Otaku no Podcast

Yomigaeru Iron Geek!!!

testing this here AudioBoo thingie

If you haven't read my recent blog posting, I've been out sick for the past 2 weeks or so with what can only be described as "the Martian Death Flu."  It was nasty, and had me completely bed ridden, didn't even have the energy to pick up the laptop most days.  In fact I'm still not 100% over it, I still have a nasty cough and my voice is hoarse, but other than that I'm pretty much back to normal.  I'm hopeful that the cough will go away in a few days. I'm working on the next episode, which of course will feature Part 2 of my look into how to get "anime on the cheap" - hopefully I'll be able to record and release that in the next day or so.  Since it's been so long since the last podcast, and since I probably have some new listeners thanks to the publicity I got at BlogWorld and through Leo Laporte's radio show, I decided to re-release Part 1 of Anime on the Cheap by itself, so here it is. Links mentioned in this segment: Inari sushi – a tasty, cheap, relatively easy to prepare, vegetarian-friendly dish great for anime get-togethers The Anime Network Netflix Blockbuster RentAnime GreenCine DVDAvenue Zip.ca Webflicks AnimeTakeout and MangaTakeout AnimeLane Amazon The Right Stuf Deep Discount eBay and Half.com The Pirate Anime FAQ

(Note: yes, I announced the date of this episode as Monday, September 21. I really did intend to release it on that day, honest! Oh well, better late than never, I suppose!) Pretty much everybody agrees that we are indeed going through some troubling times, economy wise. Most everyone is feeling the pinch of the global recession, and we're all looking at cutting our expenses. So how do we feed our need for anime in these lean times, without breaking the bank? I explore this topic in the first of two segments I'm calling "Anime on the Cheap." We also go through the latest anime news, including - of course - Weird Japan. And I have a few treats for you as well, so be sure and stick around till the very end! Intro music: "Don't say 'lazy'," Toyosaki Aki, Hikasa Youko, Satou Satomi, Kotobuki Minako (K-On! ED theme) Followups to previous news items: Japan Girls Nite brings beauty, dancing, and punk rock to the City of Angels Comiket 76 Cosplay pics: http://www.japanator.com/highlights-of-comiket-76-cosplay-part-2-10987.phtml http://www.japanator.com/highlights-of-comiket-76-cosplay-part-1-10986.phtml http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/08/17/c76-comiket-cosplay-sexier-than-ever/ http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/08/18/even-more-sexy-c76-cosplay/ News: Les Paul, Inventor Of The Solid-Body Electric Guitar, Dies At 94 (Wikipedia article) Eureka Seven feature film to be screened on September 24 (watch Eureka Seven on Crunchyroll) (English movie trailer) FUNimation announces "Anime at the Palace" live event JAM Project's Anime Songs Now on Sale in U.S. iTunes Sola, True Tears Anime Songs Now on Sale in U.S. iTunes Sony Hints at Ultraviolet: Code 044's U.S. Release Soon (watch fansub via Animesuki) Shuho Sato Earns Y100,000 on 1st Day of Paid Web Manga Service Tokyopop Announces Online Manga Program CLAMP Ends Tsubasa, RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE on September 30 Charger Girl Ju-den Chan Complete Edition in the Works (watch it on Crunchyroll) Criterion planning a massive 25-film sized Kurosawa box set? DO WANT! DVD roundup: Criterion to release Nikkatsu Noir collection, Gunslinger Girl OVA and Blu-ray on its way! 3 K-On! Image CDs Debut on Same Day, Rank in Top 10 (Updated) K-ON! Live-Action Drama Due!? Nagaru Tanigawa “Has Started” New Haruhi Novel Mahoromatic: Tadaima Okaeri Anime to Debut in October (Updated) Dragon Ball Online MMORPG's New Trailer Video Posted Bandai Channel to Stream Anime in U.S., Eurasia at Start of 2010 Syfy's Ani-Monday Block Lists Monster Series (Updated) We should do this: Manga written to explain economic policy Con News: New York Anime Festival Superglorious and NYAF announce Far East To East Showcase Japanese musical group AKB48 to appear at NYAF NYAF & NYCC to combine forces for 2010 con season SPJA announces new President and Chief Executive Officer (some interesting thoughts from Japanator) Weird Japan: The mighty, how they fall: Yakuza are stealing Peko-chan statues Burglar Dismembered with Katana in Samurai Self-Defence Soul’s Window: China Rips Off 5cm Per Second China Rips Off Naruto, Pokémon: “Imitation is Not Plagiarism” China: “Destroy Japanese Anime!” Manga Version of Hitler's Mein Kampf Sells 45,000 Ero-Figures Too Hot for Comiket! Don't worry, zombies are training hard to scare the crap out of you Main Event: Inari sushi - a tasty, cheap, relatively easy to prepare, vegetarian-friendly dish great for anime get-togethers The Anime Network Netflix Blockbuster RentAnime GreenCine DVDAvenue Zip.ca Webflicks AnimeTakeout and MangaTakeout AnimeLane Amazon The Right Stuf Deep Discount eBay and Half.com The Pirate Anime FAQ Cool Finds: MangaGamer wants you to try before you buy, releases demos of three eroge K-On! fansub via Animesuki Mio the Wooden Idol K-ON! Don’t say “lazy” Ending Remade OMG! Real Life Ritsuko Tainaka!

