Current state of the fight: both fighters can see the future, both have Devil Fruits that allow them to stretch and contort in unpredictable ways, and both are nursing life-threatening injuries in their abdomens. There's less than an hour left before Luffy's supposed to exit the mirror world and reunite with his friends, so it's time for him to pull out all the stops and finish this stupidly long fight once and for all.
Luffy's new Snakeman form isn't a significant departure from the usual Fourth Gear transformation. It's a bit leaner and meaner, and it emphasizes speed over raw power. His most important trick is his enhanced Gum-Gum Culverin, where he can redirect a punch in mid-air while maintaining its acceleration. If he moves fast and erratically enough, he can circumvent Katakuri's Observation Haki, so now this fight is both a high-speed anarchic brawl and a mind-bending game of 3D chess where the chess pieces happen to be fists. There's at least one corner of my brain that has reservations about the over-stylized nature of One Piece's flashier animators, but that issue is on hold this week because an episode like this is exactly where those guys belong. It looks jaw-dropping from beginning to end. This climactic fight episode is hectic, silly, and absolutely massive in impact and scope.
This is an adaptation of a pretty famous manga chapter that was all zany fight choreography with minimal dialogue. This episode does a good job spreading the action out over the course of twenty minutes without losing steam, but it's not without its crutches. Mainly, the anime is still pushing the Rayleigh flashbacks in order to pad the runtime. I didn't need a filler scene where Rayleigh demonstrates Fourth Gear's speed weakness, but I really dug the cutaway to Rayleigh and Shakky pouring one out for Luffy just as he and Katakuri are delivering their final blows. "Only those who are living in the present can make a new epoch." (But maybe let this show live in the present for a bit instead of flashing back every five minutes.)
The Katakuri fight is an important fixture of Whole Cake Island because it's the arc's last opportunity to portray self-indulgence as heroic and positive. This fight has nothing to do with what's going on in the rest of Totto Land anymore, it's just two dudes beating on each other to feel alive. The violence, the chest-thumping machismo, the aimless self-destruction—for a moment, these things are good, but they do exist in a context that will unfold in the story's final moments. As of this episode, the true outcome of the fight is left up in the air. Surely it'll be Luffy who walks away when all is said and done, but the question of who really beat who is of little consequence. This fight was for them, not us.
In the grand scheme, the Katakuri fight is a mess in execution, but it's the kind of mess where the soul of the work is able to spin that imperfection into strong self-expression. The emotional weight of the experience is incredibly back-heavy, with most of the leadup meandering without enough propulsion to keep things interesting until the spontaneous bouts of extreme enthusiasm happen. But when it's good it's transcendent, and even at its most blunt, it always preserves that One Piece-y sense of humor. How can you not love a 'roided out goth boy screaming about how tough he is while transforming into a donut for no other reason than because he just really loves donuts?
Laid-Back Camp narrowly claims the top spot this week, but Delicious in Dungeon is having none of that and bumps it down in the cumulative. Find out where your favorites rank this week!― 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 ...
Goodbye, Lara follows reborn mermaid, Ninja Skooler features ninja school― Kinema Citrus announced at its panel during this year's Anime Central event on Saturday that it is producing two new anime titled Goodbye, Lara (Sayonara Lara) and Ninja Skooler. Takushi Koide is directing the Goodbye, Lara anime with character designs by Shiori Tani. The anime is based on a concept by Kinema Citrus, and it t...
2019-20 anime was itself a follow-up to first 2013-16 Ace of Diamond anime― Production on a sequel to the 2019-2020 television anime of Yūji Terajima's Ace of Diamond Act II (Daiya no A Act II) manga has been green-lit. Terajima drew an illustration to commemorate the news: Terajima's original Ace of Diamond baseball manga inspired a television anime that premiered in 2013, and Crunchyroll streamed ...
Honestly, you're getting a solid collection of character art with some disposable comic stories where you might get to enjoy some out-of-context obscure CAPCOM cameos.― As a lifelong fan of Street Fighter, it's easy to get excited about the potential of seeing my favorite fighters doing stuff in different mediums. The flip side is that Udon Entertainment's hold on the comic treatment of the characte...
