Shonen Anime

Loki, THE GOAT GIANT, IS FINALLY HERE!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , , ,

One Piece Episode 1160 Review

Oh, I’ve been waiting for this episode to get animated for a long time now! When I said that the Elbaph Arc is going to go absolutely hard, I wasn’t joking. The detail and care that Oda puts into the home of the Giants makes it clear to all that this is a story that he’s been wanting to tell for a long time. And while some people are likely disappointed that the first few episodes of One Piece’s return were a mini-arc in a LEGOland, this is about to make it all worthwhile. Not only do we finally see the size and scope of Elbaph, but we also get introduced to the best character in the arc. A character that I remembers sparking a lot of debate in the fandom about whether he was a friend or a foe: Loki.

Strap yourselves in. Things are starting to heat up.

The Straw Hats Will Reunite in Elbaph

So, while half of the Straw Hats are currently escaping the Block Kingdom of Rodo (or Road), what’s going on with the other half and the Giants Pirates? At this exact moment, Dorry, Brogy, and the other Giants are freaking out since they don’t know where Luffy or the Sunny are. They’re about ready to jump into the ocean and look for them on the sea floor, it’s so bad! Thankfully, this isn’t the first time the Straw Hat Pirates have gotten split up like this. This stuff is nothing to them! So Franky and the others tell their hosts to calm down, because they know their friends will be fine and will find their way to Elbaph.

I know it sounds callous to outsiders, but to us, it shows how much faith the the crew has in each other.

What’s of bigger interest, though, is what they read in the papers. As expected of a stooge of the World Government, the news has pinned everything that happened on Egghead on Luffy and the Giant Pirates. That weasel Morgans even says Luffy killed Vegapunk! Though there’s no way the World Government would admit that they’re the ones at fault, so what else is new?

There is one part of the news that was of particular interest, though: the X mark on Luffy’s arm. Robin vaguely remembers it, but none of the others have any idea what it means. The irony is that, besides the fans knowing what it is, the half of the Straw Hats that would recognize it isn’t present. But if you don’t know, it was a mark the crew drew on their wrists during their adventures in Alabasta with their friend, Princess Vivi. Said Princess is currently on the run with the guy who publishes that newspaper, so this was basically her letting them know that she was okay. Sadly, this won’t become important until after their time in Elbaph ends, and given how the arc’s still ongoing in the manga, we’ve got a while. Thankfully, though, the same doesn’t have to be said about Elbaph!

After making their escape from the Block Kingdom, Luffy’s half of the Straw Hats find themselves on the outside. The bad news? It’s not the fact that everything is just as big as it was indoors. It’s the fact that it’s freezing cold and in the middle of a blizzard.

The good news? Two of Road’s crewmates pass by because they heard he”s been up to his antics of kidnapping humans and have come to reprimand him. And they confirm once and for all that the group is now in Elbaph. Too bad the others tell Luffy and Usopp to be quiet so they can’t celebrate.

Full disclosure: yes, Gerd and Goldberg are part of the same crew as Road and Hajrudin. Yes, I believe that Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp met them back in Dressrosa, so they’re part of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet that pledged itself to Luffy. But since they don’t fully remember, and because the other half of their crewmembers weren’t there when it happened, they can’t ask them for help just yet. Ergo, they cross the giant rope bridge to the other side to safety.

…is what they were supposed to do. But then they hear a roar coming from the forest below, and the Monster Trio can tell right away that it’s coming from someone equally as monstrous. Naturally, Luffy decides to investigate on his own. And this is where things start getting good.

Our First Real Look at Elbaph!

Two important things happened in the chapter that this episode is adapting, and Toei did an incredible job adapting it into the anime. The first is that after all the teasing we’ve got in flashbacks and quick looks, we finally get our first full look at the island of Elbaph. And…calling it massive would be an understatement. It is absolutely gargantuan in size. In the first moments Luffy and the others step outside, they see mountains that are probably big enough to qualify as small islands in any other part of the world. The forests tower over even the biggest of Giants, and the animals are roughly the same size. To a normal Human, this is the equivalent of a sizeable insect waking up to find themselves in a city the size of New York or Tokyo. And then there’s the tree. The absolutely massive tree standing in the center of the island that dwarfs even the tallest of the mountains. I don’t know how to do the math, but that tree has to be dozens, or even hundreds of miles, in size. It’s so big that we can’t even see the top! Some fans have speculated it might be tall enough to allow someone access to Sky Islands.

But all of this pales in comparison to the character that we will get to know very well in the coming weeks. Arguably, the most important character introduced in this entire arc, a man who the Giants call an absolute terror and the “Shame of Elbaph.” The Giant Pirates tell Dorry and Brogy that he was the son of their late king, whom they believe he murdered to gain the Royal Family’s incredibly powerful Devil Fruit. The Prince of the Kingdom of Warland, and the self-proclaimed Sun God who will end the world, give it up for LOKI!!!!

And guess who just met him? Luffy.

Loki: Friend or Foe?

If you only watch the anime, then you have no idea how much of an uproar the introduction of Loki caused throughout the fandom. If you’ve seen any modern depictions of Loki in media like the MCU, or as Atreus in the God of War games, then the name alone should be enough to worry you. Regardless of if he’s a good guy or a bad guy, Loki tends to cause trouble. Heck, in Norse Mythology, he got so bad that his fellow gods had to imprison him, only for it to be said he would be set free at Ragnarok. AKA, the end of the world.

What I was most concerned about, though, was how Loki was calling himself the Sun God. We thought that Luffy was supposed to be one who had the powers of the Sun God, Nika. That he was meant to be this person who would liberate people from oppression! But here Loki was claiming to be this destroyer of the world! It had us all so confused!

Anime watchers, prepare to remain confused, as a large part of this arc involves Oda doing his best to make us question if Loki can be trusted or not. I won’t spoil anything, though!

