Last week ended with Pudding visiting Luffy and Nami in prison, but the fact that it cut off halfway through the scene perplexed me, since this week kicks off immediately with the dramatic setup that this visit was intended to create: Pudding whispers some kind of secret into our heroes' ears to their absolute shock. Is it a good shock? Bad shock? We can't possibly know. Why they didn't pace last week's episode to make room for this moment is a total mystery to me, since it barely buys this episode a whopping two minutes, but whatever.
Regardless, the intrigue is running strong this week now that Pudding has some kind of plan to stop the wedding, and by the time the episode wraps up, Vinsmoke Reiju is limping through the halls with a bloody bullet wound from an unseen gunman. The pulpy whodunit conundrum is a strong element, even if it's only going to last us a couple of episodes. Meanwhile, all the other expected subplots roar ahead.
With each scene of this week's episode, the content of last week's feels more inconsequential. It's that problem of building up to the setup that makes the roller coaster of this arc more exhausting than fun, but at least relegating the boring parts to last week means that this episode gets to be chock full of entertainment. I was wrong about the Carrot and Chopper subplot being over, but this half of the climax is significantly more enjoyable, as is Brook vs. Big Mom's minions. There's more variety to the action, and it's much more lively and animated overall.
This episode also marks the first time that one of the Sanji-retrieval team meets Big Mom face to face, as she unexpectedly bursts into the treasure room just as Brook is about to secure the One Piece-locating Poneglyph. On one hand, an enraged Emperor who's extra-touchy about her treasure is way out of Brook's league as a fighter, but on the other hand he's also the exact kind of rare species that she has an affinity for collecting. There's also the competitive relationship between their Devil Fruits, where Brook has control over his own soul and Big Mom has control over others'. Elsewhere on the island, Pedro begins his poetic rematch with Baron Tamgo, as it's revealed that the two of them took each other's eyes at at some point in the past, and the conviction that the show sells this "manly" duel between a jaguar-man and an egg-man balances tone in the way that One Piece has always excelled.
This episode has a lot going for it as various forces cross paths, and a lot of great mystery is being established. I'm always somewhat wary when the art style starts to deviate from the norm, because "unique" in this show is sometimes a synonym for "ugly", but in this week's episode (and some of what we can see in the Next Episode Preview) there's a lot of energy being drawn from that messiness. The flavor is right where I want One Piece to be as the melodrama cranks up. As usual, I think this part of the arc, which is full of action and turns of fortune, is where the pacing ideally would start picking up. This episode thankfully feels packed, but knowing that the most interesting events don't get to happen back-to-back like they should is a little sad. As it stands on its own, this episode is pretty strong.
I can't recommend the series, nor think that any hypothetical viewer would enjoy it, but it is the kind of trash TV that's rewarding to dissect.― Have you ever wondered what Baki would be like if it had a conservative bent instead of queer undertones? Well, look no further because the answer is Kengan Ashura! While Kengan is trying to convey the same spectacle and white-knuckle action of the long-ru...
Film also available to rent, purchase digitally on several major outlets in N. America― The official X/Twitter account for TOHO's Godzilla franchise announced on Saturday that Takashi Yamazaki's Godzilla Minus One film is streaming worldwide on Netflix. The film is available worldwide, but is currently not available in Japan. Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color, the black-and-white version of the film, w...
One Piece: Heroines novel also licensed― Viz Media revealed its new licenses and new print releases planned for spring 2025 on Friday. Kazuyoshi Seto's Minecraft: The Manga: Announcement: Add this book to your enchantment room! Join Nico on his chance to escape the blocky confines of his home and prove how strong he's become when zombies attack! Minecraft: The Manga, by Kazuyoshi Seto, releases Spri...
Series starring Miku Martineau, Ayo Solanke, more starts production in Toronto― The Hollywood Reporter entertainment news site reported on Thursday that showrunner Simon Barry (Warrior Nun creator) and Boat Rocker Media are producing a live-action series for Netflix titled BET that "is based in part" on writer Homura Kawamoto and artist Tōru Naomura's Kakegurui - Compulsive Gambler manga. The show h...
Jean-Karlo attempts to condense two big video game showcases into a coherent column, from the revamped Silent Hill 2 to the grazing pastures of Story of Seasons.― Welcome back, folks. This is related to a big story for this week, but this past weekend, I listened to Utada Hikaru's re-recording of "Simple And Clean". It's very emotional. Utada Hikaru is a good twenty-plus years older than when she or...
In the Eisner-nominated work, Maki Fujiwara chronicles her daily life with her husband, lionized mangaka Yoshiharu Tsuge. Though deceptively simple at first glance, a foundation of abuse is slowly revealed.― At first blush, Maki Fujiwara's My Picture Diary does what it says on the tin. It tells the story of her daily life as a housewife and mother, spending time with her daily activities, noting the...
Now streaming on Netflix, Tomotaka Shibayama's first feature animation mixes the magical with reality to share a simple but important message.―
Director Tomotaka Shibayama's latest film, My Oni Girl, is an action-adventure drama with elements of a buddy comedy and a relatable coming-of-age story. The film, produced by Studio Colorido, was released in theaters in Japan and on Netflix on May 24, foll...
Miyano, Nukumi play original characters for August 2 film― The official website for My Hero Academia the Movie: You're Next (My Hero Academia: You're Next), the fourth anime film in the My Hero Academia franchise, announced on Friday that the film has cast Mamoru Miyano and Meru Nukumi as original characters. Mamori Miyano as Giulio Gandini, a butler who serves the Scervino family Meru Nukumi as Ann...
Kaiju No. 8 takes the top spot this week while Tonari no Yōkai-san pushes to #3 in the cmulative! Check out our weekly user rankings!― 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 in...
Mospeada is a work very much of its time, riffing on ideas and tropes that were all the rage when it was made, and doesn't do anything exceptional with them.― It can be easy for even longtime fans to forget that alongside Macross, there were two other 80's sci-fi anime that got Frankenstein-ed into what we'd eventually call Robotech. While this isn't the first time one of those series has made it to...
Following the upcoming retro programming block Toonami Rewind, Chris and Lucas look back fondly on the afternoons spent watching Naruto and Sailor Moon.― Following the upcoming retro programming block Toonami Rewind, Chris and Lucas look back fondly on the afternoons spent watching Naruto and Sailor Moon. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the v...
Yeah, yeah, Kaiju No. 8 has all the great action scenes, but Yatagarasu is chewing up the scenery as the royal ladies absolutely lose their minds!?― Why Aren't You Watching This Anime Yet? Yeah, yeah, Kaiju No. 8 has all the great action scenes, but Yatagarasu is chewing up the scenery as the royal ladies absolutely lose their minds!? The ANN After Show streams live on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitte...
Here we have a from-the-ground-up remake, but does this beloved classic still hold up in a modern sense, or is that praise just nostalgia talking?― It's nice when Nintendo surprises us with a remaster or re-release of one of their more difficult-to-obtain games. The original Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for the Nintendo GameCube is a classic for many. However, since the game was never re-rele...
Miles Atherton crunched Netflix's latest numbers for some surprising anime discoveries, from the popularity of My Happy Marriage to the One Piece juggernaut.― Since the advent of streaming, it's been notoriously difficult to gauge how popular a specific anime is with international audiences, both for publishers looking to make informed decisions for a market that generates most of its revenue outsi...