In many ways, Charlotte Katakuri is the perfect opponent for Luffy. He's the embodiment of the "everything you can do I can do better" mantra. His mochi powers give him the same malleability as Luffy's rubber, but even more troublesome is his extremely adept Color of Observation that allows him see further into the future than your average Haki user. No matter how hard Luffy tries, Katakuri can dodge his every attack.
Visually, the show is still going strong. It definitely feels like the anime staff wanted to make sure to do the arc's big title fight justice, although Luffy vs. Katakuri will eventually go on for so long that I'm certain we'll see several peaks and valleys in the production values. Spiritually, this fight evokes Luffy vs. Rob Lucci, the only other big villain fight in the series to offer this much blunt physicality. It's just two dudes putting their dukes up and punching each other. (Or at least it will be as soon as it stops being so one-sided.) I was worried a few months back about how the anime might handle the comical size difference between the two fighters, but so far so good. They're currently zipping around like DBZ characters and making good use of the mirror world's three-dimensional space.
Elsewhere, the Sunny crew has gotten some distance between themselves and Big Mom, as they lick their wounds in response to Pedro's sacrifice. This is clearly where the episode is trying to buy time, getting saccharine with repeated footage of Pedro's role in the arc, but it's a good chance to see how the different Straw Hats deal with grief. Brook collapses and blames himself for being too weak, while Jimbei has to play Mr. Pragmatic and remind the others that they can't let their feelings slow them down, because they've still got a long fight ahead of them. And boy, do they! Coming up on their rear is none other than Big Mom herself, now walking on water with the aid of Perospero's candy powers. Even the ocean can't get in Big Mom's way.
We also continue to follow Sanji, Pudding, and Chiffon flying their way to Cacao Island on Pudding's magic carpet, Rabian. Pudding remains conflicted about Sanji, so she's choosing to hide in the carpet's roll, lest the two of them be seen still dressed as a bride and groom. She could fall if she's not careful, but she's willing to risk it. We also briefly see Pound (Lola and Chiffon's dad) for the first time in ages, though he's in a dinky rowboat heading in the opposite direction.
This episode is asking the audience to take a deep breath and pace themselves. It's extremely indulgent on the story's end to constantly be introducing new problems and obstacles, each one practically announcing itself as the real beginning of Whole Cake Island's climax. I really enjoyed this week's episode, since I think it succeeds in priming the viewers for a lot of classic shonen brawling, and the animation looks great in the final stretch, but as usual there's the caveat that this show is asking a lot of its audience. We're over 60 episodes into this arc and only just now beginning a Goku vs. Frieza-length fight. At the very least, this kind of episode makes me excited to see how a "One Piece Kai" might look.
Manga about half human, half chimpanzee boy launched in 2020― TOHO Animation announced on Wednesday that Shun Umezawa's The Darwin Incident (Darwin Jihen manga will get a television anime adaptation. A new official Twitter account opened and unveiled a teaser visual: Original creator Umezawa shared an illustration to commemorate the announcement: TOHO Animation had teased on its X (formerly Twitter)...
The book feels like a deliberate combo of SAO, Log Horizon, and Suppose a Kid From the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town, and that works better than you might expect.― If this story feels familiar, that's on purpose. In their afterword, author Nagawasabi64 says that they've noticed that the "trapped in a VRMMORPG" genre made popular by SAO has fallen out of favor, which made them want to ...
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 ...
Umezu voiced Diamante in One Piece, Ian Vashti in Gundam 00 2nd Season― Voice talent company 81 Produce announced on Tuesday that voice actor Hideyuki Umezu died on May 17 due to interstitial pneumonia. He was 68. A funeral ceremony was held by relatives. Umezu was born on July 24, 1955 in Aichi Prefecture. Umezu voiced the characters of Diamante in One Piece, Ian Vashti in Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Sec...
1st 3 main Kingdom Hearts games, with some spinoffs included― Square Enix announced on Tuesday that it will release the Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, and Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind games on PC via Steam on June 13. All three games will also be available in a bundle titled Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece. The Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix r...
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...
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 ...
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...