Anime World Order Show # 67 – The Synthesizer Has Not Been Stolen Yet

Daryl gets back on the horse [heroin…?] with his review of Paprika, Clarissa’s tackling School Rumble, and Gerald double-dips on Detonator Orgun.

This episode of the Anime World Order podcast is brought to you by Sweet and Sour Inc. Of course, perhaps we should have informed them that this was the case before we went and depleted one of their accounts at the Redondo Beach Savings and Loan:

IS LARRY SWEENEY LOOKIN’ GOOD TONIGHT OR WHAT?

Introduction (0:00 – 19:22)
We decide to try recording ourselves separately then synchronizing the tracks like all real podcasts do, but the last time we tried this was in episode 4 or something and it didn’t turn out well. Do vote in that poll on the sidebar and let us know if there’s any discernable audio quality difference. With so many folks listening to the show from school or work, people might be able to pick up on that weird underwater robotic distortion that the old Audacity Noise Removal filter induces. Daryl uses the beta version of Audacity which supposedly has better noise removal capabilities. Let us know. And while you’re at it, since there’s so many other podcasts out there–anime or otherwise–let us know about your show already! If you want any of us on as guests on your podcast, we’ll be glad to do it! As long as we don’t have to edit anything.

As far as emails go, “Kira” from Koibito Anime, an anime blog written by a husband/wife duo, wants recommendations from us regarding what anime is good for couples to watch since they’re currently spending most of their posts watching filth like Clannad and ef – A Tale of Memories. Eff A Tale of Memories, indeed! For the record, guys: the most recent season of 24 was the worst season of 24 EVER. Maybe now that there’s no 24 this year they’ll take the extra year to actually write out the full story in advance like they did for the first half of Season 1 instead of just taking spin upon spin at the Xanatos Roulette table. On the subject of those, the rest of Prison Break had better get made STAT. It turns out we can’t really offer much help regarding their question, even though Gerald and Clarissa also watch anime together every week for about 7 hours. Such is otakudom.

Let’s News! (19:22 – 44:12)
We finally talk about the now-three-weeks-old news bit regarding how the website Crunchyroll got $4 million for streaming fansubs (also, DVD rips! We neglected to mention that part! Seriously, read this and then try and argue these people are on the up-and-up), which judging from their response here didn’t exactly sit well with FUNimation, Bandai Entertainment, or anyone not retarded. That last bit of course rules out the masters of “quantity over quality” themselves, Gonzo since they decided they’d partner up with Crunchyroll and Youtube to stream their newest inevitable disappointments. Perhaps this move will someday lead to an actual worthwhile studio taking similar measures with websites that are NOT infested with Trojan viruses and the like, so it’s almost a guarantee that studio WON’T be Bandai Visual, who in this press release noted that they’ve got to delay the release of a few of their titles since–surprise!–nobody’s buying any of their stuff. As the US executive branch often says, “nobody could have possibly foreseen this turn of events.” Well, except for everyone who DID that subsequently got ignored. Speaking of stuff getting ignored, two more volumes of the Barefoot Gen manga were released in English (which nobody here will buy) AND we’re getting even more Fist of the North Star anime (which nobody here will license)! Everyone will probably be going nuts over Slayers Revolution and Haruhi Suzumiya Season 2 instead. Plus, there’s a Blade of the Immortal anime coming soon, but unfortunately it’s being made by Bee Train, which if we’re not mistaken has never made a single good anime ever.

Promo: Viga the Otagal (44:12 – 45:02)
Victoria Gadson may not have been watching anime for THAT long, but she’s got enough savvy to know how to come up with a nickname derived from taking the first syllables of words and smashing them together. Not to be confused with Vigo, the villain from Ghostbusters 2, Viga releases three episodes a week through the power of working that sweet Creative Commons magic. Be sure to check her out! Then remind her that “intershiz” is the most infuriating word this side of “blogosphere” or worse yet “podcastosphere”!

Review: Paprika (45:02 – 1:26:15)
Daryl decides it’s time to MAN UP~! by reviewing Satoshi Kon’s latest movie, available on DVD as well as Blu-Ray from Sony Pictures Entertainment. Only he probably forgot to talk about the movie with any degree of substance within the span of these 45 minutes. OR DID HE? Paul Chapman aka “White Daryl” (or as certain cosplay MEAN-kos say, “Light Daryl” implying that Daryl is “Dark Daryl” the way that there’s “Dark Gerald” in comparison to Gerald!) will not be pleased since we didn’t talk about the very end of the movie. Or the beginning or the middle.

