It is amazing to think that, a little over a decade ago, some low-level staffer from ARMS Studio traveled to Coquitlam, BC, marveled at the Real Canadian Superstore off Lougheed Highway and thought to himself, "yes, this needs to be immortalized in an anime about wizard lawyers". OK, I don't actually know if that happened, but a trip to the liminal Loblaws spin-off "Storesuper" is only one of the inexplicable Canadian references that can be found in Wizard Barristers, staring the inexplicably half-Canadian Cecil Sudou. Karl joins me after an extended hiatus to marvel at this kind-of notable Yasuomi Umetsu joint from 2014.

It's unusual for any major media franchise from outside of this country to frequently and specifically reference Canada, but Mobile Suit Gundam is fairly well known for it. I don't know why Amuro's birthplace was established as Prince Rupert, BC in Gundam Movie 1, why there's a military fortress in Fort Severn, Ontario in Gundam X or why the insidious Earth Federation training academy from Ecole du Ciel was set up in Montreal, but I'm more than happy to interpret it as a compliment. Gundam super fan Yazy returns to the show to discuss.

Andy Coyle is probably best known as the director of Hilda, the animated adaptation of the UK novel series by Mercury Filmworks. More recently, he's been tinkering away at Don't Walk Home Alone After Dark, an animated horror anthology that has blown up in popularity over the past few years on YouTube and may very well be one of the coolest things happening in Canadian animation today. I talk to him about the struggle of getting a show like this made in the our modern production ecosystem, as well as his youthful days watching graphic and exploitative anime OVAs from his local video store in New Brunswick - an essential diet for any growing animator.

You probably didn't know there was an Emily of New Moon anime. Unless, of course, you live in an Arabic-speaking country, where it just happens to be one of the most popular anime series of this century despite being forgotten in every other region. I'll admit, I was kind of dreading the obligation of sitting through TMS and NHK's 2007 adaptation featuring Lucy Maud Montgomery's second most popular precocious child from PEI, but I kind of loved it despite some surprising changes from the source material. Mike Toole and Sherly Kyorkis also loved it, and they join me to talk about its surprising pedigree and ponder its runaway cross-cultural success on Spacetoon.

Some listeners may be perturbed to learn that much of the discussion on this program about the trends and traditions of anime in our country is built on a foundation of assumptions. Mind you, this is not the same thing as a foundation of lies, because these assumptions are based on the qualified observations and deductions of sensible people, but some out there will not accept anything less than a quantified take. Well, that's what I'm delivering this episode, and I've invited Miles Atherton of Quest for the Best and White Box Entertainment to give us a look at the real numbers underlying audience trends, which shows have been truly impactful and which province has the trashiest taste in anime.

You may assume that the most popular anime to air in Quebec in the 1980s was Captain Harlock or Candy Candy, but that's probably because those are shows you'd find interesting on the surface. If you want to look at what was actually popular with French-Canadian children, you should shift your attention to a surprisingly violent talking beaver cartoon that was actually a repurposed advertisement for a Japanese amusement park put out by the same studio that made Chargeman Ken. Le Petit Castor (known as Don Chuck Monogatari in Japan) was a Quebec dub made for a Quebec audience, and is fondly remembered despite having no English translation in existence. Patricia and Dez join me for this discussion!

It's time for Zannen, Canada to fulfill its mandated 30% yaoi quota by diving into Heated Rivalry. And why SHOULDN'T we talk about the greatest Canadian television show of all time? The fact that we can make numerous connections to anime, such as using innovative budget techniques and its status as an Evangelion-like social phenomenon, is really just a bonus. Ian and Randy are both back to discuss!

Gene Fowler is something of a mythical figure of the Maritime animation scene, having founded two studios (Fatkat Studios and Loogaroo Studios) and keeping up a steady stream of projects despite having a bit of an outsider status in the Canadian animation industry. And hoo-boy does he have some things to say about that industry! Even if you disagree, he'll sure as hell give you something to think about.

Ginban Kaleidoscope is an anime series from 2005. It tells the story of self-absorbed Japanese figure skating champion who becomes possessed by the ghost of Canadian stunt pilot who crashes his plane near one of her qualifying performances in Montreal. The premise is ridiculous, the animation is mediocre at best, and the final episode famously carries an Alan Smithee directing credit. Did we have a good time watching it? Well... we had a good time talking about it, that's for sure. Dawn from The Anime Nostalgia podcast guest stars!

I've finally found the courage to talk about the sometimes tumultuous history of anime fandom in Vancouver, including stores like Anime Jyanai, clubs like VJAS, well-remember cons like Anime Evolution and not-so-well-remembered cons like AKA Con. Hieu Phan joins me for a fun and civil discussion.