Once again I find myself in awe of the craft on display. Every time I begin to wonder, “Is there too much Wano?” and the fatigue starts to set in, the material comes back around with a home run installment. It's incredible to think about how much is coming to a head in this arc. The story of the land of Wano, and particularly the Akazaya Nine, has really come to define post-timeskip One Piece.
We see the emotional crux of so much coming to fruition. You can almost see the layers of setup like geological strata, going back in time from newly introduced characters (Kiku, Denjiro, Kanjuro, Ashura, Kawamatsu), to those from the recent past (Raizo, Dogstorm, Cat Viper), to those introduced nearly a decade ago in the manga (Kinemon). The Akazaya Nine are as integrated into the specific island of Wano and present-tense concerns as they are connected with the broader world and the long history of injustice in the setting.
The Kiku and Kanjuro fight is a real highlight. The framing of the battle as a climactic battle in a stage play, mirroring Kanjuro's figurative and literal performances as well as the theatrical framing of the arc more broadly, is just terrific. Kiku having to, in her own words, slice up her own heart until there is No Mercy left for the Kanjuro she had known since childhood was powerful stuff. The shot of the horizontal red slash cutting through Kiku's inner child until she disintegrated – wow. Amazing stuff, and in weekly television no less.
In truth, this is another one of those episodes where it feels you can pull any sequence and talk about its visual flourishes at length. The Dutch angle POV on Kaido beheading Orochi, the shattered screen of Onigashima when Kaido is pontificating, the combative blue and red screen slashes throughout – it's all gorgeous stuff. And the wide range of hues in each scene helps underscore the grand existential forces at play, from the terrifying yellow smog of Big Mom's arrival to the sickening green of Orochi's greed to the black and white fading to crimson of Kanjuro's grand finale. The Toei team has yet again outdone themselves and taken what was already some of the strongest material in the manga and elevated it substantially.
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...
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 ...
2nd part opens in Japanese theaters on June 7― The staff for the four-part Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture (originally titled Gode Geass: Z of the Recapture, or Dakkan no Zetto) anime project revealed a trailer and a visual on Saturday for the second part in the project. The below video previews MIYAVI's opening theme song "Running In My Head." The anime's first part premiered in Japan on Friday. ...
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...
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...