The enthusiastic but slapdash structure of Whole Cake Island's climax has been starting to take its toll these past few weeks. Things were just heating up with Fourth Gear Luffy's onslaught against Katakuri, but the entire reason Luffy waited this long to bust this transformation out in the first place is that he knows it has a time limit and a gnarly recharge time. Katakuri's Observation Haki has returned and now Luffy's power is beginning to deflate, meaning he has to hightail it out of the mirror world altogether. He finds Brulee hiding around one of the corners, so he's able to kidnap her and escape.
There's a lot that's hit and miss about this portion of the battle. It seems with each escalation of the stakes, something else has to get dramatically undercut in the process. Luffy is able to escape the battle and leaves Katakuri stuck in the mirror world. That's good! But the mirror he exits from just happens to bring him to Nuts Island, where Big Mom is actively rampaging and throwing skyscraper-sized peanuts around. That's bad! I love that the second Luffy uses his Get Out of Jail Free Card he accidentally stumbles into a much, much worse scenario. There are so many places this could go, but unfortunately this will ultimately prove to be a momentary breather from the Katakuri fight, and all we're doing is wasting our time. The tension that was building during the actual important part of the story has been shot in the foot.
The animation isn't helping a ton either, and it really shows during the scene that needs it the most: a new musical number! That's right, this is still a musical arc, even in the heat of battle, and this time it's Praline singing away the Big Mom pirates' territory sea slugs. This is a nice return of Jimbei's Sun pirates, and a further extension of this arc's crazy Rube Goldberg machine of a plot. Though, it should feel a lot more effective and whimsical, really nailing the arc's equilibrium between the Straw Hats' crazy luck and their systematic domination of the Big Mom pirates, but it's barely animated and the song's composition feels unfinished. This could have been a perfectly timed breath of fresh air to contrast against the same-y Katakuri fight, but instead it's just really boring.
This is a big turning point for the climax of the arc. Luffy has changed locations, the Sunny crew is getting ready to make their next move, and the breading of the new wedding cake has been finished, meaning Sanji and company will be heading out to sea while they put on the finishing touches. Sadly, it's all too little too late. We're constantly waiting for the next big shake up, and yet when we get it we still feel like we're jogging in place. I like a lot of what this big operatic chase adventure is going for, but the weaknesses are showing through way too much this week.
With seven full routes and one mini-route with a character from the previous game, if you enjoyed Cupid Paradise, Sweet & Spicy Darling is worth playing.― The first order of business is this: if you haven't played the original Cupid Parasite otome game, there isn't much point in picking up Sweet & Spicy Darling. There is one new route for this sequel, but even that relies on you knowing the backgrou...
With the release of Dead Dead Demon's Dededededestruction, Nick and Steve take a look at it and some other manga that were thought to be "unadaptable"—and see if that was truly the case.― With the release of Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction, Nick and Steve take a look at it and some other manga that were thought to be "unadaptable"—and see if that was truly the case. Disclaimer: The views and...
LiSA performs 'Black Box' opening theme― The official website for NieR:Automata Ver 1.1a, the television anime of Square Enix and Platinum Games' NieR:Automata action role-playing game, started streaming its "promotion file 11" on Tuesday. The video previews the opening theme song "Black Box" by LiSA, and reveals the premiere of the anime's second cours (quarter of year) in July. (The video below re...
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 ...
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...