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It’s been a month since the last episode due to Otakon 2010, so the least we could do is give you a convention report of it! While we’re at it, we review the new theatrical film Welcome to the Space Show.
Yeah, we were supposed to review those things we said we’d review at the end of Show 86, but that’ll be Show 88 now!
Daryl was a guest once again on the latest ANNCast along with Mike Toole, whose Anime Jump site has got new updates for the first time in years! He reviewed Welcome to the Space Show too!
Introduction (0:00 – 36:12)
The emails reinforce the trend that everyone these days has now decided that Zeta Gundam, once hailed as the jewel in the “real robot” crown, is terrible. So we’re asked to list some “super robot” series of note instead. We opt to sub-divide “super robot” into two arbitrary categories: “Go Nagai” and “everybody else.” Then someone who is most likely a 15 year-old girl that shouldn’t be looking at this stuff asks us for recommendations on gay pornography…so naturally we oblige! But not before we hate on Akiyuki Shinbo and Maria Holic. Finally, Daryl was going to throw his hat into the shouldn’t-exist-but-does-anyway waste of time argument that shall not be named here in these show notes, but opted not to do so because neither Gerald nor Clarissa had seen the movie.
Promo: Manga Plasma (36:12 – 36:38)
These guys are all half our ages and just started podcasting, and while we usually hesitate to play promos for podcasts that don’t yet have 10 episodes out we figured what the heck. It’s kind of hard to hear over TM Revolution’s Resonance, but we think the person in the background saying “BULLSHIT!” at random intervals might be trying to be in character as Excalibur from Soul Eater or something. Just a guess. We’re old now. We got no damn idea what these kids with their hair and their clothes and their rock and roll music are into these days.
Report: Otakon 2010 (36:38 – 1:23:13)
All three of us were present at Otakon 2010 and relay our experiences for better or for worse at it. Mostly for better, since all the for worse occurrences were edited out! You’ll just have to slog through our Twitter archives for those. As the previous post elaborated, we did do one panel together which went over quite well. Gerald also had a History of Hentai panel which lived up to its name.
Review: Welcome to the Space Show (1:23:13 – 1:50:13)
Daryl reviews a theatrical anime film that was premiered for the first time in subtitled form in North America at the convention. As such, this review is fairly devoid of any spoilers, since there exists no means for most people to see it just yet. Also different from usual: this is something all three of us saw for a change! We all share the same thoughts on it, as does pretty much everyone we know who saw it, but it’ll be coming out soon in the US courtesy of…we’re guessing Bandai Entertainment. Feel free to see it for yourself when the time comes. And yes, that’s Susan Boyle who sang the song for it.
Closing (1:50:13 – 1:51:48)
We still haven’t actually recorded the next episode yet, but with any luck we’ll be able to do so BEFORE Anime Weekend Atlanta. No guarantees though. In the meantime, we’ve got guest appearances on other podcasts at least.
I’m only ten minutes into the podcast, but real quickly before I lose this train of thought I want to add to Gerald’s brief mention of the animator who was a big influence on Gurren Lagann. The animator in question is Yoshinori Kanada, and Gurren Lagann director Hiroyuki Imaishi has always been very vocal about that influence. I really dug the review of Birth you guys did a while back, my take on it is pretty similar to the general consensus you guys reached. I bring up Birth because it is without a doubt the anime that best showcases Yoshinori Kanada’s talents as an animator. When Hiroyuki Imaishi’s directional debut Dead Leaves came out, I read an interview with him where he said that they were trying to create a modern day animator OVA like *Birth*. Okay that’s all I wanted to share! Back to the podcast.
I have to correct you guys. A-1 Pictures have done other things besides Kamichu,namely Kannagi, Sora no Woto and Working!!. [Yes, I can also read Wikipedia and the ANN Encyclopedia, so I am perfectly aware of this. But from re-listening to the audio, it is fairly easy to infer that I was referring specifically to the key creative staff of THIS movie. You’re so hell-bent on trying to “correct” our–specifically MY–“mistakes” that you repeatedly gloss over the qualifiers in statements. –Daryl]
I still don’t see how Venus Wars is “eh”. You guys also said that nobody liked Venus Wars, but when it aired on Sci-Fi, it was pretty popular and I’ve never heard or read a single bad word about it until that past podcast. Well, whatever.
