Ani-gamers Podcast

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Hisui & Narutaki (ReverseThieves.com) Topic: Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (both Season 1 and R2) (2006) In part two of the Reverse Thieves' podcasting extravaganza, I chat with them for a lengthy hour-plus podcast about the 2006 TV anime Code Geass, from studio Sunrise. The show, a modern take on the classic 50-episode Sunrise mecha formula, follows the events of a political and military revolution, masterminded by the exiled prince Lelouch Vi Brittania. We get pretty in-depth regarding the series, so a massive SPOILER ALERT is in effect throughout the episode. Let us know what you think of the episode, and please feel free to chime in with your own thoughts on Code Geass in an e-mail or the comments thread. Send us feedback at podcast@anigamers.com! Show notes, links, comments, and more can be found at podcast.anigamers.com.

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Hisui & Narutaki (ReverseThieves.com) Topic: What'cha Been Doing? The Reverse Thieves are back for a podcast double header in episodes #029 and #030. In this episode, I talk with them about the latest anime, manga, and video games we've checked out, and in episode #030, we'll be discussing the anime series Code Geass. Oh yes, and this episode's intro announces the winners of our Black Jack giveaway. Send us feedback at podcast@anigamers.com! Show notes, links, comments, and more can be found at podcast.anigamers.com.

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Frederik L. Schodt, Ed Sizemore Topic: Second half of our comparison of all versions of the Astro Boy story "The Greatest Robot on Earth" (original manga, 60s anime, 1980 anime, 2003 anime, and Pluto manga) This is the second half of episode #028, featuring a continuation of our discussion of Astro Boy and its many adaptations. If you're confused about this show, I'd suggest you listen to the first half, which you can find right here. Additionally, listen till the end of the show for contest information, primarily that the Black Jack "suggest-a-topic" contest will be ending next Sunday, April 25 at 11:59pm. Send us feedback at podcast@anigamers.com! Show notes, links, comments, and more can be found at podcast.anigamers.com.

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Frederik L. Schodt (jai2.com), Ed Sizemore (mangaworthreading.com) Topic: Comparison of all versions of the Astro Boy story "The Greatest Robot on Earth" (original manga, 60s anime, 1980 anime, 2003 anime, and Pluto manga) In a last-ditch effort to release a podcast for Osamu Tezuka Month, I recorded this episode with manga translator Fred Schodt (author of The Astro Boy Essays, translator of Astro Boy and Pluto) and manga reviewer Ed Sizemore (Manga Worth Reading), featuring an in-depth discussion of the Astro Boy story "The Greatest Robot on Earth" and all of the adaptations thereof. The episode was quite long and I wanted to get something out before the end of the month, so this is only the first part of the show. In it, we only get to two of our discussion topics: Astro's fateful decision to increase his horsepower and the dichotomy between the philosophies and depictions of Dr. Ochanomizu and Dr. Tenma. In addition, there's a quick announcement of an Ani-Gamers Podcast conte

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Mitchell "MitchyD" Dyer, Knuckles Dawson (AchievementHunter.com) Topic: What'cha Been Doing? This just might be the silliest, most off-topic episode of the Ani-Gamers Podcast, as Mitchy and I discuss anime and video games (mostly the latter) with gaming journalist Knuckles Dawson. Just when you thought our discussion of the dubs for Dragonball Z and presence of robot dragons in Escaflowne couldn't get any more sidetracked, we include gems like an in-depth analysis of our favorite flavors of egg nog. So listen away... at your own risk. It's also worth noting that, this time, I attempted to bleep out Mitchy's uses of the F-bomb, though I just gave up when it came to censoring "shit." Hopefully this will keep Apple secret agents from busting down my doors and arresting me for not putting an Explicit tag on our podcast. Send us feedback at podcast@anigamers.com! Show notes, links, comments, and more can be found at podcast.anigamers.com.

