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

0:00: Justin and Helen once again connect over the internet (somehow) to discuss what they’ve been up to over the past few weeks — which involves trips! Helen talks about her Otakon experience while Justin goes over how Vegas went!

28:14: The two hosts then discuss Shogakukan’s plans on launching a light novel translation app sometime this year, which will involve the use of Mantra’s AI-assisted translation system.

32:45: The cyberattack on Kadokawa’s systems will still likely take time to restore, but things are gradually getting better — if the re-launch of Niconico and gradual shipping of books is a sign.

33:31: Justin and Helen get into the end of Tentai Books, the issues that occurred to them, and what will happen to the remaining licenses they have in their catalog.

37:38: One of the biggest news stories that Justin saw while on vacation in Vegas was the leaks of multiple upcoming anime planned to stream on Netflix (and then Re:Zero Season 3 just to get Crunchyroll involved), which soon became full leaks on a few other animated properties (like Arcane Season 2). The two hosts get into why this is problematic, but with Netflix and Crunchyroll being one of the big anime streamers, it’s hard to see what type of major repercussions this will have moving forward.

42:36: The end of Cartoon Network seems to be here, as the main website has now shutdown and redirects to Max, with Boomerang to follow in September. Justin and Helen get into the very unceremonious end to CN and Boomerang thanks to Warner Bros.

44:02: We have a few anime award winners from the 28th annual Fantasia International Film Festival; A sting operation occurred while at SDCC, which got Helen thinking about how often human trafficking has been occurring at conventions; and My Hero Academia ended, which gets both hosts feeling quite happy for Horikoshi, who had potential but his first two works (especially Barrage) didn’t last in WSJ, but he put it together to create a global phenomenon in MHA, enough to where his fellow WSJ authors and those to Twitter praised him and the series.

49:59: With there being a good amount of hiatuses, injuries, and deaths occurring in the anime/manga world, Helen decided to separate it from the main news line so it could have its own section. We start with the hiatuses, which begins with Nakaba Suzuki’s Seven Deadly Sins sequel Knights of the Apocalypse going on an indefinite hiatus due to his health; Dandadan going on hiatus for Yukinobu Tatsu to do some research; Hidari Yokoyama’s Tsuruko Returns the Favor is on hiatus due to Yokoyama’s health; Oohashi Hira’s The Days of Diamond will be on hiatus for a few weeks for personal reasons; and Aiko Koyama’s Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san (Kiyo in Kyoto: From the Maiko House) is taking August off, but will return in the September issue of Weekly Shonen Sunday.

53:59: But there are a few returning works! Shin Haruhara’s Making Magic manga resumes after going on hiatus December 2023; Soborou’s Why the Hell Are You Here, Teacher!? is resuming four years after Soborou’s sudden illness back in 2020; Frieren resumed in Shonen Sunday after it went on its hiatus a few months ago.

54:59: Hideaki Anno had plans for a few events over the next month or so, but those are now cancelled after it was announced he suffered a compound fracture in his left leg; voice actor Kenichi Suzumura plans to gradually resume work, while still taking his health into consideration following his hiatus back in May due to poor health; the two hosts then discuss Bloody Roar 4 voice actress Erica Ash, who passed away at 46 after a long battle with cancer.

56:37: Justin and Helen discuss the official announcement of Keiko Yamamoto, the long-time voice of Shouta Yamada in Chibi Maruko-chan and Hanako Hanazawa to name a few, passing away at 83 due to sepsis. She had passed away back in April, but out of respect for the family and their wishes they announced it a few weeks ago. Many offered their condolences to the long-time VA and her importance to them growing up.

58:54: Or really, we’re starting with a rare unlicense! Tomo Serizawa’s now working with Futabasha, which means Scarlet Secret’s rights are no longer with Shucream. This also means any publishers that have released it internationally will no longer be able to publish it unless they can renegotiate with Futabasha. So until then, TOKYOPOP will only be able to release this until early 2025.

1:02:56: Titan Manga announced a bunch of exclusives on ANN:

1:02:48: Udon had a few announcements at SDCC involving their newly launched Manga Biographies line, from Steve Jobs to Amelia Earhart, and will be bringing over a couple Mega Man manga to North America.

1:04:28: Yen Press must have a ton of announcements to make at ANYC, so here’s the slate they announced ahead of the convention:

1:07:45: The Deadpool trolling has now reached the manga world. So to break it down:

…Helen might still be a bit confused about what actually got published. Thanks Deadpool!