It’s great to know that we can finally start the Elbaph Arc in earnest. I know that the Block Kingdom took up a lot of time, but trust me when I say it will be worth the wait. We are going to see things that will blow your mind! If you haven’t started watching One Piece, then now is the time to do so!

I Give “An Encounter on a Snowfield-Loki, the Accursed Prince,” a 4.5/5

I’m Calling Nami the Weather Queen after This

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

One Piece Ep 1159 Review

Well, it looks like my prediction was spot-on! This is the last episode that we will be spending in this little mini-arc that was the Block Kingdom! On the last piece of One Piece, Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper managed to confront the “Sun God” who created the LEGO set they woke up in and thoroughly enrage them. Now, they’re on the run from an angry Giant who wants to keep them captive forever for his own amusement. But, as I felt when I was reading the manga, this guy must not be very smart if they think they can hold Monkey D. Luffy!

RUN AWAY FROM THE GIANT!

The vast majority of this episode can be summed as resembling the climax to the classic fairy tale, Jack and the Beanstalk. Well, the parts where the main character is being chased by the Giant, at least. The only thing the Straw Hats stole was the blueprints to the Block Kingdom, and given how they woke up unwilling captives and want to escape, they’re justified. Using the giant cat that Luffy is forcing to obey them, they’re making a dash for the other side of the Block Kingdom. Which, in case it wasn’t obvious, is actually an old cell designed to hold Giants prisoner. Which, given how Luffy is stronger than most Giants by this point, is really not a problem.

I know people are still going to have some problems with the pacing of the episodes, but the anime makes up for the extended scenes with the high quality of its animation. The series has come a long way from the simpler look it had in 1999, with its look evolving to better suit the evolution of the craft. That means that it feels a lot closer to what Oda draws in the manga as he’s grown more and more confident over the years, much to fans’ enjoyment. And, if I’m being honest, I like seeing the Straw Hats continuously outsmart their captor as they try to catch them.

This Guy Technically Works for Luffy

Speaking of which, it’s already obvious that the one holding them isn’t a God, but I don’t think any of us were expecting him to be who he turns out to be. The Giant that built this fake world is named Road, a member of the New Giant Warrior Pirates led by Hajrudin. Introduced back in Dressrosa as mercenaries working for Buggy, they were one of the groups that chose to pledge their loyalty to Luffy and form the Straw Hat Grand Fleet. That means that Road is technically supposed to be one of Luffy’s allies, but he can’t stand the idea of Giants working for a tiny human. So when one of his pet crows found the Sunny and half the Straw Hats fast asleep on it out at sea, he got the bright idea of putting them in his Block Kingdom so he wouldn’t have to work under them. And, for extra renegade points, he stripped them of their clothes so he could put new ones on them, including Nami.

It’s been months since these events took place in the manga, and my thoughts on this whole reveal haven’t changed: this guy’s an idiot. I can forgive him for ignorantly thinking that he could hold someone like Luffy because he hasn’t seen how strong he is like his crewmates have, but he really didn’t think this through. If the other Giant Pirates found out that he was holding Luffy captive, then they would punish him for it! And while I respect him for the LEGO model he built and the hand-made outfits, he’s still giving our fellow nerds a bad name. The part where he pauses mid-chase to gush about how this unscripted conflict in his world is so awesome comes off as creepy coming from him.

So, he must be punished. And it’s fitting that it’s Nami who’s the one who pays him back.

One of Nami’s Best Moments Yet!

The way that Nami has Zeus grow to the size of a storm and then has him hit Road with a lightning strike was already amazing. But that smug, s*it-eating smirk on Nami’s face as she claimed it was “divine retribution” was hilarious! That might not have been divine retribution, but that was a case of karma at work!

So, much to no one’s surprise save for that of Road, the Straw Hats manage to escape from the Block Kingdom. And I am happy to say that next week, we are going to head straight into the good stuff: Elbaph. The actual Elbaph is about to appear, and it is going to be amazing, you guys!! You are going to love it!

I Give “Destroy the Miniature Garden – Escape Block Kingdom!” a 4.5/5

Nami’s Misadventures in LEGOland!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

One Piece Ep 1157 Review

If youโ€™re a fan of the One Piece anime, then youโ€™ve probably heard people complain about one thing: the pacing. It is notoriously slow when it comes to adapting the story of the manga, which is a consequence of it starting in an age when anime filler was necessary to keep something from overtaking its source material. Thatโ€™s why one of the biggest selling points of the new seasonal format has been the expectations of improved pacing. Less filler, more of the actual story, as some fans had hoped. However, it feels as though those hopes were dashed with the showโ€™s second episode since its return, as Toei is still relying on the same tricks as before: padding the episodes out and making parts of the story longer than necessary.

LEGO’S?!?

On the last piece of One Piece, the Giant and Straw Hat pirates were all celebrating their escape from Egghead Island with a party. The next thing we know, Nami is waking up someplace made out of LEGO in an outfit she doesnโ€™t remember putting on. And trust me, manga readers were just as confused about this as the people watching the anime probably were. Things only managed to get even stranger when the episode starts off with some people in the vicinity are talking about some kind of trouble with one of the local deities. What should catch everyoneโ€™s attention, though, is the name they give to the giant tree in this blocky kingdom: Yddragsil. Thatโ€™s the name of the cosmically-sized tree from Norse mythology that connects the worlds together.

One thing that Oda seems to like doing, and is very skilled, is foreshadowing well ahead of time. If the name of someone or someplace weโ€™ve never heard of before gets mentioned, that means that its going to be important at some point in the future. And as manga readers were quick to figure out, Nami had somehow woken up someplace thatโ€™s tied to Elbaph, if not Elbaph itself. The clothes and name of the tree were a dead giveaway, but what I really like is how the whole place is built out of LEGOs. LEGOโ€™s from Denmark, AKA the region of the world where Vikings came from; it makes sense.

