True to form, just as the One Piece anime is finally, finally about to depart Dressrosa and bid it farewell, it needs to slow things down. It's almost as if Toei isn't ready to leave and is digging its nails into the ground, desperately hoping to stay just a little bit longer.
Joking aside, I know One Piece is in a tricky situation as far as pacing goes, since its story is dangerously close to the manga's content right now. Just for our sanity's sake, they should probably detour into a filler arc before reaching Zou. Though I realize that would mean keeping the crew separated for even longer than they already have been, but hey, the series' hesitation towards substantial filler arcs is what got us in this situation to begin with.
It's the Fujitora show this week as the blind, Zatoichi-style admiral goes on the offensive to fulfill his duties as a protector of the innocent. Clearly he doesn't have anything personal against the Straw Hats, he more than likely even respects them, but a marine's got to do what a marine's got to do and he begins to dish out his gravity powers to possibly their most absurd extant yet. All the rubble left over from the fight with the Doflamingo family rises up high in the sky, and soon a huge, island-sized CGI ball of debris is hovering over everybody's heads. Fujitora may seem like a wise old man type, but in practice he ends up being one of the most brash and reckless characters we've ever seen in the show. Even the citizens, who he's supposed to be protecting, are fearing for their lives thanks to this terrifying monstrosity above them.
The episode hinges on Luffy's arrival on the scene, fresh from dropping Rebecca off. It quickly becomes a fight and then even quicker halts in its tracks. Most of the battle is stretched out beyond belief and features Luffy calling out his attacks like "I'm about to punch you!" or "Here comes a kick!" out of guilt for beating on a blind man, and it gets very repetitive. The fight doesn't even conclude by the end of the episode and if memory serves correctly it was only a few pages in the manga.
Otherwise, there's a fairly nice scene at the beginning of the episode between Law and Sengoku where they share their memories of Corazón. Despite being a pirate and a marine respectively, they share this relationship in common and agree that what Cora would have wanted is for them to simply carry on his memory and live life however they please. Again, it's a nice scene continued from last week, but it's a real bummer that we're stretching things out so much that otherwise short sequences are getting split between episodes. The promise of a new arc, whether we sail straight to Zou or indulge in a filler side story, keeps being dangled in front of our faces and I'm as ready for something fresh as anybody.
Mimori intends to continue voice roles, singing career― Voice actress and singer Suzuko Mimori announced on her Twitter account on Thursday that she is moving to the United States this summer. She acknowledges that the move will mean that her voice work will not necessarily stay the same as before, but that she will strive to continue performing her roles to the best off her ability. She also added ...
Chris and Nick put on their headphones and dust off their vinyl records for a look at this season's guitar-strumming, mic-swinging girl groups.― Chris and Nick put on their headphones and dust off their vinyl records for a look at this season's guitar-strumming, mic-swinging girl groups. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News...
I cannot imagine how Square Enix could top themselves after this.― Final Fantasy VII Rebirth initially launched on the last day of February, and if you look at the date of this review's publication, you will immediately be able to discern one thing about this second entry of the FF7 Remake series: It is gargantuan. The first game got plenty of praise (and plenty of flak) for taking the relatively sh...
Anime's first season premiered in 2018― The official website for Kakuriyo -Bed & Breakfast for Spirits-, the television anime of writer Midori Yūma and illustrator Laruha's Kakuriyo Yadomeshi (Afterlife Inn Cooking) light novel series, announced that the series will have a second season in fall 2025, and revealed a teaser visual on Wednesday. The novels' 2023 manga adaptation artist Tsugaru Toba als...
The Manga Guide library expands with six more series, including Trinity Seven -Revision-, Watch Dogs Tokyo, Fed Up With Being the Spoiled Queen's Genius Butler,, 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 airs at the beginning of a season. N...
With a new Nintendo Switch port available, even more gamers can experience Enoch's transcendental adventure across the world. How does it fare on Nintendo's portable device?― El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron was a curious game when it released in 2011. The world wasn't quite ready for it then, but time (and a PC port) helped people accept it. With a new Nintendo Switch port available, even more...
Manhwa is starting to find its footing in American comic book sphere, but it's not just another version of "manga." Find out what makes Korean comics unique.― The door to English-translated manga opened in the 1980s, and despite some fits and starts, essentially never looked back. Manhwa, or Korean comics, have had a much more troubled journey to popular visibility in English. Around 2006, manhwa be...
The new anime series is far more forthright about the idol and seiyū industry, from maintaining relevance on social media to subsisting on substandard wages.― The new anime series is far more forthright about the idol and seiyū industry, from maintaining relevance on social media to subsisting on substandard wages. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are...
Ultimately, my biggest problem with Shaman King Flowers is that it mostly just feels like a set-up to a much larger story that has yet to actually happen.― [Warning, this review will contain major spoilers for the ending of Shaman King (2021)] If there's one thing that can be counted on with battle shonen properties, it's that any of them that go on long enough will inevitably get some sequel series...
The Grimm Variations is one of those shows that tries. It almost tries too hard, and the result is that some of the tales are beyond recognition, while others play it too safe.― At the end of The Grimm Variations, Charlotte, the real-life younger sister of the Brothers Grimm (who were, in fact, only two of many Grimm brothers), remarks that she would like to see fairy tales where the protagonists ar...
The critically-acclaimed historical drama captivated audiences, but if you're craving more battle tactics and court intrigue, these anime will scratch your Shogun itch.― For the past couple of months, it's been hard to ignore the loud promotion of Disney+/Hulu's mega-budget Shogun. Based on James Clavell's feted 1975 novel, it's a compelling and glossy historical drama following a large cast of fic...