Anime World Order Show # 236 – It’s Shark Time, Baby

The initial version of the file that was uploaded was in stereo rather than mono, meaning different people spoke on different channels. That has now been fixed. Delete the old file and redownload if you encounter this issue.

Although we’re posting this on Halloween, there’s not much especially spooky about this episode since after having seen Uzumaki, Daryl has instead elected to review the theatrical film adaptation of Look Back by Tatsuki Fujimoto. Be forewarned that we do spoil it all in the event you didn’t already read or watch it first.

Introduction (0:00 – 54:24)
We were fortunate that the two recent hurricanes did not do significant damage to where any of us were, but it was lucky breaks on both occasions. We go over what we’re watching in the current anime season, and Daryl finally receives his Macross Plus Blu-Ray set. Not mentioned in the recording is the fact that due to inadequate packaging during transportation–this despite shipping from the old Right Stuf warehouse, which has clearly been mandated some changes to their procedures and policies by the new Sony ownership–a corner of his Blu-Ray set box was slightly crushed despite no damage to the exterior packaging box; an extremely common thing which Crunchyroll Store’s service reps say they can do absolutely nothing to remedy. This is not even close to the worst news coming out about Crunchyroll as we touch upon the then-breaking David Wald situation and contrast that with some recent financial publication coverage of Crunchyroll strategically rolled out to coincide with the broadcast start of the new Dragon Ball Daima series. Toho’s acquisition of GKIDS has us wondering if a similar fate will befall them, for the number of independent anime publishers in the US is basically down to about two or three guys at this point. Oh yeah, and we also talk about the anime adaptation of Uzumaki, which was originally going to be the subject of this episode until well, we saw the rest of it. Not stated in this recording: we’re 99.5% sure that the infamous quality drop coincides with the concurrent-with-production merger of Warner Brothers and Discovery to form WBD and the appointment of then-new CEO David Zaslav. We’re placing our chips on the roulette wheel as far as that, since it’d also neatly explain why Jason DeMarco couldn’t name names when talking about who was responsible (before locking/disabling his social media accounts).

Review: Look Back (54:24 – 1:47:03)
Originally released in US theaters in a very limited engagement, 2024’s Look Back vastly exceeded expectations and got additional showtimes, which on a per capita basis is better than the singing clown movie everybody who saw it hated. Adapted from a one-shot released in 2021 by Chainsaw Man creator Tatsuki Fujimoto, this film by Kiyotaka Oshiyama (whom we’d previously talked about in our review of Flip Flappers) is absolutely worth seeing by everyone. It’ll stream on Prime Video starting November 7, 2024. You can also read the original manga courtesy of Viz, who have released it both in print as well as digitally. If you pay the $3 a month for Shonen Jump, it is available to read as part of that. Daryl recommends you either watch the film or read the manga before listening to this, since we basically summarize what happens scene by scene from start to finish in order to give our thoughts on it.

Anime World Order Show # 227 – Not Much Ion Fury but Very Much an Ion Maiden, Featuring Shoujo Sundae

For our first episode of 2024 we are joined by the two cohosts of the Shoujo Sundae podcast (@ShoujoSundae), Giana Luna and Chika Supreme, as we review the manga ION, by Arina Tanemura. Apologies are in order, for despite the episode number, this podcast does not contain Jackée.

Introduction (0:00 – 27:23)
We talk to Chika and Giana about how they first saw anime, how they learned more about it in a pre high-speed Internet era, what brought them to podcasting, and how big of a bullet one dodges when you go to Blockbuster Video as a kid in search of “stuff that looks like Sailor Moon” and end up renting a copy of Perfect Blue. Hashtag relatable.

Otaku In Memoriam: Erik Reiss (27:23 – 32:24)
This year, we’d like to hear more stories about noteworthy anime fans who are no longer around, ideally by people who knew or had interactions with them. If you knew someone and wish to share some memories, record a short memoriam (2-4 minutes) and email them to us so we can put them into later episodes. Or, if you’re like us and aren’t especially comfortable with the sound of your own voice–yeah, that’s us even after all this time–write it up so we can read it on your behalf.

Erik Reiss was one of our earliest guests that we interviewed, and about two months ago he passed away at the age of 54. Along with his also deceased wife Karen Trudeau, Erik was an influential figure in Florida anime fandom so we figured we’d spend a few minutes talking about him. We’re pretty certain that we have listeners who knew him way better, so perhaps this haphazard memoriam will spur activity. As a correction: Anime Festival Orlando was not the first “Florida” anime convention, as the now-defunct Anime Express started three years prior in 1997 over at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and many future Florida anime convention staffers attended. AFO was the first “Central Florida” anime convention.

Review: ION (32:24 – 1:22:09)
Last episode we talked a little bit about Arina Tanemura, and so it’s fitting that we review her professional serial debut: ION, from 1997. It’s a cute, lighthearted sci-fi rom=com that is self-contained in a single volume…well, aside from the single chapter follow-up written 13 years later which is included as a bonus with Volume 8 of Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura.

Always attempt to bend the spoon. It’s possible. There is a spoon.
Tanemura keeps things cute and moving along. [Guy who has only read Kodocha] Getting a lot of Kodocha vibes from this…
Ion is rife with tons of silly gags like this fourth wall-breaking one, from the follow-up bonus chapter included with Sakura Hime.