The regular crew is nestled all snug in our podcasting studios, ready to mostly cap off the Fall 2024 anime season. The ghosts of anime properties past are haunting the season while visions of crunch are ready to pass judgement... okay, so my metaphor is failing apart. What’s been naughty and what’s been very nice, we discuss. Plus some recommendations and news. Have a safe and happy holiday! See you next year!

A great soundtrack can elevate any work. Cain, Kestrel, and Brandon have compiled a list of favorite anime composers, both theirs and yours, to discuss their work and impact on the industry. 

Selected music excerpts include:

Joe Hisaishi: One Summer’s Day (あの夏へ) from Spirited Away

Yoko Kanno: Tank! from Cowboy Bebop

Kensuke Ushio: lit (var) from A Silent Voice

Kenji Kawai: Making of Cyborg from Ghost in the Shell

Yoshihisa Hirano: The World of Adventurers from Hunter x Hunter, and Beyond the Seas from Hunter x Hunter

This is Fanzenshuu... Okay, that's not a thing. We may not be fusing with Kanzenshuu, but we wished upon the Dragon Balls to summon them for the task of discussing Akira Toriyama's legendary franchise as it hits 40 years strong. Between Toriyama's passing and the first new TV series in 9 years, this year has given us a lot to think about for this big anniversary. Kestrel is joined by Cain, Brandon for the first time in a while, and of course the respective founders of the highly detailed Dragon Ball fan sites that would fuse to become the all-encompassing Kanzenshuu. We cover the franchise as well as Kanzenshuu and its predecessors, and like any good battle in DBZ, it takes way longer than we expect.

So... it’s been a minute but we’re back from our late summer break. We have new fall anime to talk about, including the return of some favorites. We discuss Uzumaki, Orb, Blue Locl, Dan da Dan, Ranma 1/2, Natsume and more! Plus some more passings in the industry and other lighter news, and some recommendation! ---AIRHORN SOUNDS---

The dog days of summer are a bit slow this year. So slow that half our regulars aren’t even watching anime! Good thing we have a bunch of Otakon news to talk about, as well as the biggest anime leak in years. YEARS. Then we cover what everyone has been watching, such as Tower of God, Spice & Wolf, Nekotan, DeadDeadDemonDedede... well, you get the point. Got something you’ve been watching that’s been getting you out of the summer doldrums? Let us know! 

Anime Expo 2024 happened, and Kestrel was there kicking ass and taking names, and by taking names I mean getting autographs.  We go over all of the news we cared to share from AX. Cain ponders why anime is invading baseball. Kate is just trying not to melt or melt down over a Rayearth remake. Summertime, everybody! We also cover the rest of the end of the spring that we glossed over last week, and a few recommendations.

Spring, we hardly knew ye. Summer is almost here but we do have some thoughts on some of the shows we’ve been watching. Did the dungeon remain delicious? The wolf still spicy? The campfire stay lit? Why was Kestrel watching a show about booze? We ponder the results of our watching, along with a chunk of news about books and tv, and other analog media. Plus, wait... Ice Cream Man! ICE CREAM MAN!

Spring 2024 is here and we have plenty of anime to talk about! Everything old is new again, just like long-dormant seeds sprouting from the earth. We get the return of everyone’s favorite economic power couple in Spice & Wolf and continuing adventures in bartending in Bartender. Konosuba is back, and so is Reincarnated as a Slime. Plus Jellyfish, Sand Land, Windbreakers, and a whole lot more! Also one bit of news and a few recommendations!

The 2024 Winter Anime season has come to a close. If you’ve been paying attention then you’ll know what shows the crew have placed at the top of their lists. Kestrel, Cain, Brandon, and Kate are gonna tell you again, anyway, because that’s what we do! Plus some news and recommendations. What was your favorite anime of Winter 2024?

We have a full house for a rather depressing episode of the podcast. It’s an all-news special cumulating in the marking of the passing of two figures, one lesser known and one an absolute giant. We tip our hats to Tales Of illustrator Mutsumi Inomata before we dedicate the majority of the run time to Akira Toriyama. We go over the impact that Toriyama had in the manga, anime, and video game industry both at home and across the entire world. Then we try to brighten the room a bit with some recommendations.