In one of our most absolutely jam-packed Monthly Stuff installments to date, we live up to our moniker with a long discussion of teaching stories and curriculum planning (but it’s fun, we promise) before moving on to talk about the avalanche of games we’ve playing recently, including Ghost of Yōtei, Pokémon Legends Z-A, Hades II, Super Robot Wars Y, and the Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake. Before all that, we discuss some recent news, including updates on Doctor Who, Halo, and One Piece, and we end the show with perhaps our best Monthly Ten segment to date, in which Sean Chapman, who had never listened to a Taylor Swift song before this month, imagines 10 future Taylor Swift songs based on dark and upsetting plot points in William Shakespeare plays. It’s a blast. 

Enjoy! 

TIME CHART:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:04:48

News: 0:04:48 – 0:54:29

School Stories: 0:54:29 – 1:51:30

Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu: 1:51:30 – 2:07:45

Plur1bus: 2:07:45 – 2:14:40

Ghost of Yōtei: 2:14:40 – 2:27:04

Hades II: 2:27:04 – 2:35:35

Pokémon Legends ZA: 2:35:35 – 2:54:30

Super Robot Wars Y: 2:54:30 – 3:01:25

Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake: 3:01:25 – 3:07:14

The Monthly Ten: 3:07:14 – 3:31:16

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

We spent a full year chronicling the history of Kyoto Animation on our anime podcast, Japanimation Station, back in 2024, which means we are very excited to talk about CITY: THE ANIMATION, the latest anime series from the renowned studio. Directed by Violet Evergarden helmer Ishidate Taichi and based on the manga Nichijou author Arawi Keiichi, CITY is one of the absolute greatest series KyoAni has produced to date, a return not only to Arawi’s zany comic stylings, but to the bold, experimental spirit of KyoAni’s early work. Seamlessly blending wild, anarchical comedy with heartfelt, shockingly rich storytelling about friendship, nostalgia, and community, CITY isn’t just a triumph: it’s an outright masterpiece, and we couldn’t be happier to talk about it at length on today’s show. 

Enjoy! 

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

We’re back for the month of October with an exciting episode covering both the highs and lows of the video game industry in 2025. In terms of ‘low,’ we’ve got more Xbox Pricing Madness, as Microsoft once again hiked prices on Xbox hardware, before unveiling a full 50% raise to the price of Xbox Game Pass, a move that feels like the definitive end of the brand’s subscription model experiment. In terms of ‘highs,’ though, games are still great, and there’s way too many out there for us to play them all! Jonathan gives first impressions of Hades II from Supergiant, while Sean talks Ghost of Yōtei, Sucker Punch’s historical samurai sequel for the PS5. We also talk the latest Genshin Impact update, Super Robot Wars Y, and engage in a very fun, very silly Monthly Ten as we consider the lessons teenagers actually need to be taught before they get out of high school. 

Enjoy! 

Time Chart

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:03:18

Xbox Pricing Madness & Other News: 0:03:18 – 1:21:14

Ghost of Yotei: 1:21:14 – 1:37:50

Hades II: 1:37:50 – 1:57:00

Genshin Impact 6.0: 1:57:00 – 2:09:54 

Super Robot Wars Y: 2:09:54 – 2:31:59

The Monthly Ten: 2:31:59 – 3:10:00 

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

It’s a 2-part episode of Purely Academic as we discuss the recent Nintendo Direct presentation – our first big event from Nintendo since the launch of the Switch 2 – before reviewing the biggest movie in the world right now: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie – Infinity Castle. The first part of a trilogy adapting the final arc of Gotouge Koyoharu’s manga, it’s an incredible film, depicting three major battles across its 155-minute runtime, and executing on all of it at the same insanely high level we’ve come to expect from ufotable over the years. This is a movie with some of the most jaw-dropping animated spectacle you’ll ever see in a theater, but as always, its heart is with the characters, their backstories, and their interiority, and this film’s focus on the villain Akaza proves to be some of the most effective material in the life of the entire series. We talk about all of it and more, including the terrific vocal performances and killer soundtrack, as Kimetsu no Yaiba truly kicks off the beginning of the end.  

Enjoy! 

Time Chart

Nintendo Direct: 0:00:00 – 0:51:14

Demon Slayer: 0:51:14 – 3:14:36

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

Our August episode of Purely Academic is one of our busiest recordings to date, as Sean and Jonathan break down how they spent their summer vacations, and talk about the start of the new school year. Sean tells us about some of the legal insanity affecting education in Texas, while Jonathan explains why he created a bunch of feature-length anime fan edits for various classes he’s teaching this semester. We discuss a bunch of video games both old and new, from Donkey Kong Bananza and Mafia: The Old Country, to Sean falling down the Dark Souls rabbit hole again and Jonathan finding himself many hours into a new playthrough of the original Pokémon Blue. Jonathan also talks about binging the entire run of Showtime’s Dexter, and finally, Sean is up for The Monthly Ten, counting down the Top 10 podcast topics he would most dread doing. 

