It's now finally time for One Piece to answer the question, "why bother saving the Vinsmokes?" The initial pitch was that Sanji couldn't just walk away and let his family die, even though they did all those horrible things to him. I kind of understood what he meant at the time—we can sympathize with the fact that he saw himself as weak for wanting to do so, which made Luffy's support that much more empowering—but it creates a weird pretzel of alliances where we're trying to save one awful family by helping Capone assassinate another awful family. I don't think casual audiences are going to find the idea of helping the bad guys in a series that normally punches them all that thrilling or cathartic, either.
And that's where episodes like this become really important. Now that Judge's goals and ego have been shattered by Big Mom's betrayal and Sanji's rescue, Sanji's in position to make a firm declaration of secession. "Admit you're not my father!" and all that. The child known as "Vinsmoke" Sanji died at sea as far as our hot-headed cook is concerned, and the act of kindness he's offering his family by saving them is more about upholding Zeff's values than anything else. It's here that the Whole Cake Island arc reveals itself as a grand-scale version of what we saw Sanji doing way back in Baratie, where he'd feed hungry pirates knowing full well they could turn against him the second they were back to full health. Sanji and Zeff's attitude of "I'll save your ass now and then kick it later if I have to" attitude is pretty cool and inspiring, and that philosophy is the spine that makes the rest of this arc even possible.
That's the most important event that happens this week, while the rest of the episode plods along slowly as Big Mom finally returns to consciousness and starts whacking away at the Big Father, which is where our heroes are currently hiding. There's really not much going on this week until we reach the Sanji and Judge scene, so it's otherwise a pretty unexceptional episode. That scene is solid, however, one of the cleanest emotional beats of the arc. By the end, Judge is turning his back to the audience, ready to head out and start his fight with Big Mom again because he doesn't want to owe Sanji anything. If there's one thing these two men can agree to work together on, it's getting to the point where they don't have to be in each other's lives anymore.
I do wish this episode gave me a larger variety of things to talk about. Now that we're in the action half of the arc, I fully expect to see the pace pick up and slow down at random like this, which has me sweating. The Straw Hats' fight right now is to be anything other than sitting ducks, since Capone can only keep them safe for so long and they only have a vague idea of an escape plan. It's been a good three episodes so far of "Oh no! The Big Mom pirates are closing in!" This is possibly the most important episode in terms of Sanji's arc in WCI, but it sure isn't much else.
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 ...
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...
60th, final episode of previous anime streamed on YouTube on Friday― The official Twitter account for the anime of Penguin Box's Odekake Kozame (Little Shark's Outings) manga announced on Friday that the manga will get a new anime series. Update: The staff revealed a visual for the new series in a press release on Saturday. The previous anime series debuted on YouTube last August, and its 60th and f...
Recently ended manga follows middle school student living with mysterious bird-looking creature― Shogakukan announced on Friday that Akira Konno's Kujima Utaeba Ie Hororo manga is inspiring an anime. The "bird(?) home comedy" manga's story starts when first-year middle school student Arata Kōda meets a mysterious bird-looking creature named Kujima in autumn. Hungry and craving Japanese food, Kujima ...
Anime premieres in 2024― Adult Swim's YouTube channel began streaming a first look video for the Rick and Morty: The Anime series on Saturday. The show will premiere on Adult Swim and Max in 2024, and will also run on Adult Swim Canada. The anime will be an original work, with adapted themes and events from the main Rick and Morty animated series. Takashi Sano (Tower of God) is writing and directing...
As Slam Dunk reached its final stretch, I can see why this series is considered the sports classic that it is today.― This is the largest batch of Slam Dunk episodes that I've reviewed thus far. Originally, I wanted to review the show in more even seasons, but given its overall pacing and release, it wasn't easy to find a moment where it felt right to stop and start again. However, as we approached ...
James and Lynzee discuss the latest episode of Yatagarsu. Plus, GoHands keeps making anime, and we don't know WHY.― Yatagarasu Gets Violent! James and Lynzee discuss the latest episode of Yatagarsu, in which Wakamiya plays his hand to find out the truth behind his older brother's scheming to obtain the throne. Plus, GoHands keeps making anime, and we don't know WHY; Hunter x Hunter manga is on its ...
Making a sequel to Code Geass is a daunting task. But with its fantastic main character and a story that doesn't undercut what came before, Rozé of the Recapture is on the right track.― Making a sequel to Code Geass—especially one set close to the end of the series—is a daunting task. Any story that involves an ongoing war massively undercuts both the finale of the original anime and the sacrifices ...
The Switch sequel console is finally happening! The details are scarce, but you can find out more in this week's column. Also: an interview with El Shaddai's Sawaki Takeyasu, Microsoft layoffs, and more.― Welcome back, folks! What a wild week this has been for the gaming industry. We'll go further into it, but jeez. This past week also saw the disappearance of Capcom's Dark Void and Dark Void Zero. ...
The Code Geass creator discusses his new project with Web3 company Azuki, Enter the Garden, and his hope that this new path could help the medium evolve.― Los Angeles-based Web3 anime-styled brand Azuki and advertising conglomerate Dentsu debuted the first nine-minute episode of their joint anime endeavor, Enter the Garden, on April 30. The episode, which has already racked up a quarter of a million...