It's starting to become tradition that every major One Piece arc will have that one mysterious character detail that remains a painful tease and nothing more. In Dressrosa it was Doflamingo's eyes, and in Whole Cake Island it's Judge's eyebrows. Big Mom dropped the thunderbolt on Judge's face and cracked his helmet wide open, but its contents are still covered in shadows, leaving all my theories up in the air. I'm still pretty sure that his eyebrows are massive and bushy, with six swirls on each side (Get it? Germa "66"?), but it looks increasingly likely that we may never find out. Perhaps it never really mattered to begin with.
Anyway, this episode suffers from a lack of polish. The first half continues to be action-heavy (still adding embellishments on top of the original manga material) but there's a notable lack of detail in most of the drawings. There manage to be some stand-out moments of animation sandwiched between the endless reaction shots of characters hanging out on the sidelines, but it's an awkward mishmash of good and bad, both aesthetically and pacing-wise. Right up until the big scenery change at the end, this episode gets bogged down by a lot of meaningless noise. If you want to see the Vinsmokes and the non-Katakuri members of Big Mom's family get some more time to shine, the anime has you covered, but the content can still get boring.
That said, a major scene I forgot to mention in the last review was the continuing adventures of the TAMATE BOX, the bomb-rigged chest that Mom was hoping to open during her daughter's wedding. It ended up in the hands of Du Feld, one of Big Mom's guests, but before he could open it and discover its "treasures", he was slain by Stussy, who turned out to be a double agent working for the government's CP-0 group this whole time. And before she could open the box, it began tumbling down the side of the Whole Cake Chateau. I think this episode does a good job getting our protagonists to an emotional low point, with Big Mom crushing the Vinsmokes effortlessly and her kids successfully capturing Luffy and Sanji just as Katakuri's Haki alerts him of the falling box. We've been anticipating this bomb going off for months, and once it hits the ground it creates an explosion much bigger than expected; it takes a big chunk out of the chateau, and Big Mom's entire castle begins to fall.
There's real joy to be had in seeing the tables turn in our heroes' favor so drastically and unexpectedly. The chateau falling will take at least another episode to play out, but the excitement in Capone's demented laughter once he realizes he may have won is infectious, and it's cool to see the camera cut between all the various rooms we've visited throughout the arc being destroyed. You can only imagine how dumbfounded the Big Mom pirates must be as they topple and roll off the side of the building. Luffy's "gift" from all those years ago paid off tremendously, and this final sequence was enough to elevate the whole episode for me.
This set piece flings the entire cast into the air to fall thousands of feet, bringing the adventurous spirit that this arc has desperately needed. We're doing away with Big Mom's tea party and moving to the ground level where the Straw Hats will have a renewed chance to book it towards the sea now that their goals have been re-accomplished. Honestly, the next episode could spend most of its runtime in midair with the heroes and villains still falling, and I'd still probably have a good time. That scope and whimsy are the shot in the arm I needed.
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There's no question that Go! Go! Loser Ranger! is a dark deconstruction of Super Sentai/Power Rangers in anime form—but is that all it is? Chris and Lucas dive in to find out.― There's no question that Go! Go! Loser Ranger! is a dark deconstruction of Super Sentai/Power Rangers in anime form—but is that all it is? Chris and Lucas dive in to find out. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by ...
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Games were scheduled for release on Tuesday― Idea Factory International (IFI) announced on Monday that it is delaying the Nintendo Switch versions of Compile Heart's Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth game series digitally in North America and Europe indefinitely until further notice. The company did not provide a reason. The games were scheduled for digital release on Switch in the West on Tuesday. T...
Crunchyroll to stream 18-episode series with new footage― Crunchyroll announced on Monday that it will begin screening a new television series version of the two-part anime film adaptation of Inio Asano's Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction worldwide on Thursday at 11:00 p.m. EDT (which is Friday in Japan). Crunchyroll will stream the 18 episodes weekly. Episodes will feature new footage not in t...
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...
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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...
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 ...
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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...
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