One Piece usually doesn't get the chance to play the filler game like its brethren Naruto and Bleach. At some point along the way, Toei decided they didn't want to overburden their audience with unwanted non-canon material and instead chose simply to pad the main story out for better and worse (mostly worse). There are occasionally small filler arcs in between the main story, but they're usually a mere three to five episodes a pop these days. Some of us actively wish that the series would partake in more filler (despite it being significantly worse in writing quality), if it meant giving the canon material a steadier pace.
Since Dressrosa was so long, it's been a while since there has even been a chance to insert filler, so it came as a pleasant surprise last week when the next-episode preview showed off what looked to be a well-animated filler episode, fleshing out the backstory of Sabo's life in the Revolutionary Army. An even bigger surprise came earlier this week, when it was announced that Eiichiro Oda himself had approved and exchanged notes on the script for this episode. I was pretty optimistic that this was going to be just what the doctor ordered after such an exhausting Dressrosa finale.
Well, about that...
737 is pretty mediocre across the board, meaning I overestimated a filler episode. Whodathunk? The way it breaks down is thus: one third content from the manga, one third repeated footage from a few arcs back, and one third new anime-only content that ends up being incredibly mild and inconsequential. I guess I should have seen this coming, but ever since the G8 arc I can't help but feel like anime-only content could have strong writing, and it just never seems to manage it. Then again, the G8 arc was about 600 episodes ago…
Expectations aside, this episode is harmless in the long run. It's padding things out just as much as anything else and doesn't aspire to do more. Again, there are chunks of exceptionally nice animation, particularly when we see Sabo training on his own or fighting against Kuma. It's slick and nicely choreographed, so if you're into cool sakuga, there's at least a little bit of something there for you. It's just a shame that these scenes are incredibly brief and feel extra lopsided compared to how wonky and off-model the episode around them looks.
The thing I took away most from this episode is just how much it illuminates how shallow filler writing can be, even when injecting just a little bit of creativity feels like it should be low-hanging fruit. Like, I can say: “Sabo joins the Revolutionary Army and decides to train himself out of cockiness. There are several scenes where he picks a fight with Kuma as part of his training and loses.” That sounds like a pretty solid foundation for an episode, but in practice there's nothing you really gain by watching it in action versus reading those two sentences on paper, even taking the slick animation into account. There's just nothing to learn beyond the premise itself.
This is a simple matter of me naively getting my hopes up that Toei would do something a tiny bit more interesting than we're used to getting from them. At the end of the day, it's the same kind of shallow break we've been asking for so I guess I can't complain too much. However, I do think this serves as a testament to Oda's manga writing that even Toei's already so-so adaptation becomes significantly less engaging without it.
Anime will star Hiroshi Kamiya, Kotaro Nishiyama, Kotaro Nishiyama― Distribution company Remow announced on Tuesday that Yura Urushibara's Tougen Anki: Dark Demon of Paradise manga will get a television anime in 2025. The company revealed the trailer, key visual, and main cast for the anime. The anime's cast includes:
Kazuki Ura as Shiki Ichinose, the protagonist who inherits the blood of an Oni. Sh...
Nick and Chris recount some of the most frustrating anime cancellations, from the Yuri on Ice movie to the second half of Stars Align.― Nick and Chris recount some of the most frustrating anime cancellations from the second half of Stars Align to the 2007 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood movie. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views...
Welcome to the rankings for the Spring 2024 season! The perfect place to check out which hidden gems might have flown under your radar.― 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 rankings are based on how people rated ...
The final Spring 2024 Manga Guide update includes not-yet-released series from this month, including Sword Art Online Re:Aincrad,Bungo Stray Dogs: The Official Comic Anthology, A Sign of Affection 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 a...
Producer Masakazu Kubo shares the animation team's dedication to realism, including bringing in a pro golfer to produce the anime's sound effects.― 64-year-old Masakazu Kubo has been planning and producing anime for decades. He's had a major hand in everything from Pokémon and Detective Conan to Teasing Master Takagi-san and Dorohedoro. Recently, he sat down with us to talk about Tonbo!, his attemp...
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...