We return to Yasui's execution. After disparaging the state of Wano under Orochi's greedy leadership, everything is beginning to come to a head. Every party in Wano is either watching the execution snailstream, present at the capital, or rushing there. This is the final grand moment where it all comes to a head.
Yasui explains the meaning behind the flyers. Turns out it was all just a prank, a sentimental bit on his part for missing the way things used to be. He says that even those others locked up are innocent people that Orochi wrongfully imprisoned, and that there is no rebellion. Obviously this is a lie, but it sows the seeds of doubt in the people and guards who have already witnessed Orochi's paranoia and violence first-hand.
Orochi arrives on his speeding litter. He raises his rifle and fires the first shot at Yasui to begin the execution. At the same time, the surrounding guards let rip with their rifles as well. Yasui is riddled with bullets and his body is thrown about on the stand. Droplets of blood and tears fly from him, reflecting on past situations with the Akazaya Nine and how they connected with Oden through his graciousness. He also witnesses Toko as his eyes begin to close and he apologizes to her for leaving her alone like this. At last his body falls to the ground and Orochi is left cackling with sadistic glee.
That is when the newly arrived people of Ebisu begin to laugh hysterically, including Toko. Zoro and Brook are dumbfounded by this reaction, but Komurasaki explains their terrible curse. Thanks to Kaido and Orochi's experiments they have had every other emotion taken from them, and now all they can do is laugh.
Lord, what a powerful episode. Even knowing what was coming from having read the manga this was a powerful piece of television. In fact, I would say that the episode hit me a lot harder than the manga chapter did. Having the extra time to really drag out Yasui's final moments in slow motion sequences and flashback was really effective. I got chills more than once, especially when it came to him reflecting on carrying Toko through the wasteland on his back.
The cinematic language was stellar as well. There were so many stellar sequences: the grainy old-film sequence of Momonosuke training on the gator's back while framed in an outline of Yasui's hair, the flashback transitions brought in and out through the reflection of autumnal leaves in Yasui's tears, the way the bullet impacts on his body weren't shown but instead there were cutaways to black screens with shining sprays of white petals, the muted colors and sounds as Zoro is surrounded by the laughing villagers - hit after hit, scene after scene. Marvelous work all around from the team at Toei on making this a poignant, powerful episode.
Orochi is truly shown to be as his most cruel and sadistic in this moment. The people of Ebisu are laughing because they have no choice, and Yasui is laughing out of defiance, but Orochi's gleeful laugh is the most disturbing of all. Both the shots of his glowing red eye full of rage are disturbing, and I really loved the moment of him raising the rifle where half of his face was faded into an inky shading with glowing white outlines, the violence obscuring our view of him and his view of the world. Really great stuff.
Hats off to Kokoro Kikuchi this episode too. Her performance as Toko is gut-wrenching. Managing to laugh in a way that sounds like it is natural enough while still being forced and desperate is hard to do, and she nails this delivery. An absolute punch in the chest hearing her belt out those cries, amazing work.
Kaiju No. 8 takes the top spot this week while Tonari no Yōkai-san pushes to #3 in the cmulative! Check out our weekly user rankings!― Let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season,
based on the polls you can find in our Daily Streaming Reviews
and on the Your Score page with the latest simulcasts. Keep in mind that these rankings are based on how people rated in...
Mospeada is a work very much of its time, riffing on ideas and tropes that were all the rage when it was made, and doesn't do anything exceptional with them.― It can be easy for even longtime fans to forget that alongside Macross, there were two other 80's sci-fi anime that got Frankenstein-ed into what we'd eventually call Robotech. While this isn't the first time one of those series has made it to...
Main staff, cast reunite for new film― Warner Bros. Japan revealed on Thursday that it is producing a sequel film to its Batman Ninja CG anime film titled Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League. Junpei Mizusaki, the producer of the opening animation sequences for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders and Kamikaze Douga CEO/founder, is returning from Batman Ninja to direct...
Following the upcoming retro programming block Toonami Rewind, Chris and Lucas look back fondly on the afternoons spent watching Naruto and Sailor Moon.― Following the upcoming retro programming block Toonami Rewind, Chris and Lucas look back fondly on the afternoons spent watching Naruto and Sailor Moon. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the v...
Yeah, yeah, Kaiju No. 8 has all the great action scenes, but Yatagarasu is chewing up the scenery as the royal ladies absolutely lose their minds!?― Why Aren't You Watching This Anime Yet? Yeah, yeah, Kaiju No. 8 has all the great action scenes, but Yatagarasu is chewing up the scenery as the royal ladies absolutely lose their minds!? The ANN After Show streams live on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitte...
Here we have a from-the-ground-up remake, but does this beloved classic still hold up in a modern sense, or is that praise just nostalgia talking?― It's nice when Nintendo surprises us with a remaster or re-release of one of their more difficult-to-obtain games. The original Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for the Nintendo GameCube is a classic for many. However, since the game was never re-rele...
Miles Atherton crunched Netflix's latest numbers for some surprising anime discoveries, from the popularity of My Happy Marriage to the One Piece juggernaut.― Since the advent of streaming, it's been notoriously difficult to gauge how popular a specific anime is with international audiences, both for publishers looking to make informed decisions for a market that generates most of its revenue outsi...
Haruka Shiraishi, Jun Fukuyama star in EMT Squared anime― The official website for the television anime of Izumi Sawano's I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons (Kisaki Kyōiku kara Nigetai Watashi) light novel series opened on Wednesday and revealed the anime's teaser visuals, main cast, main staff, and 2025 premiere. The anime stars: Haruka Shiraishi as Leticia Jun Fukuyama as Clarke Uri Sugata, th...
Game also inspires 2nd symphonic concert 'with animation'― The official website for Palette's 9-nine- game announced on Wednesday that the anime is inspiring a television anime. To commemorate the anime announcement, the franchise will hold its "9-nine- Symphonic Concert 2 with Animation" on September 8. (The franchise held an earlier symphonic concert, without the "animation" tag, on October 17, 20...
With seven full routes and one mini-route with a character from the previous game, if you enjoyed Cupid Paradise, Sweet & Spicy Darling is worth playing.― The first order of business is this: if you haven't played the original Cupid Parasite otome game, there isn't much point in picking up Sweet & Spicy Darling. There is one new route for this sequel, but even that relies on you knowing the backgrou...
With the release of Dead Dead Demon's Dededededestruction, Nick and Steve take a look at it and some other manga that were thought to be "unadaptable"—and see if that was truly the case.― With the release of Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction, Nick and Steve take a look at it and some other manga that were thought to be "unadaptable"—and see if that was truly the case. Disclaimer: The views and...
LiSA performs 'Black Box' opening theme― The official website for NieR:Automata Ver 1.1a, the television anime of Square Enix and Platinum Games' NieR:Automata action role-playing game, started streaming its "promotion file 11" on Tuesday. The video previews the opening theme song "Black Box" by LiSA, and reveals the premiere of the anime's second cours (quarter of year) in July. (The video below re...
When even the author says this story will hurt, you know it will be bad.― When even the author says this story will hurt, you know it will be bad. That's assuming, of course, that you weren't prepared for it going in. The fate of Astrea Familia is well-known to readers and viewers (and players) of the various Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon iterations, and the most recent season of ...
The documentary was full of cool tidbits about the 82-year-old producer and the anime he's worked on—including Ninja Scroll, Pluto, and In This Corner of the World.― Late last month, Japanese television network NHK put out a documentary on anime producer Masao Maruyama as part of their Anime Manga Explosion series. In it, the show delves into the now 82-year-old producer's life, philosophies, and so...