What didnโ€™t make sense, though, was how massive the animals were. No sooner had Nami woken up than she was being attacked by bees twice her size! Iโ€™m able to tolerate bees, but stinging insects are enough to make me run for the hills! Thankfully, she and Zeus are able to roast them, no problem. But then theyโ€™re attacked by a giant hedgehog!

This is where I noticed how those complaints about the pacing began to resurface on social media. In the manga, Nami getting chased by that hedgehog takes up half a page, at best. The anime translates that into a full minute of her running around this blocky castle before she runs into Usopp and saves him from a giant cat. And from there the entire episode more or less revolves around them trying to get away until the Monster Trio of Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji save their bacon.

The Animation is Still Good

Say what you want about the whole thing, but at least the animation is still amazing. Iโ€™m little surprised at the fact that theyโ€™re choosing to make an eye catch just for this blocky kingdom. It feels unnecessary considering how theyโ€™re likely not to be in it for that long!

So like Nami and Usopp, the Monster Trio has no idea where they are or how they got there. But they donโ€™t really care. If someone was dumb enough to put them in this place, then whatever happens next is on them. Besides, Luffy and Usopp are too excited about Elbaph to be worried.

I know that this first half of the season is only about 12-13 episodes, so you might be worried about this taking up too much time. But donโ€™t worry, you guys. By my estimations, the group will be out of this Block Kingdom inโ€ฆtwo episodes.

I Give “Nami in a Fix! An Adventure in Block Kingdom” a 3/5

El-balph! El-baph! LAND OF THE GIANTS!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

One Piece Ep 1156 Review

Sorry Iโ€™m late, everyone, but Iโ€™m ready to get this voyage underway! I wouldnโ€™t miss One Piece for all the money in the world!

I know that the founders of this blog arenโ€™t the biggest of fans of One Piece, but as their primary writer, Iโ€™m an absolutely massive fan. Iโ€™ve talked about it a lot on D&A Anime Blog. Iโ€™ve gushed about the live-action series and other big pieces of news about the franchise. And on my personal blog, Iโ€™ve been reviewing each chapter of the manga since partway through the Wano Country Arc! But with the anime having gone seasonal, I decided that now was the best time for me to try my hand at reviewing the anime. This will be the first time Iโ€™ve reviewed an anime of something whose manga Iโ€™m concurrently covering, but itโ€™s going to be worth it. Whether youโ€™re a long-time fan of the series or a newcomer, you might have picked a great time to come aboard, because we are about to arrive at a location so awesome, so amazing, so mind-bendingly cool, that nothing short of finding the One Piece itself can compare! The story that Oda has wanted to tell since he was a little kid is here. The story of ELBAPH!!

Full disclosure: if youโ€™re a newcomer, there are going to be a lot things thrown at you that I donโ€™t have time to explain. In that case, either go read the manga or go find one of the many, many people on YouTube who can recap and explain the series. Otherwise, Iโ€™ll just assume youโ€™re caught up so I can enjoy myself!

After a brief flashback to the end of the Little Garden Arc where Luffy and Usopp resolve to one day visit Elbaph, the episode returns us to the present day. The Straw Hats, Giant Warrior Pirates, Lillith, Bonney and Kuma have just escaped from Egghead Island and are on their way to Elbaph, so theyโ€™re celebrating by partying. Itโ€™s pretty much a law that the Straw Hats end an arc with a party. What I wasnโ€™t expecting, though, and soemthing that was totally original to the anime was getting to hear Brook play โ€œNew World.โ€ There are a lot of good songs in One Piece, but New World has to be one of my favorites. Upbeat, exciting, and optimistic, it encapsulates the positive messages that the series sends us. That, and itโ€™s a pretty good bop.

The Barto Club Screws Up

The episode then cuts away to another series tradition that accompanies the start of a new arc: checking up on events around the world. Oda is great when it comes to world-building, and moments where he takes the focus away from the main characters remind us of that by showing that the world doesnโ€™t revolve entirely around what they do. In this case, it picks up with one of Luffyโ€™s allies/biggest fans, the Barto Club, and one of his greatest enemies, the Blackbeard Pirates.

So, after they parted ways with Luffy, Bartolomeo and his crew went to a particular island to sell some Straw Hat pirate merch. However, they chose to go to an island under Shanksโ€™ protection, and they refused to buy anything. In response, Barto torched their flag, leading to Shanks to give them a butt-whooping. And then he decided to test/troll them by ordering Barto to make Luffy drink poison or else their lives were forfeit. And you can guess where this is going.

Anyone who has been with One Piece long enough knew that Shanks was just messing with Barto. He just wanted to make sure that Luffyโ€™s followers werenโ€™t some fair-weather friends, and Barto passed the vibe check. But Yassop still destroyed their ship. They had a reputation to keep up.

Iโ€™m sure theyโ€™ll be fine!

Blackbeard is Nearing his Endgame

Meanwhile, back on Pirate Island, Blackbeard isnโ€™t happy that the Marines managed to raid the place and rescue Koby while he was gone. However, his crew points out that heโ€™s now in an arguably better position. Not only do they have Luffy’s grandpa and hero of the Marines, Garp, prisoner, but they also raided Big Momโ€™s territory and abducted Pudding. And with Caribou newly arrived and ready to spill everything he knows about the locations of two of the three Ancient Weapons, things are about to get a lot worse.

I think I mentioned it on my blog when reviewing the chapter, but Iโ€™m going to say it here: Blackbeard is being set up as the final enemy that Luffy must face to become King of the Pirates. Once he knows where and who the Ancient Weapons are, heโ€™s going to try to seize them. That means that nations with people that the Straw Hats call friends will be in harmโ€™s way. Add in the fact that Teach now has Luffyโ€™s grandpa and Sanjiโ€™s ex-fiancรฉ prisoner, as well as what he did to Ace, the Straw Hats have all the motivation they need to go to war with the Blackbeard Pirates. Unfortunately, this will mark the last point for a while where the anime doesnโ€™t focus on anything outside of their next destination (not counting flashbacks.)

Speaking of which, where are the Straw Hats?

