We open on Orochi's secret ninja police beating Yasu within an inch of his life. They've captured him and are torturing him, but he does not break. In fact he appears to be tiring out his captors. They rip off his covering to reveal his face and massive afro.
The head of the ninja police rushes off to tell Orochi that they have captured the thief Uhsimitsu Koro. Shogun Orochi is still inconsolable regarding the Oiran's death, and is reluctant to see who Yasu really is. After much fuming he goes to see Yasu/Ushimitsu and realizes that he is in fact Tonoyasu. In his shock and rage he decides to have Yasu executed on the same day as Oiran's funeral.
Meanwhile, at the prison Queen hears of the Oiran's death and is distraught. He doesn't have long to mull it over as Luffy and Hyogoro challenge him to a fight. They want to make it a sumo match as they have ballooned up on the red bean soup. Queen instad kicks on his video snail to view images from the Flower Capital.
Elsewhere, Holdem's and Shutenmaru's forces are locked in a deadly battle. Holdem reveals his fiery chain blade and engages in single combat with Shutenmaru. While their battle largely ends in a stalemate, Holdem does matter to set the thieves' hideout ablaze and with it all their supplies. Carrot and Wanda head off to inform Kinemon of this turn of events.
In the snowy hut, Brook arrives and discovers Zoro snuggling with Komurasaki and Toko. He mentions that Ushimitsu Kozo has been captured and that he is, in fact, Tonoyasu. Toko is chilled to her core at her father's capture and rushes out into the snowdrifts to save him. Zoro, Komurasaki, and Brook dash after her to stop her from heading out on her own.
Finally, Yasu is taken from his holding cell and brought into the bright light of day where his public execution awaits.
This episode was more emotionally resonant than visually resplendent. It's mostly setup for what is coming down the pipe in the near future. There's a fair amount of action with the Holdem versus Shutenmaru fight and it's certainly animated well enough. Nothing in particular stands out though and while there is nothing particularly wrong with it, it's hard not to compare it to the dynamite animation from the prior sequences we've seen in Wano. Holdem's fiery chain blade is, if nothing else, pretty darn cool.
The star of the show here is the voice performances. Hiroshi Iwasaki's work as Shogun Orochi is once again stellar. The desperation of his agonized screaming and blubbering crying fits is remarkable, and it's chased with the wonderfully evil glee of his sentencing Yasu to death. Not to mention Kokoro Kikuchi's gut-wrenching performance in Toko's scenes. I think the tragedy of the SMILE fruits is most apparent in the voice acting in these moments, where Kokoro Kikuchi's laughs are so anxious and unsettling. And how could I not mention Mayumi Tanaka's brilliant “stuffed Luffy” voice, she's always a delight. Excellent performances all around.
Momoiro Clover Z, MindaRyn to perform season's new theme songs― Bandai Namco Filmworks revealed more cast, a new key visual, a new promotional video, and a new commercial on Saturday for the third season of the That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken) television anime. Bandai Namco Filmworks also announced that Momoiro Clover Z will perform the season's second opening...
She allegedly didn't like how her favorite character was being treated― With games like The IdolM@ster and Ensemble Stars!! allowing people to manage Japanese idols, they're bound to create schisms among fans — not about which game is better, but which character is the best. This can lead developers to leave some characters by the wayside to promote more popular ones. But what are fans to do if this...
Co-founder Hideaki Anno's current studio Khara acquires Gainax's trademark― Anime studio Gainax announced on its website on Friday that it filed for bankruptcy in the Tokyo District Court on May 29. The bankruptcy proceedings are happening just short of the studio's 40th anniversary in December. Gainax's Statement In its statement on Friday, Gainax explained that its financial situation worsened sta...
Lynzee slays the Nosferatu Arucard, but isn't sure if she enjoyed the experience.― Welcome back to The Anime Backlog, the column where I chronicle my journey to overcome a backlog of 100+ anime titles. After slaying my behemoth of shame, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, I decided to dive into the quintessential dark and edgy series of the aughts, Hellsing Ultimate. Hellsing Ultimate Why Is It Impo...
Synduality: Noir perhaps ends up better than other video game tie-in series, but in the larger mecha genre, it's still an also-ran.― This second cour started as a big fat question mark. While the first half of Synduality: Noir had occasional drama, most of its runtime was all about chilling with its extended cast as they got into cool robot fights. While that lent the show a lot of charm, it meant t...
Before Summer Game Fest truly kicks off, Jean-Karlo checks out the upcoming Yakuza TV series news and Gen Urobutchi's deceptively cute rabbit puzzler.― Welcome back, folks! In honor of the Astro Bot announcement, I spent some time playing Astro's Playhouse over the weekend. It's a cute tech demo disguised as a platformer, helped by Astro being an adorable little mascot. The historical angle of colle...
Anti-hero or villain? Scar and Magneto present evidence for either interpretation.― X-Men' 97 has now concluded its stunning first season, and those ten episodes highlighted the best and worst of Magneto — a man who's been both the X-Men's nemesis and leader. Introduced at the very beginning of X-Men in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's 1963 debut issue, the "Master of Magnetism" has changed a lot in his s...
Sound Euphonium 3 is now the top anime both in weekly and cumulative rankings! Find out how your favorite shows fared 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 are based on how pe...
Chris and Steve make the highly questionable decision of watching all of Code Geass in 48 hours. Is the series just as good as it was nearly two decades ago?― Chris and Steve make the highly questionable decision of watching all of Code Geass in 48 hours. Is the series just as good as it was nearly two decades ago? Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are...
Unfortunately, Kengan Ashura isn't dumb fun often enough to be enjoyable, and its politics make it a slog to get through.― The back half of season one of Kengan Ashura — confusingly labeled "Part II" on Netflix and with episode numbers that reset to 1 through 12 — is better than the first part of the season. Unfortunately, that isn't saying much, as this martial arts anime opens with an incredibly w...
Pierrot Films to animate new season― The official website for the Mr. Osomatsu anime revealed on Thursday that the anime is getting a fourth season. Pierrot Films is animating the series. The main six cast members of the Matsuno sextuplets are returning. The Mr. Osomatsu television anime was inspired by Fujio Akatsuka's original Osomatsu-kun manga and "high tension comedy" TV anime, which centers on...
Lynzee and James welcome Richard Eisenbeis onto the podcast to discuss the first episode of the weird sci-fi series Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction!― Why You Should Watch Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction Lynzee and James welcome Richard Eisenbeis onto the podcast to discuss the first episode of the weird sci-fi series Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction, plus NEW revelations in Yata...
The best and worst thing I can say about Garouden: The Way of the Lone Wolf is that it feels like an 80s movie.― The best and worst thing I can say about Garouden: The Way of the Lone Wolf is that it feels like an 80s movie. This track as this anime is an adaptation of the quietly seminal Garōden martial arts novels written by Baku Yumemakura, the first of which premiered in 1985. If you like shows ...
From Aqua to Yunyun, we tried all the KONOSUBA drinks at The Hub to find the most delicious!― If there's one thing many adults worldwide enjoy doing, it's getting an alcoholic beverage with some friends. Be they beers, ales, spirits, wines, cocktails, among other beverages, adults have their drinks of choice. And one of the best places to enjoy your drink is your local pub or bar. In Japan, though, ...