As for the Mobile Suit Gundam movie trilogy, I thought Ryoji Fujiwara was the other guy other than Tomino who directed that. Also, shame on that e-mailer for bashing Zeta Gundam characters. Okay, so maybe they aren’t the most likeable cast, but the complexities of the plot and the atmosphere sort of demand characters that are irritable and on the edge.
I love video rooms because it’s a way to get people with the same passion for anime together to share in the experience of watching anime. I went to a screening of the original Bubblegum Crisis OVA one year at Otakon. Of course, I had seen it a billion times by then, but I wanted to see it with people who were also interested in seeing it. Maybe it was just a childish validation of what I’m into, but it made me feel good that people were there, even carrying on conversations about Bubblegum Crisis, which you almost never see anymore.
Great show, guys. It’s really a shame the “old farts” didn’t come out en masse for a third straight year of Otakon AWO reminiscence and banter — those recordings are brilliantly fun. Hopefully we’ll get your take on the AFO con too. Were you recording your panels at either con? After hearing the amazing ANNcast with Carl Macek I’d love to hear what went down at your panel, we just couldn’t get to the con on that Friday. Also, really looking forward to your video experiments that Gerald mentioned. Hope those get posted.
Thanks very much for the review of “Welcome to the Space Show.” Despite the need for editing, I’m really excited about seeing this.
Once a legal version becomes available on the market, maybe someone could get Justin Sevakis to edit out 30 or 40 minutes for us, huh? Not only does he have serious skills, he’s got GOBS of free time since ANN can’t seem to keep him busy enough with that little streaming project. =)
Great podcast and kudos on what may be the quickest convention coverage you guys have ever done. I really need to get out to one of the conventions you guys hold panels at. Someday…
Surprised to learn that Yoshikazu Yasuhiko was responsible for editing the Gundam 0079 compilation movies, but that may explain why they functioned better and were better received then the recent Zeta and Turn A movie compilations Tomino put together. On the subject of Yas and Gundam, based on the bits I’ve read of his Gundam: The Origin manga, it could end up becoming the definitive version of the 0079 story.
Regarding Akiyuki Shinbo. How about The SoulTaker? Did any of you enjoy that one? I think Shinbo is a talented guy, but he has a profitable thing going on over at Shaft and there’s little incentive for him to do anything outside of the pandering moe/otaku shows. I would love to see the guy invited to participate in a project like Genius Party to see what he’s capable of under different circumstances.
I agree with everything Daryl said about Paprika vs Inception. Interestingly enough when I got home from seeing Inception I had a hankering for Paprika and popped it in. Not because I suspected plagiarism but because it’s interesting to see two filmmakers at the top of their game handling a very simple science fiction idea so differently.
Daryl took the lead on the review, but it was really great that everyone had seen the movie and had stuff to say. For me at least, original anime movies always have an air of mystery to them. You go into the movie with no idea what to expect. I think I’m going to be cautiously optimistic when I get a chance to watch the movie. As a very visual person it sounds like there is plenty to offer me on that level.
Aside from premieres and special screenings is there anything else you guys can think of to making convention viewing rooms worthwhile again? I also really enjoy the communal experience aspect, but at smaller conventions it’s not uncommon to walk into a viewing room that’s completely empty and then you don’t even have that going for you.
