S3E1: SURPRISE! Otaku Ryoho is BACK! After a 5 year hiatus, Geek Therapy's anime podcast is back and rebooted with a shiny new coat of paint, a new (cuter and very funny) co-host, and 5 years of fresh wisdom (and existential dread). Josué introduces Rae to the audience and interviews her about her favorite anime (which she mostly answers). They discuss favorite anime, what they're currently watching (Josué is DEEP in the Gundam mines), and how ADHD impacts favorites, watchability, enjoyment, and expectations. Rae discusses her origins with anime and the experience of first discovering anime in the early 2000's on Toonami. She talks about the negative social perception of liking anime at the time, how that shame affected her, and how finally openly embracing her love of anime has led to personal growth and a heaping scoop of healthy self-awareness. They then pivot to their plan for this new era's episodes- revisiting the classics, touching on what's popular right now, and more.

Themes/Topics Discussed:

• Anime as a therapy tool 
• Hyper-fixations and ADHD in fandom
• The vulnerability of liking things openly 
• Generational/perceived shame around anime (Toonami-era millennials)
• Identity development and alignment 
• Eating disorders/disordered eating
• Positive depictions of food and eating in anime (eating as self-care)
• Capable, well-written female characters, especially in Shonen
• Disability and accurate representation in anime 
• Cultural representation 
• Processing depression through art (Hideaki Anno and depression)
• Effort vs. faith models of wish fulfillment 
• Differences between media written for the male gaze vs the female gaze 
• Grief
• Nostalgia
• Female perspectives of anime, especially Shonen

Relatable Experiences:

• Blanking on your favorite thing when asked
• Hyper-fixation cycling
• Watching anime in secret because family didn’t get it
• Being a “hater” in order to avoid vulnerability 
• Starting an episode and losing focus or wandering off before it ends
• Coping skills for ADHD to maintain interest and engagement 
• Feeling ashamed of a hobby you actually love

Anime/Characters Mentioned: 

• One Piece 
• Dragon Ball Z/Dragon Ball Super
• Naruto
• Food Wars
• Dungeon Meshi (Delicious in Dungeon)
• My Hero Academia
• Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood
• Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
• Jujitsu Kaizen 
• Demon Slayer
• Neon Genesis Evangelion
• Gundam (franchise; specifically After War Gundam X, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Gundam SEED, Gundam SEED Destiny, Gundam Freedom)
• Sailor Moon (classic)/Sailor Moon Crystal
• Cowboy Bebop
• Pokémon
• My Hero Academia: Vigilantes
• A Silent Voice
• One Punch Man
• Mob Psycho 100
• Solo Leveling
• One Piece: Fan Letter (OVA)
• Rebuild of Evangelion (film tetraology)
• Spirited Away
• Studio Ghibli 
• Portgas D. Ace (One Piece character)
• Senshi (Dungeon Meshi character)
• Winry Rockbell (FMA:B character)
• Todoroki family (My Hero Academia)
• Sungwon Cho (voice actor)
• Kohei Horikoshi (MHA mangaka)
• Hideaki Anno (director)

Non-Anime Media Mentioned: 

• One Piece Live Action (Netflix) 
• Star Wars
• Western superheroes 
• Marvel
• Batman 
• Bridgerton
• Pacific Rim
• Firefly
• Magic: The Gathering 
• Gundam TCG

Contact Us:

• Join the discussion on the GT Forum at https://forum.geektherapy.org/ and connect with the Geek Therapy Network through the links at https://geektherapy.org/.
• Check out our other shows on the GT Network: https://network.geektherapy.org/  
• Join us in the Geek Therapy Discord
• Follow Geek Therapy on Bluesky: @GeekTherapy.bsky.social 

Conversation Starters: 
Is there a show or fandom you’ve felt embarrassed to admit you love? What happened when you finally let yourself enjoy it openly?

What stories (anime or otherwise) have you found yourself going back to lately? What have you gotten out of this revisit?