Zannen, Canada

We're not done celebration the 20th anniversary of Bionix yet! This time we're looking at the show that effectively marked the end of the block that we loved: Death Note! And we're not only looking at Death Note in the context of YTV, but also for the franchise's many connections to the city of Vancouver largely due to the amazing English dubbing work by Ocean Studios. And yes, we do talk about that other connection it has to Vancouver.

Since I'm pretty much obligated to do something in observance of the 20th anniversary of YTV's Bionix block, Sammy and I are talking about its one debut anime we haven't touched on: Witch Hunter Robin! While it's not a super interesting show on its own, it did offer a lot to chew on as part of a well-curated programming block. We also have what I believe to be an exclusive look at the canceled live action Witch Hunter Robin series, courtesy of showrunner Joe Menosky. (Seriously, he just emailed it to me out of the blue!)

I finally made it to Otakuthon and I already want to go back. My generous Montreal host Chris aka Kurotsuki joins me to talk about pros and cons (mostly pros) of Canada's biggest and best anime convention. We also chat a little about this year's Anime Revolution in Vancouver, and I certainly had some things to say on that.

In a move that is not at all surprising for Bandai, the demand for the long-delayed Gundam SEED FREEDOM film was drastically underestimated in Canada. Originally planned for a one night screening, the film's exhibition was expanded to a 17 day run, as screenings in most major cities frantically sold out. Could this film possibly live up to this level of hype over 15 years after Destiny burned us so badly? And... hey is that Trevor Devall back as Mu La Flaga?!

It's time to look at the first anime series ever set in Canada: the pastoral Quebec tale of Wakakusa No Charlotte (Charlotte of the Young Grass). It's not a World Masterpiece Theatre title, but it's got a little of that flavour, not to mention heaps of retro shoujo melodrama, so I knew that it was time to bring Dawn from the Anime Nostalgia podcast back on the show to take a look at this somewhat obscure series. I gotta tell you... we weren't ready for this at all. You may not believe the things that happen in this show, no matter how hard we scream at you about them for an hour.

Scott Pilgrim means a lot of things to a lot of people. He especially means a lot of things to his creator, Bryan Lee O'Malley, which led to a few surprises in the recent anime series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. And now that Scott Pilgrim is officially anime... well we've gotta talk about him! Hazel and Bell return to chat about the impact Scott Pilgrim had on their lives, the new show and the possibility that this Canadian folk hero has perhaps lost a bit of his Canadian-ness.

For the first time in three years, Zannen, Canada is back in the holiday spirit, although as usual this episode has less to do with the holidays as it does looking back at our favourite media of the past year. This is in itself may be an activity best left until the beginning of the following year, but let's not worry about that. Hazel and Bell return to the show to discuss their recent work on Electric Bones and Replay Boys and also take the time to teach me that Produce 101 is not an introductory course on buying fruits and vegetables.

Beloved in most of the non-English-speaking world, Heidi: Girl of the Alps is quite possibly the most high profile series to have its French dub produced in Quebec. Isao Takahata's graceful and nuanced adaptation of Johanna Spyri's classic novels was a high point of Radio-Canada's programming and was making an impact a full two years before it would be seen in France. Chris (aka Kurotsuki) joins me to discuss the dub, as well as the legacy of the series and it's admittedly cruel production.

Zannen, Canada is now twenty years old, and we're celebrating with a very classic discussion. Karl and I look back on the history of the blog and podcast going back to 2003, discuss the recent demise of English-language Teletoon and finally find the courage to tackle the impending regulation of streaming services in Canada. (As a side note, I can also confirm that the first two years of the Zannen, Canada blog are completely inaccessible, and I could not be happier because of that.)

The 1995 Crying Freeman movie is notoriously difficult to watch, which means that it has to be the most amazing thing ever right? Well, in addition to being a stellar live action adaptation of a manga, it has a few things going for it: Mark Dacascos in a starring role, well staged and edited action scenes and Vancouver playing Vancouver for once. Daryl and Gerald from the Anime World Order podcast pop by to analyze how well a Japanese crime story transplanted into a Canadian city holds up. (The answer is: pretty well, actually!)