An interesting proposal regarding how to make convention viewing rooms more “worthwhile” would be to make them less passive an undertaking. By this, I don’t mean encouraging more heckling or MST3K-style viewing sessions: those are almost never as funny as the people doing them think they are, so it’s best to keep them to maybe one event per convention (if that). Rather, it might be worth exploring the notion of dedicating a track to showing things in which they are preceded by a short introduction by staff/panelists/whoever consisting of something like “this is what you’re about to watch, this is who made it, this is why it’s cool, check it out and pay attention to X, Y, Z and then afterwards we’ll talk about it.” Then show the video, and after it’s done have some sort of discussion about it afterwards with people who showed up. What did people like or dislike? Was there anything you didn’t understand? Particular sequences you thought worked/failed?
This is a big part of how people consume more general media. It’s why you go to movies in a group. It’s why people gather together to watch the latest episode of their favorite television show. You don’t just share in the experience. You also share in expressing your thoughts afterwards.
Yet most anime clubs (that I’ve witnessed) are not set up this way. Most convention video rooms are not set up this way. The default outlet for this sort of thing is the Internet. But I think if cons were able to find enough people who strongly cared about the titles being shown–if nobody cares, then why show it?–some of those people would hopefully be willing to do such a thing. It doesn’t require enormous preparation, but it can take a good bit of time. Most conventions already assign someone to be present in the video room anyway for a given block of time. In the ideal case scenario (not saying it gels with reality), if those assignments were given out based on “okay, this person is really into Miyazaki,” “this person knows giant robots,” etc instead of “okay, if you want a badge you have to monitor this equipment” then this kind of programming could become reality.
It’s an experimental idea. I have no idea if it’d work or not. You can’t have a discussion with a room that’s empty to begin with. The viewing schedule would have to be set up and known well before the convention and advertised on the convention website, at the very least. Even then, it probably would not work immediately. But if a decent-sized convention started by dedicated ONE video room to this type of approach, perhaps they could muster up enough people to pull it off in one video room for one weekend.
This is not even my idea. I didn’t come up with it. People more altruistic than I have proposed it and even offered to do it at conventions. Thus far though, it has not gained traction because such a movement has to come from people volunteering to do it, and the amount of people willing to undertake such an endeavor is small indeed. This is not a job that staff can assign. But it just might help get people interested in watching anime at conventions again.
Personally, I’d drive in my car for several hours to participate in something like this — say, with you, Daryl, as at least one panelist, and the show being something like Angel’s Egg or Mindgame, shows that really lend themselves to a lot of discussion on a lot of levels. It drives me nuts to hear you talk about these amazing shows and then hear (either in comments you’ve written here or remarks you make in the podcast) that you have a hard time finding people you can watch shows with, and so you find yourself watching less and less.
If Gainesville were closer to Ft. Lauderdale you’d be in trouble. =)
The whole thing puts me in mind of an old sci-fi story (it such a vague memory I can’t remember if it was Philip K Dick, Stanislaw Lem, or Italo Calvino) where people lived almost in isolated satellites in space, and communication frustratingly took years between responses. (I may be mixing together a couple stories there, even as I type this out I can hear the theme music to the dream parade in Paprika as things become more and more distored in my head.)
For super robot anime, I recommend the original Dancougar anime (the epilogue OVAs sucked though), Mado Oh Granzort (HK DVDs are slowly being ripped) and the original Dangaioh (which of course you reviewed).
VZ you read my mind! Im watching Granzort as we speak, im 6 episode in so far.
Gurren Lagann seems to owe a few ideas to the strange Granzort anime…
Yeah, Boku no Pico is 100% for guys.
All shota’s basically for dudes. Gay dudes who don’t realize they’re gay.
Isn’t Boku no Pico porn? If you’re watching that, how do you not know that you’re gay? Also, if you’re into little boy stuff, I think that you might be more than just gay.
I have to agree with Clarissa on this. I never understood why Boku no Pico was so popular in BL circles (besides a dearth of animated material for the genre) because it’s definitely made for a male audience. I specifically think this because of how it’s shot from the older guy’s POV (you never even see the character) which does not happen in any other BL OAV I’ve ever seen. Combine this “driver’s seat” perspective with the extreme shota content and I’m not surprised that no one will ever licensed thisand frankly I’m glad they haven’t because I don’t really want it associated with BL anymore than it already is.