Promo: Destroy All Podcasts DX (1:26:15 – 1:27:31)
The best part of this promo is when Jeremy (aka “White Tony”) starts talking all INTENSE AND SERIOUS-like. Their latest episode is about Black Belt Jones, and all kung fu related episodes of DAPDX (or DAPST) inevitably result in people asking “do they even LIKE kung fu movies?” The answer apparently is yes. Maybe.

Review: School Rumble (1:27:31 – 1:44:15)
Clarissa reviews the first season of yet another anime that’s been highly requested, even though there is zero fighting in the show despite the name. It’s actually a romantic comedy, only the main characters are blithering idiots. On purpose, for a change! Do check out Otaku USA magazine to see Clarissa’s print review of School Rumble as well. If you’re going to notice any audio quality difference brought on by the different versions of the Audacity Noise Removal filter, from this point on would be the place.

Promo: Eeeper’s Choice (1:44:15 – 1:45:33)
Good idea: our favorite Irish anime fan has a new promo out! Bad idea: he assumes that people know how to spell “Eeeper” just by hearing it. How do we know it’s not “Ypres Choice,” man?! This is like that time he mailed us those DVD-Rs of Osamu Tezuka’s experimental films as well as Phoenix 2772 (dub and sub!), but then he wrote on the back of the paper sleeves with ballpoint pen, thus destroying the backs of the discs. Must be all the alcohol mixed with the DEEDLY DEE, POTATOES!

Review: Detonator Orgun (1:45:33 – 2:01:19)
Gerald wraps things up by talking about this short OAV by Masami Obari that he also covered in a recent episode of Destroy All Podcasts DX. The DVD of this one is kind of hard to find, plus there’s an annoying audio problem that could’ve been caught had someone just…WATCHED the disc first, but oh well. If you like Tekkaman Blade, you’ll want to hear about this one.

Closing (2:01:19 – 2:04:09)
The next episode was originally just going to be an all-moe episode out of nowhere, but Clarissa jumped the gun with Potemayo already! So next time the rest of us are putting our moe cards on the line: Daryl’s going to cover The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Gerald’s breaking down and reviewing Lucky Star. Lucky Star? LUCKY STAR?! Potemayo? Shuffle? …NAJICA?! Gerald and Clarissa are clearly venturing into Koibito Anime territory at this rate! Clarissa incidentally is opting to pace herself now that she’s prematurely jumped the gun so to speak, and since all the advice manuals on this subject state to “think about baseball,” next episode she’ll be reviewing the baseball anime Ookiku Furikabutte aka Swing Big.

116 Replies to “Anime World Order Show # 67 – The Synthesizer Has Not Been Stolen Yet”

  1. vz: I think Afro Samurai was actually Okazaki’s idea, not a corporate idea.
    And frankly, I’d rather see less stuff like Lucky Star, and more like it. Highlander was a tad campy, but not a hint of emo was to be found in it-which was fine by me.

  2. I’ve always wanted to see perfect blue, but never got around to watching it! But Paranoia Agent was a really good, and weird ass show.

    I was kinda on the opinion that daryl would hate Paprika, cause it’s sort of an experimental (Avent-Garde) sort of movie, sorta like Belladonna. But with out the weird ass sex!.

  3. Daryl- I’m renting Cybernetics Guardian soon to finish my ‘magnificent’ Koichi Ohata experience, so I might be able to get some of the clips you want if you give some specifics.

    Also, Paprika is very different from Belladonna in that it has a traditional narrative and animation style with a lot of creative tricks tossed in, whereas Belladonna did just about everything in a different way.

    I actually saw an early screening of Paprika at a D.C. Japan festival (Maybe it was the Cherry Blossom one mentioned earlier) and was able to ask Satoshi Kon about his next project during the Q&A. It’s actually just been revealed- a sci-fi kids’ film. That should be interesting, considering he’s never done either.

  4. Can’t make any immediate opinions on it yet, but why is Robert Downey, Jr. the Police Captain in Appleseed Ex Machina?

