Zannen, Canada

K-Pop Demon Hunters, Netflix's most successful movie ever and the seismic cultural force of the summer, was made almost entirely by Canadian creative staff. So why isn't it a Canadian movie? Most of us probably understand that it's because it was made by American producers with American money. However, outside of some media puff pieces about the Canadian creator and co-director Maggie Kang, there isn't a lot of discussion about why we aren't doing anything to move away from being a thankless land of oursourcing. Luckily, Wildbrain animation staffer Kristian Lobb agreed with me that cartoons can be the ultimate "Nation Building project" and the two of us talk about how we could benefit from all of that pop culture soft power if we just only we moved the pieces around a little bit.

There were simply too may conventions going on in August, but we tried our best to keep our bases covered! Chris gives us the lowdown on his last minute trip to Animethon in Edmonton, while Pierre and myself talk about our fun (but very hot!) weekend at Otakuthon in Montreal!

I've likely committed some kind of crime by going an entire decade without devoting an episode to Isao Takahata's 1979 Anne of Green Gables anime series, but here it is at long last. One of the greatest literary adaptations of all time, and maybe one the greatest television shows of all time. Dave Merrill and Patricia Gosselin chat with me about the legacy of Lucy Maude Montgomery's work, the idolatry of Anne Shirley in Japan, the anime's broadcast in French-speaking Canada and why its only English dub was produced in South Africa.

The Zannen, Canada podcast has now been around for 10 years and I'm determined to not make a big deal about it! Sarah/Kittea joins me for the first time in some years to help me work through the headspace that results from dealing with trade wars and challenges to sovereignty day in and day out, and what this means for anime fans! We also chat about Inuyasha: The Final Act which is now available for on-demand streaming in this country for the first time EVER.

We may be facing tumultuous times as a nation, but this has only helped make the bond between Anglophone and Francophone anime fans stronger than ever! Patricia Gosselin is co-founder of the Nadeshiko Club, a group of esteemed scholars and panelists who have worked hard to elevate the culture of French-Canadian anime fandom and conventions. She joins me to talk about the background of the club, the lost decade that emerged after anime disappeared from Quebec television in the 1990s and the history of Quebec dubbing reaching back to JA Lapointe in the 1960s.

After the last episode exploring Cybersix, I felt that we still needed to dig deeper into the story behind the incredible Japanese-Canadian co-production. There was one major perspective missing, and I was very fortunate to not only get in contact with him, but have him agree to come on the podcast: Hervé Bédard, executive producer of Cybersix and founder of Network of Animation! Zee the Raccoon and Brady Hartel once again join me, although we spend most of this interview completely spellbound at the perspective Bédard had to offer, not only on the production of Cybersix, but on his incredible personal history in the animation industry, as well as the relationship between art and society.

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?!