Shonen

XENOVERSE 3! XENOVERSE 3 IS REAL!!!

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

The legends are true! XENOVERSE 3 is real!

A few months ago, Bandai Namco revealed that they were working on a new Dragon Ball game under the code name “Age 1000.” That name generated a lot of buzz in the fandom, especially amongst the most hardcore fans, for good reason. As I explained in an article, Age 1000 is the setting for the now-defunct MMORPG, Dragon Ball Online. While the game never officially made it out of Asia, a lot of its DNA would serve as the basis for two other games, Dragon Ball Xenoverse and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2. I speculated that Age 1000 was meant to be a spiritual remake of DBO, but it seems I underestimated Bandai. On April 19th, 2026, Bandai revealed to the world that Age 1000 was, in fact, a cover for a game ten years in the making: Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3.

Ten Years…Good Times

First released back in 2015 with a follow-up released a year later, the Xenoverse games seem to have maintained a steady popularity despite being over a decade old. With its ability to create characters based on the five most prominent races in the franchise (Human, Saiyan, Namkeian, Majin, and Frieza’s people), the chance to experience the story of Dragon Ball from Z onwards as self-inserts, and online competitive play, the games have remained fairly popular despite being a decade old. It also helps that Xenoverse 2 has regularly recieved updates and DLC. But for years, fans have been wondering when, or even if, there would be a third game to the series, to the point that it became something of a myth in the fandom. It seems that all that waiting is about to pay off, though, as Xenoverse 3 has now been confirmed, and it seems to be the overtly similiar to the premise of Dragon Ball Online out of the games.

What Happens in the Trailer

This announcement trailer doesn’t reveal much in the way of what the story is about, instead focusing on the setting and time it takes place in. As the code name suggested, the game takes place in the year Age 1000, two hundred years after the end of the original manga. The already pretty high-tech world of the series has only grown even more advanced, with holographic billboards now being commonplace. Even better, the diverse population of the previous games has carried over, as we can see characters that are Human, Saiyan, Namkeian (Piccolo), Android, and even a girl from the Demon Realm as a J-Pop artist promoting her new song. More importantly, instead of the Time Patrol, we have something called the Great Saiyan Squad. A clear nod to the late Toriyama’s love for the Tokukatsu genre, the GSS seems like a continuation of what Gohan started as the Great Saiyaman. The fact its members, including the white-haired boy from the first teaser, all wear similar outfits pretty much confirms it.

The thing that everyone is talking the most about, though, isn’t even the fact that this game is the long-awaited Xenoverse 3. It’s the fact that woman sitting behind the chair for the heroes is none other than Bulma. And that has left a lot of people confused.

How is Bulma Still Alive?!?

At this point, it will have been over 200 years since Goku left to train Uub at the end of the manga and Z anime. The longest a human being has been confirmed to live in real life is 122 years, and that’s likely to increase as medical research improves. Even factoring in how much more advanced the world of Dragon Ball is, the idea of a human living into their 200s seems like a stretch. Add in the fact that Bulma looks like she’s hardly aged from her mid-30s, fans are rightfully asking how she’s not only alive, but still so young-looking.

The current leading theory is that Bulma decided to bite the bullet one day and asked Shenron to give her eternal youth. Or, alternatively, Shenron got tired of her using him to take a few years off her life and just decided to give it to her to get her to leave him alone. I speculated that it isn’t even Bulma at all, but one of her and Vegeta’s descendants, but apparently it’s been confirmed that that is Bulma!

How she’s alive is still anyone’s guess, but I am enjoying seeing the theories about it amongst the Dragon Ball-related discord servers I’m a part of. There’s also the fact that she now has an angelic halo around her like Whis and the other Angels which only thickens the plot. Regardless of how it happened, I’m eager to learn how Bulma got this way, and I’m eager to see how the world became this way.

