Here you’ll find an archive of every series I’ve written about in the Weekly Orbit. These are listed alphabetically—by the English title if available, by the most common Romanization if not—with each episode number linking to the appropriate Weekly Orbit column or other relevant article.
Here you’ll find a simple list of every Anime Orbit article, from most to least recent, top to bottom. This archive also contains the entirety of the old “Miscellaneous Articles” archive.
One Piece Every Day is a column where I read a chapter of One Piece every single day—more or less—and discuss my thoughts on it. Each entry will have spoilers up to the chapter covered in that day’s column.
Please keep in mind that many other readers are also first-timers. Do NOT spoil anything beyond this point in the comments!
The Cover Issue: It seems like Buggy’s former crew are still slugging things out. I’m still rooting for the acrobat.
In middle and high school English classes, they sometimes teach you to try to search for the “main idea” of a story. Usually, they use purpose-built short stories for this, or a carefully-curated selection of classics that you can more or less fit into that mold if you squint. But this practice neglects the multitudes that even very brief bits of fiction can contain. Chapter 58 of One Piece is, of course, just one tiny part of a much larger whole. But on its own, it’s also a riveting 18 pages of oceanic desperation. Sure, this is Sanji and Zeff’s backstory, but it’s also just a damn compelling piece of life-at-its-limits storytelling. In this chapter we learn how Sanji and Zeff survived for 80 days—nearly three whole months—with nothing but a single sack of food on a deserted sea stack.
Initially, Sanji is optimistic about their situation, dividing his rations into 20 portions so he can stretch out nearly a month’s worth of food, even if he’s only getting the bare minimum. That initial optimism turns to grim, do-anything-to-survive desperation as the weeks wear on. We get to see it happen, mostly within the span of a single page, in what is probably One Piece‘s greatest feat of storytelling economy up ’til this point.
Eventually, he gets desperate enough to try attacking Zeff, to steal his food. Only to learn that the old pirate doesn’t actually have any food with him; he’s been sitting there, slowly starving, for months. The only bag he had was filled with gold and jewels, not a morsel of actual food. When he cut his leg off last issue? That was because it was hurt, sure, but he was also preparing to eat it. All that to keep Sanji alive.
That all leads up to this page, a genuinely poetic lament from the very much dying Zeff, as he confides in Sanji that he too seeks the All Blue, and also shares with him his new dream; to open an ocean-going restaurant.
Thankfully, for both Zeff and for us, a ship comes by not many days later, and the starving pirate and equally-starving Sanji are saved.
We then, of course, cut back to present.
Tomorrow: Sanji vs. Pearl.
One Piece Every Day relies on reader support even more than most of my columns do. Please consider sharing this article around if you liked it!
Also consider following Magic Planet Anime to get notified when new articles go live.If you’d like to talk to other Magic Planet Anime readers, consider joining my Discord server! Also consider following me on Twitter and supporting me on Ko-Fi or Patreon. If you want to read more of my work, consider heading over to the Directoryto browse by category.
One Piece Every Day is a column where I read a chapter of One Piece every single day—more or less—and discuss my thoughts on it. Each entry will have spoilers up to the chapter covered in that day’s column.
Please keep in mind that many other readers are also first-timers. Do NOT spoil anything beyond this point in the comments!
Before we even start talking about today’s actual chapter, turn your eyes up to that cover.
I’ve been basically just letting the whole Chibi Buggy Saga play out without much commentary in the headers of these articles (always cropped, to make them not look absolutely awful on desktop) but this one actually introduces a new character! A mysterious lady-pirate rocking a cowboy hat who seems to have taken in Buggy as her pet short king. Good for him, I guess?
As for the chapter itself, this is the first one in a while to basically be pure action. An honorable duel between the villainous Hawkeye and the heroic Zolo (eh, more or less, on both counts). I also want to highlight Zolo’s quip here off the top, because, yeah, I am also surprised that we’ve gotten to actually meet Hawkeye this early.
