It's Not My Fault The OASG Podcast Is Not Popular!

0:00: This time, hear Helen speak about all the Spring anime she’s watched (so far), and watch all of a sudden that this segment gets into painting…

News

16:53: The two hosts then discuss the very disturbing grooming situation involving an animation studio Co-Founder and what has happened since the allegations were made.

22:21: KADOKAWA has established a new company that involves a Yen Press publisher and managing director (Kurt Hassler) running it; Moyoco Anno’s Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen is getting a stage musical adaptation off Broadway, which has Helen talking about what it means to be on and off it!

26:57: No Game, No Life Chapter 2: Eastern Union returned to Kadokawa’s Comic Alive magazine after a 16-month wait; Meguru Ueno’s My First Girlfriend Is a Gal manga is on an extended hiatus due to the creator going on paternity leave, which humorously had to end with the creator clarifying that he is man due to how the magazine worded it.

28:21: Kumiko Saiki’s Kageki Shojo!! series is going on an one-issue break, and while no reason was stated as to why, it’s important to note she was injured while at a music festival, so we can only hope everything is still ok; due to various projects, Fragrant Flower is taking a three-week break; Hiro Mashima’s DEAD ROCK will go on hiatus for a bit then return with a new arc.

29:57: Ted Turner, who you might know more of in the sports and politics world but also happened to be influential in the cartoon space, passed way at 87; The official website of the Japan Cartoonists Association announced that manga author Yousuke Tamori died on April 10 at 74; Animation studio ufotable announced that art director Kazuo Ebisawa died on April 14; Anime studio NAGOMI announced that director and writer Tatsuo Satō died of liver failure on April 24; Ring author Koji Suzuki passed away at the hospital at 68.

Licenses

38:51: The two hosts discuss independent publisher Uncivilized Books getting into manga with the launch of the Mangalith imprint and starting with Hideko Mizuno’s Fire! as their first title.

41:19: Seven Seas once again has more Wonderful Wednesday announcements:

44:27: We have another new Crossed Hearts title announced (Mitomo Sasako’s OctoPiece); and while not licensing news, TOKYOPOP will eventually have new titles for their new Kids imprint soon enough.

Streaming News

45:09: Detective Conan Collection 3 is out, which means Justin gets to spend the entire Streaming News section professing his love explains what episodes were chosen this time; Thanks to GKIDS, we will have 4k Tekkonkinkreet in theaters this month; now we have Tubi streaming Magical Sisters LuluttoLilly, an ongoing anime…when’s the last time they’ve done that is a question Justin wonders; OceanVeil made a couple streaming announcements, one of which it’s advisable to never say out loud; and in a stunning twist, Galaxy Kickoff! has been added to Crunchyroll. If this does not sound familiar to you, then maybe Ginga e Kickoff! will resonate more with some of you instead!

Weird News

53:50: Justin once again has one of his favorite live-action series return for some reason (GTO, this time the 2012 version) but also wonder if it’ll ever be picked up for official streaming anywhere…

56:58: Eldo Yoshimizu’s Ryuko manga will return after 16 years; We once again have to question humanity following someone trying to wait inside a Best Buy for Pokémon cards (it went poorly).

57:46: This episode of TheOASG Podcast was recorded on Mother’s Day, and we somehow two things moms are doing that are hilarious and also hard to believe!

1:03:13: And, well, we did have a story about GameStop announcing that they were trying to acquire 100% of eBay at US$125 per share in cash and common stock at 50% each with full shareholder election rights, but in the next episode, we’ll explain how that went (seemingly poorly!)

The post TheOASG Podcast Episode 243: More Spring Anime Talk, More Conan, And More Weird News appeared first on TheOASG.

0:00: Justin and Helen once again skip over what they’ve been up to and discuss some of the latest news that’s occurred in the past few weeks, starting with the distressing situation involving Syundei and the harassment that’s come about since the Go for It, Nakamura-kun! anime has aired.

News

8:40: What happens when you have one Twitter user ask the creator of Gachiakuta if it’s okay to read the series for free in an Discord channel? Well, you have this news be weird (especially due to some of the tweets Kei Urana has put out there) and also important news since we get into discussing everyone’s favorite topic: piracy!!! (Justin also once again puts forth a challenge to the weird news universe, which only has Helen shaking her head in disbelief)

16:47: It’s been a while since the two hosts have discussed payment processor issues, but FAKKU is exploring a number of options — even crypto — as the struggles for adult manga being published is real; Hiroshi Date will resign as Tokyo MX Representative Director and Chairman at the end of April following an investigation of power harassment towards his subordinates.

22:51: Gangsta. will return! Kohske has announced, after a very lengthy (and still ongoing) battle with systemic lupus erythematosus, the manga will return in July; The Reincarnated as the 7th Prince manga is now back after it went on a hiatus to let the artist recuperate and prepare for the next arc; and in the 9th issue of Shogakukan’s Big Comic Superior magazine, the 86th and latest chapter of Daruma Matsuura’s Steel of the Celestial Shadows was published, which signaled its return following its hiatus since February last year.

27:04: Masaoki Shindō’s RuriDragon was slated to return in April, but the newest chapter is now slated to be released in June; Due to Daisuke Ashihara’s poor health, World Trigger will go on a 1-issue break; Tetsuya Tashiro’s Slasher Maidens is now going on an irregular serialization schedule until further notice.

29:40: And the two hosts send their condolences to the friends and family of Tanma-kun creator Sadao Shoji, who passed away April 5 at a hospital in Tokyo due to heart failure.

Licenses

31:32: Yen Press had some announcements for many people:

34:11: Seven Seas and their Wonderful Wednesdays brings forth more announcements:

35:42: Glacier Bay Books had a couple new releases to announce (from Hyou Hyou short story collection to Codomopaper’s Juji and Aichi) and provided an update on taking over Star Fruit Books’ inventory and them focusing on fulfilling existing SFB orders (and a lot more); Kodama will bring over more Baki and another new title (The Magical Forest of Hoshigahara) this year; Kana meanwhile will bring over Satoshi Morie’s My Dear, A Mystery For You next year.

