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Eiichiro Oda has masterfully woven the backstories of countless characters in the vast world of One Piece. For the longest time, it has been either Nico Robin or Brook who have been called characters with the most tragic backstories. However, the reveal of Kuma’s backstory has changed everything.

None of the backstories that have been revealed so far has struck a chord with fans quite as much as Kuma’s did. Episode 1136 of One Piece was the final installment in Kuma’s backstory, named ‘Kuma’s Life,’ and it successfully broke most fans. As a result, it is currently the highest-rated episode of One Piece with a 9.8 user rating on IMDb.

Kuma’s Backstory Has Outshone Everything Else in One Piece’s History Kuma’s backstory made every single One Piece fan emotional | Credits: Toei Animation

Bartholomew Kuma has been a mysterious character in One Piece for the longest time.

Official One Piece Fan Letter anime director Megumi Ishitani has been involved with the production of Toei Animation's One Pieceseries since 2021. However, she recently confessed that there is a certain story arc that she has deliberately avoided reading or watching due to its heartbreaking content.

Ishitani recently addressed her followers in a public post on X (formerly Twitter). Here, she expressed that she is not good at handling stories that have "painful" narrative elements. "If I know from the start that a story is going to be painful, I struggle to watch it, so I haven't even read the original manga of the Kuma arc, let alone the anime..." she stated. The "Kuma arc" is a reference to the events revolving around Bartholomew Kuma, a particularly tragic figure in the One Piece anime and manga. "Everyone says I'll end up crying if I read it, so I can't quite bring myself to do it.

The Member of the Wedding: Zexer’s Debut Churns Empathy from Obscene Custom

We’ve seen an increasing tide of feminist perspective narratives detailing the despicable social sleights faced by women in various (usually Middle Eastern) cultures, many of these focusing on a particularly awkward situation where tradition allows men to take a second wife while his first is still alive and well. Such is the starting point for Sand Storm, the impressive debut from Israeli filmmaker Elite Zexer. But audiences thinking they’re already familiar with how these pained scenarios tend to unfold will be pleasantly surprised when they realize Zexer has something a bit more complex and unpredictable in store. What begins as a tale concerning a powerless woman begrudgingly accepting her fate becomes a moving portrait of a mother commending better possibilities for the future of her daughter, creating a glimmer of hope in an endless denial of agency.

A total of 24 world premieres are included in the Berlinale’s Panorama selection, which has added a number of Asian productions.

Some 36 films from 29 countries will feature in the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 6-16), of which 24 will be world premieres.

Most recently invited are works from Norway, Ethiopia, Mexico, India, Iran, Georgia, Greece, Hungary and Austria – with returning filmmakers Elfi Mikesch and Umut Dağ, who opened Panorama 2012 with Kuma, his directorial debut.

New titles include a number of Asian productions. In Ieji (Homeland) by Japan’s Nao Kubota, a farmer’s son, who first fled to the city, explores his home village in the Fukushima district, an area that is actually still a no-go zone following the disaster at the region’s nuclear power plant.

In the South Korean film Night Flight, LeeSong Hee-il presents a duel between two schoolmates. LeeSong previously showed the films No Regret and White Night in Panorama...

Kuma

Over the past few years there have been a number of films, prominent on the festival circuit, looking at difficult situations faced by immigrant women in Europe. Among them, Kuma is a standout, perhaps because it was developed from a very different starting point. It’s the first feature by Austrian Kurdish director Umut Dag, though one wouldn’t guess that when watching it – this kind of complex, balanced storyline usually only emerges in the work of seasoned auteurs. Umut, like many young filmmakers, is full of energy and passion for his work – yet unlike most, he has jumped in at the deep end and got away with it. We contacted him at his home in Vienna to ask how it all began.

“It was hard,” he admits. “I met Petra [Ladinigg], my co-writer, in 2008 or something like that and I pitched her a few stories. She was very...

