Last week, we saw our heroes on their way to meet the Duke of the Day, Dogstorm (or “Inuarashi” for those who prefer the untranslated name). Apparently in the world of the Minks, they have two leaders: Dogstorm by day and somebody called the Cat Viper (“Nekomamushi”) by night. The story is that these two rule the country equally, but they hate each other and would probably make attempts on each other's lives if given the chance. This day/night relationship is their agreement to both rule in peace, without the threat of having to see each other's faces.
The cliffhanger last week had Luffy blurting out something about the samurai of Wano, after several episodes of reminders that that is a taboo subject among the Minks. The cliffhanger implied something dramatic about to happen, but this episode opens immediately with the rest of the Straw Hats viciously beating Luffy for flapping his gums in a jokey attempt to disguise Luffy's words from Wanda. The whole exchange gets brushed off and the audience is spared any real drama.
We meet a few new characters in this episode, mainly Dogstorm himself, a giant dog Mink, probably around the size of somebody like Whitebeard. He's bedridden and still healing from the wounds he sustained in the battle with Jack's men. The second half of this episode continues that story as the Minks' Musketeers arrive on the scene to fend off the Gifters of Jack's group. These Musketeers include Wanda and Carrot, two of the stronger warriors on Zou, as well as a Lion Mink with a twisty mustache named Shishilian.
This episode is one of the kind that reviewers have the most difficult time with. There's not a whole lot especially good or especially bad to talk about, leaving it right in the boring middle. Honestly, the animation probably looks a tad bit nicer than it did last week, but not in any particularly exciting way. The new characters introduced this week seem cool enough, but they each have much more interesting counterparts hanging out in the background (Cat Viper for Dogstorm, and Pedro for Shishilian). The most interesting detail revealed in this episode was easily the Gifters' bizarre pseudo-Devil Fruit abilities. We already knew that Kaido was building an amy using Caesar and Doflamingo's fake Devil Fruits, but we only ever had a vague idea of what that meant. In this episode, we get to see a guy's hand turn into a wolf's head, and that's just weird enough to want to see more of it.
The biggest strength of the Zou arc so far has been its color palette. Usually One Piece does a pretty good job at making sure each arc has its own unique color feel that you associate it with, but Zou goes above and beyond in making sure that every scene is much more atmospheric than what we've gotten in the past. Even when the animation is below average, or exactly average like it is this week, you still have those colors to fall back on. That said, I'm a little let down by how little I have to talk about this week in terms of story, and I'm counting on it getting interesting again soon.
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...