Shonen Jump

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

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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 I’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 I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure if it’s mentioned here, but he’s one of those reincarnated sorcerers and thinks that Kenjaku has some secret plan to the Culling Game beyond merging with Tengen. So he’s trying to recruit people to help when the time comes. Naturally, Megumi doesn’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 JJK’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 Kirara’s was. But as long as it looks cool and can kick butt, I’m willing to roll with things. And Megumi’s fight with Regie’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. It’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, he’s fully willing to kill opponents if that will help his goals, as shown when he actually kills one of Regie’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 he’s participating in the Culling Game. And he’s doing it in a costume straight out of a tokusatsu that’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 he’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 don’t know if it’s because I like goofy characters who act free and uninhibited. Or if it’s because his jokes are so bad, they’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, he’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 don’t let that deceive you. He’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 Takaba’s technique, Comedian, allows him to do anything he wants so long as he thinks it’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 don’t care if he’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 hasn’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? We’re gonna get to see Megumi’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 “Tokyo Colony No. 1 – Part 4” a 4.5/5

Your Honor, My Client is Built Different!

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Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Ep 9 Review

Your honor, my client is not guilty by virtue of being built different!

So, after Yuji got separated from Megumi, he managed to find the Culling Game player he was looking for, Higuruma the Defense Attorney. Unfortunately, Higuruma was in the middle of a crash out due to years of watching his clients get unfairly sentenced for crimes they didn’t commit, so he wasn’t in the mood to listen. If Yuji wants to make his group’s plan to stop the Game work, he’s going to have to fight this guy! Both in a fight itself, and in one of the most based courts of law that I have ever seen in fiction. Yuji is going on trial!

Higuruma is Such a Badass

If the last episode didn’t make it clear enough already, then this episode cements it: Higuruma is built different. He has only been a Jujutsu Sorcerer for a few weeks with no prior knowledge on cursed energy, Jujutsu sorcery, or anything that has to do with it whatsoever. And he’s already one of the top players in the Culling Game. That means that without anyone to teach him or any directions to guide him, he was able to figure all the mechanics by himself. He was even able to do something that only a handful of sorcerer’s can pull off: a Domain Expansion.

As was the case with the last episode, and most of the episodes of this season, the animation was incredible. It more than made the long wait fans must have had feel worth it to see Higuruma’s Doman, Deadly Sentencing, activate.

As for what Deadly Sentencing does, it puts Yuji on trial. An actual trial!

The rules are simple: Higuruma uses his Shikigami, Judgeman, to accuse his target of a crime. The defendant has one chance to defend himself, while he has to prove that they’re guilty. The defendant can remain silent or lie, but in exchange, Higuruma gets evidence only he gets to know about. And if he wins, Judgeman can penalize the defendant. Which leads to a rather humorous exchange where Yuji is held to task about gambling underage at a pachinko parlor. Which he did do, by the way; he’s guilty. The sentence: confiscation of his cursed energy.

This is followed up by the actual fight between Yuji and Higuruma, which is also spectacular. Higuruma is throwing his massive gavel around like he’s a male Harley Quinn, and Yuji’s running for his life and dodging or tanking hits left and right. And this is where we get to see an outsider’s perspective regarding how Yuji is built different. Most Jujutsu Sorcerer’s are as weak as normal humans without their cursed energy, so they should they be easy prey for Higuruma. Yuji, though, was already built tonka-tough before he became Sukuna’s vessel. It gets to the point where it looks the two of them are locked in a stalemate, with Yuji only breaking the deadlock by demanding a retrial.

And this is where the episode really shines as it shows the true character of both combatants as Yuji is put on trial for the crimes of mass murder in Shibuya. And Yuji? He pleads guilty.

The sentence: death.

Yuji is LEGALLY Innocent, people!

We already know by now that Yuji is still beating himself up over what happened during the Shibuya Incident. It’s likely that he’ll never stop feeling guilty about it. But we, as outside observers, can assert that what happened was not his fault. He was unconcious as he was basically drugged to let Sukuna out, and he proceeded to level the Shibuya district, not Yuji. But Yuji still blames himself and thinks he should be punished for it. And this shakes Higuruma to his core.

That bit about Higuruma learning some piece of evidence about the defendant? In this case, he learned everything about Sukuna: how he shares Yuji’s body, how he took control of him, and then proceeded to kill all those people. And he doesn’t understand why Yuji is willing to plead guilty about it. He knows that it wasn’t his fault, but he’s still willing to accept the blame! And this is enough to finally shake Higuruma out of his crash out, choosing to spare Yuji’s life.

This was an incredibly powerful scene for both characters. Higuruma dedicated his life to defending the innocent even when the whole world believes them to be guilty. Yuji considers himself guilty for something that wasn’t his fault, and he still thinks he should be punished for it. Both have had to kill people, either in self-defense or because they wanted to kill them. And both of them feel great guilt over what has happened. The difference is that, even if the public would want to see Yuji hang, he’s innocent of those crimes.

No, really. Higuruma cites the Japanese laws stating that, because he had no intention of killing anyone or any control over his actions, he cannot be held accountable for them. He was basically drugged without consent, possessed without consent, and not in control of his actions. He’s innocent in the eyes of the law.

One Step Closer

With the fight now over, Higuruma finally acquieses to Yuji’s request and adds the rule to share points between players. Their plan can now go forward. Sadly, Higuruma will not help them. He plans to wait everything out and then turn himself in for murder.

I feel bad for Higuruma. He is a good person at heart, and he was pushed to his limits to the point that he crashed out. But before we cast our stones, we need to ask ourselves this: if we were in his shoes, would we do what he did? You’d be surprised. All we can do it hope he finds peace.

This might be my new favorite episode of the entire series. Second favorite, at least. The next episode, though, is going be even crazier.

