Oden heads straight for the Flower Capital, intent on revenge. Oden is full of rage at the treatment of his family and his homeland, and seeks to confront Orochi directly. He attempts to slay Orochi but one of the shogun's subordinates creates a barrier around him, protecting Orochi from Oden's wrath. Undeterred, Oden demands that Orochi relinquish the throne he is sitting in, as Oden has returned to take his rightful place. It is in this moment that Orochi reveals he is no mere warden of the throne - Oden's father named him the shogun in truth, thanks to the shapeshifting abilities of his associates.
In addition, Orochi reveals that his family suffered greatly under the Kozuki clan. Orochi says that he will spare the people of Wano from his wrath if Oden plays the fool and embarrasses himself daily. Oden begrudgingly agrees. The people of Wano, at first excited to see Oden's return to liberate them, now look on in horror as Oden prances about and sings silly songs while they suffer under Orochi's rule. He becomes a figure of disdain, with parents telling their children not to grow up to be like him, and a dark time begins for Wano.
Then news arrives of Roger's death. Finally executed by the World Government on the grand stage, Roger's career ends and a new age of piracy begins as the next generation of lawbreakers watches on with mixed reactions. Whitebeard takes the news in stride, reflecting on conversations they had in the past. Oden is brought to tears and weeps for his lost friend, marvelling at the life Roger led as the episode draws to a close.
As the retelling of Roger's life ends, the true story of One Piece begins.
It is hard to capture the momentous importance of this episode and its events. Obviously, the Oden flashback will continue - and if ever there were a truer One Piece moment, it would be that this flashback alone is longer than some arcs in other manga. But the legendary time of Roger's life fades into history once again, and our brief glimpse into that time closes out. It has been a treat to see these events in full, or at least a portion of them, when for so long they have been hazy myth and legend. Now we have a sense of who these great figures were and what that past age looked like for the first time.
Most importantly, I think the revisiting of Roger's flashback signals a certain trajectory for the series. One Piece clearly has many years left in it, and rumors of its impending end have often been proved false. That being said, it is hard not to see the gravitas of all this. Luffy and his plucky band are battling Emperors toe to toe, they are collecting poneglyphs and unearthing ancient secrets. And now we revisit the opening of our tale - Roger's execution - with newfound clarity and emotional weight.
It's hard not to see this as a setup for the final stages.
Eiichiro Oda always has a few extra tricks up his sleeves, so perhaps this is just the time he chose to tell these moments and there is still plenty of One Piece to go. Truth be told, even if the next arc were the :final arc of One Piece, it would still take years to tell if it were “just” as long as Wano arc has been. So we still have plenty of pirate adventure ahead of us. But in a bittersweet way, it is hard not to feel like we are setting up for the final stages of this great story.
Oh, and this episode has Doflamingo being totally bare-chested at Roger's execution. Talk about a power move.
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...