Best Seat on the Couch

Baccano! is an electrifying and boisterous 2007 anime series that Alex and Michael consider a "gateway" anime - there's a fantastic English dub, it's set in Prohibition-era America chock full of gangsters, gambling, and guns, and the story is told is a unique way that we've never seen on the Couch before. And while the twists and turns and constant time shifts can confuse the hell out of you and leave you lost, once you're in the seat and getting the hang of the ride you won't be able to get off this train! Content warning: SPOILERS, strong language.

On January 18th, 2021, the gang brought Akira to the podcast, a legendary pillar of Japanese animated media and the cyberpunk genre today, though as a film itself is flawed somewhat. But there is another: 1995's Ghost in the Shell feels deeper, more introspective, and more ethereal, and it demands multiple rewatches to fully understand - and appreciate - how important this movie is to future blockbusters like The Matrix and Ex Machina. It's beautifully animated, takes its time to be metaphorical and inquisitive, and has an incredibly fascinating antagonist. Content warning: SPOILERS, strong language.

Kubo and the Two Strings had a bit of a muted release in August 2016, but its beautiful stop-motion animation and interesting feudal Japanese setting were enough for us to bring it to the Couch this week to discuss. Broadly this movie suffers a bit from "spectacle-itis" as Michael dubs it, as it's got wondrous professional stop-motion animation, gorgeous frames and fight scenes (the Sisters are actually sick) but suffers for a lacking story, unmemorable main characters, and weird pacing and narrative progression. It's watchable for the animation alone, but unfortunately doesn't elevate itself to something beyond. Content warning: SPOILERS, strong language.

Soul is the first Disney/Pixar installment delivered direct-to-Disney+ as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why, for a lot of us, this movie kind of missed us in the buzz of animated movies of the last few years. It feels a little different than Pixar's award-winning formula, with heavier emphasis on the existential and ethereal quality of life after (and also before) death, and it's fascinating to discuss this movie's musical inspiration and undertones, deep emotional moments, and unique aesthetic, considering that at the end of the day this is still a kid's movie. And as a final note: this is NOT a movie about jazz! Content warning: SPOILERS, strong language.

It's been a long time since we've touched on another Miyazaki + Ghibli work on the Couch here - and there aren't many left to discuss - but Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea is a charming movie, perhaps directed towards a younger audience, full of the trademark magic and gorgeous animation that's a hallmark of the movies in this pantheon. But how does this film hold up to Miyazaki's other works? It's got a vibe like Porco Rosso, a deep love for the ocean, excellent characters in Lisa and Sousuke, and literally picturesque frames. Content warning: SPOILERS, strong language.

Back in the day, when existence was only in black and white and our parents rode horses to work, Tom and Jerry was an American TV series of short films that was just nonstop hijinks between a house cat and a scheming mouse (and their friends!), and that simple premise became a legendary forefather of animation. In this episode, you'll find out who thinks Jerry did nothing wrong, whether or not Quibi was a worthwhile business venture, and our favorite Tom and Jerry memes. And no discussion of the 1940s is complete without referencing the American experience of that time - the good and the bad. Content warning: strong language.

Steven Universe crawled so Gravity Falls could walk so She-Ra could run so The Owl House could fly like a weird owl-beast-harpy creature, and dare we say that this is probably the most polished and well-constructed children's animated TV show that we've ever seen. All of the characters, especially our main protagonist Luz, are wonderful and have excellent growth through two seasons, it's animated very well, it's got some wonderful LGBTQ+ representation, and ended on a pretty wild cliffhanger that has us waiting intently for season 3. Come on in and walk through the portal! Content warning: SPOILERS, strong language.

Another line in the sand has been drawn, and this time, Iris and Michael show off their   d r i f t   c o m p a t i b i l i t y   as they face off against Marcus and Alex's love for the live action 2013 film Pacific Rim. But unlike its progenitor, the Netflix anime series Pacific Rim: The Black is an entirely different beast, with similar emphasis on the Kaiju and Jaegers but with a more serious tone and emphasis on characters and plot compared to the original. We also highlight this show's use of the concept of drifting as well as some excellent bait-and-switches and "oh sh!t" twist moments in its two short seasons, but criticize some very poor choices in character arcs down the line. Content warning: SPOILERS, strong language.

On this episode of Best Seat on the Couch, the gang asks: what if feelings had feelings? One of Pixar's top works of the 2010s, Inside Out brings out the emotions in us all, including a couple of our scarily deep-rooted thoughts of depression and existential dread. Nah I'm just kidding, we're all very excited to talk about this movie, so much so that we invite our #1 fan Sarah back onto the podcast to discuss this movie's wonderful emotion-characters, emotional intelligence, excellent portrayal of San Francisco, and tear-jerking moments. Content warning: SPOILERS, strong language.

It's Alex's turn on the carousel of...not great shows...this week, and Alex's childhood love for Kirby the Ninteldritch horror and the early Kirby video games brings us to Japanese anime TV series Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, which was dubbed for Western audiences in 2002. The dub is amazing, with voice acting performances from King Dedede and Meta Knight as the highlights, and the 5-episode finale does get kinda hype towards the end, but other than that this show is basically a fever dream. Alex caps this one off with a really entertaining Kirby-themed Trivia Corner as well! Content warning: SPOILERS, strong language.