I've been playing Sky, and while I've been enjoying my time with it, I can see Robby's point. It's definitely not on the same level of Journey despite how much it's clearly drawing from it.

The main thing it has going for it over Journey is how much the social aspect has been expanded, which can be pretty great if you want to get in to that, but at the same time there was a lot of beauty in the simplicity of how Journey handled it. Otherwise, I appreciate that the environments are more diverse overall (with many being gorgeous in my book), I like some of the cosmetic options (though not so much the grind you have to do for it if you don't want to pay) and the flying feels good once you get the hang of it (and yes, getting the upgrades helps a LOT) - but yeah, it lacks the "something" that really makes Journey such a classic.

I think part of the problem is it's trying to both capture the wonder of Journey while still trying to be an ongoing multiplayer experience with cosmetics and seasonal events, and the two just don't quite gel together despite their best efforts. It feels like I'm either interacting with random people or playing through a solo experience at any given time, with only a few times where the two seem to blend together in cool ways. It's also a little weird that there's a linear "story" that you experience going through each of the realms, even though it's meant to be a game you go back to over and over again. So there's some parts of the game that touch on what made Journey so great, but then you'll likely skip over those parts when exploring more of those areas or spending time with other players, so even if your first playthrough is impactful (which it mostly was for me, actually), it loses something pretty quickly as you go back for daily missions or collectables.

What is kind of cool, though, is that I found some extra areas that were apparently where previous seasonal events took place, and some of those were pretty surprising and cool. That definitely helped return-visits, and if they continue adding areas like that I can see there being enough of an appeal to want to head back in every few months to see what was added. The current season is okay, though it weirdly breaks an already-kinda-loose role the game has by having straight-up dialogue. I can see why - its a collaboration based on a classic story - but while it was already weird seeing text boxes explaining things at the start of the game, having text boxes for dialogue for this one season was a little distracting at first.

I wouldn't say don't bother with it - it is free, and I've enjoyed my time despite my issues with it - but yeah, don't go in expecting it to be Journey 2.

It happened…it finally happened.

Robin actually got her own 1v1 fight.

And it was really, really good!

What a fantastic chapter. The fact that not only did Robin finally get her own fight for the first time since Skypiea, but it may actually the best 1v1 of the arc so far? Amazing. I seriously could not be happier with how this went down. Black Maria was a great opponent, Robin showed off some really cool moves, we got a flashback to when she was with the Revolutionaries, confirmed that she picked up some Fishman Karate from training with Koala, her demon form at the end - it's all so good. And like the best fights, it all serves to highlight Robin (and Brook!) as a character, with her proving that she's not just the brains of the group, she's capable of handling herself, and she's willing to embrace her reputation as a demon (quite literally in this case) to protect her friends. Brook gets serious points for leaving the fight to Robin, and still got to look cool himself taking out the Number and gifters in one (pretty cool) attack. I just loved everything about this chapter.

It'll be interesting to see how adult Momo goes. Oda wouldn't set that up if it wasn't going to happen, so the question is more what that will mean for Momo and those around him. He's essentially giving up his childhood for the sake of his country, which is pretty noble, but as Shinobu points out, he will still have the mind of a child. There's some good potential for both drama and comedy to come from this, so I'm not nearly as against it as I've seen some other people be. I doubt Momo is suddenly going to be a badass fighter capable of taking on Kaido or anything, but it should boost his abilities enough that he can be more helpful than he is now.

Great chapter! Yamato's powers look a lot better this chapter compared to the last one for me, and the two blast breaths colliding and swirling around each other looked really cool. The Robin and Brook bonding was wonderful. I'm so glad them teaming up has resulted in them actually interacting and getting closer, and of course Robin not falling for the illusion was great.

Black Maria continues to be fantastic, and I'm loving how the fight is going so far. The reveal of how her weapon works was hilarious, and such a classic One Piece thing to do. Loved the clinging to the ceiling, Brook's ice powers coming into play, Robin standing up for Sanji, Brook letting Robin take Black Maria while he takes on the mooks, Robin's awesome-looking new power - great stuff all around. I'm so, so happy that Robin is finally getting her own fight, and even if there's not too much more to it past this chapter, this feels long overdue yet so satisfying to finally see.

