Zannen, Canada

If you haven't experienced a version of Sherlock Holmes where he drives around in steampunk vehicles, repairs bi-planes mid-air and is also a dog, then chances are you have experienced significantly more faithful versions of the character. However, that doesn't mean you should skip Sherlock Hound! Known simply as "Sherlock Holmes" in French, this Italian-Japanese co-production was the final television series directed by Hayao Miyazaki, and was likely the first exposure to his work for all those watching on Radio-Canada back in the 1980s. What this series lacks in actual mystery it makes up for in spades with elaborate animated set pieces and unnecessary animation flexes... for the six episodes that Miyazaki directed, anyway! Mike Toole and Kurotsuki join me to reflect on the series, and also listen to me completely mispronounce Kyosuke Mikuriya's name at every effort!

For years it's felt like we've been asking the rest of the world to take our word for it that Sailor Moon was a Canadian cultural phenomenon, but at long last we have seen a distinct example of that in practice with Sailor Moon's launch on Crave last month. Karl and Kyle join me to talk about why this launch led to an explosion on social media, despite the fact that the show has been available on Tubi for years! We also discuss some other recent news stories such as Viz's new partnership with Funimation and AT&T's apparent desire to sell off Crunchyroll. We also take a look at the outrageous prices of Sentai Filmworks titles on Amazon.ca to underline what a terrible decision Crunchyroll made by choosing them to handle their home video distribution.

What was your reaction to Sailor Moon appearing on Crave? If they get more anime, is there anything specific you think they should grab next? If so, I'd love to hear from you! Share your thoughts at [email protected].

Michelle Clough served as a Script Adapter for multiple Ocean Studios projects including Death Note, Pretty Cure, My Otome and The Story of Saiunkoku. She joins me to talk about working for Ocean during what was possibly both their heyday and the beginning of their slump in the realm of anime dubbing in the late 2000s. We also talk about the exciting world of closed captioning and reveal a few details about the upcoming streaming debut of the Sailor Moon uncut dub on Crave!

The Calgary-produced dub of the original Futari wa Pretty Cure hit the airwaves on YTV right as anime was reaching its decline on the station. Many had hoped the series would be a hit and bring about a second wind, but few were surprised that this didn't happened. Even fewer were surprised that this dub hasn't seen the light of day since. But should we really write it off as a failure? Mahou Shoujo experts Eryn and Pike, as well as Will Wood, the voice of Ferguson/FujiP from the series, bring a wild array of perspectives on this great dub, its impact as well as the Pretty Cure franchise as a whole.

Did YTV's airing of Pretty Cure have a big impact for you? If so, I'd love to hear from you! Share your story at [email protected].

Raj Ramayya joins me from quarantine in Saskatchewan to talk about his work and what he's been up to since his last appearance on the podcast. Best known as a vocalist for Cowboy Bebop, Wolf's Rain and Made in Abyss, Raj is a frequent collaborator with Yoko Kanno and Kevin Penkin. He talks about his recent work on Tower of God, the strengths of the Canadian music industry, the ways in which the Japanese music industry has (and hasn't) changed over the past 20 years and the ever prevalent specter of Tommy Lee Jones in Japanese advertising.

Genice Chan is an illustrator and animator from Vancouver, BC who recently provided concept art and directed the ending credit sequence for the Netflix anime BNA (Brand New Animal) from Studio Trigger. She joins me to talk about the process of working with Trigger, how she enlisted Giant Ant Studios for animating the ED as well as her thoughts on localizing tanukis into raccoons.

Ashley joins me to complete our exploration of late night anime on Teletoon in the late nineties with a laid back chat about Macross Plus. We talk about its accessibility, connections to Cowboy Bebop, alternate Bryan Cranston-free dubs and the legal nightmare that has now consumed this classic OVA series.

Minifée, the Montreal-produced dub of the original Sally the Witch, may not at first seem terribly notable. However, it doesn't take a lot of digging to find out that it one of the most crucial, overlooked productions in the history of anime in North America. Not only was it the first anime dub ever produced in Canada, it was the first anime ever produced in the French language. With Bernadette Morin, mother of notable Francophone singer Amélie Morin, at the helm, it is... possibly the first anime dub ever produced by a woman? It's a little hard to nail that one down, but mahou shoujo expert Eryn Dearden joins me to explore the series a little deeper.

Special thanks to Vincent Bergeron for his assistance in researching for this episode!

March 18, 2020 marks the 5th anniversary of the Zannen, Canada podcast.

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E-mail: [email protected]

Will Studio Ghibli films ever become available to stream in Canada? You might not want to put your money on that one. Will Crunchyroll have to produce Canadian Content to comply with possible future regulations? Probably not a good bet. Karl and I tend to be really bad at predicting things, so we discuss some current news items that will likely have an impact this coming year and try to put every possibility we can think of out on the table.