From the ill-fated Studio Flag with character design from Fullmetal Alchemists's Hiromu Arakawa, the wuxia inspired action series Hero Tales follows a group of warriors brought into conflict due to a celestial prophecy, with each warrior being an incarnation of one of the stars in the Big Dipper. BJ and Duffo discuss a Chinese empire falling apart due to poverty and corruption, a legendary archer who starts hanging around because he really wants to hook up with your sister, and a necromancer who loves stealing and redistributing holy swords to whichever side he feels like that day.

Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

The Frankenstein bracket brings us a new compilation featuring a lot of Kingdom Hearts cutscenes, going up against the (now identified as a Karas AMV) post-war story of Memento Mori.

"Falling Dreams - Kingdom Hearts" - MysteriousRyder

Memento Mori - NightPunisher

Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

BJ and Duffo split into chronologic vs broadcast order for the second half of Rental Magica, discovering in the process that the show doesn't entirely make sense either way. Watching from episode 13 onwards, they discuss Christmas carols for orphan ghosts, increasingly dangerous Solomonic rituals with a high failure rate, and ending your show by ruining a gay marriage.

Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

It's time for a deeply self-serious mid 00s rock off as first round Vegeta Linkin Park Akira Toriyama Memorial Bracket exemplars compete to make it to the third round.

Watch the contestants here:

Diary of Jane - budddha

Hit The Floor - Hwoarang

Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

Rental Magica is a paranormal action show from Zexcs about a teenager with a cursed eye who inherits his father's wizard-for-hire business with zero qualifications or even knowledge about how magic works. BJ and Duffo watch the first 12 episodes and discuss airing your episodes out of order as an artistic statement, working with a guy named Mr Cathouse who lets four cats live inside his robes, and contaminating your body with magic radiation so that you can yell out instructions really well.

Our Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei competitor comes back for round two, going up against a hyperactive entry involving Lucky Star and Haruhi dances, Dancemania music, and Italian "spaghetti fever".

Macabre Serenade - Ileia

Attack Of The Otaku - Chiikaboom

Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

This World Summons Too Many Heroes!! on Kickstarter

Shaft's romance drama ef: A Tale of Melodies is 2008's most challenging watch yet - the visuals are intense, death hangs over all of the characters, and the narrative is spread across 15 years in two identical cities a whole continent away from each other. BJ and Duffo discuss the Shaft signature style, collecting an alarming number of schoolgirl outfits in your house, and getting an architecture degree for the purpose of challenging God.

Content warning for discussion of self-harm, sexual assault, domestic abuse and suicide.

Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

The future of AMVs is here, and it's a cube in the Metaverse! A proof of concept for the video editor of tomorrow goes up against a romance speedrunner in the world of ef - A Tale Of Memories.

Quatro nAVI System CODE VECTOR - Perfect-Blue

A Sudden Love... or? - Alex Daikou

Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

The second season of Yumeta Company's otome fantasy Neo Angelique Abyss picks up six months after the original, with Angelique waking out of her coma to find that their house has burned down, everyone hates them, and also the pope is doing a coup. BJ and Duffo discuss installing a giant retractable slingshot on your sailing vessel, giving birth to a baby holding a pointy metal leaf, and leaving all your friends behind to become a priestess in outer space.

Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

In our first showdown between AMV first round winners, a traditional Frankenstein goes up against one that has called on the voice acting talents of Canadian pop culture comedy improv troupe The 404s to try and take things to the next level.

Watch the contestants here:

Just For A Day - Funky-kun

The Audition - Vlad G Pohnert

Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.