Gintama - Episode 366 [Review]

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One Piece - Episode 855 [Review]

As of right now, the Luffy vs. Katakuri fight seems really at war with itself, since it's so long and slow without a ton of variation in the material, but even when it gets repetitive, the action manages to be interesting and engaging. The fighters have cool powers, and there's a much greater emphasis on the actual choreography than we often see in One Piece. Right now Luffy's greatest challenge is out-speeding Katakuri's Observation Haki. Since his opponent can predict his moves, he has to exhaust twice as much stamina to dodge. It doesn't help that now we're learning Katakuri has "awakened" Devil Fruit powers like Doflamingo, meaning he can turn the physical world around him into mochi as well.

Once again, there's not a ton of story movement as much as now would be the time for things to get going. I think the scene I actually appreciated the most this week was with the side characters chit-chatting on the shoreline of Whole Cake Island. Charlotte Montd'or and the Artist Formally Known as Baron Tamago (now "Count Niwatori") talk about the Straw Hats' chances at victory. An element that really gets lost when you're watching this show week-to-week is that enormous sense of gutsiness and achievment. Niwatori is looking back at recent events and remarks that Luffy's crew has already accomplished more than any other rookies could dream of, between breaking into the Emperor's lair, knocking her castle down, and (mostly) surviving all the way to this point. Montd'or doesn't wanna hear it, but the reminder is in the audience's head.

The biggest change this week actually comes with the Germa 66 fight, which finally concludes this week. It's funny, in the manga this whole fight was off screen until the very end where we see them chilling on a mountain pirate corpses. I didn't mind some of this filler but it really undermined itself by showing us the same batch of match-ups over the past several months, so the ending feels so much more extreme by comparison. Each Vinsmoke kid took several episodes to defeat their given opponents, and now they've suddenly taken out hundreds of people.

The episode ends with the Vinsmokes calling in and tricking the rest of the Big Mom pirates into thinking they were victorious on the Germa side of the fight, and now they're planning to make their next move. They're still in that quasi-ally state with the Straw Hats, so who knows what sort of help they might lend, if they're even in the helping mood at all after all this.

So we're two-for-two on Luffy vs. Katakuri fight episodes where not a ton happens, and we've had little of the other Straw Hats present to balance it out. There are parts of this fight that are definitely a long-winded grind, and if the show had the luxury of trimming it down, I think it'd improve the experience a lot. That said, the fight has yet to get boring per se, and it helps that the animation hasn't bottomed out, but we're in desperate need to get some of that oomph back soon. It's an acceptable episode, but I'm hungry for a lot more substance at the moment.

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Overlord III - Episode 13 [Review]

In terms of coming to a dramatic climax, the third season of Overlord easily ranks as the least of the seasons so far. Though there are potential battles on two occasions, neither actually materializes; Ains' duel against Gazeff is over so quickly that Gazeff never even has time to flinch, while the later confrontation between Albedo and Momon (I'm guessing Pandora's Actor was playing the role of Ains there?) is merely a posturing standoff rather than a real fight. Neither result was unexpected; Gazeff knew as well as we did that the duel was tantamount to committing suicide, while the latter bit was obviously just a show for the people of E-Rantel to convince them not to be as afraid of Ains because they had a supposed intermediary in Momon. That even the otherwise-sharp Demiurge couldn't figure out that this was more a coincidence than something Ains actually planned adds a faint amusing touch to the scene, but that still leaves the episode short on drama.

The finale at least partly makes up for this in other ways. The polite progression of arranging the duel's conditions shows the respect both men had for each other, but even so, it still looks on the surface more like Ains' interpretation that Gazeff was foolishly throwing his life away. Both the circumstances and Climb's later insight on the matter speak otherwise, however. This wasn't just a matter of honor or pride or fulfilling his loyalty to the king; Gazeff has shown signs of knowing that his time was coming, and he decided to use it to make a point. He was trying to forestall any other foolish opposition to Ains by demonstrating its utter pointlessness, in the process making sure that Climb or especially Brain didn't try to follow in his footsteps. He also gambled on drawing more of Ains' capabilities out so that the Kingdom would have a better sense of what they faced. This makes for an entirely different situation than the hopeless fights of the lizard men or Midnight Eye, where they were given no choice but to fight for survival.

