Adapting the novel by Shion Miura, The Great Passage tells the story of an editorial crew assembling a dictionary. Exciting stuff, right? Well, actually this simple tale of ordinary people who love words and all they can do is as gripping and dramatic as it can be visually beautiful. Sadly, not too many people have experienced this imagery-heavy anime. It premiered in the noitaminA programming block on October 14, 2016, but exclusively streaming rights, granted Amazon Prime’s (then double-paywall) service Strike, held up the release until later in 2017. Since then, the double paywall has vanished, and there is now no reason not to enjoy this fine, 11-episode show.

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Runtime: 52 min

Time for a deep cut to some awesome mecha designs and ’80s rock music! Jared finally gets robot-anime h8ter Ink to sit down and watch all eight Bubblegum Crisis OAVs. Come for Jared’s idol debut and stay for some great discussion and reminiscing with special guest Doug Weinman about this late-’80s, early-’90s cyberpunk series that packs some serious talent. In addition to general takes, we talk specifically about each OAV.

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Runtime: 1 hr, 56 min

Welcome to Anime Secret Santa, a gift exchange run by our friends at Reverse Thieves where the gifts are anime review recommendations!

For their first Reverse Thieves Secret Santa entry, Jared and Ink stare into the bleak and violent landscape of Casshern Sins. This reboot of the 1973 anime Casshan follows an immortal, amnesiac robot named Casshern, whose initial act of violence brought death to the doorsteps of humans and robots alike. As Casshern interacts with the dwindling population, he learns more about what it is to live and what it means to be truly alive. Be warned: we do not hold back on spoilers in this episode. Thanks to the Reverse Thieves for organizing this wonderful project, and thanks to George (The Land of Obscusion) for the recommendation!

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Runtime: 47 min

Released in 2003, the first Kino’s Journey anime is an episodic affair that centers around an AI-imbued motorad named Hermes and its rider, a traveler named Kino. They visit country (town) after country and stay no more than three days at a time to observe the inhabitants and their customs. The series, based on a series of light novels (…no wait, keep reading!) by Keiichi Sigsawa and directed by Ryutaro Nakamura (Serial Experiments Lain), offers settings not bound by any solid sense of chronology or aesthetic; countries can combine such disparate genre elements as sci-fi and Western, and the differences between neighboring countries can make them seem centuries apart. Kino’s Journey is one of Ink’s favorite anime, and Jared just watched it for the first time. Find out what we have to say and then maybe go grab yourself a copy. (The sale referred to during the podcast is over, but the series is still a steal at $20.) Jared and Ink also talk a little bit about the recent reboot, Kino’s Journey – the Beautiful World – The Animated Series.

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Runtime: 1 hr, 9 min

Happy (month of) Halloween! To celebrate, we at Oldtaku no Radio bring you the true horror that is Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack – the 2012 OVA which adapts Junji Ito’s Gyo manga. Because we were too scared to tackle this title alone, we decided to re-traumatize All Geeks Considered co-host Vinnie via an invite. After having read the original manga and watched the movie, we speak to the differences between them as well as what worked, what didn’t, and why. Press play and give a listen and don’t forget to leave a comment to share your thoughts or just say hi!

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Runtime: 55 min

If you’ve yet to watch the epic drama about traditional storytelling that is Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju, get yourself on over to Crunchyroll and do so. If you’ve yet to watch the sequel, Descending Stories, feel free to listen up until the spoilers section (or past if you don’t care about such things).

In our final episode of our first season of Oldtaku no Radio, we return to a show about which we could not stop praising in our first episode. We find the sequel/second season a little more divisive, which means there’s even more to talk about. But don’t worry, we keep things concise and focus on analysis instead of plot this time around. We look into the imagery, characters, plot devices, storytelling implementation, chronology, and more to hammer out why this anime is so effective. Listen, enjoy, and let us know what you think!

