Well, my high on the recent One Piece anime content could only last for so long. I knew it was bound to happen soon enough, but for the first time in a while, we got an episode that's just all around not-great. The story's still fine, but it's a stepping stone between much greater things, and the noticeable dip in production values isn't doing it any favors.
Last week, the audience was given a proper introduction to Big Mom, the big bad of the Whole Cake Island arc and one of the Four Emperors of the New World. However, the Straw Hats have yet to meet Big Mom themselves, instead getting introduced to Big Mom's daughter and Sanji's bride-to-be, Charlotte Pudding. Pudding is a sweet, attractive young woman who isn't presented as a villain, just another victim of her mother's whims. The biggest piece of information in this episode is the exact size of Big Mom's family/pirate crew: 39 daughters and 46 sons between 43 husbands. Big Mom has plenty of powerful underlings who are not related by blood, but the major members are her children, and they're all available to get married off for whatever political reasons Big Mom may desire (such as the Vinsmokes' military power).
Pudding's specific situation is a mystery, as there are plenty of reasons to suspect she may not be as genuine as she appears. This intrigue is deliberate given everything we've known about Big Mom up until now, and there are plenty of reasons to lean one way or the other. Pedro seems to think she's suspicious, but maybe that's a red herring? This will go on to be a major theme in the arc, where each character's true allegiance is impossible to predict. As it stands, Pudding is a delightful person who seems to be falling in love with Sanji, despite wanting to help him reunite with his crew. She knows he wouldn't be happy in a forced marriage, so she's willing to sacrifice her little crush to save him.
The animation in this episode is one of its two major weaknesses, the other being the fact that the majority of the episode centers around one drawn-out conversation between the Straw Hats and Pudding. It's alarming when they cut to another scene of Sanji preparing to confront his family, where the art quality ramps up drastically. These past few episodes are full of evidence pointing to animation teams with drastically different techniques and resources being delegated to specific characters and settings. I'm sure that's a common practice in anime, but rarely is it so jarring as it has been here. The bulk of this episode looks pretty bad, with everything looking flat and lifeless at best and the characters' eyes failing to point in the right direction at worst.
The episode does end with a solid cliffhanger though, as the Straw Hats return to their ship with fresh instructions from Pudding on how to get to Totto Land's main island undetected. Their temporary ally, Pekoms, is nowhere to be seen, having scratched a "turn back" warning for them into the walls of the ship. Luffy's response? "Things are getting exciting!" We're on to "act two" of the Whole Cake Island arc, where the anime adaptation is at its greatest risk of disappointing. Next week's episode looks fine, and I don't begrudge the occasional dud like this week's episode, but it's enough to make you sweat a little.
Lucas and Steve catch up on the Hunter × Hunter manga in time for the long-awaited new chapter and gush about why, even with years between releases, Hunter × Hunter is worth it.― Lucas and Steve catch up on the Hunter × Hunter manga in time for the long-awaited new chapter and gush about why, even with years between releases, Hunter × Hunter is worth it. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed...
Series previously inspired 52-episode anime in 1993― This year's 24th issue of Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine revealed on Wednesday that Gosho Aoyama's Yaiba manga will be getting a new anime adaptation. Aoyama is supervising. The series follows the titular Yaiba Kurogane, a young samurai boy inspired by Miyamoto Musashi, the real-life swordsman who pioneered the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū sty...
Based on the novel by former Nogizaka46 member Kazumi Takayama, trapezium asks its audience to follow one girl who will use anything, and anyone, to achieve her dream.― Trapezium is a strange movie, to say the least. On the surface, it's a rather simple movie that explores youth, their dreams, and the lengths they'll go to achieve those dreams. It's a coming-of-age story wrapped in the veneer of the...
ZeroReq011 remembers what made Spice and Wolf a story for the ages, from its fully realized world and economics to Holo and Lawrence's romantic chemistry.― Back when Funimation was still its own company and not owned by Sony, long before its in-house streaming service was terminated in favor of Crunchyroll's streaming platform, it owned a TV channel. Legal streaming had yet to dominate the Western a...
Anime will star Hiroshi Kamiya, Kotaro Nishiyama, Kotaro Nishiyama― Distribution company Remow announced on Tuesday that Yura Urushibara's Tougen Anki: Dark Demon of Paradise manga will get a television anime in 2025. The company revealed the trailer, key visual, and main cast for the anime. The anime's cast includes:
Kazuki Ura as Shiki Ichinose, the protagonist who inherits the blood of an Oni. Sh...
Nick and Chris recount some of the most frustrating anime cancellations, from the Yuri on Ice movie to the second half of Stars Align.― Nick and Chris recount some of the most frustrating anime cancellations from the second half of Stars Align to the 2007 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood movie. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views...
Welcome to the rankings for the Spring 2024 season! The perfect place to check out which hidden gems might have flown under your radar.― 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 ...
The final Spring 2024 Manga Guide update includes not-yet-released series from this month, including Sword Art Online Re:Aincrad,Bungo Stray Dogs: The Official Comic Anthology, A Sign of Affection and more.― Welcome to Anime News Network's Spring 2024 Manga Guide! You may have seen one of our seasonal Anime Preview Guides, where a team of critics writes up each new anime television premiere as it a...
Producer Masakazu Kubo shares the animation team's dedication to realism, including bringing in a pro golfer to produce the anime's sound effects.― 64-year-old Masakazu Kubo has been planning and producing anime for decades. He's had a major hand in everything from Pokémon and Detective Conan to Teasing Master Takagi-san and Dorohedoro. Recently, he sat down with us to talk about Tonbo!, his attemp...