One Piece trudges on as we continue to explore the world of Japa—I mean, er, Wano—and we get a whiff of the next fragrance of local flavor in the form of sumo wrestling! We've already met Urashima, the yokozuna of Wano, but now it's time to finally see him in action as he struts his stuff and defends his champion position.
Luffy, Zoro, and Kiku have arrived in Bakura town, trying to track down Tama and her kidnappers. Urashima is their next obstacle, since the second Kiku is in his sight he hounds her with more marriage proposals. There's so good action as Luffy and Zoro fight off a wave of sumo henchmen, but the central conflict lies in how Kiku deals with the unwanted affection and manipulation. Characterization-wise, she's been really all over the place and it's never clear how much of that is intentional in the writing. Even when the sumos straight-up kidnap her, the Straw Hats prefer to stay hands-off since they've intuited her strength and would rather let her protect herself or... some such? There's a weird gag where Zoro stops himself from jumping in because he doesn't feel right about cutting up a bunch of naked sumo wrestlers, and rationalizes it by acknowledging that Kiku is "not just some teahouse waitress." It's really unclear whether characters mean what they say lately.
Kiku can't seem to make up her mind if she wants people to know she's a samurai or just an ordinary local woman. She tries hard to present herself as a waifish damsel type, but she's bad at it, as demonstrated by how she expertly slices Urashima's topknot off and dishonors him front of a large crowd, only to blush immediately after like, "Oops. Did I just do something badass? Sorry, I'm trying to reign it in!" There's a ton to be read into this. At this stage I wonder if the classic samurai of yesteryear are supposed to be extinct or in hiding. There are also questions about Kiku's gender and how that may or may not impact the way she behaves in front of others. This episode is kind of a subversion of One Piece's more conventional damsel tropes, but there's the potential for that to be an incredibly loaded twist if done poorly. She comes across as kind of a ditz, which adds a socially awkward charm to her character when she interacts with our heroes, but she's also book-ish enough to take notes on her enemies. She's a smart, dumb, girly, manly character. Everything we've seen so far could be expanded on in a million ways, but the story's actual intent is so obfuscated at this point that it can be somewhat frustrating.
Presentation-wise, this episode is great. The music swells at its most dramatic point—a new track I think? I really dug it—and the small amount of action we get looks fantastic. This is another case where I wish we could knock each mini-boss out within a single episode, rather than teasing it out across multiple weeks. We didn't need two episodes of Basil Hawkins and we definitely don't need two episodes of Urashima. As of the cliffhanger, Luffy's jumped into the ring with his shirt off and gleefully lures Urashima into a sumo match of wildly conflicting weight classes. What could have been a dour subplot is turning out to be much more fun and adventurous as Luffy must get a taste of the action, even when we still have a missing little girl to find. Providing us with a whirlwind of story tangents and finding humor and tragedy wherever we go is what One Piece does best, but we still have so much to do and see before this arc is over that I wish things could be a tad snappier than they are.
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...