Xenoverse 3 releases in 2027, but it’s already available for wishlisting on Steam and the major consoles. Hopefully, the player base for Xenoverse 2 will start wishlisting it, because I’m looking forward to playing it! I better start coming up with names for my characters!

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

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

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

One Piece Ep 1156 Review

Sorry I’m late, everyone, but I’m ready to get this voyage underway! I wouldn’t miss One Piece for all the money in the world!

I know that the founders of this blog aren’t the biggest of fans of One Piece, but as their primary writer, I’m an absolutely massive fan. I’ve talked about it a lot on D&A Anime Blog. I’ve gushed about the live-action series and other big pieces of news about the franchise. And on my personal blog, I’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 I’ve reviewed an anime of something whose manga I’m concurrently covering, but it’s going to be worth it. Whether you’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 you’re a newcomer, there are going to be a lot things thrown at you that I don’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, I’ll just assume you’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 they’re celebrating by partying. It’s pretty much a law that the Straw Hats end an arc with a party. What I wasn’t expecting, though, and soemthing that was totally original to the anime was getting to hear Brook play “New World.” 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 it’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 doesn’t revolve entirely around what they do. In this case, it picks up with one of Luffy’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 Shanks’ 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 Luffy’s followers weren’t some fair-weather friends, and Barto passed the vibe check. But Yassop still destroyed their ship. They had a reputation to keep up.

I’m sure they’ll be fine!

Blackbeard is Nearing his Endgame

Meanwhile, back on Pirate Island, Blackbeard isn’t happy that the Marines managed to raid the place and rescue Koby while he was gone. However, his crew points out that he’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 Mom’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 I’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, he’s going to try to seize them. That means that nations with people that the Straw Hats call friends will be in harm’s way. Add in the fact that Teach now has Luffy’s grandpa and Sanji’s ex-fiancé 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 doesn’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 LEGO…and 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 would’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 don’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 weren’t allowed to pick Satoru Gojo, who in Jujutsu Kaisen would you consider the GOAT? I don’t know if it’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. Takaba’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 you’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 wasn’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 wasn’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 you’ve seen Jujutsu Kaisen 0, you already know this, but even if you haven’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 people’s techniques, and if that wasn’t enough, he never has to fight alone. He’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 he’s distantly related to Gojo himself, is it any wonder why Yuta is the GOAT of Yuji’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 that’s only stopped by the return of the cockroach.

And during the entire episode, the anime doesn’t let up on the incredible animation that we’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 he’s such a nice guy, he doesn’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 that’s why the anime chose to end things here. They wanted to give us absolute peak before we had to wait. It’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

The OG Dub VA for Luffy Returns as Joy Boy

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

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, it’s hard to imagine a world in which One Piece isn’t one of the most popular media franchises in the world. But like anything great, it didn’t start off that way. It’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 didn’t know anything about it going in, and when they saw all the more mature themes (smoking, death, fanservice) and said “we can’t show this to our demographic!” So they censored like they never censored before…with disastrous results.

There’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, you’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 didn’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 didn’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 I’m willing to bet that there are plenty of fans that prefer sub over dub partly due to what 4Kids did. Honestly, I don’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 Luffy’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 didn’t know any better. Plus, I wasn’t able to find ways to watch the anime and read the manga until I was in high school, so there wasn’t much that I could do. Yet despite knowing how bad I got it, I can’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: they’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 don’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 it’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 can’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. It’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 I’m glad that it’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 isn’t half bad.

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 doesn’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 hasn’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 Regie’s are super powerful, as is his mind. He was able to figure out that Megumi’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 don’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 Regie’s receipts. Checkmate! And with that, Megumi takes another W and manages to all of Regie’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, it’s the rule of funny in jujutsu form.

Everything that we’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 we’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 isn’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 don’t know how many episodes are left in this part of the season, but if this next episode is the last, then I’m going to enjoy it. I knew that Yuta was holding back against Yuji, so I want to see what it’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 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!

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

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

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

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!

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

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!!