Category: Classics

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Anime World Order Show # 127 – You Need Credibility Before You Can Lose It

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:14:19 — 34.0MB)

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Seriously? We missed the entire month of June yet still say this thing is updated weekly? What kind of miring sweaty mass of lameness is that? Do we need Soundgarden to headbang in a circle with a camera underneath to express how lame that is? No matter, what’s done is done. Or rather, what’s not done is done. For this episode, Gerald reviews the classic 1980s Sunrise mecha series Giant Gorg.

Intro (0:00 – 30:31)
We received another rather unique method of how fans pick which anime titles to show at group meetings, so we’re throwing that out there. Also, is there a recommended order for watching Urusei Yatsura, putting aside the fact that you can’t exactly procure it all that easily in 2014? Man, was it really four years ago that Daryl wrote that Urusei Yatsura article for Otaku USA? Someone graduated an entire level of their education in that time.

Review: Giant Gorg (30:31 – 1:08:52)
Yoshikazu “Yaz” Yasuhiko only directed one anime television series, and it was this one from 1984. Spoken about with reverence by the generation of American anime fans that have physical copies of the Baycon 1986 program guide, it’s only now–thirty years later–that it’s finally all been fansubbed in English. Information has been scarce until now–can you believe Dave Merrill’s Let’s Anime post on Giant Gorg was five years ago?–but Gerald and Clarissa have watched all 26 episodes of this serial robot war adventure story and have this to say about it.

At no point did anybody mention that this is the sort of cartoon with a Hanna Barbera-esque dog sidekick or go into detail about the fashion intricacies of what precisely Lady Lynx is wearing. That’s for you to see/Google on your own time.

Conclusion (1:08:52 – 1:14:19)
In the month we were off, Daryl was a guest on GME! Anime Fun Time to talk about Masaaki Yuasa’s TV series The Tatami Galaxy…and then Gerald was a guest to talk about Crusher Joe, though that episode isn’t out just yet. Seeing as that podcast comes out monthly, at least we got this episode out before two episodes of that came out. As far as anime conventions, Anime Festival Orlando is two weeks away and we’ve got panels…that we’d better get started on! Then a few weeks later it’s Otakon, whose fan panel roster can be viewed here. We’ve got four:

  • Anime’s Craziest Deaths (18+) — if you have a title I’ve never run anything from, let me know and I’ll take a look…and yes, I saw Akame ga Kill
  • Kill La Kill: Spot the References, Beginner’s Edition — please don’t attend if you already seek out this stuff since that seat can go to someone who actually needs it
  • Ninja in Anime: The Sweet and (Mostly) the Stupid — there are multiple ninja panels this year, but only THIS one knows the proper pluralization of “ninja”!
  • The Classic Anime and Japanese Pro Wrestling Connection — not just Tiger Mask, Jushin Liger, Mushiking Terry, Kinnikuman etc stuff; I’m focusing on narrative/character convention in anime that may not necessarily have anything to do with pro wrestling at all despite being influenced

The first two of those panels are ones that have been done before. The second two are ones that will debut at AFO. See? We know what we’re doing here. Trust us. Even though we recorded this podcast. See you at the safehouse; I’ll show you the plans…

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Anime World Order Show # 125 – Nachos Galacticos Are Off the Menu

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:16:08 — 34.9MB)

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It’s a lot less structured than usual, but Daryl rambles on about the CG Space Pirate Captain Harlock film as well as Bayonetta: Bloody Fate. At no point does he say what either are about.

Introduction (0:00 – 35:17)
We actually managed to get through more than one email for a change. How do you deal with being the person who doesn’t care for the popular currently airing series everyone’s talking about? Who the Hell are these Section23 English dubs for? What are our hopes for the upcoming Legend of the Galactic Heroes series? And what’s the deal with that new Thief game, anyway? Note: any attempt to leave feedback on or start discussion about wacky Internet pirate money will be deleted.

Review Talk About At Length: Space Pirate Captain Harlock (2013) (35:17 – 43:26)
It’s not really a “review” since that would imply actual substance, but Daryl touches a bit on Shinji Aramaki’s latest foray into the realm of 3D CG anime. Short version: everything you heard everybody say about it is correct, all at once. To get an inkling of an idea of what Captain Harlock is actually about, you probably want to listen to Show 34 rather than this.

Review: Bayonetta: Bloody Fate (43:26 – 1:16:08)
This is allegedly a “review” since we certainly talked about SOMETHING regarding this new feature-length animated motion picture from…Studio Gonzo. At 90 minutes long, it’s the approximate equivalent to 3 TV episodes in length: the typical threshold after which Gonzo productions nosedive in quality. Within that 90 minutes, it adapts the storyline of the original Bayonetta videogame in its relative entirety. Videogame anime AND it’s by Studio Gonzo? Tread carefully.

  • You can still actually buy this game new, and since it sold fairly well used copies aren’t hard to come by. Due to noticeable framerate/performance as well as graphical differences, we strongly recommend the Xbox 360 version over the Playstation 3 one.
  • There’s only one video playthrough the AWO recommends, and that’s this one courtesy of Australian goon-ette Yoshesque. (We recommend the “less talky” version because that guy she’s with is NO BUYS. She does all the non-“normal playthrough” videos without him.) In addition to playing through the game to full completion, she’s also done extensive research on all of the various designs and references contained throughout. Hell, we’ve SEEN Red Photon Zillion and didn’t catch that those were supposed to be the ray guns from that anime!
  • The FuturePress hardcover guide Daryl bought (which they binded UPSIDE DOWN) is long out of print, but you can still easily get Udon’s English editions of The Eyes of Bayonetta artbook. Marvel at all the unused artwork intended for use by American publications that got rejected for being too provocative! Oh, it’s also really informative and comes with a DVD.
  • The Internet seems 100% convinced that this film was dubbed into English such that the dub track was only included on the Japanese limited edition release, but we’re calling SHENANIGANS. Everyone cites this page as their source for that, but we’re pretty sure they’re all misreading it. Yes, it does say that the deluxe edition comes with the “dubbing script” but that simply means the JAPANESE script.