It's been almost 800 episodes and I still stand with the One Piece anime as a way to enjoy this series, even if its heyday is behind us. Most of it comes from an acknowledgement that the production values have in fact never been consistent and the show's worst pacing issues have been present since at least the 300s, and yet that's never stopped people from falling in love with the series. It also helps that nowadays you get the occasional amazing episode that's way above something you would have seen in the early years.
But every now and then even I get a little glum, particularly whenever the show has to flashback to earlier animation and I realize how much I miss the way it used to look. That feeling returns this week as we finally get confirmation that one of Big Mom's many children is none other than Lola from Thriller Bark, while the lookalike who's married to Capone is her twin sister. This triggers a series of flashbacks to the Thriller Bark arc, none of which looks spectacular, but it looks the way One Piece looks in my mind's eye. There are so many little flourishes the anime has added over the years—the softer color pallet, the increased detail in Nami's eyes—and it all looks fine when the rest of the production is up to snuff, but if the animation's going to feel half-finished a lot of the time anyway, I wish we had the bold colors and old designs back.
I probably wouldn't be feeling this right now if the episode wasn't stretched so absurdly thin. The aforementioned flashback takes up a shocking amount of screen time and I've already been getting exhausted by the Seducing Woods stuff. I'm at the point now where I'm trying to imagine how this arc might feel in a marathon, and even with my patient standards I think this section is going to be at least one episode too long. Clearly the production cycle is in a tight spot compared to where the manga's story is at, and the show is begging for even a small break.
To dredge up some something positive here, when Charlotte Cracker arrives on the scene and knocks out many of Big Mom's minions, the art on their horrified corpses after having their souls dispatched was ghastly. There's a lot about Cracker and his upcoming fight with Luffy that's super cool and interesting, but as of this episode there would be no way to know how big of a deal he is. His massive 860 million bounty is relegated to the next episode preview (alongside a lot of stellar looking animation) but it's in this episode that we desperately need an adrenaline shot to keep the momentum going, and I don't think there is one nearby.
I think that's the problem. Cracker is a big deal, but right now he feels like just another tedious obstacle in the Seducing Woods. The setting isn't the problem, the characters aren't the problem, the problem is that we've spent so much time goofing off and going through all these repetitive challenges that I can't imagine the few people who keep up with the anime week to week will be getting a whole lot out of the Whole Cake Island arc so far. Next week's episode looks great, and I wish that was the one we were getting this week instead.
Series starring Miku Martineau, Ayo Solanke, more starts production in Toronto― The Hollywood Reporter entertainment news site reported on Thursday that showrunner Simon Barry (Warrior Nun creator) and Boat Rocker Media are producing a live-action series for Netflix titled BET that "is based in part" on writer Homura Kawamoto and artist Tōru Naomura's Kakegurui - Compulsive Gambler manga. The show h...
Jean-Karlo attempts to condense two big video game showcases into a coherent column, from the revamped Silent Hill 2 to the grazing pastures of Story of Seasons.― Welcome back, folks. This is related to a big story for this week, but this past weekend, I listened to Utada Hikaru's re-recording of "Simple And Clean". It's very emotional. Utada Hikaru is a good twenty-plus years older than when she or...
In the Eisner-nominated work, Maki Fujiwara chronicles her daily life with her husband, lionized mangaka Yoshiharu Tsuge. Though deceptively simple at first glance, a foundation of abuse is slowly revealed.― At first blush, Maki Fujiwara's My Picture Diary does what it says on the tin. It tells the story of her daily life as a housewife and mother, spending time with her daily activities, noting the...
Now streaming on Netflix, Tomotaka Shibayama's first feature animation mixes the magical with reality to share a simple but important message.―
Director Tomotaka Shibayama's latest film, My Oni Girl, is an action-adventure drama with elements of a buddy comedy and a relatable coming-of-age story. The film, produced by Studio Colorido, was released in theaters in Japan and on Netflix on May 24, foll...
