Last week began the fight between Luffy and the forces of Big Mom's army, and this week ends it. Even if he were in better shape, it's hard to imagine Luffy was ever much of a match for an Emperor's crew. I'm still not especially hot on the idea of splitting this fight into several episodes, since it works best as a quick decisive blow, but this half of the battle demonstrates a lot of the enemy crew's cool tricks. The flashiest of these is Charlotte Montd'or's book-themed Devil Fruit, where he transports Luffy into a hallucinogenic dream world while the rest of the crew pummels him.
Luffy's determination to stay put as he waits for Sanji to return continues to be the central anchor of this part of the story, because it makes for a definitive loss when he can't hold his grip and passes out to be taken away with Nami, who also puts up a good fight in this episode. While I'm still getting impatient with the anime's current pacing, I found the consequences for our heroes effective. This is a real defeat.
It's appropriate that we're getting more acquainted with Big Mom's lesser-known children at this point, which might be a benefit of the drawn-out pacing. The likes of Montd'or or Galette are not the hot shots of this family (a casual viewer might even forget their names), but the fact that they all have their own unique powers and relationships is important to giving this family dimension. We're about to spend a lot of time with these faces in the crowd, and I'd put them a step above your usual cronies.
The other important piece of this episode comes from a conversation between Sanji and Big Mom herself, where Sanji agrees to cooperate with the wedding and asks that Big Mom let his friends leave the island safely in return. We've seen this situation before—like when Spandam made a similar promise to Robin, and we all know how well villains keep their promises in this series—but it's cool seeing Big Mom be reasonable and accept the deal. She's very upfront about how Luffy's crimes against her family would be unforgivable in any other situation, and she hovers over Sanji looking more like Yubaba from Spirited Away than ever. This is still the point in the story where we're supposed to wonder who the bigger villain is between Big Mom and Judge, and so far Big Mom seems to at least have a nice side of some variety.
We're getting whiffs of the world-building that Whole Cake Island offers, especially as Luffy and Nami get taken prisoner, but so far it's only whiffs. This is another situation where I found the content at hand to be pretty strong, but it sure doesn't give you a lot to talk about as it tiptoes its way through the middle portion of this arc. There are loads of ideas being presented as the lower rungs of Big Mom's army strut their stuff, but at the end of the day it's still a couple pages of manga material being drawn out. The Straw Hats' defeat is at the very least believable, which isn't always the case during mid-arc low points.
I can't recommend the series, nor think that any hypothetical viewer would enjoy it, but it is the kind of trash TV that's rewarding to dissect.― Have you ever wondered what Baki would be like if it had a conservative bent instead of queer undertones? Well, look no further because the answer is Kengan Ashura! While Kengan is trying to convey the same spectacle and white-knuckle action of the long-ru...
Film also available to rent, purchase digitally on several major outlets in N. America― The official X/Twitter account for TOHO's Godzilla franchise announced on Saturday that Takashi Yamazaki's Godzilla Minus One film is streaming worldwide on Netflix. The film is available worldwide, but is currently not available in Japan. Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color, the black-and-white version of the film, w...
One Piece: Heroines novel also licensed― Viz Media revealed its new licenses and new print releases planned for spring 2025 on Friday. Kazuyoshi Seto's Minecraft: The Manga: Announcement: Add this book to your enchantment room! Join Nico on his chance to escape the blocky confines of his home and prove how strong he's become when zombies attack! Minecraft: The Manga, by Kazuyoshi Seto, releases Spri...
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...
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...
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...