Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week.
read more
One Piece
Episode 696
by Sam Leach,
For the last few months, the One Piece anime has been pushing through some of the most repetitive and exhausting story material it's seen in a long time. This week we finally make some satisfying progress and I couldn't be happier with the result. Rebecca has reunited with her father, Luffy is back on Doflamingo's turf and Trafalgar Law has at long, long last rid himself of those pesky handcuffs (our local fuzzy hatted bad boy has been immobilized for the last 34 episodes.) The pieces are finally falling into place for the final battle of the Dressrosa arc.
The thing that makes me the happiest is that this turning point is being accompanied by some noticeably above average production values. Last week we saw Rebecca and the flower field looking especially pretty, with the colors and lighting really being on their A game. That continues here, but now we're dealing with an action episode on top of that. Once Kyros makes his grand return we're treated to a ton of really great fight animation. One Piece's action has historically been very drawn out and taken one beat at a time. Here, we're seeing a lot of actual choreography moving at rapid speeds and it looks as neat as can be.
But that's not the extent of it. Even before Kyros shows up the episode is eye candy. The shade underneath the giant sunflowers, the pink glow of Rebecca's lost key and the surprising amount of detail and movement awarded to Diamante's demented face all create an atmosphere with purpose. You can tell there's a real appreciation for the fact that Dressrosa is basically a giant children's fairy tale. There's just something so classic and pure about the setting and conflicts, and the direction seen in this episode makes that as clear as ever.
It's episodes like this that really remind me of why I love One Piece from a filmic perspective. We've got all these larger-than-life characters constantly moving from point A to point B, crossing paths and head-butting in dramatic ways. It's wonderful to see the direction and pacing take an interest in those things as opposed to just rotely redrawing the manga. Here, the anime staff clearly get why One Piece is cool and they want to show it to you. Even in the little fights, like when Luffy is dealing with the giant nutcracker toys, it feels like the animators are having fun planning it out visually.
Rare for a long-running shonen series, this episode is just a constant wave of new developments, all while still fitting snugly in the middle of what's likely going to be a 100 episode long arc. It's been a while since I've combed through this portion of the manga, but I'm under the impression that several of the subplots have been moved around between episodes for the sake of pacing. There's a very controlled sense of momentum and change going on here, with each scene leveraging the last for effectiveness. Of course, we've still only made a tiny step in such an enormous story with much more dramatic things left to come, but boy is what's going on here welcome.
This is an episode so good it's kind of frustrating. Like, now I'm kind of mad the rest of an otherwise solid arc never got a chance to be look so good, production-wise. It's not even the best thing ever in terms of anime in general, but for One Piece it's exactly the kind of thing I wish I could see more often. What was it that made the difference? Was it the budget? The direction? The story content? Likely it was a combination of all three, and I'll take it while we've got it.
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...
Wandering Son creator's manga about girls in opera school ran from 2011 until this past March― Ohta Publishing announced on Thursday that Takako Shimura's Awajima Hyakkei manga is inspiring an anime. Ohta Publishing has not revealed any further details about the anime adaptation. The coming-of-age omnibus series follows the girls at an opera music school, with each chapter centering around different...
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...
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 ...