Rayleigh and Roger have a nice moment where they reminisce about their first meeting. They have come far and experienced much, but as with all good things, their time together must come to an end. Many powerful groups have set their sights on Roger – including the World Government, the Navy, and other pirate crews – and they are not playing nice. With Roger's worsening health, the time has come for the Roger Pirates to disband and go their separate ways. The crew visits the island where Shanks and Buggy are resting and we get a nice, tender moment between Shanks and Roger. It has finally come time for even the King of the Pirates to part ways with his crew, and naturally, "not a tear was shed".
Oden also returns to Wano in hopes of spending quality time with his people. But he is scarcely on the island for a few hours before he begins to realize that Wano is no longer the land he once remembers. Kinemon and the others reveal that Oden's father has passed on, and that Orochi used his wit and charm to end up as the new shogun. Eventually his tyranny grew, factories sprouted, and the Nine has had enough. They recount to Oden their attack on Orochi, which ultimately ended in failure even though it was a nice try. What's worse, Toki was injured during the fighting.
Oden's rage slowly builds throughout this conversation. His joy at being reunited with his family is replaced by anger over the endangerment they faced at Orochi's hand. He grabs his swords and vows to show the shogun that it's no more Mr. Nice Guy – the young Oden is back.
Another powerful episode.
I am, once again, here to tell you that you should be watching One Piece. While it is a nice break to watch legends being made through joyous adventures, the high intensity and high stakes have well and truly returned. Roger is sick and dying, the World Government is increasing its power, Wano is under the rule of a tyrant, and Oden goes to face his destiny. In the same way I find myself enthralled by the weight of destiny during those powerful, uplifting moments of the past few episodes, it is hard not to get wrapped up in the heavy drama unfolding with Oden's return.
By far the most striking visuals are courtesy of Roger and Oden themselves. Roger walking away into the golden sky, fist raised in camaraderie and defiance, the crew's faces all drenched tears – it's an awe-inspiring moment. And seeing him share a moment with Shanks that was as touching and career-defining as the one Shanks would later have with Luffy was equally wonderful, and the anime adaptation gives these scenes the appropriate gravitas.
Oden's emotions slowly shifting and changing as events are recounted to him was an excellent moment too. It's a more subtle series of transformations, but just as momentous as Orochi turning into a hydra. First it was the lack of pupils, followed by the fraying of his hair or the outline of his character model, until eventually we see his shadow fall across his blades and he is shrouded in burning red rage – what a terrific sequence. Seeing all the joy of his world-hopping adventure drained away and replaced by a desire for vengeance and, in a way, becoming who he was before he grew and changed, is really something to behold. Hats off to the Toei team for selling the intensity of the scene.
Rayleigh and Roger talking about their younger days was also a really nice moment. Great episode all around.
What's the perfect recipe for waifu supremacy? Lucas and Nick look at fan-favorites from Yu Yu Hakusho to Spice & Wolf.― What's the perfect recipe for waifu supremacy? Lucas and Nick look at fan-favorites from Yu Yu Hakusho to Spice & Wolf. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.Spoiler Warning for discussion of the s...
Train to the End of the World and Voice Actor Radio are getting a lot of love these last few weeks! Discover which other series stand out 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 rankings...
Crystal Kay previously sang themes for 2004's Fullmetal Alchemist and Nodame Cantabile― Recently, Anime News Network was able to sit down with singer-songwriter Crystal Kay and talk about not only her involvement with anime over the years but also what it was like to grow up in Japan as the child of a Korean-Japanese mother and an African-American father. Anime fans likely know of Crystal Kay throug...
The plot is excellent in the romance camp. Everything that happens is to get Eui-joon and Gunwoo together, and it works pretty well.― You can read The Dangerous Convenience Store in English two ways. The first is to read it on the manhwa site/app Manta, which has all seventy-five chapters and four bonus stories available. The second is to read Seven Seas' print (or ebook) edition, which, as of this ...
Some older mysteries inch closer to resolution as the true nature of the Abyss slowly comes into view, and long-posed questions start to be answered.― Sometimes, being a fan of Akihito Tsukushi's acclaimed Made in Abyss series means acclimating to suffering. Like many Western devotees, I was introduced to this bizarre, squishy, disturbing world via the 2017 first season of Kinema Citrus' fantastic a...
60th, final episode of previous anime streamed on YouTube on Friday― The official Twitter account for the anime of Penguin Box's Odekake Kozame (Little Shark's Outings) manga announced on Friday that the manga will get a new anime series. Update: The staff revealed a visual for the new series in a press release on Saturday. The previous anime series debuted on YouTube last August, and its 60th and f...
Recently ended manga follows middle school student living with mysterious bird-looking creature― Shogakukan announced on Friday that Akira Konno's Kujima Utaeba Ie Hororo manga is inspiring an anime. The "bird(?) home comedy" manga's story starts when first-year middle school student Arata Kōda meets a mysterious bird-looking creature named Kujima in autumn. Hungry and craving Japanese food, Kujima ...
As Slam Dunk reached its final stretch, I can see why this series is considered the sports classic that it is today.― This is the largest batch of Slam Dunk episodes that I've reviewed thus far. Originally, I wanted to review the show in more even seasons, but given its overall pacing and release, it wasn't easy to find a moment where it felt right to stop and start again. However, as we approached ...
James and Lynzee discuss the latest episode of Yatagarsu. Plus, GoHands keeps making anime, and we don't know WHY.― Yatagarasu Gets Violent! James and Lynzee discuss the latest episode of Yatagarsu, in which Wakamiya plays his hand to find out the truth behind his older brother's scheming to obtain the throne. Plus, GoHands keeps making anime, and we don't know WHY; Hunter x Hunter manga is on its ...
Making a sequel to Code Geass is a daunting task. But with its fantastic main character and a story that doesn't undercut what came before, Rozé of the Recapture is on the right track.― Making a sequel to Code Geass—especially one set close to the end of the series—is a daunting task. Any story that involves an ongoing war massively undercuts both the finale of the original anime and the sacrifices ...
The Switch sequel console is finally happening! The details are scarce, but you can find out more in this week's column. Also: an interview with El Shaddai's Sawaki Takeyasu, Microsoft layoffs, and more.― Welcome back, folks! What a wild week this has been for the gaming industry. We'll go further into it, but jeez. This past week also saw the disappearance of Capcom's Dark Void and Dark Void Zero. ...