Anime Outsiders

The Other Side begins its third season with a topic every anime fan is well acquainted with; the swamp of unfortunate implications that is the Visual Novel. While not an inherently evil medium, the type of visual novel most people are familiar with are the ones that all end in porn. In fact, virtually every PC visual novel DOES end in porn. And some of them manage to get inexplicable massive fan followings. So join The Other Side as they look over two porn novels of various degrees of strange, and take a look at Tsukihime, and the rest of the “Nasuverse” in all its deranged glory!

And with that, both their BlazBlue overview, and season 2 of The Other Side, comes to a close. Max and Cody (but mostly Cody) go over the contents of BlazBlue’s various backstory novels and drama CD, as well as the information we know so far about ChronoPhantasma. From the paradoxical story of Bloodedge, to the tragic tale of The Wheel of Fortune, to Shuichiro Ayatsuki’s in-your-face mancrush over Relius Clover, all the important backstory deets are covered. With this final installment, all you folks will be nice and caught up and ready to jump into ChronoPhantasma when it hits consoles! You can thank us later, Arc System Works…

In their recent trend of watching horrible anime out of some masochistic need to entertain you folks with their hilarious, over-the-top pain, the boys at The Other Side take a look at this Aku no Hana thing everyone’s talking about. The rotoscoped nightmare that only looks half as ridiculous as its plot and characters. Strap yourselves in, as Cody, Andrew, and Max dive into the idiocy that is the story of Aku no Hana, its failed attempts to be deep, the objective failure to produce quality television it engages in, and how it even fails by the standards of one of America’s greatest authors. Then sit back and watch as the Other Side fixes yet another anime, applying their unique Tanbo-Nurse canon to Aku no Hana, and discovering a whole new, much more entertaining plot beneath the plot.

In an effort to get revenge for being toyed with in the A-Ko episode, Max Vader decided to suggest that The Other Side do an episode on Astarotte’s Toy. This one suggestion set into motion a chain of events that would lead to what is quite possibly the most venomous episode of The Other Side. Fueled by a rage only Japanese pedophilia can cause in a decent human being, Cody, Max, and Andrew proceed to tear down this pedophile garbage, burn several bridges, and bring to light an alarming study that proves, once and for all, the majority of Japanese men are pedophiles. And if you think that’s hyperbole, or a platitude, you need to listen to this podcast. The world’s about to look a lot darker…

It began as a discussion about Saya no Uta; the visual novel by Gen Urobuchi that is absolutely horrible. It is vile. It is also horribly written, riddled with plotholes, and just plain objectively terrible. The boys of The Other Side set out to expose you fine folks to this trainwreck, and prove once and for all that it does not deserve a lick of the reverence it is given by so many people. It is, in fact, on a level beyond mere “garbage”. But from this garbage, The Other Side found something magical… From this garbage, Andrew, Max, and Cody devised a scenario that retroactively makes every terrible anime, visual novel, manga, and video game awesome. A simple headcanon (though the official stance of The Other Side is that this scenario is full-on canon) that turns even dogshit anime like Evangelion and Kodomo no Jikan into gold! Join the boys of The Other Side for the greatest episode they’ve ever recorded! The Other Side has done the unthinkable; they’ve fixed anime!

As part of the seemingly endless cycle of revenge that has dominated Season 3 of The Other Side, the boys subjected themselves to an anime as horrifying as the abominations it desecrates. Where H.P. Lovecraft’s cosmic horrors have been reduced to body pillow bait. A piece of garbage so heinous it left The Other Side in a depression from which they won’t escape for a long time. Also a recent twitter feud is discussed (and by discussed, we mean “reveled in”), Max shares his thoughts on Inferno Cop, and Cody shares his discovery of a promising anime series that hopefully won’t burn him like so many have in the past…!

Shortly before The Other Side was set to record its episode on Inferno Cop, Cody Baier found himself surprised with an early Christmas present, via Twitter. Another anime podcast got its jimmies rustled over Cody and his antics. This isn’t the first time this has happened, but this was special. From the melodramatic tone, to the content of the site hosting said podcast, to a King Leonidas-esque call to arms for all fans of lolicon and moe to rise up against him, what Cody found was a trainwreck the likes of which he thought only existed in his derisive hypotheticals about the anime fandom. To see this much of it all, and all of it very, very real, was simply too much, and an early podcast recording was called. Time zones being what they are, Max missed out… But one can’t spend an entire podcast eyeballing a trainwreck, so following that excursion into rubbernecking, the boys at The Other Side take a look at one of the greatest things ever to come out of Japan: INFERNO COP! Prepare for a truckload of gushing, and a whole lot of giggling, as The Other Side goes over an anime that no human being has any excuse not to watch!

As you may know, it’s anime podcast law that all anime podcasts must do regular coverage of at least one anime convention. Well The Other Side’s own Cody Baier just happens to be a regular at Otakon, so he decided to bring the folks a look at the convention! But, sadly, Max and Andrew couldn’t come along. So, previous guest co-host LeighAnn Williams joined him for the ride! In this episode, Cody and LeighAnn brings you all the sights, sounds, smells, and attractions they experienced at Otakon. From a marriage proposal, to LeighAnn’s Fedora Counter! From a surplus of body pillows, to a couple people Cody and LeighAnn are certain have dead children stashed in their basement! And that’s not even getting into a bombshell FUNimation dropped that made their year! And that’s not even getting into the wonders of “Orange Man” and “Thousand Yard Stare Guy”! This is one episode you’re not gonna wanna miss!

The boys (and girl) of The Other Side continue their look through the wild and wacky world of Japan. Bonglorio missed the party (but he shall return), so the Other Side crew had to procure a surprise guest host! Such a surprise her name is clearly listed above! Check out this week’s Other Side, and the crew further examines the insanity of Japanese bullying, comes up with an awesome new video game idea, and Cody goes all CMT on us!

The Other Side often prides itself in being a counterpoint to every other anime podcast. Probably why so many other podcasts whine about them. In keeping with that tradition, The Other Side presents an alternate view from all the other Japan-worshiping anime podcasts that litter their episodes with J-Pop, and update you on all the news about voice actors’ personal lives, and who got voted onto AKB40. Japan is known for its utter insanity (and for being the most sexist country in the First World), and nothing’s more entertaining than insanity! So join The Other Side (with guest host “Bonglorio”) as they go spelunking through the wretched hive of scum and villainy that is Sankaku Complex (because it’s funnier that way) to find some of the most wacked-out stories from the land of the rising sun!