Part of me wonders; was One Piece being allowed to publish basically indefinitely not a sure thing yet this early on? That would make sense, we’re 50 chapters in, but given that as far as I know One Piece has always been a weekly, that only represents around 2 1/2 months of publishing time. Maybe it was not yet the utterly massive hit that it would later become, and Oda wanted to start bringing some plot threads to a close, or at least moving them closer to a conclusion, just in case? This is all speculation, if I’m wrong and 1P was a total smash basically right away feel free to correct me in the comments.
In any case, much of this duel is devoted to showing how much better at Sword Hawkeye is than Zolo. Zolo hasn’t really had a proper challenge in this series yet, and Hawkeye less gives him one and more completely wipes the floor with him.
Did I mention, he doesn’t use that big fancy cross-shaped sword across his back with the black blade to do it? No, he uses a little dagger. Like a really little dagger.
I bet people ship these two really hard.
Spoiler alert; he does not need anything bigger than the dagger.
This sends Zolo into a bit of a spiral, with Oda again deploying his technique of “fading” memory panels in and out to create a flashback that’s actively weaved with the manga’s present-tense. (It’s worth noting that alongside all the memories of his late friend to whom he promised to become the world’s greatest swordsman is a memory of Luffy recruiting him to his crew.) Zolo refuses to believe that they could possibly be this mismatched, but they are, and Hawkeye cuts his belly open to prove it.
Hawkeye is, at the very least, impressed by Zolo’s bravery as he manages to spit out that to him, death would be better than defeat. Hawkeye, out of a sense of honor, makes him stick to that, and the second slash he delivers to Zolo’s frame is a lot more lethal.
Tomorrow: How will the swordsman survive?!
One Piece Every Day relies on reader support even more than most of my columns do. Please consider sharing this article around if you liked it!
Also consider following Magic Planet Anime to get notified when new articles go live.If you’d like to talk to other Magic Planet Anime readers, consider joining my Discord server! Also consider following me on Twitter and supporting me on Ko-Fi or Patreon. If you want to read more of my work, consider heading over to the Directoryto browse by category.
One Piece Every Day is a column where I read a chapter of One Piece every single day—more or less—and discuss my thoughts on it. Each entry will have spoilers up to the chapter covered in that day’s column.
Please keep in mind that many other readers are also first-timers. Do NOT spoil anything beyond this point in the comments!
Unsurprisingly, Buggy the Clown is not dead. But in contrast to last chapter’s pure, streamlined punch-and-stab machine, this chapter is a bit more all over the place. Not in a bad way, but it’s a lot less Just One Thing than yesterday’s.
Mainly, we learn a couple things here; about Red-Hair Shanks, about Buggy the Clown, and about the Devil Fruits themselves, which, it’s becoming increasingly obvious if it weren’t already, are the manga’s central plot tokens.
It’s worth taking an aside here to point this out; it seems like Mayor Boodle’s bravery has inspired his citizens, and they arm themselves while preparing to fight Buggy off. They don’t arrive at the site of the battle in this chapter, though. My guess is we’ll circle back on them tomorrow.
Much more of the chapter is taken up by a flashback from Buggy, where we see a slice of his youth serving as an “apprentice” aboard a pirate ship. We also learn why he ate the Devil Fruit in the first place and why he doesn’t like Shanks. In order, he ate it because he was trying to steal it, and he doesn’t like Shanks because Shanks saved his life. No, that was not a typo. Why did he want to steal the Devil Fruit? Turns out, a lot of people will pay good money for superpowers if the only downside is that they can’t swim.
Assuming a “berry” is roughly about a yen, a hundred million of them is about $743,000 USD. If it’s actually closer in value to a US dollar, then it’s about $100,000,000 USD.
Buggy, via an ill-considered harebrained scheme, ends up both accidentally eating the fruit and nearly drowning. Shanks has to save him, and in spite of that, Buggy ends up blaming him for the failure of his get-rich-quick plan. This is the rare shonen flashback that actually manages to make a character even less sympathetic than they already were, it almost comes across as parodic. (Obviously, that’s intentional, but still, it’s pretty funny.)
