At long last, it's time for the Luffy/Capone/Caesar alliance to come to an end. They may have failed to kill Big Mom, but they succeeded in knocking down her castle (an accident) and pissing her off (hey, what can you do?) so Capone's ready to cut his losses and call it a day. The Big Mom pirates are furious and on the hunt, so they only have so much time to escape the territory completely. Sadly, this is also Caesar Clown's final appearance in this arc, concluding his multi-hundred episode long saga as the Straw Hats' resident hostage/bargaining chip. His final gag is to hang out in the background, shouting goodbye and hoping somebody somewhere will care that he's gone.
I care, Caesar. I care.
The Big Mom pirates were able to survive the fall off the chateau thanks to Streusen's food powers that turn the Whole Cake Chateau into an actual cake so that people can land on soft bread and frosting. However, food produced by the Cook-Cook Fruit apparently doesn't taste good enough for Big Mom's liking, and in the rubble of her fallen castle all she can do is lament the loss of that wedding cake she was craving for at the ceremony—the one that Luffy busted with his grand entrance. Mom's "hunger pangs" were established early in the arc, and the combo of those and her seething rage toward the Straw Hats as she hits a furious withdrawal and topples the nearest city screaming "wedding cake!!!" over and over again. Her children have a lot to worry about between killing the Straw Hats and stopping Mom from killing them.
After spending the past few months on top of the bright, confectionary-themed chateau, it's refreshing to see the green grass and trees again now that we're back on the ground floor. This episode's greatest strength is that we're finally entering a new phase of the story, with new settings and goals. That doesn't mean that our heroes are anywhere close to done with Big Mom and her family, but there's still something bittersweet about parting ways with our allies nonetheless. There's a lot of good comedy that comes with the end of the Straw Hat/Firetank partnership too, like Capone putting up a "Straw Hats went that way -->" sign in a last ditch attempt to get the Big Mom family off his heels.
The weakness of this episode is that somewhere along the way we slipped back out of the one-chapter-per-episode pace, so a lot of the runtime gets taken up with Big Mom's kids standing around talking, and the fate of Charlotte Opera, who was sent to try and calm Mom down in the midst of her rampage, is left for next week. If you were an anime-only watcher, then you'd likely be confused as to why the Straw Hats are now free to escape Big Mom's territory without any more fighting. Like, really? That's it? The faster the show can get us to the the Straw Hats' next concrete goal on WCI, the better.
This is a serviceable episode if ever there was one. Entering a new phase of the arc can be a little exciting, but it also comes with new challenges. The gimmick of Whole Cake Island moving forward is a giant chase with Big Mom herself, so we're going to hear her shout "wedding cake!" a deathly number of times. It's about to get very old, very fast. However, the focus on story flow and momentum in this part of the arc is incredible, and I'm looking forward to seeing it be adapted, janky pacing and all.
If I were to sum up Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! in a single word, that word would be “cute.”― If I were to sum up Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! in a single word, that word would be “cute.” Shiki and Fuyuki's interactions are a mixture of playful (and sometimes sexual) teasing and heartfelt feelings as the two come to value each other. They have real chemistry—and that drives the anime stra...
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 ...
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...