1:09:48: Star Fruit Books teased a very old 600+ shoujo manga that they licensed, and they finally was able to announce it — Sachiko Asuka’s The Phantom Thief Bat Baron; Manga UP! added Maybe’s Dusk Maiden of Amnesia to its service.

1:12:19: AnimeEigo made a couple of announcements at their Otakon panel (which Helen did not attend), which includes them licensing of Time of Eve; meanwhile Discotek had so many announcements that they had to share them all on Twitter and not at the panel (which Helen attended). Hear from Helen on which panels got a rise of the crowd (and for one series, someone was apparently gorging out)

1:22:05: Justin and Helen talk about a few Crunchyroll one-day theatrical screenings in The Concierge and trapezium; Netflix meanwhile will have Gundam Seed Freedom, The First Slam Dunk, and Blue Giant streaming on their service towards the end of this month.

1:24:53: The good news is Girls Band Cry, after skipping official North American streaming this past Spring, is finally available legally today. The bad news is it’s still not actually streaming — it’s available on digital storefronts. Like Fandango at Home. Justin won’t dismiss this being available officially, but is confused at how Toei has handled this series.

1:29:39: To commemorate its 60th anniversary, TMS Entertainment is going to stream various anime on its YouTube channel, such as Sonic X, Super Dimension Orguss, and a couple Lupin the 3rd works, this month.

1:30:47: Shohei Ohtani and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure? As turns out, it’s more possible than you think! Thanks Mamiko Tanaka (Ohtani’s wife).

1:32:06: Helen discusses yet another case of idol culture, in this case Japanese idol culture, being real toxic.

1:33:27: While this is in the weird news section, Junji Ito’s works being turned into films could work out a bit better than others? It might be because he’s involved in the process, and it’s horror.

1:34:56: Last episode of TheOASG Podcast, it was Lycoris Recoil bringing back NFTs. This episode, it’s now Toei Animation for a work called DenDekaDen that’s utilizing NFTs. What will be the Japanese company using NFTs next episode? The hosts hope they don’t find out!

1:35:45: And in this bit of weird news, Helen has a bone to pick with another company that’s all about NFTs named Azuki. No, a totally different Azuki!

The post TheOASG Podcast Episode 202: Everyone’s On a Trip This Summer appeared first on TheOASG.

0:00: Justin and Helen get into what they’ve been up to, post Anime Expo/Summer Anime season episode…and Helen talks about a few more summer anime she tried (Like Sengoku Youko Season 2)! Meanwhile, Justin checked out the light novel of an summer anime he liked a lot. You’ll have to listen to know which one it is, since J-Novel Club had three of them on catchup (I Parry Everything, VTuber Legend, Dahlia in Bloom) this month!

14:38: Justin and Helen discuss the verdict handed down to Nekokurage, the manga artist for the Apothecary Diaries series published by Square Enix, not paying her taxes for the past three years and give their thoughts on the conclusion to this.

17:58: Meanwhile, one former Kodansha editor tried to appeal his prison sentence (killing his wife) but after further review, the original ruling was upheld.

19:06: NTV revealed new guidelines after the death of Hinako Ashihara, and the two hosts get into how the company has handled the entire situation since then.

22:36: A couple of delays are taking place, one Olympic related (Yatagarasu), one maybe Olympic related (Shoshimin), and one probably not (Wistoria); Shadows House meanwhile is taking a break as it prepares its final arc, though it sounds like the writer of the somato duo has been having major health issues, which the two hosts touch upon a bit.

29:18: Justin and Helen talk about singer Akira Kushida being discharged from the hospital following his hospitalization from acute pancreatitis since the start of 2024; the creator of Dan-Doh! & Kaze no Daichi, Nobuhiro Sakata, passed away at 76; Tom Wyner, the voice of Devimon in Digimon Adventure and taking part in over a hundred anime in his career, passed away at 77.

31:20: The two then talk about the death of Noriko Ohara, who passed away July 12 at 88 after an unsuccessful treatment for an illness. Starring in a number of iconic roles — Nobita in Doraemon, Doronjo in Yatterman, & Conan in Future Boy Conan to name a few — the loss was felt in the industry, as a number of people sent their condolences online.

32:27: SDCC happened, but with the lack of manga news that occurred, it was a relatively quiet week on that front. Here’s what was announced over the past two weeks:

Star Fruit Books:

Kodansha

37:23: Coamix has released Tsukasa Hojo’s Cat’s Eye on its MangaHot service; The Yuri Hub yuri manga service is simulpubbing Ayu Inui’s new manga series Threads of Me and You.