Where did half the Straw Hats Go?

When I read the chapters where the Giants woke up to find half the Straw Hat Pirates and their ship missing, I was as confused as everyone else. How the heck did they get separated from everyone else? Then it got even weirder when Nami woke up in a place that looked suspiciously like it was made out of LEGOโ€ฆand wearing an entirely different outfit. None of us knew if she was tripping from the alcohol, or if this was a detour from Elbaph. If it had been the latter, though, I think the fans wouldโ€™ve lost it! And then we had to wait an entire week (or two) to find out what was happening. Thankfully, the anime will be sticking to a weekly release schedule, so anime only people donโ€™t have to worry about that!

This was a good start to the return of One Piece, if you ask me. I have been reading the manga for years, and I can say that you guys are in for something very special. Welcome to the Elbaph arc, everyone! Hope you enjoy the trip!

I Give “The Long-sought Elbaph! The Big Reunion Banquet” a 3/5

YUTA OKKOTSU IS THE GOAT

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jujutsu Kaisen S3 Ep 12 Review

If you werenโ€™t allowed to pick Satoru Gojo, who in Jujutsu Kaisen would you consider the GOAT? I donโ€™t know if itโ€™s possible to settle on a single GOAT, as season three of the show has given us multiple contenders for the title. Maki managed to wipe out her entire clan of frauds. Higuruma was a newbie as a sorcerer but managed to become one of the top players in the Culling Game. Takabaโ€™s rule of funny technique could give even Gojo a hard time! But if you ask me, I think the season finale showed us that the biggest GOAT is Yuta Okkotsu. He not only heads to the colony with four of the heaviest hitters of the Culling Game thus far, he also manages to beat all of them by himself by the time the credits roll!

If youโ€™re an anime fan, then you know that when a series chooses to skip the OP, that means it needs the extra runtime for something big. And Jujutsu Kaisen is no exception, as it starts right where we last left off: with Yuta killing one of the four sorcerers that had the Sendai colony stuck in a stalemate. This wasnโ€™t any sorcerer, either; this was a reincarnated sorcerer who was so powerful that, 2,000 years ago, he managed to conquer all of Japan. And the series still decided that it wasnโ€™t worth showing us how Yuta killed him. And that is only the end of the last episode and the start of this one.

The rest of the episode can best be described as Yuta running a gauntlet of boss fights against the other three bigshots of Sendai Colony: Kurourushi, a cockroach cursed spirit, Uro, an incarnated sorcerer who can manipulate the space of the sky like solid matter, and Ishigori, another incarnation whose pompadour doubles as a cursed energy cannon. Each of them could the subject of a fight that lasts an entire episode, and Yuta fights them all in just one.

If youโ€™ve seen Jujutsu Kaisen 0, you already know this, but even if you havenโ€™t, this episode is meant to confirm what the season premiere implied: Yuta Okkotsu is that guy. Next to Gojo, he is the strongest jujutsu sorcerer of the modern-day, and this episode demonstrates it. His reserves of cursed energy are practically off the charts, his innate technique allows him to copy other peopleโ€™s techniques, and if that wasnโ€™t enough, he never has to fight alone. Heโ€™s got Rika, the cursed spirit left behind by his childhood sweetheart of the same name after the events of JJK 0. Add in the fact that heโ€™s distantly related to Gojo himself, is it any wonder why Yuta is the GOAT of Yujiโ€™s generation?

He defeats the cockroach spirit Kurourushi by giving it a mouth-to-mouth Reversed Curse Technique.

He fights Uro, who has it out for him because of something his ancestor did. Then he fights the battle-crazed Ishigori. And then he almost fights the latter two in a three-way domain expansion thatโ€™s only stopped by the return of the cockroach.

And during the entire episode, the anime doesnโ€™t let up on the incredible animation that weโ€™ve come to expect this season. All of it eventually boils down to an epic one-on-one between Yuta and Ishigori, all to the OP of the season, Aizo. When an anime chooses to use its OP or ED in the middle of the episode, you know that things have gotten serious!

https://twitter.com/eagle97jjk/status/2037198355273834776?s=20

In the end, Yuta manages to beat all of them. But since heโ€™s such a nice guy, he doesnโ€™t kill Uro or Ishigori, just taking their points. GOAT status, confirmed.

Sadly, this is where season three of Jujutsu Kaisen comes to an end. Even worse, we likely have to wait a year for the second half of the Culling Game. It feels more than a little cruel to know that we have to wait that long, but maybe thatโ€™s why the anime chose to end things here. They wanted to give us absolute peak before we had to wait. Itโ€™s sad, but we have to give great shows like this time to cook. Plus, this season already managed to leave its mark in pop culture, from the stunning animation to the memes that it inspired. The Game shall continue, but until then, we have other shows to watch!

I Give “Sendai Colony” a 5/5

I’m Reviewing the new Season of One Piece, and you Can’t stop Me!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , ,

Primer for One Piece Elbaph Arc

After all these years, weโ€™re finally here. The One Piece anime has officially made it to Elbaph.

A few months ago, Toei Animation shocked the world of anime with some unbelievable news. After almost three decades of near-continuous running, the One Piece anime would no longer be an all-year-round show. Starting from the end of the Egghead Island Arc, the anime would switch to the same seasonal format that has come to define the industry in recent years. While some got upset about this, others understood the need for the switch. The anime was catching up to the manga, and with Eichiro Oda prioritizing his well-being in recent years, that meant fewer chapters were out. Between that and the higher quality of animation the series has gotten in recent years, releasing a new episode every week isnโ€™t sustainable for anyone. Plus, no one wants to see more filler episodes and we hate those recap specials that keep popping up! Hence the need to move to a seasonal release schedule. But trust me, it will be worth it, because if you only watched the anime, you have no idea how crazy the Elbaph Arc is going to get. But I do.