  5. @dan: Yeah, Okazaki made the manga, Gonzo’s US dude (name escapes me…he used to work at MTV) got wind of it, set off on trying to do something with it, got a demo made, Sam Jackson found it, then suddenly he’s doing voice and EP stuff. A hit we have.

  6. And the guy with a scar on his eye is Dennis Leary! John Woo’s been living so long in the U.S. that he’s been inundated with our disposable pop culture.

  7. Daryl-

    Thanks for clarifying your opinion on Slam Dunk for me. But no matter how slow paced Slam Dunk is, it’s probably still better than Buzzer Beater (that show was terrible!!).

    Speaking of sports anime, per your recommendation, I started buying Hajime No Ippo, and I think it’s awesome! Thanks a lot for the great recommendation, and all of you out there should watch it if you haven’t done so already!!

  8. Tim: I’m in the minority in liking that Appleseed anime featurette, mostly because it seemed true to the fan spirit. But maybe I’m just glad Harry Knowles wasn’t asked to make a comment like he did on that Animatrix supplement.

  9. I’d actually like to hear your thoughts on PiQ, Gerald. I’m not….overly impressed by it, and I don’t think I’ll be buying any issues past the first 2 (I’m committed to buy the first 2). Newtype was kind of fluffy, but PiQ is just…kind of useless.

  10. Listening to ‘cast right now but I have to mention:
    – I’m 41 years old
    – married
    – two kids (both anime fans)
    – I staff at the local con

    So, is that ‘otaku’ enough? 🙂

  11. Tekkonkinkreet is excellent. In fact, Tekkonkinkreet >>> Paprika

    Hello, Mr. Arias!

    Perhaps I’m no longer “Otaku” enough for this ‘cast

    Ah-buh-buh-buh-buh! Stop right there!

    – I’m 41 years old
    – married
    – two kids (both anime fans)
    – I staff at the local con

    So, is that ‘otaku’ enough? 🙂

    I think people are forgetting that at least on THIS corner of the Internet, the word “otaku” is not used to mean “awesome anime fan who’s got MAD FANDOM CRED, YO” like how most people in the US seem to be doing.

    When I say “you are not an otaku unlike us,” I am in fact paying you a great compliment because despite what TV’s Patrick Macias espouses, I use the term in the Japanese sense of the word: “crazy, scary people who have no lives whatsoever outside of their interest.”

    You know that part at the end of First Blood where Rambo’s talking about how sometimes he doesn’t talk to anybody for days or weeks or whatever? You ever do that? Did that part of the speech resonate strongly with you? Did you maybe mentally think to yourself “that’s nothing Rambo, try a few months” when you saw that part?

    If the answer is no, then congratulations! You’re not an otaku. The English language already has a wonderful word to describe what you are. That word is “geek.” Any former definition died along with “Classy” Freddie Blassie.

    The real definition of otaku’s not fully dying out until I’m gone, you hear?! Because if YOU’RE an otaku…

    …then what does that make me?

  12. I came to call myself otaku in a very simple way; in 1992 I saw the Operation X fansub of OTAKU NO VIDEO at a Seishun Shitemasu party. I had never heard the word “otaku” before then, but I saw the video and said, “Oh, that’s me.” It must have been like a small-town schoolmarm in the 1950s encountering the word “lesbian.”

  13. Those school marms are probably still alive, you know. And an 85-year-old vagina probably feels better than a 20-year-old one, what with all the extra flaps ‘n folds ‘n such.

  14. The English language already has a wonderful word to describe what you are. That word is “geek.”

    Personally, I’ve been working on taking back “nerd”, all Randall Graves-style.

    And all this arguing over what a ‘couples’ show is. Maybe it’s a testament to how awesome my lady is or maybe it’s a challenge to every dateless wonder’s estimation, but we recently finished Macross 7 and have been going through Cobra AGAIN. ’73 Cutey Honey also makes an appearance here and there. We’re a couple of discs behind on Beck and on Bleach, but those are both shows we watch together, too.

    Whispers of the Heart is a no-brainer, but sometimes ladies and gents can agree on straight-up good shows.

  15. I’d like to thank Clarissa for reviewing School Rumble, one of my favorite anime comedies in recent years. Second Semester is also quite funny, and I can’t wait to see the upcoming third season.

