I assumed that we were back on a one-chapter-per-episode pace, but it didn't dawn on me last week that the tease of Sanji's next two brothers was meant to be much meatier than what we got. This week, we get the proper introduction of Ichiji and Niji, the red and blue rangers of the Vinsmoke family. This is a pretty cool scene as we watch these two and their Germa 66 army cleanly win a war that had been raging for years on a distant island ("Brock-collie Island." Get it?) The Vinsmokes and their military nation act as super powerful mercenaries for hire, and there's a lot of grey area as we don't know enough about either warring nation to find sympathies, despite all the blood and tears coming from both sides. Whoever the "good" or "bad" teams were, the Vinsmokes just wiped out one of them, and now they've got a wedding they have to get to.
The general sluggishness of the Whole Cake Island arc so far is at its worst yet in this episode, as we're only just now getting what should have been last week's big stinger as the opening scene, and the most exciting stuff about this week's corresponding manga chapter has been pushed back to next week. In the meantime, we get an extremely stretched out encounter between the Straw Hats and a giant sea centipede as they're interrupted on their way to get back Sanji.
This episode is saved thanks to the fact that it simply looks much nicer than last week's messy attempt. I love the way Luffy looks in the episode, as if he just jumped straight out of one of the recent One Piece movies and into the centipede's now-footprint stamped face. It also helps that the Straw Hats hanging out on the Sunny tends to be a lot more fun than sitting in a room talking to Pudding. It's unfortunate that even after a short sprint of filler, the anime's story content is still uncomfortably close to the manga's, and thus slow pacing like this is probably going to have to continue. Thankfully the arc thus far has been entertaining enough that it doesn't bother me too much, but now we're past the point where I can calms anybody's worries. It looks like it's going to stay this slow for a while.
From the looks of things, it appears as though we've taken two chapters of the manga and are breaking it into three episodes of the anime, which isn't a death sentence on its own but it has impacted the final scene of this episode in a really unfortunate way. The episode ends with us cutting back to Big Mom, who's now in the midst of a hunger pangs rampage that can only be calmed by her desired meal of the day: some delicious croquembouche. Even her own underlings and children are terrified of her when she's in rampage mode, knowing that the only thing that can stop her kaiju attack on the city is getting her croquembouche. She's not above killing anybody who gets in her way and we see her putting her Emperor level strength to good use.
This is another scene that's stretched out uncomfortably long, and anybody who's read the manga knows that it stops just before it gets to the most interesting part. Since her rampage has nothing to do with the Straw Hats at the moment, ending on a cliffhanger of "what's mama going to do next?!" is not as effective as the way this scene will actually conclude next week. It's an awkward way to end an episode that was already starved for content.
Slowness and iffy structure aside, the most filler-tastic stuff of this episode with the elongated fight between the Straw Hats and the centipede is actually the most entertaining. It's one of those cases where just seeing the main characters do their thing in a relatively nice looking scene is enough for me to enjoy. This episode could have been a lot better if it looked this good while also moving the main story along, however. That's the way the ship sails, I guess.
Series previously inspired 52-episode anime in 1993― This year's 24th issue of Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine revealed on Wednesday that Gosho Aoyama's Yaiba manga will be getting a new anime adaptation. Aoyama is supervising. The series follows the titular Yaiba Kurogane, a young samurai boy inspired by Miyamoto Musashi, the real-life swordsman who pioneered the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū sty...
Based on the novel by former Nogizaka46 member Kazumi Takayama, trapezium asks its audience to follow one girl who will use anything, and anyone, to achieve her dream.― Trapezium is a strange movie, to say the least. On the surface, it's a rather simple movie that explores youth, their dreams, and the lengths they'll go to achieve those dreams. It's a coming-of-age story wrapped in the veneer of the...
ZeroReq011 remembers what made Spice and Wolf a story for the ages, from its fully realized world and economics to Holo and Lawrence's romantic chemistry.― Back when Funimation was still its own company and not owned by Sony, long before its in-house streaming service was terminated in favor of Crunchyroll's streaming platform, it owned a TV channel. Legal streaming had yet to dominate the Western a...
Anime will star Hiroshi Kamiya, Kotaro Nishiyama, Kotaro Nishiyama― Distribution company Remow announced on Tuesday that Yura Urushibara's Tougen Anki: Dark Demon of Paradise manga will get a television anime in 2025. The company revealed the trailer, key visual, and main cast for the anime. The anime's cast includes:
Kazuki Ura as Shiki Ichinose, the protagonist who inherits the blood of an Oni. Sh...
Nick and Chris recount some of the most frustrating anime cancellations, from the Yuri on Ice movie to the second half of Stars Align.― Nick and Chris recount some of the most frustrating anime cancellations from the second half of Stars Align to the 2007 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood movie. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views...
Welcome to the rankings for the Spring 2024 season! The perfect place to check out which hidden gems might have flown under your radar.― Let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season,
based on the polls you can find in our Daily Streaming Reviews
and on the Your Score page with the latest simulcasts. Keep in mind that these rankings are based on how people rated ...
The final Spring 2024 Manga Guide update includes not-yet-released series from this month, including Sword Art Online Re:Aincrad,Bungo Stray Dogs: The Official Comic Anthology, A Sign of Affection and more.― Welcome to Anime News Network's Spring 2024 Manga Guide! You may have seen one of our seasonal Anime Preview Guides, where a team of critics writes up each new anime television premiere as it a...
Producer Masakazu Kubo shares the animation team's dedication to realism, including bringing in a pro golfer to produce the anime's sound effects.― 64-year-old Masakazu Kubo has been planning and producing anime for decades. He's had a major hand in everything from Pokémon and Detective Conan to Teasing Master Takagi-san and Dorohedoro. Recently, he sat down with us to talk about Tonbo!, his attemp...