Review3

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One Piece - Episode 860 [Review]

Capone "Gang" Bege: Pirate. Crime boss. Murderer. Absolutely stellar husband and father.

Our heroes have hit a low point in their attempt to soothe Big Mom with the most delicious wedding cake in the world. Luffy's fight with Katakuri is currently a bust, and Charlotte Oven has stopped the cake-baking team in their tracks. The heart and soul of this episode belongs to Chiffon and the new life she's carved out with Capone and his crew. She's determined to repay her debt to the Straw Hats, even if that means letting her brother kill her, but since this is One Piece, such a scene is merely an opening for her actual loved ones to rush in and fight, no matter how dangerous or reckless it is to do so. The Charlottes are so messed up as a family unit that even a crew of backstabbing mafia bros look amazing and heroic in contrast. Capone and Chiffon were paired up in a political marriage just like any of Big Mom's children, but like Sanji and the Straw Hats, they've developed a real family now, and their enduring love will see them through the end of this battle while the rest of the Charlottes self-destruct.

This is an especially slow and padded episode, but I'm impressed that the emotional core manages to shine through so clearly regardless. Chiffon is great. Capone is great. Sanji and Pudding are great. (And I love seeing Pudding graduate from blushy tsundere to unabashed horndog—character development!) The tides are turning back in our favor confidently, and the show knows how to wring this small amount of story material for all its worth. I felt like the soundtrack choices were notably effective throughout the whole episode, and the numerous subplots that we jump between all make sure to show our heroes regaining control of their circumstances.

Moving away from the shore of Cacao Island, we briefly revisit the Sunny crew. Not much has changed for them as they remain in the clear, but we're teased about what's to come with them—especially Carrot, who spends her time looking up at the afternoon sky, wondering if tonight could just so happen to be a full moon. We know something happens to the Minks during a full moon, so it's time to prepare for some were-bunny action!

And then we conclude the episode by wrapping up Luffy's Nuts Island shenanigans. As long as Luffy has a grip on Brulee, Katakuri can't actually escape from the mirror world at all. If Luffy was simply concerned with surviving this adventure, he could just leave Katakuri behind and one of the arc's strongest enemies would be effectively taken out of the story. But of course, Luffy isn't smart in that way. Rather than rejoining his crew early and helping out in the Big Mom chase, he decides he wants to go back and fight Katakuri some more, believing that winning the fight and growing stronger from it would make him a much more effective captain for future battles. When else is he going to have the chance to beat a man worth one billion and learn some of that future-reading Haki for himself?!

This is where the recent structural issues come into play. I don't dislike the recent Nuts Island detour on its own, but either Luffy's decision to return to the mirror world is another disappointing hit of the reset button or this is an essential character choice for the arc that's let down by the numerous episodes of dillydallying before it. The Katakuri fight is too damned long as it is, but it does have an integrity that's necessary for understanding the pathos of the story. Luffy doesn't have to fight Katakuri anymore, but he wants to. It's like the golden bell on Skypiea, where a huge chunk of the final battle persisted because Luffy had something personal he wanted to accomplish.

This is a thoughtful and sharply directed episode that ends this particular story act on a high note. The Katakuri fight should resume next week, and the cake is now finally seaborne. Despite how bloated it felt in pacing, the quality of its material and execution do a fantastic job compensating. Everything's coming together for our heroes in a delightfully messy way.

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Boruto: Naruto Next Generations - Episode 80 [Review]

After last week's battle-heavy action extravaganza, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations slows things down in one of its most reflective episodes yet. Having overexerted himself in his fight against Boruto, Sekiei is growing weaker by the second as his body deteriorates. While Kokuyou returns to base for help, Mitsuki sits with Sekiei and shares everything he's learned about being human. Shortly before passing out, Sekiei forces Mitsuki to tell him the truth about what happened on the night the group departed the Leaf. Despite learning that Mitsuki intentionally saved the guard's life and left a message for Boruto, he agrees to keep his friend's secret and vouches for him when Kokuyou returns with Kirara and Kako in tow. Meanwhile in the Hidden Stone, Kurotsuchi is attacked and subsequently captured by Ku, who claims that he needs her to step down as Tsuchikage.

In the first distinctly Mitsuki-centric episode in a while, we're given a bit of additional insight into what went down at the main gate on the night Mitsuki left with the Stone shinobi. As his actions at the end of the previous episode indicated, Mitsuki willingly chose to accompany Sekiei and company, although their plans had apparently been to capture him had he refused. This arc continues to do a good job of not revealing too much information at once, and despite everything we learned this week, there are quite a few questions that have yet to be answered. For a while, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Mitsuki was playing these guys, but now it seems entirely possible that he went with them out of genuine curiosity about the nature of his existence instead of going undercover on behalf of the Leaf. We're also left in the dark as to the exact nature of Ku's grand scheme, but so far, the mystery surrounding his plans helps lend an air of menace to the character, setting him apart from many of the franchise's anime-original villains.

Mitsuki's blossoming friendship with Sekiei continues to be one of the most interesting facets of this storyline. As Mitsuki shares his observations of humanity with Sekiei, both boys regard his findings as strange and alien. As naïve as Sekiei seems, Mitsuki's comments reveal that he isn't much smarter when it comes to everyday customs and interactions. Even after Sekiei reveals that he knows about the messenger snake, the two are quickly able to get past this as Sekiei takes Mitsuki's definition of friendship (i.e., two people sharing secrets) to heart. Though Mitsuki never betrays emotion of any kind, he certainly appears to have inherited his parent's ability to bring people around to his way of thinking.

Featuring virtually no action to speak of, this week's Boruto is an intriguing character study of one of the series' most fascinating personas. Even with the titular character gone for all but the final few seconds, episode 80 is no weaker for his absence. Despite finding friendship and acceptance in the Leaf, Mitsuki often stands out from his contemporaries, but in Sekiei, he's finally found a kindred spirit of sorts.

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