P.S. As an aside, Kazuma Kodaka’s Kusatta Kyo Shino Houteishiki (Rotten Teacher’s Equation) was indeed announced as licensed this July, much to my surprise and utter glee.
Uh, there aren’t any unseen characters in Pico. I guess you made that assumption by only watching the opening sequence. The show isn’t told in first-person perspective, and all the characters are “visible”.
[Wait a second…your name’s not REALLY Jason “Gaytham”! That’s wordplay! WHAT’S UP WITH YOU PEOPLE WHO POST ABOUT THE FINER DETAILS OF CARTOON CHILD GAY PORNOGRAPHY (the existence of which I never would have been aware of otherwise) NOT USING YOUR REAL NAMES? –Daryl]
Any of you lot making it up for NY AnimeFest/Comic Con? [Currently, none of us plans on going. I’m contemplating just showing up, though I’d have to figure out a place to stay. I’ll give it more thought once AWA is over. –Daryl]
Just so you guys know Daimos is fully available in English (Filipino English dub) on bakabt.
Its not a bad dub and its a great show, so check it out!
Someone who once traded VCD’s with me sent me a bunch of the Filipino Daimos as well.
Another good super robot thing is Baldios, but I’ve only seen the compilation movie. Very dark.
Also I’m watching Transformers Masterforce, which is pretty much like a brave robot series.
Don’t watch Godmarz though, SO boring.
Zeta Gundam is the biggest victim of the prevalent problem in anime fandom where “everything is cooler in your head.” Back when Mark Simmons was the only person who watched Zeta Gundam, everyone else was forced to chatter around the small episode summaries from MAHQ and treat it like it was the best drama ever. It’s kind of like how everyone just looked at the pretty pictures of mecha from the Gundam Sentinel book and concluded it must be the ultimate hard sci-fi Gundam. Now despite being fully translated, no one ever talks about Gundam Sentinel. Like the actual product doesn’t fit the imagination.
There’s even mixed feelings about Dougram. The toy collecting community who highly respected the clunky Dougram toys are absolutely tepid about the show in where the same designs are one the bounce like a Heinlein wonderland.
I’d say with Zeta, the first 10-15 eps are slow and dull, then it picks up and by the end it gets epic. The animation/art was TV level though which would have helped make it more dramatic if it had movie/OVA level production.
Oh, how can you guys forget to mention Machine Robo Revenge of Chronos? [You mean this? You even commented on that review back when it came out, for crying out loud! –Daryl] Despite only the first 15 eps coming on DVD, it’s probably one of the best super robot shows ever. Nothing makes damn sense and that’s how I like it.
I think it is an interesting idea to try to upload some of Gerald’s videos (recoded at Otakon) to this blog if it is not a too much of a hassle.
BTW, are these just short clips of “everything and anything” or recordings of entire panels?
Gerald, doesn’t the lead female in Mariaholic get nosebleeds only from guys, not girls? If they’re at an all girls school, this girl would be bleeding all over the place.
For anyone too lazy to look for it, here’s the 22-minute preview to Welcome to the Space Show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTfqcx8LMHs
So far, every review I’ve read/heard for this movie says it was too long. My question is, how come nobody says the same thing about Princess Mononoke? That movie was god-damned tedious, and has an almost identical runtime. Anyway, I’ll probably rent Space Show sometime, though I can’t guarantee I’ll finish it.
I *think* I was the person who brought Metropolis to AWA; that was probably in 2001, because we had just been interviewing Rin Taro for PULP and we had a screener; that was three days after 9/11, which, considering the film’s ending, gave it a particular vibe…
Anime premieres used to be associated with the Expo: Macross Plus, Giant Robo–excerpts of Memories were shown a good three years before its actual release, I think. When it comes to things that haven’t yet had a TV or video release in Japan, there’s no reason not to try and keep this tradition going at cons, although the opportunities to do so will always be scarce, due to to scheduling (that is, if the con coincides with the Japanese studio’s schedule) and the need for cooperation with the Japanese licensors. I’m really glad that Otakon was able to make this happen. I also agree with the idea that seeing anime with a bunch of people–i.e., in the video room–is still fun, even if it’s all available for home viewing–I think that’s part of the reason behind the success of Anime Hell (that is, people could find a lot of those clips on Youtube if they wanted, but have more fun seeing them with a crowd).
