Every episode of One Piece deals with its required snail's pace differently. Most episodes are generally one-to-one in terms of their translation of a given manga chapter, and so the contents are just the material of that chapter evenly drawn out over twenty minutes. However, that's not always the case. In instances like this week's episode, sometimes they'll smush all the interesting material into the back half and let the front be a bunch of drawn out reaction shots. This means that the first half is slow, sometimes with a dramatically appropriate pace and sometimes with far too slow of a pace, while the second half gets to move with all the fire and energy that the rest of the series covets.
This week's episode starts us off with an incredibly slow and long sequence of Doflamingo's birdcage slowly closing in on the country of Dressrosa. Buildings are being sliced through as the townsfolk make a run for safety towards the middle. The countdown before Dressrosa's demise has begun, meaning Luffy and Law only have so much time to finally bring an end to this epic battle. Most of this content is pretty repetitive of what we saw beginning last week. Ideally it wouldn't have taken up an entire half of the episode, but as I stated it does allow for the rest of the episode to be really fast and exciting.
There are definitely times where I wish the show could just be ten to fifteen minutes long each week. It practically is sometimes with its five minute recaps, but there have been quite a few episodes recently where you might as well have jumped in as far as middle. However much content you need to skip, the second half of this episode is pretty great in terms of having the speed and excitement you'd expect from a shonen manga adaptation. The Luffy vs. Doflamingo action is brisk and genuinely exciting. No notably impressive animation, but the editing did all the work in getting my blood pumping and that's all I can really ask for.
We also get an aster to the tricky “is Law dead or not?” question that last week left us with: It turns out that the person doflamingo riddled with bullets was not in fact Law himself, but one of Doffy's grunts that Law had swapped places with (clothes and all) using his Op-Op powers. Law was face down during all of this, so he was able to switch in and out pretty easily without Doflamingo ever noticing. I do wonder if that grunt actually died as a result of this. That seems pretty cold blooded for this show.
It all culminates on the moment that Law returns to the battle, unleashing a special “Gamma Knife” attack, a strange electricity blade that reminds us that the Op-Op Fruit can basically do whatever it wants, as he pierces is straight into Doflamingo's chest. There's a stray comment from Law implying that the attack hurst the target from the inside, out. The episode concludes with Law standing over a toppled Doflamingo, ready to land a final blow.
For the most part, this is a really energetic episode of the series. If you're willing to discard the time wasting of the first half (which I am) then I think there are a lot of props to give the editing of the backend. Luffy vs. Doflamingo continues to be as kinetic as ever and while it's a little sad that the show can never commit to any of the beat-downs it delivers on Law, I never really expected it to to begin with. Law is being given one last go at his arch-nemesis, one last contribution before the meat and potatoes of the Luffy's side of the fight. In my heart this is only a ten minute episode, and I think it's a very fun one at that.
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...