38:33: Crunchyroll added a new Space Battleship Yamato anime; meanwhile the service formerly known as HBO Max will add The Boy and the Heron to its service September 6.

39:13: After the two hosts forgot to discuss this in the last episode, Helen was determined to make sure it would not be forgotten this time! Let’s just say a Trigger panel at Anime Expo started off on a wild note.

40:43: The Stop! Manga Piracy campaign took out an ad in 4 countries to thank those for supporting official releases. For Justin, this was a reminder that this organization existed!

42:05: Needless to say, Sanrio and Junji Ito collaborating meant this had to wind up in this section, 100%!

43:03: Justin and Helen discuss the possibility of the Room of Spirit and Time from Dragon Ball actually existing after this was mentioned by a physicist, and yeah, one of the hosts is not convinced.

45:38: Finally, if you thought NFTs were done, go to Japan and see that no, it’s not at all done! And sadly, this time it’s claimed Lycoris Recoil for some reason!

The post TheOASG Podcast Episode 201: Lots of Conclusions Here appeared first on TheOASG.

0:00: Justin and Helen, before getting into Anime Expo and Summer anime season discussion, take a moment and reflect on TheOASG Podcast getting to 200 episodes. (And one special!)

A bunch of licenses and news was announced at the convention, so here’s it all rounded up:

Yen Press (3:45):

J-Novel Club (8:39):

Kodansha (11:20):

SQ Enix Manga & Books (13:24):

15:31: KUMA & DENPA made a few announcements, with 4 more BL titles licensed and an artbook coming in the future; Mangamo added a few more titles to their service; GKIDS is bringing over a Naoko Yamada short film; and new Panty & Stocking is coming next year by Trigger.

19:50: Justin and Helen discuss KADOKAWA acquiring Doga Kobo, and of course if this is a good thing or bad thing.

21:55: Meanwhile, KADOKAWA is still recovering from the cyber attack a few months ago, with Niconico as of now still remaining down.

23:39: The two hosts discuss Crunchyroll disabling comments across the board, which suspiciously happened after Geoff Thew pointed out the review bombing for Twilight Out of Focus…and after accusations of AI was used for all translations in My Deer Friend Nokotan (which was handled by the Japanese distributor, REMOW)

33:00: My Neighbor Seki is back!; Moriarty the Patriot will also return!; and so will Magic Knight Rayearth in some form!

36:52: Seven Seas announced 6 manga/light novel titles during their No Panel, No Problem event:

This does lead into the two hosts discussing what’s with the lack of Yuri (38:50), since Seven Seas didn’t announce a single one last month.

41:50: Dark Horse announced exclusively on ANN that they will release Kenichi Sonoda’s Gunsmith Cats in new Omnibus Editions.

42:13: Devilman Crybaby will finally have a home media release! Both hosts celebrate it escaping Netflix jail!

44:01: Disney+ is finally streaming Macross Frontier and Delta!…but in the U.K and Australia!; Meanwhile it was announced exclusively on ANN that Beyblade X will premiere on Disney XD, and soon enough other regions this month.

47:13: Netflix will stream Blue Box this Fall season while Beastars’ final season (starting with Part 1) will air in December.  

48:33: Crunchyroll is now streaming the Go! Princess Precure and Witchy Pretty Cure! anime series, which means Helen has to bring up what’s good about both!

49:38: Justin and Helen discuss the Summer anime 2024 season!…It’s just, with Otakon crunch happening, Helen’s watched very little so far (Narenare, Oshi no Ko S2, Mayonaka Punch!). That basically means Justin’s holding it down as he’s watched those three and a WHOLE lot more (Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, I Parry Everything, Shoshimin to name a few!). They also both discuss Dahlia in Bloom’s approach (1:04:07) in adapting the light novel (and also its lacking visuals). Somewhere in this section you’ll see how much Justin knows about Japanese history (which is not much, not a good look for him)

1:45:07: We now have another group of people using AI to try to produce a work, which means the hosts shaking their heads and going why would they do this; And well, there’s many ways to hold an event where hand shakes are involved but avoid showing the face, but here’s what one singer has announced they’ll be doing for privacy reasons! This then somehow leads to Helen bringing up something related, but it only gives Justin spooky ideas…

The post TheOASG Podcast Episode 200: So Many Episodes… appeared first on TheOASG.