Umut Dag's directorial debut offers a revealing glimpse into the lives of the Turkish diaspora

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The confident directorial debut of a Kurd born and raised in Vienna, Kuma is a revealing look at life in the western European Turkish community and a drama that cleverly wrong-foots the audience with its title, which means "second wife" in Turkish. The film begins with a wedding in rural Turkey where the bride is a village girl and the groom a handsome son of a large family in Austria. But the marriage isn't what it seems, and little else is, up to and beyond the sudden death of the groom's father. The plot is a dramatic, or melodramatic, way of revealing the turbulent passions and prejudices beneath the surface of homophobia, patriarchy, matriarchy and resistance to change. The theme is that you can take...

Kick-Ass 2 | 2 Guns | Planes | The Big City | Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Again | Bachelorette | Call Girl | Aftershock | Kuma | When The Dragon Swallowed The Sun

Kick-Ass 2 (15)

(Jeff Wadlow, 2013, Us/UK) Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Moretz, Jim Carrey, 103 mins

The amateur Avengers return, though the sequel finds them weighed down by their superhero lifestyles, or is it audience expectations? The ingredients that made the first movie such a pleasure are all here – absurd alter-egos, ultraviolence, high-school angst, swearing – just minus the element of surprise. As a result, this incident-packed story struggles to recapture that balance between comic-book zaniness and real-world teen comedy.

2 Guns (15)

(Baltasar Kormákur, 2013, Us) Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton. 109 mins

Two double-crossed undercover agents must unravel a convoluted conspiracy (and learn to get along, of course) in what could almost be a Lethal Weapon reboot. Washington and Wahlberg spark off each other nicely, which is all that's needed.

Austrian-Turkish film-maker Umut Dag's drama about Turkish immigrants in Vienna is a bit melodramatic but strongly acted

This debut by Austrian-Turkish film-maker Umut Dag addresses the experiences of second- and third-generation Turkish and Kurdish people in western Europe and how they deal with some resilient first-generation traditions. Like Reis Çelik's recent Night of Silence, it also speaks out about the sacrificial nature of many arranged marriages. We see shy young bride Ayse (Begüm Akkaya) at her wedding ceremony in a Turkish village, evidently about to marry Hasan (Murathan Muslu) and return with him to the groom's family apartment in Vienna, presided over by Hasan's formidable mother, Fatma (Nihal Koldas). It is only when we are back in Austria that we realise that this wedding is a fake, and the real conjugal arrangement prepared for Ayse is quite different. Kuma is strongly and honestly acted, although the drama turns...

Two’s Company: Dag’s Extraordinary Debut Perversely Compelling

Like Feo Aladag’s 2010 harrowing debut, When We Leave, Austrian-Kurdish director Umat Dag’s first film, Kuma, examines the strict traditions and cultural values of a Turkish immigrant community for a compelling story with an expertly scripted scenario and excellent lead performances. Every family has secrets, and there’s a doozy at the center of one immigrant family’s nuclear dynamic that’s rather insidiously revealed to us. And once that hooks us in, we slowly begin to learn others. An excellent portrait of the family as the ultimate microcosm of crippling dysfunction by way of its particular set of mores and traditions, this is a beautifully rendered portrait of profound repression.

Nineteen year-old Ayse (Begum Akkaya), a Turkish peasant girl, has just been married to the handsome young Hasan (Murathan Muslu), and is all set to be whisked off to...

The 17th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (Iffk) has announced its lineup. The festival will run from 7th to 14th December, 2012 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Some of the highlights of the lineup are festival favourites of the year Amour, Chitrangada, Samhita, The Sapphires, Drapchi, Miss Lovely, Me and You, Celluloid Man, and Baandhon.

Fourteen films will screen in the Competition section while seven contemporary films will be screened in “Indian Cinema Now” section.

Complete list of films:

Competition Films

Fourteen feature films from Asia, Africa and Latin America will compete for the coveted “Suvarna Chakoram” (Golden Crow Pheasant) and other awards.

Always Brando by Ridha Behi (Tunisia)

Inheritors of the Earth by T V Chandran (India)

A Terminal Trust by by Masayuki Suo (Japan)

Shutter by Joy Mathew (India)

Today by Alain Gomis (Senegal-France)

The Repentant by Merzak Allouache (Algeria)

Sta. Niña by Manny Palo (Philippines)

Present Tense...

