This is the One Piece I love the most. There's something so calm and tender about this episode as things continue to go from bad to worse. We jump into the scene with Barrels' men searching for a wounded Corazón, who managed to slip away off screen. We see the blood stained in the snow and later we find his footprints as he stumbles his way back to our shivering Law. Through it all, Corazón has succeeded in holding on to the Op-Op Fruit, but at what cost? He shoves it down Law's throat and collapses from blood loss, still trying to pacify the poor kid who is frantically attempting to figure his new powers out to save his friend. “Just a flesh wound” and all that.
This is a really beautiful episode and it has almost nothing to do with flashy animation of any kind. This is an episode that really revels in both the size of the situation, and also the calmness at the heart of it. The soundtrack is all soft and sad, even when people are escaping from Barrels' burning castle and the camera is admiring the the gigantic naval fleet approaching the island. It's rare that saying an episode stays on-model feels like a compliment, but it's true here. I really like seeing these characters drawn in a way that feels “right,” and I'm sad that it so infrequently hits me as being noticeably on-point. Well, it definitely feels right this week, allowing the star of the show to be the pace and the framing of each situation as we learn piece by piece just how sad and hopeless everything is.
There's a point where everything looks like it's going to be okay, because of course there is. The Navy has arrived and little Law ventures out into the cold, hoping that there's somebody who can help Corazón (his Op-Op powers don't seem to have kicked in yet). We know Tsuru and her gang of tough-looking naval women have arrived for Doflamingo's head, and they seem like nice enough people. We also know that Corazón is secretly a marine, so this is a problem that should get smoothed out easy enough. But of course, this is a One Piece flashback.
The marine that Law receives help from, it turns out, is Doflamingo's own double agent, Vergo. Everything becomes unraveled at this moment as Vergo, and by extension the approaching Doflamingo, now knows the extent at which Corazón is a traitor of the crew. He wails on both of them, showing us the seed of the tense relationship we saw between Law and Vergo back on Punk Hazard.
But the real threat is Doflamingo himself, now harboring a deep anger and resentment for Cora and Law breaking his sacred sense of family. We've known from the get-go of this flashback that certain things were going to happen. We knew Law and Corazón would bond and knew Corazón would die by his brother's hand. In many cases it would be considered a story-telling no-no to make those things so obvious from the start, but it's brought the audience on a very unique emotional journey instead.
Corazón has been by far one of the most likable flashback characters in the series (which says a lot) and the thing that really drives this home is how he deals with the realization of his own demise. Even in this dark hour, he knows the most important things are to get Law to safety and do whatever he can to face the reality of his brother's villainy. “If you think of me someday,” he says to an unconscious Law, “I'd rather you remember my smile.” The fact that his big, toothy grin that punctuates the episode looks really dumb and goofy just makes the scene all the more poignant. There's a gross mixture of sadness and love and humility in the air.
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...