Once again, I have convened one of our famous Panel Discussions of Doom(tm).  This time, our topic du jour is a look back at the recently-held San Diego Comic-Con 2009.  And we're joined by a new guest this time!  We also go over a few news items (this is a "news lite" show - I wanted to get the Comic-Con discussion out ASAP), but I still manage to squeeze some "Weird Japan" into the mix.  And I also debut a new segment as well - be sure and listen for it! News: Singer/Actress Noriko Sakai Missing after Spouse's Arrest Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works Film Confirmed (Updated) Weird Japan: Workers have daily smile scans (video of the scanner in action) Get your YAAARRR on with the aid of piracy-selling vending machines Housewife Charges Husband $4 for Lunchbox, $50 for Sex Gadget Blessings: Shinto Priest Protects Electronics From Bad Mojo Saitama Mulls Lucky Star Uniforms for Schoolgirls Comic-Con Recap: ANIME! High Art – Pop Culture exhibit at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Running now through Sunday, August 23, 2009 Picks: Danny - Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, Hayate no Gotoku! (Season 1 on DVD, Season 2 on Crunchyroll), G.I. Joe A Real American Hero: Season 1.1 [amtap amazon:asin=B000FGG5NK] [amtap amazon:asin=B0028X6L2I] [amtap amazon:asin=B001U9BS38] Dave: The Mighty Boosh (info page on Adult Swim website) [amtap amazon:asin=B002BVUBK0] Me: Ghost Hound [amtap amazon:asin=B002K2KMFO] Cool finds of the week: “PixelPerfect” shows you how to draw and color Manga in Photoshop Robo-maid will make your coffee for you, kill your houseguests for you Mahoromatic: [amtap amazon:asin=B001KXZG32] Plugs: Dave's Comic-Con pics on Flickr The Barer Cave (Danny's blog)

Here it is, the special mid-week episode I promised containing my review of FanimeCon 2009.  In short: It's the perfect compromise between huge mega-con and small local fan-run con, and I liked it.  A lot.  We also go over some news, including, yes, some more Weird Japan.  No picks this week, but I think you'll like this episode just the same. News: Photo Op at 1:1 Scale Gundam Auctioned (direct link to the auction) (tour of giant Gundam) (another video tour of the Gundam) Studio Ghibli's Next Feature Film to Open Next Year Twilight Manhwa by Young Kim to Be Published by Yen Press (Updated) Ultimo's Stan Lee & Hiroyuki Takei at Comic-Con Int'l Weird Japan: Anpanman Gets Guinness World Record for Most Characters Top 10 Sexiest Prefectures of Japan Moe Buddhism Draws Otaku Converts Become a friend of Otaku no Podcast on Facebook

