We've reached another difficult phase in the story when it comes to writing critique. In the grand scheme of things everything's going to run together and build a few good dramatic peaks and valleys, but as far as what we are given here this week there isn't a whole lot to be impressed by. Luffy is officially in recovery mode as he waits for his Haki to return (Fourth Gear drains him of his ability for ten minutes afterwards), meaning that it's up to the good people of Dressrosa to keep him safe from Doflamingo's furious onslaught for the interim.
The “ten minute” timeline causes some unfortunate flashbacks to the days of Dragon Ball Z's Namek arc, when Frieza set the planet to explode after five minutes that got stretched out into several full episodes. This is, whiteout a doubt, exactly that kind of situation here. I'm torn, because I know I wouldn't be satisfied if Luffy beat Doflamingo immediately after the first time he used Fourth Gear, but I'm also groaning a bit because I have a feeling the next few episodes are going to be pretty boring.
The champions of Luffy's recovery are made up primarily of the other scrub colosseum gladiators who weren't interesting enough to be major characters throughout the rest of the arc. These guys' turn to being on Team Luffy is framed as something that's meant to be heartwarming, but again, they're such minor characters that the beat ultimately feels really shallow.
By far the best of these characters is the colosseum announcer, Gyats, who runs away with Luffy on his back. At least with a character for him, a fascination with Luffy/“Lucy” feels genuine, and rooted in scenes from way back towards the beginning of the arc.
Obviously, the gladiators are no match for Doflamingo, since their job was only to provide Luffy and Gyats just enough time to run into Burgess, who finally makes good on his scheming and pounces, only to be stopped by Sabo who swoops in with a pretty tough looking kick. This episode puts most of it's focus on giving the townsfolk a chance to be amazed at the brotherly relationship that the famous pirate and Revolutionary second-in-command have.
This is a fairly mediocre episode across the board, but like most of One Piece, it's elevated by the music. There's a track towards the beginning that I think is relatively new, having been introduced in this arc (correct me if I'm wrong) and there's something that feels so old-timey about it that it's hard not to like. It sounds like something from 30s or 40s Hollywood, which is a good fit for an arc that draw lots of inspiration from classic children's media. The Wizard of Oz has been a go-to movie in my head throughout Dressrisa, vibe-wise.
Every now and then I have to really appreciate how frequently One Piece's library of tracks just work. The shows soundtrack seems deliberately designed so that pretty much and song can be put anywhere in the story and find a way to create chemistry. “Three Towers” also plays in this episode, and has been a prime example of this throughout most of the series.
Music aside, it does get a little frustrating when you just finally get into the big exciting pay-off stuff in the arc, but you know some of the beats have to get dragged out immediately after it. I spent a lot of time getting excited to see Luffy vs. Doflamingo animated, but now I'm ready for that to be done so we can get on to the next arc sooner than later.
As we approach the end of the season, Delicious in Dungeon and Undead Unluck are steadily climbing the cumulative. Find out how your favorite shows performed in 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...
English dub trailer, cast, staff unveiled― Crunchyroll announced on Tuesday that it will stream episodes of the anime of Naoya Matsumoto's Kaiju No. 8 manga at the exact time they air in Japan, starting on April 13 at 10:00 a.m. EDT. The company will also stream dubs in English, Latin American Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Castilian Spanish, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu at 11:30 a.m. EDT...
Original anime's director Junichi Satō draws storyboards for peek into girls' future― The staff of the Magical DoReMi (Ojamajo Doremi) magical girl anime debuted a video for its 25th anniversary at AnimeJapan 2024. The video features newly animated glimpses of the main characters as they grow up. Junichi Satō, the director of the original anime, storyboarded the new video, while Tatsuya Nagamine, an...
As we look in despair to a future without new episodes of Frieren, you may be wondering what could possibly fill the hole in your heart (and watch schedule). We're here to help.― With the end of one anime season comes the start of another. As we look in despair to a future without new episodes of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, you may be wondering what could possibly fill the hole in your heart (an...
This week, Nick and Lucas talk about the recent, ongoing, and not-yet-released works of the late, great Akira Toriyama—as well as the potential future of his most popular franchise.― This week, Nick and Lucas talk about the recent, ongoing, and not-yet-released works of the late, great Akira Toriyama—as well as the potential future of his most popular franchise. Disclaimer: The views and opinions e...
From shows that are "just not for me" to pure animated shlock, here are our editorial team's picks for the worst anime of the winter 2024 season.― Yesterday, we gave you our list of the best anime Winter 2024 had to offer. Now it's time for the opposite. From shows that are "just not for me" to pure animated shlock, here are our editorial team's picks for the worst anime of the season. Note: The co...
The second part of a double-feature currently in U.S. theaters, when Sakuta finds he's become invisible, he'll have to face some significant changes in his life to create the future he wants.― As an overarching story, The Rascal Does Not Dream series hit its central climax in the 2019 film Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl. The previous film to this one, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Vent...
With the end of the Winter 2024 anime season upon us, it's time to look back at the best of what the season had to offer.― With the end of the Winter 2024 anime season looming, it's time to look back at the best of what the season had to offer. And so here's a list of our editorial team's favorite anime series this season. The big takeaway? We really like Delicious in Dungeon. Note: the commentary ...
― Curious about all the news and panels that happened at AnimeJapan 2024 last weekend? 132,557 people descended upon Tokyo Big Sight across two days to experience all the latest and greatest in anime! News from Saturday, March 23 Nanare Hananare TV Anime Premieres in July CoMix Wave Films Teases New Work by 'Rookie Director' Hyakushō Kizoku TV Anime's 2nd Season Premieres This Fall Thunderbolt Fant...
In theaters as a double-feature, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Venturing Out changes up the formula for a unique yet satisfying film.― As a fan of the previous Rascal Does Not Dream anime, this film is not at all what I expected. Up until this point, the series has followed a set pattern. Our protagonist Sakuta becomes involved with a young woman who is dealing with some aspect of growing up—be ...