Last week's episode ended just shy of revealing the next most interesting thing about Pudding: her Devil Fruit powers. Pudding is the wielder of the Memo-Memo Fruit, which ends up being the reason why she can afford to do the classic villain monologue where she reveals her family's evil plan to destroy the Vinsmokes. She's able to put her hand right into Reiju's head and pull out a magical film roll that contains all her memories, which Pudding's free to manipulate. Not only is this fitting of an actress character who can give as many big speeches as her heart desires, but it introduces a new mystery. At what point might this power come back into play? Are there assumptions we've made about the narrative that could turn out to have been a product of her manipulation?
Anime pacing aside, the lead up to this point of the arc has been a straightforward and effective rollercoaster. The heroes win, and then they lose, and then they get a chance to win again. Luffy and Sanji have been going through their respective tough times, but they've still got Brook and Pedro upholding their end of the plan, as well as another surprise ally who finally makes his reappearance by the end of the episode. The majority of our time this week focuses on Brook's continued scuffle with Big Mom, so he's got the toughest challenge of them all.
Since Big Mom is supposed to be so strong, the show spending this much time on her fight with Brook doesn't help sell that monstrous power of hers. Then again, she's also looking to add him to her collection of rare creatures, so she's upfront about holding back. The Charlotte family's treasure room is set ablaze as Brook narrowly avoids getting squashed like a bug, and he gets to condescendingly call her "young lady" because he's technically 22 years her senior. Brook's uncompromised dedication to securing the Poneglyph—he's dead set on accomplishing his mission so that even if Sanji decides never to return to the crew, the Straw Hats' trip to Whole Cake Island will not have been in vain—is one of the coolest character moments we've gotten from him. Mami Koyama's performance as Big Mom also continues to be stellar.
It seems like every time there's an excruciatingly slow episode, the show follows up with something more dense. You've got the aforementioned Pudding and Reiju scene, which looks much better than it did last week, you've got Brook being shockingly suave for a dusty old skeleton, and you've got the final scene where, just seconds before Luffy's arms are finally about to tear right off (it looks so gross), Jimbei arrives to bust his friends out of prison. Luffy didn't even know Jimbei was on Whole Cake Island, so seeing his face light up with excitement melted my heart. Is this it? Are we finally on track to Jimbei joining the crew?!
Our characters came to this island with only two concrete goals: get Sanji and a copy of Big Mom's Poneglyph. If they can accomplish either of those things, there's little reason for them not to just say "toodles" and escape the moment they're in the clear. Our path to those goals is becoming streamlined, since Luffy and Nami are as good as free, Sanji is sure to regret his fight with Luffy after learning about Pudding's true nature, and Brook is mere inches away from that Poneglyph. It's the knowledge that these stories are never quite that simple that gets the imagination flowing. That wedding still has to happen to some degree, and Luffy is going to fight Big Mom face-to-face, right? There's still so much to accomplish, and I can't wait to see some of the upcoming stuff in motion.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of Anime News Network, its employees, owners, or sponsors.
Latest manga from Parasyte creator Hitoshi Iwaaki― A website opened on Thursday to announce a television anime adaptation of Hitoshi Iwaaki's Historie manga. LIDEN FILMS is animating the production. Iwaaki noted in the announcement of the anime that he first conceived the story over four decades ago, and first began sketching the art in his then-tiny studio some 20-odd years ago. Kodansha's K Manga ...
Wandance really gets you moving.― Kabo and Hikari are both driven to get better as dancers. Club President On-chan, trying to entice Iori back to the club in the hopes that he'll step up as president next year, agrees to take the club to a dance battle. Kabo gets to bond with the only other guy in the club, and we get to learn the difference between street, house, and break dancing. I absolutely lov...
Manga creator Aka Akasaka drafted film's original story concept― Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Otona e no Kaidan (The Steps to Become an Adult), the Kaguya-sama: Love is War anime's new television special, ended on Wednesday with an announcement of a brand-new Kaguya-sama: Love is War film. Original manga creator Aka Akasaka drafted a new, original story concept specifically for the film, which will s...
Kaneko’s art is so sharp it looks like it was drawn with a scalpel.― “Why are you so… angry?!” So every opponent asks of the vengeful Hyaku immediately before their violent dismemberment at her rage-filled hands. Hyaku, it turns out, has a lot to be angry about. Like her namesake Hyakkimaru, protagonist of Osamu Tezuka's classic Dororo, Hyaku's infant body parts were sacrificed and replaced with pro...
We're happy to share the beta of our new Anime Season's page with you. The Anime Season page can be found here, as well as in the New Anime tab in ANN's menu. Anime Seasons is designed to fill in a small gap in the way we present information about new anime, allowing you to see details for all the anime for the current season (or any season) on a single page. It's currently a first draft / beta, s...
When the girl next door turns out to be your sexy selfie idol, and falls butt-first into your face, you know you’re in a manga comedy.― This manga was the manga-est of all manga volumes I have read in the past year. Not a single thing that happens actually happens, but they all happen here, one after the other, to create a suggestive sit-com of manga situations. Narumi, who was traumatized for tryin...
It's time to count down the very best anime of the year, from the characters we couldn't help rooting for to the songs at the top of our playlists!― Welcome to our editorial team's countdown of the very best anime that aired this year! Below you'll find Anime News Network's top 10 anime of the year, the characters that inspired us, the moments that we couldn't stop talking about, the songs that are...
This went from being a story I was cautious about to a story that I think needs to be told more.― Plus-size representation in media is very rare, and it's even more rare when it is positive representation. Anime doesn't have the best track record with displaying people of more unique body types in flattering ways, so making a plus-size person the literal face of your entire manga is admirable on its...
Manga about lazy dragon girl launched in 2022― Kyoto Animation revealed in a "Thank you" video on Sunday that Masaoki Shindō's RuriDragon manga is getting a television anime adaptation. The announcement coincides with the titular character Ruri's birthday on December 28. The video's description caption states: "Sounds like they're making an anime. The broadcast is still a long way off." Shindō also ...
Last week's episode ended just shy of revealing the next most interesting thing about Pudding: her Devil Fruit powers. Pudding is the wielder of the Memo-Memo Fruit, which ends up being the reason why she can afford to do the classic villain monologue where she reveals her family's evil plan to destroy the Vinsmokes. She's able to put her hand right into Reiju's head and pull out a magical film roll that contains all her memories, which Pudding's free to manipulate. Not only is this fitting of an actress character who can give as many big speeches as her heart desires, but it introduces a new mystery. At what point might this power come back into play? Are there assumptions we've made about the narrative that could turn out to have been a product of her manipulation?