To my dismay, Luffy denies the colosseum crew a place underneath his wing. It was naive for Bartolomeo, Cavendish, and the others to assume that he'd be totally cool with being responsible for thousands of men, and they had even broken out the alcohol already. It was a tease that got my hopes up, thinking that we'd see the Straw Hat pirates significantly grow in some official capacity. There's an exchange between the two sides about “doing what you want” and “freedom” and such, but long story short, the Straw Hat Grand Fleet is real, just not exactly with Luffy's blessing. He's being forced to have his cake and eat it too, I guess.
“I just want to become King of the Pirates! I don't wanna become someone important!” is something that Luffy says within the argument. The word “oxymoron” come to mind, but considering what we know about Luffy's attitude towards the Pirate King role, it's not exactly wrong. Luffy just likes his freedom.
A celebration commences regardless, as Luffy still thinks of the fleet as a group of friends and allies. The newfound commanders decide to partake in the exchange of sake, with or without Luffy's inclusion, and they swear their loyalty. Bartolomeo has to fight just to keep himself from happy-crying throughout the entire episode. It's here on Orlumbus's ship, anchored just a couple miles off of Dressrosa's shore, where we get the big celebration party that every One Piece arc needs to end on. Luffy's still a little peeved about the whole Grand Fleet thing, but a banquet featuring tons of meat gets him back in the party mood.
It's another episode without a whole lot of plot content to fill the runtime, though I really enjoyed the little montage at the end. I'm generally ambivalent toward the current opening ‘Hard Knock Days’, but I was happy to hear it as an insert in this episode, as we skim through the highlights of the Dressrosa arc. A little clip show from time to time doesn't hurt, especially in a series so desperately clamoring for a chance to include filler. It's a nice little look back through the longest arc in the series, and there's something that feels fittingly celebratory about it. It also reminds me of the ‘We Are’ and ‘We Go’ sequences that capped the Paramount War and Fishman Island arcs.
Lastly, the episode ends with a stinger from the narration: “These commanders will develop themselves individually and will eventually cause a major incident that will go down in history, but that's a story that no one could have known at this time.” Basically this 100+ episode arc just ended with the narrator telling us “but this was just the beginning."
So that's Dressrosa. I don't really feel comfortable declaring it as a good or a bad arc just yet (then again I'm biased and think all One Piece arcs are good), but I think it's one of the most clearly flawed in the series so far. It's insanely long and bloated, jam packed with a million characters and subplots that keep changing direction, all while rarely finding that big emotional catharsis One Piece is generally so good at. I'm curious as to what its biggest contributions will be in the grand scheme. Was it really just there to bring the fleet together and put Luffy and Law under Kadio's wrath? Feels like an awfully long-winded journey to get there. Then again, that's One Piece for ya.
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...
Anime will star Hiroshi Kamiya, Kotaro Nishiyama, Kotaro Nishiyama― Distribution company Remow announced on Tuesday that Yura Urushibara's Tougen Anki: Dark Demon of Paradise manga will get a television anime in 2025. The company revealed the trailer, key visual, and main cast for the anime. The anime's cast includes:
Kazuki Ura as Shiki Ichinose, the protagonist who inherits the blood of an Oni. Sh...
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 ...
Producer Masakazu Kubo shares the animation team's dedication to realism, including bringing in a pro golfer to produce the anime's sound effects.― 64-year-old Masakazu Kubo has been planning and producing anime for decades. He's had a major hand in everything from Pokémon and Detective Conan to Teasing Master Takagi-san and Dorohedoro. Recently, he sat down with us to talk about Tonbo!, his attemp...