You ready for a live concert, baby?! It's time for the Soul King to rock your socks off and lift your spirits!
The past few episodes of One Piece have done a good job filling the runtime with interesting plot progression, though the show still isn't quite ready to pick the pace back up to normal, and slowing back down does hurt after everything was just getting interesting. That said, Brook and Pedro getting an explosive espionage subplot as they complicate the villains' plans is the most inspired thing going on right now. If there's anybody in the story who has a chance to turn things around for our heroes, it's them.
For manga readers, we've had the dawning realization that the heavily marketed Year of Sanji could just as satisfyingly be titled the Year of Brook, because throughout this middle portion of the arc, he's the one earning the most wins for the Straw Hats as he puts his undead life on the line to secure that Poneglyph rubbing from Big Mom. His big attack in this episode, where the embodiment of the Soul King erupts in the form of a big electric ghost, is one of the most memorable looking techniques of the arc.
Sadly, it arrives by way of one of the flattest directed episodes in recent memory. This is the rare example of an episode that stays perfectly on-model and looks pretty decent, but there's no pulse to be found at all. It's incredibly matter-of-fact compared to the usual chaos that the show's production values offer. This would have been an ideal time to continue to push the arc's musical theme, taking a break from the Disney-lite stuff for some good old rock n' roll. Alas, this episode plays it painfully safe.
Elsewhere on Whole Cake Island is the conclusion of the never-ending mirror-world subplot with Carrot and Chōpper, meaning the show's going to have to find some other interminable plotline to cut back to whenever it needs to buy a few minutes. The mirror-world stuff, where Carrot and Chōpper finally finish off Charlotte Brulee and her crazy animal friends, was getting to be so unbelievably repetitive and boring that I would be more relieved that the subplot has finally ended if I wasn't completely bemused by the fact that it lasted this long to begin with.
It's frustrating to be so happy about where the story is going, with one major subplot ending and another taking the reigns, but get bummed out by the pacing once again. It can't be helped, but this is an arc that I'm falling more in love with as it wraps up in the manga, and the anime version is giving itself way too much room to breathe. The final scene of the episode, where Pudding meets with the imprisoned Luffy and Nami, is a perfect example of how inelegantly the molasses pacing captures the structure of the arc, since it doesn't even get to the part that makes this an important moment of set-up. The manga's pacing, however frustrating you might find it week-to-week, at least does a good job making sure each chapter is a solid beat that moves the story forward. In the anime version, we're not just setting the pins up to knock them down, we're taking a leisurely stroll to the bowling alley first and calling it drama.
If I were to sum up Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! in a single word, that word would be “cute.”― If I were to sum up Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! in a single word, that word would be “cute.” Shiki and Fuyuki's interactions are a mixture of playful (and sometimes sexual) teasing and heartfelt feelings as the two come to value each other. They have real chemistry—and that drives the anime stra...
Lucas and Steve catch up on the Hunter × Hunter manga in time for the long-awaited new chapter and gush about why, even with years between releases, Hunter × Hunter is worth it.― Lucas and Steve catch up on the Hunter × Hunter manga in time for the long-awaited new chapter and gush about why, even with years between releases, Hunter × Hunter is worth it. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed...
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 ...
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...