The Luffy vs. Cracker fight has not benefited from the anime's less-than-one-chapter-per-episode pacing, but I really admire the experience it's trying to take the audience through, constantly shifting between the foreground and background while we watch both combatants get exhausted by each other's near-infinite tricks. Luffy's victory is a satisfying one—it took multiple rounds of Fourth Gear and most of an in-world day for him to finally come out on top of his 800 million bounty foe. Luffy barely defeating a Doflamingo-level opponent is just a stepping stone to facing the challenges of this arc, although knowing Luffy, he'll keep pushing forward despite the overwhelming odds.
It took a lengthy ten episodes to get here, which is far from ideal, but I love how it started in the middle of the night and bled into the next day, allowing us to emerge back into the world with fresh optimism. The method of defeat is also novel, as Luffy combines his big chubby body after eating hundreds of Cracker's biscuit soldiers with Fourth Gear in order to create the massive "Tank Man", which looks equal parts intimidating and stupid. But laugh all you will, because Luffy is sick of this fight and ends it by blowing Cracker across the island in a satisfying, aggressive victory.
Between the end of the fight, the exposition we get about Big Mom's powers, and the setup with the Vinsmokes heading off to meet the Charlotte family, this episode feels uncharacteristically packed. More than that, the general tone is the most distinctly One Piece out of all the Whole Cake Island episodes yet. From the animation to the music, it looks and sounds great, but that's not to say it's overexerting itself. This is the kind of episode that would be average in a better produced show, but it stands out as a breath of fresh air for One Piece, as it revels in its comfortable low-rent Disney tone. There's a very specific feeling that I look for in Toei's One Piece, a feeling they seem largely disinterested in these days, but an episode like this is so back-to-basics that I can't help but imagine the shift is purposeful.
The episode ends with Sanji sternly joining his family as they board the carriage leading them to Big Mom. The atmosphere is tense as we get the contrast between the lavish celebration of Germa soldiers waving them off, and Sanji's bitter expression as he readies himself for his wedding. He doesn't want to be a prince, he wants to be a pirate, darn it! The marketing for the show has been promoting the upcoming Luffy vs. Sanji fight up and down, and the build-up to it in this scene is fantastic.
It's almost indescribable how good it feels to see a One Piece episode that simply feels "right". Independent of the animation or pacing, there's a soul to this production that shines through every now and then, and I'm a total sucker for it. The Whole Cake Island arc is on its last stretch in the manga right now, and this chance to re-evaluate it through the anime after gathering my thoughts puts me right back where I want to be with this show. One Piece is good, you guys.
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...