One Piece episode 441, “Luffy’s Back! Ivan-san Begins the Breakout Plan!”, is now available for streaming on FUNimation’s One Piece site. You can also view the preview for episode 442 on Fuji’ TVs site.

Also up for streaming are episodes 106 – 107 of the Alabasta Arc.

Also: Podcast Episode 81, “Super Saiyan Hormone is online at www.onepiecepodcast.com

Enjoy!

One Piece episode 440, “Believe in Miracles! Bon Clay’s Cries From The Heart!”, is now available for streaming on FUNimation’s One Piece site. “Luffy’s treatment has begun, but by the time it’s finished, Ace will already have been executed! Bon Clay cheers Luffy on, hoping for a miracle! Also, we learn more about Ivankov’s mysterious powers.” You can also view the preview for episode 441 on Fuji’ TVs site.

Also up for streaming are episodes 104 – 105 of the Alabasta Arc.

Enjoy!

One Piece episode 439, “Luffy’s Treatment Begins! Ivan-san’s Miraculous Power!”, is now available for streaming on FUNimation’s One Piece site. “The great Ivankov is Luffy’s only chance for survival, but his powers may not be as miraculous as they seem. What is necessary for Ivankov’s powers to work? And does Luffy have what it takes?” You can also view the preview for episode 440 on Fuji’ TVs site.

What a fantastic episode! Sure there were a lot of repeated animation clips, sure there was some Buggy and Mr. 3 filler, but really good episode. The animation was fantastic, go Tate! The flashback of Ace and Luffy was a nice touch as well. You see, that is how you do filler, make it have meaning. That is what I tend to hate about the Buggy and Mr. 3 filler, it isn’t going anywhere. Ivankov also proved how awesome he is. Did anyone else catch his pelvic thrusts (it’ll drive you insa~a~a~ane)?

Also up for streaming are episodes 101 – 103 of the Alabasta Arc.

Enjoy!

One Piece episode 438, “A Paradise in Hell! Impel Down – Level 5.5!”, is now available for streaming on FUNimation’s One Piece site. “Bon-Clay, with Luffy in tow, continues to search for Ivancov, perhaps the only person who can save Luffy’s life. On the way they’ll discover Impel Down’s most shocking secret!” You can also view the preview for episode 439 on Fuji’ TVs site.

The Mr.3 and Buggy filler is still annoying, the animation wasn’t great, but the final scene was worth it.

Also up for streaming are episodes 97 – 100 of the Alabasta Arc.

Enjoy!

One Piece episode 437, “For His Friend! Bon Clay Goes To The Deadly Rescue!”, is now available for streaming on FUNimation’s One Piece site. “Luffy is at the end of the line – the only thing that can save him now is true friendship. But in a place like Impel Down can true friendship be found?” You can also view the preview for episode 438 on Fuji’ TVs site.

Another episode and more filler scenes with Buggy and Mr. 3. Honestly, it is kind of tiring because I don’t find myself enjoying it and wishing for the next scene to come. Aside from the filler in level 5, I thought it was a good episode. Mayumi Tanaka can always make me cringe when she does a suffering Luffy. Cringe in a good way, because I really can feel how much Luffy is suffering to the point where it gets under my skin. So a creepy good. Mr. 2 also delivered well, as well as Hannyabal’s voice actor this week. This week technically covered a full chapter as well. The second half of 535 and the first half of 536. I just want to touch again on the scene where Luffy is trying to break out. I think that scene was one of my favorites of the arc.

Also up for streaming are episodes 92 – 96 of the Alabasta Arc.

Enjoy!

Box Office Mojo’s international site has finally updated for Japan. If you turn your attention to top opening weekends of all time in Japan, you can spot One Piece: Strong World at #15. Not to shabby for coming out in only 188 theaters! Sure if you look at the list, the movies aren’t really all that, but only two other films from Japan are above it! (For those wondering, Avatar is #43.)

For the weekend of January 23 – 24th, Strong World fell off the top 10 from 6th to 11th.

One Piece episode 436, “The Showdown Has Come! Luffy’s Desperate Last Attack!, is now available for streaming on FUNimation’s One Piece site. “In the fight to save his brother, Ace, Luffy has made the ultimate sacrifice: putting his life on the line in a battle to the death with Warden Magellan. But is a brother’s love enough to defeat the Warden? The answer may shock you!”

To be honest, I don’t know who was struggling more… Luffy in pain or me watching this episode. I know we are used to one chapter an episode, but half a chapter? I can see why they wanted to end where they did, but the pacing. It really does suck to be Luffy at this moment, but nothing really happened this episode. The animation looked nice, real nice, but Toei manage to still make it hard to watch. There were a lot of neat visual effects, but fading to black was used way to much. I kinda did wish Mr. 3 bit his tongue just to save us a minute of looking at it. Maybe I just wanna see what’s next, but I felt myself waiting more than being entertained.

Also up for streaming are episodes 88 – 91 of the Drum Island Arc.

Enjoy!

One Piece episode 435, “Mighty Magellan! Bon Clay Bugs Out!, is now available for streaming on FUNimation’s One Piece site. “Luffy must make the ultimate sacrifice to save Ace – and protect Boa Hancock. As Luffy faces the full wrath of Warden Magellan, not even his friend Bon Clay can help him.” You can also view the preview for episode 436 on Fuji’ TVs site.

I must say that I really enjoyed this episode. There are a few things to note about this episode. First off, the background music had a bunch of tracks we have not heard in a while and it was refreshing. The track used at the end of the episode is always a blast to hear and the scenes with it tend to kick ass, especially this time and I will get to that in a minute. Second, I enjoyed the filler in this episode. Since episodes tend to now cover one chapter, in this case chapter 534, filler is needed to prevent things from dragging out. In this episode we got Bon Kurei blocking Luffy’s attack and becoming a decoy, Bon Kurei going through possible ways to help Luffy fight Magellan, and Buggy and Mr. 3’s attack on Hannyabal. My favorite of the three had to be when Bon Kurei was acting as a decoy. The filler also allowed the episode to be something more than just a battle episode for the most part. Lastly, I enjoyed the animation in this episode. The last scene especially. I don’t know if it is because I just love to take screencaps, I like how they look, or the effect that they play; but the stills in the final scene were fantastic.

So what did you think of the episode? What were your favorite or least favorite aspects?

Also up for streaming are episodes 84 – 87 of the Drum Island Arc.

Enjoy!