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Anime Discussion

Why Zoro Took Luffy’s Pain – One Piece

1. Respect for his captain

Zoro is Luffy’s first mate. Although initially he had no respect for his captain, Zoro began to witness what Luffy was capable of throughout the course of their journey together.

Zoro has a grand dream of becoming the greatest swordsman in the world but Luffy has an even grander dream of becoming the Pirate King. Zoro more than anyone else knows the difficult path that lies ahead for himself and even more so for Luffy. This is why he has immense respect for his captain.

Eiichiro Oda has excessively made a point that they are the only two people more than ready to sacrifice their lives to achieve their dream and has put the two on a pedestal in that regard.

This is a special bond that exists only between these two. Luffy living up to Zoro’s expectations is what makes Zoro loyal to him.

In short, Luffy living up to Zoro’s expectations and Zoro believing without question that Luffy can achieve his dream is what makes him loyal. Loyalty and respect for Luffy makes it a duty for Zoro to protect his captain first and foremost. In Zoro’s mind, if he is not even able to protect his captain’s dream, how the hell is he going to ever achieve his own dream.

Why Zoro Took Luffy's Pain - One Piece

2. It makes the most logical sense

If we take the time to think about the predicament Zoro was in, we can understand that he actually made the most logical decision he could at the time. Zoro was in a pinch, every singe one of his crewmates were completely knocked out in the fight against Kuma and the Shichibukai was a threat of impending doom for the crew.

Had Zoro stayed silent, Bartolomew Kuma may have completely wiped out the crew, which would result in the end for not only Luffy’s, but also of everyone else’s dream. If Zoro makes a successful deal with Kuma, he can secure the crew’s life and their journey to becoming pirate king.

3. What this means for Zoro

This was the biggest character progression for Roronoa Zoro. A man that was always driven by one goal willing to sacrifice himself only in the pursuit of his own goal, had turned into man that would sacrifice his own life for someone else’s dream.

The fruition of this scene is later shown when he practically begs Dracule Mihawk to train him which the Shichibukai points out is extremely pathetic, embarrassing and something he never thought Zoro would do. For someone that was willing to give up his life for his captain, discarding his pride wasn’t a difficult thing to do.

zoro begs mihawk
Categories
Anime Review

JoJo: Stardust Crusaders Spoiler-Free Review

Japanese Title: JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 3: Stardust Crusaders
Year: 2014
Episodes: 48
Studios: Gonzo
Adaptation: JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 3: Stardust Crusaders
Genres: Action, Adventure, Supernatural, Drama, Shounen

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders

An absolutely amazing, action packed, and highly well written addition to the JoJo franchise.

Review

If you thought Dio Brando was dead, think again. He’s awakened from his hundred year hiatus and, with a new body. Surprise, surprise, Dio has successfully transplanted his head onto the body of Jonathan, and along with it, awakened an ability known as “Stand”. Because of this, those carrying the blood of the Joestars have also “awakened” this ability. Unfortunately for Joutarou Kuujou, his mother cannot handle the power of her stand and will soon die because of it. Joutarou, along with his grandfather Joseph must form the ultimate team to defeat Dio before it’s too late.

With the introduction of Stands, it brought a whole new dynamic to the standard and sometimes mundane Hamon fights we saw in the previous two parts. Initially, I didn’t like it. I thought the concept of two men punching each other with their own two fists sounded far manlier than using these new Stand abilities where the user does nothing but literally stand on one spot the entire fight. Oh, how I was severely and utterly mistaken. These stands not only brought a whole new dynamic into the action, but also allowed for some amazing strategy and unpredictability to the new up and coming fights. It just feels so damn unique, original and refreshing.

You will find that this part is completely action packed, with far bigger and grander casts and personalities. “How will Joutarou get out of this situation?”, “How the hell are they going to beat this Stand?”, “How does this Stand work?”, and “Can this Stand counter that Stand?” are the questions you’re going to be asking yourself every episode. The costume designs and art style also took a massive step up with Joutarou’s iconic school uniform many other memorable outfits and hairstyles. The series is also undeniably hilarious with Joutarou’s iconic catch phrase “Yare Yare Daze” and Polnareff’s hilarious goofy and naive personality. Hard-hitting emotional moments feel very earned because the series manages to build such intricate relationships through the majority of the runtime. There are a lot of things this part does right and one thing it doesn’t do is disappoint.

