Fanthropological

You find yourself in the not so distant future; it's a place just a bit different, but in ways you hadn't imagined, and its where you will spend the REST OF YOUR LIFE. ... Alright, we're not all speculative fiction writers, but we do have a special guest, Jen Frankel, to join us to talk about the fandom around it!

Next week, we were born to make history... and talk about fans of Yuri!!! on ICE (with special guest, Nikola, of [YOI Wednesdays](https://twitter.com/yoiwednesdays)).

## Where can I learn more about Jen Frankel?

If you want to hear more about Jen Frankel and the work she does, why not check out some of the following:

- Her website: [jenkfrankel.com](http://jenfrankel.com)

- Her podcast: [JFRRS](http://www.jenfrankel.com/jen-frankel-reads-random-shit/)

- Her twitter: [@jenfrankel](https://twitter.com/jenfrankel)

## Episode outline

### Fandom Facts

**History and Origins:**

> Judith Merril, Canadian author, editor, and activist, defined speculative fiction in 1966: “… stories whose objective is to explore, to discover, to learn, by means of projection, extrapolation, analogue, hypothesis-and-paper-experimentation, something about the nature of the universe, of man, or ‘reality’…”

>

> — [DIYMFA - Defining Speculative Fiction](https://diymfa.com/writing/defining-speculative-fiction)

> Speculative fiction is an umbrella genre encompassing narrative fiction with supernatural or futuristic elements. This includes, but not limited to, science fiction, fantasy, superhero fiction, science fantasy, horror, utopian and dystopian fiction, supernatural fiction as well as combinations thereof.

> ...

> In its English-language usage in arts and literature since the mid 20th century, "speculative fiction" as a genre term is often attributed to Robert A. Heinlein. In his first known use of the term, in ... 1947, Heinlein used it specifically as a synonym for "science fiction"; in a later piece, he explicitly stated that his use of the term did not include fantasy. However, though Heinlein may have come up with the term on his own, there are earlier citations ...

> ...

> In the 2000s, the term came into wider use as a convenient collective term for a set of genres. However, some writers, such as Margaret Atwood, continue to distinguish "speculative fiction" specifically as a "no Martians" type of science fiction, "about things that really could happen."

>

> — [Wikipedia - Speculative Fiction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculative_fiction)

**Search Data:**

Based on google trends data [since 2004](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F014dfn), speculative fiction is on the rise! Around 2008, interest seems to have picked up until about 2015 where interest levels off and follows an oddly periodic pattern.

(Interest in _Science Fiction_ dwarfs interest in speculative fiction, but, interestingly enough, is on the decline, by comparison.)

The top ten countries for _Speculative Fiction_, by search volume, are as follows: Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Latvia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan (Canada is 26th, United States is 28th).

**Fan Demographics:**

We couldn't find any demographics about fans, but we did come across some [data from Tor UK's author submissions](https://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/science-fiction-and-fantasy/sexism-genre-publishing-publishers-perspective):

- Out of 503 submissions, 32% came from female writers

- Historical / Epic / High-Fantasy: 33% Women, 67% Men

- Urban Fantasy / Paranormal Romance: 57% Women, 43% Men

- Horror: 17% Women, 83% Men

- Science-Fiction: 22% Women, 78% Men

- YA: 68% Women, 32% Men

- Other: 27% Women, 73% Men

### [Last Episode's](http://fanthropological.com/e/36795e0fece884/#player) Famous Last Words

**T**

Is the distinction between speculative fiction and genre fiction substantial?

**Z**

Is speculative fiction a label from authors, publisher, fans...?

**G**

I speculative fiction meant to be cautionary? Is it all black mirror?

**Matt**

"Avenge me"

Where does speculative fiction tow the line; when does something stop qualifying as speculative fiction?

### This week's spotlight

**[Speculative Literature Foundation Grants](http://speculativeliterature.org/grants/)**

> The SLF currently offers four grants: The Older Writers’ Grant, the Travel Grant, the Working Class Writers Grant, and the Diversite Writers/Worlds Grant. All of our grants are free to apply, and are designed as ‘gateway’ grants, with easy and straightforward applications that should be quick to complete. We hope that they will both serve the community directly, and also encourage genre writers to explore the wide variety of grants, awards, and residencies available in the larger writing community.

**[Race Against Time IV](http://raceagainsttime.io)**

> Now in its fourth year running, the Race Against Time is an annual charity marathon to raise money for the Alzheimer Society of Canada by beating the SNES classic, Chrono Trigger, as many times as possible in 24 hours. This year, the event is running every week until August 11 and 12 for the main event (see website for detailed schedule).

>

> Alzheimer's is a terrible disease that slowly robs those afflicted of their memories, and, eventually, their very sense of being. We are racing to help preserve those memories of loved ones and for a cure to stop it once and for all!

>

> All donations go directly to the Alzheimer Society of Canada.

### Famous Last Words

This week's famous last words around *next week's* fandom, Yuri!!! On ICE.

**T**

What is it that got people in, given the repeated video, audio, short season, etc.?

**Z**

Who is the oldest fan inspired by Yuri On Ice to get into figure skating?

**G**

Was it's integration with social media any part of people being fans of it (e.g. Instagram being featured in the show)?

**Jen**

Will Tanya Harding be participating?

## Where can you find us online?

We are everywhere! Most notably though, we like to hang out in a few places on social media:

- If you want to be part of our podcast (or just want to check us out), we record our podcast LIVE on [twitch.tv](http://twitch.tv/thenickscast) every Monday at 20:00 Eastern Time!

- For all the latest updates, check us out on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/thenickscast) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thenickscast)

- To see the latest hijinx from our conventions or even our daily lives and adventures, check us out on [Instagram](https://instagram.com/thenickscast)

- For our latest convention updates, *Let's Plays*, and other in-real-life video, [check out our YouTube channel](http://youtube.com/thenickscast)

- We're also on [iTunes](https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/fanthropological/id1163621210), and [Google Play](https://play.google.com/music/m/Icmngxz7yhaoivdvivvf6q6c2pu?t=Fanthropological), and would love it if you could leave a review and rating!

- if you want to reach us, and for some reason none of those work for you, try [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

- You can check out [our website](http://thenickscast.com); that will mostly bring you back to this stuff.

- Everything is `thenickscast`, so if you can't find us, go on your social network and search for that!

## What is "Fanthropological"?

How did you read this far without asking this question?!

Fanthropological is an anthropological (ish) podcast where we bring the fan's-eye view to you! Each week, we take a look at a different fandom, dig up interesting background, trivia, and history, and try to get to why it is that people are a fan. We also try to highlight good causes related to that fandom, and find interesting things that fans have created to share those to the world. Each episode is about an hour. Ish.

## Who is "The Nickscast"?

*We* are the Nickscast! Three products of late-80s / early-90s pop culture who love exploring fandom and everything geek ... who also happen to have been best buddies since high school, and all happen to be named Nick. Yes, we are super creative (dare we say, the _most_ creative).

*Ahem*

We are Nick Green, Nick Terwoord, and Nick Zacharewicz: We started the Nickscast as a labour of love, and as a place to entertain and to discuss our love of fans and fandom, and all that is shiny and interesting in that realm. It's what lead us to start our first podcast, our satellite podcasts, Fanthropological, and so much more.

We want to help others learn more about different fandoms, and to create empathy with other fans: We dream of a world where other fans aren't "those Weird-o's", but just folks with different tastes. A world where fandom is full of discourse and analysis, and there are plenty of tools and resources to help. Fans building communities to do good in the world. *Because everyone's a fan.*

## Credits

### Sources

- [Google Trends - Speculative Fiction](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F014dfn)

- [io9 - Why "Speculative Fiction" Is The Coolest Genre Of Them All](https://io9.gizmodo.com/5360387/why-speculative-fiction-is-the-coolest-genre-of-them-all)

- [Wikipedia - Speculative Fiction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculative_fiction)

- [Pan MacMillan - Sexism in Genre Publishing: A Publisher’s Perspective](https://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/science-fiction-and-fantasy/sexism-genre-publishing-publishers-perspective)

- [Jen Frankel - Fanfic to Fiction Writer](http://www.jenfrankel.com/blog/fan-to-fiction-writer/)

- [TV Tropes - Speculative Fiction](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpeculativeFiction)

- [Fanlore - Science Fiction](https://fanlore.org/wiki/Science_Fiction)

- [Fanlore - Spec](https://fanlore.org/wiki/Spec)

- [DIYMFA - Defining Speculative Fiction](https://diymfa.com/writing/defining-speculative-fiction)

- [Jen Frankel - Fanfic to Fiction Writer](http://www.jenfrankel.com/blog/fan-to-fiction-writer/)

- [r/SciFi - Why Has Science Fiction (Or Speculative Fiction in Genral) Always Been The Exception Rather Than Rule in Prose Fiction?](https://www.reddit.com/r/scifi/comments/43adbx/why_has_science_fiction_or_speculative_fiction_in/)

- [r/SciFi - Why Do You Like SciFi?](https://www.reddit.com/r/scifi/comments/nc7hn/why_do_you_like_scifi/)

- [Wikipedia - Speculative Fiction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculative_fiction)

- [Fanlore - Science Fiction](https://fanlore.org/wiki/Science_Fiction)

- [M.G. Herron - What Is Speculative Fiction?](https://mgherron.com/2016/03/what-is-speculative-fiction/)

- [Green Tentacles - What is Speculative Fiction?](http://www.greententacles.com/articles/5/26/)

- [The Guardian - Speculative or Science Fiction? As Margaret Atwood Shows, There Isn't Much Distinction](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/aug/10/speculative-or-science-fiction-as-margaret-atwood-shows-there-isnt-much-distinction)

- [JSTOR - The Uses of Genre and the Classification of Speculative Fiction](https://www.jstor.org/stable/44030329?read-now=1&loggedin=true&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents)

- [Quora - So, SF, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction or Speculative Fiction? And Does It Really Matter.](https://www.quora.com/So-SF-sci-fi-science-fiction-or-speculative-fiction-And-does-it-really-matter)

- [Quora - Should Speculative Fiction Be Treated Seriously?](https://www.quora.com/Should-speculative-fiction-be-treated-seriously)

- [Quora - Why Are the Science Fiction and Fantasy Genres Linked?](https://www.quora.com/Why-are-the-science-fiction-and-fantasy-genres-linked)

- [Scroll.in - Why Speculative Fiction may be the Best Way to Depict Reality](https://scroll.in/article/767824/why-speculative-fiction-may-be-the-best-way-to-depict-reality)

- [io9 - Why Speculative Fiction is the Coolest Genre of Them All](https://io9.gizmodo.com/5360387/why-speculative-fiction-is-the-coolest-genre-of-them-all)

### Music / Sound

- ["Up Against the Wall"](http://teknoaxe.com/Link_Code_3.php?q=1361) by TeknoAXE used under [CC BY 4.0](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

- All other music and sound for this week's episode were provided by Nick Green

How exactly does one find themselves sitting on a toilet in Japan, looking back on a life of Sailor Moon, Akira Toriyama, and Chrono Trigger?

