With the wedding cake firmly in Capone's possession, Big Mom is giving up on the Thousand Sunny entirely and leaving the Straw Hats up to her kids. The Straw Hats are off to rendezvous with Luffy on Cacao Island, but they have one last challenge ahead of them due to the Big Mom pirates overhearing their strategy hours ago. Smoothie (one of the "Sweet Three" on Katakuri's level) is leading a fleet to their back, and Oven has amassed an army on Cacao Island, instructing the citizens to break every mirror in the area aside from one, so they can ambush Luffy on the slim chance that Katakuri fails to kill him. Everything is set to come to a head at 1:00 AM, depending on what happens in the meantime.
For the past few episodes, we've been leaning heavily on the Katakuri fight, which is still progressing at an incredibly slow rate. And while I still think the fight gets too samey for too long, this recent stretch has been really good at emphasizing how the fight is supposed to feel on an emotional level. Luffy's never-give-up attitude is starting to take its toll, because his injuries and fatigue are stacking at an increased rate. The added conflict comes courtesy of Flampe, who is both watching her brother in admiration and also sneakily trying to assist in the fight by shooting silent needle darts at Luffy, numbing his legs and leaving him open for Katakuri to stab him. This is Luffy's bloodiest injury yet, but he tries to keep going as if nothing's wrong, even if Katakuri now has a much greater edge.
The action looks amazing this week, coming across as cool and playful as ever. Overall this fight has been really consistent in quality, albeit way too repetitive and long, and I'm just amazed at how well it's translated into animation. I remember being worried that the size difference between fighters would be an awkward challenge for the show, but its been smooth sailing in that regard. This is an episode of body language, and Katakuri's frustration really comes through in different ways. At first it was because this little shrimp just won't die, and now it's because his opponent has seemingly reached his limitations. Katakuri doesn't know what he wants anymore; all he knows is that what's in front of him is unsatisfying.
The Katakuri fight has always had a bizarre pacing issue, where we're asked to endure a lot of the same material over and over, and then there will be a sudden upset like when we briefly saw what Katakuri was hiding underneath his scarf. Flampe is forcing the dynamic to shift once again, but the show is still keeping the true consequences of her meddling for next week, so this episode's strength is mostly just polish. We don't have any distinct "A plots" or "B plots" right now—the Katakuri fight and the Big Mom chase have been trading between those roles until now—so all that's left for us to do is sit back and watch the finale unfold.
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...