I Give “Tokyo Colony No. 1 – Part 3” a 4/5

SO MUCH PEAK FOR SPRINGTIME

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Everything RJ Writing Ink Wants to watch Spring 2026

Time to put away the snow shovels and cold-weather jackets, people. It’s finally spring. That means going outside to touch grass, watching the flowers and cherry blossoms bloom, and most importantly, enjoying a new season of anime. And there is a lot of anime for us to enjoy this year. From a new season of a few of the Seven Summits of Isekai to the return of some legendary Shonen anime, we have a lot to look forward to over the next few months. I don’t know how much I will actually be able to watch, but here are a few of the ones that I know are on my list. And who knows? I might end up reviewing them for the D&A Anime Blog!

Rooster Fighter, March 15th-

When it comes to fearsome animals, chickens aren’t exactly high on people’s tier lists. But then you remember that they’re related to dinosaurs like the T. rex and that some people pay to watch them fight each other and think, “dang. These birds are tough!” And someone in Japan to take that premise and run with it with a web manga that’s now getting welcomed onto Toonami’s block. Set in a world where demons have appeared in Japan, Rooster Fighter follows Keiji, a rooster who wanders the land like a ronin of old, beating the snot out of demons in search of the one that killed his sister. If it sounds incredibly silly and over-the-top, that’s because it is. But the fact that Keiji acts so serious despite being a rooster somehow makes it both funny and awesome. Plus, he’s dubbed by Patrick Seitz, the voice of Franky, Endeavor, and DIO. The idea of man who voices DIO playing a fighting rooster is too good to pass up!

Speaking of DIO….

Steel Ball Run: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, March 19th

Let the race begin! After four long years of waiting, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure returns with the long-awaited adaptation of Part Seven, Steel Ball Run. Serving as Hirohiko Araki’s love letter to spaghetti westerns, the premise behind Part Seven is the titular Steel Ball Run, a race that stretches from one end of the United States to the other with a massive cash prize awaiting the winner. Since this is JoJo, though, that means that there’s a bizarre conspiracy at work and supernatural powers at play. Regarded by many as Araki’s magnum opus, Steel Ball Run also has the distinction of being the first part to take place in an entirely new timeline, featuring reimaginations of many characters fans have come to know and love. Jonathan Joestar is now Johnny Joestar, Zeppeli is a mysterious vagabond, and best of all, Dio is now a cocky horse jockey. And that’s just the start, from what I hear! The best part is that it seems Netflix will be releasing new episodes weekly rather than dumping an entire cours at once!

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Season 4, Pt. 1-April 2nd

We here at the D&A Anime Blog are massive fans of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, and if you’ve seen the show, it’s not hard to understand why we’re excited for his return. Having solidified his status as a Demon Lord and debuted his country on the world stage, Rimuru and his friends continue their efforts to build a world where humans and monsters can live in harmony. Much like before, though, there are people working in the shadows trying to knock him down, and he will have to show them why that is a terrible idea. It should also be noted that this is just part one of the fourth season, with the entire thing being broken up into a staggering 5 cours’ spanning 50 episodes! That’s either madness or sheer brilliance, but either way, we’re not complaining.

Daemons of the Shadow Realm, April 4th-

Fullmetal Alchemist is considered by many to be one of the greatest anime of all time and a must-watch for anime fans. But did you know that we’re about to get an anime adaptation of another one of its creators’ works, Daemons of the Shadow Realm? Set in a world where people can control supernatural creatures called Daemons, Daemons of the Shadow Realm, much like Fullmetal, is a story about two siblings, Yuru and Asa. Separated while young, the two embark on a journey to reunite as they discover that they are meant to control all Daemons in order to save the world. So, pretty standard shonen stuff. But the fact that it was created the woman behind FMA and is getting animated by Studio Bones should be all the reason why fans should check this out.

Dr. Stone-Science Future Part 3-April 2nd

Full disclosure: I actually skipped over watching the second part of Dr. Stone’s fourth season. I know that everything works out in the end, but given how close Senku and the others came to biting it in part two, I didn’t feel like dealing with that kind of stress. However, given how close the series is to the end, and Senku and the Kingdom of Science are to making it to the moon, I think I’m going to hop back on.

Now before we get to the last anime I’m looking forward to seeing, let’s talk about the one that I won’t be watching.

The Beginning After the End, Season 2, April

Last year, one of the founders of D&A Anime Blog had told me about this webcomic that was getting an anime adaptation, and I wound up binge-reading most of it in a few days and loved it. It combined the best aspects of Mushoku Tensei with powers systems and abilities that reminded me of Avatar: The Last Airbender, one of, if not, my favorite show of all time. Unfortunately, the anime has gone down in infamy as the biggest disappointment of 2025. The animation was complete trash. I knew it, the fans knew it, and I think even the creator of the series himself knew he got screwed over. I stuck with it out of principle, but I’m not going through that again!

One Piece, Elbaph Arc Cours 1-April 5th

I don’t think that everyone was happy when Toei announced they were moving One Piece to a seasonal release schedule, but let’s be honest: it was inevitable. Anime that release every week year-round have been phased out for years, with One Piece being the last big holdout. Having read and covered the manga on my own blog, though (which I welcome you to read), I understand why they’re doing this. Next to the island where the One Piece is located, Elbaph, home of the Giants, was the most anticipated location that fans wanted to see the Straw Hats visit. And Oda has made the decades-long wait worth it, as Elbaph is one of the most fantastic places in the entire series. If you’re not caught up on the manga, then you are going to be in for a wild and crazy ride as the Straw Hats make it to the land they’ve dreamt of for years. In addition to the usual Straw Hat shenanigans, we’re poised to get one of the most important flashbacks in the entire series, while Luffy has his first encounter with one of the two characters I consider to be in the running for the ultimate antagonist of the series. Honestly, Toei needed this extra time to cook!

The Netflix One Piece Series is Bigger and Better in Season 2!

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One Piece Season 2 Review

Everyone, would you do me the honors and come sail with me to the Grand Line in search of the One Piece?

Three years ago, Netflix managed to do what many, myself included, thought impossible: made a live-action version of One Piece that was actually good. For that matter, making a live-action adaptation of an anime that was good, period. How did they do this? To paraphrase Honest Trailers, “by changing absolutely nothing, no matter ridiculous it may seem.” That, and Eichiro Oda made sure the streaming giant didn’t wreck his life’s work. The bottom line is that Netflix’s One Piece was better than anyone thought possible. People who had never gotten into the series got to give it a try, and the people who had stuck with it for years got to fall in love with it all over again. But the thing about the first season is that it was just a warm-up. The second season is when the show would really show whether or not if it could live up to the legendary anime and manga.

