Between Dressrosa and Zou, there was a really abysmal clip show that reanimated segments from hundreds of episodes ago. Now that we're transitioning arcs once again, it seems as though this might become a more regular occurrence; the vast majority of this episode is a remake of the Alabasta arc. It's nowhere near as bad-looking, and there's important story content accompanying it, but it's definitely another blow to the recent snail's pace that I'm desperate to get out of.
Vivi and the rest of the Alabasta crew are off to Mariejois, the capital of the World Government. The upcoming "Reverie", a meeting of the various royal leaders of the world that's held every four years, has been given tremendous significance in the story, trailing back long before the timeskip. The stated intent of this meeting is to have discussions about the betterment of the world, but the narrator sums it up succinctly: "Since they are all judicious and sly leaders of nations, things never go smoothly." The politicians are not a far cry from the pirates.
One Piece has done a tremendous job creating a political landscape of its own, where everything is connected and corruption is not easily dealt with. The implication is that massive change-ups will be set in motion, both good and bad. The Straw Hats will have several friends there, the kingdoms of Alabasta, Dressrosa, and Fishman Island, the latter having the most at stake since they seek to repair race relations between Fishmen and humans. Also present is Navy Admiral Fujitora, who's still fairly new to the government system but seems strong and wise enough that his goal of abolishing the Seven Warlord system doesn't seem impossible, albeit likely with some trouble.
Fans have spent a long time speculating whether or not the inevitable Reverie would involve the Straw Hats themselves being present, but considering the current events, that seems unlikely. I'm sure we'll see much of the Reverie itself, but it will have to exist as a side story that Luffy isn't directly involved in. At the same time, Luffy's friends like Vivi and Shirahoshi seem like appropriate point-of-view characters in his absence. I'm placing my bets on the Reverie happening in the transition between the Whole Cake Island and Wano arcs.
So most of this episode is ultimately a clip show. In theory, it should be nice to see old scenes tidied up with new animation, but more often than not, it's depressing to see the organic feel of the old episodes interpreted with a flat, plastic look. I don't think the newer animation of the series' style is inherently bad, but I think getting the most out of it requires more time and care than Toei often has. It just feels different, and for the worse.
This episode is a million times better than the last re-animated clip show, so at least it's got that going for it. The hints of the upcoming Reverie are exciting, and there's enough story content in here to make it worth watching. The episode also ends with Carrot's surprise appearance on the Thousand Sunny as Luffy and crew are on their way to Whole Cake Island, so that's one more person for the Sanji Rescue Team. All in all, it's a fine episode.
Manga about novelist, niece also has live-action film opening on June 7― Pony Canyon announced on Friday that Tomoko Yamashita's Ikoku Nikki (Diary of a Strange Land) manga is inspiring a television anime adaptation. The company also revealed a teaser promotional video, a teaser visual, and the show's main staff. Miyuki Oshiro (episode director for Durarara!!×2 Ketsu, Natsume Yūjin-Chō Go, To Your E...
Kaijin Fugeki manga launches on May 29― Manga creator Oh! great announced on Tuesday that he will launch a new manga titled Kaijin Fugeki in Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine on May 29. A Twitter account for the manga also debuted on the same day. Oh! great launched a manga adaptation of NisiOisin's Bakemonogatari novels (pictured at right) in Weekly Shonen Magazine in March 2018, and ended it in Ma...
This week, it's hot monster mommies and less hot AI-generated light novels.― I Support Falin's Crimes We've long joked on the podcast about the quality of light novel writing, but the news is out that the developers of the RyokoAI project have scraped Shosetsuka ni Narou...are fully machine-generated LNs in our future? Plus: Things get gorier in Kaiju No. 8, the world of yatagarasu politics unfolds...
Each story is like a dark portal into a realm of human sexuality that society usually sweeps under the rug, but I can't look away.― Nude Model delivers on the promise of its lurid title. This manga, consisting of three equally intense short stories, is charged with eroticism and danger, with epiphanies lurking around every corner. Created by Tsubasa Yamaguchi, Nude Model is nothing like her most wel...
Find out about the young star who set the internet aflame and walked away with two medals. Plus: Thousand-Year Door updates, a new HunterxHunter game, and Miku!― Welcome back, folks! As is my wont, I'd like to plug my El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron HD Remaster that went up earlier this week... but I've also got the disappointing news that Megaton Musashi W: Wired finally released in the US la...
Daisuke 'Dice' Tsutsumi shares what it was like to leave Pixar and how his studio will never shy away from honesty in their work, even when honesty isn't pretty.― Director Daisuke "Dice" Tsutsumi contributed to films like Toy Story 3 and Monsters University while simultaneously crafting what became his Academy Award-nominated animated short film, The Dam Keeper. His latest short film, Bottle George,...
Chris and Nick put on their headphones and dust off their vinyl records for a look at this season's guitar-strumming, mic-swinging girl groups.― Chris and Nick put on their headphones and dust off their vinyl records for a look at this season's guitar-strumming, mic-swinging girl groups. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News...
I cannot imagine how Square Enix could top themselves after this.― Final Fantasy VII Rebirth initially launched on the last day of February, and if you look at the date of this review's publication, you will immediately be able to discern one thing about this second entry of the FF7 Remake series: It is gargantuan. The first game got plenty of praise (and plenty of flak) for taking the relatively sh...
The Manga Guide library expands with six more series, including Trinity Seven -Revision-, Watch Dogs Tokyo, Fed Up With Being the Spoiled Queen's Genius Butler,, and more!― Welcome to Anime News Network's Spring 2024 Manga Guide! You may have seen one of our seasonal Anime Preview Guides, where a team of critics writes up each new anime television premiere as it airs at the beginning of a season. N...