(NOTE: This episode has been renamed due to an admittedly poor choice of words in my original title. Sorry!) We're back with a show recorded merely a week before its release (an amazing record for the Ani-Gamers Podcast). Listen on for my fascinating interview with Dr. Lawrence Eng, a longtime anime fan who chose to pursue his fandom as a line of research when he joined Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)'s "Science and Technology Studies" doctorate program, and focused his dissertation on "otaku studies." In this interview from Genericon XXIII at RPI, I pick Eng's brain on the findings of his research, his own life as an otaku, and a few other topics related to anime fan culture. Send us feedback at podcast@anigamers.com! Show notes, links, and more can be found at podcast.anigamers.com.

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Mitchell "MitchyD" Dyer, Elliot Page Topic: "What'cha Been Doing?" We're back, this time with a new format for our shows (and a new hosting service Podbean!). Instead of having What'cha Been Doing? segments before every discussion, we will be recording shorter podcasts dedicated to freeform discussion alongside episodes that only contain a review or a panel discussion. Thus, all of the episodes should clock in at 30-40 minutes, which should hopefully result in an acceleration of our release schedule. And don't you worry — we'll still be doing our very best to get a variety of guest hosts on the podcast on a regular basis. For this episode, Evan talks with Ani-Gamers staffers Mitchy and Elliot about what we've been watching, reading, and playing. The major discussions include Ode to Kirihito and Mass Effect (the original). By the way, I apologize for some of the weird sound problems (Mitchy's noisy recording and the occasional echoes). They should be fixed for next episode. Send u

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Mitchell "MitchyD" Dyer Topic: Sword of the Stranger (anime, 2008) Today we're talking about Sword of the Stranger, a samurai action anime created by studio BONES, directed by first-time director Masahiro Ando, and distributed in the United States by Bandai Entertainment. Mitchy and I loved this movie to death (a state experienced by more than half its cast), so this episode turned out quite a lot like our Golgo 13 podcast. I'm not sure just yet what we'll be doing next episode, but we definitely want to talk some video games again sometime soon, and our 25th episode milestone IS right around the corner... Send us feedback at podcast@anigamers.com! Show notes, links, and more can be found at podcast.anigamers.com.

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Hisui (Alain) and Narutaki (Kate) Topic: Shjo anime that appeals to guys This episode is also called "The Answer is ALWAYS Golgo 13!" Today I am joined by the Reverse Thieves (http://ReverseThieves.com), a blogging duo that has probably been on this show more than recommended by most physicians, to discuss shjo anime specifically the kind that can appeal to boys as well as its traditional target audience of girls. The four series up for discussion are Ouran High School Host Club, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Rose of Versailles, and They Were Eleven. I have no idea what's going on for next episode, but I can say that Mitchy has been playing Assassin's Creed 2 and I plan to do the same very soon, and we are both itching to talk about Sword of the Stranger. We'll see what happens... next time on Dragonball Z! ...er, the Ani-Gamers Podcast. Send us feedback at podcast@anigamers.com! Show notes, links, and more can be found at podcast.anigamers.com.

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Erin and Noah Topic: New York Anime Festival 2009 Recorded live from the 2009 New York Anime Festival, this episode features none other than the fearsome anime podcasting couple, Erin and Noah of the Ninja Consultant Podcast (ninjaconsultant.com)! We talk about what we did at the convention and delve into some totally off-topic conversations that may or may not be completely enthralling. You decide! Next episode will feature Al and Kate from the Reverse Thieves blog (reversethieves.com) as we tackle shjo anime that appeal to male viewers. It's already recorded, and I can guarantee that it's going to be a pretty fun show. Send us feedback at podcast@anigamers.com! Show notes, links, and more can be found at podcast.anigamers.com.