After spending the entirety of my weekend binging the series, I can confidently assert that, once again, One Piece knows what it’s doing. Thank you, Eichiro D. (G)oda!

One Piece is Back

The first season of One Piece was an abridged retelling of the first part of the story of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew. How he met and assembled the pirates that initially made up the Straw Hat Pirates, got their first ship, and became the toughest pirates in their native East Blue. After that, it’s off to the Grand Line to find the One Piece…with one last stop.

For reasons I cannot understand, some fans were convinced that Netflix was going to skip the Loguetown Arc, the last portion of the opening saga of the series. I knew that they weren’t going to do that, though! That would bring up too many plot holes in the future! I still found it funny, though, when the show had Nami cheekily say “and you thought we were gonna skip Loguetown.” The writers know the fans so well!

As for the Loguetown Arc itself, it’s only the first episode of the season, so it has to condense a lot of material. That includes adding in a certain character who sees what Luffy does in Loguetown and becomes an important ally much later in the story. That’s the benefit of the Netflix series, though. Having almost three decades of extra lore and knowing who and what will be important means they can add a lot of stuff that Oda didn’t add when writing the story.

Who Cares Who Plays the Characters?

Case in point, we got to see Luffy sing Oda’s original song, Binks Brew, to a giant whale. And we got to see a flashback to Brook, his future crewmember, back when he wasn’t a talking skeleton. For some reason, though, people seemed surprised to have him played by a Black man. Me? I just shrugged my shoulders and didn’t care. The Straw Hats were already supposed to be a multi-national crew, so why does it matter?

Speaking of which, I need to bring up the elephant in the room: Princess Vivi, who joins the cast as one of the main characters this season. Last year, a lot of people were in an uproar about who was cast to play the Princess of Alabasta: Charithra Chandran, a British-Indian actress. Haters thought that it was Netflix trying to enforce diversity onto the show. However, that is not true. Not only did Oda base Alabasta on Middle Eastern and Indian cultures, but he personally chose Charithra to play Vivi. And in that regard, I think Charithra excelled. She starts off as the menacing Miss Wednesday, but once she abandons that, she’s the same kind, compassionate, and caring princess I remember watching in the trenches from the 4Kids days. So all those people owe her an apology.

It Gets Crazier from Here

Now, the real test of this season was how accurately it could capture the story going forward, as the first season was just a warm-up. Once the story moves from the East Blue to the Grand Line, realism starts to take a backseat as Oda started to incorporate the more fantastical elements to the world he created. Whales big enough to swallow ships; islands that need special compasses to navigate to them; every location varying in climate, culture, and wildlife. The halfway point of the season alone takes us to an island populated by dinosaurs! And that’s not even getting into all the new powers!

In the first season, the only two characters who had the powers of a Devil Fruit were Luffy and Buggy. That changes in the Grand Line, as almost every location the Straw Hats visit and many of the foes they face have Devil Fruit powers. From a guy turning his boogers into explosives to a creep who can create candle wax, the powers are only going to get crazier from here on out. And some of the ancillary characters that survive in the manga bite it here.

I’m not kidding. If you thought Mihawk killing Don Krieg was surprising, wait until you see how many of the bad guys end up dying once their roles are fulfilled. At least they go out in style, though.

Which brings me to another great aspect of the show: the combat.

Remember how Zoro cut down 100 Bounty Hunters?

Given how fantastical One Piece is, the fights tend to be absolutely insane. So adapting them for live action was always going to be a big concern. The first season showed that it could do it, but like everything else, season two is where the series really has to step up. To make a long story short, it does, and while I could give plenty of examples, my favorite has to be Zoro’s legendary 1v100 bar brawl. They could’ve skimped on it, but Netflix didn’t. Mackenyu gave us twelve minutes of Zoro annihilating everyone in his path, and it is glorious. I have no idea how long it took to film all that, but considering how he did his own stunts, that must have been a crazy workout! Respect to him and the rest of the cast for all that they did.

Speaking of the cast, though, we need to talk about my favorite part of the season: Drum Island.

Drum Island Still Made me Cry

I started my One Piece journey right around the tail-end of the Drum Island arc that introduced us to the series mascot, the ever-adorable, floofy Chopper. I spent the better part of my time watching reruns on Cartoon Network to get caught up. And when I got to the Drum Island Arc…man, it stuck with me.

If you know One Piece, then you know that a lot of the characters have very, very sad backstories. But for ten-year-old me, Chopper’s backstory had to be the saddest. Ostracized by his fellow reindeer, considered a monster by humans (why, though? He’s so cute!) And losing his father figure, Hiruluk? Even with all the censoring that 4Kids did for the dub they never wanted, I knew that Hiruluk blew himself up! That was hard to watch as a kid, and the Netflix series managed to make it every bit as heart-breaking to watch as an adult. In other words, I LOVED IT! And I loved Chopper.

Don’t get me wrong: at times Chopper’s CGI model could be cringe to look at, especially his human-bruiser form. And I do wish that they had just gotten Brina Palencia to voice him like she does in the dub, as it took me a while to get used to his voice actor. I’m not even sure if I really got used to him by the time the season ended! But I knew going in that the show was going to be fighting an uphill bringing Chopper into live-action. All things considered, I think that they did a decent job. It could’ve been far, far worse than what we got. Plus, the climax of the entire season was absolutely incredible. Something that we didn’t get to see in the anime, and still managed to be awesome.

I Give Netflix’s One Piece another 3 Seasons, tops

So, did One Piece manage to hit the mark once again? Yes. Is it a perfect adaptation? No, but is anything really perfect in this world? Are some of the changes for the better? I can’t be the one to decide that. Am I going to watch it again in Japanese? ABSOLUTELY. But where do we go from here?