That’s usually my take on the whole Anime Hell thing at all. It’s nice finding that stuff on your own, but I get a kick out of showing it to friends or a crowd if they weren’t expecting to see it or such.
With his untimely passing, any chance of a Satoshi Kon-themed episode? Paprika is the only one of his directorial works you guys have discussed in detail.
I was gonna say they reviewed Roujin Z but looking at the staff he was only an animator, not sure why I always think he was the director.
A Satoshi Kon episode would be cool, looking forward to it at the end of the year.
I second Behonkiss’ recommendation.
A sad, sad day.
I’d love to figure out why B.O. (and poor hygiene in general) has such a signature presence in geek culture. I mean, what other types of conventions have to establish anti-stink rules?
Does poor hygiene send these misfits into social outcasts; predisposing them to geek culture? Or is it because they’re geeks that make them feel like outcasts, so that they just let their will to take proper care of themselves atrophy?
Maybe it’s not even a chicken/egg situation–what if being a geek and poor hygiene are both symptoms of some other x-factor?
I feel driven to identify the root of this phenomenon…so I may then move to save us from it.
It’s a thankless task, as I, being a founding member of FWW (Fans Who Wash) can attest to.
One year we actually considered if we could print con badges on car air fresheners. Yes, the old pine tree shaped kind. Couldn’t afford it.
Fan Funk has its roots in the SF con world, and probably to comic cons. It may even spill over into rock concert fandom and Sports. It all stems, at its core, from having a favorite t-shirt which is worn thru the entire weekend.
It can be cosplay as well. I recall a fan who had a very nice, professional looking Yamato crew uniform and damn, the thing could almost stand up by itself from the embedded funk. Dude, dry cleaning is a pretty good thing nowadays, I’m sure it would have survived…
(everybody miss me?)
Speaking from personal experience after being called out for having bad stank I made sure to always have a spare deoderant stick on me at all times.
Chances are people with bad B.O. at conventions amount to nothing more than not giving a damn about themselves and the people around them who have to put up with the stank.
First, rest in peace Satoshi Kon and my condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues at Madhouse. I am saddened that my favourite director has died so prematurely, taking with him a wealth of talent that the animation world will seldom see again. We can only be grateful that his short time on earth left us all incredibly entertained and creatively stimulated (I bet even Nolan has heard the news, heh). In any case, anime podcasting goes on and these are my comments on this episode:
Thank you AWO for that rich list of super robot anime! I’ll try Shin vs Mazinger, GaoGaiGar and New Getter Robo since mine and Gerald’s tastes tend to coincide; I’ll hunt out Xabungle and Giant Gorg as well for the Gundam connections.
Thank you also to Daryl, Mike Toole, and the guys at ANN for a stimulating debate on the schizms in anime fandom. I agreed disconcertingly often with Daryl – or is that Tony Blair? Education! Education! Education!
In regards to Zeta, my feelings are still mixed after completing it. I’d go further than VZ and say it took 30 episodes for REAL good stuff to happen (thank you, Haman Karn). Everything beforehand was a soporific recycle of Kamille having a tantrum, Kamille getting beaten up, Kamille falling for yet another demented female, and Char passifying Kamille long enough for them to go blow shit up on ‘Side Whatever’ (to borrow from Mike Toole). Char’s Counterattack, on the other hand, was wonderful.