AFI Fest 2012 presented by Audi, a program of the American Film Institute, today announced the events and screenings in its Presentations and Conversations programs, an additional screening and some of the guests who are expected to attend this year.s festival. AFI Fest, which annually presents the best of world cinema in the movie capital of the world, will take place November 1 through 8 at the historic Grauman.s Chinese Theatre, the Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

Stay with us here at Wamg as we bring you the latest from the AFI Fest screenings, panels and after-parties right here in Hollywood!

Presentations:

This variety of special screening events offers audiences a unique festival experience.

Sunset Boulevard: Dir Billy Wilder

With restoration services by Technicolor, be among the first to experience one of Hollywood.s most beloved films as it was originally intended. A fitting release...

AFI Fest 2012 presented by Audi, a program of the American Film Institute, today announced the remaining sections and films that will screen in the festival.s World Cinema, Breakthrough, Midnight and Shorts programs. AFI Fest, which annually presents the best of world cinema in the movie capital of the world, will take place November 1 through 8 at the historic Grauman.s Chinese Theatre, the Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

World Cinema showcases the most anticipated and prize-winning international films of the year, Breakthrough highlights work discovered only through the submission process and Midnight.s selections are always haunting. Both World Cinema and Breakthrough feature a number of films making their North American or U.S. Premieres, including The Angels. Share, Greatest Hits, Laurence Anyways, Nairobi Half Life, Pieta, White Elephant and Zaytoun.

Two of the shorts in competition are from AFI Conservatory.s recent class of...

Today, AFI 2012 announced its complete lineup, after previously debuting its New Auteurs, Young Americans, Galas and Special Screenings we finally get a look at the Midnight, Breakthrough, Shorts, and deliriously good World Cinema Selections.

The Shorts section, with almost too many to count, features new work from Nacho Vigalando, Nicolas Provost, and even Shia Labeouf (Cannes selected), among many others. The four Midnight titles all played in Tiff 2012’s Midnight Madness selection, and here we see John Dies at the End making a stop here after originally premiering at Sundance. They’ve nabbed three North American premieres in their Breakthrough section, including Kid from Fien Troch, Nairobi Half Life from David Tosh Gitonga, and Oh Boy from Jan Ole Gerster. But AFI has managed to really impress with it’s World Cinema selections. Just as they nabbed Cannes premiere Holy Motors for their Special Screenings, they’ve nabbed several high...

David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook" adds another feather to its awards cap with the top prize at the 2012 Hamptons International Film Festival. The film wowed audiences at Toronto in September, taking home the fest's coveted audience award, cementing its place among the most-likely 2013 Oscar contenders. The complete list of Hamptons award winners is below. Also check out our Toh! video interview with "Silver Linings Playbook" star Jennifer Lawrence here, and the film's most recent trailer here. Audience Award Winner for Best Narrative "Excelsior": "Silver Linings Playbook" (dir. David O. Russell) Award Winner for World Cinema: Documentary: "No Place on Earth" (dir. Janet Tobias) Golden Starfish Award Winner for Best Narrative: "Lore" (dir. Cate Shortland) & "Kuma" (dir. Umut Dag) Golden Starfish Competition Award for Best Short Film: "Growing Farmers" (dir....

Opening with a bit of a historic snooze fest yet also offering greatness… While costumes and pictures of opening film Les Adieux à la Reine (Farewell My Queen) by Benoït Jacquot were absolutely stunning the story itself was more on the boring side. The film focuses on Léa Seydoux as Sidonie Laborde, Queen Marie Antoinette’s (Diane Krüger) reader, during the days of the French Revolution. The director however is clearly more interested in his female protagonists’ shapes and an overall composed aesthetic than in actually constructing an engaging story; when the camera isn’t busy resting on mademoiselle Sydoux well-shaped breasts there is a lot of slow rushing through Versailles and very little story development going on. In a way it feels like everyone’s hurrying to get off the Titanic, except Versaille is a much more impressive set.

Frédéric Videau’s A Moi Seule (Coming Home) – also in...