Team 7 continues to peel back the layers of the mystery surrounding Kokuri and Tsukiyo in a ninja-flavored whodunit. Having established that one of their three cellmates is responsible for stealing the keycard, Boruto and Mitsuki set to work deducing who the guilty party is, and with Benga threatening to place both the culprit and all of his cellmates in solitary and extend their sentences, time is of the essence. Arai quickly takes the reins of this investigation, first accusing Kamata and then Kedama of the crimes in question. Although both serve as suitable red herrings, Arai eventually gives himself away as the culprit and is subsequently apprehended and taken to solitary. However, with Benga more suspicious than ever about the connection between Boruto and Kokuri, Tsukiyo immediately seeing through Sarada's cover story, and many questions remaining about Kokuri's true nature, our heroes can't afford to let their guard down just yet.
With the exception of a few short scenes, episode 143 is set entirely in Boruto and Mitsuki's prison cell, which imbues the proceedings with the air of locked room mystery. All the ingredients for this type of setup are fully present, with Boruto and Mitsuki occupying the detective role, the various cellmates serving as suspects, and Arai acting as a serviceable fake-out character. While the true culprit shouldn't be hard to ascertain for anyone familiar with this genre, the episode does a decent job of keeping the audience guessing and establishing that none of the suspects are completely trustworthy. This may not be a particularly intricate mystery, but provided you're not looking to Boruto for top-notch detective fiction, it's an entertaining enough 23 minutes.
Since the latest installment is essentially a bottle episode, there isn't much going on visually this week, and the direction doesn't really attempt to offset this by injecting eye-catching visuals or unique framing. This isn't a deal breaker by any means, but given how drab and unadorned the cell is, any attempts at adding eye candy would have been appreciated. On the plus side, the ease with which Arai is brought to justice suggests that twists and turns of a more intricate nature are in the pipeline, and with many of Kokuri's crimes left vague, it would be interesting to discover that this unassuming nerd is a far more sinister figure than his demeanor suggests. (As Arai points out, he was in the Mujina Gang, after all.)
With a limited setting and complete lack of action, the Mujina Gang arc's third chapter isn't as exciting as the two that preceded it, but it does involve the boys solving an integral part of the overarching mystery. Both the ominous ending and post-credits preview suggest that more surprises await, and in light how entertaining this arc has been thus far, the forthcoming endgame is likely to prove memorable.
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...
Masaaki Mizunaka, KENN, Daiki Yamashita, Maria Naganawa, more join cast― The staff for the anime of Kaoru Shinozaki's Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-level Spells (Hazure Waku no "Jōtai Ijō Skill" de Saikyō ni Natta Ore ga Subete wo Jūrin Suru made) light novel series revealed on Sunday the anime's ending theme song's title and artist, additional cast member...
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 ...
Goodbye, Lara follows reborn mermaid, Ninja Skooler features ninja school― Kinema Citrus announced at its panel during this year's Anime Central event on Saturday that it is producing two new anime titled Goodbye, Lara (Sayonara Lara) and Ninja Skooler. Takushi Koide is directing the Goodbye, Lara anime with character designs by Shiori Tani. The anime is based on a concept by Kinema Citrus, and it t...
2019-20 anime was itself a follow-up to first 2013-16 Ace of Diamond anime― Production on a sequel to the 2019-2020 television anime of Yūji Terajima's Ace of Diamond Act II (Daiya no A Act II) manga has been green-lit. Terajima drew an illustration to commemorate the news: Terajima's original Ace of Diamond baseball manga inspired a television anime that premiered in 2013, and Crunchyroll streamed ...
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...
2-hour programming block airs on Fridays starting on May 31― Adult Swim's Toonami programming block announced on Friday that it is creating a new block called Toonami Rewind that is dedicated to running anime, or versions of the series, that aired on the original Toonami prior to its 2012 revival. Toonami Rewind will air on Fridays starting on May 31 at 5:00 p.m. EDT, and it will feature Sailor Moo...
Pokémon Horizons continues to display some of the best the franchise offers with great character work, creative setpieces, surprisingly strong direction, and a focus on a plot that continues to feel engaging.― Pokémon Horizons felt like a breath of fresh air as a new mainline Pokémon series. With a more timid and empathic main character and a stronger emphasis on the adventuring aspect of being a Po...
Sony and Square-Enix are both reorganizing, from new CEOs to staff cutbacks. Also, sad news about Penny Blood, more Cotton, and the latest video game news!― Welcome back, folks! You know, it's always nice to discover old stuff from a franchise you love that you didn't know existed. For example, I didn't know that the old Captain N: The Game Master cartoon had an episode that featured the world of Dr...
Ahead of the romance anime's second season, director Takehiro Kubota discusses the choices, the challenges, and balancing the story between the everyday and the supernatural.― My Happy Marriage began its life as a series of novels written by Akumi Agitogi, and it has since been adapted both as manga and, as of July 2023, an anime series simulcast by Netflix. Agitogi's tale, set in a nebulous time t...