0:00: With Spring anime season at this end, Justin and Helen can’t say what they’ve been up to (besides completing anime) and instead dive straight into the news!…And that news begins with Toru Furuya, who admitted to an affair, stepping down from his roles in Detective Conan and One Piece respectively.

2:10: The break for Jujutsu Kaisen will be extended, as it was not in this week’s Shonen Jump. It’s now planned to be in the July 8th issue; Yuri is My Job! is having its hiatus extended — creator Miman’s health is still at the moment very poor.

2:41: One-Punch Man is going on hiatus due to various adjustments and preparations by the artist Yusuke Murata; meanwhile a somewhat similar reason is why Black Butler is going on hiatus, only main difference it’s preparing for its climax.

5:04: Kakegurui is returning from its hiatus, as now the creators are ready to begin their new arc; meanwhile the other Apothecary Diaries manga is going to return as Minoji Kurata is back from childcare leave.

6:25: Warner Bros. Japan announced that Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure producer Hiroyuki Omori passed away; Talent agency Aoni Production announced on Thursday that voice actor Taiki Matsuno passed way at 56 from a right cerebral hemorrhage; Nanaeko Sasaya, who was part of the Year 24 group, passed away at 74 due to small lung carcinoma.

13:33: Seven Seas had one Wonderful Wednesday event and announced a few other titles that they called Fantastic Friday (Both hosts realized after the podcast that Seven Seas didn’t license a Yuri title in June. Talk about an unfortunate miss on them):

18:49: One Peace Books has licensed new things:

21:07: Kaiten Books has returned with a new license! They’re now delving into a Blue Archive manga.

22:14: It’s time to know of a Fall anime seasonal show that’s been licensed during the Summer anime season! Thanks HIDIVE; Meanwhile, a few Sentai Fiilmworks shows will stream on Hulu. This gets Helen and Justin talking about how HIDIVE is actually holding up in this anime streaming business and Disney/Hulu+’s poor anime marketing plan.

30:57: Justin and Helen share their final thoughts on the Spring Anime 2024 season, which may or may not have been the best Spring season in the past couple years. The two hosts talk about a few shows that continued into the Spring (Delicious in Dungeon, Urusei Yatsura Season 2), touch upon some sequels (Sound! Euphonium S3, Demon Slayer Hashira Training Arc) before getting some of their new seasonal favorites (Mysterious Disappearances, Tonbo!, Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night to name a few).

1:29:34: If you didn’t know who Noah Lyles is, now that he’s summoned Exodia you know him now!

1:31:21: What happens when you decide to use generative AI to make a flyer for a concert and Yoko Takahashi finds out about it? One place found out the hard way!

1:32:43: Ninja Kamui totally got a second season…until it didn’t!

The post TheOASG Podcast Episode 199: So, About This Spring Anime Season… appeared first on TheOASG.

0:00: Justin and Helen gather around and start talking about what they’ve been up over the past few weeks, which means more backlog clearing for Justin (Watching My Dress-up Darling on Blu-Ray, reading Raven of the Inner Palace) or more spring season anime to watch for Helen (Sound Euphonium S3, Tonari no Yokai-san).

Pandemic News

8:56: That’s right — we have a new COVID-19 story! The creator of Uzaki-chan, Take, got it and needs to take some time to get better, so Uzaki-chan is now on hiatus.

10:11: Justin and Helen give their condolences to the first VA for Fujiko Mine in the Lupin the 3rd franchise and Honey Kitsuragi in Honey Cutie, Eiko Matsuyama, who passed away May 20 due to pneumonia.

11:28: Both My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen will go on a two-week break, and for Akutumi, it’s definitely health related. For Horikoshi, likely the same (as he’s taken issue breaks before), but no reason was stated; Trillion Game will go on hiatus until at least August due to Ikegami’s poor health; My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 was already on hiatus, but now it’s been extended indefinitely due to Mashiro’s health.

14:20: Justin and Helen discuss the recent cyberattack on KADOKAWA, which continues to affect them and their various properties (Niconico for example) now and will continue to do so moving forward.

16:29: Sony Pictures bought Alamo Drafthouse, which as Helen points out, is another new addition to Sony’s monopoly.

19:34: The two hosts then break down the 1st American Manga Awards, which will take place during the week of Anime NYC in August. Somehow, Naoki Urasawa and a brick is involved in someway in this discussion.

24:25: The fallout from Toru Furuya’s affair admission continues, as he’s been recast in an upcoming Atlus game.