We have quite the story to tell as Nick G and Greg talk about growing up as a fan of Chrono Trigger, its influence on Greg's life, and a little bit about Dragonball, Final Fantasy, and Akira Toriyama along the way!

## Where can I learn more about Greg Werner?

If you want to learn more about Greg Werner and his work, you can check out:

- YouTube: [ochimusha108](http://youtube.com/ochimusha108)

- Twitter: [@ochimusha108](https://twitter.com/ochimusha108)

- One Piece Podcast: [onepiecepodcast.com](http://www.onepiecepodcast.com/)

- One Piece Official Website: [one-piece.com/special/greg](https://one-piece.com/special/greg)

## What is [the Race Against Time (IV)](http://raceagainsttime.io)?

> Now in its fourth year running, the Race Against Time is an annual charity marathon to raise money for the Alzheimer Society of Canada by beating the SNES classic, Chrono Trigger, as many times as possible in 24 hours. This year, the event is running every week until August 11 and 12 for the main event (see website for detailed schedule).

>

> Alzheimer's is a terrible disease that slowly robs those afflicted of their memories, and, eventually, their very sense of being. We are racing to help preserve those memories of loved ones and for a cure to stop it once and for all!

>

> All donations go directly to the Alzheimer Society of Canada.

You can donate right now at [raceagainsttime.io/donate](http://raceagainsttime.io/donate)!

## Sources

- Opening music, ["Diggin' til the Very End"](http://music.djcutman.com/album/volume-iv) by Dj CUTMAN used under [CC BY-NC-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/)

- Ending music, ["Bounty Hunter"](http://music.djcutman.com/album/volume-iv) by Dj CUTMAN used under [CC BY-NC-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/)

We got a stereo, you just got to turn the knob and baby we'll go as far as we can... but we're not garbage men. This week, we have special guest, [Matthew Tyler Di Leo (aka SonicMTD)](https://twitter.com/SonicMTD) to help talk us through the fandom of Scott Pilgrim... fans.

Next week, we have [Jen Frankel, author of the Undead Redhead series](http://www.jenfrankel.com/) to chat with us about fans of speculative fiction!

## Where can I learn more about Matt?

If you'd like to hear more from Matt or check out his work, you're in luck!

- City in Wires, [his band](https://www.facebook.com/CityInWires/)

- His [YouTube](https://youtube.com/SonicMTD)

- His [Twitter](https://twitter.com/SonicMTD)

- His [Facebook](https://facebook.com/SonicMTD)

## Episode outline

### Fandom Facts

**History and Origins:**

> Scott Pilgrim is a series of graphic stories by Bryan Lee O'Malley. The series is about Canadian Scott Pilgrim, a slacker and part-time musician who lives in Toronto, Ontario and plays bass guitar in a band. He falls in love with American delivery girl Ramona Flowers, but must defeat her seven evil exes in order to date her.

>

> The series consists of six digest size black-and-white volumes, released between August 2004 and July 2010, by Portland-based independent comic book publisher Oni Press. It was later republished by Fourth Estate, an imprint of HarperCollins. Full-colour hardback volumes, coloured by Nathan Fairbairn, were released from August 2012 to April 2014.

>

> A film adaptation of the series titled Scott Pilgrim vs. the World starring actor Michael Cera in the title role was released in August 2010. A video game adaptation developed by Ubisoft for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade was released the same month.

>

> — [Wikipedia - Scott Pilgrim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Pilgrim)

**Search Data:**

As far as Google trends data goes, Scott Pilgrim looks like a flash in the pan, and [the movie is a lot more popular than the graphic novel series](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F05j3y0,%2Fm%2F05t0_2v). There is a huge spike in interest (on either graph) around August 2010, then a long tail into the present.

By country, for the graphic novel series, the top ten countries for search volume are: Iceland (by a large margin), Mexico, Chile, Puerto Rico, United States, Philippines, South Korea, Paraguay, Australia.

By country, for the movie, the top ten countries for search volume are: Mexico, Chile, Canada, Puerto Rico, United States, Russia, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom.

**Size of Fandom:**

Based on a few data points...

- According to Oni press, in 2010, and after 6 years, Scott Pilgrim's final volume, _Finest Hour_ had sold over 1 million copies in North America alone ([Comicsbeat](http://www.comicsbeat.com/scott-pilgrims-finest-sales-chart-1-million-in-print/))... so, presumably that gives about one million as one possible estimate

- It has [over 300 000 ratings on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446029/?ref_=tt_urv)

- It has over 12 000 subscribers [on the Scott Pilgrim subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/ScottPilgrim)

- There is a discord server, [_Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Discord_](https://discordapp.com/invite/QzBnDad) which has over 400 members

... so it's probably fair to say that there are _tens of thousands of fans_.

**Fan Demographics:**

Looking at the [ratings from IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446029/ratings?ref_=tt_ov_rt), we can get an extremely loose sense of the demographics (for the movie at least):

- *Age*: Predominantly folks between ages 18-29 (38%) and 30-44 (37%)

- *Gender*: Predominantly male (68%) as compared to female (15%); data is missing for other genders

**Fast Facts:**

- There are about 150 Scott Pilgrim works on [Archive of Our Own](https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Scott%20Pilgrim%20-%20All%20Media%20Types/works)

- During its opening weekend, the movie raised $10.5m at the box office... significantly less than the $60m the movie cost to make

### [Last Episode's](http://fanthropological.com/e/#-name) Famous Last Words

**T**

How popular is Scott, as a character within the fandom?

**G**

Is the music portion of Scott Pilgrim as important to the GN fans as it is to fans of the movie?

**Z**

How divisive was the movie?

**Lauren**

What did you think of Lost at Sea?? Do you want to talk about Lost at Sea with Lauren?

### This week's spotlight

**[Race Against Time IV](http://raceagainsttime.io)**

> Now in its fourth year running, the Race Against Time is an annual charity marathon to raise money for the Alzheimer Society of Canada by beating the SNES classic, Chrono Trigger, as many times as possible in 24 hours. This year, the event is running every week until August 11 and 12 for the main event (see website for detailed schedule).

>

> Alzheimer's is a terrible disease that slowly robs those afflicted of their memories, and, eventually, their very sense of being. We are racing to help preserve those memories of loved ones and for a cure to stop it once and for all!

>

> All donations go directly to the Alzheimer Society of Canada.

### Famous Last Words

This week's famous last words around *next week's* fandom, speculative fiction!

**T**

Is the distinction between speculative fiction and genre fiction substantial?

**Z**

Is speculative fiction a label from authors, publisher, fans...?

**G**

I speculative fiction meant to be cautionary? Is it all black mirror?

**Matt**

"Avenge me"

Where does speculative fiction tow the line; when does something stop qualifying as speculative fiction?

## Where can you find us online?

We are everywhere! Most notably though, we like to hang out in a few places on social media:

- If you want to be part of our podcast (or just want to check us out), we record our podcast LIVE on [twitch.tv](http://twitch.tv/thenickscast) every Monday at 20:00 Eastern Time!

- For all the latest updates, check us out on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/thenickscast) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thenickscast)

- To see the latest hijinx from our conventions or even our daily lives and adventures, check us out on [Instagram](https://instagram.com/thenickscast)

- For our latest convention updates, *Let's Plays*, and other in-real-life video, [check out our YouTube channel](http://youtube.com/thenickscast)

- We're also on [iTunes](https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/fanthropological/id1163621210), and [Google Play](https://play.google.com/music/m/Icmngxz7yhaoivdvivvf6q6c2pu?t=Fanthropological), and would love it if you could leave a review and rating!

- if you want to reach us, and for some reason none of those work for you, try [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

- You can check out [our website](http://thenickscast.com); that will mostly bring you back to this stuff.

- Everything is `thenickscast`, so if you can't find us, go on your social network and search for that!

## What is "Fanthropological"?

How did you read this far without asking this question?!

Fanthropological is an anthropological (ish) podcast where we bring the fan's-eye view to you! Each week, we take a look at a different fandom, dig up interesting background, trivia, and history, and try to get to why it is that people are a fan. We also try to highlight good causes related to that fandom, and find interesting things that fans have created to share those to the world. Each episode is about an hour. Ish.

## Who is "The Nickscast"?

*We* are the Nickscast! Three products of late-80s / early-90s pop culture who love exploring fandom and everything geek ... who also happen to have been best buddies since high school, and all happen to be named Nick. Yes, we are super creative (dare we say, the _most_ creative).

*Ahem*

We are Nick Green, Nick Terwoord, and Nick Zacharewicz: We started the Nickscast as a labour of love, and as a place to entertain and to discuss our love of fans and fandom, and all that is shiny and interesting in that realm. It's what lead us to start our first podcast, our satellite podcasts, Fanthropological, and so much more.

