Now that we're slowly wading our way through the real story of Whole Cake Island, the usual concern over how far Toei's production values can carry things rears its head. This is an episode full of ideas that's undercut by sloppy and inconsistent art. Characters will randomly morph into much shinier, more sinewy versions of themselves, and there's the common risk of the female characters' loud, over-sexualized designs drowning out a scene's intended tone. We're entering the phase of the story where it's going to be The Pudding Show for a while, but we can only count on the show's more deft hand to work its magic on her some of the time.
After learning what a hot mess the Vinsmoke family is, it turns out that the Charlottes may be even worse. The Straw Hats' old friend Lola was under the impression that things are square between her and her mother, but that's not how Big Mom sees it at all, swearing that she'll pull Lola's whereabouts out of Nami so that she can track her down and kill her. Lola, the wandering marriage-proposal-spewing pirate, was dishing out the rejection once upon a time, which unfortunately led Mom's most important political marriage into ruins. Lola isn't an active participant in this arc, but it appears as though her time back home left quite the scar.
Thus we return to Pudding, who's implied to be a victim of her mother in a similar way. We flash back to baby Pudding saying goodbye to her big sister Lola, the only member of the family to ever take fate into her own hands and leave. Whether Pudding ultimately feels more sorry for herself or Sanji in this marriage is left vague, since the myriad of upcoming twists are going to leave you with different answers as to her true nature.
Tying everything together this week is the back half of Big Mom and Luffy's phone argument, where all of Big Mom's worst qualities get tested. Her past failure to become King of the Pirates and the way she aggressively dominates her children are the qualities that make her feel like a weak soul, especially with the ever-tenacious Luffy on the other end of the conversation. We have no doubt who would actually win in a fight (Mom), but Luffy's straight shooter attitude continues to make him a great foil for any villain. Big Mom's precious wedding is tomorrow, and now her feathers are ruffled, making her all the more pathetic and threatening.
Big Mom is at her most entertaining when she's angry, since she looks like she's just seconds away from sinking the whole island out of frustration. The last scene of the episode is great as she tries to cheer herself up with the usual Disney musical sing along, but the constant bad news turns the instrumentation sinister and she has to take a seat to simmer down. This episode's execution is at odds with itself, dancing the line between exhilaration and embarrassment. It looks so ugly at times, but I admire its spirit when I'm not distracted by Pudding's badly drawn barbie doll cleavage.
Daisuke 'Dice' Tsutsumi shares what it was like to leave Pixar and how his studio will never shy away from honesty in their work, even when honesty isn't pretty.― Director Daisuke "Dice" Tsutsumi contributed to films like Toy Story 3 and Monsters University while simultaneously crafting what became his Academy Award-nominated animated short film, The Dam Keeper. His latest short film, Bottle George,...
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...