PenPen Pals

It's great to be back and we are excited to bring you another Gainax work: Kazuya Tsurumaki's ground breaking sexual satire FLCL! Join us for a discussion of the pivotal pilot as it issues questions and comments alike on masculinity, cycles of abuse, and the mysterious art of rock and roll.

Check out the series (again) wherever you can find it (super easy these days), and (re)explore what it's like to be on the cusp of adolescence, and how robots factor into that.

Also check out The Pillows wherever you can find their music.

Also ALSO visit Brian's website if you need quality life coaching:

www.lifejutsu.com

Greeting PenPenPals! We will be back next week(!) covering another fan favorite AND critically acclaimed series. In the mean time, please enjoy this track provided by our newest permanent fixture, Brian. Children Of The Black Moon is a super stretched, surreal soundscape and for about a week, Alex had it and its sister song (COTWM) playing on repeat. We hope everyone listening has some time to decompress and experience solidarity by talking about anime with a friend. Talk to you soon PenPenPals!

A word from the composer:

While Children of the White moon was really fun to produce, it was nice to offer a piece that contrasted with White Moon and spoke more towards the emotional depth of NGE. Black Moon was kind of an after thought and composed of unused samples for White Moon. I was surprised at how the samples came together and moved me and in some ways I am more proud of the less sophisticated production.

Instrumentality is in full swing... JOIN US! Brian comes back to dissect the last episode and share some last thoughts on the series as a whole. To our guests, thank you. To our listeners, we are with you. And to all the contributions Alex hasn't edited, farewell... for now. Congratulations everyone!

While Alex is struggling with Instrumentality, PenPenPals Presents this present from friend of the pod Brian! This addictive track was a gift for recording our season 1 finale. We hope you enjoy it with an anime loving pal and we hope you have the same detective novel "Ahha!" moment we did. Stay safe Pals!

Instrumentality beings!!! Beautiful, strange, and not at all what we were expecting, Nate and Oliver do a damn fine job sussing some meaning from the series' PENultimate episode.

LoFi Cruel Angel's Thesis from Arthur Braga at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORRXbrRlkbk

Hey PenPenPals!! This time of year is hectic for many, and we here at the show are no exception. With that in mind, this week brings you not another episode, but the full version of our new intro and outro. This is the intro by local Fairfax musician Asher of MLEMON. Check out his work with his musical prodigy partner Mckinley at https://mlemon.bandcamp.com/ and stay tuned for our penultimate episode (for the season) next week!

Please enjoy this full version of our outro, generously provided by local musician and guest on the pod Ed. This lovingly modified treatment of Rei I captured my heart and I hope it enlivens the jazziness in yours. Check out Ed's work at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh2FeiCdG-Lyqb3onQONggA

Friends of the show Tonya and Cassie join us to ponder the mysteries of Kaworu Nagisa, The Fifth Children. We also get a visit from a dancing dog poet named Blake and Ben decides what kind of cult he wants to be in. Stay warm, stay fed, and be nice to your PenPenPals ;;;,-)

Asuka is out of comission, Misato and Shinji are unraveling emotionally. Can Rei defeat the next angel on her own? Join us and our new PenPenPal Damian for a delightful discussion about some horrifying imagery ;;;,-)

8-Bit Cruel Angel's Thesis found here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF5Wl4JDQjY

2 BROTHERS!!! This episode brings us an all too close look at Asuka, and why we should feel respect and sympathy for our multinational comrade. We remember NGE RE:Death (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtXT-8C-6OE) and finally witness the throwing of Chekhov's Lance.

Cruel Angel's Thesis from AniShin:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7BN-DPFGP1CASZ2BbgIV7