The rest of the episode was mostly little character moments, like the crushed king having to deal with the aftermath, the Emperor realizing the absurdity of what he was planning based on the battlefield reports, the middle son of the king taking over most duties, and Renner's twisted little smile at Climb doing her bidding. And of course the season has to end with all of the major denizens of Nazarick once again bowing before Ains and pledging their loyalty as he formally declares the establishment of the Sorcerer Kingdom. I know that's one of the series' core hallmarks, but it is starting to get a little tiresome.

The revelation that Gazeff's sword could actually harm Ains if he'd had a chance to swing it is an interesting little tidbit, but it's a pointless one unless another season is animated. There are a couple of other places in the episode where it felt like little details were missing too. Still, the season as a whole was strong enough to warrant being my runner-up best for the summer 2018, and since not all of the characters introduced at the beginning of season 2 have appeared again yet, there's certainly room left for more.

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Gintama - Episode 366 [Review]

Following last week's somber installment, Gintama once again ratchets up the wackiness and slips back into full-on irreverence. After arriving in Edo, Takasugi informs Gintoki that although the Cult of the Phoenix has spread its influence across the universe, it doesn't have a physical HQ on any planet. Instead, the Mobile Cathedral Kuyo, a massive warship that can't be seen by the naked eye or detected via radar, serves as the cult's only base of operations—and it's currently in Terran skies. Claiming that he has some business to attend to, Takasugi temporarily takes his leave and encourages a reluctant Gintoki to meet up with his old friends. Little does the silver-haired samurai realize that he's being tailed by Hijikata and Mobcop/Yamazaki, both of whom pose as mannequins to avoid detection. However, before long, Gintoki also attempts to pass himself off as a mannequin in order to elude Otae, kicking off a bizarre (but perfectly Gintama-ish) series of events.

While in mannequin form, Gin discovers that Otae has taken over the Kodokan Dojo and turned it into Taezap, a parody of Japan's popular Rizap fitness chain. In the two years Gin's been gone, Binbokusai has stepped down as head of the Yagyu School and become a wandering junk collector. After dropping the mannequin act, Gintoki disguises himself as Takasugi, only to be immediately apprehended by Sacchan, who's taken over the Oniwaban in Zenzo's absence. Hoping to ascertain her beloved's whereabouts, she poisons the disguised Gin with a powerful laxative and teases him with the antidote. After thoroughly crapping himself, Gin manages to give his captor the slip in a clothing store. However, through a series of cringe-worthy events, he soon finds himself wearing Kyubei's underwear on his face and surrounded by Kyubei, Otae, Tsukuyo, and Sacchan.

While not the only humor-focused installment of Silver Soul's third act, episode 366 arguably bears the strongest resemblance to the Gintama of old. The story takes a stock sitcom set-up (i.e., a character wishing to elude his friends) and subverts it by being as chaotically over-the-top as possible. For the central conceit to work, certain characters have to be unbelievably stupid—e.g. Otae and Binbokusai not recognizing the “mannequins,” Gintoki not recognizing Hijikata and Yamazaki, and Sacchan falling for Gin's increasingly desperate ruses. In true Gintama fashion, the situation becomes progressively crazier the longer it continues, and all signs point to this comedic powder keg exploding next week. This provides a stark contrast to the previous episode's dead-serious tone and helps remind the audience that first and foremost, madcap humor will always be this franchise's modus operandi.

Although delivering laughs is this episode's primary focus, it also helps further the narrative by revealing the fates of several more Edo residents. Binbokusai's death fake-out and Kyubei's false claim of being over her fear of men are easy to see coming, but both are reasonably effective gags nonetheless. Otae turning the Kodokan Dojo into an ineffectual fitness club for overweight women and keeping her clientele fat by providing them with free ice cream is both darkly humorous and perfectly in line with her devious nature. Tsukuyo's post-time skip fate has yet to be revealed, but if the other Gintama girls are any indication, we're in store for more hilarity.

This marks my one hundredth Gintama episode reviewed. In the three years I've been writing up this show, a lot has changed in Sorachi's world. When my reviews started, Gintama was still a continuity-lite, fourth wall-shirking comedy that gleefully lampooned all forms of popular culture and all aspects of human society. However, the overarching plot that had simmered in the background for the better part of a decade eventually emerged to take center stage, altering the show's tone and narrative structure in ways few fans guessed possible. Excluding last year's Slip Arc, Gintama hasn't felt so much like Gintama since the quadrilogy of endgame arcs began. With the proceedings becoming more ridiculous by the second, Gintoki engages in his time-honored tradition of digging his holes as deep as possible, and outside of the first couple minutes, there isn't a moment of genuine seriousness. As we creep closer and closer toward curtain call, we should savor episodes like this while we still can.

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