40:00: Two new titles have been added to Kodansha’s K Manga service, while a couple of manga will now also be available on Square Enix’s Manga UP!.

Streaming News

40:21: Crunchyroll will stream Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc this week! Yet Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle apparently won’t be added just yet…!; Netflix will finally add Akane-banashi to the service in May, both sub and dub; Bandai Namco Pictures is now streaming Magical Sisters LuluttoLilly on YouTube, which only makes the two hosts wonder if any services was interested in picking this up in the first place.

43:05: The K-ON! film will be on the Criterion Channel in May. Yes, you can re-read that as many times as you want. It is happening. And let’s just say the quotes on the announcement were hilarious.

44:36: A packed spring season means lots to discuss! Hear Justin just lament some of the shows he’s not gonna watch due to how busy the season is (1:26:40: Drops of God, Botan Kamiina, Agents of the Four Seasons to name a few). Hear Justin go over some of his few favorites (Daemons of the Shadow Realm, Re:Zero S4, The Ramparts of Ice, Witch Hat Atelier to name a few). And then naturally hear Justin elaborate on what he likes and dislikes from the newest season of Ascendance of a Bookworm (1:17:57).

Wait, what about Helen’s thoughts? WELL, about that…(49:30).

Weird News

1:31:33: Manga has evolved in many ways, but I’m not sure Logan Paul buying graded copies of One Piece and Dragonball’s first Jump appearances was a sentence the two hosts would ever utter. But it has happened, because man people are stupid.

1:33:16: An error occurred with the Reincarnated as a Slime manga, where it was listed as over at Volume 32, but was corrected by Dengeki Online. Justin was about to say!

1:34:27: And out of many possible McDonald’s combinations, Masako Nozawa and Baki being involved in this is not a combo you’d expect!

The post TheOASG Podcast Episode 242: 50 Percent is REAL Generous appeared first on TheOASG.

0:00: With a LOT of Winter anime shows to discuss, Justin and Helen delve right into the news of the past few weeks, starting with…something weird! But also something very bad, as a manga based off a light novel series has been suspended because the artist decided to plagiarize, and it was egregious enough that the editorial department had to put out a statement about it.

2:32: Aniplex and Crunchyroll’s new anime production venture, HAYATE Inc, has acquired studio Lay-duce; Kageki Shojo!! author Kumiko Saiki was injured at a music festival she went to a few weeks ago, and we’re all hoping she’s ok, as the injuries could be serious (diagnosed with a sprained neck, getting a CT scan to check if her brain is bleeding)

7:09: George Morikawa will be on break due to his hospitalization a few weeks ago, so no Hajime no Ippo for a while; Tawawa on Monday will be on a two-month break and see a return to Kodansha’s Weekly Young Magazine May 25.

7:51: The two hosts discuss the passing of manga creator Rakko due to heart failure, and the circumstances as well.

Licenses

9:51: Yen Press has launched a new imprint: Avocado House! (Both hosts wonder how they came up with it). Appears they’ll be having strictly international novels for this imprint (to give them options + have a clear delineation from Yen On), and they’ve launched with the following works:

Yen Press also had some announcements at their Sakuracon panel:

14:18: After their April Fools’ Wonderful Wednesday event, Seven Seas made official announcements this time:

15:34: Dark Horse took the time to have a manga licensing event themselves, and here’s what they’ll be releasing this year:

17:00: A few more Manga Mavericks titles will be arriving this year; Alien Books will also have a couple titles coming this Fall season; We’ll have an audiobook version of The Apothecary Diaries sometime this year, but will it involve the English voice of Maomao? We shall soon see!

21:31: And finally, while not quite licenses, the two hosts talk about the now updated Bookwalker service, which both (especially Helen) tested as this episode was recording. She found some concerns. Justin also had concerns, but he had them before the podcast episode though!

Streaming News

29:03: Not a bunch of streaming news this time, but the hosts had to note how awkward this streaming business can be see — see Ichijōma Mankitsu Gurashi!, which can be seen in a couple places…that also includes Rakuten VIKI. Rakuten VIKI? The drama service?

31:54: Justin and Helen spend a bunch of time talking about what was ultimately a very strong Winter anime season. There were still lowlights (Roll Over and Die! [43:00] being one that needed a much better fate), but overall there was lots to be impressed by (Fate/Strange Fake, You and I Are Polar Opposites S1, Sentenced to be a Hero, Tamon’s B-Side to name a few).

…Butttttt Journal with Witch (32:04) was clearly the best anime of the winter season. Did the hosts (especially Justin) do their best to make it seem like it wasn’t (1:42:12)? You can guess the answer is no!

Weird News

1:58:20: There is joy in seeing a work you like get animated and then be either a massive success or moderately successful enough to get multiple sequels. But we live in a world where joy can be fleeting. And for Ascendance of a Bookworm and generative A.I. to be in the same sentence is not a fate you’d want to wish for most things!

2:05:58: Good ole’ mistranslation strikes again, as somehow a collaboration announcement involving Fate/Grand Order and Witch of the Holy Night…involves Madoka Magica? Thanks Grok!

2:07:07: Justin and Helen discuss Netflix, after repeated memes and coordinated attacks on all of their socials by JoJo fans, finally revealed a schedule for Steel Ball Run, which should slow things down…(probably not!); it was actually discussed in the Winter Final impressions section, but Justin had to also shout it here — if you call yourself a final season, that means final! Not an extra arc announced since it basically means it’s not a final season!