We want to help others learn more about different fandoms, and to create empathy with other fans: We dream of a world where other fans aren't "those Weird-o's", but just folks with different tastes. A world where fandom is full of discourse and analysis, and there are plenty of tools and resources to help. Fans building communities to do good in the world. *Because everyone's a fan.*

## Thanks

Special thanks to Matt for making the time _to_ chat with us, AND for providing [his own show notes for this episode](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Bhqcl27DhtiuDixl8_6nDf2QZckTAJuLZG5Km-e1w5M/edit)! Also, thanks _from_ Matt to the following folks (many of whom were part of early Scott Pilgrim fan communities):

- Rebecca Blanchard

- [Erin Encheta](http://aancheta.com)

- MaddoxFan

- Media Mike of What To Play Gaming for his series on _Scott Pilgrim vs The World_

## Credits

### Sources

- [Wikipedia - Scott Pilgrim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Pilgrim)

- [Comics Beat - Scott Pilgrim's finest sales chart: 1 million in print](http://www.comicsbeat.com/scott-pilgrims-finest-sales-chart-1-million-in-print/)

- [IMDB - Scott Pilgrim vs. the World](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446029/ratings?ref_=tt_ov_rt)

- [Reddit - Scott Pilgrim](https://www.reddit.com/r/ScottPilgrim)

- [The Telegraph - Scott Pilgrim: where are all his geeky fans?](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-blog/7968139/Scott-Pilgrim-where-are-all-his-geeky-fans.html)

- [Google Trends - Scott Pilgrim](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F05j3y0,%2Fm%2F05t0_2v)

- [io9 - Scott Pilgrim author says it "sucks" that the story was "so white"](https://io9.gizmodo.com/scott-pilgrim-author-says-it-sucks-that-the-movie-was-575876991)

- [r/ScottPilgrim - Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/ScottPilgrim/comments/4p6gpv/scott_pilgrim_vs_the_world_the_game_faq/)

- [A Forever Quest - Graphic Novel Review: Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O’Malley](http://aforeverquest.com/2017/04/29/graphic-novel-review-lost-sea-bryan-lee-omalley/)

- [Quora - What-do-Fans-of-the-Scott-Pilgrim-vs-the-World-Comic-Think-of-Mary-Elizabeth-Winsteads-Performance-in-the Film?](https://www.quora.com/What-do-fans-of-the-Scott-Pilgrim-vs-the-World-comic-think-of-Mary-Elizabeth-Winsteads-performance-in-the-film)

- [Quora - What Made Michael Cera Perfect for the Role of Scott Pilgrim?](https://www.quora.com/What-made-Michael-Cera-perfect-for-the-role-of-Scott-Pilgrim)

- [Quora - Why Did the Movie Scott Pilgrim Versus the World get Such Good Reviews?](https://www.quora.com/Why-did-the-movie-Scott-Pilgrim-Versus-the-World-get-such-good-reviews)

- [Quora - Why Does Scott Pilgrim vs. The World have a Cult Following?](https://www.quora.com/Why-does-Scott-Pilgrim-vs-the-World-have-a-cult-following)

- [Quora - Why Has Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Performed Poorly at the Box Office?](https://www.quora.com/Why-has-Scott-Pilgrim-vs-the-World-performed-poorly-at-the-box-office)

- [r/FanTheories - The Moral of Scott Pilgrim](https://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/comments/12j970/the_moral_of_scott_pilgrim/)

- [r/Movies - I Didn't Get the Hype with Scott Pilgrim vs The World - Am I Missing Something?](https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/7ild3r/i_didnt_get_the_hype_with_scott_pilgrim_vs_the/)

- [r/Movies - Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a Perfect Film.](https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/8k2jq6/scott_pilgrim_vs_the_world_is_a_perfect_film/)

- [r/Movies - What's Your Opinion on 'Scott Pilgrim vs the World'?](https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/3jw3pk/whats_your_opinion_on_scott_pilgrim_vs_the_world/)

- [r/ScottPilgrim - A Question for Fans of Scott Pilgrim Fan Fiction.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ScottPilgrim/comments/3v0kh3/a_question_for_fans_of_scott_pilgrim_fan_fiction/)

- [r/ScottPilgrim - What Drew You to the Scott Pilgrim Series?](https://www.reddit.com/r/ScottPilgrim/comments/4vljr9/what_drew_you_to_the_scott_pilgrim_series/)

- [r/ScottPilgrim - Why Scott Pilgrim is Oane of the Greatest Stories of the Time. And Random Discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/ScottPilgrim/comments/1kt5c1/why_scott_pilgrim_is_one_of_the_greatest_stories/)

- [Things Mean A Lot - Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O’Malley](http://www.thingsmeanalot.com/2009/05/lost-at-sea-by-bryan-lee-omalley.html)

- [Watchman Comic Movie Forum - Bryan Lee O' Malley's Lost at Sea](http://www.watchmencomicmovie.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=4670)

### Music / Sound

- ["End of Year"](http://teknoaxe.com/Link_Code_4.php?q=1355&Genre=Rock) by TeknoAXE used under [CC BY 4.0](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

- All other music and sound for this week's episode were provided by Nick Green!

Take part A1-2 and add part D3-5, then turn the middle part top-wise?? This week, we're talking about the world of Gundam plastic models, AKA Gunpla, with special guest, Lauren Orsini—_[The Otaku Journalist](https://www.otakujournalist.com/)_ and author of _[Gunpla 101](https://www.gunpla101.com/)_!

Next week: Are you hearing voices? Animal noises? The creme-de-la-creme? The feminine abyss? I'm not sure what any of that means, but we'll be hear to talk Scott Pilgrim with a special guest!

## Where can I learn more about Lauren Orsini?

If you want to learn more about Lauren, you can [follow her on Twitter](https;//twitter.com/laureninspace), or read about more of her work on [The Otaku Journalist](https://www.otakujournalist.com/), _[Gunpla 101](https://www.gunpla101.com/), or the [Gunpla 101 twitter](https;//twitter.com/gunpla101)!

## Episode outline

### Fandom Facts

**History and Origins:**

While doing the research for this week's topic and unearthing the history of Gunpla, we inevitably were lead to our guests on words. From [Gunpla101.com's "the History of Gunpla"](https://www.gunpla101.com/the-history-of-gunpla/):

> Mobile Suit Gundam, the first Gundam series ever, aired in 1979.

>

> Less than a year later, the first Gunpla kit appeared. And for the past 30 years, people of all ages have continued to enjoy this unusual hobby.

> ...

> - The word “Gunpla” was coined at the same time as the first kit. Like “cosplay,” it’s a Japanese amalgamation of two English words—“Gundam” and “plastic,” as in “plastic model. English speakers will interchange this with “Gundam models,” but we usually say Gunpla because it’s shorter.

> - The first Gunpla, released in July 1980, cost just 300 yen, or about $3. Obviously, it was a kit for making the very first Mobile Suit Gundam model.

> - The earliest Gunpla kits, released between 1980 and 1989, are nothing like the Gunpla we build today. Instead of snapping together, you had to glue them together with cement. Even trickier, they were all one color, and you’d need to paint them first! You’d get a rigid, hardly poseable model for your reward. Today these are called FG (First Grade) kits.

> - The first High Grade was released in 1990 and cost 1000 yen, or about $10. As would become a tradition, the first model of any grade was the original Mobile Suit Gundam. Today High Grade is synonymous with “cheap and easy,” but in 1990 it was considered a more detailed, poseable grade of Gunpla.

> - The first Master Grade was released in 1995 and cost 2500 yen, or about $25. It is the first time the original Mobile Suit Gundam was named correctly, as the RX-78-2. The grade was originally designed to be used for a select number of models to commemorate Gundam’s 15th anniversary, but the popularity of these more accurate models is why they’re still being manufactured to this day.

> - The first Perfect Grade Gunpla appeared in 1998 and cost 12,000 yen or about $120. Today’s Perfect Grades make this look cheap, often topping $200 or more. Perfect grades come in 1/60 scale and include so much detail that they can take weeks to build. They may even come with wiring for LEDs or other electronic features.

> ...

> - The first Real Grade showed up just recently, in 2010. It was designed to be a step up from High Grade in terms of realism, without being as complicated as a Master Grade.

**Search Data:**

Looking at some of the [Google Trends data since 2004](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F077wn1), Gunpla has gained some popularity, and is relatively stable in terms of search volume having grown by 50% since 2004. There appears to be some precipitating event around September 2013 where interest picked up quite a bit, possibly in relation to _[Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Suit_Gundam:_The_Origin)_ being released in North America? It's unclear.

[// Gundam build fighters - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gundam_Build_Fighters]: #

The top ten countries by search volume are: Japan (by a huge margin), Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, China, Indonesia, and Taiwan. Canada is 11th, and the United States is 13th.

**Size of Fandom:**

Based on a number of different sources:

- The Gunpla Subreddit has over 48 000 subscribers

- The Advanced Gunpla Subreddit has over 3000 subscribers

- "As of 2015, Bandai has sold an estimate 450 million units, with nearly 2,000 different Gundam plastic models" [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gundam_model). A simple calculation of units per model gives us over 225 000 units per model (and a good rough estimate of the number of fans).

It's safe to say that there are probably _more than 100 000 fans_.

**Fan Demographics:**

We don't have data for this week's fandom, but we do have some data of fans of Gundam from the Gunpla subreddit, which is close (it's at least the same sample population). [From a survey conducted by MrUsamaKhan](https://www.reddit.com/r/Gunpla/comments/4i4xpx/results_the_definitive_gundam_survey_2016_initial/)...

- Most folks got into Gundam via the Anime (79.7%), but a large percentage also got into it via Gunpla (13.5%)

- _Gundam Wing_ was the first Gundam anime that most saw (42.1%) followed by _Mobile Suit Gundam_ (14.2%), and _Mobile Suit Gundam SEED/SEED Destiny_ (12.7%)

There was also a link to [Gunpla demographics in Japan](https://imgur.com/1Bx4g3f) which includes some age data and a comparison of 2010 to 2015 (along with when different Gundam series were released):

- _Age:_ The largest group is folks ages 40-50 (30%) followed by folks ages 30-40 (22%) then folks age 20-30 (20%). It looks like, for the most part, folks are growing up with the hobby, but also, younger folks are getting into it too!

From Lauren's own Gunpla 101 stats:

- _Age:_ About 33% are ages 25 - 30 (the largest group) followed by folks 18-24 (Google Analytics does not report on folks younger than age 18)

- _Gender:_ Fairly even, with 54% male and 46% female

[// kept getting sucked into Lauren's articles]: #

**Fanac Fast Facts:**

- There are over 6300 works on [Archive Of Our Own](https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Gundam%20*a*%20Related%20Fandoms/works) in the Gundam series:

- _Age ratings:_ Teen and up (1900+), General Audience (1700+), Explicit (1200+)

- _Categories:_ M/M (3700+), Gen (1500+), F/M (1200+)

- _Fandoms_: Gundam Wing (5100+), Gundam 00 (400+), Gundam Seed (200+)

- Japanese researchers discovered in 2005 that in a study of university students, building Gunpla before doing mathematical drills produced a significant improvement in completion time.

