There's a specific plot thread in this arc that thankfully gets brought back up this week, because otherwise it would easily get swallowed up in all the chaos. One of Big Mom's passions is treasure chests, because she loves opening them and discovering what rare artifacts are inside. It's a tradition for her guests to give these chests to her as gifts during tea parties while trying to outdo each other in extravagance. It sounds pretty in-character to learn that even when it's her children getting married, Mom's the one raking in all the presents.
But Big Mom has been holding on to a very special treasure chest for a while: The TAMATE BOX. This has been a leftover thread since the end of Fishman Island, when the royal family gifted the Straw Hats all their treasure to thank them, and then Luffy gave that treasure to the Big Mom pirates to calm them down enough to not destroy the island for being unable to afford tribute. The TAMATE BOX was among that treasure, described as an important chest with a lot of history, passed down for generations. In the context of the Fishman Island arc, we learned that it originally housed the energy steroids that Hody Jones and his crew stole, and that the royal family rigged the chest with a bomb in order to catch future thieves. The family failed to warn the Straw Hats of this before they handed it over to Big Mom, and the implication has always been that one day Big Mom would open this "gift" and interpret it as a malicious attack from Luffy. Hundreds of episodes later, Mom still has that chest, and she's looking forward to opening it on this special day.
This ends up being one of the more interesting details in an otherwise calorie-free episode. We've spent the first half of this arc establishing Big Mom's monstrousness, and between the TAMATE BOX, the Mother Carmel picture that the crew is looking to smash, and the wedding cake that Mom has been looking forward to so much, we have at least three ways in which we could piss her off. Speaking of the Mother Carmel picture, there's also a scene in this episode where a random guest asks her a simple question about it, but gets a violent "Don't pry into my memories!" response in return, implying that it's a touchy subject.
Compared to all its build-up, there's something I found off about this episode. I was hoping to coast a little longer on the recent pretty visuals, but this plays out more like an empty buffer holding us over between the more interesting story beats. Visually this episode is mostly flat, with a lot of charmless waist-high medium shots making up the compositions. The core is in the scenes between Sanji and Pudding as they wait for their wedding to officially begin, and Sanji being hopelessly won over by his bride as she continues to play innocent. There's a growing concern over whether Sanji can keep himself together for the assassination plan, since the fantasy "good" version of Pudding is winning him back over while she inner-monologues about his coming death.
Hopefully this is the last episode of pre-wedding setup, since Sanji and Pudding are in the process of walking down the aisle. (If by "walking" you mean getting flown in on a giant piece of candy.) We've dedicated a lot of time to preparing for Capone's assassination plot, some of which we've seen in action and some of which is still a secret to the audience. The pieces are all in place, and it's time to see where they fall, considering how many ways this day can go wrong for every party involved. Let's get these kids hitched and get this mom assassinated, shall we?
Series previously inspired 52-episode anime in 1993― This year's 24th issue of Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine revealed on Wednesday that Gosho Aoyama's Yaiba manga will be getting a new anime adaptation. Aoyama is supervising. The series follows the titular Yaiba Kurogane, a young samurai boy inspired by Miyamoto Musashi, the real-life swordsman who pioneered the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū sty...
Based on the novel by former Nogizaka46 member Kazumi Takayama, trapezium asks its audience to follow one girl who will use anything, and anyone, to achieve her dream.― Trapezium is a strange movie, to say the least. On the surface, it's a rather simple movie that explores youth, their dreams, and the lengths they'll go to achieve those dreams. It's a coming-of-age story wrapped in the veneer of the...
ZeroReq011 remembers what made Spice and Wolf a story for the ages, from its fully realized world and economics to Holo and Lawrence's romantic chemistry.― Back when Funimation was still its own company and not owned by Sony, long before its in-house streaming service was terminated in favor of Crunchyroll's streaming platform, it owned a TV channel. Legal streaming had yet to dominate the Western a...
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...