2:10:16: Generally speaking, for a franchise to get their work concluded in anime form is very special, so congratulations to the Date A Live franchise as it seems like the next anime project will presumably wrap the series up. But it’s now going to go onto its fifth studio in Fugaku, which is a lot of effort to get this series completed in anime form!

2:12:15: There’s a plan the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has involving anime, manga, and games and how the overseas market will play a role in it — both hosts say good luck; a surprising error occurred on the Japanese digital side that stated DANDADAN would go on break for a month, but the editor announced it was a misprint.

2:13:55: Cute things are happening, and they involved Sailor Moon! First with Artemis II (yes, the one that just went into space) and Sailor Moon’s Artemis being spotted at the CAPCOM desk in Mission Control, and then with Hunter x Hunter creator Yoshihiro Togashi and Naoko Takeuchi combining for a drawing, which also has Artemis and also Kurapika and Sailor Mars in one image.

The post TheOASG Podcast Episode 241: Why Was The Winter Anime Season So Packed Edition appeared first on TheOASG.

0:00: Justin and Helen once again find some time to share what they’ve been up to…ok, only Justin has a title he liked a lot, and it’s published by TOKYOPOP!

News

5:53: The hosts then get into discuss Crunchyroll’s latest troubles, ranging from layoffs to a possible security breach that also gets Justin to discuss reporting in the big 2026.

21:02: A couple episodes ago the hosts discussed one live event being cancelled in Japan due to threats — now we’ve gotten another one, this time involving Love Live! and Japan Airlines.

23:02: The Culprit Hanzawa manga is going on hiatus for an unspecified time; meanwhile Kōji Kumeta suffered a finger injury, so he’ll be on hiatus until that heals up. Let’s just say his explanation on how he suffered the cut is indeed hilarious.

24:55: Saint Seiya Episode.G: Requiem is back on Akita Shoten’s Champion Cross website following a 3-month hiatus; Naoki Urasawa’s Asadora is now also back from its hiatus, returning to Shogakukan’s Weekly Big Comic Spirits; and we have another manga magazine in Japan ending publication — Kadokawa’s Comic Alunna.

26:23: The alternative rock band the pillows announced that the band’s drummer, Shinichiro Sato, died on March 23 due to esophageal cancer; The editorial staff of Kodansha’s Weekly Shōnen Magazine announced a few weeks ago that manga creator Majuro Kaname died in February; and publisher Chikuma Shobo announced that manga creator, Yoshiharu Tsuge, died of aspiration pneumonia at the age of 88.

Licenses

30:16: For whatever reason, Titan Manga decided it was finally time to announce what they’re up to for this year:

32:29: Seven Seas’ Wonderful Wednesdays is back! Post Media-Do acquisition, which means the following series will be under scrutiny (unless mentioned otherwise) on how it’ll be handled:

34:32: (New manga) publisher Mahjong Pros appears to finally be establishing itself this year, as they announced they’ve licensed the following titles:

36:55: Yen Press had a good amount of announcements ahead of their yearly Sakuracon appearance:

38:43: Usually Justin or manga enthusiasts looking at retailers catch TOKYOPOP licensing lots of things without them saying anything for like months — but it finally seems like TOKYOPOP’s getting around to announcing what they have on time:

39:58: Crossed Hearts has licensed Mei Fujimatsu & Satsuki Haru’s Afternoon Tea for Two for their Glam Beat! yuri imprint; Abrams Kana announced they’ve licensed Makiburo, Nazuna Shiraume, & Mai Murasaki’s Within The Villainess manga; MANGA Plus has added Maki Kanemaki’s The Hero’s Bereaved Family to their service; and more Discotek titles have been added to the MediaOCD Discotek Deep Dives list.

Streaming News

42:23: During the Akane-banashi YouTube live stream, global streaming platforms and details were revealed for the anime, which premieres later this week. This got Justin to go down an unlikely rabbit hole as another Weekly Shonen Jump title does not go to Crunchyroll for some reason (and instead, it’ll stream for North American users on YouTube, with Netflix streaming the anime beginning in May).

49:36: Helen gets to talk about the other bizarre streaming situation this Spring in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run, which had its first episode (1st STAGE) go up on Netflix, and nothing else. The 2nd STAGE has been announced to air in 2026. When in 2026? Only the execs at Netflix know apparently! And this sure has led to a LOT of discussion regarding how this series has been handled since Netflix made the deal with david production years ago.

1:00:15: The newest anime streaming service in North America, Amasian TV, just added Mugen Train and that can be watched for free; The Crave streaming platform in Canada added 14 anime films, from Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero to In This Corner of the World; Lupin the IIIrd The Movie: The Immortal Bloodline has been released digitally for rental or purchase by GKIDS, with a BD release (collaboration with Shout! Studios) coming in July; and thanks to GKIDS, Gundam fans will get to see the second film of the Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway anime project in US theaters May 15.

Weird News

1:02:29: You say it’s over…it’s never over apparently! For Shadow Skill, which ended 12 years ago, clearly it getting a sequel shows you can return no matter what; and as rumored, From Far Away is getting an anime adaptation — the shoujo manga started in 1991!

1:08:04: You know, there’s not too many cases where an anime character is added to a video game, and certainly not a fighting game, so we had to note Kenshiro getting added to the latest Fatal Fury game; and sure, bringing back a 4KIDS voice actor can be kind of interesting but generally not terribly weird, but for this particular run of One Piece, there’s levels to having Erica Schroeder return to the One Piece franchise as Joyboy.

The post TheOASG Podcast Episode 240: Akane’s Bizarre Streaming Adventures appeared first on TheOASG.

0:00: Another episode of Justin and Helen discussing everything they’ve been up to over the past few weeks, which may include a musical and some J-Novel Club reads along the way. The two hosts also get into a bit of nostalgia for no real reason…

News

17:30: Last episode, the news of Media Do acquiring Seven Seas just happened like roughly an hour or two before the two hosts started recording. It’s been two weeks, which means more information has come forth, including Media Do and Seven Seas having to make assurances that AI will not be used in any future works moving forward…let’s just say the hosts have some concerns!