Gerald, when you said ‘trilogy’, I assumed you were using it loosely to mean MS, Zeta, and Char’s Counterattack, the key Amuro-Char works. I learned my lesson soon after I sent that email. Consider my misunderstanding a fortuitous accident, however, since I enjoyed discovering the UC shows. Because of it, I can now salivate over the title of Gundam Unicorn 2: THE SECOND COMING OF CHAR. In any case, I shall pick up the original movies as soon as financially possible.
Finally, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is part of a general cancer eating into anime fans’ sense of humour. In stead of dark satire and sharp comedic timing, we get trite images vomited at the screen in random combinations. I can just about imagine dyed in the wool Japanese otakus relating to the culturally specific references that are (supposedly) in it, but most Western fans have no idea and thus no excuse for their bad taste.
Anyway, thanks for another two hours of free stuff, AWO!
Seems kinda sad to have a famous director like Satoshi Kon bite the dust on your birthday (like mine), would be nice as well perhaps to see a kind of Satoshi Kon review episode someday from you guys as well on some of his other works.
Hearing about “Welcome To The Space Show”, it sounds like a film that would be up my alley if only for it’s premise, decent animation and epic length, it’s just a shame to hear of it’s undeveloped characters and other writing blocks in the film. Kiyoshi and Noriko certainly sound like characters I would want to side with in a film like this if they had gave them more screen time and development. Hearing the part about the dog-like aliens in the film and how the furry community would be making this all sinister in their own way was a lesson I probably learned from 2005’s “Arashi no Yoru Ni” (which I bother to mention at all since I wanted to like it until I saw how the ‘others’ have already ruined that enjoyment).
Thinking about a movie involving guys going up in space, “Gulliver’s Travels Beyond The Moon” comes to mind. They even had to create their own SPACE WATER to destroy the robots in that classic Toei Doga flick. Of course that film was made 45 years ago and is what it is, but it’s the kind of kiddie film I can watch as a no-brainer. Perhaps Welcome To The Space Show may give me that too if I give it a shot (but at 2+ hours, it’s hard to tell what I may think after wards).
Sad to hear that he died, since it seems like he’s one of the last anime directors to do something orginal.
I know you mentioned not liking SZS and Maria+Holic for the use of otaku references, which I why I think the SHAFT show Gerald and Clarissa need to see is Hidamari Sketch (all three seasons, each one improves on the last). No references (or very little), little to no sexual fanservice, just pure relaxing slice of life moe. The manga’s good too. Done by a women.
“The anime con is the Internet in person”–a great quote from Daryl on ANNCast. I thought it was funny in a way that our “rowdy fan problem” consists of people shouting “Marco Polo”–as opposed to other groups’ rowdy fan problems, i.e., getting drunk and tearing shit up.
I think there’s definitely something to the idea of asking Japanese animator guests to do workshops. The single best con panel I ever attended ever may have been Toshihiro Kawamoto’s at Anime Central 2002, where he broke down the making of a fight scene in the Cowboy Bebop movie from start to finish, setting up displays to walk us through the script, storyboard, timing, etc.–not just projected on screen, he brought the actual materials. There was a real sense he was taking it out of the abstract, and showing fans the physical work that needs to be done.
An important element of that panel, beyond the personal instruction and the information was the fact it was based on a then-hot anime. If you did the same panel today, it would still be great, but it might seem more like a history lesson. I think for maximum impact on con-goers–to promote respect for the work that goes into their anime–one should try and get an animator from something they’ve seen recently, or have heard about.
I reviewed Kamichu! on my blog where I basically defended it. It’s an anime that does no harm and panders only a little bit to your typical moe crowd. Definitely a show I would want to see someone like Clarissa review.
I’ve always viewed Boku no Pico as a guy thing. If you’ve ever surfed through Sankaku Complex’s comments section, you’ll find several men joking about wanting traps to kiss and have sex. I’ve always wondered how openly sexual male otaku are. I mean, they have no problem with jacking off to Hideyoshi from Baka Test to.
I seriously doubt those people were joking.
Oh BnP is definitely for males. They even sold sex toys of Pico and Chico (think like those faux vaginas).
I know more than I should.
