Anime World Order Show # 22 – Otaku Anime Reviews…More So Than Usual

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This episode is entirely about anime and manga which itself is about obsessive fans of anime and manga, or otaku. Gerald reviews Otaku no Video, Clarissa reviews Genshiken, and Daryl reviews Welcome to the NHK.

Introduction (0:00 – 20:05)
Gilles Poitras calls in to enlighten us on the proper way to pronounce his name, but we still pronounce it differently anyway despite hearing exactly how it’s supposed to be said. We must be manifesting the same brain disorder that guides so many people to pronounce “Naruto” as “nuh-ROO-to” despite the fact that they don’t pronounce it like that in either the Japanese or English versions of the show. We read listener mail, where we discover that Megatokyo is actually unintentional parody and that Kannazuki no Miko totally sucks. Actually, we knew that already, but it’s good to hear it from other people, much like it’s good to hear people talk about how good Giant Robo is. For the sake of staying on topic, Daryl is rather dismissive of one email asking about Western animation, but he’d written a full-length response to the guy in email form. Then the guy’s email address had permanent fatal errors. If you’re reading the show notes, let me know. Finally, we end with a special message from everyone’s favorite shouting tin cans…FROM SPACE!

Let’s News! (20:05 – 34:50)
The official Genshiken website has been cryptically updated for the first time in quite some time, and we can only hope that means that the second season of Genshiken may happen after all, but there’s no telling at this point. Plus, it’s old news by now, but Central Park Media, one of the oldest US anime licensors, laid off a whole bunch of people, and well, that’s what we talk about for pretty much the entirety of this segment.

• ANN’s article on CPM’s money problems
• CPM’s Press Release on VOTOMS release in August
  
• CPM’s Press Release on Wrath of the Ninja release in August
• Be Beautiful’s Official Site: Not work safe or cool person safe!
• Graviton City: The best place out there for information on Project Ako

Promo: Anime 101 (34:50 – 35:32)
We’ll admit it. All too often we make the mistake of assuming people know what we’re talking about, except for the times when Daryl deliberately makes a joke that only two people can actually get. Vespaholic from Anime Genesis has decided to start up this podcast dedicated to covering the basics. So if you don’t know what we’re talking about and you don’t feel like checking our show notes or asking us to elaborate, thus giving us the impression that nothing’s wrong, perhaps this will be of help. [Daryl: Actually, after listening to their ninth episode, there’s a fair amount of misinformation and potentially bad advice here. Well, the same goes for us, but we’re doing it on purpose for the sake of jokes!]

Review: Otaku no Video (35:32 – 50:48)
Gerald starts things off by reviewing Animeigo’s release of the classic Gainax OAV about the fictionalized account of the rise, fall, and rise again of the studio in the early 1980s. The “Portrait of an Otaku” segments are what make this one so memorable since people can often draw similarities to people they know from them. Gerald is a combination of “Mr A” and the “don’t you think Hiroko is pretty?” guy, and Clarissa is, of course, Miss Honda. Daryl Surat is like the guy who has all the tapes and stuff for the sake of having it, since he barely watches all this stuff he downloads and buys.

• Animeigo’s page on Otaku no Video: They post their liner notes on the page so go and check it out.

Promo: Anime Genesis (50:48 – 51:14)
The promos Benu sent us way back when are out of date since they mention the old website address, and because of that we haven’t really been running their promos. Still, it’s been so long since we ran an AG promo that we figured we’d just go with the one we’ve got. Personally, I wish this podcast wasn’t like, 80% them reading the headlines from Anime News Network or whatever, but check them out. Hmm, they’ve had Mick Aloha, Apocalypse Dowell, and the Anime Pulse guys on as guests. I think an AWO coup might be in order, just as soon as we finish recording a promo for them.

Review: Genshiken (51:14 – 1:05:36)
Clarissa explai…er, tells us about this much more recent anime and manga series that provides a much more evenhanded portrayal of otaku in the modern day. Of the shows we review this week, Genshiken is the most accessible, so don’t worry so much about catching all the references. In terms of character similarities, Gerald acts like Madarame and Daryl looks like him. I guess that makes Clarissa er…Kousaka.

• ANN’s entry for Genshiken
• Wikipedia entry for Genshiken – has a bit more detail as well as character pictures

Promo: Ninja Consultant (1:05:36 – 1:06:36)
Erin was one person who wrote in to tell us exactly what makes the Apocalypse Dowell as well-loved as it is (in a nutshell, it’s all the stuff Daryl wasn’t interested in) while also conveying a riveting tale of Asian dudes who had Nazi swastikas hanging in their cubicle because they didn’t quite know what it meant. To steal one from Colt Cabana, “good times, great memories.”

Review: Welcome to the NHK (1:06:36 – 1:21:22)
It’s only fitting that Daryl review the most harsh otaku title of what we’re reviewing this week. This is a manga about a guy which most people would not find endearing or appealing in the slightest, so Daryl can relate and tell YOU exactly what’s going on in this guy’s head. Yeah, that’s the ticket: “this guy.” Warning: the stark, bleak realities revealed in this segment may be too intense, too depressing, and too awesome for most listeners to handle.

Closing (1:21:22 – 1:26:33)
Next week is the disaster themed episode! Actually, there’s not really a theme, but Gerald’s going to review the explosively disastrous Spriggan, Clarissa’s going to review this really…corny disaster known as My Sexual Harassment, and Daryl’s going to finally bite the bullet and unveil what may or may not be the first of many parts, as he relays his discoveries during his search for THE TRUTH at JACON 2006. Or, if you prefer, “The Japanese Animation Convention is Decadent and Depraved.” Prepare yourselves if you want any hopes of survival.