By the end of One Piece 1076, Kaido is - at last - finally defeated. Thus ends an eye-watering long arc of anime and a new era dawns for the series.
The episode itself is what you expect by and large. We check in around Onigashima, get a flashback or two, then get one last big punch to bring down the curtain on this fight and we fade to black by the end. I'm not sure if there's much here to unpack - Raizo and Jinbei do some water control antics, Usopp saves Kiku and Kinemon, and we get some sunlit reaction shots from onlookers - and that's all she wrote.
Mostly, I want to reflect a bit on the sheer enormity of Wano. I have been writing the weekly reviews for One Piece here at ANN since the summer of 2020. In that time… this is the only arc I've written about. I've spent four years of my life reviewing One Piece week in and week out, and we're now just concluding the ultimate battle. Truthfully, we have some wrap-up episodes and post-battle partying still to conclude, so I've got a few more weeks of Wano coverage left.
The Wano arc is certainly an ambitious effort. This arc of One Piece alone is longer than the entirety of other anime series. Has it been worth it? Has the payoff met the expectation? That's not something I can definitively answer for you, dear reader, and I think answering it even for myself is a conundrum. There have been times when I've just wanted it to end already, while there were other stretches where I simply could not wait for more Wano. I think the fact that this enormous arc has been animated to such consistently high fidelity and helped deliver the emotional beats present in the manga speaks to the success of such a huge risk - it's hard to imagine thinking of this as anything other than a smash hit since I'm going “Uh, yeah I think four years of this was good to great by and large.” Lord knows I don't think I could sustain a similar level of creative quality and output over the same period, just reviewing the episodes has felt tiring at times.
That said, I'm unequivocally delighted that the sun of Joyboy has risen and we're about to move on to new horizons. I think the story of Wano has been told with aplomb and more adventures await.
Some older mysteries inch closer to resolution as the true nature of the Abyss slowly comes into view, and long-posed questions start to be answered.― Sometimes, being a fan of Akihito Tsukushi's acclaimed Made in Abyss series means acclimating to suffering. Like many Western devotees, I was introduced to this bizarre, squishy, disturbing world via the 2017 first season of Kinema Citrus' fantastic a...
60th, final episode of previous anime streamed on YouTube on Friday― The official Twitter account for the anime of Penguin Box's Odekake Kozame (Little Shark's Outings) manga announced on Friday that the manga will get a new anime series. Update: The staff revealed a visual for the new series in a press release on Saturday. The previous anime series debuted on YouTube last August, and its 60th and f...
Recently ended manga follows middle school student living with mysterious bird-looking creature― Shogakukan announced on Friday that Akira Konno's Kujima Utaeba Ie Hororo manga is inspiring an anime. The "bird(?) home comedy" manga's story starts when first-year middle school student Arata Kōda meets a mysterious bird-looking creature named Kujima in autumn. Hungry and craving Japanese food, Kujima ...
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...
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...