### [Last Episode's](http://fanthropological.com/e/366e7273a4b538/) Famous Last Words

**Michael**

How big can the models get?

[//A 1:1 scale model exists in Odaiba, and 1:6 or 1:12 promotional sizes exist]: #

**G**

Are there enthusiasts who don't care about the series at all?

**T**

What are the forbidden techniques of Gunpla? (think about Lego)

**Z**

Gunpla is the modern day ship-in-a-bottle building.

### This week's spotlight

**[Gunpla Builders World Cup](http://bandai-hobby.net/GBWC/)**

> “Gunpla Builders World Cup” is the official Gunpla global tournament presented by BANDAI where modelers around the world show off their completed Gundam models. The competition determines the greatest Gunpla builder in the world and let creators fight for the title of Gunpla World Cup Champion!

If you happen to be at [Otakuthon](http://www.otakuthon.com/2018/home/) next week, you can probably participate in the Canadian semi-finals portion of the GBWC!

OR if you happen to be at [Otakon](https://www.otakon.com/), you can check out Lauren's panel, _39 Years of Gundam Anime_, or the _Art in Gundam_ panel.

**[Race Against Time IV](http://raceagainsttime.io)**

> Now in its fourth year running, the Race Against Time is an annual charity marathon to raise money for the Alzheimer Society of Canada by beating the SNES classic, Chrono Trigger, as many times as possible in 24 hours. This year, the event is running every week until August 11 and 12 for the main event (see website for detailed schedule).

>

> Alzheimer's is a terrible disease that slowly robs those afflicted of their memories, and, eventually, their very sense of being. We are racing to help preserve those memories of loved ones and for a cure to stop it once and for all!

>

> All donations go directly to the Alzheimer Society of Canada.

### Famous Last Words

This week's famous last words around *next week's* fandom, Scott Pilgrim!

**T**

How popular is Scott, as a character within the fandom?

**G**

Is the music portion of Scott Pilgrim as important to the GN fans as it is to fans of the movie?

**Z**

How divisive was the movie?

**Lauren**

What did you think of Lost at Sea?? Do you want to talk about Lost at Sea with Lauren?

[// Hope Larson - graphic novels]: #

## Where can you find us online?

We are everywhere! Most notably though, we like to hang out in a few places on social media:

- If you want to be part of our podcast (or just want to check us out), we record our podcast LIVE on [twitch.tv](http://twitch.tv/thenickscast) every Monday at 20:00 Eastern Time!

- For all the latest updates, check us out on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/thenickscast) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thenickscast)

- To see the latest hijinx from our conventions or even our daily lives and adventures, check us out on [Instagram](https://instagram.com/thenickscast)

- For our latest convention updates, *Let's Plays*, and other in-real-life video, [check out our YouTube channel](http://youtube.com/thenickscast)

- We're also on [iTunes](https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/fanthropological/id1163621210), and [Google Play](https://play.google.com/music/m/Icmngxz7yhaoivdvivvf6q6c2pu?t=Fanthropological), and would love it if you could leave a review and rating!

- if you want to reach us, and for some reason none of those work for you, try [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

- You can check out [our website](http://thenickscast.com); that will mostly bring you back to this stuff.

- Everything is `thenickscast`, so if you can't find us, go on your social network and search for that!

## What is "Fanthropological"?

How did you read this far without asking this question?!

Fanthropological is an anthropological (ish) podcast where we bring the fan's-eye view to you! Each week, we take a look at a different fandom, dig up interesting background, trivia, and history, and try to get to why it is that people are a fan. We also try to highlight good causes related to that fandom, and find interesting things that fans have created to share those to the world. Each episode is about an hour. Ish.

## Who is "The Nickscast"?

*We* are the Nickscast! Three products of late-80s / early-90s pop culture who love exploring fandom and everything geek ... who also happen to have been best buddies since high school, and all happen to be named Nick. Yes, we are super creative (dare we say, the _most_ creative).

*Ahem*

We are Nick Green, Nick Terwoord, and Nick Zacharewicz: We started the Nickscast as a labour of love, and as a place to entertain and to discuss our love of fans and fandom, and all that is shiny and interesting in that realm. It's what lead us to start our first podcast, our satellite podcasts, Fanthropological, and so much more.

We want to help others learn more about different fandoms, and to create empathy with other fans: We dream of a world where other fans aren't "those Weird-o's", but just folks with different tastes. A world where fandom is full of discourse and analysis, and there are plenty of tools and resources to help. Fans building communities to do good in the world. *Because everyone's a fan.*

## Thanks

Special thanks to Lauren Orsini for making the time to chat with us, especially as she was in the midst of a move when we had chatted with her!

## Credits

### Sources

- [Wikipedia - Gundam Models](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gundam_model)

- [Gunpla 101 - The History of Gunpla](https://www.gunpla101.com/the-history-of-gunpla/)

- [Wikipedia - Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Suit_Gundam:_The_Origin)

- [r/Gunpla - [Results] The Definitive Gundam Survey 2016 - Initial Results](https://www.reddit.com/r/Gunpla/comments/4i4xpx/results_the_definitive_gundam_survey_2016_initial/)

- [Archive of Our Own - Gundam Series and related fandoms](https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Gundam%20*a*%20Related%20Fandoms/works)

- [Prezi - Model kit building and its effect on the brain](https://prezi.com/aoqux9zworsg/model-kit-building-and-its-effect-on-the-brain/)

- [Crunchyroll - Social Media Falls In Love With "Gundam" Relationship Story](http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2017/11/22/social-media-falls-in-love-with-gundam-relationship-story)

- [Gunpla 101 - Trust You: The Making of a PG Gundam 00 Diorama](https://www.gunpla101.com/trust-you-the-making-of-a-pg-gundam-00-diorama/)

- [Gunpla 101 - How Gunpla First Came To America](https://www.gunpla101.com/gunpla-first-came-america/)

- [Wikipedia - Impossible Bottle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impossible_bottle)

- [Instructables - Building a Ship in a Bottle](http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-A-Ship-In-A-Bottle/)

- [YouTube - Putting a Ship Into a Bottle](https://youtu.be/sk1IRhmcVR4)

- [Marine Insight - Everything About Ship in a Bottle - The Famous Nautical Gift](https://www.marineinsight.com/recreation/everything-about-ship-in-a-bottle-the-famous-nautical-gift/)

- [Folk Art in Bottles - The History of Ships in Bottles](https://www.folkartinbottles.com/other-media/articles/68-history-of-ships-in-bottles-by-bob-de-jongste)

- [Wikipedia - Gundman Model](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gundam_model)

- [The Gundam Wiki - Gunpla](http://gundam.wikia.com/wiki/Gunpla)

- [Gunpla 101 - About Us](https://www.gunpla101.com/about-us/)

- [Anime Amino - Why Build GUNPLA? (An Introduction to Gundam Model Building)](https://aminoapps.com/c/anime/page/blog/why-build-gunpla-an-introduction-to-gundam-model-building/z2tx_u0eGdMkzJmL1kEBNN6zj0K8n3)

- [The Escapist - Scientist Says Building Gundam Models Makes You Smarter](http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/101126-Scientist-Says-Building-Gundam-Models-Makes-You-Smarter)

- [FROM JAPAN Blog - Why Is Gunpla So Addictive?](https://blog.fromjapan.co.jp/en/anime/why-is-gunpla-so-addictive.html)

- [Quora - Can You Buy Gunpla When You Become Adult in Japan. And Do "Most" People Look Down on You?](https://www.quora.com/Can-you-buy-Gunpla-when-you-become-adult-in-Japan-And-do-most-people-look-down-on-you)

- [r/Gunpla - Why Do You Build Gunpla?](https://www.reddit.com/r/Gunpla/comments/4awyu9/why_do_you_build_gunpla/)

- [r/Gunpla - Dear r/Gunpla, Thank You](https://www.reddit.com/r/Gunpla/comments/8g4lp5/community_dear_rgunpla_thank_you/)

- [r/Gunpla - Does Anybody Else NOT Watch Gundam?](https://www.reddit.com/r/Gunpla/comments/8ex29b/does_anybody_else_not_watch_gundam/)

- [r/Gunpla - Thoughts on SD Gundams](https://www.reddit.com/r/Gunpla/comments/316mu0/thoughts_on_sd_gundams/)

- [Shaolin Wahnam Institute Forum - Model Building, Another Form of Meditation?](https://www.wongkiewkit.com/forum/showthread.php?9613-Model-building-another-Form-of-Meditation)

### Music / Sound

- ["Conjuring a New Enemy"](http://teknoaxe.com/Link_Code_3.php?q=1067) by TeknoAXE used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

- All other music and sound for this week's episode were provided by Nick Green!

How does a TV show from Japan influence the lives of the folks watching them? It might just lead you to starting a symphony! Nick T has the opportunity to talk with Bobbie Lee Crow III, the artistic director of iconiQ and the conductor of SeraSymphony and his experiences growing up as a fan of Sailor Moon and how that fused with his love of music. You can also find out how Sailor Moon helped him get into college!

## Where can I learn more about Bobbie Lee Crow III?

> Conductor, composer, and cellist Bobbie Lee Crow III has worked alongside singer-songwriter Blake Pfeil, ABC’s X-Factor finalist Khaya, Academy Award-winning director Tom Hooper, Japanese pop singer KIYOTAKA, and Tony Award-winner Patina Miller. His music credits include composition for the webseries How to Make It Big and the musical The Tale of Murasaki, score preparation for the film Denial, and performance on the Primetime Emmy-nominated series Elementary. An avid anime fan, Bobbie is the founder and Artistic Director of the anime, cartoon, and video game chamber ensemble iconiQ The Soundtrack Orchestra. He currently works at multi-award-winning composer Howard Shore’s music publishing company.

