How does the anime make them seem close AT ALL?
Kaido brushes off A FREAKING KING KONG GUN LIKE ITS NOTHING. Luffy's strongest attack did ZERO DAMAGE. It literally DIDN'T EVEN SCRATCH KAIDO.
HOW DOES THAT MAKE THEM CLOSE AT ALL?!
If you think Kaido absolutely no selling Luffy's strongest attack like its nothing, and later calling Luffy a terrible weakling.
Yes, the anime emphasized Kaido's toughness more, but the effect is still pretty much the same. Kaido is an invincible monster that Luffy has no chance of defeating.
Like, the anime SPECIFICALLY GOES OUT OF ITS WAY to EXPLICITLY POINT OUT that Kaido is WAY STRONGER.