I have to say, after being underwhelmed with how Nami and Ussop's fight went down, I've been very pleased with how the other 1v1s have been going. Jinbe and Franky had really good fights, and Robin looks like she'll have a great one when it's all said and done, as well. If Oda sticks the landing with Sanji vs Queen and (presumably) Zoro vs King, I'll be a very happy camper.

The animation was really good throughout the episode, but then that Luffy/Law/Kid scene happened and my jaw hit the floor. Holy good lord, that might be the best animated sequence the series has ever had, which is saying something considering how much fantastic animation we've been getting this arc alone.

Wow, the art in this chapter was phenomenal. While I think we're getting closer to Kaido turning the tides and messing up the Scabbards, it was so satisfying seeing each of them use their abilities against him back to back like that, especially with so many large-scale attacks. The scale of the battle has really been impressing me, and I wouldn't mind if it goes on just a bit longer if Oda can keep it up - though with them landing the same attack in the same place against Kaido as Oden did, I feel like it's only going downhill for the Scabbards now.

If this was announced back when Ultimate was first revealed, I may have been more upset about it.

But now, after getting so many dream characters in this game (especially Banjo), I'm totally fine with it. Minecraft is such an enormous and influential game that it makes sense to be represented in Smash, and while I know a lot of people are pissed about this inclusion (which I find kind of hilarious, honestly), I've seen a lot of people really excited as well, especially the younger crowd. His moveset looks weird and creative enough that I'm excited to learn more about it and see how he plays (you can actually build?! What?!) and I like how the stage incorporates different biomes and locations.

Sure, he's visually jarring compared to all the other characters, but it's honestly so weird I kind of like it. I actually lost my shit a little when it did the dramatic zoom in on him activating his final smash because it just seemed so surreal to me.

Besides, we still have four more characters to go if you felt let down by this choice.

@HeartOfDarkness:

I mean just because it looks good doesn't mean it's actually good. And more to the point; it's not One Piece.

It works well for other animes that focus on the action and the flashy animation more than anything else. It just feels completely out of place for One Piece to be suddenly turned into Bleach or Seven Deadly Sins with shit just randomly exploding or breaking because YOU SEE THEY STRONG even though the manga conveyed the same without the effects.

I have no problem with the anime adding stuff (especially since it seems like Oda is gift-wrapping it for them) but the way they do it is by far the most retarded approach. Instead of adding anything meaningful to the fight, they add pointless effects that distract more than enhance the fights. Who got anything more from the fight that the manga didn't convey? Aside from the aura bullshit?

If you can't answer that then how are you talking about the anime "adding" stuff?

That's like claiming that Zack Snyder is a good action-movie director because his movies are filled with mindless explosions and consistently bombard the audience with gimmicky visuals that people enjoy.

Compared to say Raid or Night comes for us where the action isn't about spectacle but about the actual tight choreography and skilled action-movie making. That also has weight and impact.

Most, if not all, modern shonen series rely on the Zack Snyder type effect when it comes to fights. And people enjoy it because of that. And that's fine.

But personally speaking; there is nothing more boring than seeing a fight that has no real substance, weight or impact and only exists for the sake of flashy, big spectacle action pieces. I'll take Luffy vs Usopp or Luffy vs Sanji over any of the modern shonen anime fights any day of the week.

If you want to be technical, the manga does use these techniques - there's a Haki aura coming off of Zoro's swords and the ground around him is lifted up - though the anime does exaggerate it a great deal. I can see it seeming out of place to a certain degree, but it's not like this stuff isn't in One Piece at all - again, it's just exaggerated a lot.

Comparing this fight to Luffy vs Usopp and Luffy vs Sanji is absurd, because those fights have an insane amount of drama surrounding them in both mediums that make the fights so compelling. And in those cases, the anime did add some things that enhanced the fights - for the latter, they added some shots of Sanji looking surprised for a moment that Luffy was still standing and refusing to fight back, causing to hesitate for just a moment before continuing to attack. That added to the drama and was great, but it wouldn't have made sense without the dramatic context of the scene overall. This fight that you're complaining about? It's mostly used to get Zoro introduced to Hiyori, get an injury, and to get a badass Zoro moment. In other words, it's pretty much just a fun fight to make Zoro look cool and to get the plot moving, and we don't really find out about it's full significance until later.