>

> — [SeraSymphony](http://www.serasymphony.com/)

If you want to learn more about Bobbie Lee Crow III and his work, you can check out:

- The SeraSymphony: [http://www.serasymphony.com/](http://www.serasymphony.com/)

- iconiQ The Soundtrack Orchestra:

- YouTube: [iconiquestra](http://youtube.com/iconiquestra)

- Facebook: [@iconiquestra](https://www.facebook.com/iconiquestra/)

- Twitter: [@iconiquestra](https://twitter.com/iconiquestra)

- Website: [http://www.iconiquestra.org/](http://www.iconiquestra.org/)

## Sources

- Opening music, ["Fight! Sailor Scouts"](http://www.serasymphony.com/store/serasymphony-ii-half-moon/) by SeraSymphony; Music by Bob Summers; © BLC3Music Services, LLC

- Ending music, ["Bounty Hunter"](http://music.djcutman.com/album/volume-iv) by Dj CUTMAN used under [CC BY-NC-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/)

This week, we're teaming up to get a high score with Michael Kimball as we blast into the world of... Galaga?! What is it about the classic arcade game that has held its allure for more than thirty years? And where is the fandom heading?

Next week, we move from space fighter to space _robots_ to talk about Gunpla with [the Otaku Journalist, Lauren Orsini](https://www.otakujournalist.com/)!

## Where can I learn more about Michael Kimball?

You can learn more about Michael by [checking out his website](http://www.michael-kimball.com/) or perhaps even by reading his book, [_Galaga_](https://bossfightbooks.com/collections/books/products/galaga-by-michael-kimball) published by Boss Fight books!

## Episode outline

### Fandom Facts

**History and Origins:**

> Galaga is a Japanese arcade game developed and published by Namco Japan and by Midway in North America in 1981. It is the sequel to 1979's Galaxian. The gameplay of Galaga puts the player in control of a spacecraft which is situated at the bottom of the screen, with enemy aliens arriving in formation at the beginning of a stage, either trying to destroy, collide with, or capture the spaceship, with the player progressing every time alien forces are vanquished.

>

> — [Wikipedia - Galaga](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaga)

The game has been re-released and sequeled multiple times, with at least twenty different games existing in its release history including tie-in versions for popular anime _Space Dandy_ and fighting game series _Tekken_.

**Size of Fandom:**

Estimating the number of fans is always difficult. Using a few data points that we have:

- The [Galaga subreddit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaga) has about 140 subscribers

- The [Arcade subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/cade/) has over 22 000 subscribers

- The [Retrogaming subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/retrogaming/) has almost 63 000 subscribers

- Two remixes on [OverClocked Remixes](http://ocremix.org/game/192/galaga-arc)

- [300 000 people](http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-bc-as--new-zealand-galaga-wars-20180504-story.html) tuned in to watch a livestream of a Galaga tournament

Given such a wide range of values, the safest estimate probably puts the number of fans _in the thousands_.

**Fast Facts:**

- Archive Of Our Own and FanFiction.net have about 60 fanfics combined that reference Galaga, the majority of which involve "Galaga Guy" from the first Avengers movie; even DeviantArt returns a scant almost 3000 results

- The 2007 ABC series, _Lost_, features a submarine named after the game

> Variety reports **Galaga Chronicles is being developed by The Nuttery Entertainment, who reached an agreement with the original creators, Bandai Namco. The firm will be responsible for developing a story and characters for the Galaga series for the first time in its over 30 year history**. No official word yet on where the animated series is set to land if it's completed and greenlit, but it's being reported the series and other Galaga related projects the company is working on will be cut across various platforms. The project is still very early on in development, so no release date has been given as of yet.

>

> — [Cinemablend - Galaga Might Get A TV Show, And Yes, We Mean That Galaga](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/1683990/galaga-might-get-a-tv-show-and-yes-we-mean-that-galaga)

### [Last Episode's](http://fanthropological.com/e/#-name) Famous Last Words

**Justus**

Given the age of Galaga and the fact that there haven't been that many remakes over the years... why Galaga? What is it about that game that lends itself to the longevity of the fandom?

[// Why are folks still a fan?]: #

[// I am also curious about this]: #

**T**

How does the community stay together, given how small it is?

[// I found an official forum, but it was almost dead?]: #

**G**

Is there an aspect to Galaga fandom that is non-competitive?

**Z**

Is there fanfiction for Galaga? Specifically, written fanfiction.

### This week's spotlight

**[Score Wars](https://scorewars.com/)**

> Score Wars is a new live-streamed video gaming tournament presented by Meow Wolf. For our first-annual Score Wars, we’re bringing together the best Galaga players on the planet for an epic four-day throwdown to smash world records and crown a new Galaga champ!

In addition to holding a livestreamed Galaga tournament (with ten elite players competing for $10 000), the event also had an amateur competition and a number of other arcade game cabinets and celebrity guests.

**[Boss Fight Books](https://bossfightbooks.com/collections/books/products/galaga-by-michael-kimball)

**[One-hour MFA](http://www.michael-kimball.com/the-one-hour-mfa-in-fiction/)**

**[Race Against Time IV](http://raceagainsttime.io)**

> Now in its fourth year running, the Race Against Time is an annual charity marathon to raise money for the Alzheimer Society of Canada by beating the SNES classic, Chrono Trigger, as many times as possible in 24 hours. This year, the event is running every week until August 11 and 12 for the main event (see website for detailed schedule).

>

> Alzheimer's is a terrible disease that slowly robs those afflicted of their memories, and, eventually, their very sense of being. We are racing to help preserve those memories of loved ones and for a cure to stop it once and for all!

>

> All donations go directly to the Alzheimer Society of Canada.

### Famous Last Words

This week's famous last words around *next week's* fandom, Gunpla!

**Michael**

How big can the models get?

**G**

Are there enthusiasts who don't care about the series at all?

**T**

What are the forbidden techniques of Gunpla? (think about Lego)

**Z**

Gunpla is the modern day ship-in-a-bottle building.

## Where can you find us online?

We are everywhere! Most notably though, we like to hang out in a few places on social media:

- If you want to be part of our podcast (or just want to check us out), we record our podcast LIVE on [twitch.tv](http://twitch.tv/thenickscast) every Monday at 20:00 Eastern Time!

- For all the latest updates, check us out on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/thenickscast) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thenickscast)

- To see the latest hijinx from our conventions or even our daily lives and adventures, check us out on [Instagram](https://instagram.com/thenickscast)

- For our latest convention updates, *Let's Plays*, and other in-real-life video, [check out our YouTube channel](http://youtube.com/thenickscast)

- We're also on [iTunes](https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/fanthropological/id1163621210), and [Google Play](https://play.google.com/music/m/Icmngxz7yhaoivdvivvf6q6c2pu?t=Fanthropological), and would love it if you could leave a review and rating!

- if you want to reach us, and for some reason none of those work for you, try [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

- You can check out [our website](http://thenickscast.com); that will mostly bring you back to this stuff.

- Everything is `thenickscast`, so if you can't find us, go on your social network and search for that!

## What is "Fanthropological"?

How did you read this far without asking this question?!

Fanthropological is an anthropological (ish) podcast where we bring the fan's-eye view to you! Each week, we take a look at a different fandom, dig up interesting background, trivia, and history, and try to get to why it is that people are a fan. We also try to highlight good causes related to that fandom, and find interesting things that fans have created to share those to the world. Each episode is about an hour. Ish.

## Who is "The Nickscast"?

*We* are the Nickscast! Three products of late-80s / early-90s pop culture who love exploring fandom and everything geek ... who also happen to have been best buddies since high school, and all happen to be named Nick. Yes, we are super creative (dare we say, the _most_ creative).

*Ahem*

We are Nick Green, Nick Terwoord, and Nick Zacharewicz: We started the Nickscast as a labour of love, and as a place to entertain and to discuss our love of fans and fandom, and all that is shiny and interesting in that realm. It's what lead us to start our first podcast, our satellite podcasts, Fanthropological, and so much more.

We want to help others learn more about different fandoms, and to create empathy with other fans: We dream of a world where other fans aren't "those Weird-o's", but just folks with different tastes. A world where fandom is full of discourse and analysis, and there are plenty of tools and resources to help. Fans building communities to do good in the world. *Because everyone's a fan.*

## Thanks

Special thanks to Michael, for working with us to sort out all the technical issues before the call!

## Credits

### Sources

- [Wikipedia - Galaga](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaga)

- [Google Trends - Galaga vs Space Invaders](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F02xmmk,%2Fm%2F0jvd8)

- [Chicago Tribune - New Zealander 1st ever 'Galaga' arcade game World Champion](http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-bc-as--new-zealand-galaga-wars-20180504-story.html)

- [UGSF - Galaga](http://ugsf-series.com/en/#galaga)

- [Cinemablend - Galaga Might Get A TV Show, And Yes, We Mean That Galaga](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/1683990/galaga-might-get-a-tv-show-and-yes-we-mean-that-galaga)

- Boss Fights Books' [_Galaga_ by Michael Kimball](https://bossfightbooks.com/collections/books/products/galaga-by-michael-kimball)

- [Imgur - Galaga Comic](https://imgur.com/gallery/zf9lx)

- [Wikipedia - Galaga](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaga)

- [Fanfiction.net - Playing Galaga Is the Way to Meet Your Soulmate](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11032322/1/playing-galaga-is-the-way-to-meet-your-soulmate)

- [Fanfiction.net - Welcome to Namco High!](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9854222/1/Welcome-to-Namco-High)

- [Fanfiction.net - Galaga: Rival's Story](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2979763/1/Galaga-Rival-s-Story)

- [Fanfiction.net - Search: “Galaga”](https://www.fanfiction.net/search/?keywords=galaga&ready=1&type=story)

- [Archive of Our Own - Works Matching “Galaga”](https://archiveofourown.org/works/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&work_search%5Bquery%5D=galaga)

- [Archive of Our Own- Sizzling Love for the Lonely Hearts](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7013572/chapters/15969964)

- [r/Galaga - I Record a Song About Growing Up Playing Galaga](https://www.reddit.com/r/Galaga/comments/83lvin/i_recorded_a_song_about_growing_up_playing_galaga/)

- [r/Gaming - My Son got 431,980 Points and the Local High Score on Galaga. As a Geek Dad and Old School Gamer, This Makes me so Proud.](https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/efa17/my_son_got_431980_points_and_the_local_high_score/)

- [Plasma Sky - Plasma Sky Game for iOS and Android](http://plasma-sky.com/)

- [Destructoid - A Drug-Addled Alec Baldwin's Refuge? Why, Galaga, Of Course](https://www.destructoid.com/a-drug-addled-alec-baldwin-s-refuge-why-galaga-of-course-118295.phtml)

- [NZHerald - New Zealander Andrew Barrow Crowned Galaga World Champ](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12045360)

- [Meow Wolf - Score Wars Record Setters, Galaga Champs and the Years to Come](https://meowwolf.com/2018/04/06/score-wars-world-records-galaga/)

- [RePlay Magazine - Galaga Turns 35; Fan Content Expands Its Universe](http://www.replaymag.com/galaga-turns-35-fan-content-expands-its-universe/)

- [GalagaChronicles.com - Home](http://www.galagachronicles.com/)

### Music / Sound

- ["Chiptune Frontiers"](http://teknoaxe.com/Link_Code_4.php?q=592&Genre=Eight) by TeknoAXE used under [CC BY 4.0](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

- All other music and sound for this week's episode were provided by Nick Green!

