We're two for two on the Zou arc so far. The One Piece anime has been stagnating these last few months, and now we're in for a breath of fresh air with new characters, locations, and an overall much more engaged production. It just feels good to have a ton of great things to say about One Piece again.
In pursuit of finding Luffy and Law's remaining crew members on Zou, our heroes have reached the top of the elephant only to run into the tribe of animal people that inhabit the area. These people are the Minks, and we get introduced to the dog woman, Wanda (Get it? "Wan" is the Japanese onomatopoeia for a dog barking) and the rabbit girl, Carrot. I noticed that the events of this episode were paced slightly different than in the manga, so the question of whether these Minks are friends or foes gets unceremoniously deflated as the episode goes on. They ultimately seem like allies who are already familiar with Sanji and company, despite how standoffish and vague their goals seemed at the beginning of the episode.
Otherwise, the strongest aspect of this episode is the direction. Again, the anime was suffering from some stagnation recently, so it feels like a miracle to see an episode get so creative with all that padding that other episodes always feel burdened with. It's nice to see moments like Luffy's break from the group as he explores the forest, or the rest of the crew taking their time to observe a rundown town. The slower moments exist so that the story can breathe, and we can appreciate the atmosphere. That feeling just hasn't been common enough in this show as of late.
More on the production side, this episode has some of that Naotoshi Shida shininess to it throughout. Normally, that look is reserved for key scenes, but it's all over the place this time. I'm not in tune with all that sakuga stuff enough to say that Shida was involved for sure, but the look is noteworthy enough. Honestly, it contributes to some wonky off-model shots, especially in the character's faces, but the episode in general is so kinetic that it balances out. Everything involving the Minks looks super cool, with Wanda and Carrot looking great in motion. From the manga, I've become a real big fan of Carrot's character specifically, and I'm very happy with the way she looks and sounds in the anime.
The Zou arc marks the beginning of many things in One Piece, most notably the quote-unquote "Four Emperors Saga." If you count Punk Hazard, that means we've been under Doflamingo's reign for well over 150 episodes, so now I think we can declare this a new reset point for the series where a person with a tentative grasp on the story might want to jump in. You can feel a new sense of energy coming from the production, which makes me very happy as a fan who was getting really bummed out about this show just a couple of episodes ago. I don't expect it to last for an astonishingly long time, but Toei has had a track record for nailing the beginnings of these arcs, and I expect to see a few more home runs in the near future.
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...