Over the past several years, I have been covering the One Piece manga on my personal blog, recapping and reviewing each chapter from the end of Act One of the Wano Country Arc onwards. And Iโ€™ve been reading the manga for about fourteen years, with it currently in the middle of the Elbaph Arc right now. Which is Iโ€™m going to do something that I havenโ€™t thought of doing before: Iโ€™m going to review the One Piece anime.

In the past, Iโ€™ve never considered reviewing the One Piece anime because I never felt it necessary. I already knew what was going to happen, so I didnโ€™t think that I could properly review it. But then it occurred to me that I review plenty of shows that I already know the outcomes to, both on here and on my personal blog. With that not being an excuse, and the shift to a seasonal format becoming more appealing, why shouldnโ€™t I review the anime? If anything, the fact that Iโ€™ve been covering the manga should help me review everything better!

Plus, when I say that the Elbaph Arc is going to be crazy, I mean that itโ€™s going to be crazy. The first look that just dropped on YouTube is just the beginning.

Why this is So Hype!

I donโ€™t know how many people who read this blog like One Piece or have been a long-term fan of it, but indulge me as I explain why this arc is so hyped up. Next to the island where the One Piece is said to be located, Elbaph has been the most anticipated location in the entire series. Ever since it was first mentioned in an arc twenty-seven years ago, Elbaph has been one near the top fo the places that Luffy has wanted to visit. Itโ€™s the homeland of most of the Giants, who, as we have seen throughout the series, are some of the strongest warriors in the world. More importantly, itโ€™s a land thatโ€™s heavily influenced by Norse culture, AKA the Vikings. Next to the real-life golden age of piracy, the Vikings are who most people think of when they think of pirates. But they’re more than just pirates; they were explorers, traders, nation-builders, and had a culture that has had influenced the world long after the actual civilization faded away. Case in point, we have what Marvel and God of War have done with Norse mythology. Culturally, theyโ€™re a pretty big deal! And Eichiro Oda has spent the majority of the manga feeding us tiny hints of what this fantastical land is like, longer than he has for any other location.

There is a reason for why Oda has devoted so much attention to Elbaph. When he was a kid, he grew up watching Vicky the Viking, a German-Japanese show about a smart but timid boy who used his brains to help out his village. That show is what made him want to become a mangaka, and eventually led him to create One Piece. Part of what makes the series so great is that Oda draws influence from real-world cultures for almost every location the Straw Hat Pirates visit, and in the case of Elbaph, itโ€™s the Vikings. To put it simply, Odaโ€™s spent most of his life wanting to tell a story like that of Elbaph, and so far, he hasnโ€™t held anything back.

You are Not Ready for Loki

If youโ€™ve read the manga already, then you already know just how crazy the Elbaph Arc gets, but this quick teaser is more of the โ€œshow-but-donโ€™t-tellโ€ variety. Thatโ€™s understandable, given how itโ€™s only 30 seconds long, but it makes the best of it to hype us up for what weโ€™re about to see. Granted, by the time this goes out, the first episode will already be released, but thatโ€™s besides the point. The main focus of the trailer, though, is the introduction of a new character that plays a major role in the arc. A character, as of where the manga is right now, is considered a prime candidate to join the Straw Hat Pirates: Loki, the accursed Prince of Elbaph.

If you know anything about Norse mythology, then you know Oda wasnโ€™t playing around naming this behemoth of a Giant Loki. The fact that the first time we see him, he is blindfolded and chained to a tree should be enough to tell you that this guy is dangerous. If that doesnโ€™t convince you, the fact that he tells Luffy that heโ€™s the Sun God who will destroy the world should tell you how dangerous he is. The fact that heโ€™s claiming to be the Sun God, a title that we thought Luffy unknowingly has thanks to his Devil Fruit, only cements this.

I wonโ€™t spoil anything, but for a good part of the arc, Oda does a good job of leaving readers unsure of what to think about Loki. I still remember how people were debating about whether Loki is as bad as his countrymen say he is, or if heโ€™s misunderstood. Oda keeps us guessing for a while, and it was interesting to listen to the debates about it amongst the fans. But Iโ€™m getting ahead of myself.

The Elbaph Arc will begin on April 5th, 2026, and with our release schedule for new posts, itโ€™s likely that has already passed. Hopefully, I will have already reviewed the first episode by the time youโ€™re reading this and it will be scheduled for publishing. If so, I hope you enjoy it!

The OG Dub VA for Luffy Returns as Joy Boy

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They’re Bringing Back the OG VA for Luffy for One Piece

After all of these years, the OG dub VA for Monkey D. Luffy is getting some recognition.

These days, itโ€™s hard to imagine a world in which One Piece isnโ€™t one of the most popular media franchises in the world. But like anything great, it didnโ€™t start off that way. Itโ€™s taken decades for One Piece to become the globally mainstream hit it is now, and I think that part of the reason why it is that way is due to how bad its initial debut in the West was. The people who enjoy the English dub tend to think of the ongoing Funimation (now Crunchyroll) dub of One Piece, but like Dragon Ball and other anime that came westward in the 90s and 2000s, there were other English dubs. It just so happens that the OG dub of One Piece is infamously considered one of the worst ever made: the One Piece 4Kids dub.

Anyone Remember 4Kids?

Before the rise of Funimation, 4Kids Entertainment was the premier company when it came to localizing anime in the West. From the original Pokemon anime to Yu-Gi-Oh! and its numerous sequel series, 4Kids was once the king of anime. I was one of the kids who grew up loving everything they did, but looking back on it now, you can tell just how much they changed things for their audiences. The shows they dubbed were subjected to a lot of censorship and changes meant to make them what they deemed to be suitable for kids because they thought it was what was best for them. In doing so, though, they removed a lot of the tension and stakes that made the shows so compelling, with questionable results. They could get away with in Pokemon since it was meant for kids, but it starts becoming noticeable in shows like Yu-Gi-Oh! And then came the show that would ruin them: One Piece.

And they never wanted to do it in the first place.