Oh no! We've been transported to another world where podcasters fight in some sort of Battle Royale (and also Z has been turned into a washing machine)?! This week, we're talking about the fascinating fandom that is Light Novel fans, with special guest, [Justus R. Stone](justusrstone.com)!

Next week, we'll be going to another other world... in ... space? Talking about... Galaga?!

## Where can I learn more about Justus R. Stone?

[Justus R. Stone](justusrstone.com) is the author of the apocalyptic fiction series, The Bleeding Worlds, and has a podcast ([Light Novel Podcast](lightnovelpodcast.com)) and [YouTube channel](http://youtube.com/justusrstone) dedicated to light novels.

You can also find him on Twitter ([@justusrstone](http://twitter.com/justusrstone)), Instagram ([@justusrstone](http://instagram.com/justusrstone)) and Facebook (... [@justusrstone](http://facebook.com/justusrstone)).

## Episode outline

### Fandom Facts

**History and Origins:**

Light Novels are short (approximately 50 000 words), Japanese novels primarily targeted at high- and middle-school students which are often accompanied by manga- or anime-style illustrations. The "light" in the name actually comes from the lack of hard-to-read kanji (ideographic characters in Japanese).

Light novels are sort of the evolution of pulp novels and magazines in Japan: Somewhere in the 1970s, many pulp magazines had started to move away from classic-style covers towards more anime and manga style covers and including illustrations at the beginning of stories.

In the 1980s, novels like _The Heroic Legend of Arslan_ and _Record of Lodoss War_ took a hold of audience, as did _Slayers_ and the _Boogiepop_ series in the 1990s (note that many of these were turned into anime). Interest in light novels really took off in the mid-2000s with the success of the _Haruhi Suzumiya_ series.

**Search Data:**

By Google Trends search volume, [Light Novels have become much, much more popular since 2004](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F06b_0_) and are arguably the most popular they have ever been. Since 2006, they have been on a steady climb upwards with exception to the last few years where interest has been a bit flat. There was a sharp increase in interest between February to August 2015, but we couldn't figure out why.

In terms of search volume, the top ten countries for_Light Novel_ are: Japan, Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong, Phillipines, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Kazakhstan.

[// There is a pretty dramatic decline in interest: Kazakhstan is at 17]: #

[// Canada is at 22, with 6; United States is at 26 with 5]: #

**Fan Demographics:**

Based on some data from the [r/LightNovel Community Survey from 2016](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightNovels/comments/3g2rm5/rlightnovels_community_survey_results/) (with over 1500 respondents):

- _Gender_: In the subreddit, overwhelmingly male (95.6%; 3.3% female)

- _Age_: Predominantly folks age 17-25 (40% 17-20 years old, 36.5% 20-25 years old)

- _Location_: Most of respondents are in North America (51.1%) but many in Europe (27.2%) and some in Asia (11.1%)

Some other interesting bits of data from the survey:

- Most folks come to the subreddit for Chinese light novels (57.8%), followed by Japanese (34.9%)

- Respondents are predominantly lurkers (74.6%)

- Most folks prefer to read by chapter (60.8%) as compared to by book (37.1%)

- Most folks do not buy licensed light novels (76.4%)

- Most folks do read Western books (78.4%) but do not prefer Western books to Light Novels (66.9%)

### [Last Episode's](http://fanthropological.com/e/366365f057a51a) Famous Last Words

**Erica**

What do you think are the qualities of light novels as a genre that makes them so interesting as reader and reviewer of light novels? (What are your thoughts about the genre as a whole, and personal interpretation of why you like them)

**G**

Why 'light' novels? Why are they called light novels?

**T**

Why have they become so popular in North America?

[// because Kurt Hastler likes them -> Border s -> Brought manga sections to North America -> Spice and Wolf ]: #

**Z**

Is there a magic ratio of pictures to text for it to be a light novel?

### The Verdict

**T is out.** "Is this a fandom?" On its own, no. Not in... yet.

**G is in (?)** Can't get into manga... but likes anime. So maybe light novels are the way in. Going to try it out

**Z is out.** Could be interesting to get into light novels. Has read some and didn't even know it!

**Justus is in.** Mission was to read as many volume ones as possible to see what would entice folks. Got into light novels out of curiousity.

### This week's spotlight

**[Baka-Tsuki.org](http://baka-tsuki.org)**

> Started back in 2006 to spread word about the _Haruhi Suzumiya_ light novels, the site now acts as the go-to place for fan-translated light novels. The main site uses a wiki layout and acts as a hub for many light novel projects. Each light novel's wiki page includes not only the translated novels themselves but also information on who is working on the projects, how much has been completed of the series in total, and a list of updates.

>

> The site now sports over fifty different light novel series in various states of completion—and in many languages besides English. Of course, like many manga and anime translation sites, if and when a series is licensed, it is removed from the site.

>

> Despite the dubious legality of this activity, it is nonetheless truly interesting to see how most of these translators have all come together in one place to ensure the light novels they love are translated as efficiently as possible.

>

> — [Kotaku - Light Novel Fan Translators Build a Centralized Community on the Web](https://kotaku.com/light-novel-fan-translators-build-a-centralized-communi-470822754)

**[EnglishLightNovels.com](https://englishlightnovels.com/)**

**[LNDB.org](https://lndb.org/)**

**[Race Against Time IV](http://raceagainsttime.io)**

> Now in its fourth year running, the Race Against Time is an annual charity marathon to raise money for the Alzheimer Society of Canada by beating the SNES classic, Chrono Trigger, as many times as possible in 24 hours. This year, the event is running every week until August 11 and 12 for the main event (see website for detailed schedule).

>

> Alzheimer's is a terrible disease that slowly robs those afflicted of their memories, and, eventually, their very sense of being. We are racing to help preserve those memories of loved ones and for a cure to stop it once and for all!

>

> All donations go directly to the Alzheimer Society of Canada.

[//Recommendations go here]: #

[//Plugs go here]: #

### Famous Last Words

This week's famous last words around *next week's* fandom, Galaga!

**Justus**

Given the age of Galaga and the fact that there haven't been that many remakes over the years... why Galaga? What is it about that game that lends itself to the longevity of the fandom?

[// Why are folks still a fan?]: #

**T**

How does the community stay together, given how small it is?

**G**

Is there an aspect to Galaga fandom that is non-competitive?

**Z**

Is there fanfiction for Galaga? Specifically, written fanfiction.

## Where can you find us online?

We are everywhere! Most notably though, we like to hang out in a few places on social media:

- If you want to be part of our podcast (or just want to check us out), we record our podcast LIVE on [twitch.tv](http://twitch.tv/thenickscast) every Monday at 20:00 Eastern Time!

- For all the latest updates, check us out on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/thenickscast) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thenickscast)

- To see the latest hijinx from our conventions or even our daily lives and adventures, check us out on [Instagram](https://instagram.com/thenickscast)

- For our latest convention updates, *Let's Plays*, and other in-real-life video, [check out our YouTube channel](http://youtube.com/thenickscast)

- We're also on [iTunes](https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/fanthropological/id1163621210), and [Google Play](https://play.google.com/music/m/Icmngxz7yhaoivdvivvf6q6c2pu?t=Fanthropological), and would love it if you could leave a review and rating!

- if you want to reach us, and for some reason none of those work for you, try [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

- You can check out [our website](http://thenickscast.com); that will mostly bring you back to this stuff.

- Everything is `thenickscast`, so if you can't find us, go on your social network and search for that!

-

## What is "Fanthropological"?

How did you read this far without asking this question?!

Fanthropological is an anthropological (ish) podcast where we bring the fan's-eye view to you! Each week, we take a look at a different fandom, dig up interesting background, trivia, and history, and try to get to why it is that people are a fan. We also try to highlight good causes related to that fandom, and find interesting things that fans have created to share those to the world. Each episode is about an hour. Ish.

## Who is "The Nickscast"?

*We* are the Nickscast! Three products of late-80s / early-90s pop culture who love exploring fandom and everything geek ... who also happen to have been best buddies since high school, and all happen to be named Nick. Yes, we are super creative (dare we say, the _most_ creative).

*Ahem*

We are Nick Green, Nick Terwoord, and Nick Zacharewicz: We started the Nickscast as a labour of love, and as a place to entertain and to discuss our love of fans and fandom, and all that is shiny and interesting in that realm. It's what lead us to start our first podcast, our satellite podcasts, Fanthropological, and so much more.

