Best Seat on the Couch

Ignoring that this movie is owned by furries, Disney's Zootopia is an impressively rich world teeming with the kind of social commentary that Disney just barely makes enough of to be thought-provoking without necessarily stating too much. The gang has an exciting discussion about nature vs. nurture, racism, fascism, fantasy worlds, and the role of the police both when this movie came out in 2016 and in our current day—that is, after all, what y'all are here for, right? We've also got our favorite moments, characters, and animal-related puns too. Content warning: SPOILERS, strong language.

The gang breaks the 4-week anime streak to bring one of the most incredible animated TV series of 2023, Scavenger's Reign, a show that got canceled by HBO Max after its premier season but got picked up by Netflix within the last few months. It isn't hyperbole to say that this show moved us; the worldbuilding is phenomenal, the characters and their stories are rich and emotional, and the way the showrunners are able to have the audience connect to planet Vesta, at the same time naturally rich yet so wildly alien, is something we genuinely have never seen before. Even Marcus' and Michael's minor nitpicks evolve into rich discussions about how masterfully this show is written and how complex its characters are, and we really don't have to say much more than what Iris said in the first 3 minutes: go watch this show. Content warning: SPOILERS, strong language.

It has taken the gang 165 episodes to bring an Isekai anime to the Couch, and while they may not be to resident weeb Alex's discriminating palate, Iris brings us a wild first installment all the same with 2023's I'm in Love with the Villainess. It's got drama, it's got magic, and it's exceedingly gay, but as the show goes there are a few characters and moments that really do make it a show worth sticking around for; plus the English dub slaps. Stick around as Marcus gets a little too existential on the Isekai genre and Alex pitches a mini-Trivia Corner to wrap up the episode. Content warning: SPOILERS, strong language.

Now that the gang has completed our reviews on legendary anime film director Makoto Shinkai's Your Name, Weathering with You, & Suzume, we dive into four of Shinkai's films-before-the-fame so to speak, created in the years before Your Name became an international hit—2002's Voices of a Distant Star, 2004's Places Promised in Our Early Days, 2007's 5 Centimeters Per Second, and 2013's The Garden of Words. Stick around for our 4-film tier list, reflections on Shinkai's growth as a director and filmmaker, and recognition of Shinkai's formula and his union of sci-fi/sci-fantasy and love stories. Content warning: SPOILERS, strong language.

Hayao Miyazaki deserves a shrine here on Best Seat on the Couch, and The Boy and the Heron is his final masterpiece and bookend to an illustrious career—or would be, if he actually confirmed his retirement. There's like 5 different metaphorical through lines and yet another stacked English voice cast in this Ghibli film, but perhaps the strongest message that comes through is an allegory for Miyazaki himself, and how a couple of characters in this film could be representative of how Miyazaki feels about his career, his art, and his legacy, now that it's coming to an end. It's a beautiful, emotional, thought-provoking film that is a must-watch for a Miyazaki-Ghibli film. Content warning: SPOILERS, strong language.

Better known as Dungeon Meshi in weeb, Delicious in Dungeon is a show that brings anime, cooking, humor, Dungeons & Dragons, studio Trigger animation, and character-driven narratives together like the Avengers to put together one of our favorite anime shows of all time. Longtime listeners know from our episodes on The Legend of Vox Machina that D&D is held near and dear to our hearts, and we're blown away by this series's worldbuilding, character backstories, combat encounters, and even those small twists from the classic D&D formula that freshen up the genre. Perhaps our only complaint is that Season 2 can't come fast enough, and only Alex knows what the show has in store for us when it arrives - though that doesn't stop us from having a Theory Wall anyway. Content warning: SPOILERS, strong language.

Disney's put out quite a few bangers, and even some underrated sleeper hits, but then, what does that make Treasure Planet? A bonafide box office bomb and a top 3 expensive animated theatrical failure of all time, the film does join Atlantis: The Lost Empire as a "cult classic" in the Disney pantheon—can the gang find redeeming qualities and give this movie a thumbs-up? Overall, yes we can! With some exceptions. There's an excellent relationship between Jim and John Silver, truly gorgeous animation for its time, and some deep worldbuilding just begging for a sequel that'll never come to light. But can its Hero's Journey story hold up to Marcus's critical eye? Content warning: SPOILERS, strong language.

The gang finally completes the Makoto Shinkai trilogy, closing the book on our previous discussions on Your Name (Episode 7) and Weathering With You (Episode 12) after many years with 2022's Suzume. There's a lot to like about this movie (it's just as beautiful as its predecessors, if not even more gorgeous) but it's definitely not as good as Your Name and arguably may not even be better than Weathering With You, which does lend itself to a pretty great discussion about the main characters, the keystones (how do they work?!?), and the weird way the "romance" develops as the movie goes on. And in its small moments there's a wonderful story about the kindness of strangers Suzume meets on her journey, and it does elicit the emotions we're used to feeling in a Shinkai film. Content warning: SPOILERS, strong language.

In regards to Pixar's latest slump at the box office, Coco is perhaps the studio's last exceptional movie before the downturn, with its dazzling display of el Día de los Muertos, exceptional score, powerful emotional impact, and emphasis on family. Join us as we gush over the beautiful lights and usage of color in this movie, praise its rich storyline and clever writing, and joke about Marcus's interesting comparison to Encanto (check out Episode 77!) and its similar Hispanic roots. And who doesn't love a lengthy philosophical discussion about DEATH? Content warning: SPOILERS, strong language.

Your fight-or-flight response might have already triggered upon reading the title of this anime series, but our resident anime expert Alex assures the gang that this show is not, in fact, fan service brain rot. To be honest, it's actually quite introspective - plus it has its emotional moments - and sheds a light on the issues and social pressures impacting teenagers as they learn to navigate their way to young adulthood. It's strange to contextualize serious issues like body image or even the loss of a loved one with weird pseudo-scientific quantum theoretical explanations, and the gang has varied opinions on this show's choices, but it's clear that all of us enjoyed experiencing this series for the first time. Content warning: SPOILERS, strong language.