    Also, Susumu Hirasawa is one of my personal deities. I can’t blame Kon for using his music in everything he produces.

    ~Kamon

    P.S. I’d also just like to state that this is the Kamon from the AnimeJump forums. Please do not mistake me for the ‘kamon’ on the Otaku USA forums.

    …Please.

  16. This is my 3rd episode and Jesus Christ you people saved some faith in Anime fandom in the US.

    Gerald’s Reviews are unearthing some deep rooted memories of riding my bike to Blockbuster every day, renting every Anime tape in stock, and filling up countless request forms. I remember Detonator Orgun and Dangaio well. It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 15 years since I got into this crap.

    My friends and I were supposed to drive out to the ROH shows Wrestlemania weekend, but nothing came about. I’m months behind on my ROH as it is.

    Nice to see there is other smart mark otaku out there. Keep up the good work!

  17. I’ve been watching the original Macross and surprised how well the show has held up, even if the art are highly inconsistent.

    I’m also watching Denno Coil. I think AWO should do a review of that. Don’t worry, even though it has young girls it’s not a moe lolicon fanservice show, not even like the way Strawberry Marshmallow is. Interesting premise. I’d say it’s like a smarter Digimon but that’d be belittling it.

  18. Wow, so the truth has come out and now we finally know why Daryl is such a bitter lonely otaku. Since he doesn’t ever remember dreams and hates Philip K. Dick, its obvious that he himself is a self-hating replicant.

    I’m vidcalling Deckard right now.

  19. Okay, I’m really late to the party but I thought I’d throw my two cents in. Actually the YouTube episodes of Tower of Druaga and BLASSREITTER have the entire episode in one clip. They aren’t horrible quality. They’re certainly better than that crappy Crunchyroll stream. And I’m glad to hear that I’m not the only one who never heard of Crunchyroll before this. Cause I was thinking I really was out of touch.

    I mean I am out of touch, but that’s neither here nor there.

    I do like Tower of Druaga, but mostly because I’m some sort of fantasy fanboy, and it’s actually decent so far. I mean I still trust GONZO to screw it up. But I’m liking it. BLASSREITTER is a bit cheesy for my tastes, but it’s still okay.

  20. Man, that Black Jack t-shirt is pretty sexy, but with the crappy state of the dollar it’s awfully expensive. A dilemma indeed.

  21. Ok, just watched the first ep of the new Golgo 13 TV series….I have hope for anime again. But he needs to hunt down the dread spectre of moe. THAT would be the best show ever.

  22. I both highly anticipate and fear Gerald’s review of Lucky Star. You must answer me this…

    Which end is the head?

    Preordered Vol.1 of the show BTW.

    Anyone going to NYCC?

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  24. In today’s news, Bandai Ent. has finished desecrating ADV’s corpse over Gurren Lagann.

    That and they’ve licensed the newest Gundam series, but that wasn’t too unexpected.

    -NJ

  25. nj: ADV is still alive and smart enough not to get another overpriced
    Gainax license only old-school importers would buy domestically. Other than Eva and FLCL, everything else from the company sells decently or poorly here.

  26. “We decide to try recording ourselves separately then synchronizing the tracks like all real podcasts do”

    … they do?? o.O i never knew that! XD

  27. dan: Hey, I know they’re still alive, but they just lost one of the biggest potential properties to Bandai.

    I don’t even know if it would sell that well per se, but it has hype, Gainax name recognition and even actual quality to back it up. What company wouldn’t want something like GL, at least in order to test the waters?

    That’s the point. Tell me that’s not going to hurt, if not commercially then at least morally or otherwise, even if implying death was a conscious exaggeration.

  28. When it comes to anime, hype doesn’t make a difference nowadays. And let’s face it: Gonzo is bigger here than Gainax. Finally, ADV’s got Devil May Cry, so they’ll be fine.

