One Piece episode 1037 acts as a solid preliminary to the Yamato versus Kaido fight.
Nami and Usopp take up most of the episode's runtime. Generally speaking, I don't mind this at all. I love both characters dearly and think they have a great brother/sister dynamic that makes them fun to watch, particularly when they are in mortal danger and act like big scaredy cats. Their fight sequence in Onigashima can feel drawn out at times, but here I think it mostly works. There is some fun banter between the two of them and they are understandably shaken by the battle they've just been through. Their efforts to comfort Tama add an extra layer of wholesomeness too.
The big surprise in this bit is Zeus residing in the climate baton. I've said before I don't have much interest in Zeus – he barely moves the needle for me, despite my general feeling that Big Mom's power for conjuring spirits is cool – and this does not do much to change that. It's funny that Nami is still mad at him, but other than that I could take him or leave him. Still, the climate baton having a little face and emoting is a fun image, and I enjoyed her reaction to him appearing.
Ulti really shows her chops as a menace for the first time here, at least in my estimation. The “not my pay pay!” shtick has not done much for me, though I really enjoy her overall design and cool dinosaur transformation powers. Her relentless pursuit plus general battle-damaged look does work really well here though, and in this moment it makes their fight feel less like another also-ran in Onigashima's long line of running battles and more like a main event with top billing.
The real draw of this episode is the final square-up between Yamato and Kaido. This was a battle that really hit hard in the manga and I'm beyond hyped to see what the Toei team does with these sequences. I have scooted my butt all the way to the edge of my seat and I'm ready for next week.
Some of Shonen Jump's biggest manga hits are approaching their end. Does the magazine have new heavy-hitters lined up to take up the mantle?― Some of Shonen Jump's biggest manga hits are approaching their end. Does the magazine have new heavy-hitters lined up to take up the mantle? Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Netwo...
Seki voiced Shutaro Kiba in Mōryō no Hako, Zhang Fei in Sōten Kōro― Talent agency En-kikaku announced on Tuesday that voice actor Takaaki Seki died on April 15 due to esophageal cancer. He had been undergoing medical treatment. He was 54. There was a funeral held for close relatives. Seki was born in Osaka, Japan on November 5, 1969. He entered the En Theater Institute in 1995 and joined Engeki Shūd...
James and Lynzee reflect on the end of Solo Leveling and whether its worldbuilding is worth its edgy turn. PLUS: The big monsters of Kaiju No. 8, & court intrigue in Yatagarasu!― Will You Watch Solo Leveling Season 2? James and Lynzee reflect on the end of Solo Leveling and whether its worldbuilding is worth its edgy turn. PLUS: The big monsters of Kaiju No 8, court intrigue in Yatagarasu, and a li...
Some books are good. Some books read like self-insert fanfiction from the early days of AO3, but you can't stop reading and enjoying them. Dark Moon: The Blood Altar is one of those.― Some books are good. Some books are not and read sort of like self-insert fanfiction from the early days of AO3, but even though you recognize that they aren't objectively filled with literary merit, you can't stop rea...
Hayashi and Tōchi play mentee/mentor in heart-warming golf anime series.― Golf anime Tonbo! is one of the new anime premiering in the Spring 2024 season. At Anime Japan 2024, we sat down with lead voice actors Rika Hayashi and Hiroki Tōchi to talk about their characters, their experiences with golf, and the positives of country life in Japan. In her first voice acting role as a main character, Hayas...
What are non-Japanese anime fans' top choices?― Fans have been debating the greatest anime songs as long as anime has been around. Japanese TV regularly raises the topic for domestic fans, but every so often, Japan also presents the international perspective. On April 21, TV Asahi hosted a nearly three-hour special ranking favorite anime songs by non-Japanese and non-domestic anime fans. In a March ...
The third season of Sound Euphonium reignites the fandom controversy over Reina and Kumiko's relationship. Chris and Steve delve into it and why 'queerbaiting' is such a loaded term.― The third season of Sound Euphonium reignites the fandom controversy over Reina and Kumiko's relationship. Chris and Steve delve into it and why 'queerbaiting' is such a loaded term. Disclaimer: The views and opinions...
You can't accuse the Pretty Cure franchise of resting on its laurels. Wonderful Precure! could move too slowly for some viewers. But these episodes are full of unmitigated joy.― You can't accuse the Pretty Cure franchise of resting on its laurels. While there are distinct similarities between all iterations of the long-running Magical Girl franchise, recent years have done their best to maintain the...
Part District 9 meets O Maidens in Your Savage Season, part grimdark deconstruction of Doraemon.― Many anime films are adapted from manga and Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction is no exception. Usually, a film will cover a single arc of the greater plot—giving the story on screen a solid beginning, middle, and end. However, this is not the case with the first Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destructi...
People might think of this game as a celebration of the energy and experimentation of RPGs past, a tribute to a time when archetypes and genre conventions hadn't yet calcified and anything was fair game. And for once, they'd be right.― There's a point that Lady Perielle returns to often when people ask her why Nowa, a young warrior from a small village, is the leader of the resistance front against ...
