I think I've finally gotten to the point where Whole Cake Island's molasses pacing is getting to me. I had hoped we were returning to a one-chapter-per-episode pace soon enough, but I guess fate decided otherwise since the anime continues to break the original structure of the story in awkward ways. It's a shame too, because this awkwardness comes from the staff trying to get creative again with how they expand on the story.
Last week began the misadventures of the Straw Hats in the "Seducing Woods", the domain of Big Mom's haunted living objects and her more trickster-oriented subordinates. Luffy's fighting his mirror self, who may be an enemy in disguise, and the rest of the crew find themselves in an endless loop where they keep encountering a giant man partially buried in the ground (for his own enjoyment, he assures us). I felt a twinge of excitement once I realized that the morbid Disney musical thing from a few episodes ago might become a full-on motif for this arc, as the living trees and flowers start to sing about the Straw Hats' impending death. However, the excitement is dulled somewhat when the song ends fairly quickly, without getting much chance to deviate from the melody and tone of Big Mom's other recent number.
This is a mixed bag episode if I ever saw one, because I certainly like the idea of Toei coming up with fun ways to kill time as they try to keep their distance from the manga's current story material, but the execution isn't quite there, and the fragmentation of the original manga chapters ends up being disorienting and killing a lot of the intended drama. Oda's always been fantastic at dividing the story into juicy cliffhangers, and the stuff in the middle of any given chapter rarely makes a good end point for an episode. This isn't the worst example of that problem, but the repetition of the Seducing Woods gets exhausting, and the ugliness of the animation doesn't help.
Really driving home my problem with this pacing style is a scene that finally cuts away from the Seducing Woods where we get to watch a fight between Sanji and his brother Yonji. In the manga, this was off-screen, but the result of this confrontation connects us to the next major event between Sanji and his family. It makes sense that they would animate something like this instead of finding dead air to drag out elsewhere, but after seeing the manga get away with showing so little, going back and actually seeing the fight just feels like extra minutes on a screen. You know you don't need it.
I like the attempt, but it also demands the direction and art be much more engaged, and this is one of the weaker episodes of the arc from a technical perspective. As far as the canonical character introductions we manage to get in this episode, it's funny to see Chopper play the fed-up straight man to the dopey guy in the ground. We also get a non-Mink rabbit opponent for Carrot, and the episode wraps up with one of Big Mom's own daughters, Charlotte Brulee. Next week looks to focus a lot more on Sanji and his family, so thankfully we're not going to be hanging out exclusively in the Seducing Woods for the next couple episodes.
When even the author says this story will hurt, you know it will be bad.― When even the author says this story will hurt, you know it will be bad. That's assuming, of course, that you weren't prepared for it going in. The fate of Astrea Familia is well-known to readers and viewers (and players) of the various Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon iterations, and the most recent season of ...
The documentary was full of cool tidbits about the 82-year-old producer and the anime he's worked on—including Ninja Scroll, Pluto, and In This Corner of the World.― Late last month, Japanese television network NHK put out a documentary on anime producer Masao Maruyama as part of their Anime Manga Explosion series. In it, the show delves into the now 82-year-old producer's life, philosophies, and so...
Masaki Watanabe directs anime at TMS Entertainment― Shueisha announced on Monday in its first "Jump Press" video that Yuuto Suzuki's Sakamoto Days manga will get a television anime series in January 2025 starring Tomokazu Sugita as Taro Sakamoto. The video also revealed the main staff. Masaki Watanabe (KADO - The Right Answer, Bartender, several Battle Spirits anime) is directing the anime at TMS En...
This is where the series earns its place in anime history, setting a precedent that other magical girl shows will follow.― It's a moment of magical girl history, right there on the screen: in episode forty-six of Fairy Princess Minky Momo's original 1982-83 television series, Momo is hit by a truck and dies. Even putting aside the question of whether or not this is Truck-kun's first victim, this is ...
Ayane Sakura, Daisuke Ono join cast as Tokyo Blade play's creative team― A Sunday live-streamed program for the second Oshi no Ko anime season debuted the first main promotional video, a new main visual, and new character visuals for the season. The program and the video both revealed two more cast members, the opening theme song, and the July 3 premiere for the season. Sunday's program also announc...
Teaser video streamed― Bandai Namco Filmworks announced on Saturday that the Ghost in the Shell franchise is getting a new television anime series in 2026. Science Saru will produce the anime, which is tentatively titled Kōkaku Kidōtai (The Ghost in the Shell). Bandai Namco Filmworks, Kodansha, Science Saru, and Production I.G are on the production committee for the series. Bandai Namco Filmworks al...
This is a movie I never want to watch again. However, this is not because it's bad. Rather, it's a testament to just how incredible this film is.― Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction Part 2 is a film I never want to watch again. However, this is not because it's bad. Rather, it's a testament to just how incredible this film is. The film is full of well-developed and memorable characters—especiall...
Company acquires studio behind Lu over the wall, Inu-Oh, Scott Pilgrim anime, Tatami Time Machine Blues― The entertainment company Toho announced on Thursday that its board of directors has decided to acquire all shares of the anime studio Science Saru, effective on June 19. Toho will then make Science Saru its consolidated subsidiary from the second quarter (June-August) of the fiscal year ending i...
Chillin' in Another World pulls off a major dramatic spike and goes from trawling the bottom to #2 this week! See how all your favorites fared 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 ran...
If you're a Haikyu!! fanatic, or if you can overcome this background knowledge hurdle, you're in for a pretty good time and some of the best editing to come from an anime in recent memory.― To begin, I should note that this film is a continuation of the Haikyu!! anime and a canon adaptation of the manga. As such, if you're not caught up on the anime or at least generally aware of the franchise and i...
The touchstone visual novel Kanon is coming to Steam! Plus, Gundam in Call of Duty, Nintendo's latest studio buy, and more!― Welcome back, folks! Last weekend, I had a sudden pang of nostalgia, and I started missing Avalon Code. Avalon Code was one of the many offbeat RPGs released on the Nintendo DS, this one by Matrix Software (and released in the US by Xseed). It had a fun concept: the world is g...
We sat down with game creator Suda51 ahead of his MomoCon appearance to talk about his new game Hotel Barcelona, his current must-watch TV shows, and more.― The renowned Suda51 has been responsible for countless cult-favorite video games. From the psychedelia of Killer7 to the hells of Shadows of the Damned, from the sunny streets of Santa Destroy in No More Heroes to the blood-soaked setting of the...
Nestled in a Japanese neighborhood is the Tokiwaso Manga Museum, a detailed replica of the sharehouse that Osamu Tezuka, Shōtarō Ishinomori, and more manga artists called home.― In the midst of the modern Toshima ward in Tokyo, there's a two-story, multi-flat building with an appearance straight out of the 1950s. It sits behind a wrought-iron gate, flanked by children's play equipment. The outer fa...