4Kids didn’t know what it was doing

4Kids never had any intention of dubbing One Piece in the first place. The only reason that they did it is because it was part of a package deal they got with Toei that included shows that they actually wanted. They didnโ€™t know anything about it going in, and when they saw all the more mature themes (smoking, death, fanservice) and said โ€œwe canโ€™t show this to our demographic!โ€ So they censored like they never censored beforeโ€ฆwith disastrous results.

Thereโ€™s a reason why the 4Kids dub of One Piece is considered one of the worst dubs of all time, and if you grew up watching it, find it on dvd, or find it online, youโ€™ll understand why. All the blood was removed, alcohol was replaced with other drinks, they removed the guns or replaced with ridiculous props. Not to mention just how bad the voice acting was. I didnโ€™t realize it as a kid, but it was absolutely terrible! And worst of all was how they cut out key moments from the story. I didnโ€™t even know until years later about Laboon or Little Garden because they were outright removed!

Ultimately, their attempt to dub One Piece the beginning of the end for 4Kids. It was so poorly received that their reputation would never fully recover, and several years, the company went belly up. Now all that remains is the memory of it and the dubs they left behind. As for One Piece, Funimation would eventually take up the role of dubbing it, but it would take years for them to undo the damage. These days, the English dub is in a much better position, but Iโ€™m willing to bet that there are plenty of fans that prefer sub over dub partly due to what 4Kids did. Honestly, I donโ€™t blame them. I look back on the 4Kids dub, and realize just how bad it really was.

The sad irony? I actually stopped initially watching One Piece after the 4Kids dub ended.

At Least 4Kids Introduced me to One Piece

I was only ten years old when I started watching One Piece, and I had no idea just how bad a hand I had gotten with it. Even with all the censoring and changes, One Piece still looked so cool to me, to the point where I started going around wearing the closest thing I could find to Luffyโ€™s straw hat. And when it ended and I think Toonami switched to the Funimation dub, I was so confused that I walked away from it altogether. Again, I was just a kid who didnโ€™t know any better. Plus, I wasnโ€™t able to find ways to watch the anime and read the manga until I was in high school, so there wasnโ€™t much that I could do. Yet despite knowing how bad I got it, I canโ€™t truly bring myself to hate the 4Kids dub of One Piece, if only because it was how I got into the series in the first place. Which is why this next bit of news brings a smile to my face.

It will have likely already passed by then, but on March 24th, for the first time ever, the dub of the One Piece anime will be caught up to the subbed. For decades, fans have had to deal with the fact that the English dub remained dozens, even hundreds, of episodes behind the subbed version. That alone is a big win. But it just got even bigger: theyโ€™re bringing back the original dub VA for Luffy.

In one of the final batches of episodes before the anime went seasonal, One Piece introduced us to the voice of Joy Boy, a legendary figure in the lore of the series who was said to be the first pirate, and the last person to wield the powers that Luffy now has. In a fun twist, the Seiyuu for Joy Boy is Uraka Takano, the original voice of Luffy. Most people donโ€™t know this, but there was actually an OVA of One Piece released in 1998, predating the Toei series and with different animation and voices. So itโ€™s poetic to have Joy Boy voiced by the OG Luffy.

The dub seems to have taken a similar stance on the matter, as it was announced that the English voice actor for Joy Boy is Erica Schroeder, aka the original English voice for Luffy from the 4Kids days.

I canโ€™t help but smile at this small tribute to what came before it. Even if it was one of the worst dubs of anime in history, 4Kids is still a part of the history of One Piece. Itโ€™s how I fell in love with One Piece in the first place, so I at least respect it for that. Getting to hear the OG voice of Luffy is going to be something that I hope makes me very happy, and Iโ€™m glad that itโ€™s getting acknowledged.

Plus, for all its faults, yjere was one thing that 4Kids did right by One Piece: the opening rap. Say what you want about everything else, but that rap song isnโ€™t half bad.

JoJo! STEEL BALL RUN!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

STEEL BALL RUN JoJoโ€™s Bizarre Adventure Ep 1 Review

Calling all JoJo fans, calling all JoJo fans!! PEAK ANIME HAS RETURNED! You are all invited to witness history in the making as Hirohiko Arakiโ€™s magnum opus is getting an anime. Come join us for the STEEL BALL RUN!!!

If I sound like Iโ€™m super excited right now, you canโ€™t blame me. Ever since the anime went international ten years ago, JoJoโ€™s Bizarre Adventure has proven why itโ€™s one of the GOATS of Shonen. From the music to the artwork, to the posing and memes, JoJo has become an internet legend. Unfortunately, Netflix had to yank it off the airwaves and make Part Six exclusive to its platform, and the arrival of Part Seven hasnโ€™t changed that. However, if there was ever a reason for anime fans to get Netflix(besides the live-action One Piece and other series), then itโ€™s for Steel Ball Run.

Quick Refresher!

If you are a newcomer to JoJo, then you donโ€™t have to worry about needing any prior knowledge about the series beyond the basics. Itโ€™s broken up into separate parts, each of which covers a different character whose initials can spell JoJo or some variation of it. That, and it follows the adventures of the Joestar family, with each part following a different family member. Moreover, Part Seven is when the mangaka, Hirohiko Araki, chose to start fresh in an entirely new timeline as he took the manga from shonen to seinen. And since Araki is a massive westernphile, he decided to start strong with a love letter to spaghetti westerns, giving us Steel Ball Run.

The Ultimate Race!

The year is 1890 on the West Coast of the United States. Business tycoon Steven Steel has invited people from all over the world to participate in the first-ever Steel Ball Run. Itโ€™s a massive cross-country race spanning 4,000 miles across the continental US from San Diego to New York City, with the winner getting a grand prize of $50 million!

The premise to this part alone should be enough to excite fans, especially Americans. One of Americaโ€™s biggest selling points is its sheer size and diversity. From the deserts to the south and west to the plains of the heartland and the forests and mountains, America is truly a land of such diversity. And I think that Araki wanted to use that to his advantage by telling his grandest story since Stardust Crusaders. And the characters are already memorable and memeable.