I rate this anime 10/10.

Recommendations: If you enjoyed this anime, I highly recommend watching Hunter x Hunter. Both series feature fights that rely heavily on tactics and power dynamics.

Categories
Anime Review

Rosario + Vampire Spoiler-Free Review

Japanese Title: Rosario to Vampire
Year: 2008
Episodes: 13
Studios: Gonzo
Adaptation: Rosario to Vampire
Genres: Harem, Comedy, Romance, Ecchi, Vampire, Fantasy, School, Shounen

Awesome unique ecchi-harem anime with a likable protagonist and beautiful girls.

Review

Tsukune Aono is a human that has unknowingly been enrolled into a school for monsters. On his way to the school, he runs into Moka Akashiya, a new student who also happens to be a vampire. From their chance encounter, they instantly have an attraction and become great friends, and so their interesting monster-human relationship begins.

This is a classic. Maybe it’s my nostalgia talking but I absolutely adore this anime. The first time I watched it was more than 8 years ago. I loved everything about this anime and on a rewatch, I still do. The unique premise, the beautiful art style and oh those beautiful panty shots. Fan service in this anime is just so, good. These girls are simply beautiful to say the least; Moka’s transformation into a true vampire makes her body more voluptuous, and she becomes so. Damn. Sexy; probably one of the most attractive girl I’ve ever seen in anime. If you’re looking for a solid ecchi-harem anime, it really doesn’t get any better than this.

But if you’re looking for something groundbreaking and innovative, you’re looking at the wrong genre. I don’t go into this style of anime with high expectations and you shouldn’t either. The artists in this genre aren’t trying to appeal to the mainstream audience and instead, just attempt to create a light-hearted feel-good story. The series will always be subject to hate and that’s just the nature of being in this specific genre. To me, as long as the fan service is top-notch and the character’s are likable, I’m happy, which is exactly what this anime delivers.

I rate this anime 8/10.

Recommendations: If you enjoyed this anime for the fan-service, consider watching Demon King Daimao. They have quality up-skirt shots and a pretty solid story.

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Anime Review

Plunderer Spoiler-Free Review

Japanese Title: Plunderer
Year: 2020
Episodes: 24
Studios: A-1 Pictures
Adaptation: Plunderer
Genres: Action, Ecchi, Fantasy, Shounen

Go-to for your average action anime series to enjoy some good fanservice.

Review

In the world of Plunderer, everyone has a count somewhere in their body that increases or decreases depending on something unique to each person. Hina, our protagonist, is told by her mother to find one of the Aces when she is dragged into the “Abyss” (something that happens when a person’s count reaches 0). Aces are the supposed ultimate heros from a war that took place roughly 300 years ago. After her mother’s presumed demise, Hina goes on a long journey looking for one of the Aces who are identifiable by a white star next to their count.

I can’t find many things to say about this anime. It’s mediocre at best. Some story arcs feel rushed making it difficult to become invested in the scenes or connect with newly introduced characters. Most characters are lacklustre, some more annoying than I care to admit and overall pretty generic. The comedic moments consists of mostly molesting and groping women which were a little funny early on I admit, but at certain times, it feels too repetitive and even a little creepy. However, at the end of the day, it’s just anime. On a good note, there are some interesting battle moments and the animation overall is pretty good. The ecchi scenes are also great, consisting of many thigh shots but unfortunately no up-skirts shots, despite how much it’s teased; which I was pretty sad about.

If you’re watching this anime, I’d suggest not to take it too seriously and just enjoy the fanservice for what it is because some episodes are actually pretty creative. The author is able to execute Slice-of-Life aspects of the series quite well. If the fan service were slightly less disappointing, I could rate it higher.