Time Chart

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:08:50

News: 0:08:50 – 0:35:33

School Talk: 0:35:33 – 1:27:31

Jonathan’s Anime Edits: 1:27:31 – 1:48:20

Dexter: 1:48:20 – 2:16:53

Berserk & Dark Souls: 2:16:53 – 2:44:57

Pokémon Blue: 2:44:57 – 2:52:28

Donkey Kong Bananza: 2:52:28 – 3:01:57

Mafia: The Old Country: 3:01:57 – 3:17:06

The Monthly Ten: 3:17:06 – 3:40:13

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

After looking back over all the previous attempts to bring Marvel’s Fantastic Four to the big screen last month, we review the introduction to Marvel’s first family into the MCU: The Fantastic Four: First Steps, directed by Matt Shakman and starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn. It’s easily the most these characters have ever been done justice on film, with great lead performances, excellent retro-futuristic production design, and a particularly fun second act in the depths of outer space. We discuss how the film could stand to take a few more risks and go a bit deeper with its characters and themes, as First Steps ultimately plays things safe in the way most Marvel movies do, but this is still the best film to come out of the MCU in a long time.  

Enjoy! 

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

We’re back sooner than usual, with a special episode focused entirely on James Gunn’s SUPERMAN! The film is the official launch of the new DCU, but much more importantly, it’s an actual Superman movie, one that truly gets the character and his world in a way no live-action Superman film has in our lifetimes. Jonathan reviewed the film in writing last week at Fade to Lack, but we dive much deeper here with a full spoiler-filled discussion, breaking down all the characters, performances, themes, set pieces, and more! We have a few criticisms here and there, but for the most part agree this is a pretty wonderful superhero movie – and it’s truly awesome to finally have this much fun talking about Superman on a podcast. 

Enjoy! 

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

For the July installment of ‘The Monthly Stuff,’ we break down the news of Xbox’s latest round of devastating layoffs, give fuller impressions of the Nintendo Switch 2 after a full month of play, and discuss recent games and TV shows we’ve experienced. Jonathan gives thoughts on Fast Fusion and Raidou Remastered, alongside continued impressions of Mario Kart World, while Sean talks about playing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on the PS5, watchingUltraman Gaia, and the second season of Disney+’s acclaimed Star Wars series Andor. And for The Monthly Ten, Jonathan counts down the 10 craziest ideas for superhero movies he could think of. A fun time is had by all. 

Enjoy! 

Time Chart: 

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:03:35

News: 0:03:35 – 0:59:35

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: 0:59:35 – 1:24:20

Switch 2 Adventures: 1:24:20 – 2:06:57 

Ultraman Gaia: 2:06:57 – 2:20:09 

Andor: 2:20:09 – 2:33:37

The Monthly Ten: 2:33:37 – 3:05:34 

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

With Marvel’s ‘first family’ finally joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe next month in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, we thought it would be a good time to look back at the theatrical history of this extremely troubled franchise. There have been three attempts across four movies to make the Fantastic Four work on the silver screen, from the unreleased 1994 Roger Corman production, to the two Tim Story-directed films at 20th Century Fox in 2005 and 2007, to the ill-fated production of 2015’s Fant4stic, which might just be the worst superhero movie ever made. Some of these movies are better than their reputations suggest – the Tim Story films, with a charming cast and good sense of tone, are fine, if not particularly special – but on the whole, Hollywood has never known what to do with these characters, and surveying these 30 years of failed attempts to bring the Fantastic Four into the cinematic mainstream makes for a fun and fascinating conversation. 

Enjoy! 

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

It’s a jam-packed ‘Monthly Stuff’ episode for June as we give our first impressions of the Nintendo Switch 2 at launch and react to the latest season of Doctor Who. First, Sean gives us his review of Doom: The Dark Ages, while Jonathan talks about watching the classic Takahata Isao anime Heidi, Girl of the Alps. Then we go through some not-E3 2025 news, including the announcement of a Persona 4 remake and Xbox’s first branded handheld, before diving into all things Nintendo Switch 2. Jonathan had the system for about 3 days before recording, and played a ton of games, from brand new experiences like Mario Kart World to upgraded classics like Breath of the Wild. There’s a lot to like here, and a lot to talk about. And finally, we break down what the hell happened with this year’s Doctor Who episodes, as the series fully melted down on its way to a surprise regeneration and desperate last-minute twist. 

Time Chart: 

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:05:22

Doom: The Dark Ages: 0:05:22 – 0:19:58

Heidi, Girl of the Alps: 0:19:58 – 0:40:53

Not-E3 2025 News: 0:40:53 – 1:20:36

Nintendo Switch 2 Impressions: 1:20:36 – 2:24:14

Doctor Who Season 2: 2:24:14 – 3:32:18

Monthly Ten: 3:32:18 – 3:55:24 

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman