Last week began the fight between Luffy and the forces of Big Mom's army, and this week ends it. Even if he were in better shape, it's hard to imagine Luffy was ever much of a match for an Emperor's crew. I'm still not especially hot on the idea of splitting this fight into several episodes, since it works best as a quick decisive blow, but this half of the battle demonstrates a lot of the enemy crew's cool tricks. The flashiest of these is Charlotte Montd'or's book-themed Devil Fruit, where he transports Luffy into a hallucinogenic dream world while the rest of the crew pummels him.
Luffy's determination to stay put as he waits for Sanji to return continues to be the central anchor of this part of the story, because it makes for a definitive loss when he can't hold his grip and passes out to be taken away with Nami, who also puts up a good fight in this episode. While I'm still getting impatient with the anime's current pacing, I found the consequences for our heroes effective. This is a real defeat.
It's appropriate that we're getting more acquainted with Big Mom's lesser-known children at this point, which might be a benefit of the drawn-out pacing. The likes of Montd'or or Galette are not the hot shots of this family (a casual viewer might even forget their names), but the fact that they all have their own unique powers and relationships is important to giving this family dimension. We're about to spend a lot of time with these faces in the crowd, and I'd put them a step above your usual cronies.
The other important piece of this episode comes from a conversation between Sanji and Big Mom herself, where Sanji agrees to cooperate with the wedding and asks that Big Mom let his friends leave the island safely in return. We've seen this situation before—like when Spandam made a similar promise to Robin, and we all know how well villains keep their promises in this series—but it's cool seeing Big Mom be reasonable and accept the deal. She's very upfront about how Luffy's crimes against her family would be unforgivable in any other situation, and she hovers over Sanji looking more like Yubaba from Spirited Away than ever. This is still the point in the story where we're supposed to wonder who the bigger villain is between Big Mom and Judge, and so far Big Mom seems to at least have a nice side of some variety.
We're getting whiffs of the world-building that Whole Cake Island offers, especially as Luffy and Nami get taken prisoner, but so far it's only whiffs. This is another situation where I found the content at hand to be pretty strong, but it sure doesn't give you a lot to talk about as it tiptoes its way through the middle portion of this arc. There are loads of ideas being presented as the lower rungs of Big Mom's army strut their stuff, but at the end of the day it's still a couple pages of manga material being drawn out. The Straw Hats' defeat is at the very least believable, which isn't always the case during mid-arc low points.
Takashi Shiina, Katsuyuki Sumisawa launched adaptation in September 2021― The seventh volume of the Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon (Hanyō no Yashahime) manga adaptation by Takashi Shiina and Katsuyuki Sumisawa revealed on May 17 that the series will enter the "final battle" in the eighth volume, which ships in fall 2024. Viz has the rights "to the digital streaming, EST, and home video" of the orig...
This is a good series to check out if you like more bite with your vampire romances.― Going into Bloody Sweet, I expected to find a fluffy rom-com about a girl and the vampire she accidentally gets attached to. Instead, I found a story about a bullied high school girl whose bullies are smart enough to evade all of the checks and balances the school has put in place. When Naerim accidentally awakens ...
In our brand-new column, Lynzee Loveridge comes clean about her backlog, starting with one of the most popular anime ever. Use this space here for critical finger-wagging and exclamations of disbelief.― I have a secret. A no-good, embarrassing, shame-inducing secret. I'm the executive editor at Anime News Network but there are, in fact, anime I have not watched. Not just forgettable mid-tier season...
Chiu shares how she brought the SEA simulcast service to the forefront after founding it at 17 years old.― Over the past six years, many streaming and simulcast services have catered to otaku in Asia, offering simulcasts of seasonal anime and theatrical anime screenings. One such service is Ani-One Asia, a Hong Kong-based Medialink Group brand that offers a competitive lineup of simulcasts every se...
'Eikyū -Tokoshie-' debuts in episode 2 on Sunday― The staff for the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc television anime confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday that HYDE×MY FIRST STORY is performing the new ending theme song "Eikyū -Tokoshie-" (Eternity -Eternity-), which premieres in the second episode on Sunday. Yuki Kajiura wrote the music and lyrics for the song, and also a...
The benefit of being committed to such a simple setup is that the story knows exactly what it needs to do to invoke the maximum emotional response for this type of story.― I Want You To Make Me Beautiful is a simple story that does everything it sets out to do. At its heart, it's a straightforward story about moving on from the pain of a bad breakup and reinventing yourself into something better. Th...
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Laid-Back Camp narrowly claims the top spot this week, but Delicious in Dungeon is having none of that and bumps it down in the cumulative. Find out where your favorites rank this week!― 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 ...
Goodbye, Lara follows reborn mermaid, Ninja Skooler features ninja school― Kinema Citrus announced at its panel during this year's Anime Central event on Saturday that it is producing two new anime titled Goodbye, Lara (Sayonara Lara) and Ninja Skooler. Takushi Koide is directing the Goodbye, Lara anime with character designs by Shiori Tani. The anime is based on a concept by Kinema Citrus, and it t...
Honestly, you're getting a solid collection of character art with some disposable comic stories where you might get to enjoy some out-of-context obscure CAPCOM cameos.― As a lifelong fan of Street Fighter, it's easy to get excited about the potential of seeing my favorite fighters doing stuff in different mediums. The flip side is that Udon Entertainment's hold on the comic treatment of the characte...
The cast of the Demon Slayer stage play gave a memorable performance during the Japan Day Parade.― The Demon Slayer franchise continues to prove itself as an absolute powerhouse for fans worldwide. The hit manga by Koyoharu Gotouge has been adapted into multiple mediums, including anime, light novels, video games, and a stage play that has been running since 2020. Cast members of the stage play app...
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Sony and Square-Enix are both reorganizing, from new CEOs to staff cutbacks. Also, sad news about Penny Blood, more Cotton, and the latest video game news!― Welcome back, folks! You know, it's always nice to discover old stuff from a franchise you love that you didn't know existed. For example, I didn't know that the old Captain N: The Game Master cartoon had an episode that featured the world of Dr...
Ahead of the romance anime's second season, director Takehiro Kubota discusses the choices, the challenges, and balancing the story between the everyday and the supernatural.― My Happy Marriage began its life as a series of novels written by Akumi Agitogi, and it has since been adapted both as manga and, as of July 2023, an anime series simulcast by Netflix. Agitogi's tale, set in a nebulous time t...