Well, the next season is going to cover the arc where I actually stepped into the world of One Piece, the Alabasta Arc. And given how big that arc was, and how it marked the start of several major formulas for the series going forward, I think it’s safe to say that it will be the sole focus of the entire season. Which is fine by me, because I’m well aware that there’s no way Netflix can adapt the entire anime into live-action. At some point it will take too long, cost too much money, the actors will get too old to reasonably play the roles, and frankly, I don’t think the technology exists to capture the franchise in its latter stages. My guess is that it will run to the end of the Water Seven Saga, if we’re lucky! But regardless of how long it lasts, I intend to enjoy it all. My only wish is that the third season will switch to a weekly release date. This way we can fully enjoy everything as it comes out. Please, Netflix? Give this to us!

Verdict: WATCH IT!!

The Legal Crash Out: Hiromi Higuruma

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Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Ep 8 Review

Crash outs. Moments where people hit their rage-breaking point and proceed to commit acts that can be considered violent, reckless, or stupid. Jujutsu Kaisen has already given us a prime example of how dangerous a crash-out can be thanks to Maki’s purging of the Zenin Clan. Though in that case, it was justified by the fact that they were already planning to kill her on top of the years of abuse. However, Yuji and Megumi’s efforts to stop the Culling Game have led them to look for someone else who not only crashed out, but is in the middle of it: Hiromi Higuruma. And we get to see firsthand what happens when a good person hits their breaking point and proceeds to crash out.

No Bullying EVER!

Now, Yuji and Megumi have gotten separated after entering Tokyo Colony No. 1, but their ultimate goal remains the same: finding a Culling Game player with the points to add rules that will allow them to play without killing anyone or giving unwilling players the chance to tap out. Their first target is a guy named Higuruma, and while both find someone who claims to know where he is, Megumi is being led into a trap. That girl he met is bringing him back to this player whose powers I think have to do with receipts. Am I worried? No; it’s Megumi. He’s got his shikigami! It will work out!

Yuji, on the other hand, is being told the truth. The guy whose leading him is someone who knew him before he became a sorcerer. He was this guy who hung with bullies and did what they said because it was easier than making himself a target. One day, though, Yuji showed up and beat the bullies up, and this guy realized he had been a coward and decided to clean up his act.

This is why I love shonen protagonists so much. Whether it’s Goku, Luffy, Naruto, or Yuji, they have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to people abusing their power for evil. It doesn’t matter if they’re stronger than them, or higher in status, or even if they’re a god. If they catch you doing wrong, they’re gonna throw hands. And more often than not, they bring them to justice in one form or another.

What Happens when a Good Man Crashes Out

Justice, by the way, is something that needs to be mentioned. Because justice, or the lack of it, is what defines the man whom Yuji came to find: Hiromi Higuruma. And it’s why this man chose to crash out.

Interesting fact about the Japanese criminal justice system: it has a successful conviction rate of 99%. That’s not because it’s just that good, but because it only pursues cases that it already thinks will end in a guilty verdict. That might sound efficient, but there’s a flaw to this line of thinking: what if the defendant is innocent? Then the prosecution will look stupid and ruin their careers. Even worse, though, is being the defense attorney. How are you supposed to do your job when everyone else thinks it’s a waste of time since they already decided the person is guilty? That is not good for one’s mental health, and nowhere is this better shown than with Higuruma, Defense Attorney.

Higuruma is a man with an incredibly strong sense of justice. If he thinks that a client is innocent, then he will raise hell to prove it. He genuinely wants justice to be enacted, no matter what society thinks. But a society that’s already decided the defendant’s guilty will use everything it has to make sure it wins. And then when his clients are still found guilty, they blame him for giving them false hope. He knows that they’re only doing this because of how desperate they are, but it still hurts!

Case in point, there was latest client accused of murder. He didn’t do it, and was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and despite the mountain of evidence proving his innocence, the justice system wouldn’t take the L. So they appealed the verdict, and despite not finding any new evidence, they still convicted the man. And that was enough to make him finally crash out and awaken as a Jujutsu Sorcerer.

This has to be one of the coldest moments in the entire series, and for good reason. There are people online saying that Gege Akutami consulted with actual defense attorneys to make Higuruma as authentic as possible. If that is true, then he managed to write an absolutely scathing critique of his country’s justice system, because Higuruma is a man who has reached his limit with the law. And when the law fails a good person too many times, they may crash out and take matters into their own hands. In Higuruma’s case, he manifests a Shikigami and forces a retrial…but not for the defendant.

Spoiler alert: he ended up killing the judge and prosecutor. And by the time Yuji meets up with him, he’s still in the middle of a crash out, as he doesn’t care about helping Yuji. And when Yuji presses the issue, he hits back. Hard.

This is gonna be one Epic Fight!

This is one of the best moments of the entire season for me. Not only is the animation as smooth as butter, but it also shows just how powerful Higuruma is. He’s only been a Jujutsu Sorcerer for two weeks, and he’s already got a Domain Expansion. Do you know how insane that is? It’s so impressive, it’s actually scary! And now Yuji has to fight this guy in a courtroom-style fight. The next episode cannot get here soon enough, you guys!

If what I have seen with all the gifs and memes about Higuruma online are any indication, this is going to be a fan favorite episode. Higuruma is in the running for the crash out hall of fame, and I can’t wait to see his technique at work!

I Give “Tokyo Colony No. 1 – Part 2” a 4.5/5

Yuji and Megumi enter the Culling Game!

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Jujutsu Kaisen S3 Ep 7 Review

It’s time, everyone. The Culling Game has been underway for a while now, and the longer it goes on, the easier it will be for Kenjaku’s insane plans to be fulfilled. With Yuji and the others having gathered their allies, they’re ready to enter the Game. Which, at this point, I’m basically considering to be the JuJutsu equivalent of Fortnite.

Ironically, Yuji, Gojo, Nobara and Megumi are already in Fortnite.

Hakari Wants in On the Future

So, after getting Hakari and Kirara to calm down and listen to them, the former has the same reaction as the latter when they learn Gojo was sealed. To be fair, though, hearing that their strongest has been sealed would make anyone react like that. But now that Hakari knows that there backs are up against the wall, he’s willing to help them out. But he’s not just doing this out of the goodness of his heart! He wants to make a deal!

