As has happened so often in the Wano arc, 1050 is one of those episodes cursed to follow an absolute animation peak like 1049, so on some level it was set up to fail. That said, the Toei team deserves a break, and this episode nevertheless does a good job of leaning into flashbacks and building up the emotional stakes for a big finale.
Momonosuke is a character I have mixed feelings on. I don't really care for him much on an individual level and most of his joke bits fall flat for me. That said, he means a lot to characters I really enjoy (like Kinemon) and I like his role in the story as the inheritor of Oden's legacy. It's interesting juxtaposing him with the Akazaya Nine in particular – whereas they chose to follow Oden in life and even after his death, Momo has been thrust into this against his will. He never chose any of this, so his reluctance/fear to live up to his father's towering legacy is understandable; how hard is it to not only be your own person, but escape the shadow of a parent who has become a legend in his own lifetime? That's a lot to ask of a small child.
The actual fight doesn't look all that incredible visually, but the emotional pop from everyone in Onigashima sells it. The tears in his eyes, the strain to break Kaido's scales, the great pacing. The added triumph of Luffy's survival adding a big double-whammy boost to the freedom fighters' morale makes the ending of the episode feel like we're building to even more excitement for next week. 1050 certainly does a lot with a little.
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 ...