As soon as I think Wano fatigue has finally set in, they pull me right back from the brink.
The big rumble with Queen is one of the things in Wano that I struggle to get invested in. I understand the function of it, mind you. It's important to remind the audience that Onigashima is not simply just a few skirmishes between big personalities, but a sprawling battle waged by thousands of warriors for the fate of the new era. It just feels like we cut back to Queen laughing and people turning into ice oni one too many times at this point, and it is starting to wear on me.
That said, boy did we get a big mixup this week.
The battle with Kaido on the roof is expectedly great. I think what really sticks out to me is that even in the face of Kaido's wrath, the source of the Akazaya Nine's fear is not Kaido as much as it is seeing Oden in the afterlife with their duty unfulfilled. They are truly his retainers eternal, and it's heart-wrenching to see them Give It All they've got and still come up short. Having no music during the fade to the eye-catch – and making Kaido's booming approaching footsteps the last thing viewers hear before the commercial break – was a brilliant touch.
Then of course it's Zoro time baby. Our favorite green-haired swordsman always gets the jaw-dropping visuals, and Wano has been particularly kind to him. What can I even say about the sequence where he takes down Apoo? How many times can I compliment the team at Toei for their incredible work? We're like three years into Wano at this point, and it's basically been an unbroken run of gorgeous episodes. They pulled out all the stops so many times that they had to have new stops installed just to pull them out again. The cracked shade POV shot from Apoo is somewhat reminiscent of the sequence with Trunks and Frieza, and the glass effect is another nice touch that gave it new texture.
Psychological suspense manga previously inspired live-action films, live-action series, stage play― Anime distributor REMOW announced during its panel at Anime NYC on Friday that Shinobu Kaitani Liar Game manga is getting a television anime adaptation that will debut in 2026. REMOW will announce global streaming details at a later date. English version Japanese version Yūzō Satō (Kaiji: Ultimate Sur...
Visions executive producer James Waugh described "Black" as the anthology series' most experimental entry yet, but I doubt anything could have prepared the audience for Ōhira's vision.― Lucasfilm returned to Japan for its third installment of Star Wars: Visions Volume 3, building off the success of Volume 1. At the Star Wars: Visions panel at Anime NYC, audiences were greeted by the frenetic mind of...
Check back every day for more big news out of Anime NYC, sponsored by Yen Press!― Thursday, August 21 News Animated Devil May Cry Series' 2nd Season Reveals Teaser Trailer, 2026 Release Record of Ragnarok Season 3 Anime's Trailer Reveals More Cast, Ending Theme Song (Updated) Sakamoto Days Anime's English Trailer Previews JCC Exams Arc The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy At All, The Apotheca...
In its first volume, Ichino's series is a lot of silly fun, utilizing familiar genre beats and making them enjoyable, even if they're nothing new.― Ryo Ichino's Double the Trouble, Twice as Nice is, more or less, a combination of two familiar manga romance tropes: the adult who turns into a child and the hot guy pet. English-language readers will probably best remember them from Matsuri Hino's MeruP...
Kirby is back, riding to glory in a sequel decades in the making. Also news about the Tales of... remasters and Shenmue III for all your nostalgia needs.― Welcome back, folks! Hey, so, I wanna be honest about something for a minute: I put effort into giving credit to a lot of offbeat titles—obscure RPGs or simulation games or visual novels. A lot of that was my bread-and-butter growing up, and it st...
As manga and manhwa surge in global popularity, Penguin Random House launched Ink Pop—a new imprint bringing age-appropriate manga, manhwa, and webtoons to young readers.― As manga and manhwa surge in global popularity, Penguin Random House has launched Ink Pop—a new imprint dedicated to bringing age-appropriate manga, manhwa, and webtoons to young readers in the U.S. The line, which debuted this su...
Panty & Stocking bounce back from the previous week's stumble to take #1, just a hair ahead of The Summer Hikaru Died. Find out how your favorite shows fared 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...
Mitsuru Adachi’s short and sweet baseball anthology is an absolute home run!― While piecing together Slam Dunk's English publication history last year, I spoke with a few industry veterans about the challenges faced by sports titles in the North American market. One of those experienced pros was Ed Chavez, the publisher of Denpa. As we chatted about these sports-specific hurdles, Chavez and his team...
Can Jadress hold her own against this formidable foe, or will they need to call in back-up?― Surprise, it's a special comic celebrating Anime News Network's 25th anniversary. Artist Robin Sevakis returned to draw a short series of comics focusing on Anime News Network's mascots of the past and present and what would happen if they all met. Enjoy a new comic each Thursday for the next week! In which...
There may not be a Top 40 "song of the summer" for 2025, but Coop and Chris have some good anime options!― There may not be a Top 40 "song of the summer" for 2025, but Coop and Chris have some good anime options! Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead. Undead Murder F...
Satsohi Inotmata, Nao Tōyama star in anime about high level villager meeting daughter of demon lord― Kadokawa announced on Thursday that Koneko Hoshitsuki's The Villager of Level 999 (Level 999 no Murabito) light novel series is inspiring a television anime adaptation that will premiere in 2026. The story is set in a world of swords and sorcery called Earthqualia, where everyone is born with a desig...
Price changes go into effect on Thursday― Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) announced on its PlayStation Blog on Wednesday it will raise the suggested retail price of its PlayStation 5 consoles in the U.S. beginning on Thursday due to "a challenging economic environment." SIE will raise the price of the PS5 from US$499.99 to US$549.99, the PS5 Digital Edition from US$449.99 to US$499.99, and the ...
Minor Myths and Legends’ second volume may not be quite as fascinating as the first, but it’s still a good read.― Any creative writing teacher worth their salt will tell you that a writer needs to know eighty percent more about the story's world than the reader does. The reason is that the author knowing all the details about their world allows them to write a story where everything makes sense, eve...
We thought Edgerunners was done. Then came the stunning announcement that Lucy would be coming to Guilty Gear -STRIVE- as a fully playable DLC character. How does the anime character translate to a fighting game?― Bet you thought Cyberpunk: Edgerunners was done! The highly-regarded surprise collaboration between CD PROJEKT RED (CDPR) and Studio Trigger was a bright spot in the tumultuous early years...
This anime had me eating good in more ways than one.― For moe junkies and slice of life fanatics everywhere, this spring season has exemplified all the reasons why we keep coming back to the genre in the first place. If mono tickled the more comedic side of slice of life through its sillier, at times hyperbolic gags, then Food for the Soul is all about the genre's calming, cozier side. This is a cha...