So Many Cool Characters!

There are hundreds of people taking part in the Steel Ball Run, but this extra-long episode focuses primarily on the five that will be major players in the arc. First up, we have Gyro Zeppeli, the Italian with gold-plated teeth and these mysterious steel balls. And for those debating about sub vs dub, I recommend dub. Zeppeli is voiced by Kaiji Tang, and he brings that signature charm of his to play.

Next up, we have our resident JoJo, Johnny Joestar. And heโ€™s a piece of work. While heโ€™s part of the upper crust of society like his Part One counterpart, thatโ€™s where the similarities end. Unlike OG JoJo, Johnny was an arrogant and self-centered horse jockey who was once at the top of the world. But when he cut in line for something, the guy he cut shot and crippled him from the waist down, robbing him of his talent and pride. But then this happens!

And that is enough to make him join the Steel Ball Run, so he can learn the secret of the Spin and how to walk again.

Having spent so much time with the noble and heroic Joestar family, itโ€™s a little surprising to see a JoJo whoโ€™s so obviously flawed. Other JoJoโ€™s have had their flaws. Several of them were troublemakers, rude, and delinquents. But Johnny feels like the JoJo with the most overt character flaws, as him losing the ability to walk was entirely his fault. He wrecked his own life, and now he wants to prove that heโ€™s not worthless. Despite that, though, Johnny has the determination and willpower that have defined the Joestars, as he refuses to let his disability stop him from joining the race.

https://twitter.com/KonoYimeDa/status/2034557638122291468?s=20

Friends or Foes?

It wouldnโ€™t be JoJo, though, without Dio, though. And despite him dying back in Part Three, we get an alternate version of Dio, Diego Brando, joining the story as a rival horse jockey. So far, heโ€™s not pure evil like DIO, just arrogant. But we should still give him a wide berth.

Lastly, we have two other characters that are clearly set up to be supporting cast members, Sandman and Poco Loco. One is a Native whoโ€™s determined to finish the Steel Ball Run with his own superhuman legs, and the other is lucky to the point that itโ€™s laughable. In fact, Iโ€™m pretty sure I did laugh watching what went down in the first leg of the race! And what a leg it was!

BEST RACE EVER!

One thing that I consistently love about JoJoโ€™s Bizarre Adventure is its ability to turn the most mundane and regular activities into the most exciting things you can imagine. Now, a cross-country horse race is already plenty exciting, but Steel Ball Run manages to make it into the coolest thing ever. I couldnโ€™t hope to capture how crazy it is in words alone, but thankfully, Twitter provides.

I cannot lie to you about this: I was really invested into what was happening in the race that makes up the second half of the episode. It felt like I was watching an actual horse race to the point that I started cheering at one point watching the jockeys. And the artwork! They managed to capture all of Arakiโ€™s Louvre-level talent in animation form. Combine that with the peak music, and we have a masterpiece.

Again, I cannot lie to you: I wasnโ€™t sure if I was going to cover it for the D&A Anime Blog. But after what I just saw, I NEED to give it the attention it deserves. Steel Ball Run is a contender for anime of the year in my book! I canโ€™t wait to see the rest of the race!

I Give “Steel Ball Run” a 5/5

Megumi Almost Broke his Back!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Ep 11 Review

Megumi is a badass. Well, we already knew that he was a badass. After all, he is the son of the guy who came close to killing Gojo and was the boogeyman of the Jujutsu world. Even Sukuna has a vested interest in keeping him alive; given how Sukuna doesnโ€™t care about anyone but himself, that speaks volumes about his potential. And the Culling Game is giving us yet another example of how much of a badass Megumi is, as he manages to win a contest of endurance and will against one of the deadliest opponents in the Game. All while almost breaking his back, to boot!

Megumi is a Badass!

When we last left off, Megumi had laid a trap for the Sorcerer Regie Star using his Domain Expansion. Since he hasnโ€™t fully mastered it, he got around that problem by luring him into a closed gymnasium. Thanks to that, Megumi is able to turn the tables while Tengen narrates how his plan is supposed to be working. And as is the case for the entire season, the animation is superb.

Unfortunately, those receipts of Regieโ€™s are super powerful, as is his mind. He was able to figure out that Megumiโ€™s shadow has a finite carrying capacity. He needs to make room for himself or risk bearing the weight of everything in his shadow. So Regie uses his receipts to summon a trio of cars to get sucked into the domain, essentially threatening to crush him!

This fight then becomes a battle of attrition as the two throw the heaviest things they have at each other in an attempt to crush the other. And this is where we get a visible reminder of just how tough Jujutsu Sorcerers are compared to normal humans. The two of them are forced to endure several tons of weight on their backs that could cripple or kill a normal human being. And despite being pushed to their limits and risking internal damage, they are able to make it out alive. And one of those things is a house. An actual house. I donโ€™t even know how Regie got a receipt for a house.

Thankfully, though, Megumi managed to pull a big brain move by cancelling his Domain, sending them down to the pool in the basement and ruining Regieโ€™s receipts. Checkmate! And with that, Megumi takes another W and manages to all of Regieโ€™s points before he dies.

The bad news is that Megumi ends up passing out right afterwards. The good news, though, is that he is attended to by the Angel girl that he and Yuji were looking for in the first place! Talk about a lucky break!

As for Takaba, we get to see the end of his fight with the exploding guy as the latter calls it quits and leaves. The narrator then explains everything that I already did in the last review about how his powers work. Like I said, itโ€™s the rule of funny in jujutsu form.

Everything that weโ€™ve seen, though, is nothing compared to what Yuta is facing.

Yuta is Just Built Different!

