Every bad guy's got to have their top officers. Doflamingo had his card suits, and now Big Mom's got her Sweet Three Generals (formerly Sweet Four, as we learn later in this episode), including none other than our current opponent, Charlotte Cracker. Luffy may be a big shot rookie with a 500 million berry bounty, but even he's a small fry compared to one of the Four Emperors who have henchmen nearing the billions range. I love it when we get a big dramatic bounty out of nowhere, just to get a whiff of the scale we're working with. Cracker's is 860 million.
Suddenly, my exhaustion with the Seducing Woods vanishes as we're able to set our sights on one very clear and challenging conflict. Nami has to remind Luffy to preserve his strength, because their goal is still to rescue Sanji and get out without a fight. If Luffy spends too much time trying to deal with one stronger opponent out of many, then this is going to be an arc of hardship like few others. The arc is still trotting along at its slow pace, but we're back to a groove I can sink my teeth into.
Also on the track of details meant to put the Straw Hats in their place is the story that Brulee tells about the other Super Rookies who have wandered into Big Mom's lair looking for a fight. Names that we know like Kid and Apoo never got anywhere, though Brulee's argument skills could use some work as she has to back-pedal on Bege Capone and Urouge. The former married into the family and Urouge was able to defeat one of the top generals, suggesting that maybe Big Mom's defenses aren't entirely impenetrable. It does make us wonder what kind of footing Luffy's pirate rivals may have found while we weren't looking, though.
Beyond that, this episode goes on to juggle the fights between Luffy vs Cracker and Nami vs Brulee. Luffy's as headstrong as ever despite his enemy not budging, but Nami is able to use her new Clima-takt to take out Big Mom's witch daughter for now. Pound, Big Mom's ex-husband and Lola's father, also finds the courage to fight alongside them for a brief moment, dooming him to an act of treason.
Multi-part fights are often hard to discuss an episode at a time, since the flow of several episodes running together is where their best qualities come out, but this is a decent episode all the same. The animation looks solid as Luffy does his best, and the next few episodes promise to escalate the action further. Now the Seducing Woods get to be what I hoped they would from the beginning: a little pocket conflict that the heroes have to fight their way through just to compete with the main story again. Before it was just a bunch nonspecific gags and challenges, but now it's got us wondering what will happen even if the main characters do win, because there's so much room for this fight to slow them down or tire them out while all the Sanji stuff continues on regardless.
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...
The ANN After Show is at episode 100! Let's reflect on some of our favorite moments, catch up on Kaiju No. 8, Yatagarasu, and more this week!― 100 Episodes of the ANN Aftershow!? The ANN After Show is at episode 100! Let's catch up on Kaiju No. 8, Yatagarasu, and more this week! The ANN After Show streams live on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter Spaces on Tuesdays at 6pm PT/9pm ET. You can listen to ...