We want to help others learn more about different fandoms, and to create empathy with other fans: We dream of a world where other fans aren't "those Weird-o's", but just folks with different tastes. A world where fandom is full of discourse and analysis, and there are plenty of tools and resources to help. Fans building communities to do good in the world. *Because everyone's a fan.*

## Credits

### Sources

- [Wikipedia - Light Novels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_novel)

- [Google Trends - Light Novels](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F06b_0_)

- [Reddit - Light Novels](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightNovels/)

- [/r/LightNovels - /r/LightNovels Community Survey Results!](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightNovels/comments/3g2rm5/rlightnovels_community_survey_results/)

- [/r/LightNovels - What's wrong with Light Novel adaptations?](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/4t3iaz/whats_wrong_with_light_novel_adaptations/)

- [Kotaku - Light Novel Fan Translators Build a Centralized Community on the Web](https://kotaku.com/light-novel-fan-translators-build-a-centralized-communi-470822754)

- [Fanlore - Light Novel](https://fanlore.org/wiki/Light_Novel)

- [Google Trends - “Japanese Novella” vs. “Light Novel”](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?geo=US&q=japanese%20novella,light%20novel)

- [Kadokawa.co.jp - The Platform to Produce Innovative Content: Kadokawa Annual Report 2012](http://ir.kadokawa.co.jp/ir/annual/2012/annual_2012.pdf)

- [Quora - What is the Difference Between Manga and Light Novels?](https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-manga-and-light-novels)

- [StackExchange - Anime and Manga - What exactly is a “Light Novel”?](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/13301/what-exactly-is-a-light-novel)

- [The Guardian - What Became of Illustrations in Fiction?](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/dec/13/illustrations-fiction-novels)

- [The Ranobe Cafe - How ‘Not’ To Write A Light Novel](https://web.archive.org/web/20120430065529/http://ranobecafe.wordpress.com/2009/09/03/how-not-to-write-a-light-novel)

- [Web Japan - Light Reading: Comic-Like Novels Are All the Rage](http://web-japan.org/trends/07_culture/pop070228.html)

- [WikiHow - How to Write a Light Novel](https://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Light-Novel)

- [Youtube - I'm Launching a Patreon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un3oZ7B9tAA)

- [Youtube - Q and A Video! So Many Questions... :)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjM5iWxuwAw)

### Music / Sound

- ["Rescuing the Day at 140BPM"](http://teknoaxe.com/Link_Code_4.php?q=432&Genre=Techno) by TeknoAXE used under [CC BY 4.0](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

- All other music and sound for this week's episode were provided by Nick Green!

What has a history over a hundred years-old, goes beyond genre, and gets its name from the Japanese word for 'lily'? If you guessed yuri, you and our guest would be in good company! This week, we had special guest Erica Friedman to help us wrap up the season and educate us on the fascinating world of yuri... for the revolution of the world?!

Next week, it's season eight; what changes will we have in store?! One thing that won't change is that we'll have a new episode, this time with Justus R Stone talking about fans of light novels!

## Where can I learn more about Erica Friedman?

If you want to learn more about Erica Friedman's fantastic work on yuri, you're in luck!

- The Yuri New Network (now with podcast!): [okazu.yuricon.com](https://okazu.yuricon.com)

- YuriCon: [yuricon.com](https://yuricon.com)

- Facebook: [@yuriconalc](https://facebook.com/yuriconalc)

- Twitter: [@okazuyuri](https://twitter.com/okazuyuri)

And, you can help support the continuation of that work by becoming a patron of her work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/okazu

## Episode outline

### Fandom Facts

**History and Origins:**

Yuri, or Girls' Love, is a genre of manga, anime, and other Japanese works involving lesbian relationships. It can focus on the romantic or sexual aspects of the relationships (or both). The word itself literally means 'lily', a common Japanese feminine name, and may be derived in parallel to the pre-existing association between the word for rose ('bara') and gay men.

...And of course there's a lot of history, which is why we have Erica to help us out!

**Search Data:**

Interest in Yuri has been [relatively constant since 2004 with some slow growth](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F0jb0t,%2Fm%2F0f9s9). Most spikes in interest appear to be erroneously associated with the genre: a spike in December 2016 most likely corresponds to the finale of _Yuri!!! on Ice_, for example, as does a spike in August 2011 referring to cosmonaut _Yuri Gagarin_.

A quick comparison to Yaoi puts Yuri as just under half as popular but with similar trends.

In terms of search data by country, the top ten are: Japan, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, Cambodia, Phillipines, Malaysia, and El Salvador (Canada is 30th, and United States is 32nd).

**Fan Demographics:**

Based on a fan survey conducted by [Floating into Bliss in 2017](https://floatingintobliss.wordpress.com/2017/10/14/report-on-the-yuri-fandom-demographic-survey/), we do have some rough data from its almost 700 respondents.

- Gender: A plurality identified as women (47.19%), but fairly equal representation of those identifying as men (44.31%) with the remainder identifying as non-binary / other.

- Sexuality: Of the women who responded, 96.04% listed their sexuality as something _other_ than heterosexual (compared to 23.38% of men)

- Age: The mode age group is 21-25 (though, 16-20 and 26-30 are also fairly represented)

Other neat facts from this survey include:

- Most responses came from Twitter (and there was a higher proportion of responses from women than men on Twitter; a higher proportion of men responded from Reddit)

- Most respondents prefer to read Yuri manga (55.39%) vs watching anime (16.97%) or visual novels (4.46%). 18.56% don't care about which medium.

- The vast majority (84.9%) read both original and fan works

- Over 80% enjoy shipping, and over 50% enjoy shipping but don't see it as a key aspect of their enjoying Yuri.

- Over 40% read both pornographic and non-pornographic content and have no preference for which

The survey also lists favourite manga by groups... so I would highly recommend checking out the survey!

A slightly different survey from the [International Anime Research Project](https://sites.google.com/site/animeresearch/past-results/2016-results) also happened to ask about interest levels in Yuri (and other genres). Of the 300+ respondents (~54% identifying as male), approximately 25% listed Yuri as "Do not like" with approximately 12% identifying as "Very much like" and another 12% as "I don't know" (the remainder being evenly divided between the 5 other rankings).

### [Last Episode's](http://fanthropological.com/e/36597267af48ca/) Famous Last Words

**Z**

Is there a Japanese version of Tanya Chalkin's "the Kiss"?

**G**

Who is Yuri for?

**T**

What is the first canonical Yuri manga?

[// Possibly 'Shiroi Heya no Futari' (Our White Room) by Ryoko Yamagishi in 1971 might have been "the first manga involving a lesbian relationship ... as it was "prototypical" for many yuri stories of the 1970s and 1980s" ]: #

**Tyler**

What is the primary focus of Yuri (since Yaoi seems to be focussed on the seme / uke relationship)?

### This week's spotlight

**[Yaoi / Yuri North](http://yaoinorth.com)**

> Yaoi / Yuri North is the annual LGBTQ-centric programming track that runs as part of Anime North. Programming features a variety of informative panels and events including fandom-specific discussions, queer lifestyle, and yaoi/yuri fandom topics as well as evening / overnight viewings and a multitude of contests.

**[YuriCon](http://www.yuricon.com/what-is-yuricon)**

> Yuricon was founded in 2000 by Erica Friedman as _AniLesboCon_, with the mission of bringing together fans of lesbian images in Japanese animation and comics. Initially, ALC was designed to be a “virtual” convention only, with real contests to foster community and creativity. This mission gathered people from all over the world; to discuss and create stories that represented an entire continuum of lesbian experience, from youthful crushes to adult relationships.

**[Race Against Time IV](http://raceagainsttime.io)**

> Now in its fourth year running, the Race Against Time is an annual charity marathon to raise money for the Alzheimer Society of Canada by beating the SNES classic, Chrono Trigger, as many times as possible in 24 hours. This year, the event is running every week until August 11 and 12 for the main event (see website for detailed schedule).

>

> Alzheimer's is a terrible disease that slowly robs those afflicted of their memories, and, eventually, their very sense of being. We are racing to help preserve those memories of loved ones and for a cure to stop it once and for all!

>

> All donations go directly to the Alzheimer Society of Canada.

### Famous Last Words

This week's famous last words around *next week's* fandom, Light Novels!

**Erica**

What do you think are the qualities of light novels as a genre that makes them so interesting as reader and reviewer of light novels? (Thoughts about genre as a whole, and personal interpretation of why you like them)

**G**

Why light novel? Why are they called light novels?

**T**

Why have they become so popular in North America?

[// because Kurt Hastler likes them -> Border s -> Brought manga sections to North America -> Spice and Wolf ]: #

**Z**

Is there a magic ratio of pictures to text for it to be a light novel?

## Where can you find us online?

We are everywhere! Most notably though, we like to hang out in a few places on social media:

- If you want to be part of our podcast (or just want to check us out), we record our podcast LIVE on [twitch.tv](http://twitch.tv/thenickscast) every Monday at 20:00 Eastern Time!

- For all the latest updates, check us out on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/thenickscast) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thenickscast)

- To see the latest hijinx from our conventions or even our daily lives and adventures, check us out on [Instagram](https://instagram.com/thenickscast)

- For our latest convention updates, *Let's Plays*, and other in-real-life video, [check out our YouTube channel](http://youtube.com/thenickscast)

- We're also on [iTunes](https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/fanthropological/id1163621210), and [Google Play](https://play.google.com/music/m/Icmngxz7yhaoivdvivvf6q6c2pu?t=Fanthropological), and would love it if you could leave a review and rating!

- if you want to reach us, and for some reason none of those work for you, try [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

- You can check out [our website](http://thenickscast.com); that will mostly bring you back to this stuff.

- Everything is `thenickscast`, so if you can't find us, go on your social network and search for that!

## What is "Fanthropological"?

How did you read this far without asking this question?!

Fanthropological is an anthropological (ish) podcast where we bring the fan's-eye view to you! Each week, we take a look at a different fandom, dig up interesting background, trivia, and history, and try to get to why it is that people are a fan. We also try to highlight good causes related to that fandom, and find interesting things that fans have created to share those to the world. Each episode is about an hour. Ish.

## Who is "The Nickscast"?

*We* are the Nickscast! Three products of late-80s / early-90s pop culture who love exploring fandom and everything geek ... who also happen to have been best buddies since high school, and all happen to be named Nick. Yes, we are super creative (dare we say, the _most_ creative).

*Ahem*

We are Nick Green, Nick Terwoord, and Nick Zacharewicz: We started the Nickscast as a labour of love, and as a place to entertain and to discuss our love of fans and fandom, and all that is shiny and interesting in that realm. It's what lead us to start our first podcast, our satellite podcasts, Fanthropological, and so much more.

We want to help others learn more about different fandoms, and to create empathy with other fans: We dream of a world where other fans aren't "those Weird-o's", but just folks with different tastes. A world where fandom is full of discourse and analysis, and there are plenty of tools and resources to help. Fans building communities to do good in the world. *Because everyone's a fan.*

## Thanks

Special thanks to Erica Friedman, who despite losing her voice the day of recording managed to tough it out and help us learn a lot more about the world of yuri!

