Gateway to Anime

This is one of the most excited anime seasons in a very long time! With the climactic ending of Attack on Titan, the Shibuya Arc of Jujutsu Kaisen and incredible new shows like Pluto, Fireren & Apothecary Diaries, we are feeling very spoiled as anime fans. In this episode we discuss everything that we’ve been watching and what’s happening in the anime community. Let us know what anime you’ve been enjoying!

This week we're talking about all things anime power systems. Shonen anime is basically synonymous with intricate and sometimes ridiculous power systems that govern their respective world's. We break down some of our favorite power systems from Naruto, One Piece and Hunter x Hunter as well as some of the more ludicrous ones like Jujutsu kaisen and Fire Force. 

We also talk through the connection between power systems and martial arts as well as which power system we'd most like to be apart of. 

YouTube Creator Forgotten Relics joins us to talk about the art and animation of the Dragon Ball series, as well as sakuga and the broader trends of animation currently happening in anime. 

This week we chat with friend Kieran Clancy-Lowe about the ultimate gateway anime; Dragon Ball Z. Kieran is a massive fan of the Dragon Ball series and goes deep on the history, storytelling, impact and overall brilliance of the absolute game changing phenomenon that is the Dragon Ball universe.

Kieran re-watched all 291(ish) Dragon Ball Z episodes in preparation  for this podcast, so he really brings the thunder as Sam, Charlie and Graeme get their nostalgia fix. 

We couldn't be more excited to start a whole new season of anime and this fall season is shaping up to be a real hit. 

It's a versatile season of huge sequels (JJK, Tokyo Revengers, Attack on Titan and Dr Stone) along with some hugely anticipated smash hit manga adaptations (Frieren & Undead Unluck) 

What's your top pick?

This week we have one of the co-hosts of Charlie's other podcast, Supporting Cast, Seamus Quinn on to talk about all things Jujutsu Kaisen. 

Seamus is a massive fan of JJK so we talk about why we all love the show, what makes it special, interesting, different and (to all of us except Graeme) the best of the dark trio. 

Somewhere along the line we segue into talking about Boruto for way longer than any of us anticipated, plus Seamus shares some of his anime hot-takes.

It's time for our Summer 2023 Mid Season Check In! Join us as we discuss our thoughts and feelings about how this season is shaping up. From old shonen favourites to fresh and exciting new series, this summer season is really heating up!

What have you been enjoying this season?

The gateway team has enlisted the help of special guest star Gerald Lillywhite - will they make it to regionals? What important lessons will they learn along the way? The hype is real in this weeks episode on Sports anime! This genre is so huge that we felt we needed to talk about it again. We cover the classics such as Slam Dunk, Haikyu!! and Hajime No Ippo as well as some absolute wild cards of the genre including Sk8 the Infinity and Birdie Wing Golf Girls' Story. 

What anime are you nostalgic for? This week the team take a trip down memory lane to discuss the anime that makes them most nostalgic. Is nostalgia the death of art? Do we need another remake/reboot of our childhood favourites? Will we ever be able to recreate the highs of Rock Lee dropping his weights? Join the debate and be ready to defend your favourite nostalgic anime! 

This week the gang gets together to talk all things mystery with the wide genre of detective anime. 

Sam talks through the history of detective fiction in Japan and the decidedly Sci-Fi flavor that tends to accompany these kinds of stories in Japanese storytelling. 

Sam and Charlie then go over some old ground with a couple of classic shows from our earliest episodes in Death Note and Psycho pass (we figured we've improved a bit since we first spoke about those shows in our early days).

Graeme talks through Ghost in The Shell: Stand Alone Complex and how influential it was on modern detective/Sci-Fi animanga. 

We also learn about the third highest selling manga of all time in Detective Conan, which turned out to be a huge blind spot in all our knowledge.