Importantly, though, it does establish that Buggy’s fixation on literal gold-and-jewels-style treasure is deep-rooted. Which makes it make sense when he actually cuts and runs from his fight with Luffy. Literally! He pops the top half of his body off and flies at Nami like some kind of cutlass-wielding aerial drone, a shot on which the chapter ends.
Tomorrow: Buggy vs. the thief of pirates!
One Piece Every Day relies on reader support even more than most of my columns do. Please consider sharing this article around if you liked it!
Also consider following Magic Planet Anime to get notified when new articles go live.If you’d like to talk to other Magic Planet Anime readers, consider joining my Discord server! Also consider following me on Twitter and supporting me on Ko-Fi or Patreon. If you want to read more of my work, consider heading over to the Directoryto browse by category.
Wanna talk to other Magic Planet Anime readers? Consider joining my Discord server! Also consider following me on Twitter and supporting me on Ko-Fi or Patreon. If you want to read more of my work, consider heading over to the Directoryto browse the Archives.
All views expressed on Magic Planet Anime are solely my own opinions and conclusions and should not be taken to reflect the opinions of any other persons, groups, or organizations. All text is owned by Magic Planet Anime. Do not duplicate without permission. All images are owned by their original copyright holders.
This is a simple, text-based archive of my One Piece Every Day column, with the most recent columns at the top, and the oldest at the bottom. If you’d like to know more about the project, you can click here, or scroll down to the “Overview” article at the very bottom of the list.
One Piece Every Day relies on reader support even more than most of my columns do. Please consider sharing this article around if you liked it!
Also consider following Magic Planet Anime to get notified when new articles go live.If you’d like to talk to other Magic Planet Anime readers, consider joining my Discord server! Also consider following me on Twitter and supporting me on Ko-Fi or Patreon. If you want to read more of my work, consider heading over to the Directoryto browse by category.
All views expressed on Magic Planet Anime are solely my own opinions and conclusions and should not be taken to reflect the opinions of any other persons, groups, or organizations. All text, excepting direct quotations, is owned by Magic Planet Anime. Do not duplicate without permission. All images are owned by their original copyright holders.
I usually write pretty straightforward articles on this site. But I don’t know, I wanted to be a little silly today. So why not, right? Join me as we explore the hangout vibes of five random magical girls who I basically picked out of a hat.
Inori “Buki” Yamabuki (Cure Pine) from Fresh Precure!
Perhaps the least complex of Fresh Precure‘s four main characters, Cure Pine (Akiko Nakagawa) strikes me as a deeply chill person. The only Pretty Cure to ever be given a canonical religion—she’s Christian, in what I assume was someone’s attempt to get Toei some merch money from Japan’s surprisingly large Christian minority—Buki is only lacking in complexity as a character because she’s the Fresh member who least needs it. She begins the show as a pretty well-adjusted person and basically still is one by the show’s end. Her parents are veterinarians, which seems neat. Buki is not the sort of friend you call up because you want to go clubbing, but she is the sort of friend who’d happily be your designated driver after the night is over. That’s called reliability, every friend group needs “the down-to-Earth one.”
Vibes: Peaceful Pineapple.
Special Friendship Skill: Will Pray for You (but Not in a Judgey Way)
Kirika Akatsuki from Symphogear
Is your friend group missing that one person who really seems like they should work at a Hot Topic, even if they don’t? That one friend who knows every single lyric to “My Immortal” and seems like she’d think the main character of My Immortal is genuinely cool? Do you need, also, someone who is a hyperactive ball of energy, a perpetually coiled spring ready to leap to their feet to join in on whatever inane totally badass plan you’ve cooked up for the weekend on zero notice? Well, I don’t know why I’m phrasing this as though she’s a car I’m trying to sell you, but Kirika Akatsuki (Ai Kayano) ticks all those boxes. The second-string Symphogear character is a highlight of the series’ cast, even if she’s occasionally subject to, we’ll be delicate and say, questionable things from the show itself. There is no friend group that would not be improved by adding in this adorable little edgelord. Just make sure you leave room for Shirabe Tsukuyomi (Yoshino Nanjou), the blonde beyblade and her yo-yo girlfriend are a package deal.
