I hate to repeat myself for two weeks in a row but I don't know what else I can say about One Piece episode 1030 that I did not already say when I reviewed 1029.
More Uta and Luffy content and it's fine I guess. Nothing terribly exceptional, nothing all that revelatory, nothing that deepens our understanding of Luffy as a character. In fact I prefer the relative simplicity of what we had before compared to the increasingly dense picture we have of Luffy's early years. Part of what made Luffy endearing to me was his directness as a protagonist, his child-like directness in how he viewed the world. As time has gone on and we have added more and more flashbacks, more new characters, it all starts to feel a bit overburdened. Uta doesn't help in this regard in my opinion.
Furthermore, while I loved all the sequences in these early sections they brought an unexpected pang of regret. It was great seeing the simpler world of pirates and islands, Beck fighting a few swordsman goons on the beach, Nojiko and crew talking and laughing. As much as I continue to love One Piece in all its wonderful weirdness and expanding grandeur, this episode brings into vivid clarity just how much has changed since that silly Monkey set sail over two decades ago. While I will never argue that much has been gained by One Piece's growing world and cast, it's also impossible to argue that something hasn't been lost as well. This view into what used to be gives me a kind of nostalgia for the shorter arcs and lower stakes of those bygone years. Compared to larger arcs with world-shattering stakes - like, I don't know, Wano let's say - this almost feels like a story from another planet.
So ironically this (now extended) commercial for One Piece Film Red only underscores my issues with packing more people into Luffy's past, while also making me long for a One Piece that doesn't exist any more. Kind of a bummer.
Creator Negi Haruba drafts story for new anime, light novel― "The Quintessential Quintuplets 5th Anniversary Event in Yokohama Arena" announced on Sunday that Negi Haruba's The Quintessential Quintuplets (Gotōbun no Hanayome) romantic comedy manga is inspiring a new anime, Gotōbun no Hanayome*. Haruba personally drafted the original story concept and is supervising all aspects of the anime, which re...
Yostar reveals teaser, key visual, official website― The staff for the Arknights mobile game and its tie-in franchise announced on Saturday in a new teaser trailer that the Arknights: Rise from Ember anime is now in production. The staff also launched an official website for the anime and released a key visual. The game is set in a fantasy world called Terra with modern science-fiction motifs. Terra...
Makes Nagi an even more interesting and nuanced character, but the last 10 minutes almost upends the film's otherwise interesting plot.― BLUELOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- is a retelling of the early events of BLUELOCK through the eyes of Nagi and Mikage. However, that's not to say this is a recap or compilation film. Rather, a good 70% of the film is newly animated footage as the story follows their...
Following Poupelle of Chimney Town, Nishino tackles addiction in his new stop-motion anime short film.― In advance of the U.S. premiere of the new stop-motion animated short film Bottle George, Anime News Network sat down with writer Akihiro Nishino and chatted not only about the film and its creation but also its deeper message and how it connects to Nishino's past. While now well-known as a childr...
From Classroom for Heroes to Management of a Novice Alchemist, we have reviews of the newest light novels in our guide!― Welcome to Anime News Network's Spring 2024 Light Novel Guide, the companion to our ongoing manga guide! This season, we have 20 novels with reviews in the guide for you to browse. Every included novel was published in March or April or will be released in May. This guide focuses...
SAND LAND is a curious game that combines an eclectic set of gameplay features into a well-realized package that, despite its flaws, is perfectly solid and more than the sum of its parts.― SAND LAND is a curious game that combines an eclectic set of gameplay features into a well-realized package that, despite its flaws, is perfectly solid and more than the sum of its parts. Going into this one, all ...
Atlus reveals its big new game, Metaphor: ReFantazio, amid the recent exit of Shin Megami Tensei artist Kazuma Kaneko. PLUS: A Golden Axe comedy series and Pokémon Go models get a makeover.― Welcome back, folks! As you probably noticed, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes came out earlier this week. It's a fun time, as you could see in my review of it. It's come to my attention that there are some per...
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes promises to revive the Suikoden series in everything but name, but what's so great about Suikoden that it's worth reviving? Well, read on…― It's 1996, and the PlayStation is just starting to take over the game industry. It has many genres covered: racing, fighting, action, sports, puzzles, train-conducting, deep-sea diving, fire-fighting, and so forth. But what abou...
Some of Shonen Jump's biggest manga hits are approaching their end. Does the magazine have new heavy-hitters lined up to take up the mantle?― Some of Shonen Jump's biggest manga hits are approaching their end. Does the magazine have new heavy-hitters lined up to take up the mantle? Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Netwo...