The Luffy vs. Cracker fight takes a step back from being the star attraction to being the B story, as Sanji continues to interact with his family. I had an issue with how the anime decided to interpret the length of their fight last week, when they transitioned the fight into the daytime, but seeing Luffy then deflate from his use of Fourth Gear and struggle to hold himself up in his paralyzed state, knowing that his fight isn't nearly close to over, does a good job conveying that sense of exhaustion anyway. There's going to be a lot of Vinsmoke content in the coming episodes, and Luffy will have to survive long enough for that part to resolve itself, even though his biggest power-up has worn off.
We're not speeding things along any time soon, but thankfully they're killing time this week with some re-animated flashbacks to Sanji's history with Zeff, instead of continuing to take half a chapter's worth of content and spreading it all out over twenty minutes. At least this way, people can skip this part of the episode if the Zeff story is still fresh in their memory or revisit it if it's still a favorite. It's another one of those cases where the newer animation style just can't sell that original griminess, offering a version that feels lacking in physical detail. I even went back to the old version to compare, and while the drawings are still technically similar, the soul is unquestionably different.
Outside of the flashback (which is roughly half the episode), Sanji continues to deal with his family. One of the more exciting moments comes when Niji tries to kick Sanji but has to stop himself, yet there's still an explosion of wind that erupts. The follow-through of the feint feels massive, and we get a sense of how strong Niji is compared to Sanji. This comes as a result of Sanji being friendly to Cosette and eating the food Niji threw on the ground. It's a nice callback to when we first met Sanji and learned how sincere he was about his "never waste food" attitude.
There's a very small amount of new story content in this episode, mostly the continuing Cracker fight and learning what Sanji's father thinks of a man like Zeff stuffing unhelpful values into his son, since Judge has always been about whatever makes the strongest soldier above all else. Animation-wise, it's acceptable, but the moment-to-moment scene direction is far more cohesive than it was last week, although there's a much smaller variety of stuff happening here.
The pacing remains between a rock and a hard place since Toei's probably waiting for Whole Cake Island to end in the manga before they can reliably plan for the next filler arc. Their choices are to either stretch things out uncomfortably or continue doing this re-animated flashback thing, which is tricky in its own right because this arc has a plethora of new Sanji-related flashbacks already, and they're all being told out of order. It's a lose-lose scenario.
Company's Japanese anime studio to double output― Warner Bros. Discovery president of Asia-Pacific James Gibbons stated to entertainment news website Variety last Friday that the company's Japanese anime studio will produce more than 10 titles per year as opposed to its output of five to 10 titles in past years. He stated that "anime is one of the best ways to reach the 18 to 30-year-old audience, w...
Film debuts in U.S. theaters on March 29― Toei Movies began streaming a new trailer for the Godzilla vs. Kong film sequel Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, on Tuesday. The trailer previews the return of Mothra. The film will open in the United States on March 29, two weeks earlier than its previously planned April 12 date. The April 12 release was itself a delay from its original March 15 opening. Th...
What you're left with is a dull fantasy with stock, underdeveloped characters with uninteresting relationships that never look as good as they insist they should.― The isekai subgenre is no stranger to harems. These days, it seems like every Tom, Dick, or Harry who gets transported to a fantasy world is instantly gifted with a gaggle of giggling girls glomming over his gormless gonads. Tales of Wedd...
With no less than three new golf anime coming this spring season, Chris and Steve as the big question: Is this Birdie Wing's fault?― With no less than three new golf anime coming this spring season, Chris and Steve ask the big question: Is this Birdie Wing's fault? Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.Spoiler Warnin...
As we approach the end of the season, Delicious in Dungeon and Undead Unluck are steadily climbing the cumulative. Find out how your favorite shows performed in 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...
As we look in despair to a future without new episodes of Frieren, you may be wondering what could possibly fill the hole in your heart (and watch schedule). We're here to help.― With the end of one anime season comes the start of another. As we look in despair to a future without new episodes of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, you may be wondering what could possibly fill the hole in your heart (an...
This week, Nick and Lucas talk about the recent, ongoing, and not-yet-released works of the late, great Akira Toriyama—as well as the potential future of his most popular franchise.― This week, Nick and Lucas talk about the recent, ongoing, and not-yet-released works of the late, great Akira Toriyama—as well as the potential future of his most popular franchise. Disclaimer: The views and opinions e...
From shows that are "just not for me" to pure animated shlock, here are our editorial team's picks for the worst anime of the winter 2024 season.― Yesterday, we gave you our list of the best anime Winter 2024 had to offer. Now it's time for the opposite. From shows that are "just not for me" to pure animated shlock, here are our editorial team's picks for the worst anime of the season. Note: The co...
The second part of a double-feature currently in U.S. theaters, when Sakuta finds he's become invisible, he'll have to face some significant changes in his life to create the future he wants.― As an overarching story, The Rascal Does Not Dream series hit its central climax in the 2019 film Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl. The previous film to this one, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Vent...
With the end of the Winter 2024 anime season upon us, it's time to look back at the best of what the season had to offer.― With the end of the Winter 2024 anime season looming, it's time to look back at the best of what the season had to offer. And so here's a list of our editorial team's favorite anime series this season. The big takeaway? We really like Delicious in Dungeon. Note: the commentary ...
― Curious about all the news and panels that happened at AnimeJapan 2024 last weekend? 132,557 people descended upon Tokyo Big Sight across two days to experience all the latest and greatest in anime! News from Saturday, March 23 Nanare Hananare TV Anime Premieres in July CoMix Wave Films Teases New Work by 'Rookie Director' Hyakushō Kizoku TV Anime's 2nd Season Premieres This Fall Thunderbolt Fant...