The short version: now that the existence of Cursed Spirits is public and the leaders of Jujutsu society are gonna need to be purged, things are going to need to be reformed. And Hakari wants to make sure the new rules will benefit him and his money-making schemes. Megumi agrees to the terms, since he’s the head of the Zenin Clan now. Seeing Hakari start sucking up to Megumi after he hears that was pretty funny. What makes it even funnier, though, is that the next day, Maki wipes out the Zenin Clan, making it a moot point.

Even if Megumi can’t really flex that clan power anymore, though, I think Hakari has the right to be involved in rebuilding Jujutsu society. I didn’t mention it in my review of the last episode, but one reason he got ostracized is that his Cursed Technique is more modern and tech-based. And the jerks in charge are so old-fashioned that they look down on it. But no society can improve if it keeps the same old ways forever, and if its leaders resist that notion, get rid of them. And after what they have done since Shibuya, Jujutsu HQ is going to be burned to the ground once Gojo gets out.

But enough of that: it’s time to enter the Culling Game, especially Yuji.

Let the Culling Game begin!

So, it was previously established that entering one of the colonies of the Culling Game makes someone a player by default. Since the group hadn’t entered yet, they thought they had time to prepare. However, they overlooked one possibility: that Sukuna might have agreed to take part in the Game in the past. Thanks to that, Yuji is already a player and can’t put off entering any longer. Thus, the group heads to the Tokyo Colonies.

Their plan is simple. To ensure that Megumi’s sister can get out of the Culling Game, they want to find players who already the points needed to add more rules. They figure that if they persuade them, they can add two new rules: one to allow points to transfer between players, and another that lets players tag someone else in to take their place. This way, they can make it through the Game without killing anyone. Yuji and Megumi go into one colony to find a player who has the points, while Hakari and Panda take the other to find Angel, the only one who can unseal Gojo. However, no plan survives first contact with the enemy, and this is no exception.

Firstly, the second Yuji and Megumi enter the colony, they find themselves separated. This was a rule that the barriers added so players would spawn in at different points without any control over it. It’s like PUBg or Fortnite in that regard. And unfortunately for Yuji and Megumi, the game already has players pulling off toxic gamer moves, like spawnpoint camping.

As a gamer with years of experience in online multiplayer, it disgusts me to see people using spawnpoint camping to earn points. That being said, I can’t help but find it funny seeing Yuji get jumped by two random newbies and turning the tables on them. They shouldn’t have messed with the main protagonist. And as it so happens, their third member is someone Yuji used to go to school with and knows where to find one of the hundred-point players…or so they say.

Someone is Sus

Meanwhile, Megumi runs into this woman who’s trying way too hard to play up the weak and helpless damsel routine, which sparks plenty of red flags in my head. She also claims to know where this player they’re looking for is, but she gives him a different location. Which means one of them is being lied to, and will thus be getting an ass-whooping later. Sadly, we will have to wait at least two weeks to find out. The anime is going to be on break.

I don’t really care that much that the anime will be on break. Months of One Piece going on break for recap episodes have gotten me used to the idea. Plus, the next episode is going to be absolute fire, I just know it! In the meantime, what I’m more interested in is Hakari’s English voice actor. I assumed that it would go to Chris Sabat, but Yuri Lowenthal was not someone I was expecting! People from my generation are probably already saying how he’s delinquent Sasuke. To be fair, though, Sasuke was a delinquent for half the series.

I Give “Tokyo No. 1 Colony, Part 1” a 4.5/5

Why are Cursed Techniques so Confusing at Times?

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JuJutsu Kaisen S3 Ep 6 Review

Well, that didn’t take long. Yuji, Megumi, and Panda infiltrated the underground fight club run by their jujutsu senpai’s, Hakari and Kirara, to recruit them for the Culling Games. Unfortunately, they’ve been made! Now, since they’re not going to do this the easy way, they’re gonna have to do this the hard way. Which is fine by me, because it gives us a chance to see how our protagonists measure up against their senpai’s. That, and we got confirmation that Megumi is ripped as they come!

I Don’t Get Kirara’s Power

So, while Yuji was upstairs talking to Hakari, Megumi and Panda were trying to sneak into the fight club in case things went south. Unfortunately, they were spotted by Kirara (who we will use they/them pronouns for). They think the two are working for Jujutsu High’s higher-ups (who are toxic conservatives), so they alert Hakari. That leads into Hakari throwing hands with Yuji as we saw at the end of the last episode, and now things have to be done the hard way.

To Kirara’s credit, Megumi and Panda are from Jujutsu High, but are just choosing not to follow the higher-ups orders. And even when the two tell them that they sought their help because Gojo was sealed, they don’t buy it. If we hadn’t seen it for ourselves, I doubt the viewers would believe it, either! But the only reason that this happens is so that the story can show off what Kirara can do with their cursed techniques. And it’s…pretty complex.

I love the shonen genre; I’ve always loved it. However, one thing that’s always bugged me is how some series have power systems that can be downright confusing to understand. The biggest offender is JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, especially in the later parts, but JJK can be just as hard to understand at times. Case in point, I had a hard time wrapping my head around Kirara’s Cursed Technique. The basic idea is that it marks people and items based on the stars in the Southern Cross constellation. You have to approach each mark based on its order in the constellation, I think. And if you don’t approach in the correct order, you get repelled like being Force pushed.

I’m sorry, but that kind of power just doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest. It’s too confusing to wrap my head around and I think that saying Kirara could repel things they touch would be simpler. It’s only thanks to the show’s superb animation that I was able to maintain my interest. It doesn’t really matter, though, because Megumi and Panda win and convince Kirara to hear them out.

Hakari, on the other hand…is too fired up to listen as he and Yuji come out of the monitor room in a fist fight.

