There's something about seagulls that feels so distinctly One Piece to me. It's kind of an obvious detail, considering the setting and all, but it didn't dawn on me until now just how much they tie the atmosphere of the series together. I guess we've been under Doflamingo's birdcage for so long that just the sight and sound of such banal animals feels so freeing. There's a whole world out there! Let's go explore it! Again!
We're still in the calm before the huge post-arc info dump comes, and all the characters who need out are packing up and heading home. The revolutionaries who have been hanging around are leaving (aside from Sabo), and all the henchmen of Doflamingo's crew are being rounded up in handcuffs by the Navy. We get a little rundown of all the named officers of Doflamingo's crew as well, as we see them beaten and unconscious, being hauled off on stretchers. They're small moments, but they give us just a bit more insight into the trouble the marines have to go through in order to clean a mess like this up. Normally, stuff like this is simply never addressed, so seeing them go through the effort of hoisting Doflamingo's body out of a crater by way of a harness and crane was interesting. Also, Baby 5 is conveniently not being arrested, since she's hanging out with the good guys now. I really love her interactions with Sai as he becomes more and more accustomed to their impromptu betrothal. Seeing him let her scoot closer to him was super cute.
The most important scene in the episode is also one that highlights the fascinating political landscape of the One Piece world. After Riku is embraced by the country as the returning king, Admiral Fujitora and his men make an extreme gesture by bowing to him in unison. Fujitora knows full well that making such a humbling apology on behalf of the Navy and World Government is taboo, but it's an important statement to make nonetheless.
The Navy admirals will always be the beacon of moral ambiguity in this series, since they all represent such dramatically different viewpoints, but all with the sincere intention of making the world a better place. Fujitora strikes an interesting balance by being older in age, but also being a newbie to the Navy in general. He doesn't have the social status that the admirals before him have, but he's not slow to using his new authority in a way that makes use of his aged wisdom. He sees the change that the World Government needs, and he isn't afraid to go for it right off the bat. This hearkens back to when he decided not to intervene in Luffy and Doflamingo's fight. He knew the Government couldn't afford to take any more credit than it deserved.
Like I said, we're still in the calm of Doflamingo's aftermath, so this isn't an especially eventful episode, but it's certainly got a lot more to chew on than last week's. Since we're not drowning in cutbacks to earlier scenes, I feel like this episode is a strong example of how One Piece can be slow and drawn out, but still remain engaging enough the whole way through. Breather episodes are not inherently a bad thing.
Train to the End of the World and Voice Actor Radio are getting a lot of love these last few weeks! Discover which other series stand out in our weekly user rankings!― 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...
Crystal Kay previously sang themes for 2004's Fullmetal Alchemist and Nodame Cantabile― Recently, Anime News Network was able to sit down with singer-songwriter Crystal Kay and talk about not only her involvement with anime over the years but also what it was like to grow up in Japan as the child of a Korean-Japanese mother and an African-American father. Anime fans likely know of Crystal Kay throug...
The plot is excellent in the romance camp. Everything that happens is to get Eui-joon and Gunwoo together, and it works pretty well.― You can read The Dangerous Convenience Store in English two ways. The first is to read it on the manhwa site/app Manta, which has all seventy-five chapters and four bonus stories available. The second is to read Seven Seas' print (or ebook) edition, which, as of this ...
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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...