26:05: We have delays…and major production woes in the anime industry that Justin and Helen have to talk about. But the two start with a pretty minor production relayed delay compared to everything else in this section: Train to the End of the World’s 12th episode has been delayed a week due to production reasons.

27:18: Meanwhile, Delico’s Nursery, which was planned for a July release, got pushed to August 7.

27:49: The last three episodes of The Misfit of Demon Academy Season 2 Part 2 have been delayed, with no confirmed air date for the last episode announced yet. Justin goes over the bad production scheduling for this anime, which, if you remember, had a big delay of its first part last Winter.

30:02: Some time ago the two hosts talked about The Dahlia in Bloom anime having possible involvement with animators in North Korea, and the main production did an internal investigation. The ANN article breaks it down, but to note what happened:

This meant that the Dahlia team had to redo any scenes suspected of North Korean involvement, and Justin and Helen have to break down just how wild this all is.

36:02: You know, it can’t be good when Justin talks about a show from last year (from Episode 173 and how he thinks it could wind up in weird news) and it mysteriously pops up again because of a delay of another show. Sword of the Demon Hunter is now delayed from this summer season to 2025, and with Yokohama Animation Lab not only having trouble with The New Gate and Whisper Me a Love Song, but also having trouble saying what the heck’s going on with Tsuyokute New Saga, there’s some major production issues going on over there for sure.

43:00: And to conclude this section full of mild to absolutely awful production woes, Studio Gainax has filed for bankruptcy. Helen and Justin reflect on what Gainax was before getting into who they are now and how ultimately, the anime industry just continues to not be in a healthy state.

49:07: Yen Press decided they had to announce some stuff before convention season really gets rolling:

51:03: Seven Seas’ Wonderful Wednesdays of course brought more announcements for the two hosts to talk about:

53:42: The two hosts discuss GKIDS making a surprising licensing acquisition: DAN DA DAN, which they grabbed home media and theatrical rights for.

57:13: The Suicide Squad Isekai will have its first three episodes drop June 27 before settling into airing weekly, and you’ll be able to stream it on Hulu and Max.

57:51: Netflix will stream the Sailor Moon Cosmos films August 22; they’re also now streaming Hajime no Ippo.

58:22: Girls Band Cry is finally streaming with English subtitles…but in Indonesia! Now everyone knows who Catchplay+ is thanks to Toei!

1:01:13: Meanwhile, the Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again reminds you to be very aware of phone scams in this ad.

1:02:12: The two hosts get well into fair use laws in Japan after a woman was charged for allegedly taking six copyrighted images of Ensemble Stars!! character Kohaku Oukawa, inserting cockroaches and other insects, and posting them to her social media accounts.

1:05:05 When The First Slam Dunk meets Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, things like the LDP putting their faces on a Slam Dunk visual apparently happen during political season!

1:06:43: Let’s just say hololive showing up at a Dodgers game (with possible Ohtani involvement) is not something one could’ve imagined years ago, but for it to happen during Anime Expo weekend? Talk about everything aligning.

The post TheOASG Podcast Episode 198: Subcontractors All The Way Down appeared first on TheOASG.

0:00: Justin and Helen attempt to discuss everything they’ve been up to over the past few weeks, and one of them has been stuck watching an anime where meetings take place. So many meetings! The other just did some reading on delicious dungeons.

16:12: The two hosts talk about Toru Furuya admitting to an affair with a tabloid with a fan. There’s much information regarding this, but needless to say, this man is awful to how he treated the fan and his family. There’s only been one immediate consequence due to this news, but chances are more repercussions could be on the way in the near future.

24:37: NTV has released the results from the investigation of Hinako Ashihara’s death in January, and while it is fairly comprehensive, lack of communication and production timeline was some of the major factors in this case, according to the investigation.

27:57: Justin and Helen talk once again about Nekokurage, as now she officially pledged guilty for tax evasion. She was indicted a couple months ago and did explain the circumstances, and now the resolution of that is here. No word on how much or if it will affect the manga series moving forward.

31:38: During their corporate strategy presentation a few weeks ago, Sony revealed they intend to launch an academy in order to develop talent to create anime. Both hosts are a bit skeptical about it.

33:20: Whisper Me a Love Song is now going on a two-week break due to production issues. Justin and Helen discuss what’s been happening with this series and wonder when they’ll be able to get this finished.

37:04: Undead Unluck went on a 1-issue break due to Yoshifumi Tozuka’s health; meanwhile Asa Higuchi’s Big Windup! went on a sudden hiatus.

38:19: Actor Akira Nakao passed away at 81, and both hosts send their condolences to his family and friends.

