So it's time for more on the man himself, Cat Viper. I mentioned before that Cat Viper ("Nekomamushi") was invented by Oda when Brook's voice actor, Chō, made a silly little nonsense song about somebody called the Cat Viper. Oda must have been charmed by this little piece and made up the Duke of the Night as a result. In the manga, there was even a little scene where Brook sings the song on their way to go meet the cat monster, but fans were taken aback when the song didn't appear in the anime a few episodes back. I was fairly sure they were just saving it for a more appropriate episode, but I wasn't 100% convinced. Well, we can put all worries to bed, because the song is here!
It's been expanded upon, of course, because the anime needs all the padding it can get. Still, it's a fun little music video in the middle of the episode where Brook sings the song with his guitar (and other instruments magically accompanying it). I love little things like this because, as much as I adore the soundtrack for this show, I love really standout musical moments. I wish the show would use insert songs more often or take advantage of Brook's position as an all-purpose musician to play more songs than just Bink's Sake. It's also funny to see him make up the song as he goes, once he's called out on just repeating the same lyrics over and over.
This is an episode with dramatically mixed production values. The first half is stiff and frequently falling off-model, while the second half snaps back into the more solid stuff. There's also a filler sequence where the crew has to fight off a bunch of large bugs that serves no purpose other than to buy time for the episode, which wouldn't normally be too bad if it didn't look really ugly. For a moment, I thought the anime's recent good streak had been interrupted again, and I would have been disappointed were it not for the second half, when the rest of the crew finally gets to meet Cat Viper in person. I'm also thinking a bit about this show's color palette, which can't seem to make up its mind if it wants to be really soft or really bold. It's confusing because the show is capable of really beautiful color work, but ever since the time skip, it never really found a consistent look to settle on.
So the crew gets to meet the Cat Viper. Chōpper has been caring for his wounds over the past few weeks, but he's still having a tough time adjusting to his missing hand. When we meet him, he's laying on the references pretty thick, both with his love of "lasag-nya" (get it?) and the fact that he is meowing to the tune of Beethoven's Fate, a reference to a jokey Question Corner answer from the manga. Cat Viper continues to be a lot of fun, combining his gruff old man and wild Cat Sides.
The episode ends with the crew meeting up with Pekoms, the lion man from Big Mom's crew who was abandoned by his ally. Pekoms gives us a few more hints as to what's up with Sanji's family, the Vinsmokes, claiming that they are the head of a warmongering army known as Germa 66. The name is familiar to Nami, but only as a myth that she doesn't believe is real. We've learned a lot about Sanji in the past few episodes, but there will always continue to be mysteries to gradually unfold.
This is a tough episode to give a rating because the first half looks pretty rough, but then the second half looks kind of great. It's pleasantly on-model and well-directed, to the point where I'm pretty sure the different halves were being overseen by completely different people. Overall, between the second half and the Cat Viper song, this is a very strong episode, it's just weird to take the out of place filler-y stuff into consideration.
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...