Anime Outsiders

Katawa Shoujo… The popular English language visual novel about scoring with disabled girls. Yes, that’s a real thing, and your shock and disbelief is exactly the reason why Alex and Cody just had to give this bizarre sack of melodrama a whirl, wasting so many precious hours out of their lives. Be thankful; they do things like this for your entertainment, no matter how miserable an experience it is!

After stumbling upon an anime called Mad Bull 34, Cody Baier was beside himself. He couldn’t decide if the show was fantastic, or horrendous. So to help him decide, he called up his cohort Alex Barry to see if this big bag of madness was a winner or a loser. And then, he had a thought… He was reminded of the increasing trend for the current and younger generations to embrace any ridiculous concept, no matter how terrible an idea it was. If it was “random,” they’ll eat it up. Never one to accept such a state of affairs, Cody presented that topic to Alex as well, and a podcast for the ages was born…!

Alex and Cody take a look at 4 terrible anime adaptations of otherwise good licenses. They shock their audience with a more positive tone on this week’s episode and mention Dragon Ball Z, Get Backers, Bleach and Street Figher 2.On a lighter note from the last podcast’s foray into the world of awful human beings and the awful human beings who read their comics, Alex and Cody take a look at 4 terrible anime adaptations of otherwise good licenses. From video games to manga, but mostly just video games and manga, Cody and Alex go over some truly memorable bastardizations.

On one of their earliest episodes, Alex and Cody discussed terrible, anime-styled webcomics, or “webmanga.” The comics they discussed were awful. They were dumb. They were ridiculous. But now, Alex and Cody tackle a few more “webmanga,” but this time, it’s not just any old terrible, anime-styled webcomic. Oh no… In this episode, Cody and Alex look at a handful of progressively more and more disturbing works that not only display the kind of twisted SOBs that fancy themselves to be the creative types, but prove, once and for all, that you can produce the most vile garbage imaginable, and still find a loyal and abundant fanbase on the internet. The episode may start out with little more than a fetish-laden sad-fest, but by the end…

In celebration of 4Kids selling off its assets–marking the final nail in the company’s coffin–Alex and Cody decide to show zero respect for jobs lost by looking back at the “legacy” of 4Kids Entertainment, and having a good chortle at their expense. From their needlessly convoluted editing practices to their uncomfortable xenophobia, all of 4Kids’ best qualities are spotlighted for the world to enjoy. Their “delightful” dubs of One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Sonic X are also put on the chopping block for a few derisive yuks. And, as a bonus, a lost Other Side episode is briefly discussed for your listening pleasure!

There are some fandoms to which Cody and Alex ascribe; the fighting game fandom. Cody’s boner for King of Fighters is matched only by Alex’s boner for Guilty Gear. Unfortunately, just like any fandom, their’s is one wrought with dillholes and assclowns. Never ones to shy away from casting a spotlight of accountability, Cody and Alex put their own kin on the chopping block, taking the fighting game fandom to task. David Sirlin inspires Alex to steal the show, Skullgirls is properly eviscerated, and one subsection of the fighter fandom proves too worthless for even Cody to have some fun sharpening his teeth on.

If there’s one thing Cody and Alex of The Other Side enjoy, it’s having a laugh at the expense of fandoms. As a couple of guys who love geeky stuff, but lost all tolerance for the geeks they share their interests with, nothing brings them more scadenfreudian glee than to have a good laugh at the ridiculous antics of various fandoms. And few can produce more trainwreck humor than those ever-infamous individuals within those fandoms. The kind of people that make Encyclopedia Dramatica actually worth visiting. So, with that, the boys on the Other Side present the first edition of their spotlight on various “lolcows,” as they’re often called. In this first run-through, Alex and Cody look at three wackos of decreasing scumbaggery, but increasing hilarity.

Sturgeon’s Law is an unforgiving beast. One that no medium or genre can escape. That includes anime, and nothing proves that point more than the shows coming down the pike for the 2012 summer anime season. One look at this roster of shows will shame any western otaku claiming that Japanese cartoons are the superior entertainment, and make you wonder how anyone can consume that medium exclusively. So, who better to point and laugh at this year’s convoy of crap than The Other Side’s Alex Barry and Cody Baier? Join Alex and Cody as they judge many, many books by their cover and give an alternative perspective to the coming season. This is no neutral, forgiving, glossing-over of the latest anime titles. Strap yourself in for an unforgiving run-through of a cavalcade of shows no one in their right mind should watch.

After an unscheduled hiatus brought about by a product so faulty no company should ever allow it to reach the general marketplace, The Other Side returns to continue its overview of the fall anime season, with guest co-host Jahmere Durham. More godawful shows are lambasted, many with some super-uncomfortable premises, and Jahmere reveals a dark secret about himself that threatens to tear his very credibility in twain! What is that dark, twisted secret? Well, you’re just going to have to listen and find out!

With Alex MIA, Cody is joined by guest co-host Jahmere Durham, of 2 Guys and a Mic fame, to take a look at the upcoming fall anime season. Books will be judged by their covers, and judgments will be passed as Cody and Jahmere find that this new season is almost worse than the summer season! Almost… If not for one shining gold nugget in the sea of animated feces…