Category: Classics

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Anime World Order Show # 85a – Don’t Shorten the Show, Just Split It Up

Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:14:59 — 89.3MB)

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As we kick off 2010 we’ve decided to try experimenting with releasing episodes in both per-segment as well as contiguous versions. Last time we posted the segments just on the website and the full show on the RSS feed. This time we’re doing the opposite: posting the segments to the RSS feed and the full show contained in one file just on the website. The remaining parts will be posted to the RSS feed once a week over the next month, but since you’ve come to the website, we’ll give you the option of downloading the entire show right now. Daryl reviews the anime adaptation of Violence Jack by Go Nagai, Gerald reviews Bobby’s Girl, and Clarissa reviews the book The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga by Helen McCarthy.

IN THE EVENT THAT YOU HAVE NEVER SAVED AN MP3 IN YOUR LIFE VIA A WEB BROWSER (which based on emails, is pretty common!): BEFORE you send us an email saying “these download links don’t work!” try right-clicking the link and selecting Save As. What is happening to you is that you have Quicktime installed (usually because of iTunes) and its default browser plugin behavior is to try and play MP3 files in browser, without giving you an option to save. You can turn this off in Firefox by going to Tools->Options, selecting Applications, scrolling down to MP3 and changing the setting to “Always Ask.”

The entire show (3+ hours!):

Part 1 Emails and News (“only” ~72 minutes!):

Part 2 Review: Violence Jack (60 minutes):

No more Pickle Player since WordPress has its own built-in Flash player. Let us know if you encounter any annoyances with the new site or if things aren’t working. There are bound to be some issues.

Introduction (0:00 – 31:20)
None of us really felt like leveling out the audio or editing out the various “y’knows,” “um’s” and the like because there are far too many good videogames we have bought but not yet played. We elaborate on the nature of seinen manga/anime and give some examples of titles we like. We also hear of yet another person tricked into watching Odin: Photon Space Sailer Starlight as a result of this review we did. Finally, someone asks about the Daicon animations (now on Youtube: watch high-quality copies here and here!) as well as female anime directors.

Let’s News! (31:20 – 1:08:05)
Daisuke Gori is dead. Nobody buys sports anime in America. The Allure of Japan’s Pop Culture is straight-up good ol’ fashioned government propaganda that continues to push the “Cool Japan” BS narrative only espoused in the US by people with books to sell. The people who spend the most time pushing the “weird Japan” narrative (that rename their articles after the fact) should probably not decry the mentality that directly results from their very own actions first and foremost. We check out actual Japanese manga circulation numbers. And Tim Eldred informs us that Space Battleship Yamato: Rebirth is not the worst thing ever made, thus surpassing ALL expectations.

Review: Violence Jack (1:08:05 – 2:02:04)
It took several years to get to the second in the trinity of the Holy Manga Video Trinity of Suck (the first being Angel Cop and the third being Mad Bull 34 by Kazuo Koike). But that’s because Violence Jack is the least clip-worthy of the three, cut or uncut. After roughly two years of putting it off, Daryl finally reviews this behemoth, the shonen work that established modern-era post-apocalyptic fiction as we know it.

Promo: Anime82 (2:02:04 – 2:02:58)
The preceding review was made possible by Regan Strongblood, who provided us with copies of uncut Violence Jack long before such a thing was available. Of course, since we put it off for two years, you can now simply download torrents of uncut Violence Jack. He asks that you all grow some mecha balls, and by that he means ones like Devastator’s in Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen aka “the 4th most important movie of 2009.”

Review: Bobby’s Girl (2:02:58 – 2:31:50)
On the subject of things that a few years ago were impossible to find but can now be easily acquired via BitTorrent, Gerald reviews this 1980s classic. Fairly light on dialogue and somewhat experimental in its overall approach, it encapsulates a great number of different animation styles within its fairly short running time.

Review: The Art of Osamu Tezuka (2:31:50 – 3:07:00)
Clarissa wraps things up by reviewing the hardcover edition (with DVD) of this new coffee table style book by Helen McCarthy. Filled with a variety of never-before-seen pictures from the life and times of Japan’s “God of Manga,” this book is totally worth buying via this Amazon.com link so that we can make like forty cents commission. Remember: it’ll stop a bullet! Disclaimer: the AWO makes no guarantees as to the the size or caliber of the bullet that this book can stop.

Closing (3:07:00 – 3:14:59)
Following the shocking revelation that this podcast does NOT cure insomnia (also of note: Peacock King is FREAKING INSANE), we would like to note that both Daryl and Clarissa will indeed be doing panels at Anime Boston 2010. In the next episode, we’re turning the difficulty on this all the way up to Bitter as Gerald reviews the movie that put Gainax on the map aka Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise, Clarissa reviews 5cm Per Second by Makoto Shinkai, and Daryl reviews Swallowing the Earth by Osamu Tezuka. In the meantime, we will probably post up a bonus episode with our 2000-2009 anime in review retrospective.