27:55: The victim in the Shoichi Yamamoto/Shogakukan scandal released a statement on the entire situation, and that means Justin and Helen have more thoughts on how the company’s handling the situation and how well they can honor the victim’s request while also ensuring their culture will change moving forward. But let’s just say the hosts have worries about how they’ll handle it, considering their history.

37:32: Helen talks about a number of plaintiffs filing a consumer digital privacy class action complaint against Crunchyroll, which alleges that Crunchyroll violated the Video Privacy Protection Act. For her, the timing could not have been any more interesting; Justin meanwhile goes over Dark Horse essentially letting their Founder and CEO Mike Richardson go and what this means for the publisher moving forward.

42:36: RuriDragon will be on hiatus until late April; The Detective is Already Dead Season 2 will not air in the summer, it has been pushed to the Fall season; And I Became a Legend After My 10 Year-Long Last Stand will also be delayed, it’s now planned to air in the summer.

43:48: Chitose in the Ramune Bottle will return following it’s production issues in the Fall season; Tomato Soup is back following maternity leave, which means A Witch Life in Mongol will return next week; and we unfortunately will say goodbye to another Japanese manga magazine, as Mag Garden has ceased publication, and with their comment on why the magazine’s ending, Justin wonders if the manga market shrinking has played a big role.

48:13: Voice actress Yukie Maeda has passed away due to her health; voice actress Masako Ikeda died on March 3 from a cerebral hemorrhage; and Kyoto Animation announced that its president and co-founder Hideaki Hatta died on February 16 — the hosts go over the loss of each of these talents and people, and wish sincere condolences to their family and friends.

Licenses

52:57: Titan Manga announced exclusively on ANN that they’ve licensed the following manga for release in 2026: Tomonori Inoue’s Huck the Air Pirate and the Princess of Steam and Shinachiku’s The Regalia of the Underdog; We will see another H.P. Lovecraft novel adapted by Gou Tanabe published by Dark Horse, this one coming in September; and Mad Cave Studios’ imprint Nakama Press, in partnership with Tatsunoko Production, announced on Friday that it will release the first volume of its Casshan manga by writer Mario B. Long and Kusanagi on September 15.

54:41: Justin and Helen brought up DMP/DMG while talking about Blupetal, who just launched a Kickstarter for Sakura Kurihara’s Let Me Fix You last week (and it has already reached its goal); Japan-based indie publisher Red String announced at CitrusCon that they’ve licensed Yoshika Komatsu’s The Elf Husband and Dwarf Wife (will exclusively be on Omoi on March 22) and Arakata’s Funny Bone; The newest Crossed Hearts title has been announced and it’ll be going for their Glam Beat (Yuri) line — Mei Fujimatsu’s Time is a Closet; And we got more Siren audiobooks incoming — 3 of them!

58:19: With Manga Planet closing March 31, we finally know where some of the titles will go — Renta! They’ve announced a special transfer program that will allow Manga Planet users access to chapters/volumes purchased on the service, so happy that some of the titles (they won’t be able to bring them all) will exist in some way, this time on Renta!.

Streaming News

59:15: Justin and Helen go into Amazon raising their ad-tier prices for reasons, but hard to say if the reasons are good; Prime has added the Lupin the IIIrd: Zenigata and the Two Lupins net anime to their service.

1:01:18: Helen is now wondering about Justin’s tastes following his enthusiastic announcement of a show he has never watched (Queen’s Blade: Vanquished Queens) that is now available on Oceanveil; If you’re not into 18+ stuff, Oceanveil will also add the Black Jack OVA with an English dub to their service.

1:03:00: More 4K Ghibli is happening in theaters, so be on the lookout for a few of their heralded films in the spring; ODK Media’s North American streaming platform Amasian TV began streaming the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood anime with the English dub in the United States and Canada…Justin wonders if this can actually be a streaming service to look out for in the future.

1:04:33: DOROHEDORO Season 2, despite it airing in April, has taken a while for much news to come out. Not anymore! A trailer has come out for it, with also the news that in addition to Netflix it will also stream on Crunchyroll; Retrocrush has added a couple shows to their service, with Black Jack: The Complete OVA Series arriving on their service early next month.

Weird News

1:06:32: Justin ends up reflecting on the origin of TheOASG Podcast, and how when Muse came up with doing this, no one could’ve expected Pokémon, The White House, and Nintendo to even be considered in the same sentence as a topic. But we have also that (and Yu-Gi-Oh! also!) in this section. In case you needed to know how weird the news can be.

1:10:24: Let’s just say The Evangelion short that was recently released by Khara had some issues, issues that eventually led the studio to release it themselves and for both Justin and Helen to ponder the meaning of media embargoes.

1:13:11: Yes, One Piece and Elmo is somehow a thing. No, not a lie, this crossover really happened thanks to Netflix; Writer Shirow Shiratori announced that his and illustrator Kippu’s No-Rin light novel series will return from its decade-long hiatus with its 14th and final volume on June 13; Hiromu Shinozuka topped it though, as Mirmo de Pon! New is the first entry in the Mirmo Zibang! in 21 years. The return of works after so long…never say final applies for these works!

1:15:35: And finally, somehow, some way, the live-action adaptation news of manga/anime franchise does not stop…and Samurai Champloo is the next one picked. Looking forward to it coming out in 2030!

The post TheOASG Podcast Episode 239: Covering News That Did NOT Seem Possible Eons Ago appeared first on TheOASG.

0:00: Justin and Helen finally are able to talk about things they’ve been up to!…Well, Justin’s been up to finally watching the new season of Medalist now that it’s on Hulu and experienced paying to go to a theater for the first time since COVID-19 (all for Uma Musume: Beginning of a New Era). Helen on the other hand has finally watched Journal with Witch (2 episodes so far) like the rest of the cool people!