I rate this anime 6/10.

Recommendations: If you enjoyed this anime, consider watching The Seven Deadly Sins. They have roughly a similar premise of girl in search for a powerful man.

Categories
Anime Review

Eromanga Sensei Spoiler-Free Review

Japanese Title: Eromanga-sensei
Year: 2017
Episodes: 12
Studios: A-1 Pictures
Adaptation: Eromanga-sensei
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Ecchi

A pretty solid anime if you can get past its unusual premise.

Review

Two siblings, Sagiri and Masamune Izumi have passions for creating erotic Manga. Unbeknownst to either of them, Sagiri (Eromanga-sensei) has been the artist for Masamune’s novels this whole time. They just haven’t realise it yet because she is your typical hikikomori (shut-in) who hasn’t shown her face to Masamune for more than a year of living together. Their bizarre adventure begins when Masamune discovers Eromanga-sensei’s identity.

I can’t understand the demographic for this anime. It’s almost like the authors themselves didn’t know their target audience. The protagonists are literally middle school children creating erotic manga which is such a ridiculous premise for adults to entertain; and the scenes are far too provocative for children. Sure you can make an argument that it’s geared towards teenagers but then again, the plot itself is already too niche. It’s difficult appealing to anybody when your story fetishizes incestual relationships and sexualises young girls. However, given the context, the premise isn’t actually all that abnormal. The siblings have spent a mere one year living together and aren’t blood related, so their attraction is understandable.

The series is also very self-aware and overall quite wholesome. Sure there are some questionable scenes but characters don’t act or behave in a creepy way, and, looking past the surface level, you can genuinely find some clear substance in the story. The art style also very pleasant and colourful.

I rate this anime 7/10.

Recommendations: If you enjoyed this anime, consider watching OreImo. It’s made by the same author and also has a similar premise.

Categories
Anime Ranking

7 Anime Series With Genius Protagonists Ranked

1. Golden Boy

Japanese Title: Golden Boy
Year: 1995
Episodes: 6
Studios: APPP
Adaptation: Golden Boy
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Ecchi

Man drops out of university because he mastered the entire curriculum and seeks to educate himself from real life experiences.

2. Death Note

Japanese Title: Death Note
Year: 2006
Episodes: 37
Studios: Madhouse
Adaptation: Death Note
Genre: Mystery, Police, Psychological, Supernatural, Thriller, Shounen

Two extremely intelligent characters go head-to-head in a battle of wits.

3. No Game No Life

Japanese Title: No Game, No Life
Year: 2014
Episodes: 12
Studios: Madhouse
Adaptation: No Game No Life
Genre: Game, Adventure, Comedy, Supernatural, Ecchi, Fantasy

No Game No Life

A pair of siblings with incredibly high IQ are transported into another world where fate is decided by games.

4. Case Closed

Japanese Title: Detective Conan
Year: 1996
Episodes: Unknown
Studios: TMS Entertainment
Adaptation: Detective Conan
Genre: Adventure, Mystery, Comedy, Police, Shounen

Detective Conan

A 17 year-old prodigy detective is forced into a 7 year-old body and seeks to uncover how it happened.

5. Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor

Japanese Title: Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor
Year: 2007
Episodes: 26
Studios: Madhouse
Adaptation: Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji
Genre: Game, Psychological, Thriller, Seinen

Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor

A man with more debt than he can count is thrust into a boat where he must gamble to get rid of every debt he owes.

6. Monster

Japanese Title: Monster
Year: 2004
Episodes: 74
Studios: Madhouse
Adaptation: Monster
Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Police, Psychological, Seinen, Thriller

Monster

A young Japanese man, regarded by many as the best neurosurgeon makes the mistake of rescuing a boy who happens to be the most evil criminal to exist on earth.

7. Kaguya-sama: Love is War

Japanese Title: Golden Boy
Year: 1995
Episodes: 6
Studios: APPP
Adaptation: Golden Boy
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Ecchi

Kaguya-sama: Love is War

Two smartest students in a prestigious school are in a heated battle to make the other person confess their love.