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Anime World Order Show # 80 – Daryl Just Made You a Better Hero (Through Tragedy)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:57:20 — 53.7MB)

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With Show #80 begins Gerald’s experiment, in which one host selects the anime that will be reviewed by the other two, rather than each person choosing on their own. Daryl is up first, and as such he is dragging everyone into the Madhouse…Studios, that is! Gerald’s reviewing Kemonozume and Clarissa’s reviewing Kaiba, both by Masaaki Yuasa. Meanwhile, Daryl himself shall speak of the grand masterpiece that is Goku: Midnight Eye!

Introduction (0:00 – 26:55)
The Angry Otaku, who is angry that nobody else reads his blog or truly cares for him other than Daryl, sent in a voicemail regarding the wacky hijinks of North American companies releasing doujinshi in America. Not just any company, but Antarctic Press which thanks to furries is still kicking and teaching us that the easiest way to depict people with Down’s Syndrome looking up is to just flip their head a full 180 degrees. We also get some clarification about the extended GaoGaiGar universe thanks to Carl over at Ogiue Maniax. But really, the BIG question nobody is asking until now is…what DO we think of Armitage the Third and Sol Bianca, anyway? We try our best to remember.

News? Nah, there’s no news. Nothing really happened of note as of late. Oh wait. It’s too long to fit in here, so we’ll post it on its own. Onto what is philosophically known as “the REAL sentais”:

Review: Kemonozume (26:55 – 43:27)
Gerald, having spent entirely too much time wallowing in absolute goddamned anime filth as of late, is given a chance by Daryl to wash himself clean by ways of watching through this series from 2006 that is guaranteed to be substantially different than whatever mind-numbing tripe the group hivethink which considers Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex to be “too boring” has forced him to put on at his weekly anime club meetings. You can take a man out of the anime ghetto…but can you take the anime ghetto out of the man? Warning: your ability to like the works of Masaaki Yuasa is directly proportional to your ability to like killer7. Note: if that link doesn’t work, it’s because the content management system for that site IS RETARDED. Also note that, as was the case with Mind Game, Benjamin Ettinger is the Most Dangerous Masaaki Yuasa fan on the Internet, so do peruse the Kemonozume posts on Anipages Daily to learn more.

Promo: Late Night Anime Review (43:27 – 43:47)
We would tell you what this podcast is about, except their About page links to the WordPress sample page! Oh well, we can infer from the title that they review late night anime such as [checks] Bleach…Naruto…the live-action Dragonball…Advent Children–WAIT A SECOND

Review: Kaiba (43:47 – 1:09:17)
Clarissa, like all pre-Jerichoholics, has accepted mediocrity as excellence and has a fever…for which the only cure…is more Yuasa. But the only way to get her to take her medicine is to wrap it in her favorite item of consumption, which intelligence reports indicate is “pederasty.” 2008’s Kaiba is the answer! As always with Yuasa, what Benjamin Ettinger has written about Kaiba over at Anipages Daily is Dangerous, Most Dangerous. Pity that the only English-speaking people who really seem to know about and like Masaaki Yuasa’s work enough to talk about it on the Internet are stoners. One step at a time…

Note: Rintaro did not direct My Youth in Arcadia. He directed the TV series Space Pirate Captain Harlock and the not-as-good Harlock: Endless Odyssey (released in the US as “Captain Herlock”). Refer to the old review here.

Promo: Videogame Cast (1:09:17 – 1:09:43)
Why is there a “W’ in the abbreviation? There is no “W” in the name of the show! What, are they a terrestrial radio station located east of the Mississippi River? Is WVGC their call letter? It is a mystery! They did, however, watch and review Baoh. Now THAT’S what Gerald and Clarissa should rewatch!

Review: Goku: Midnight Eye (1:09:43 – 1:52:18)
Yoshiaki Kawajiri. Buichi Terasawa. All you need to know. But fine, pictures as promised:

Buichi Terasawa circa 1989. Kawajiri may not have that much hair anymore, but he still wears those shades. Terasawa’s hair/shades combo, by contrast, is ETERNAL.

Although it’s true that once you’re sufficiently powerful you can dress however you damn well please, Goku’s giving the cast of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure a run for their money with this outlandish getup. Like Colt 45, it works every time.
Some might call this a mere Easter egg, but TRUE BELIEVERS know that truck is actually going TO Cyber City Oedo 808. Which we can only assume is a few blocks away from where Goku: Midnight Eye takes place.
Repeat after me: NOT GAY.
Just as with Cyber City Oedo, this single image encapsulates whether or not you want to see this cartoon. The HK sub version currently floating around on the Internet sucks. Better subbed versions may pop up soon, but come on. Surely someone out there has THE DUB.

Closing (1:52:18 – 1:57:19)
Next time, it’s Gerald’s turn to select anime for everyone else to review. With such freedom to have others review virtually anything that can be viewed in about 4 hours, the anime selection one chooses as a result of this project truly shows what kind of human being they are deep down. As such, after roughly a month and a half of deliberation, Gerald has opted to have Clarissa review…Butt Attack Punisher Girl Gautaman…and Daryl must review…Kekko Kamen. If these weren’t EXCITING enough for you, Gerald has saved the ultimate excitement for himself since he will be reviewing…Battle Fairy Yukikaze. Contemplate this…on the tree of woe.