Raideen is not fully fansubbed. It’s at http://ptolemaios.wordpress.com/ and they’re only up to episode 24 with new episodes being very slow.
Which one? Because wasn’t there a show from the 70s called Raideen. Because if i recall in a issue of Anime Insider they mentioned a remake.
Concerning the length of Welcome to the Space Show: A Tree of Palme, which was
direceddirected by the animation director of Akira and is a Pinocchio story, was two and a half hours long.[The ADV release of this movie cites it as something like 136 or 130 minutes, as does every online resource I’ve checked. That’s basically the same length as Welcome to the Space Show. What’s your source for it being 2.5 hours? I haven’t rewatched A Tree of Palme (wait, did I ever watch it in the first place…?), and my sole memory of it is “looked pretty, was still boring/mediocre.” In any case, I don’t know how many people would consider A Tree of Palme to be a kid’s/family movie. –Daryl]
Dan may be referring to the original cut of the film; I saw it in the fall of 2001 (before it had been picked up a distributor, I believe) and it may have been even longer than the release version.
Ok, I know Gerald was soured by Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei, but after finishing Bakemonogatari, I think you might like that SHAFT anime a lot more. The references are minimal and really aren’t detrimental from understanding what’s going on as it has an intriguing storyline. Plus the art’s gorgeous. (Note: I cannot be trusted.)
lol @ the art is gorgeous. It looks pretty bad after episode 11 and the constant cuts strike me as something Gerald wouldn’t like since it’s really wannabe artsy. Yet another Shinbo anime that otaku like for no apparent reason.
I stand by what I said about Bakemonogatari. The art is beautiful. And I like little girls. A LOT.
“Yet another Shinbo anime that otaku like for no apparent reason.”
Zuh? They like it because they have little girls. It’s an acquired taste. You just can’t jump into any SHAFT anime and expect to like it unless you like little girls like me. You have to build up your tolerance for the quick cuts, budget minimalism and otaku references.
And as I said in an earlier post, Gerald should watch Hidamari Sketch because it’s a SHAFT anime that’s isn’t an otaku reference show. Just pure adorableness and little girls.
“And I like little girls. A LOT.”
Hi, I’m Chris Hansen from Dateline NBC. Why don’t you have a seat over there?
Maybe you know Gerald in real life or something, because I’ve never heard Gerald mention anything about liking little girls.
Arakawa Under the Bridge didn’t have little girls and it was still fucking boring. Face it, Shaft is a one trick pony that has a really shitty trick.
If possible, please post up which panels in Atlanta are being run by members of the AWO cast. I mean, I can guess at some, like “History of Hentai” or “Sunday Reflections,” but I just want to be sure!
Unfortunately, our own panel runs opposite Sunday Reflections, but if Vic’s not feeling up for it, I’m sure I could talk about God for an hour. Actually, I’d probably pop in the “Hot Chicks” DVD and let it run for the duration. We’re actually all scheduled as the very first things each convention day:
Friday
1 PM – I’m doing Anime 101. Nothing exciting here; if you’re reading this and will be at AWA, then you know everything I’d be saying here. Go next door to Performing Arts in Shojo instead.
6 PM – We may not be actually running it, but Gerald’s harem known colloquially as “Team Ouran” will be running the Ouran Host Club Challenge. (Just between you and me, they’re handling the lion’s share of everything happening in the Cosplay Panels room for the weekend, and probably also the formal ball. They work too hard.) All prizes donated by yours truly courtesy of Otaku USA Magazine. It’s got to be at least $1000 worth of DVDs. After that, MORTAL KOMBAT begins, for you see…
8:30 PM – Anime’s Craziest Deaths is being run by me in the VAT. Traditionally a Saturday shindig, they’ve put me in a position where it overlaps both Totally Lame Anime as well as Japanese Animation Hell which follows, two panels that typically comprise MY Friday night festivities. I end at 11 PM, meaning I’ll be able to catch the last half of Hell, provided there’s still room to permit people into Main Events… 🙁
9:00 PM – Gerald’s doing the History of Hentai. Opposite myself. And Neil over in Totally Lame Anime. This was a 2 hour panel at Otakon; it’s 1 hour here, so shorten up those clips! On the upside, he’ll end in time to catch Hell…if he runs!