Yes, it's true, we're still very much alive and kicking.  Let's just say that 2008 was the Year of Hell, and a lot of stuff happened in my life (most of it NOT good).  Things aren't quite at the levels they were before the Year of Hell, but at least the dust has settled and I'm in a more or less stable situation right now.  So I figured it's time to revive the show! Today we bring you yet another of our big group discussions, this time talking about our experiences and thoughts on Anime Expo 2009, quite possibly North America's largest anime convention, which happened this past July 4 weekend.  We also give out some anime recco's along the way.  And, of course, go over this week's anime news of interest. This Week's News: Recently reunited; Do As Infinity already releasing a new album Zetsuai 1989 Director Takuji Endo Passes Away Honey and Clover anime now available on iTunes, first ep free (iTunes Link) Live-Action Blood: The Last Vampire Film Opens in U.S. Yen Press picks up Kuroshitsuji for Yen+ one year anniversary Terrified of being seen alone, students eat in toilets Porn Downloads Strain Japan Phone Network, Prompt DoCoMo Curbs Picks of the Week: Donald - Galaxy Express 999, Last Exile, Shangri-La Michelle - Chi's Sweet Home, Chi's New Address Danny - Hayate no Gotoku (aka Hayate the Combat Butler), Shangri-La [amtap amazon:asin=B001US3XUK] [amtap amazon:asin=B0028X6L2I] Our Websites: Donald Burr's Portal of Doom Cartoon Geeks The Barer Cave Beep's Web Site and Save Our State page Other Links of Note: TJX: The Japan Xperience Senryu Taiko Dead Fantasy

Finally getting through some of the con video that's filling up my hard drive.  Here is the Anime Los Angeles 4 (2008) video I promised... uhh, a while ago.

I was able to make it to all 3 days of the Anime Los Angeles 4 convention. Once again, I have gathered together a panel of friends who were also able to make it to A-LA 4, and we give a summary of, and our review of, this convention. We also talk a bit about the upcoming Anime Expo convention, one of the largest anime conventions in the USA, which will be held from July 3-6 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Finally, we talk about some of the anime that we've been watching recently, and give out some recommendations. I didn't have time to go through any anime/manga news, new releases, or upcoming conventions; I'll put out a smaller "mini episode" with that information in it hopefully sometime later this week. This week's panelists: Myself, Donald Burr Chad Page Michelle Klein-Hass Daniel Barer Amy Bowen Our anime recommendations: Me: [amtap amazon:asin=B000Y7WGTM] sola (Series has recently been licensed but is not yet available for purchase) Chad: [amtap amazon:asin=B000FFJ8PI] [amtap amazon:asin=B0010DM47S] [amtap amazon:asin=B000TKCNWY] Zettai Shonen Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Michelle: [amtap amazon:asin=B000YAFJYS] Danny: [amtap amazon:asin=B0000B1OC6] Cat's Eye. Amy: [amtap amazon:asin=B000NVT0PW] [amtap amazon:isbn=0470039205]

If you are a new listener, and heard about us through either the Feeble Force network of podcasts, or Allison Sheridan's excellent NosillaCast... welcome! Thank you for taking the time to download this episode, and we hope you stick around for many more to come! In this episode, I discuss my review and impressions of the JTAF 5 (formerly JapanTown Anime Faire) anime convention, held November 10-11, 2007 at the Fort Mason center in San Francisco, CA. On the whole it was an enjoyable convention, but had some notable problems in terms of location and crowd control. Sadly, JTAF is going on hiatus, and have put all plans for next year's JTAF on hold until further notice. I certainly hope this does not spell the end of what I consider a very friendly and fun convention. Pictures from the event can be found on my Flickr page, and a highlights video will be posted here soon. We also discuss some of the latest news in the anime and manga community, including the following stories: Yahoo! Japan, eBay to link their USA and Japanese online auction sites The Anime Network, Sci Fi Channel add new anime programming Anime once again shut out of Annie award nominations Media Blasters Confirms USA Release of 2nd Season of Genshiken Code Geass to air on American Adult Swim in Spring 2008 Japanese Anime Studios Confirmed for Batman Animated Video Bookstore moves manga section after parent's complaint USA, Japan propose limits on explicit online material New Manga series adopts classic American movies Japanese spa Yunessun introduces a new twist to the traditional Japanese hot spring (onsen)