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Zac Bertschy (www.animenewsnetwork.com), Sean Russell (www.anime3000.com) Topic: The Anime News Network's editorial choice to cover fansubbed anime in their Fall Preview Guide To wash down our long discussion of digital distribution last episode, this time we've got an interview with Zac Bertschy, Executive Editor at the Anime News Network, about a related topic: fansubs. Specifically, my questions revolved around ANN's choice to cover anime that has not been licensed or legally released in America in their Preview Guide  a decision which necessitates the use by ANN's paid writers of illegally distributed fansubs. Sean Russell of Anime 3000 kindly recorded the discussion and contributed some of his own thoughts as well. If you've got an opinion on the issue, don't be afraid to let us know in the comments section or through email. Next episode I'll probably post something that I recorded at New York Anime Festival: either the Yoshiyuki Tomino Question & Answer session or a bri

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Mitchell "MitchyD" Dyer, and Patz from TheGamingDungeon.com Topic: Digital Distribution [This episode is NOT censored for swear words or sexual references. Listen at your own risk.] We're back after another whole month between episodes, this time with a big, fat discussion of digital distribution (in terms of both anime and games), featuring none other than The Gaming Dungeon's very own Patz! Mitchy is along for the ride too, discussing his love affair with Steam and his burning hatred of moe shows. This show is a little longer than usual, and my track had some volume balancing trouble, so I apologize for that. Anyway, next episode should actually be out very, very soon, since it's a quick discussion between the Anime News Network's Zac Bertschy, Anime 3000's Sean Russell, and me about fansub reviewing policies that needs to be up on the Internet while it's still relevant to the debate. Look out for that within the next week or so. Send us feedback at podcast@anigamers.com! Show

Folks who listened to our last podcast episode will know that Ani-Gamers was unfortunately not approved for any interviews at Otakon 2009. So, to make up for this situation, Evan attended a group press conference held by Otakon Press Ops, with guests Noboru Ishiguro, Masao Maruyama, Yukio Kikukawa, and Hidenori Matsubara. The "press conference" part means that, unlike an interview, this meeting entailed a variety of news outlets taking turns asking questions of the guests. Keep an ear out for Evan at the press conference, and enjoy the show! Send us feedback at podcast@anigamers.com! Show notes (including summaries of each guest's body of work) and links can be found at podcast.anigamers.com.

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Alain (Hisui), Kate (Narutaki), & Carol (Kohaku) from ReverseThieves.com, and Carl from OgiueManiax.wordpress.com Topic: Otakon 2009 At long last the Ani-Gamers Podcast has woken from its Otakon-induced slumber. Today we've got a mega-podcast (four co-hosts is pretty mega!) that was supposed to be recorded while we were mega-riding the Megabus charter bus service. But since there were so many normal people on the bus, we couldn't record it, and our intrepid bloggers have come together using the power of Skype to send this Otakon 2009 convention report into the great beyond that is the Internet. Unfortunately, Skype is a fickle friend, so we faced off with such problems as echoes and inexplicable audio dropout. The resulting podcast might not sound as great audio-wise as most of our other episodes, but believe me, it took a lot of work to edit it to a point at which it would actually be listenable. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy it! Send us feedback at podcast@anigamers.com! S

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Karl "Uncle Yo" Custer Topic: Otakon 2009 As a reminder to new listeners, this episode is not the typical style that we use here at the Ani-Gamers Podcast. It's a short, informal episode to let people know that we will be attending Otakon, the largest fan-run anime convention in the United States. (And to tell people what stuff we should be doing while we're there.) If you're going to be at the con, drop us a line at our email address or the blog, and make sure to say hi if you see us around. Sorry about any wonky audio levels, but this episode was recorded and edited very quickly to get it out before the con. Definitely let us know your opinion of this, and look forward to a normal episode next time. Send us feedback at podcast@anigamers.com! Our schedules can be found in text form at our blog, podcast.anigamers.com.