The hosts then get ready to talk about the news over the past few weeks. And it begins with one of the worst anime/manga news that’s ever been covered on this podcast.

News

6:13: Shogakukan’s Manga ONE editorial department issued a statement and an apology this past Friday regarding manga creator Shōichi Yamamoto, after the editorial department had allowed Yamamoto to publish a new manga on the service under a pen name after he had been arrested and convicted of a sex crime. The details are not only many but it also can be triggering. It’s fairly staggering, so you’ll want to check out Anime News Network and Strict Algorithm for all the details, but a quick summary:

Both hosts discuss this horrifying scandal as they know it and what this ultimately says about Shogakukan (21:10) — and as Justin expected (26:48), more news would eventually emerge over time after the episode was recorded on Sunday, and yesterday, while continuing their internal investigation of MangaOne, Shogakukan revealed that Tatsuya Matsuki, the writer for act-age who was convinced of a sex crime in 2020 and dismissed from Shonen Jump with the cancellation of that manga, was hiding under the pen name of Miki Yatsunami while working on a manga on the service (Seisō no Shinri-shi).

We at TheOASG send our apologies to the victim, Eri Tsuruyoshi, and those affected by this situation.

26:57: Media Do, considered the largest e-book distributor in Japan (and sold off their shares of MyAnimeList last year) has acquired Seven Seas Entertainment for US $80 million dollars. More details emerged since the two hosts talked about it on Sunday, and it was concerning to where Seven Seas had to put out a statement yesterday. Expect both hosts to again discuss more about this partnership in the next episode.

33:29: The two hosts discuss the “Ring Ring Live in Osaka” concert event put on by the Himitsu no AiPri staff was cancelled due to threats; Helen goes over Sho-Pro Books (Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions) announcing that its contract to publish Marvel Comics titles in Japanese will end on March 31; and Manga Mavericks Books now has a distribution deal with Pathway Book Service and with Gazelle Book Services Ltd for Europe so we’ll be able to see their print books on certain retailers soon.

39:27: The Gift-o’-Animation studio’s founder and former president Satoshi Mori passed way February 20 after battling an illness for some time; Talent agency Haikyō announced in February that voice actor Masaru Ikeda died on January 31; And Kodansha shared on their Instagram that Vertical publishing company’s co-founder and Kodansha USA Editorial Director Ioannis Mentzas passed away a few weeks ago.

Licenses

41:55: Last episode the hosts talked about a bunch of companies licensing manga. This episode the two about more things getting licensed by companies, first with VIZ:

46:10: Square Enix announced they’ve licensed the following works:

47:52: SuBLime had a couple announcements during their Valentine’s Day event — Puling’s Sunshine in Hades, Fumi Tsuyuhisa’s Robin in the Veil of Night, & Natsuki Kizu’s Given 10th Mix; meanwhile Seven Seas announced this during their Citrus Con panel that happened on Sunday that they’ve licensed IROHA MEGU’s WOLFHOUND and two Hayate Kuku manga (STRANGER: A WESTERN BL & MARCHEN)

48:30: Michi Masaki’s Tell Me, Dear Butler, Robico’s To Dusk and Twilight, & Jun Wakatsuki’s Promise Me the Spotlight is now on K MANGA; Takumigraphics, the new spinoff imprint from Fantagraphics, has licensed Gengoroh Tagame’s Do You Remember the South Island’s POW Camp? which shocked Helen; Tei Monaka & Komari Kuro’s All-Rounder Maid Connie Ville has been licensed by new publisher Crossed Heart; and Eke Shimamizu’s The Maid I Admire Looks Good with a Cigarette is now on Manga UP!.

49:30: Manga Mirai has a couple new additions to their service; The Lady version of Cells at Work! will be put in print by Kodansha; and the two hosts discuss Glacier Bay Books taking up what Matt Haasch wanted to do with Star Fruit Books as they announced they’ll be handling the publishing line moving forward.

54:56: MediaOCD and AnimEigo announced they’ve licensed Master of Martial Hearts & Sketchbook ~full color’S~, both expected to release this year. MediaOCD also announced the new round of titles it is adding to its store as part of the Discotek Deep Dives initiative (a good amount); meanwhile Discotek has a couple re-releases upcoming this year and a Patlabor OVA coming at some point; And finally, Sentai Filmworks has licensed Heavy Metal L-Gaim, which continues Sentai just out of nowhere licensing an older work.

Streaming News

1:00:02: The Madoka Magica movie has a new release date, and you can hear the two hosts editorial thought process in this moment as they decide no matter what happens — if it screens in Japan or if it doesn’t — it will wind up in weird news somehow; Akane-Banashi will have people be able to see it, but at this moment, not on your typical anime services…which will be shocking for a Shonen Jump property.

1:02:59: We have some screenings going on in the US — Anime Central will screen the original anime Goodbye, Lara in May; Next week people will be able to watch a 4K restoration of Kiki’s Delivery Service; and Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Part 1 will also see another screening, which leads Justin to wonder when he’ll watch it since Crunchyroll doesn’t want to stream it yet!

1:04:51: The Me and Robico film has been added to Crunchyroll; Hulu and Disney+ will stream the Rooster Fighter anime in a few weeks (will first debut on Toonami); and Hulu now has the HD versions of the Pretty Cure English dub on their service.

1:05:58: The Criterion Collection’s streaming service Criterion Channel announced will add Gunbuster: The Movie and the first season of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex sometime in March; Hideaki Sorachi’s debut one-shot manga Dandelion is getting an anime series adaptation that will stream exclusively on Netflix starting in April; and that 18+ site Oceanveil (who also sometimes streams non-18+ anime) will stream in advance the English-subtitled first episode of Do You Like Big Girls? and Marika’s Love Meter Malfunction.