Saturday
10 AM – all three of us (and PT “Unicorn” Chapman) converge for Everyone’s a Critic. By “everyone” we mean “people awake at 10 AM” on Saturday! (I traditionally wake up around 11 AM-1 PM on Saturdays.)
3:30 PM – we all gather once more for the Podcaster’s Roundtable. It’s in the Kennesaw room, which is massive considering how small any on-site fanbase for podcasting is. We actually have no idea who’s running this! WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
8:30 PM – I fly solo for the Panel OF DOOM!, over in the VAT. I’m set to start “when Iron Editor finishes” and I’ll have to make way for Wasabi Anime’s Mystery Anime Theater 3000. Say wait a second, they LIKE Sailor Moon S: The Movie! I call shenanigans. Also, I think they’re going to silly-string me at some point this weekend. The moral of this year’s panel is “Nambu is a DICK.” Because he is, don’tcha know.
Sunday
10 AM – checking out of one’s hotel room and recovering from late-night room parties is for the birds, as the three of us gather to talk about the Evolution of Mech Design. I deplore the use of the term “mech” instead of “mecha,” (I use the former to refer to US-made things and the latter for Japanese) but Gerald hates the word “mecha” because some US TV show or movie he didn’t like called the robots “mecha” and as such he never says “mecha.”
11:30 AM – Immediately afterwards Clarissa has her Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure panel in the same room! And some guy named Carl is doing a manga panel at noon.
My flight leaves at 4:00, which means I need to be at the airport by 3:00, which means I should leave the hotel around 2:00 or 2:30. So while I won’t be catching the Yamato Rebirth showing, I’ll live. I hope Rob Fenelon and Tim stand up in front and act out what’s going on in lieu of there being subtitles.
Thanks for the information! I’ll probably be having a party on Friday evening from 10 PM on (so I can at least catch some of your panels), and I’m hoping AWO might be able to swing by sometime after midnight. It would most likely be in the same room it was last year. Are you all getting in on Thursday or Friday?
Okay fine, so there hasn’t been a new episode for um…a month. But look on the bright side, we’ve done guest appearances on other podcasts! You can listen to those, right?
Here’s Clarissa on the OSMCast! talking about Black Jack:
http://www.osmcast.com/2010/08/osmcast-black-jack-8-30-2010/
And here’s a 20 Questions segment with me, in which I was asked 20 questions with no prior knowledge of what they’d be! Note: nothing positive about me is revealed as a result whatsoever. YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO LISTEN:
http://www.anime3000.com/sean-russell/621-20-questions-with-daryl-surat.html
Hmm. Should we be adding these guest appearances into our feed? Way back when we said we’d do that. Then we never did.
Thanks for the anime3000 link. It was really cool to hear you on the ‘Bonus Round’ from a couple weeks ago, too — the tribute to Satoshi Kon where Sean spliced in the panel from last year where you and Zac Bertschy and others talked about your favorite Kon films and his place in anime.
I’ve been watching all of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (on a SHAFT kick lately). I’m surprised you didn’t like it Gerald. I know it’s reference heavy, but it also has a clever cynicism that few anime have. Self deprecating humor at its best. But like I said before, SHAFT x Shinbo is an acquired taste that takes time to enjoy.
Take the big moral/message out of the movie, and have it be “the bad guys want a thing to help themselves do the coolest space show and get more ratings and more money”. THAT ALONE saves this movie, and turns it back into a harmless “kids go into fantastical place and have fun there” spectacle adventure, a solid 8/10 for what it is.
The forcefully inserted message, delivered by the wrong character, to the wrong guy, at the wrong time and in the wrong place, for no reason, ruined the movie for me.