I Respect Hakari’s Love for Passion

Here’s the thing about Yuji as of this moment: he’s not in the best mental headspace. He was talked into coming back with his friends and half-brother, but what happened in Shibuya is not something he can get over. He already put little value on his own life, but after Sukuna’s rampage and what Mahito did, it’s devolved to the point where he sees himself as a cog in a never-ending war. His only purpose is to kill Cursed Spirits and help his friends, and nothing else. As much as I like seeing people act selflessly, though, there’s a point where it becomes detrimental to one’s well-being. And it’s this way of thinking that gets on Hakari’s nerves the most.

Unlike Yuji, who’s entire reason for living is to help others, Hakari embodies the concept of putting one’s own interests above all else. He’s passionate about what he loves, and likes seeing that kind of passion in other people. It sounds selfish and greedy at first glance, but when you think about it, everyone wants something more than anything in life, even if it’s something selfless. He wants to see a world where people are free to do what they love the most, which is why he initially can’t stand seeing Yuji think so little of his own existence. To put it bluntly, it pisses him off.

Ironically, it’s this very mindset of Yuji that gets Hakari to finally hear him out. Yuji Itadori’s so determined to stop the Culling Game that he tanks every one of Hakari’s punches, which just makes him angrier. It gets to the point where Kirara calls out how riled up Yuji’s resolve has gotten him. By his own logic, Yuji has passion.

The timing couldn’t be better. A new rule has been added to the Culling Game by one of the players: players can see the status and location of all other players. This rule was added not by them or any of their allies, but by one of the players who’s already at work. To make it worse, it’s one of the Sorcerers who was brought back by possessing someone else. Their name is Hajime Kashimo, and judging by what he says in his first appearance, he’s a real blood knight. The whole reason he added that rule was so that he could track down and fight Sukuna.

I repeat, this reincarnated Sorcerer actually wants to fight Sukuna. And he’s not Gojo! You have to be next-level crazy to want to do that!!

If this is the kind of enemy that’s in the Culling Game, then Yuji and the others are gonna need all the help they can get. They need Hakari!

Next episode, we’re finally joining in on the Culling Game, and it looks like we’re starting off on the best foot possible.

I Give “Cog” a 4/5

Hakari the Gangster Sorcerer Joins the Story

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JuJutsu Kaisen S3 Ep 5 Review

The preparation for the Culling Game continues. Maki may not have gotten the cursed tools of the Zenin Clan and lost her sister, but she did wipe them all out. No more of their toxic influence and Game of Thrones scheming. Meanwhile, Yuji and Megumi have to go and convince a senpai on bad terms with the authority figures to help them in the Game. And this guy is a real rebel who believes in following one’s passion to the fullest!

Which is fine by me, as I like people who want to follow their dreams even if they’re crazy. And anyone on bad terms with the leaders of the Jujutsu world gets bonus points in my book. Plus, it helps that their seiyuu is the guy who plays Roronoa Zoro!

Those Old Geezers at JJ HQ are on my Hate List

If it hasn’t been made clear by my reviews of JJK, or some of my other writings, I hate toxic conservatism. By which I mean I hate dogmatic people who insist on maintaining things the way they are, even when changing with the times would benefit them. And the leaders of Jujutsu society that aren’t named Satoru Gojo all qualify as such. Not only did they try to kill Yuji and make it a crime for Gojo to be unsealed, but this episode opens with one of their most heinous crimes: the murder of Principal Yaga.

Yaga was the one who created Panda, the first self-sustaining Cursed Corpse. HQ wanted that secret technique to create their own army of puppets to enforce their rules, but Yaga refused. And he made sure that before he died, he only told his fellow Principal Gakuganji the secret because he saw that knowledge as a curse. And this actually manages to get to the old man! Even more so when Panda comes along only moments after Yaga died and says that he’s not mad at him for following orders.

This entire thing was genuinely heartbreaking for me to watch. This is the equivalent of Pinocchio coming home to find Geppetto dead because some jerk ordered a hit on him. It’s downright tragic to watch, and even Gakuganji is shaken by his fellow educator’s death. When Gojo is unsealed, those higher-ups shouldn’t even bother praying, because they already signed their own death warrants.

I Like Hakari Already

While all of this is happening, Yuji and Megumi are on their own mission: to find and recruit their senpai, Hakari Kinji. He’s a third year at Tokyo Jujutsu High, but he’s been suspended by the higher-ups for being a good-for-nothing, headstrong rebel. As the two first-years see for themselves, that’s not an unwarranted opinion; he’s running a fight club for Sorcerers.

Even before we meet him, it’s clear why the conservatives running Jujutsu society hate Hakari. They’re rigid traditionalists who hate any concept of changing with the times, while Hakari is the new blood chafing under authority and longing to break free. He’s the kind of guy who encourages people to indulge in what they love and find passion in, because without that, what is life even about? Hence, his main reason for clashing with the higher ups is because wants encourage everyone in Japan to follow their passions. And for him, that means wanting to legalize his fight club and gambling in Jujutsu society.

I have to admit, I was pretty sold on Hakari before we even got a chance to meet him. Firstly, it’s because HQ hates him. Secondly, while I dont exactly approve of a fight club, I respect the hustle. Thirdly, he’s voiced by Zoro’s seiyuu, which gives him bonus points for aura. And once Yuji meets him, his aura only manages to get even better.

The entire meeting between Yuji and Hakari has to be one of the best scenes in the entire anime. It’s just one continuous shot with no change in perspective, camera angles, or anything. It’s impressive, crazy, and somehow manages to work. Then again, chaos seems to be what this series is about to run on, so I’m not surprised.

Overall, this episode was big on both the tearjerking moments as well as the exciting ones, as something tells me that I’m gonna like Hakari. A lot.

I Give “Passion” a 4.5/5

The Uchiha Clan Massacre 2.0, Brought to you by Maki

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Jujutsu Kaisen S3 Ep 4 Review

The Uchiha Clan Massacre, one of the defining moments in the backstory of the Naruto series. In a single night, one lone ninja proceeded to slaughter almost the entirety of his powerful clan, save for himself, the guy who helped him, and his little brother. And he did it all under the orders of a man who had no authority to make him do that. It was a tragedy that could’ve been prevented, and in the long run, it caused more harm than good for everyone involved. Why am I bringing this up now when we’re talking about Jujutsu Kaisen? Because the anime just gave the Uchiha Clan Massacre 2.0. Except this time, it’s entirely justified, the one doing the killing is in the right, and the clan in question deserves everything happening to them. Maki did what she had to do.

