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Anime World Order Show # 258 – My Collection of Erotic Books Are for Medicinal Purposes, You See

Podcast: Download (Duration: 2:07:16 — 59.0MB)

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Awoo, oooh oooh ohhh! For this Monster Chiller Horror Theater installment of Anime World Order, Count Clarissa reviews the spooky and scary…okay fine, it’s not SCARY, but it’s the 2007 Noitamina series Mononoke. Yes, that includes the recently-concluded movie trilogy and the finale of Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales.

Introduction (0:00 – 55:25)
After the abundance of riches that was the Summer 2026 anime season, the Fall 2026 anime season is substantially lighter. We talk about a few current new titles, while also chipping away at the infinite backlog.

There’s been some overlap in otaku circles, as gaming fans have been retaliating against Sony’s efforts to divorce consumers from the concept of physical media ownership both in the realm of anime fandom as well as videogames. The plagiarism slop machine efforts were redirected towards jailbreaking the Playstation 5 and making Tekken 6 PC playable with online multiplayer, and the Japanese fan reaction to these efforts has been dramatically different compared to the English-language fanbase. We speculate on why that seems to be the case. despite the acceptance of the plagiarism machine seeming to be aligned to the polar opposite of each region’s reaction.

This then extends to the realm of manga, where we discuss some of our recent (and not-so-recent) manga acquisitions along with the associated tribulations regarding physical and digital manga. To this regard, we close with an email inquiry sent in by an actual HUMAN, which these days is novel: what might be some suitable manga titles for a library’s Young Adult section that aren’t either extremely niche or mainstream Shonen Jump titles? We give several potential recommendations of varying utility, since many of them end up being in fact either niche or mainstream Shonen Jump titles, but if one thing is for certain, it’s that Dorohedoro is for the children.

Review: Mononoke (55:25 – 2:07:16)
When Netflix announced that after 17 some odd years there would be a new Mononoke film trilogy, we figured we would wait until the release of the third and final installment before reviewing all of it. Well, all the anime of it, anyway. Naturally, upon the release of the third and final movie on Netflix about a month ago, it was then announced that a new Mononoke animated project was underway which we presumably won’t see begin for a little while.

Originating in the final three episodes of 2006’s Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales, which was one of the earliest titles to run in the late night NoitaminA block intended to showcase anime that wasn’t typical otaku fare, 2007’s Mononoke continued the mini-trend of the 2000s by being a period piece series focused on supernatural entities that featured highly distinctive visuals and animation techniques that pushed the boundaries of early digital anime.

This is definitely what ordinary medicine sellers look like. This particular Taima Sword is not marijuana.
The texture layering effect to simulate the appearance of being a woodblock illustration on paper.
In contrast to most horror/suspense works, Mononoke’s environments are very colorful.
The color palette of the recent movies is more saturated than the TV series.
The Medicine Seller in the movies is a different character with a different actor for reasons we briefly discuss in the episode. The original announcement that this would be done is here.
The background artwork as well as the sliding door artwork to denote each act depict the mononoke in more traditional fashion.
Violence in Mononoke is generally abstract and implied, except for when it’s not.
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Anime World Order Show # 257 – “Activate Autistic Mode” Doesn’t Mean “Summarize the Horus Heresy” to Masamune Shirow

Podcast: Download (Duration: 2:28:12 — 69.4MB)

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As the Summer 2026 season ends, we review a title from…Summer 2026, as Gerald reviews The Ghost in the Shell, which for the first time directly adapts the original manga by Masamune Shirow.

Introduction (0:00 – 1:06:34)
Patreon has officially informed us that we need to switch over to monthly billing next month, which will also mark the point where new $1 tier members will no longer be accepted. You can stay on the $1 tier if you are already on it, but you won’t be able to rejoin it if you leave. In its place will be a new $3 tier, which will also grant access to our AWOmake episodes. As for anime, we talk about our favorites from the Summer 2026 anime season, which had multiple standouts so this takes about 35 minutes. Note that in the time since we made this recording, a second season of Draw This, Then Die! has been confirmed.

Then, you know we had to do it, because lately Stu Levy has been sending numerous emails  and doing various video webinars beseeching fans to invest in Tokyopop. We thought for sure nobody would do this, but upon checking he has about as many if not slightly more investors than we have Patreon backers. Clearly, the history of Tokyopop has either been forgotten or is otherwise not as widely known among 21st century anime fans, so we take the time to recap that history here before Daryl reads one of Stu’s emails out aloud in its entirety so you too can experience a master at work. It is currently undecided whether a generative AI was used to compose this email or whether what we’re observing is just a case of Terminal LinkedIn Poster Brain.

Don’t forget, Patrons: the Fall 2026 Trailer Watch Along is September 26th at 3 PM Eastern! Join us on the AWO Discord, since we have no means of recording or live streaming such an event.

Review: The Ghost in the Shell (1:06:34 – 2:28:12)
Gerald reviews The Ghost in the Shell, a 2026 Prime Video exclusive adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s signature work that ran for 10 episodes and concluded just a few weeks ago. We compare this version to the previous anime adaptations, but with a general focus on Shirow’s original manga. Because Gerald still has his Studio Proteus edition from 30 years ago and Daryl has both a digital edition of the 2017 release and a hardcover edition of the 2023 release (both of which are censored), we entirely forgot that just a few months ago, Kodansha released a $140 MSRP Legacy Edition set of the Ghost in the Shell manga that is specifically advertised as “uncensored” complete with an 18+ tag on it. If you do buy that, please use the affiliate link we just provided since it looks like we have yet another version to buy someday!

Streaming services don’t have any sort of standards and practices, so this stylization resembling the application of a digital signal corruption to “censor” headshot splatter (and middle fingers, Guardians of the Galaxy style) is presumably just a deliberate choice since otherwise we’d expect that Angel Cop level headshot gore detail.
Our hero, Major Motoko Kusanagi. Her boss, Aramaki, is in the background. He normally looks more simian.
Bow down before your bisexual anime queen. That style isn’t just for Spike Spiegel.
Amazon doesn’t typically sell their shows on Blu-Ray, but someone could make some money selling “uncensored” Blu-Rays. We’re just saying. Also, who’s cleaning all this oil off these expensive bedsheets?!
While not a comedy, The Ghost in the Shell retains Shirow’s penchant for characters having very cartoony reaction shots; a system shock for those who have only ever experienced Ghost in the Shell through anime.
It can get pretty extreme, but a childhood of having it deprived from me by Filmation makes me consider squash and stretch the most important principle of animation.
In contrast with the past 30 years of Ghost in the Shell anime, this series conveys Shirow’s original manga depiction of Kusanagi: cool, but also a gremlin menace.
Fuchikoma should never be left unsupervised. To think they’re representing the actual GOOD version of AI.
Hot Dance in Cherry Moon! At this point it’s been so long that I can’t even remember if a Japanese language English subtitled release of Dominion: Tank Police ever came out in the US or if we all just saw it fansubbed and had to settle for the Manga UK Tank Police with all the music changed. I adore you, till the end of time Annapuma and Unipuma.
At least one thing remains consistent across all adaptations of Ghost in the Shell: just as Steve Rogers possesses America’s Ass, Major Motoko Kusanagi always bears Japan’s Ass.