There's a unique aura going into this episode. By this point we're all equipped with the knowledge that the One Piece anime is getting a face lift starting next week to kick off the Wano arc. I really like how all the previews have looked so far, and I'm excited for this series to get a much needed shot in the arm. This episode is a hello and a goodbye—a transition into a new age.
With Whole Cake Island and the Reverie behind us, it's time for our heroes to figure out what this Wano country business is all about. The Thousand Sunny crew is approaching their destination, but that doesn't mean entering the country is going to be easy. Like Whole Cake before it, Wano is cut off from the world around it. People aren't expected to enter or leave all that often, and our first obstacle is some crazy weather that leaves even Nami concerned about the crew's navigational fortitude. Part of what's interesting about this episode is that, while the anime hasn't formally changed art styles yet, we're still witnessing an aesthetic transformation to emphasize Wano's roots in traditional Japanese imagery. The waves surrounding the island look like an Ukiyo-e painting and giant koi fish become our primary mode of transportation, not to mention the stellar soundtrack throughout the entire episode. To actually get into the country, the crew must follow the koi fish up a raging waterfall, calling back to the famous legend about koi turning into dragons. (Hmm. I wonder if there will be dragons in Wano?) The layers of cultural pastiche are as thick as they come.
Holding the episode back is how little story the anime has to spread over its runtime. There's a small bit of recap to remind us of Luffy and Momonosuke's partnership, but it's not as substantial as the previous clip shows we've been seeing. This episode is otherwise centered exclusively around sailing into stormy waters and trying to make sense of the landscape, ending with the ship getting sucked into a whirlpool and Luffy drowning. As exciting as the upcoming anime reboot is, the question of pacing might not be something the show can meaningfully address. Wano is still running in the manga and barely feels like it's gotten started, so hopefully the anime staff have a thoughtful strategy for how they're going to tackle filler.
I don't think I'm ever going to be particularly nostalgic for this era of the One Piece anime. Be it the character designs or the style of visual compositing, it always felt like the best case scenario was for talented animators to do good work in spite of the stiff plastic sheen that's haunted many of Toei's properties in recent years. Between this and Dragon Ball Super, it's comforting to see such dramatic shifts being made to help these stories feel more like artistic labors of love over vapid commercial products. I wish I could I could say more about this episode beyond "The times, they are a-changin'!", but that's definitely the prevailing feeling that I'm experiencing this week.
Crunchyroll to stream upcoming anime― Aniplex and Crunchyroll announced on Wednesday that the late manga creator Hisaya Nakajo's Hana-Kimi manga is inspiring an anime. In addition, Crunchyroll announced that it will stream the anime when it premieres in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, the CIS, and India. The announcement did not reveal the deb...
James and Lynzee look into Hideaki Anno's latest hint that there might be more Evangelion after the last movie and news on the Lord of the Rings anime film!― Could There Be More Evangelion on the Horizon? James and Lynzee look into Hideaki Anno's latest hint that there might be more Evangelion after the last movie and news on the Lord of the Rings anime film! Plus, we catch up with Kafka and the Ka...
Grant Jones dives into the wild world of giant monsters and how Kaiju No. 8 builds on their legacy.― Kaiju No. 8 is a series that wears its influences on its sleeves. As the first word in its title suggests, it comes from a long line of works in the kaiju genre, using giant monsters and burning skylines as a backdrop to tell stories. While many likely know kaiju in a passing sense, it may help to h...
This steamy manga's appeal is going to depend on how much you can stomach a female protagonist who kicks off the romance by assaulting her former fiance.― This is a tricky one. Before You Discard Me, I Shall Have My Way with You is, to all appearances, a story that opens with a sexual assault. Agnès has been betrothed to Crown Prince Lucilleur since childhood, and she's been in love with him just as...
Japanese studio to handle production slated for broadcast, streaming globally― Kadokawa and Singaporean game developer and publisher Garena announced on Monday that they are co-producing an anime adaptation of Garena's Garena Free Fire battle royale shooting game, with a Japanese studio handling the animation. Kadokawa's Kadokawa Qingyu subsidiary is the production manager. The anime is planned to b...
Healer Nanna's powers have one very unique caveat: she has to have sex with the person to heal them. See why Rebecca Silverman calls it "a cute story, decently racy, and generally good, fluffy fun."― One of the fun things about Seven Seas' Steamship line of racy manga aimed at a female audience is finding which romance tropes are prevalent in any given release. While every genre has its tropes and s...
Director adds that there are no definite plans, but it would be helmed by "someone other than himself"― In a recent interview with The Asahi Shimbun newspaper, director Hideaki Anno acknowledged that "there may be plans" for more in the Evangelion anime franchise, but possibly with "someone other than [himself]" at the helm, who would receive a high degree of freedom. He added that there are no defi...
What's the perfect recipe for waifu supremacy? Lucas and Nick look at fan-favorites from Yu Yu Hakusho to Spice & Wolf.― What's the perfect recipe for waifu supremacy? Lucas and Nick look at fan-favorites from Yu Yu Hakusho to Spice & Wolf. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.Spoiler Warning for discussion of the s...
Campaign to fund home care nurse as Lillis fights cancer― A GoFundMe campaign launched on Monday for voice actress Rachael Lillis to help fund a home care nurse. The campaign revealed that Lillis has been diagnosed with breast cancer that has spread to her spine, thus leaving her barely able to walk. The campaign noted that Lillis has been in a nursing home in Los Angeles since late January to recei...
Train to the End of the World and Voice Actor Radio are getting a lot of love these last few weeks! Discover which other series stand out in our weekly user rankings!― 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...
Crystal Kay previously sang themes for 2004's Fullmetal Alchemist and Nodame Cantabile― Recently, Anime News Network was able to sit down with singer-songwriter Crystal Kay and talk about not only her involvement with anime over the years but also what it was like to grow up in Japan as the child of a Korean-Japanese mother and an African-American father. Anime fans likely know of Crystal Kay throug...
The plot is excellent in the romance camp. Everything that happens is to get Eui-joon and Gunwoo together, and it works pretty well.― You can read The Dangerous Convenience Store in English two ways. The first is to read it on the manhwa site/app Manta, which has all seventy-five chapters and four bonus stories available. The second is to read Seven Seas' print (or ebook) edition, which, as of this ...
Kenichi Suzumura, Ayako Kawasumi, Hiro Shimono, Nao Toyama, Takumi Yamazaki, Takaya Hashi join cast― The official website for The Magical Girl and The Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies, the television anime of late creator Cocoa Fujiwara's Katsute Mahō Shōjo to Aku wa Tekitai Shiteita. manga, revealed six new cast members and a third promotional video for the anime on Monday. The video reveals ...
Some older mysteries inch closer to resolution as the true nature of the Abyss slowly comes into view, and long-posed questions start to be answered.― Sometimes, being a fan of Akihito Tsukushi's acclaimed Made in Abyss series means acclimating to suffering. Like many Western devotees, I was introduced to this bizarre, squishy, disturbing world via the 2017 first season of Kinema Citrus' fantastic a...