F the Zenin Clan

So, after spending the last episode focusing entirely on exposition as Tengen, Yuji, and all their allies prepare to stop Kenjaku’s plans, this one is focused on the actual preparation. Their first order of business is to retrieve all the weapons and gear the Zenin Clan has locked in their storehouses. So Maki heads to their compound with the authority of her cousin Megumi, who is now the clan head, remember, to do just that. The Zenin Clan, though, has no intention of playing ball whatsoever.

Let me remind you what I said in my review for the preview movie: the Zenin Clan sucks. They are one of the three biggest and oldest clans of Jujutsu sorcerers in Japan, and a family of backwards thinking, ultra-conservative, sexist jerks. Not to mention how they’re convinced that they’re in a story like Game of Thrones where it’s all the intrigue and scheming. Because even though they are facing the existential threat Kenjaku is bringing to Japan, all they care about is their own power. They have no intention of letting Megumi be clan head, with their leaders using those dumb orders banning Gojo from being unsealed as an excuse to try and off him. And when Maki comes back, all they do is look down on her for having zero cursed energy and being a woman. Naoya even says she’s worthless now that she’s got all those scars on her. But that’s only the start, as Maki goes to the vault, and all she finds there is her deadbeat dad and her mortally wounded twin sister, Mai. And then her dad almost kills Maki and leaves them both for dead.

Time for a quick tangent, by the way. Gege, you are an absolute master of the art of making characters whose existence people can loathe with their entire being. Naoya was already a arrogant, sexist jerk that deserves a punch to the face. But the girl’s dad? All he does is whine about how he’s not the clan head and blaming it all on his daughters’ existence. He even says that “children shouldn’t hold back their parents,” with a straight face. This is the definition of a deadbeat parent, and while there are a lot of things I hate, there’s nothing worse than a bad parent.

Which only makes what happens next all the more satisifying.

All my Homies Hate the Zenin Clan

There’s a reason why Maki has no cursed energy whatsoever. The rules of Jujutsu treat twins as the same person. So when twins are born, they get restricted. In the girl’s case, Mai got all the cursed energy, while Maki should have gotten a superhuman body like Toji did to compensate. So long as one lives, the other can’t reach their full potential. Which is why Mai, who never wanted to be a sorcerer, chooses to let herself die so that her sister can unlock her full potential.

This is an absolute tragedy, and even though I wish that the anime could’ve spent an entire episode on just this, I think it manages to hammer that aspect home. All Maki wanted was to change the Zenin Clan so that it could accept her and Mai and give them the home they wanted. But the Zenin Clan was so rigid in their beliefs that they refused to let that happen, even when it would’ve benefitted them in the long run. Thanks to everyone’s stubbornness, Mai has died, and Maki has lost everything.

But thanks to their arrogance, the Zenin Clan didn’t kill the twins when they had the chance. Because now, it’s time for their own Uchiha Clan Massacre.

Toji Could’ve gone Full Kratos on the Zenin Clan if he Wanted

Fans of JJK know who Toji Fushiguro is. Born to the Zenin Clan with no cursed energy, he bailed on them and discarded his last name due to them treating him like dirt. They shouldn’t have, because the universe chose to compensate him for his lack of cursed energy by giving him a body as strong as steel, with superhuman senses and strength to go with it. That meant that he could kill Jujutsu sorcerers with hardly a scratch, and made him their absolute worst nightmare. He could’ve killed his entire clan for treating him like garbage, but chose to take the high road on it.

Maki, on the other hand? Let’s review everything all the crimes the Zenin Clan has committed against her:

  • A lifetime of emotional and physical abuse
  • Disobeying a direct order from the head of their clan
  • Murder of her sister
  • Multiple accounts of attempted murder

The verdict is guilty, the sentence is death, and the executioner is Maki, courtesy of the sword Mai made her before she died.

The Massacre Straight out of Kill Bill

What happens next isn’t just the Uchiha Clan Massacre for a new generation. It’s the Uchiha Clan Massacre fused with Kratos’ rampage against the Olympian Gods. And it is as close to perfect as possible…at least if you’re from the West.

It’s common to find anime fans from the West disagreeing with their Japanese counterparts, but there’s something special about how our reactions to this episode of JJK. Everyone I’ve seen stateside has been calling the best episode of the series. They’re looking at the scene of Maki wasting those mooks and are saying how it’s just like the Bride killing the Crazy 88 in Kill Bill. I looked up a clip of the scene on YouTube, and everyone’s commenting just that!

And the part where Maki tanks the hits from the Hei unit! That one guy dies thinking that he helped kill Maki, but she just walks away with the head of another Hei member and throws it into a pond!

And that fight with Naoya! Even if he gave us one of the first memes of the year, everyone agrees Naoya deserves to get his face caved in! And the anime didn’t disappoint as Maki absolutely embarrasses him! They repeated the clip of her breaking his skull four times, and it’s still satisfying! And her carnage didn’t stop at the compound! She hunted down any Zen’in clan members who weren’t there and killed them all! Is it any wonder why those with Maki stock are taking a victory lap?

So why are the Japanese hating on this? From what I’ve heard, cultural differences.

Japan Didn’t See this the Way Americans Did

According to what I’ve heard, a big issue they have with the episode is how it portrays the massacre. They don’t like the upbeat and energetic music and pacing. To them, this event is supposed to be a somber tragedy because of what happens to Maki and Mai. And I do agree with them on that part. What happened to Maki and Mai is indeed a tragedy brought about by Maki and her clan’s mutual stubbornness. Had Maki not tried to spite the family that didn’t deserve her and just walked away with her sister, Mai wouldn’t have had to die. And I do think that the anime could’ve made this entire thing more menacing to respect Mai. Remember, despite thinking it had to be done, Itachi hated himself for having to kill his clan and wanted to face justice for it, even if others might not see it that way. But while what happens is a tragedy, Westerners don’t see it like that.