What did the anime do to enhance the fight? They made Kamazo's laugh sound pained and almost like crying at times, alluding to what's going on with him. They gave Kamazo some attacks that feel natural for someone at his level - buzzsaw-like spins, creating a tornado, and air slashes - that also make him feel more comparable to Zoro, which makes sense given his real identity as one of the other Supernova. They reinforced how monstrous Zoro is - a point that the manga makes many times - through changes in lighting when we see his reaction to getting stabbed. And yes, they go very over the top at the end, and I can see how that could be distracting to some viewers - but again, what's the point of the scene? To make Zoro look like an absolute monster, and they use techniques from the animation medium to reinforce that, even if it is a little overkill.

Did the manga convey Zoro was a monster without going that over the top? Absolutely. The anime just had it's fun with it, and if you don't like how they did it, that's fine. One Piece is about so much more than the fights, which to be frank are only as strong as they are because of the context and background surrounding them. Adding these effects doesn't somehow make the show not One Piece anymore.

For the Zack Snyder vs The Raid comparison - I would absolutely agree that something like The Raid is more impressive and commendable than what Snyder does. However, something can be flashy and have spectacle and still be well-done and impressive. And for animation specifically? That moment of Zoro taking down Killer was impressive as all hell in terms of the animation and craft that went into it, regardless of whether you found the effects distracting or not. Did it have the tight choreography of The Raid? No. Would it be cool if it did? Hell yeah. Is the anime team capable of doing that? Eh….

Again, the anime has a lot of problems - a LOT of problems. But for the anime, our choices don't come down to Snyder or The Raid, if you want to use that example. Our choices really come down to Snyder or a PowerPoint presentation. Maybe you prefer the PowerPoint presentation. I'm glad that Snyder is something we can get now. If the Raid becomes an option, I'll be even more on board.

I find it silly how the anime is the best it's ever looked, and people are still complaining about it. I get complaints about the pacing - that's probably never going to get better at this point unless they take an extended break or go seasonal. But the animation and overall look of the show are leaps above what it's been. There's nothing wrong with adding some flair to the action scenes - which, by the way, have always looked better in those other "generic shonen anime", as you put it, than in the One Piece anime. The anime is actually taking some of the animation techniques that made those "generic" shows pop and be fun to watch to have more fun with the action scenes. If that's not to your taste, I get it, but plenty of people don't find it boring, and are actually getting excited by the anime for the first time in ages.

Hell, the anime doesn't "always" do this - the vast majority of Sanji vs Page One was fairly grounded with only the final blow being over the top, Zoro had a very grounded fight in the first episode of Wano, a lot of the fights against fodder didn't use those effects, etc. It mostly does it on the bigger moments to add a little more flair.

Is it over the top? Sure. Unneeded? Arguably. Would I trade it in for the largely static, uninspired fight scenes that we were mostly stuck with in the anime for so long? Hell no.

The anime still has plenty of problems, but for once the action is consistently animated at least decent, if not great. The additions of auras and environment destruction can be debated, but it feels more like the animators having fun than anything to me. The anime isn't the manga, and it's okay for it to have some fun every now and then and go over the top if you ask me.

Just watched Over the Top again to compare. The "preview section" in Over the Top was 10 seconds long, while this one is 20 seconds. It's literally double the length.

Pretty good opening. I liked Over the Top better, but I didn't really expect this one to top it.

Didn't spoil too much either, which is nice - really just Oden's design (if that matters to people) and the Roger vs. Whitebeard clash, from what I could tell. I like that they used the Strawhat's Onigashima raid clothes (except Brook's for some reason, weird), and Sanji looks sick with the red suit. Animation was largely pretty great, though a couple uses of more static shots puts it below Over the Top, which is easily the best opening animation-wise. Song was better than I thought it would be, pretty catchy overall.

But yeah, I was already annoyed that the previous opening had a section that just showed scenes from the current episode, and now they did the same thing but it's even longer? That kinda sucks.