Happy news, everyone! There's going to be a wedding! Sanji and Pudding have vowed to live happily ever after, and I'm sure there's no way it could go wrong. No siree.
These are the parts of the series that get the most frustrating, because execution becomes so important. I was impressed by Luffy and Sanji's big fight because it made what was already a relatively weak thread of the arc (Sanji's departure from the crew) a lot more potent, and I wish that was the case more often. The heart of this episode lies in Sanji and Pudding's private conversation away from their parents, where Pudding sees the hurt that Sanji's family is putting him through, so they promise each other to make their marriage a happy one. They're two peas in a pod in this unwanted marriage, after all. From Sanji's point of view, there's no going back to the Straw Hat pirates, but living with a beautiful, caring young woman seems to be the next best thing. It's a glimmer of light in the darkness.
The animation's not pretty enough to keep up with the soft piano decorating the scene, so a moment like this gets lost in the shuffle given the scope of the arc. Pudding's role in this story is in a precarious position for a number of reasons, and the only thing that can save her from being a snore is to go all in. Make her so sweet my teeth hurt. Right now, I think her charms are working on Sanji a lot more than they're working on us, and I just find myself hitting my head against my desk, wishing this show could be drawn better or moved faster or something.
This conversation between Sanji and Pudding is sewn between scenes of Luffy and Nami fighting off Big Mom's army. There's a moment of empowerment as all of Mom's henchmen doubt that Luffy could have been the one to defeat Cracker, only for Luffy to put up a surprisingly good fight against so many enemies. Again, this is a sequence let down by so-so animation, and the fact that this battle of futility appears to be going on for yet another episode is disappointing. That said, it is nice to see the smaller names of Big Mom's family have a moment with Luffy before the rest of the arc happens.
We're tumbling into the lowest point of the story for our heroes, after a brief victory at the end of the Cracker fight. We can be pretty certain that Sanji will return to the crew at some point, but right now there are enough complications to keep it interesting. What would it take for Sanji to leave Pudding and put Zeff's life back at risk? What happens if Luffy can't keep his promise to stay waiting in that spot? That last one is a self-imposed rule for Luffy, who's assuming Sanji's coming back as much as we are. It's a gesture that anchors the whole story, no matter how much things go out of wack in the episodes to come.
I like the ideas behind the story enough to enjoy the episode, but am really worn down by the pacing and presentation. I really wish that Luffy vs. Big Mom's army wasn't being divided between at least three episodes, and you can feel the production running thin once again.
Staff, most cast return to perform original 2023 musical on October 11-13― The musical based on Hajime Isayama's Attack on Titan manga will have its first international performance at the New York City Center in New York on October 11-13. Attack on Titan: The Musical will be performed in Japanese with English subtitles with a returning cast and staff from the 2023 show. Presale tickets are available...
Yeah, yeah, Kaiju No. 8 has all the great action scenes, but Yatagarasu is chewing up the scenery as the royal ladies absolutely lose their minds!?― Why Aren't You Watching This Anime Yet? Yeah, yeah, Kaiju No. 8 has all the great action scenes, but Yatagarasu is chewing up the scenery as the royal ladies absolutely lose their minds!? The ANN After Show streams live on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitte...
Here we have a from-the-ground-up remake, but does this beloved classic still hold up in a modern sense, or is that praise just nostalgia talking?― It's nice when Nintendo surprises us with a remaster or re-release of one of their more difficult-to-obtain games. The original Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for the Nintendo GameCube is a classic for many. However, since the game was never re-rele...
Miles Atherton crunched Netflix's latest numbers for some surprising anime discoveries, from the popularity of My Happy Marriage to the One Piece juggernaut.― Since the advent of streaming, it's been notoriously difficult to gauge how popular a specific anime is with international audiences, both for publishers looking to make informed decisions for a market that generates most of its revenue outsi...
Haruka Shiraishi, Jun Fukuyama star in EMT Squared anime― The official website for the television anime of Izumi Sawano's I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons (Kisaki Kyōiku kara Nigetai Watashi) light novel series opened on Wednesday and revealed the anime's teaser visuals, main cast, main staff, and 2025 premiere. The anime stars: Haruka Shiraishi as Leticia Jun Fukuyama as Clarke Uri Sugata, th...
Game also inspires 2nd symphonic concert 'with animation'― The official website for Palette's 9-nine- game announced on Wednesday that the anime is inspiring a television anime. To commemorate the anime announcement, the franchise will hold its "9-nine- Symphonic Concert 2 with Animation" on September 8. (The franchise held an earlier symphonic concert, without the "animation" tag, on October 17, 20...
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...
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 ...