We often consider getting revenge to be a costly, self-destructive act. At the same time, though, if we find the ones who are the targets of said revenge to be utterly reprehensible, we’re willing to justify it. And, admittedly, there’s something satisfying on a primal level in seeing the hero beat the snot out of a villain who greatly wronged them. Ergo, while we may mourn Mai’s death, I couldn’t help but smirk as I saw Maki bury the backwards, sexist, backstabbing Zen’in clan six feet under. Even more satisfying is seeing Naoya go out like a chump at the hands of Maki’s dying mother.

So, despite what the Japanese have to say about it, and despite me wanting an entire episode dedicated to Maki’s killing spree, I still loved this. I have been wanting to see this animated for a while now, and while it wasn’t quite what I expected, it’s already one of my favorite anime moments of the year. Maki, you have effectively solidified your place as THAT girl! All hail the Queen of Jujutsu Kaisen, Maki!!

I Give Perfect Preparation a 4.8/5

THIS IS THE YEAR OF DRAGON BALL!!

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It’s hard to believe that it’s been two years since the world lost Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball. Yet for the time being, his greatest creation has continued to endure across the world and in the minds of its fans young and old. With this year marking the 40th anniversary of the original manga, fans are expecting big things to commemorate it. And it looks like we’re going to be feasting, because on January 25th, the powers that be dropped a few big pieces of news. A Dragon Ball anime is coming back, we’re getting a remake of one arc, and there was some big video game news that is leaving fans drooling.

Let’s start with the first big piece of news: the Beerus arc from Dragon Ball Super is getting a remake.

DB Super Beerus Remake

After the disaster that was Dragon Ball Evolution, the late Toriyama was so mad about his creation being mishandled that he came out of retirement to fix things. The result was the hit 2013 film Battle of Gods thrusting the series badk into the spotlight for a new generation. That eventually led to a sequel film, and both would lead to a new anime series in 2015, Dragon Ball Super. I never watched the first two arcs in the anime since they were just retelling the films, but I have heard that there were a few complaints about it not being that good. There were issues with the animation, pacing, and other things that fans didn’t like. So, I guess I dodged a bullet on that!

It seems that things were so bad that Toei has decided to remake the entire Beerus arc with new animation, with the resulting Dragon Ball Super L: Beerus releasing sometime this fall. Again, I preferred the movie to the anime arc, so I probably won’t watch it. However, that doesn’t mean I’m not happy for other fans. And I know that a number of content creators are going to be happy about this.

What I’m looking forward to, though, is something that we’ve had to wait for years to see: the return of Dragon Ball Super.

Super is Coming Back!

In 2018, after the Tournament of Power Arc came to its legendary end, DB Super went on what we thought was a hiatus. This was so that the manga adaptation could have time to tell the next major arc, the Galactic Patrol Arc, which everyone has expected to be what Super would cover next. But it never came back, and some fans started to lose hope that it would. For those who had faith, though, it’s about to pay off. Dragon Ball Super: Galactic Patrol Arc is coming!

The basic premise of the arc is that Goku and Vegeta are asked to temporarily join the Galactic Patrol, an intergalactic police force that tries to maintain peace throughout the universe. Emphasis on trying, as they’ve never been strong enough to stop Frieza, his family, or any minions like the Saiyans. And when one of their most dangerous prisoners escapes custody, they need the two’s help to save the day. It’s a pretty good arc, and one that a lot of fans have wanted to see made into an anime. Which means that the return of Super is a pretty big deal for fans. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing it get animated, even if we don’t know when it will release.

As for gamers, we’ve got a lot to look forward to, as well.

Sparking Zero DLC

Two years ago, the legendary Budokai Tenkaichi series came out of retirement with its first release in decades, Sparking Zero. The game proved to be immensely popular at first thanks to having the biggest roster of characters in the entire line of games, online multiplayer, and what-if stories in the main campaigns. It also seemed to quickly lose steam on Steam, though, as it lost 90% of its player base in less than a month, but it has retained a steady base since then, from what I’ve heard. And that player count might grow this year as we just got our first look at the new DLC. And there’s cause for excitement.

This upcoming DLC is going to add even more characters to the game’s already massive roster, including Super Android 17, King Piccolo, and Super Saiyan Bardock. As a big fan of Goku’s dad, that last is especially exciting for me. I’m actually tempted to start playing the game again to get ready.

But all of this is nothing compared to the biggest announcement: in 2027, we are getting a new Dragon Ball game. While we still don’t know its name, the title alone is enough to get hardcore fans pumped: Dragon Ball: Age 1000.

Dragon Ball: Age 100

You might not know this, but in 2010, there was actually a Dragon Ball MMORPG, Dragon Ball Online. Released exclusively in East Asia, it takes place 216 years after the events of the Majin Buu Saga, and Earth has changed a lot since then. Most humans are now at least partially Saiyan, the Namekians relocated to Earth, Majin Buu started his own race, and best of all, the use of Ki is universally recognized, meaning everyone sees Goku and the others as the heroes they are. But the Earth is now threatened by the like of Towa and Mira as they mess with the timeline, leading many to join the Time Patrol led by Future Trunks.

If all of this sounds like the Xenoverse games, there’s a good reason. DBO shut down in 2013, but many of its concepts and characters became a part of Xenoverse and Xenoverse 2. That hasn’t stopped fans from wanting an actual DB Online game again, though, and that’s why this trailer is a big deal. That, and this new character might have been designed by Toriyama before he died.

We won’t know more about Age 1000 until April, but I’m betting fans are already coming up with their own ideas about what this game could be like. I liked the Xenoverse games myself, but I do want to see something more like DB Online here in the west. Hopefully, we’re finally getting what we want!

And that is everything that we know so far! Hopefully, Toei and Shueshia will release more info in the coming months, as it’s got the fandom in a frenzy and eager to learn more. We will try to cover it as best as possible here, as we are massive fans of Dragon Ball and are eager to take part in the celebration ourselves. Until we meet again, guys!