A few hundred episodes ago, there was the Paramount War between the Whitebeard pirates and the Navy. Whitebeard, then one of the Four Emperors, was killed, kicking off the uprising of the traitorous Blackbeard as the new force to be reckoned with. Since the two year time skip where Luffy took a break from piracy to grow stronger, a lot happened in the political landscape of the pirate world. We knew Blackbeard had taken over as the new Emperor, but what happened to the rest of Whitebeard's crew has been a hanging question for a while.
Last week left us with the cliffhanger that Cat Viper was interested in seeking the help of Marco, Whitebeard's 1st Division Commander, in the fight against Kaido. He then elaborates that in the two years of Luffy's absence, Marco and the remainders of Whitebeard's crew did indeed fight with Blackbeard and lost during something called the "Grudge War", thus explaining why Whitebeard's crew seems to have slunk away into obscurity. However, Marco should still be out there somewhere, and if we're lucky, he's still willing to fight alongside some old friends. Thinking about the alliance and the ways that this new, bigger family can grow is a lot of fun, and knowing that Marco and his crew are strong candidates to join the ranks is pretty exciting.
Once again, this episode's main purpose is to hammer out more of the specifics about Luffy and the alliance's immediate plans. While Luffy runs off to Whole Cake Island to save Sanji, the rest of the group has other things to do in preparation for the upcoming fight against Kaido. Cat Viper's going to take this time to get in contact with Marco, while the samurai and much of Luffy's crew will hide out on Wano while they wait for the whole group to return. Nami, Chopper, and Brook - the Straw Hats who did not stick around for the Dressrosa arc - all announce that they'd like to assist Luffy on his trip to Whole Cake Island in the story's attempt to balance the spotlight within its main cast. We're in an era where the crew is almost never whole at this point, thanks to one story dilemma or another, so I'm counting on the eventual reunion of the entire nine person crew on Wano to be especially sweet.
These last few episodes haven't been fantastic looking, and I imagine that they're victim to resources being focused on more dramatic, action-packed episodes like we see in the preview for next week. This last batch of exposition-heavy episodes don't demand a ton of visual polish, but between the awkward pacing and thin production, you do start to feel the weaknesses of this anime adaptation. Next week's episode looks awesome, but I wish they could have condensed the last four or so episodes down just a bit.
The Zou arc nears its climax as Jack returns, using the mighty power of Kaido's fleet of ships to attack the elephant (which is the size of a country), with every intention of taking it down and killing everybody living up top. Story-wise, Jack never managed to assert himself to me as more than one of Kaido's henchmen, despite his massive strength and bounty, so I wouldn't expect a big battle to get drawn out over the next few months. That would be an instant sap of momentum after all the set-up we just got. I remember at this point when reading the manga, I was theorizing the possible death of the elephant, either by its wounds or by old age, and at the very least that's something I still suspect might happen at some point in the series, if not in this arc.
Pokémon Horizons continues to display some of the best the franchise offers with great character work, creative setpieces, surprisingly strong direction, and a focus on a plot that continues to feel engaging.― Pokémon Horizons felt like a breath of fresh air as a new mainline Pokémon series. With a more timid and empathic main character and a stronger emphasis on the adventuring aspect of being a Po...
Sony and Square-Enix are both reorganizing, from new CEOs to staff cutbacks. Also, sad news about Penny Blood, more Cotton, and the latest video game news!― Welcome back, folks! You know, it's always nice to discover old stuff from a franchise you love that you didn't know existed. For example, I didn't know that the old Captain N: The Game Master cartoon had an episode that featured the world of Dr...
Ahead of the romance anime's second season, director Takehiro Kubota discusses the choices, the challenges, and balancing the story between the everyday and the supernatural.― My Happy Marriage began its life as a series of novels written by Akumi Agitogi, and it has since been adapted both as manga and, as of July 2023, an anime series simulcast by Netflix. Agitogi's tale, set in a nebulous time t...
Steve and Chris compare some of the highs and lows of an anime studio change-up, from Attack on Titan and One-Punch Man to Spice and Wolf.― Steve and Chris compare some of the highs and lows of an anime studio change-up, from Attack on Titan and One-Punch Man to Spice and Wolf. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.S...
You've probably read some version of this story before, but I doubt that you've ever seen it be this adorable.― You've probably read some version of this story before, but I doubt that you've ever seen it be this adorable. You and I Are Polar Opposites is based on the tried-and-true formula of a thousand romantic comedies: Suzuki is a popular girl, and Tani is the class nerd. She's bright and perky,...
Suzumura to concentrate on recovering from deteriorating health condition― Talent agency Intention announced on Thursday that Kenichi Suzumura will take a break to concentrate on resting due to poor health. The agency stated that Suzumura's health condition continued to deteriorate, and after a diagnosis from the doctor, it was decided that he needs to take a break. The agency stated that it will pr...
Games have both individual, double pack releases― Update: Spike Chunsoft confirmed in a press release on Friday that it is releasing both games and the double pack for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Steam in North America and Europe on May 23 as digital downloads. Source: Press release The PlayStation Store and Nintendo Switch eShop began listing on Thursday the first two visual novels in The Q...
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...
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...
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...