Finally, after a long hiatus, we are back in action! This time around, I decided to mix things up a bit and put together a panel discussion. We talk about this week's big news, Geneon pulling out of the US anime business. We also talked about MikomiCon, a relatively new (only in its 2nd year) anime convention that we really like, as well as the awesome World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), recently held in Yokohama, Japan. We also make some recommendations on anime you should watch. Finally, I also talk a bit about my latest podcasting project, Podcasting on the Cheap. Our Panelists: Donald Burr Michelle Klein-Hass Danny Barer Chad Page Upcoming Anime Conventions (check AnimeCons.com for a list of even more conventions) Another Anime Convention Courtyard Marriott Nashua Hotel, Nashua, NH October 12-14 Zenkaikon Valley Forge Scanticon Hotel and Conference Center, King of Prussia, PA October 13 Chibi-Pa Crown Plaza West Palm Beach Hotel, West Palm Beach, FL October 19-21 JapanTown Anime Faire (JTAF) Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA November 10-11 Anime Los Angeles Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, Burbank, CA January 4-6, 2008 Our Anime Recommendations: Donald: Ergo Proxy, Martian Successor Nadesico, Kanon. Michelle - Tekkon Kinkreet, Popeye, All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku (OAV) (TV series) Chad - The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Danny - Cat's Eye, Orguss, Super Dimension Centure, Hellsing Ultimate.

Like many things in life, anime and manga are best enjoyed among groups of like-minded individuals. There's nowhere better to accomplish this than at an Anime Convention. This week, we'll discuss what anime conventions are, and what you should expect to encounter at one. We'll also bring you reviews and commentary on two of the biggest anime and comic conventions in the world: Anime Expo, and San Diego Comic-Con International (SDCCI), which both occurred this past July. If you missed them, don't worry! There are plenty of conventions coming up in the next few months, and we'll give you the skinny on those as well. This is a two-part series, so there will be even more convention talk next week, so stay tuned! As a reminder, please check our web site: http://otakunopodcast.com/ for show notes, news about the podcast, and other items of interest. Also be sure and check out our forums, and leave a comment by email or voice mail. Upcoming Anime Conventions: (for even more, be sure and visit http://www.animecons.com/) Animation on Display http://www.aodsf.org/ August 25 Cathedral Hill Hotel, San Francisco, CA Little Tokyo Anime Festival http://www.myspace.com/littletokyoanimefestival August 25-26 Little Tokyo Shopping Center 2F, Los Angeles, CA Anime Vegas http://www.animevegas.com/ September 1-3 Cashman Center, Las Vegas, NV MikomiCon http://www.mikomicon.com/ September 7-9 CSU Northridge, Northridge, CA Pacific Media Expo http://pacificmediaexpo.info/ November 9-11 LAX Hilton, Los Angeles, CA Japantown Anime Faire http://www.myspace.com/jtaf November 10-11 Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA Anime Los Angeles http://www.animelosangeles.org/ January 4-6, 2008 Burbank Airport Marriott, Burbank, CA Convention reviews: Anime Expo - http://www.anime-expo.org/ San Diego Comic-Con International - http://www.comic-con.org/ This week's guest: Danny Barer - http://barercave.blogspot.com/

Welcome to the first episode of my new podcast, Otaku no Podcast. In this podcast, I will be bringing you news, reviews, and commentary on all things Anime and Manga. I'm still pretty new to podcasting, so please excuse any audio problems, etc. I will be continuously working on improving both the podcast and the website, so please bear with me. Speaking of the web site, it is: http://otakunopodcast.com/ Please feel free to send your comments and suggestions. I'll also be adding user interactivity features such as forums and some sort of Skype voice mail box, so that you guys can leave voice feedback, call in to review your favorite anime, etc. I hope to play some of these on future podcasts. (Please keep 'em clean, I'd like to keep this podcast open to all ages.) Anyway, I've got a lot of interesting content planned for the next episodes, so stay tuned!