It's a strange thing when a quality jump between episodes can be felt immediately. It's not always apparent why that is, either. Is it just because everything feels a lot more on-model? Is it because the animation staff had more money? Or is it the product of more talented and/or dedicated creative directors taking the helm? The comparison is at least easy to make, since we're still in the thick of Luffy's ten-minute recharge mode, and yet this episode of the batch just feels a million times more alive and engaging, as if an adrenaline shot to the heart had been delivered at some point in the production.
The story moves forward as the various schmucks of the gladiator colosseum are obliterated by Doflamingo. Zoro and friends are trying to desperately to push the closing birdcage back using their various sword and Haki abilities to keep the defensive up. I was making a note of my ambivalence towards the people of Dressrosa earlier, but in retrospect there is a real feeling that the spirit of the country is fighting back, especially as the fighters combating Doflamingo are easily felled and another person decides to step in their place in order to buy as much time as possible: Viola, aka King Riku's daughter and Rebecca's aunt.
Despite her Glare-Glare Fruit powers, which she had been using to spectate and narrate the battle so far, among other things, Viola is nowhere near Doflamingo's level of strength. She pulls a hidden danger that she had been using to tie her hair up and engages her former boss in a really fun and impressively choreographed fight sequence. Her big, flow-y dress and her dancer's agility makes for an incredibly interesting fight, visually. If I recall correctly in the manga, most of the actual combat was skipped over here, so that fact that the anime fleshed it out and captured what made the character's fighting style unique was a treat to see.
I find Viola to be my personal favorite of the Riku family. She has several good hooks to her character (being a Spanish flamenco dancer and a clairvoyant seer) as well as having a very attractive design. Her overriding guilt for serving the Doflamingo family all these years, even if it was a result of the pink bird-man's manipulation, gives her a strong sense of motivation as she fights. We know as well as her that she's no match, and Doflamingo seems perfectly interested in just toying with her for the duration of the episode, but it doesn't take away from the drive of the character in the slightest. This episode makes me wish we could have seen more of her throughout the arc in place of her niece.
Another strong detail of this episode is a minimal focus on Luffy himself. At this point we know he's not going to be doing much more than hanging out on Gyats' back as he recharges, so we aren't going to learn much about the story by seeing his sleepy eyes too much more. Instead, this episode is about everyone else and their desperate attempt to keep the entire island from being destroyed by the birdcage. Pirates, gladiators and even the Navy all work together to push against the sharp, closing strings. There's a great sequence where Admiral Fujitora has his men assist our heroes, all while pretending not to recognize that their impromptu allies are world-famous pirates. The theme of togetherness amongst these opposing sides with a shared antagonist is easy to recognize.
I have a lot of glowing things to say about this episode, which is a surprise since it's still just a small piece in an otherwise exhausting string of installments that I was tiring of just last week. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't put this among the best of best in terms of what the One Piece anime has to offer, but the difference in energy between this episode and the last few is so noticeable, it's almost funny.
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...
It's a strange thing when a quality jump between episodes can be felt immediately. It's not always apparent why that is, either. Is it just because everything feels a lot more on-model? Is it because the animation staff had more money? Or is it the product of more talented and/or dedicated creative directors taking the helm? The comparison is at least easy to make, since we're still in the thick of Luffy's ten-minute recharge mode, and yet this episode of the batch just feels a million times more alive and engaging, as if an adrenaline shot to the heart had been delivered at some point in the production.