39:26: VIZ made a lot of announcements this past Friday, which only made Justin cry about it to Helen (and at some point in this section an explanation on why WITCH WATCH in print is unlikely):

48:02: J-Novel Club also had announcements to make, also on a random Friday:

51:19: Here’s a couple more announcements, this time from Seven Seas and their Wonderful Wednesdays:

52:55: And finally, Titan Manga is back announcing exclusives on ANN! This time its Osamu Tezuka’s I.L.

55:00: Justin and Helen discuss the big news of GKIDS bringing the 4K version of Mamoru Oshii’s Angel’s Egg to theaters and home media next year.

57:50: Netflix is doing the thing where they’re gonna have a live-action version of a Japanese franchise, and this time it’s Kakegurui. Justin can only expect the worst.

1:00:10: Meanwhile, it appears Toei did not like what these twin brothers were doing to their Kamen Rider property, so they ended up taking legal action. Welp!

The post TheOASG Podcast Episode 197: Bad Industry Times Right Now appeared first on TheOASG.

0:00: Justin and Helen talk about all the things they’ve been up to over the past two weeks, which might involve someone watching the same show again (but English dubbed!) and one reading the source material of a show they happened to watch this past winter.

17:07: A few hiatuses and breaks popped up over the past few weeks — starting with The Case Study on Vanitas; Sleepy Princess going on a break until June; Frieren is on another hiatus after they just came back essentially; and The Apothecary Diaries manga going on hiatus!…The other version, not the one Square Enix is publishing.

20:41: Kia Asamiya had eye cataract surgeries, and he recently announced they were successful, which is good to hear.

21:17: For Pokémon fans, you likely have heard of Rachael Lillis, who voiced Misty and Jessie. Unfortunately, it was revealed she has breast cancer, and with it reaching difficult levels, her family started a GoFundMe campaign to help fund a home care nurse.

22:24: If you thought Penguin Random House was done collecting manga companies, well now they’ll be distributing TOKYOPOP titles next year!

28:34: Justin and Helen get into the news of Orange Inc. preparing to launch their AI localization program in the coming months, which only brings back one of their first attempts to localizing manga, and it was not a great effort.

36:01: Seven Seas’ Wonderful Wednesdays is back in full force, and they’ve acquired the following titles:

40:00: Justin and Helen get into a Kickstarter being launched for Kouji Shinasaka and Akihiro Kumeta’s Monkey Peak manga by Antarctic Press, and if this makes sense to do this.

42:34: After it feels like years, we finally have a company that has the rights to Mamoru Oshii’s Angel’s Egg, so we’ll be hearing from this officially in theaters in the coming months (or year).

45:18: Until April 28, 2025, you can watch a documentary on anime industry legend Masao Maruyama on NHK World’s site.

47:07: Terminator Zero will stream on Netflix at the end of August; Blue Archive the Animation will supposedly air in North America in the near future according to their official Twitter account. Both hosts wonder how far into that future though.

47:40: Hisaya Nakajo’s Hana-Kimi is getting an anime and when it’s all ready to go it will stream on Crunchyroll. Both hosts talk about this getting an anime after essentially 20 years (manga ended in 2004) and sort of wonder what type of changes will happen for the anime.

50:43: If you thought Narou light novels were already derivative, we have an AI developer that’s scrapped over 700,000 works on the site. Just exactly what we needed (not!). This does kick off another discussion on the use of this and why it won’t be going away anytime soon, at least compared to crypto or NFTs.

56:59: Justin and Helen are flabbergasted at Moyoco Anno getting a fifth volume of Hataraki Man…since its fourth volume was released in 2007! What happened in that time period?

59:20: With the Bocchi the Rock! compilation films upcoming in Japan, it’s time for marketing campaigns to begin, so if you see ‘Bocchilla’ vs. Godzilla anywhere in Japan, you now know why!

1:01:15: We have a crossover of two franchises that don’t even seem in the same universe, but in Japan they’re major works: Precure and Crayon Shin-chan. And in this case, the Wonderful Precure! protagonists and Shin-chan cameoed in each other’s episodes this past weekend.

1:03:19: And well, in final weird news of this episode, Justin recalls first seeing the Aniplex of America tweet in one of those apology like formats and thinking, “dang, what mistake or problem just happened?” and was stunned to find out it was them apologizing about giving Kyoko Sakura a birthday on May 9. She does not have an official birthday noted in any of Madoka Magica media. Helen decides May 9 will just be her unofficial official birthday now!

