We've been introduced to a fair number of characters and subplots since stepping foot in the land of Wano, but we've merely witnessed the tip of the iceberg. One of the common trends I've liked about the anime lately is how it will make minor tweaks to better prepare the audience for what's to come, like how this week's episode directly names Shutenmaru, a man that Kiku appears to have some familiarity with. It's a very small difference from the source material (which simply refers to Shutenmaru's band of thieves as a group) but it's nice to know they're thinking about to keep the absurd amount of information as clear as possible. Shutenmaru now has a chance to exist faintly in the audience's mind before his proper introduction.
There isn't a ton of new material for us to chew in this week aside from the introduction of another side villain—Speed, a horse-woman who's got a fun gag about having 350 degree vision—and a brief demonstration of the farms that produce clean food and water for the shogun. We're taking the absurdity of Wano as a setting to some fun places, with giant sumo wrestlers getting tossed across town and eccentric dancing firefighters appearing to stifle the fires that set the streets ablaze as a result. “How dare you destroy my house with a sumo wrestler” is a phrase that can be uttered so casually in a few countries.
I appreciate that our heroes are finally getting themselves tangled up with Holdem in person after all this time, because he's easily my favorite of the Bakura Town villains. There's a good balance of silliness and theatrics as Holdem looks down on the crowds from the rooftops, performing herculean feats of strength and finally giving Luffy the fight he's been looking for. I was getting tired of having to constantly cut back to the same repetitive scene of Holdem trying to pull dumplings out of Otama's cheeks with pliers, so any change of pace, even a slight one, is welcome. The pins have been set up with the supporting cast constantly urging Luffy to keep a low profile, so obviously we have to start a ruckus in spite of that, and now a bunch of big names like Hawkins and Law are beginning to arrive just in time to see their well-kept plans go up in flames.
Most of what I've been saying for the past few months still holds true. My opinion of this stretch of the story in the manga is already fairly precarious since we're delving into a corridor of the plot that's disproportionately busy for such a small piece of the arc. The series isn't trying to trick us into thinking that this is some crazy unprecedented escalation of events, but it does want to set up a lot of stuff that's going to be important later, and it hopes to be entertaining in the meantime. In the best circumstances, the slow-motion nature of the adaptation is great for unloading some of the denseness of the story, but sequences that only offer mild excitement end up having to repeat themselves too much.
At least we seem to finally be reaching the climax of the Bakura Town arc soon, so hopefully the pay-off is pretty interesting.
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...