Todd joins Maddy and Ryan for the series finale of the Wolverine anime, which might be worse than any previous episode because it's so unfulfilling. Sure, all the plot points get wrapped up; Yukio even confesses to killing Asano. But the ending is no less frustrating, since it involves Hideki blowing up the entire Dragon Palace while it's full of his own wedding guests (why???). Then, everybody else dies too, except for Logan and Kikyo, who make out in the post-credits scene. What even was this show?

Next week's episode: The Blade anime (we decided the Wolverine episode of the Iron Man anime wasn't worth an entire week's worth of analysis)

E-mail us your feedback at [email protected] or follow us on social media @TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella. If you like what you hear, please consider supporting us via patreon.com/themutantages or our store: teespring.com/stores/the-mutant-ages. Thanks!

Maddy and Ryan reach the penultimate episode of the Wolverine anime, and they're very excited to reach the finale next week. So close! Luckily, this week's episode had some actual plot in it: Logan, Yukio, and Kikyo have finally climbed the steps to the Dragon Palace, with Yukio's grandfather Koh just ahead of them. Koh gets in a big swordfight with Shingen, then gets interrupted by Yukio, Logan, and Kikyo (although the trio gets lost on the way). Meanwhile, Mariko and Hideki perform their straight, Christian wedding ceremony.

Next week's episode: "Logan," Wolverine (Marvel anime)

E-mail us your feedback at [email protected] or follow us on social media @TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella. If you like what you hear, please consider supporting us via patreon.com/themutantages or our store: teespring.com/stores/the-mutant-ages. Thanks!

Maddy and Ryan step away (once again) from the Wolverine anime to open up the listener mailbag, answering questions about obscure X-Men who deserve a storyline, Mystique as a trans allegory, the music scene on Krakoa, and more. In the second half of the episode, we've got a brand-new episode of The Mutant Ages: The Comic Book!

Next week's episode: "Kurohagi," Wolverine (Marvel anime)

E-mail us your feedback at [email protected] or follow us on social media @TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella. If you like what you hear, please consider supporting us via patreon.com/themutantages or our store: teespring.com/stores/the-mutant-ages. Thanks!

Yukio and Logan still haven't made it inside the Dragon Palace, even though we're all the way up to episode 10 of the Wolverine anime. This episode is called "Shingen," even though it's not about Shingen, and he doesn't even appear in the episode. That makes no sense, but neither does the episode, which features a lengthy fight scene with Vadhaka and the shocking, pointless death of one of the series' characters. At the end of this week's podcast, Maddy gets frustrated enough by the Wolverine anime that she decides to look up who killed Asano, as well as who is (and isn't) responsible for working on this anime. The answers... may surprise you!

Next week's episode: Listener mail

E-mail us your feedback at [email protected] or follow us on social media @TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella. If you like what you hear, please consider supporting us via patreon.com/themutantages or our store: teespring.com/stores/the-mutant-ages. Thanks!

Every episode of the Wolverine anime has felt more like a video game level than a TV show, but none more so than "Hell Road." In this installment, Logan and Yukio evade a series of traps, all of which play out like quicktime events in a 90s-era action game made by Capcom. Also, Maddy and Ryan lose their minds over the reveal of Koh's "plan," which makes no sense, could barely be called a plan, and probably didn't need to involve Logan's input or awareness in the first place.

Next week's episode: "Shingen," Wolverine (Marvel anime)

E-mail us your feedback at [email protected] or follow us on Twitter at TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella. If you like what you hear, please consider supporting us via patreon.com/themutantages or our store: teespring.com/stores/the-mutant-ages. Thanks!

Connor Goldsmith of the Cerebro podcast comes on the show to analyze the motion comic adaptation of Astonishing X-Men: Gifted, written by Joss Whedon and illustrated by John Cassaday. This means we analyze all of Joss Whedon's work up to the source comic's original debut in 2004, meaning full spoilers for Buffy, Angel, and even a little bit of Dollhouse and Firefly/Serenity chat. Since Connor's here, we also ask him about his thoughts on Scott/Jean/Emma/Logan, his least favorite X-Men comics, his MCU and Agents of SHIELD opinions, and soooo much more. Find Connor's work and podcast at connorgoldsmith.com.

Next week's episode: "Hell Road," Wolverine (Marvel anime)

E-mail us your feedback at [email protected] or follow us on Twitter at TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella. If you like what you hear, please consider supporting us via patreon.com/themutantages or our store: teespring.com/stores/the-mutant-ages. Thanks!

The Wolverine anime didn't let us down this week, because this episode has plot points that all follow logically and make sense. We get some character development for Yukio, some goofy antics from Hideki's lackeys (all of whom are Wolverine fanboys, apparently), and an ominous description of what our heroes might face on Hell Road, the "shortcut" to the Dragon Palace. This show might actually be getting good in its home stretch, or at least passable, but we're still taking a break from reviewing it next week to do something else extra-special.

Next week's episode: Astonishing X-Men: Gifted (motion comic) featuring Connor Goldsmith!!

E-mail us your feedback at [email protected] or follow us on Twitter at TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella. If you like what you hear, please consider supporting us via patreon.com/themutantages or our store: teespring.com/stores/the-mutant-ages. Thanks!

Cloaky is also on Twitter at cloakycloaks.

You know times are tough when Maddy and Ryan start saying they miss when the Wolverine anime was about Omega Red. Hard to believe, right? That's the only conclusion to be had after watching "Vadhaka, a.k.a Statue," a bizarre boss battle between a magical statue and Wolverine, followed by a maze in the sewers that ends with Min introducing Logan to Yukio's grandfather. Logan learns a lot more about Yukio's backstory and the circumstances of her parents' death, although he takes an extremely long time to realize that he's listening to a story about Yukio. Funniest part of the episode, except for the five seconds of Kikyo kicking ass.

Next week's episode: "Koh," Wolverine (Marvel anime)

E-mail us your feedback at [email protected] or follow us on Twitter at TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella. If you like what you hear, please consider supporting us via patreon.com/themutantages or our store: teespring.com/stores/the-mutant-ages. Thanks!

Cloaky is also on Twitter at cloakycloaks.

This episode of the Wolverine anime is slightly better than the norm ... but only slightly. After some hilarious flirting with Cyclops, Logan arrives at Madripoor with Yukio. Soon after that, Yukio abandons him and Logan gets a new female friend -- a teenage girl this time. Took him long enough!

Next week's episode: "Vadhaka, a.k.a. Statue"

E-mail us your feedback at [email protected] or follow us on Twitter at TheMutantAges, MIDImyers and RyanPagella. If you like what you hear, please consider supporting us via patreon.com/themutantages or our store: teespring.com/stores/the-mutant-ages. Thanks!

Cloaky is also on Twitter at cloakycloaks.

Dr. Christopher Michael Roman appears on the podcast with Maddy, Ryan, and Todd to discuss his book, Queering Wolverine in Comics and Fanfiction: A Fastball Special. We discuss the previous scholarship that analyzes Wolverine as the ultimate example of straight male (toxic) masculinity, and the analyses in Christopher's book, which push back against that reading and instead view Logan through a queer lens. We also talk about how Logan is a cyborg pig who wears cowboy drag.

Get the book HERE >>> https://www.routledge.com/Queering-Wolverine-in-Comics-and-Fanfiction-A-Fastball-Special/Roman/p/book/9781032120140

E-mail us your feedback at [email protected] or follow us on Twitter at @TheMutantAges. If you like what you hear, please consider supporting us via patreon.com/themutantages or our store: teespring.com/stores/the-mutant-ages. Thanks!