The post TheOASG Podcast Episode 196: Happy Birthday!…Wait, Whoops! appeared first on TheOASG.

0:00: Justin and Helen once again spend some time talking about what they’ve been up to over the past few weeks, and yes, it involves the Spring 2024 season! So have a mini spring anime discussion!

13:50: Both hosts discuss Crunchyroll increasing the prices of a couple of their tiers, and the timing of doing this now as opposed to either doing this later or when more of the Funimation catalog made it to Crunchyroll.

17:55: Bibliophile Princess will be on hiatus until the Fall; meanwhile, Mobile Suit Gundam: Thunderbolt will be on hiatus until June 28.

18:31: Boyfriend in Orange is back now that Non Tamashima’s ready to draw manga again following the birth of her child; and after Cutie and the Beast ended back in 2022, it’s now returned for a bit!

20:03: However, Reincarnated as a Slime spinoff Monster Nation has unfortunately ended for good. Sho Okagiri’s health has not improved and after enough attempts, Sho and publisher Micro Magazine felt it could not continue.

20:52: Kevin Hamric might be a familiar face if you’ve been following some of the numerous interviews over the past few years on ICv2 involving VIZ. That’s why you might be a bit surprised to know his position has now been eliminated, so he’s no longer at VIZ anymore.

21:30: Yen Press decided to announce a whole lot of titles on a Friday afternoon:

25:04: Meanwhile, Reincarnated as a Slime and Weathering With You will also have audiobooks produced by Yen Audio.

25:19: More audiobook news! Seven Seas will have a few for their Siren imprint, 3 of them Yoru Sumino books:

27:01: Justin and Helen talk about VIZ also just announcing on a Friday they’ve licensed a Magic the Gathering manga!…It doesn’t even look like one at first glance!

29:03: ABLAZE will be bringing over Shingo Honda’s Happyland manga in English, so fans of Creature! might want to give this a look when it comes in September.

29:34: Kodansha will have another KMANGA title leave their digital service and have a digital volume release in The Beast Player.

30:32: We finally have Abrams ComicArts joining the manga publishing industry! The hosts discuss this news and what they’ll be bringing over in 2024 and beyond.

32:28: Manga Planet announced something new that they’ll eventually release on their service: Masaya Hokazono & Seima Taniguchi’s Pumpkin Night; And finally, 5 new manga will be added to MangaPlaza thanks to Voltage, with a few more comics planned for the near future.

33:30: The only anime licensing news is GKIDS is at it again, as they’ve nabbed the rights to The Colors Within film.

34:22: Crunchyroll has added Genesis Climber MOSPEADA to its service; a new channel will launch this summer that seems focused on older American cartoons, but if they’re also adding Speed Racer and Marine Boy, then we may see classic Japanese shows added as well.

35:36: You wouldn’t think anime and North Korea would be in the same sentence at this point and time, but for Dahlia in Bloom and the studio in the spotlight, they’re in the crosshairs of it now since it’s been discovered there might’ve been North Korean animators involved in the project without their knowledge.

40:34: When your AI tool ends up going wrong — yes, Chris Beveridge himself confirmed he is not the director of Laid-Back Camp S3, contrary to what Grok says.

45:04: Believe if it gets physical when someone mentions a spoiler, something has gone wrong…and for one Oshi no Ko fan, they found out that went too far with someone!

50:08: And finally, Justin has seen a variation of the Foghorn Leghorn meme for a few years on Twitter, but he thinks it’s reached its peak now that the original VA joined in on the fun!

The post TheOASG Podcast Episode 195: Somehow NOT Done With Spring Season Yet appeared first on TheOASG.

0:00: Justin and Helen have another episode where whatever they’ve been up to over the past two weeks gets ignored because they’ll need to talk about the Spring Anime season. So they leap right into the biggest news that some may have seen coming: the Yuri on Ice: Adolescence film has been officially cancelled, which means we have a terrific example of just how awful the state of the anime industry must be for this to be cancelled.

23:36: Lightning and Romance is now on hiatus, with no timetable on its return.

24:00: Cross Infinite World had 5 light novel announcements, and one of them has the best title:

25:50: Another Alphapolis light novel title has been licensed by Hanashi Media, which means for those clamoring for works from them aside from Observation Records of My Fiancée: The Misadventures of a Self-Proclaimed Villainess, it’s time to have some hope!

