Makoto Shinkai is a prolific anime director for making deeply beautiful and metaphorical films whether it be his blockbuster smash Your Name or his cult classic 5 Centimeters Per Second. Your backdoor anime hangout got invited to see his latest film Suzume at the Academy Museum of Motion Picture and Arts. We look into:

Suzume premieres April 14th

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The controversy here is whether or not this movie should have been released. Not so much for anything pertaining the story or canon, rather its format: a two episode recap of its previous season followed by the first episode of the upcoming season. It begs the question - why does a film like this exist? Moreso, what benefit does it do for the industry?

Many thanks to The Cliff for this episode idea.

It's the season of gratitude, and what better way to celebrate it than with your backdoor anime hangout! Jojo, Cliff, and imagEn come together to express thanks to those that have impacted our lives as anime fans - the power of friendship, dark humor, and a radio station to name a few. Regardless it's all love here at Otaku Hourly!

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Many thanks to 22 West Radio (formerly KBeach Radio) for making Otaku Hourly a reality and the crew - past and present - that have nurtured it to be what is today. 

Your backdoor anime hangout got invited to attend and interview at the 5th Los Angeles Animation Is Film Festival. Amidst the selection, we chose and recommend three: Unicorn Wars, Oni, and Summer Ghost; even getting a chance to interview the directors of the latter two - Dice Tsutsumi (Oni) and Loundraw (Summer Ghost). May these recommendations enrich your animation palette!

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Unicorn Wars - at the time of the recording - is in theaters.

Oni: Thunder God's Tale is on Netflix

Summer Ghost is available on BluRay/DVD at GKIDS Films and Shout!Factory

Your backdoor anime hangout recommends some titles for Halloween whether it involves ghouls, monsters, and aliens or more thematic elements like dread, mental health, and self-esteem. The criteria may be broad, yet that just means we have more to tell you!

Anime on the Docket:

Many thanks to Viz Media for the review copies for Drip Drip and DanDaDan

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You read that right, there is no Goku nor Vegeta in this film primarily AND that is NOT a typo - Akira Toriyama (the creator of the Dragon Ball franchise) overlooked that in development. This one focuses on Piccolo and Gohan this time as well as a familiar foe, the Red Ribbon Army. It is a movie more than just good versus evil, it is how belief in a particular narrative can amplify power and misplace good intentions - and your backdoor anime hangout is here to take it piece by piece with a couple of Dragon Ball fans.

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Many thanks to Jose Salazar for the episode request as well as the recommendation to watch this film. 

When all seems lost, where do you turn to? The upcoming film The House of the Lost on the Cape answers that with a combination of community and the supernatural. How does it deliver?

Anime Expo holds a variety of different panels and this is one of them - Anime and Black Culture. Jeffrey of DataFist hosted, organized, and lead a panel - or more appropriately "a show-" of what it means to be black anime fan and how that has shaped the fandom and media we have today. The Cliff takes the helm of this episode and looks into what it means to be "black," the intersectionality between black culture and anime, and the potential it holds for the future community, industry, and medium.

Follow DataFist on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook

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Guest: Jeffrey of DataFist

Many thanks to Jeffrey for the time and opportunity to interview him as well as The Cliff for making this episode a realtiy.

Music can start a revolution and Masaaki Yuasa's Inu-OH shows that with a glam-rock flare in 14th century Japan - a time of shogun authority in the midst of political upheaval and unification. Through two entertainers - Inu-Oh, a cursed and disfigured performer, and Tomona, a blind biwa priest - we witness the birth of a musical movement and tribute to the fallen Heike clan. From the aforementioned glam theatrics to the supernatural, how much creative liberties are made to tell such a story; and can it get away with that with finesse and style? 

(If you've seen Samurai Champloo you know where this may be going...)

Tickets and Info at https://www.inu-oh.com/

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Many thanks to GKids as well as Jeremy Augustitus and Sophia Kandah of 42 West LLC for the screener opportunity. 

Anime Expo, one of the most popular and renown convention in the North American continent, comes back as an in-person event after two years of going virtual due to the pandemic. Your backdoor anime hangout talks about their experience as attendees, including one volunteer, and see if it was dramatically different or the good old times.

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