Weird News

1:08:23: Pokémon’s 30th Anniversary is this year, and there’s lots of things going on with the franchise…starting with the original voice of Ash Ketchum (Satoshi in Japan) doing a Let’s Play in celebration and, well, the franchise sharing their 30th Anniversary logos. All 1,025 of them!

1:10:07: Let’s just say the highs and lows of Japan are covered in this section, from a very shirtless buff man as a hanger to an AI buddharoid.

1:12:34: Two of Japan’s famous properties — Crayon Shin-chan and Sazae-san — are gonna cross over; We got a story involving recent gold medalist and Olympic star Alysa Liu and how she has a Pochita!

1:15:41: And finally, apparently Amazon really wants to be a big player in the anime destination game, which we would take seriously except there’s no real sign that they’re actually serious about it at the moment!

The post TheOASG Podcast Episode 238: We Talk About The Shogakukan Scandal appeared first on TheOASG.

0:00: Justin and Helen decide to talk about the news that’s popped up instead of what they’ve been up to as they have many licenses and an anime season to talk about! Starting with Alphapolis acquiring a CG studio, which suggests they’re trying to ramp up their anime production line.

News

3:50: The World’s End Harem: Fantasia manga is back after a lengthy hiatus, and it’ll also be released weekly until the manga ends; meanwhile one series that returned — Kai-Hen Wizards — will go back on hiatus after it returned not too long ago.

6:12: My Unique Skill Makes Me OP even at Level 1 will go on hiatus due to artist Mawata’s health issues; Yūgo Kobayashi’s preparing for the new series that he will launch in Shogakukan’s Weekly Big Comic Spirits magazine, so Fermat no Ryōri is going on a temporary hiatus after its 26th chapter; and Kazue Katō announced that her Blue Exorcist manga is going on hiatus as she prepares the manga’s final chapter — this will also involve some changes in her environment.

8:15: There are two anime that Doga Kobo’s involved in that were planned to come out this year. Well, one’s getting moved to 2027 (Roshidere S2) as Inept Villainess will not air in Spring, it’ll instead air in Summer.

10:35: Terminator Zero Season 1 happened and was watched, but not watched enough, as showrunner Mattson Tomlin announced there will be no more seasons of the anime; The talent agency Intention announced that voice actor Kenichi Suzumura is going on hiatus to recover from adjustment disorder.

Licenses

12:23: Yen Press decided to announce they licensed this many titles last week:

17:31: J-Novel Club also had a lot to announce for whatever reason, which also includes titles in print:

22:39: Kodansha had some additions to their Kodansha Print Club line, but interestingly enough one of the titles is new:

24:13: Seven Seas had a Yuri day, and announced the following titles:

26:14: TOKYOPOP finally made time to announce they’ve licensed the following:

27:40: Hanashi Media announced too many titles as well, but they’re at least distinct since most of their announcements have long names:

32:14: More manga have been announced for Abrams Comicarts‘ Kana imprint, which includes a new Inio Asano title; New publisher Crossed Hearts licensed for their new Yuri imprint TaaRO’s Borrowing Your Textbook 175160; MANGA Plus added a couple new series to their service, which includes a new Karuho Shiina work; Ichiha Hiiragi & Nagi Ōkawa’s Playing the Vixen to Find Happiness is now on K MANGA; Nobuko Takekawa’s Yuko, the Ghost in My Room is now on MANGA Up.

36:06: And in final licensing news, Helen and Justin remark over 2018 Captain Tsubasa getting released…in DVD format!

Streaming News

39:41: Whatever the Kodansha-Disney deal was supposed to mean, Justin at least doesn’t know since the newest Ghost in the Shell anime will be streamed on Prime this summer; Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc will stream on Crunchyroll this Spring but Justin of course will make this about Demon Slayer; And not surprisingly, things don’t get cheaper, they get more expensive so Crunchyroll upping the subscription price for all tiers is not a shock.

44:43: GKIDS acquired the North American theatrical rights to Shōji Kawamori’s original animation film Labyrinth and it will be in theaters for two days in May; The 76th Berlin International Film Festival is screening a 4K restoration of Ninja Scroll; and Oceanveil continues branching out from what they’re usually known for, and now has Haigakura & Scum’s Wish on their service.

48:04: Justin and Helen discuss a very packed Winter Anime season, which means you should find a lot to like, whether it’s sequels (Frieren S2, Jujutsu Kaisen S3) to thoughtful and dense shows (Journal With Witch) or hilarious romcoms (Tamon’s B-Side, You and I Are Polar Opposites). Just don’t do what Justin’s doing and watch objectively bad anime because you liked the original source (Roll Over and Die at 53:03, Tune in to the Midnight Heart at 1:07:47).

Weird News

1:57:24: The year of reviving old material continues, as now Chie Shinohara’s Red River is getting an anime adaptation, so once again Justin implores everyone to let their dreams be dreams and put out in the universe what you want to become an anime!

2:03:51: You wouldn’t think a collaboration between artists would generate any controversy, but if it involves China and My Hero Academia, then yes, there will be controversy; if you like spicy foods and Hatsune Miku, Thailand’s got something for you; And finally, Mamoru Oshii has too much time on his hands since he’s logged way too many hours on Fallout, why would he share this with anyone (meanwhile Justin reveals how many hours he’s logged into Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

The post TheOASG Podcast Episode 237: The Longest Talk We’ve Done Yet! (Probably) appeared first on TheOASG.