26:40: GKIDS acquired the North American theatrical rights to Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence — it’ll have a new 4K restoration that will first premiere at the Chicago Critic’s Film Festival this summer; Netflix added Shaman King: Flowers to its service; and VIZ Manga can now be read in a few more territories aside from North America; and Manga UP! recently added a vault pass subscription service so now those in the US can read a bunch of series without having to get points.

Main Topic: Spring Anime 2024 First Impressions

29:56: Justin and Helen explain why Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night and Mysterious Disappearances turned out to be the only two titles they both essentially watched while the rest of their Spring season anime list is all over the place (for example Helen finds time to talk about Kaiju No. 8 (38:00) while Justin finds himself stuck in isekai hell (1:02:26) and chooses not to escape for whatever reason).

1:19:55: If you thought the One-Punch Man anime would still be in development hell, maybe it won’t be! If you also thought Helen wouldn’t take the time to make a bad pun, you’ll learn now

1:21:07: And finally, someone apparently must’ve made some statements using Kishimoto’s name because the official Naruto Twitter account had to state that Kishimoto does not actually have a social media. Welp!

The post TheOASG Podcast Episode 194: Yuri Put on Ice appeared first on TheOASG.

0:00: Justin and Helen had much to talk about in this episode, so they quickly jump straight into the news, beginning with a manga artist being inducted in Japan for tax evasion.

4:05: A couple series are returned from various hiatuses, starting with GTO, then Terraformars, and then Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles, which was less hiatus and more a publisher change!

7:27: That said, we now have a few manga going on hiatus. For at least Jeweler Richard, there’s plans to bring it back before 2024 is over. Ghost Reaper Girl, on the other hand, is certainly going to be indefinite now that the series will go on hiatus due to Akissa Saike’s health once again.

8:42: And another print magazine will end in Japan, as Shinchosha’s Monthly Comic @Bunch magazine is no more, now launching a digital magazine.

10:24: Sakura-Con happened a few weeks ago, and a few companies had announcements, starting with Kodansha:

13:23: Yen Press of course would have announcements at Sakura-Con since that’s an annual convention for them:

15:02: J-Novel Club sensed it was time to do some announcements, and they had 9 of them, all announced on their Twitch stream this past Friday:

23:44: Seven Seas recently announced they’re pausing Wonderful Wednesday announcements for April, so this was the last bunch of new titles until they resume:

26:29: In shocking news, Oi! Tonbo is streaming officially on Amazon Prime. Before you think, “Amazon is back streaming anime again???” Justin explains the circumstances around how this is being streamed and also apparently it’s best to avoid finding out how bad the English dub is for this!

28:59: Suzume and the GTO anime is now on Netflix; Meanwhile, the original 1981 Urusei Yatsura and a couple Hakuoki anime can now be watched on Crunchyroll.

Main Topic: Winter Anime 2024 Final Impressions

30:05: Justin and Helen finally give their final thoughts on the Winter Anime 2024 season, which included some standouts (7th Time Loop, A Sign of Affection), anime that didn’t turn out so well (Metallic Rouge, Instant Death), and at least one person watched a couple anime that aired starting from the Fall (that person was Justin).

But both hosts spend some time talking about The Apothecary Diaries though.

1:34:06: Let’s just say policies will be reviewed with the abnormal amount of leaks from anime airing on Crunchyroll this season, as there’s been more than a few that calls into question what the heck happened.

1:36:42: Yeah, Justin can at least believe that Jujutsu Kaisen was the most in-demand animated TV show from last year, so nice of the Guinness World Records to confirm it.

1:38:29: TO Books launched an official manga service where you can subscribe and choose to read a couple of Google translated manga that’s not even properly QC’ed. Justin and Helen have many questions, and somehow we talk about Sam Pinansky and Bookworm Part 4 in this section!

1:44:39: Manga creators going to other magazines is not unusual, but it is rare for a best-selling manga creator to go to a new magazine…so Wakui doing a new series in WSJ just leads one to wonder what was Kodansha thinking?

1:50:23: Helen goes over Captain Tsubasa creator Youichi Takahashi retiring from working on Tsubasa, which includes him still working on it but only releasing the storyboards of chapters.

1:53:40: Not sure what happened in Japan to cause this, but this recent ban of non-Japanese nationals for Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments is pretty bizarre.

1:54:48: Finally, the debate on whether isekai is a word to use or not is now null and our opinions don’t matter, because it’s now Oxford certified. That TOTALLY means it’s fine for it to be said instead of another world right? Right?

The post TheOASG Podcast Episode 193: We Really Talked This Much About Winter Anime appeared first on TheOASG.