Key Frames

Episode 157 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. Man, when you have a strong season it's almost as difficult to talk about what the best anime are as when you have a weak season. Ben? Ben would fight to the death for Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia, and he'd probably be fighting against Duncan and Goodbye, Lara. Andy would likely keep his skin, but only because he barely watched the second season of You and I Are Polar Opposites and hasn't touched anything else. And are any of these fools willing to face up against the cultural juggernaut that is the latest Ghost in the Shell reboot? At least we won't have this issue next season... I hope.

Episode 156 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. Welcome to SlopHole 23, shining city of the future and last best hope of humanity! We hope that you have read and followed our newly promulgated Civic Directive 153.77/A, requiring you to obtain and complete the paperwork from our Bureau-at-Large, Southeast Region in order to have legal permission to stand in this checkpoint queue. If not, please be aware that the penalty is death. You may appeal this sentence to our Supernumerary Liminal Corps, though they mostly spend their time firing guns out into the wasteland and the penalty for a frivolous appeal is also death. Regardless, if you are able to enter our beautiful metropolis through means other than transport by our Motorized Enforcement, Morgue Division, please make sure to make contact within twelve hours with the Resettlement Section of our Nonviolent Riot Police Unit, on penalty yet again of death, for unilateral disarmament and prophylactic torture. The latter will prepare you for the realities of living in a uniquely but necessarily lethal utopia such as ours. Don't worry, our Aural Adjustment Officers Ben and Duncan are quite experienced with newcomers. After all, they used to be podcasters before the Cyber-Eschaton fell!

Episode 38 of Key Frames: Inbetweens, a mini-podcast about anime. Check it, fam: Ben, Andy, and Duncan finna talk about the 1988 movie Akira and the manga it's based on, about a wannabe sigma who gets so shook from being mogged by his vro's aura that he crashes out and has a glow-down into a chud so chopped and cooked he almost unalives everyone. Not to vaguepost, but we all stan lowkirkenuinely. Katsuhiro Otomo understood the assignment, no cap. Give us a listen and tell us if we're right to be so geeked or if it's just brainrot from our flop era. Bet?

Episode 155 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. Here at Key Frames we're always pushing the boundaries of the possible and, even though we're making an effort to cut down on our runtime and to tighten up our topics, we're still hitting never-before-seen milestones like all the best internet creators. For instance, did you know that, not counting last episode and the solo one from December, this is our shortest non-Inbetween episode in half a decade? Did you know that it's also our shortest end-of-season discussion ever... probably? We can't be bothered to check that second claim but it's almost certainly true. What's more, Ben, Andy, and Duncan hit all-time highs in the duration of their discussions of Botan Kamiina Fully Blossoms When Drunk, Hundred Scenes of Awajima, and Akane-banashi? Not Witch Hat Atelier though, I wonder why... Anyway, big things are always happening here, even when they're small, so stay tuned for more technically unprecedented anime content!

Episode 154 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. Another episode, another discussion about Western fantasy's many forms in anime and manga. This time, at least, we're not retreading our decade-old discussion of Record of Lodoss War (though maybe we should...) nor are we glazing contemporary faves like Frieren: Beyond Journey's End and Delicious in Dungeon. Instead, our conversation keeps returning to a relative obscurity, the Heroic Legend of Arslan OVAs from the early nineties. They're not particularly good, in an absolute sense, but they raise some excellent questions on the ever-fading line between historical fiction on the one hand and neomedieval fantasy on the other, as well as providing for a uniquely fruitful source of people and places to look up on Wikipedia! Then, after being such good boys for staying mostly on topic, Ben and Duncan can't help but ramble a bit about alcohol, trauma, and of course yuri. Enjoy

Episode 153 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. Sunday rolled around and Ben was nowhere to be found, though it was almost time to record the episode on the end of the last season and beginning of the next. Andy messaged him, saying, "Don't you want to talk about Akane-banashi, the hot new anime about rakugo?" But Ben just said, "Sorry, I've got a cast," which was a strange thing to say, because he and Andy are on the same podcast. Duncan tried next, asking Ben, "Don't you want to hear my thoughts on Shiboyugi, an underrated psychological thriller?" But Ben just said, "Sorry, I've got a cast." A very, very strange thing to say! Jeff made a final attempt, drawing on their shared love of intellectually obscure and intricate shows. "Have you heard about Even a Replica Can Fall in Love? I think I'm going to focus on it in our discussion." And Ben said, "That sounds really interesting! I might pick it up later on, but right now I've got a cast." Strange, strange, strange... Anyway, the recording came and went without Ben in attendance, so his three cohosts resolved to check in on him afterward. "Why weren't you there, Ben? You knew we had a cast, you said so yourself. Didn't you want to dump all over Trigun Stargaze, at the very least?" And Ben said, "I wish I could have, but I fell down the stairs Saturday night and I've been in traction ever since. I told you all, I've got a cast!" Thank you for your continued appreciation.

Episode 37 of Key Frames: Inbetweens, a mini-podcast about anime. The bet between Andy and Duncan over what Ben's favorite anime is (currently) has been resolved, yet somehow the lattermost feels like the winner here, because now everyone has to watch Turn A Gundam. Well, "everyone" in this case means Duncan and Jeff, but Ben will take what he can get! Why does this anime appeal so much to someone who claims he's not a Mobile Suit Gundam fan or even really a mecha fan? How did Yoshiyuki Tomino and his writing team avoid the pitfalls typical to multi-cour giant robot shows? Why exactly does Turn A feel so unusually modern and relevant? You'll find out all of this and more, just play the episode!

Episode 152 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. It's the winter anime season once again, so Ben, Duncan, and Jeff drink deeply of anime good and bad. There's the austere, mature palate of Scotch whiskey in the drama of Journal with Witch, but maybe Golden Kamuy's straightforward, crowd-pleasing breadiness, so much like a macro lager, is more your style. Careful about the latter, though: it might have a bitter finish. And don't confuse the bright zip of You and I Are Polar Opposite's gin-gin mule with the bubbly sweetness of Trigun Stargaze, another drink that might not leave you with a satisfying finish. Regardless, the point of booze is to have fun with friends, so be sure to share your faves of the season just as we did ours!

Episode 151 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. Isn't making lists fun? Ben, Andy, and Duncan make one for their favorite anime of 2025. Then Ben gives out some awards, Duncan aggregates his lists into an even bigger list, and Andy makes a list of favorite manga. We're on a roll! Here, I'm going to make a list of our best episode titles from 2025, just because I can:

Episode 150 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. Doesn't it feel like we're in some kind of time warp? Like, I listened to the episodes we made before and after the holidays last year, and in them Ben's recovering from a bruiser of a cold, Duncan's having computer trouble, and Andy's in the thick of moving. Has anything changed, even a little? Is this thing on? Come to think of it, the coming season of anime is all sequels of shows that aired a year or two ago... Well, the only way out is through, so throughout this pod we discuss what we liked about, were inspired by, and wanted to be different in the various anime of the fall 2025 season. Check it out!