The cast of the Demon Slayer stage play gave a memorable performance during the Japan Day Parade.― The Demon Slayer franchise continues to prove itself as an absolute powerhouse for fans worldwide. The hit manga by Koyoharu Gotouge has been adapted into multiple mediums, including anime, light novels, video games, and a stage play that has been running since 2020. Cast members of the stage play app...
Natalie Van Sistine plays Star and Stripe in dub on Saturday― Crunchyroll announced on Friday that it will premiere the English dub for the seventh season of the My Hero Academia anime on May 18. New cast members include: Natalie Van Sistine as Star and Stripe Kyle Hebert as Agpar William Ofoegbu as Ethan Aiden Call as Biggs Sean Letourneau as Wedge Additional voices include Tyson Rinehart and Wyat...
2-hour programming block airs on Fridays starting on May 31― Adult Swim's Toonami programming block announced on Friday that it is creating a new block called Toonami Rewind that is dedicated to running anime, or versions of the series, that aired on the original Toonami prior to its 2012 revival. Toonami Rewind will air on Fridays starting on May 31 at 5:00 p.m. EDT, and it will feature Sailor Moo...
Pokémon Horizons continues to display some of the best the franchise offers with great character work, creative setpieces, surprisingly strong direction, and a focus on a plot that continues to feel engaging.― Pokémon Horizons felt like a breath of fresh air as a new mainline Pokémon series. With a more timid and empathic main character and a stronger emphasis on the adventuring aspect of being a Po...
Sony and Square-Enix are both reorganizing, from new CEOs to staff cutbacks. Also, sad news about Penny Blood, more Cotton, and the latest video game news!― Welcome back, folks! You know, it's always nice to discover old stuff from a franchise you love that you didn't know existed. For example, I didn't know that the old Captain N: The Game Master cartoon had an episode that featured the world of Dr...
Ahead of the romance anime's second season, director Takehiro Kubota discusses the choices, the challenges, and balancing the story between the everyday and the supernatural.― My Happy Marriage began its life as a series of novels written by Akumi Agitogi, and it has since been adapted both as manga and, as of July 2023, an anime series simulcast by Netflix. Agitogi's tale, set in a nebulous time t...
Steve and Chris compare some of the highs and lows of an anime studio change-up, from Attack on Titan and One-Punch Man to Spice and Wolf.― Steve and Chris compare some of the highs and lows of an anime studio change-up, from Attack on Titan and One-Punch Man to Spice and Wolf. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.S...
You've probably read some version of this story before, but I doubt that you've ever seen it be this adorable.― You've probably read some version of this story before, but I doubt that you've ever seen it be this adorable. You and I Are Polar Opposites is based on the tried-and-true formula of a thousand romantic comedies: Suzuki is a popular girl, and Tani is the class nerd. She's bright and perky,...
James and Lynzee look into Hideaki Anno's latest hint that there might be more Evangelion after the last movie and news on the Lord of the Rings anime film!― Could There Be More Evangelion on the Horizon? James and Lynzee look into Hideaki Anno's latest hint that there might be more Evangelion after the last movie and news on the Lord of the Rings anime film! Plus, we catch up with Kafka and the Ka...
Grant Jones dives into the wild world of giant monsters and how Kaiju No. 8 builds on their legacy.― Kaiju No. 8 is a series that wears its influences on its sleeves. As the first word in its title suggests, it comes from a long line of works in the kaiju genre, using giant monsters and burning skylines as a backdrop to tell stories. While many likely know kaiju in a passing sense, it may help to h...
This steamy manga's appeal is going to depend on how much you can stomach a female protagonist who kicks off the romance by assaulting her former fiance.― This is a tricky one. Before You Discard Me, I Shall Have My Way with You is, to all appearances, a story that opens with a sexual assault. Agnès has been betrothed to Crown Prince Lucilleur since childhood, and she's been in love with him just as...