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Mitchell Dyer Topic: Tokyo Godfathers (2003) This time we're talking about a movie from Evan's favorite anime director: Satoshi Kon (Paprika, Paranoia Agent). The review portion is sort of short compared to the What'cha Been Doing? segment, which is probably because Evan had to rush to go see Star Trek at the end of the episode. Our plans for next episode are not yet solidified, but the goal is to record a whole slew of new episodes at Otakon later this month, and to record a Cowboy Bebop episode featuring Evan, Mitchy, and Karl once the former actually finishes watching the show. Till next time, so long, dear listeners! Send us feedback at podcast@anigamers.com! Show notes and links can be found at podcast.anigamers.com.

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Mitchell Dyer, Elliot Page Topic: Black Jack (Manga: JP-1970, NA-2008) In this episode, Mitchy reappears to talk about Osamu Tezuka's Black Jack manga, which we've wanted to review since last fall when it began its English language publication courtesy of Vertical, Inc. Our second guest, Elliot from Luke and Elliot's Bearfighting Extravaganza (lukeandelliot.com), was invited onto the podcast between the first segment and the review, so he joins us for the remainder of the episode. This episode was recorded the weekend after the last episode was released, which seems like a fairly reasonable schedule for the podcast going into the future. Maybe we'll end up doing that. Or maybe I'll just end up not having enough time and the episodes will come out weeks late like usual. Which would be terrible. So, look forward to an attempt at a regular, every-other-week schedule from now on, but don't be surprised if we have to skip a week sometimes. Send us feedback at podcast@anigamers.com! Sh

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Kyle Hebert Topic: Street Fighter IV (Xbox 360 - 2009) As promised, this episode features a special guest appearance from anime/game voice actor and podcaster Kyle Hebert (of The Big Bald Broadcast), as he joins Evan to discuss the always fun and often frustrating Street Fighter IV, a game which Kyle starred in as Ryu. I fully recognize that our release schedule is totally screwed up, and I am currently looking at a better way to deal with that. A monthly or once-every-two-weeks schedule might be in our future, though the latter might result in slightly shorter episodes. If you've got a preference for the release schedule and/or show format of future episodes, do let us know by emailing us. Send us feedback at podcast@anigamers.com! Show notes and links can be found at podcast.anigamers.com.

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Karl "Uncle Yo" CusterTopics: Natsu no Arashi (2009), Shikabane Hime: Kuro (2009), Ristorante Paradiso (2009), Shangri-La (2009) The formidable Uncle Yo makes his triumphant return to the podcast to help with our Spring 2009 Anime Season preview (and to insult Russians, theatre-goers, pink-haired people, and pretty much everybody else). We've got four different anime up for discussion, as well as our usual "What'cha Been Doing?" and "Link of the Day" segments. Oh yeah, Evan mentions in this episode that we have a contest going on. If you were unclear on how the rules work, go ahead and read up on them in the show notes, or send us an email to clarify. And as a final note: Our next episode will most likely feature the awesome voice actor/podcaster Kyle Hebert as a guest-host. That is, as long as Evan can find a chance to play Street Fighter IV, the topic of our upcoming discussion. Look forward to it. Send us feedback at podcast@anigamers.com! Show notes and links can be found

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Mitchell "MitchyD" Dyer Topic: The Professional: Golgo 13 (1983) We went well over an hour in this, one of our longest recent episodes. Maybe that's because Mitchy's back, and he and Evan can't help but talk for an hour about awesome things like Golgo 13 and, um, Golgo 13. This episode's got "What'cha Been Doing?," a review of the 1983 anime film The Professional: Golgo 13, and some Links of the Day at the end. What more could you ask for? Maybe a special secret message at the end of the episode. Oh ho ho, but I've already said too much. Oh, and it's a little late to tell everybody, but Evan is going to host/already hosted a panel about blogging and podcasting at Castle Point Anime Convention in Hoboken. If you're going/were there, make sure that you say/said hi. Goddamn, now I'm really confused. Show notes and links can be found at podcast.anigamers.com.