when everyone is on the same page. In the case of the One Piece Music Symphony, the music brought to life a beloved anime whose band of pirates sails through the seas fighting oppression. Filipinos may not be doing it from a pirate ship, but they are in the fight of their lives against government corruption.
Cosplayers in full regalia
Many members of the audience came clutching yellow straw hats. But some turned the concert into a full cosplay event, coming in as fan-favorite characters Sanji, Nami, Zoro, Robin, Alvida, Crocodile, and, of course, the leader of the Straw Hat crew, Luffy.
Two of them, Ross and JL, longtime cosplayers, arrived in full One Piece garb: Ross as Nico Robin, the archaeologist within the Straw Hat crew, and JL as the business-savvy pirate Crocodile.
Ross, who makes cosplay costumes as much as she wears them, told PhilSTAR L!fe she loves cosplaying as Nico Robin "because she's badass. She's a strong character. And she's part of Luffy's crew."
The fact that she made the costume herself just two weeks before the concert "makes dressing up as her extra special."
"I love making costumes," said Ross.
For JL, dressing up as Crocodile, or Croc, made him feel infallible.
"I felt like I [was] one of the symbols of corruption in our country. Kidding aside, I felt...powerful, rich, and undefeatable; invincible and smart at the same time," JL told L!fe.
For Ross and JL, to experience an orchestra playing One Piece music live was "surreal, calming, and exciting at the same time," said JL. "The Enies Lobby and Wano arcs, especially the Drums of Liberation part, were so awesome."
Ross, on the other hand, appreciated how the symphony celebrated the storyline of Sanji, the chief of the Straw Hat Pirates. "His story has always saddened me; I think it's one of the best stories in the animé. The music from the orchestra made it extra special," she said.
Walking away with core memory intact, both cosplayers appreciated not just the music but the opportunity the symphony gave them to champion their creativity.
"Cosplaying is my passion, where the most important [thing] for me is that I can bring happiness and entertainment to everyone who appreciates my art in makeup, crafts, and actions," JL said.
Ross, who made another One Piece costume—Boa Hancock, the "Snake Princess"—enjoyed seeing all the colors in the audience, aside from the music.
"One Piece has always been a colorful animé, so the symphony was fun to watch; so colorful," she said. "This was my first time to watch an animé-themed concert, too. It was cool watching and dressing up with friends."
Disclaimer: PhilSTAR L!fe is an official media partner of the One Piece Music Symphony.