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Runtime: 1 hr, 16 min

Released in 1991 as a pair of OVAs, Otaku no Video is much more than this podcast’s namesake. Otaku no Video, produced by animation studio Gainax, is a time capsule, an enshrined symbol of counter culture, commentary on the otaku way of life, a commercial, and on the surface … a pretty poorly written slice-of-life anime. Want to find out how one title can be so many things? Just click play or download at will to hear hosts Jared and Ink dig into the various aspects of Otaku no Video alongside special guest, Ani-Gamers’ own Evan “VamptVo” Minto. (Excuse his exuberance; his audio does level down pretty quickly.)

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Runtime: 1 hr, 22 min

It’s time for Old Spice & Taiikuwolves! For episode ten of Oldtaku no Radio, Jared and Ink are joined by Kory and Chris of the Taiiku Podcast to talk about the mostly beloved anime Spice & Wolf. And don’t you worry, this ain’t just a Holo fancast; some surprising revelations come up in the discussion that will really make you rethink the series and BEG another watch. We were a bit crunched for time, so my usual nitpicky audio editing was not fully employed, but I think we still sound easy enough to fall asleep to. But just in case a serious discussion about an anime mainly driven by dialog and that revolves around mercantile economics isn’t wiley enough for ya, we have some group howls too. Listen in and sing along. (We kept the episode fairly spoiler free, but be warned we did not have any specific spoiler section this time around.) And just in case you need a cheat sheet, here’s a list of coins from the series and their exchange rates (where applicable).

Coin list:
Lute silver coin (equals 3 Trie copper coins)
Trie copper coin (equals 1/3 Lute silver coin)
Trenni silver coins (replaced Lute Silver Coins)
Philing silver coin
Lumione gold coins (equals ~35 Trenni silver coins)
Farum silver coin (can be confused for fake Marinne silver coin, similar to later version of Bishop Radeon silver coin)
Marinne silver coin
Bishop Radeon silver coin
King Ranbalt silver coin
Mitzfing Cathedral silver coin (and fake)
Saint Mitzfing silver coin
Pireon gold coin
Numai gold coin
Irrades (1600 (dub) 15000 (sub) equals 400 Trenni silver coins)
Rimmer (pronounced “Lima”) gold coin (14 = 500 (dub) 300 (sub) Trenni silver coins)

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Runtime: 1 hr, 26 min

Listen to the Taiiku Podcast for all things sports, Kurosawa, and more!
Twitter: Ani-Gamers, Oldtaku no Radio, Ink, Jared, Kory, Chris, Taiiku Podcast
Ink also writes for Otaku USA Magazine and The Fandom Post.
Jared also writes for The Electrum Edition and Wave Motion Cannon.

Produced waaaaaaay back in 2001, R.O.D. (Read or Die), directed by Koji Masunari, revolves around special agent Yomiko Readman (a.k.a. “The Paper”) and her allies at the British Library as they try to obtain and protect a book that, in the wrong hands, could lead to the end of all human life on Earth. This OVA is, despite only being sixteen years old, a classic among classics…but why? Is it the pulpy presentation of the protagonists’ (and antagonists’) superpowers? the magical realism of their daring-do? the dreaded pirate moé? Listen to Jared and Ink as they banter about and stumble upon what makes this bookworm’s tale-turned-spy thriller so impactful.

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Runtime: 1 hr, 17 min

©2016 TOHO / CoMix Wave Films / KADOKAWA / JR Kikaku / AMUSE / voque ting / Lawson HMV Entertainment

Because we were not invited to the cool podcast (actually, we recorded this before the AGP), the Oldtaku crew and special guest Scott Spaziani recorded our own your name. podcast. Scott and Ink are seasoned Shinkai viewers (both have panels on the director that they present at cons), and this is Jared’s first exposure to the cloud/foot/loneliness director extraordinaire. We kept the first half free of spoilers by discussing themes and technique, but the second half contains spoilers galore for the purpose of digging into the meat of the movie. While it’s almost impossible to spoil Shinkai’s movies, which are more about experiencing the journey than knowing the ticketed endpoint, certain plot points in your name. are better experienced unadulterated the first time around. (So listen to the spoilers section at your own risk!)

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Runtime: 1 hr, 49 min