Trafalgar Law is dead, according to the incredibly blunt title of this episode: “Law Dies! Luffy's Raging Onslaught!” Of course, this is One Piece and major character deaths are far and few between, so chances are good the show is pulling our leg. Though, it does raise the question as to what Law's big picture role in this series is. Either he's a main character forever now or he continues to live on until he fulfills some other dramatic purpose.
Before Law “dies” we revisit his most recent encounter with Doflamingo, where he restates the faith that he puts in Luffy and friends. We get a little clip show of all the famous acts of defiance the Straw Hats have committed to the world, reminding us of why Luffy and his crew is so notorious. Law believes firmly that, even if he died, Luffy would find away to take Doflamingo down. This clip show kind of sadly reminds me of how long it's been since we've really felt the stakes of what the Straw Hats were going through. The show is so much more about the world as a whole now, rather than the relationships and determination of the main characters. The experience hasn't been crippled in recent years, but I think it's been too long since we've seen some of those emotional highs.
The episode goes on to reminds us of that the ultimate power of Law's Devil Fruit is the ability to make somebody immortal at the cost of his own life. Doflamingo's best case scenario is to force Law to use this ability on himself. After all, an egomaniac like Doffy could do quite a bit of damage living forever and it gets at least one carrier of the Will of D. out of his hair. Obviously Law gives him the “kiss my ass” response you could expect, prompting Doffy to riddle him full of bullets in a bloody fervor. It's really brutal, and the number of visible holes punched through Law's unmoving body as he lays in a puddle of his own blood is pretty convincing as far as that “he's dead” thing goes.
I'm still pretty hung up on this idea of Law's immortality power. There's no way he isn't going to use it by the end of the series at some point, right? That power is a ticking plot time bomb as far as I'm concerned, but it's strange to think that Oda has set up a Chekov's Gun that inevitably involves a major character dying. I do have a low-key theory that Law will make Luffy immortal at some point way down the line, just as a side-sweep to all those far too obvious theories about Luffy's future Roger-like death, but that's neither here nor there.
So Law is quote-unquote “dead” now and it's up to Luffy to break through the floor and re-challenge Doflamingo, now angrier than ever for how the flamingo man manipulated Bellamy. There's some really neat animation as Luffy makes his grand re-reentrance. I don't know what it is but there's something about Luffy's animation model that feels really “right” within a few of these quick shots. It's stylistically what I want to see more of.
Luffy vs. Doflamingo is a fight I find myself having a lot of yearning for. In an arc this big and a villain this larger-than-life, a satisfying final battle is the least I can hope for. Fortunately, this arc has had a pretty good track record when it comes to animation featuring these two guys at fisticuffs. This episode's main accomplishment is getting Luffy and Doffy face to face once again. At the end, we hear Law's voice whispering mysteriously, signaling that he's (of course) not really dead. Whether he's got some sort of plan up his sleeve or not will have to wait until next week.
I can't recommend the series, nor think that any hypothetical viewer would enjoy it, but it is the kind of trash TV that's rewarding to dissect.― Have you ever wondered what Baki would be like if it had a conservative bent instead of queer undertones? Well, look no further because the answer is Kengan Ashura! While Kengan is trying to convey the same spectacle and white-knuckle action of the long-ru...
Film also available to rent, purchase digitally on several major outlets in N. America― The official X/Twitter account for TOHO's Godzilla franchise announced on Saturday that Takashi Yamazaki's Godzilla Minus One film is streaming worldwide on Netflix. The film is available worldwide, but is currently not available in Japan. Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color, the black-and-white version of the film, w...
One Piece: Heroines novel also licensed― Viz Media revealed its new licenses and new print releases planned for spring 2025 on Friday. Kazuyoshi Seto's Minecraft: The Manga: Announcement: Add this book to your enchantment room! Join Nico on his chance to escape the blocky confines of his home and prove how strong he's become when zombies attack! Minecraft: The Manga, by Kazuyoshi Seto, releases Spri...
Series starring Miku Martineau, Ayo Solanke, more starts production in Toronto― The Hollywood Reporter entertainment news site reported on Thursday that showrunner Simon Barry (Warrior Nun creator) and Boat Rocker Media are producing a live-action series for Netflix titled BET that "is based in part" on writer Homura Kawamoto and artist Tōru Naomura's Kakegurui - Compulsive Gambler manga. The show h...
Jean-Karlo attempts to condense two big video game showcases into a coherent column, from the revamped Silent Hill 2 to the grazing pastures of Story of Seasons.― Welcome back, folks. This is related to a big story for this week, but this past weekend, I listened to Utada Hikaru's re-recording of "Simple And Clean". It's very emotional. Utada Hikaru is a good twenty-plus years older than when she or...
In the Eisner-nominated work, Maki Fujiwara chronicles her daily life with her husband, lionized mangaka Yoshiharu Tsuge. Though deceptively simple at first glance, a foundation of abuse is slowly revealed.― At first blush, Maki Fujiwara's My Picture Diary does what it says on the tin. It tells the story of her daily life as a housewife and mother, spending time with her daily activities, noting the...
Now streaming on Netflix, Tomotaka Shibayama's first feature animation mixes the magical with reality to share a simple but important message.―
Director Tomotaka Shibayama's latest film, My Oni Girl, is an action-adventure drama with elements of a buddy comedy and a relatable coming-of-age story. The film, produced by Studio Colorido, was released in theaters in Japan and on Netflix on May 24, foll...
Miyano, Nukumi play original characters for August 2 film― The official website for My Hero Academia the Movie: You're Next (My Hero Academia: You're Next), the fourth anime film in the My Hero Academia franchise, announced on Friday that the film has cast Mamoru Miyano and Meru Nukumi as original characters. Mamori Miyano as Giulio Gandini, a butler who serves the Scervino family Meru Nukumi as Ann...
Kaiju No. 8 takes the top spot this week while Tonari no Yōkai-san pushes to #3 in the cmulative! Check out 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 that these rankings are based on how people rated in...
Mospeada is a work very much of its time, riffing on ideas and tropes that were all the rage when it was made, and doesn't do anything exceptional with them.― It can be easy for even longtime fans to forget that alongside Macross, there were two other 80's sci-fi anime that got Frankenstein-ed into what we'd eventually call Robotech. While this isn't the first time one of those series has made it to...
Following the upcoming retro programming block Toonami Rewind, Chris and Lucas look back fondly on the afternoons spent watching Naruto and Sailor Moon.― Following the upcoming retro programming block Toonami Rewind, Chris and Lucas look back fondly on the afternoons spent watching Naruto and Sailor Moon. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the v...
Yeah, yeah, Kaiju No. 8 has all the great action scenes, but Yatagarasu is chewing up the scenery as the royal ladies absolutely lose their minds!?― Why Aren't You Watching This Anime Yet? Yeah, yeah, Kaiju No. 8 has all the great action scenes, but Yatagarasu is chewing up the scenery as the royal ladies absolutely lose their minds!? The ANN After Show streams live on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitte...
Here we have a from-the-ground-up remake, but does this beloved classic still hold up in a modern sense, or is that praise just nostalgia talking?― It's nice when Nintendo surprises us with a remaster or re-release of one of their more difficult-to-obtain games. The original Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for the Nintendo GameCube is a classic for many. However, since the game was never re-rele...
Miles Atherton crunched Netflix's latest numbers for some surprising anime discoveries, from the popularity of My Happy Marriage to the One Piece juggernaut.― Since the advent of streaming, it's been notoriously difficult to gauge how popular a specific anime is with international audiences, both for publishers looking to make informed decisions for a market that generates most of its revenue outsi...