0:00: Justin and Helen return from hibernation (and attempting to stay warm in the East coast) to resume recording episodes of It’s Not My Fault TheOASG Podcast is Not Popular, and with the break, means catching up to things from even late December to January. The hosts start with once again a scanlation site shutting down, and what this ultimately means considering who was involved (and maybe not Kakao, which gets both hosts explaining how manhwa copyrights are…crazy)

News

12:36: MediaOCD will be distributing Discotek Media’s catalog (as much as they can), and based on information online this project seems to have been sped up following a number of home media titles being delisted on Crunchyroll. This gets both hosts speculating on what this means, and why it sometimes now gets harder and harder to support official publishers.

18:59: Netflix continues making some deals as they’ve worked out a partnership with MAPPA and will be working with TOHO (and their new studio) to produce a bunch of works in a couple years

21:35: We got some hiatuses and returns to cover, starting with The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses manga being continued; after just not having any new chapters since 2022, The Girl, the Shovel, and the Evil Eye manga will return and also finish in a couple chapters; Kemono Jihen is taking a one-issue break due to Sho Aimoto suffering from gastroenteritis to start 2026; Phantom Busters will be on break as something’s going on with Neoshoco, the hosts hope they’re ok; The hosts break down what the heck’s going on with The New Prince of Tennis series as it went through some major editor mismanagement, enough to wear there could not be a new chapter in Jump SQ; The Days of Diamond will go on hiatus, no announcement on its return; Bocchi the Rock! was intended to return this month, but Aki Hamaji’s health has not improved enough to return to serialization, so the hiatus will continue; and in final manga hiatuses, Hajime no Ippo’s taking a break, no announcement on when it’ll return.

25:38: Makes sense that Go Nagai will be inducted into this year’s Eisner’s Hall of Fame, took them long enough; Manga creator Hisashi Eguchi apologized in December after tracing allegations were made back in October that had a number of companies suspend working with him; Chitose in the Ramune Bottle’s got some work to do following its delay due to production issues; And apparently A Tale of the Secret Saint needs more work as it’s been pushed from Spring to Fall season; What in the world is going with the Madoka movie? Well no one knows except that’s now been delayed from its release this month to an unannounced date; and the voice of Hitomi Koshigaya, Yumiri Hanamori, stepped down from the role for an undisclosed reason. So for the upcoming Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. anime, there will need to be a new voice for her.

30:53: Talent agency Aoni Production announced that voice actor Kōzō Shioya had died on January 20 due to cerebral hemorrhage — a number of people noted his impact on them and sent their condolences on social media on this difficult loss.

Licenses

31:57: Seven Seas and their Wonderful Wednesdays have returned for 2026! That means catching up to everything they’ve announced in January:

36:05: Kodansha had a three-day licensing event and announced these titles during their run:

37:23: Yen Press also decided to start the year off pretty strong as well:

38:16: Cross Infinite World has licensed these three titles: Mayo Momoyo & Wan Hachipisu’s The Brooding Duke’s Guide to the Lie-Detecting Lady, Mashimesa Emoto & Nitou Akane’s Goodbye, Horrible Fiancé, Hello, Fun Magic School Life! and Hanami Nishine & Renta’s Strawberry Princess: The Time Loop Defying Villainess; Abrams ComicArts’ Kana imprint announced they’ve licensed Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Kensuke Nishida’s Jagaan manga; Nao Iori’s Manaka the Human and the Slaughter Robot, Yuto Ito’s Goodbye My Idol, & Manose and Miharu’s Island Rock have been added to MANGA Plus; Crossed Hearts has licensed Akisuke’s The Executioner of Grenimal and Hanami Nishine & Satsuki Amamiya’s The Matchmaker’s Fiancé: My Fiancé Won’t Leave Me Alone While I’m Finding Him The Ideal Bride; and Manga Mavericks announced they’ve licensed Koukoku Brothers’s Divine Messengers and Demonic Guardians & Banjo Saitou’s Vegetable Sandwich

40:40: Meanwhile, Discotek had a few announcements, and yes, more Lupin the 3rd is a given at this point for them!

Streaming News

41:34: The Dangers in My Heart compilation film will be screened in some of the more popular cities this month; Whoever Steals This Book has been acquired by Crunchyroll and will also make its debut at the New York International Children’s Film Festival.

43:11: Remember when Oshi no Ko S3 got picked up by Crunchyroll? What did that mean for HIDIVE since they had the first two seasons? Absolutely nothing apparently since HIDIVE is still streaming it; Justin gets to talk about his excitement about the Umamusume Pretty Derby: Beginning of a New Era being in theaters at the end of the month; And Helen wonders why ALDNOAH.ZERO is back as Crunchyroll has added the English dub — which includes a new episode that aired in Japan last year — to their service.

46:10: A few anime will be on Netflix this year: Kyoto Animation’s Sparks of Tomorrow (in the summer) and Studio KAI’s Ramparts of Ice (in Spring);

47:05: So there were two anime that aired in Japan last year — April Showers Bring May Flowers and Monster Strike: Deadverse Reloaded — that was not picked up by an official service…until now! Prime now is streaming these anime; Fawesome began streaming the Despair of the Monster indie anime film sometime this past December, but at the moment only those in Canada and the UK can watch it.

Weird News

49:18: More news about live-action Gundam keeps pouring out, and it gets even closer to becoming a real thing; Pokémon and Hatsune Miku is a thing again; The X (Twitter) continues to just get worse and its editing image feature for lots of people had a couple artists saying they do not want to put their illustrations on there.

55:36: The Many Sides of Voice Actor Radio is over!…in print! It’s still ongoing digitally though. This gets Helen wondering however…

57:48: Sugar Sugar Rune has been added to Tubi…BUT there’s a reason why it’s in the weird news section! So far not at Tai Chi Chasers level, but…

59:32: Rumiko Takahashi made a trip to San Francisco some time ago (which can probably mean VIZ and her are cooking something) and visited a museum — somehow Bible Black is brought up in this part (Why Helen, just why); Justin wonders if Sazae-san is gearing up to be released overseas moving forward now that it’ll see its first overseas release in Taiwan; Otakon announced on Bluesky on Thursday the event is no longer allowing the sale of fan art in its dealers room beginning with the 2026 event, and Helen explains what this means.