Momo Chiyoda(Fresh Peach) from The Demon Girl Next Door
At first blush, the rather reserved Momo Chiyoda (Akari Kitou) might seem like a strange choice for this list. But the real secret here, aside from the fact that much like 90% of anime characters who seem such, she just needs to be around the right people to open up, is that Momo has stories. You see, Momo is in the rare position of being mostly retired by the time we actually join the story of her originating series. Machikado Mazoku is a comedy show, and the big dramatic events that define the lives of most magical girls are several years in the rearview for Momo. She has been places and seen things—we know from the series’ actual text that she probably saved the world once—and in the right setting, she might be persuaded to share some of that wisdom. It’d probably be good for her, too, honestly. Momo is certainly the most emotionally troubled mahou up to this point on the list, even if she doesn’t show it often. (Machikado Mazoku is not usually that sort of series, after all.) Also her cat sometimes mutters ominous things in a deep voice, which is pretty fun.
Vibes: Seen It All
Special Friendship Skill: Property Owner
Asuka Tsuchimiya and Asuka Tsuchimiya from The Girl in Twilight
Easily the most obscure girl on this list, Asuka Tsuchimiya (Tomoyo Kurosawa) hails from forgotten 2018 battle girl anime The Girl in Twilight, the only full-length TV original from little-known studio Dandelion Animation. I don’t have the time or space to give TGiT the writeup it deserves here (despite being seen by just about nobody, the show is actually quite good), but the appeal of Asuka herself is easy to explain. One; she’s just an all-around good girl, an uncomplicatedly kind person who makes every room she’s in that much brighter. Two; she’s friends with a double of herself from another universe who is basically just the same person as she is but more badass, a fact that objectively rules. With Asuka, you get two friends for the price of one. There’s no beating that.
Vibes: Seeing Double
Special Friendship Skill: Ham Radio Expert
But alright, let’s say you’re tired of all the sunshine and quiet wisdom. You want to throw some anarchy and chaos into your friend group. Who do you call?
Anarchy from Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers
So, okay, full disclosure. This show doesn’t exist. Yet anyway. Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers is an upcoming anime based on a small group of characters created by fashion designer Jun Inagawa. We don’t really know what the show is going to actually be yet, the only extant trailer is very vague, as is the plot description. (Which kind of implies to me something vaguely akin to last year’s Rumble Garanndoll, but at this early stage who the hell knows.) But there’s no way Anarchy wouldn’t be a fun hang. Look at her. Look at her name! It’s Anarchy! She has a magic staff with an anarchy A on the tip. There’s no way this girl isn’t a living party-starter. If you want good vibes, you can call any of the other girls on this list. If you want to overthrow a government, you call Anarchy.
Vibes: Rage Against The Machine Fan.
Special Friendship Skill: Will lend you her copy of The Abolition of Work.
So that’s the list. Normally I try to concisely summarize the main point of the article in these closing paragraphs, but, you get the picture by now I’m sure. Did you like this article? Absolutely hate it? Do you want more of these (whatever “these” are) on MPA? I do have to say I feel a little bad that I only got one girl from a “traditional” magical girl anime in there. Perhaps a follow-up is in order? Let me know in the comments below. Also consider donating if you can! See you on Friday for the Kaguya recap, friends.
Like what you’re reading? Consider following Magic Planet Anime to get notified when new articles go live.If you’d like to talk to other Magic Planet Anime readers, consider joining my Discord server! Also consider following me on Twitter and supporting me on Ko-Fi or Patreon. If you want to read more of my work, consider heading over to the Directoryto browse by category.
All views expressed on Magic Planet Anime are solely my own opinions and conclusions and should not be taken to reflect the opinions of any other persons, groups, or organizations. All text, excepting direct quotations, is owned by Magic Planet Anime. Do not duplicate without permission. All images are owned by their original copyright holders.
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