  29. It’s amazing to me the denial the ADV apologists are in, as regards Bandai Ent’ picking up Gurren Lagann.

    When it was announced: “YAY! this will SAVE ANIME! It’s gonna be HUGE for ADV! Made of WIN! “

    Then the Sojitz Crisis hit, and it was “Ooohhh, they’re just holding back, they said they’re waiting for materials from Japan, they said it’s an important title and they just have to work out a few things, there’s no way they won’t release it after all they’ve finished at least one disc’s worth of dubbing, I’m sure they’re just holding back to announce a deal with Cartoon Network”

    And now…”well, it wouldn’t have been that big a hit…mecha action doesn’t do well…it’s better they spent their money on keeping the shows they’d already released discs for than try to pay for this…” and just pure…well, rather like someone who wanted to date someone REALLY BADLY but when finally asked and rejected “bitch, I bet he/she is gay anyway I didn’t really want to go out with them I was just being nice”

    Here’s a couple things to stir the pot:

    a. The loss of GL WILL hurt ADV. Not just in terms of lost sales, but the investment of whatever ‘deposit against income’ they had paid for the license, the cost of all those web ads, magazine ads, trade ads, the promotion, the money spent shopping the show to CN and G4, the cost of dub work already completed, the art for at least the first two discs…yeah, that all must have set them back some good money. At a time where they CAN’T afford to waste it. And I’m very sure there’s no recouping that from the licensor.

    b. Nobody is keying in on the reality of Bandai Ent’s reasoning for the double release of GL. They’ll release the dubbed version WHEN THEY MAKE A SALE TO TV, and not before. If they fail to get GL on Cartoon Network they’ll have to pay for the dub out of their own pocket, and it just might be that after crunching the numbers that would not be fiscially smart. Regardless of what is said NOW, people should understand that there very well may NOT be an English dub done after all.

    Given what’s been stated as CN’s plans for 2009, I’m thinking it’s going to be near impossible for Bandai Ent. to get ANYTHING on.

    I also find it interesting that in all the talk about Bandai Ent. getting Gundam 00, they NEVER mention that’s it’s a ‘split season’ release, where they ran the first 26 episodes, then they’re taking a several month break before starting the second 26. It’s possible Bandai and Sunrise may not pick up/produce that second 26 episode chunk if the ratings haven’t been spectacular.

    Remember, Gundam 00 is part of that “Bring Gundam to America…again…..really….this time FOR SURE” project discussed 2 years ago. I suspect it’s not going to set people on fire like desired.

  30. steve: I ain’t in denial. I always knew that GL was one of their fan shows they were hoping to turn into something bigger, and that now they’re just focusing on properties which don’t just get buzz on the AOD boards. Good for them, and the rest of us, as that means less moe, too.

    And I doubt losing GL will hurt them any more than losing the second season of FMP and the second season of SuperGALS! hurt them. Unlike Geneon, they’re smart enough to negotiate good deals which don’t result in them bleeding money.

    As for a dub of GL, if the subs sell well enough, it should happen;
    the company managed to get sales for Haruhi and Lucky Star, shows which would’ve probably done horribly in the past, if they were released by Geneon. So Bandai seems to do better at “big in Japan, but not necessarily the U.S.A.” titles, while ADV is better at more populist titles. If they can actually get girls to watch a live-action screening of Cromartie at AX, then they’ve done their job.

    I also don’t have any doubts about Bandai finishing Gundam 00, since the company managed to get through Seed fairly well.

  31. Dan, you ignorant slut.

    Losing Gurren Lagann has ALREADY hurt ADV. They SPENT MONEY on a license they no longer own! They advertised a product that isn’t being released by them!

    Totally different from the FMP and Super Gals releases.

    Did you forget the week that ADV had GL take over as a ‘skin’ at ANN for a week? That cost money.

    “If the subs sell well enough, the dub should happen”

    what amazing logic. If the subs sell well enough, why spend the money? It won’t increase the sales by any significant amount, not like the old days.

    Frankly, I think GL is a test bomb for Bandai Ent. If they can mimic the Mediablasters model (fast, cheap sub only mini-sets) and sell near the numbers that a conventional ‘dub and drag out the release over 18 months’ sells, they’ll jump on that horse and ride it hard.

    And Gundam 00…whatever. I don’t recall seeing anything lately from Japan on when the second season actually starts. I think Bandai is just scratching their head.

    I note that on reading the PDF posted at Gundam Offical the current marketing head of Bandai Ent (Napton, Napton, where do I know that name from?) is quick to invoke the name of the one successful Gundam in the US, Gundam Wing. Makes me have the LOLz.

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