Did You Have To?

This week: We're back!

On this new episode Kate and LaNeysha review Netflix’s CG anime series, RESIDENT EVIL: Infinite Darkness. The ladies have a lot of thoughts, questions, and notes on this CG limited anime series. They get into to it into it all from the zombie rats, thin ponytails, and various plot holes.  

RESIDENT EVIL: Infinite Darkness is based on canonical elements from the games but also tells an all new original story. The limited 4-episode series is created by Hiroyuki Kobayashi, animated by Quebico, produced by TMS Entertainment, and is directed by Eiichiro Hasumi. The series also includes a story by Shogo Mutoha and Hasumi with Tony Ishizuka serving as creative advisor and Yugo Kanno as the music composer.

On episode 57 of Did You Have To? podcast the ladies review the supernatural anime Trese. Coming back from hiatus LaNeysha and Kate return to review and discuss their thoughts on the supernatural anime that combines a crime thriller with horror. Trese is a supernatural crime thriller based on the award-winning Filipino komik written by Budjette Tan and with art by KaJO Baldisimo. Tan and Baldismo are the series showrunners with Filipino American Jay Oliva serving as the series’ Executive Director and is written by Tanya Yuson, Zig Marasigan, Mihk Vergara. 

The Netflix Original Anime series combines Filipino folklore with a thrilling crime horror story. The series takes place in Manila, Trese’s world is one where the mythical creatures of Philippine folklore live and hide in plain sight amongst humans. In this world, detective Alexandra Trese finds goes head to head with a criminal underworld composed of supernatural beings. Where Ghosts commit crimes and creatures hold roundtable meetings.

The voice talent for the series stars Liza Soberano in the Filipino language version and Shay Mitchell in the English language version, as the respective voices for Alexandra Trese. Other voice talent for the series includes Darren Criss, Manny Jacinto, Dante Basco, Nicole Scherzinger, Lou Diamond Philips, and Steve Blum rounding out the series English dub cast.

Trese is now currently streaming exclusively on Netflix.

We are so excited to announce that But Why Tho? A Geek Community is now an official affiliate partner with Right Stuf Anime! Right Stuf is the largest of North America’s anime-specific retailer and distribution companies. They are your store for anime, manga, figures and more. If you enjoy our show, and the But Why Tho Geek Community you can help show us support, when you use our affiliate link to shop at Right Stuf Anime!

This week, Kate and LaNeysha are back to review the final season of their favorite Western anime, Castlevania. The ladies are thrilled to review the Western anime produced by one of their favorite studios, Powerhouse Animation. This episode full of tons of spoilers as the women of Did You Have To? discuss the plot of Castlevania's final season, the oh-so-satisfying character arcs, awesome callbacks from previous seasons, and ultimately how this series raises the bar for how to end a series.

We are so excited to announce that But Why Tho? A Geek Community is now an official affiliate partner with Right Stuf Anime! Right Stuf is your store for anime, manga, figures and more. 

If you enjoy our show, and the But Why Tho Geek Community you can help show us support, when you use our affiliate link to shop at Right Stuf Anime!

They’re back! After a life forced hiatus Neysha and Kate excited to be back talking all about Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train . Finally in the states, the film has smashed record s in Japan and the United States. While Neysha has been on the Demon Slayer Train for 2 years, Kate decided to hop on right before the film’s release and it now reading the manga. In this episode, the women discuss the Mugen Train, what they love about the series, and ultimately why the film hits hard.

This week, we finally get to talk about our favorite shounen-ai: Blue Flag. In this episode we talk about the romance of the series, how it captures the authentic and messy relationships of high school life, and ultimately how shonen-ai series like Blue Flag can open the conversation for those learning their sexuality. While we've talked a lot about yaoi as a genre, the queer romances often highlighted in those manga are explicit in nature and tend to get shoved into the back of the manga section. But with shounen-ai being distributed through a major publisher like VIZ Media and available on the Shonen Jump app, like Blue Flag, there is an ease of access that can help many looking to see themselves in the medium. 

Everyone loves a good non-human crush. Maybe it's a demon, a kaiju, an archduke of Hell, you know, a monster. This week we dive into our favorite sexy monsters from anime and manga with the help of Aisha (MommaLuvsManga), content creator and all-around expert on thirsty manga, and Ty, self-proclaimed "monster fucker" and Founder/EIC of Uppercut. As you can guess from the name, this episode isn't to be listened to around the kiddos.

Earwig and the Witch aims to continue Studio Ghibli's tradition of pushing the boundaries of animation and storytelling. While the gets close, it feels unfinished. Directed by Gorô Miyazaki, written by Keiko Niwa and Emi Gunji, and produced by studio co-founder Toshio Suzuki, with planning from Hayao Miyazaki, the film is based on the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones, the author behind the source material for Howl’s Moving Castle.

This week, we're back to live-action adaptations, and this time it's the wholesome BL drama Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! Now, at the time of recording, we hadn't watched all 12 episodes and obviously only have access to the English volumes of the manga. We talk about the importance of BL stories, how Cherry Magic! hit our hearts, and how it really showcased the depth of the BL genre. We talk about why we love the characters, consent, and more.

We've gone around the sun another time and while 2020 was not a good year in the world, it was a great year for anime. To close out the year we have this bonus episode that dives into our favorite series, the series that got us through things, the best boy of the year, waifu of the year, best OT, and more. Beyond that, we talk about how anime helped us get through the year and our accomplishments this year. So let's jump into 2020 in anime.