1:05:17: Anime can make famous actors cry — see Michael B. Jordan crying over My Hero Academia — and can have its own category on Jeopardy!. Both hosts wonder if anime has become too mainstream…

The post TheOASG Podcast Episode 236: A Return to Normalcy…Not! appeared first on TheOASG.

0:00: Before Justin and Helen talk about their final Fall anime shows and all the Weird News of the year, the two hosts send their condolences to the family and friends of Shikako, who passed away at 37 due to choroidal melanoma, a rare form of cancer that develops in the eye. This news comes as, based on when Shikako died, Manchuria Opium Squad was announced to go on an irregular serialization towards the end of October.

4:25: We have a situation where you’ll hear very little talk of new Fall anime watched in this section because it’s mainly dominated by sequels (Spy x Family S3, Campfire Cooking S2, Ranma 1/2 S2) a horse girl anime (Part 2 of Cinderella Gray), and a summer season continuation (Gachiakuta). The new anime comes down to both hosts lamenting the state of Pass the Monster Meat, Milady (25:38), and another new anime where a “villainess” solves all her problems by punching things. Probably! No, the two hosts do not manage to get off topic and talk about unrelated things. Maybe!

55:30: You probably feel this year was long and yet fast. This is totally true based on the amount of weird news that occurred this year. You have your distribution craziness, politics very much becoming a thing, and SAG-AFTRA finally striking a deal; anime and manga also infiltrating other forms of entertainment; anime going into the wayback machine to produce a couple series starting next year; Anime and AI being one of the most dominant topics this year (and many to hilarious effect); and no, we will never forget the saga of Tai Chi Chasers (2:03:49), because it’s just too weird!

The post TheOASG Podcast Episode 235: Bad and Weird appeared first on TheOASG.

0:00: Justin talks about diving into the Kingdom experience while Helen’s just ready to talk about the news that happened over the past two weeks. A good amount of news happened!

5:17: The two hosts discuss two pieces of AI dubbing news, one involving voice actors in Japan, and the other one intending to use AI in anime production and needless to say, it’s not looking great!

10:12: Both Helen and Justin wonder about TOHO and how big a player they’ll become in the anime industry following their acquisition of Anime Limited from PLAION PICTURES.

14:03: So yes, unless an actual acquisition happens, it’s safe to say TheOASG Podcast will not talk about Warner Bros. Discovery unless a deal actually goes through or is stopped after Paramount’s hostile bid was, in the end, rejected; If you’ve been watching certain anime for free with ads on Crunchyroll, you won’t be doing so anymore in 2026, as they’re going to end their free ad-supported service.

18:53: Ammitsu’s Gazing at the Star Next Door’s on hiatus until Spring as the creator preps the new arc; Rumi Ichinohe’s I See Your Face, Turned Away recently seemed to come back after a long hiatus, and it’s gonna end in the next chapter; and Boichi’s The Marshal King will go on hiatus for an undisclosed reason.

22:17: Also sort of weird — after a long time, Yona of the Dawn, which just saw its manga end, announced there will be a sequel to the anime. Sure took its time!

26:05: And in final news of the episode, the two hosts send their condolences to the friends and family of long-time voice actor voice actor Tomomichi Nishimura, who died on November 29 at 79.

28:08: US companies had to end the year with some licenses, and we got a decent amount, starting with Yen Press:

31:37: And then TOKYOPOP:

33:36: And then Seven Seas, who concluded their Wonderful Wednesdays this year with the following announcements:

35:37: Meanwhile, a couple exclusive announcements of the following Titan Manga series were on ANN:

The two then get into discussing which title they prefer that was translated into English: Modern Villainess: It’s Not Easy Building a Corporate Empire Before the Crash or It’s a Little Hard to be a Villainess of an Otome Game in Modern Society.

39:23: We have One Peace Books announcing exclusively on Behind the Manga the following new titles: Senya Mihagi, jaguchi, & Sato Pote’s Lockdown Life with the Class Beauty, Teika, Waka Sanada, & Hamu’s The Delinquent Girl Beside Me Suddenly Dyed Her Hair Black?!, and tera, Hayate Asakura, & Tetta’s The Villainess Who Came to Marry Into the Frontier Noble’s Household Is an Exceptionally Capable Wife, Isn’t She?; Hanashi Media announced a brand new license for their LN line; and Inoue’s #Gal x Gal Yuri manga is now on VIZ Manga.

41:16: Part 2 of Rivals of the Great Detective Collection will drop on New Year’s Day, which means Justin has to be hyped about more Detective Conan. He also gets into the final Conan Cinema Saturdays movies, which will end January 3 with the first movie in the long-running franchise.

45:29: Helen then goes out of her way to talk about the Hatsune Miku anime film being the final bit of streaming news this week, only for Justin to remind her that she didn’t talk about Magic Kaito 1412 getting a dub on an obscure service (45:45). Cue much discussion that leads to somehow bringing up Conan, Yaiba, and Kaito Kid in a Cinematic Universe!

47:27: Helen goes over the strange situation involving physical copies of Higurashi: When They Cry Hou – Hou + having malware, which had MangaGamer having to recall it from stores.

49:50: Now it’s officially official: GAINAX is dead; the Naruto franchise is getting a Konoha land theme park in France; meanwhile a burger chain in Texas now has a Spy x Family burger for people to eat.

56:31: And final weird news for 2025, manga getting an anime years after it ends is unusual but over the past couple years it hasn’t reached the levels of what Psyren and then Iron Wok Jan! have inspired now! Both hosts discuss this unusual trend and also go back in time as to how they each got into these manga respectively!

The post TheOASG Podcast Episode 234: Conan Cinematic Universe appeared first on TheOASG.