If you have seen JJK 0, then you should know just how much of a badass Yuta Okkotsu. Next to Gojo, he is the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer alive. And the strongest JuJutsu Sorcerer gets sent to the strongest battlefield in the Sendai Colony. The episode explicitly states that it is far deadlier than what weโ€™ve seen in Tokyo, with multiple heavy-hitters caught in a stalemate due to their incredible power. Two are reincarnated sorcerers, another has crazy cursed energy, and the last one is a special-grade Curse! And Yuta manages to kill one of them right after he arrives.

This isnโ€™t an ordinary Sorcerer, either. This was a reincarnated Sorcerer who was powerful enough to conquer all of Japan two thousand years ago. And Yuta killed him like he was nothing. Not even worth showing the fight!

I donโ€™t know how many episodes are left in this part of the season, but if this next episode is the last, then Iโ€™m going to enjoy it. I knew that Yuta was holding back against Yuji, so I want to see what itโ€™s like when he goes all out! This is going to be so cool, you guys!!!

I Give “Tokyo Colony No 1-Part 5” a 3/5

Takaba is Hilarious, and you Can’t Change my Mind!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jujutsu Kaisen S3 Ep 10 Review

Okay, guys. I know I said that the last episode of JJK was my second favorite of the entire season. But Iโ€™m already calling it: this episode is my third favorite! While Yuji managed to get Higuruma to change the rules to help their plan, Megumi wound up getting jumped by a group of hostile sorcerers. And now, we get to see our sullen sorcerer in action. More importantly, though, we get to see my favorite character in the entire series in action. The god of comedy himself, Takaba!

Megumi is a Stone-Cold MOFO!

When we last saw Megumi Fushiguro, he was in the process of getting jumped by a bunch of Culling Game players, led by this guy named Regie Star whose outfit is the biggest amount of receipts Iโ€™ve ever seen. Iโ€™m not sure if itโ€™s mentioned here, but heโ€™s one of those reincarnated sorcerers and thinks that Kenjaku has some secret plan to the Culling Game beyond merging with Tengen. So heโ€™s trying to recruit people to help when the time comes. Naturally, Megumi doesnโ€™t care beyond stopping Kenjaku and saving his sister, so he says no. And then we witness Megumi getting jumped by this entire posse.

And this is one of the moments where I think JJKโ€™s power system really has a chance to show off.

I know that a few episodes ago I was complaining how about strange some of the powers in JJK can be, like Kiraraโ€™s was. But as long as it looks cool and can kick butt, I’m willing to roll with things. And Megumiโ€™s fight with Regieโ€™s group shows how dangerous sorcerers can be in the modern day. Like this one guy who can turn his body parts into explosives and regenerate them. Itโ€™s like a grosser version of what Bakugo from MHA can do! But the scariest threat is Regie himself. By burning those receipts he has, he can summon whatever they were used to buy. Like gasoline, a Vespa, or even an 8-wheeler truck. He can basically summon stuff and throw it at Megumi like weaponized garbage! That may sound dumb, but then you remember what would happen if one of those receipts was for something like an assault rifle.

Thankfully, Megumi is a badass with a bunch of shikigami to back him up. And unlike Yuji, heโ€™s fully willing to kill opponents if that will help his goals, as shown when he actually kills one of Regieโ€™s mooks. He almost gets overwhelmed early into the fight until someone unexpected shows up to interfere: Fumihiko Takaba, my favorite character.

TAKABA IS HILARIOUS AND YOU IMITATE EVERYTHING HE DOES

We already met Takaba before. He was that struggling comedian we saw at the end of a few episodes back, and now heโ€™s participating in the Culling Game. And heโ€™s doing it in a costume straight out of a tokusatsu thatโ€™s split right down the middle, leaving half his body exposed. And I do mean exposed. There are a few moments where the anime has to obscure his nether region from hanging out. And keep in mind that heโ€™s a 35-year-old man whose running dressed like this. And if you thought that is cringey, then you hear his jokes! They are so bad that they lead to this hilariously overdrawn awkward beat that goes right into the eyecatcher that marks the halfway point of the episode.

I cannot lie to you guys: I love Takaba. I donโ€™t know if itโ€™s because I like goofy characters who act free and uninhibited. Or if itโ€™s because his jokes are so bad, theyโ€™re good. But I just love Takaba so dang much. He was the character I was looking forward to seeing the most this season, and for good reason. After all, heโ€™s one of the strongest characters in the entire series.

Don’t. Underestimate. The Fool

No, I am not joking. He may look like a fool, and he is, but donโ€™t let that deceive you. Heโ€™s got one of the most broken, overpowered cursed techniques in the entire series. The kind that could potentially bring down the likes of Gojo! What is it, you may ask? In a nutshell, the jujutsu version of the rule of funny.

Have you ever seen the Looney Tunes or gag manga and anime? In those stories, the characters are able to regularly defy the laws of the universe, allowing to survive things that should kill them. Why? Because of the rule of funny: something is allowed to break the laws of reality if people find it funny. And Takabaโ€™s technique, Comedian, allows him to do anything he wants so long as he thinks itโ€™s funny.

I was not exaggerating when I said that Takaba could go toe-to-toe with Gojo. That man has the cursed energy equivalent of toon force, allowing him to survive fatal injuries and turn the tables on that guy with exploding body parts. And I donโ€™t care if heโ€™s meant to be cringey or not. I find him to be hilarious. Then again, I grew up on a diet of cartoons, so I might be biased. I just hope he appears again soon.

Sadly, our time with Takaba is short, as the main focus is the fight between Megumi and Regie. And Megumi is actually on the backfoot due to being unable to gain an advantage over his opponent due to how unpredictable his powers are. So Megumi has to pull out the big guns: his domain expansion. The bad news is that he hasnโ€™t fully mastered it yet, forcing him to take the fight to an enclosed space where he can actually use it. But the good news? Weโ€™re gonna get to see Megumiโ€™s domain expansion.

This was such a fun episode for me. I love characters that can make me laugh, and I want more of Takaba!

I Give โ€œTokyo Colony No. 1 โ€“ Part 4โ€ a 4.5/5