## Credits

### Sources

- [Wikipedia - Yuri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_(genre))

- [Google Trends - Yuri vs Yaoi](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F0jb0t,%2Fm%2F0f9s9)

- [International Anime Research Project - 2016 Preliminary Results](https://sites.google.com/site/animeresearch/past-results/2016-results)

- [Floating into Bliss - Report on the Yuri Fandom Demographic Survey](https://floatingintobliss.wordpress.com/2017/10/14/report-on-the-yuri-fandom-demographic-survey/)

- [Anime Feminist - [Feature] Consider the Lilies of the Field: The Case for Yuri Manga](https://www.animefeminist.com/feature-consider-lilies-field-case-yuri-manga/)

- [Behind the Nihon Review - The Structure of Yuri: the Shift from Female to Male Audiences](http://behind-the.nihonreview.com/20100215/the-structure-of-yuri-the-shift-from-female-to-male-audiences/)

- [Brobible - The 21 Most Cliche Dorm-Room Posters](https://brobible.com/college/article/the-21-most-cliche-dorm-room-posters/)

- [Complex - The Most Famous Kissing Photographs Of All Time](https://www.complex.com/style/2013/07/famous-kissing-photographs/kiss-by-tanya-chalkin)

- [Everyday Feminism - Am I a Queer Woman Looking Through the Male Gaze?](https://everydayfeminism.com/2017/07/queer-woman-male-gaze/)

- [Everyday Feminism - We’re Taking Lesbian Sexuality Back from the Male Gaze and the Result Is Awesome](https://everydayfeminism.com/2015/04/lesbian-sexuality-male-gaze/)

- [Fanlore - Yuri](https://fanlore.org/wiki/Yuri)

- [Floating into Bliss - Yuri isn’t Made for Men: An Analysis of the Demographics of Yuri Mangaka and Fans](https://floatingintobliss.wordpress.com/2017/11/27/yuri-isnt-made-for-men-an-analysis-of-the-demographics-of-yuri-mangaka-and-fans/)

- [Japanese Studies - The Sexual and Textual Politics of Japanese Lesbian Comics: Reading Romantic and Erotic Yuri Narratives](https://japanesestudies.org.uk/articles/2010/Nagaike.html)

- [Momojob.net - Introduction to the Customs for Lesbians! Basic Knowledge for Lesbian Women to Work in Customs](https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://momojob.net/blog/post-5179/&prev=search)

- [Quora - Why Isn’t Yuri as Popular as Yaoi Anime](https://www.quora.com/Why-isnt-yuri-as-popular-as-yaoi-anime)

- [Stack Exchange - Anime - Who is the Main Target Audience of Yuri Titles?](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/13482/who-is-the-main-target-audience-of-yuri-titles)

- [Vice i-D - Article Title](https://i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/nenb5w/the-kiss-15-years-on-meet-the-models-and-creators-behind-the-iconic-image)

- [YouTube - A Very Brief History of Yuri by Erica Friedman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8Te2epyC_4)

### Music / Sound

- ["Threshold of Insanity Super Bass Mode"](http://teknoaxe.com/Link_Code_3.php?q=1024) by TeknoAxe used under [CC BY 4.0](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

- All other music and sound for this week's episode were provided by Nick Green!

### Artwork

- ["Glasses"](https://thenounproject.com/term/glasses/132894) by [Anton Anuchin](https://thenounproject.com/antonwebium) used under [CC BY 3.0](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/)

Is this action, adventure, or... romance? Whatever genre this is, its definitely a podcast, and T and Z are at each others throats defending some very (unimportant) opinions about what genres are and if they're still needed (they are not).

All this in 30 minutes or less!

**Sources**

- Opening music, ["Diggin' til the Very End"](http://music.djcutman.com/album/volume-iv) by Dj CUTMAN used under [CC BY-NC-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/)

- Ending music, ["Bounty Hunter"](http://music.djcutman.com/album/volume-iv) by Dj CUTMAN used under [CC BY-NC-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/)

[// Pregenerate link to episode ahead of time: - clicktotweet.com- sharelinkgenerator.com]: #

It turns out... we had a lot to say about Disney theme parks, so enjoy part two (I guess it _isn't_ such a small world after all)!

Next episode, we have our finale, talking about fans of Yuri with Erica Friedman!

## Where can I learn more about Tyler?

Tyler happens to run his own podcast, [Ride Rehab](http://riderehab.com), where he and his co-hosts put themselves in the role of Disney imagineers (i.e. the folks that make rides) and figure out how they would update different attractions at Disney! You can find lots of details about that via [Twitter](http://twitter.com/riderehab) or [Instagram](http://instagram.com/riderehab) both @RideRehab.

And, if you haven't got enough of Tyler, you can check out his personal art (as he _is_ a comic artist and illustrator): [tylermannart.com](http://tylermannart.com) or [@TylerMannArt](https://twitter.com/TylerMannArt) on Twitter.

## Episode outline

### The Verdict

**T is in.** Originally wasn't thinking it would be interesting... but a lot more interested after hearing Tyler talk.

**G is in.** In it for the dole whip.

**Z is in.** Intrigued by the immersiveness on offer.

**Tyler is in.** You can take the experience to as much of a level as you want to.

### This week's spotlight

**[DisneyBound](http://disneybound.co/)**

> DisneyBound is meant to be inspiration for you to pull together your own outfits which work for your body and wallet whether from your closet or local mall.

**[Dreams Take Flight](http://www.dreamstakeflight.ca/)**

> **Dreams Take Flight** is a national volunteer charitable organization dedicated to providing the trip of a lifetime to medically, mentally, physically, socially or emotionally challenged children. With the aid of Air Canada, other national and local organizations and businesses, money is raised to make the dream a reality in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax. Funds not required for its primary purpose can be gifted by Dreams Take Flight to other registered charities that benefit physically, mentally or socially challenged children and are within the policies adopted by Dreams Take Flight Canada.

[// Plugs go here ]: #

[// Race Against Time ]: #

### Famous Last Words

This week's famous last words around *next week's* fandom, Yuri!

**Z**

Is there a Japanese version of Tanya Chalkin's "the Kiss"?

**G**

Who is Yuri for?

**T**

What is the first canonical Yuri manga?

**Tyler**

What is the primary focus of Yuri (since Yaoi seems to be focussed on the seme / uke relationship)?

## Where can you find us online?

We are everywhere! Most notably though, we like to hang out in a few places on social media:

- If you want to be part of our podcast (or just want to check us out), we record our podcast LIVE on [twitch.tv](http://twitch.tv/thenickscast) every Monday at 20:00 Eastern Time!

- For all the latest updates, check us out on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/thenickscast) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thenickscast)

- To see the latest hijinx from our conventions or even our daily lives and adventures, check us out on [Instagram](https://instagram.com/thenickscast)

- For our latest convention updates, *Let's Plays*, and other in-real-life video, [check out our YouTube channel](http://youtube.com/thenickscast)

- We're also on [iTunes](https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/fanthropological/id1163621210), and [Google Play](https://play.google.com/music/m/Icmngxz7yhaoivdvivvf6q6c2pu?t=Fanthropological), and would love it if you could leave a review and rating!

- if you want to reach us, and for some reason none of those work for you, try [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

- You can check out [our website](http://thenickscast.com); that will mostly bring you back to this stuff.

- Everything is `thenickscast`, so if you can't find us, go on your social network and search for that!

## What is "Fanthropological"?

How did you read this far without asking this question?!

Fanthropological is an anthropological (ish) podcast where we bring the fan's-eye view to you! Each week, we take a look at a different fandom, dig up interesting background, trivia, and history, and try to get to why it is that people are a fan. We also try to highlight good causes related to that fandom, and find interesting things that fans have created to share those to the world. Each episode is about an hour. Ish.

## Who is "The Nickscast"?

*We* are the Nickscast! Three products of late-80s / early-90s pop culture who love exploring fandom and everything geek ... who also happen to have been best buddies since high school, and all happen to be named Nick. Yes, we are super creative (dare we say, the _most_ creative).

*Ahem*

We are Nick Green, Nick Terwoord, and Nick Zacharewicz: We started the Nickscast as a labour of love, and as a place to entertain and to discuss our love of fans and fandom, and all that is shiny and interesting in that realm. It's what lead us to start our first podcast, our satellite podcasts, Fanthropological, and so much more.

We want to help others learn more about different fandoms, and to create empathy with other fans: We dream of a world where other fans aren't "those Weird-o's", but just folks with different tastes. A world where fandom is full of discourse and analysis, and there are plenty of tools and resources to help. Fans building communities to do good in the world. *Because everyone's a fan.*

## Thanks

Special thanks to Tyler for being patient with us as we sorted out multiple technical difficulties!

## Credits

### Sources

- [Google Trends - Walt Disney World](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F09b1k,%2Fm%2F02fzs,%2Fm%2F04tkqm)

- [Know DW.com - Walking Distance At Disney World](http://knowdw.com/theme-parks/walking-distance-disney-world/)

- [Orlando Rising - Theme park demographics changing: Higher incomes and more millennials](http://orlando-rising.com/theme-park-demographics-changing-higher-incomes-and-more-millennials/)

- [Quora - What are some failed Disney park rides and attractions?](https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-failed-Disney-park-rides-and-attractions)

- [LA Times - This is your brain on Disneyland: A Disney addict's quest to discover why he loves the parks so much](http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/herocomplex/la-et-hc-disneyland-psychology-20170707-htmlstory.html)

- [Quora - How many Disney theme parks exist around the world and, of them, which are the most visitor friendly and why?](https://www.quora.com/How-many-Disney-theme-parks-exist-around-the-world-and-of-them-which-are-the-most-visitor-friendly-and-why)

- [WDW News Today](https://wdwnt.com/)

### Music / Sound

- ["A Whole New World with Piano"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqrVEACfuT8) by TeknoAXE

- ["Secret of Tiki Island"](https://incompetech.com/wordpress/2016/07/5-new-pieces/) by Kevin MacLeod and Bryan Teoh

- All other music and sound for this week's episode were provided by Nick Green!

### Artwork

- ["Glasses"](https://thenounproject.com/term/glasses/132894) by [Anton Anuchin](https://thenounproject.com/antonwebium) used under [CC BY 3.0](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/)