Game that inspired multiple anime launched in August 2017― The X/Twitter account for the Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story PC and smartphone game announced on Friday that the game will end service on the PC version on July 1 at 3:00 p.m. JST and for iOS and Android on July 31 at 3:00 p.m. JST. The staff are working to release an "archive app" of the game to allow players to access c...
Miyano, Nukumi play original characters for August 2 film― The official website for My Hero Academia the Movie: You're Next (My Hero Academia: You're Next), the fourth anime film in the My Hero Academia franchise, announced on Friday that the film has cast Mamoru Miyano and Meru Nukumi as original characters. Mamori Miyano as Giulio Gandini, a butler who serves the Scervino family Meru Nukumi as Ann...
Kaiju No. 8 takes the top spot this week while Tonari no Yōkai-san pushes to #3 in the cmulative! Check out 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 that these rankings are based on how people rated in...
Mospeada is a work very much of its time, riffing on ideas and tropes that were all the rage when it was made, and doesn't do anything exceptional with them.― It can be easy for even longtime fans to forget that alongside Macross, there were two other 80's sci-fi anime that got Frankenstein-ed into what we'd eventually call Robotech. While this isn't the first time one of those series has made it to...
Main staff, cast reunite for new film― Warner Bros. Japan revealed on Thursday that it is producing a sequel film to its Batman Ninja CG anime film titled Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League. Junpei Mizusaki, the producer of the opening animation sequences for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders and Kamikaze Douga CEO/founder, is returning from Batman Ninja to direct...
Hana Hishikawa, Misuzu Yamada star in J.C. Staff anime with designs drafted by Penguindrum's Lily Hoshino― The official website for the television anime of Yuzuki Akasaka's Mahō Tsukai ni Narenakatta Onna no Ko no Hanashi (The Story of the Girl Who Couldn't Become a Wizard) novel unveiled the first full promotional video and visual for the anime on Thursday. The video reveals the anime's cast as wel...
Following the upcoming retro programming block Toonami Rewind, Chris and Lucas look back fondly on the afternoons spent watching Naruto and Sailor Moon.― Following the upcoming retro programming block Toonami Rewind, Chris and Lucas look back fondly on the afternoons spent watching Naruto and Sailor Moon. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the v...
Yeah, yeah, Kaiju No. 8 has all the great action scenes, but Yatagarasu is chewing up the scenery as the royal ladies absolutely lose their minds!?― Why Aren't You Watching This Anime Yet? Yeah, yeah, Kaiju No. 8 has all the great action scenes, but Yatagarasu is chewing up the scenery as the royal ladies absolutely lose their minds!? The ANN After Show streams live on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitte...
Here we have a from-the-ground-up remake, but does this beloved classic still hold up in a modern sense, or is that praise just nostalgia talking?― It's nice when Nintendo surprises us with a remaster or re-release of one of their more difficult-to-obtain games. The original Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for the Nintendo GameCube is a classic for many. However, since the game was never re-rele...
Miles Atherton crunched Netflix's latest numbers for some surprising anime discoveries, from the popularity of My Happy Marriage to the One Piece juggernaut.― Since the advent of streaming, it's been notoriously difficult to gauge how popular a specific anime is with international audiences, both for publishers looking to make informed decisions for a market that generates most of its revenue outsi...
With seven full routes and one mini-route with a character from the previous game, if you enjoyed Cupid Paradise, Sweet & Spicy Darling is worth playing.― The first order of business is this: if you haven't played the original Cupid Parasite otome game, there isn't much point in picking up Sweet & Spicy Darling. There is one new route for this sequel, but even that relies on you knowing the backgrou...
With the release of Dead Dead Demon's Dededededestruction, Nick and Steve take a look at it and some other manga that were thought to be "unadaptable"—and see if that was truly the case.― With the release of Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction, Nick and Steve take a look at it and some other manga that were thought to be "unadaptable"—and see if that was truly the case. Disclaimer: The views and...