Once again I find myself in awe of the craft on display. Every time I begin to wonder, “Is there too much Wano?” and the fatigue starts to set in, the material comes back around with a home run installment. It's incredible to think about how much is coming to a head in this arc. The story of the land of Wano, and particularly the Akazaya Nine, has really come to define post-timeskip One Piece.
We see the emotional crux of so much coming to fruition. You can almost see the layers of setup like geological strata, going back in time from newly introduced characters (Kiku, Denjiro, Kanjuro, Ashura, Kawamatsu), to those from the recent past (Raizo, Dogstorm, Cat Viper), to those introduced nearly a decade ago in the manga (Kinemon). The Akazaya Nine are as integrated into the specific island of Wano and present-tense concerns as they are connected with the broader world and the long history of injustice in the setting.
The Kiku and Kanjuro fight is a real highlight. The framing of the battle as a climactic battle in a stage play, mirroring Kanjuro's figurative and literal performances as well as the theatrical framing of the arc more broadly, is just terrific. Kiku having to, in her own words, slice up her own heart until there is No Mercy left for the Kanjuro she had known since childhood was powerful stuff. The shot of the horizontal red slash cutting through Kiku's inner child until she disintegrated – wow. Amazing stuff, and in weekly television no less.
In truth, this is another one of those episodes where it feels you can pull any sequence and talk about its visual flourishes at length. The Dutch angle POV on Kaido beheading Orochi, the shattered screen of Onigashima when Kaido is pontificating, the combative blue and red screen slashes throughout – it's all gorgeous stuff. And the wide range of hues in each scene helps underscore the grand existential forces at play, from the terrifying yellow smog of Big Mom's arrival to the sickening green of Orochi's greed to the black and white fading to crimson of Kanjuro's grand finale. The Toei team has yet again outdone themselves and taken what was already some of the strongest material in the manga and elevated it substantially.
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...