Anime World Order Show # 111 – Carl Weathers Did NOT Beat Up Any Vietnamese

Another new year, another set of broken promises from us. No, we didn’t get a final recording out before the end of 2012. But we’re back, and this time Daryl reviews Kids on the Slope. To his surprise.

Due to new iTunes requirements (and by “new” we mean “six months old”), we’ve changed our iTunes logo to be one of the various high-res, NOT made in MS Paint logos we’ve got. Due to WordPress upgrades, we’ve had to switch the podcasting plugin we used for all these years. The older posts will display the player twice, but the player and download link should now display on EVERY post, regardless of if you are viewing a permalink or are looking via the frontpage. If you are still not seeing the download links, let us know. (Also, if you can make us a short looping motion graphic that we can use for our “post the audio reviews to Youtube” aspiration, because that still shot stuff is CLYDESVILLE and AWO is the podcast that SWINGS, baby.)

Introduction (0:00 – 23:30)

We’ve had a lot of guest appearances on other podcasts recently. Daryl was on the ANNCast along with Mike Toole to talk about…lots of anime stuff, then was on The Speakeasy podcast discussing the merits of watching anime weekly vs in marathon sessions / in groups vs alone, and then both Daryl and Gerald were on the Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast to discuss The FP.

Our replies to this episode’s emails probably aren’t what everyone who wrote in was hoping for. Those looking to professionally write about anime like we do…may not necessarily have as easy a time. On that note, check out the Otaku USA picks for “best anime of 2012” and expect some more ruminations on Getter Robo there real soon. The rest have us pondering our mortality as we direct listeners to previous episodes we recorded when they would have been in the third grade (specifically, this review of Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid), and contemplate whether anyone else who isn’t our age can actually give a crap about Macross: Do You Remember Love? given all that’s transpired since.

Review: Kids on the Slope (23:30 – 1:20:25)
First off: our mistake. Kids on the Slope isn’t actually out on home video in the US just yet. It’s still about four months out. For now, you can view the entire series free of charge, legally, via the streaming site Crunchyroll. It amazes us how many people still use bootleg streaming sites, but to their credit many anime fans still don’t know which sites are legit and which aren’t. Out of practice and without notes or preparation, Daryl found himself having to improvise free-form in doing this review. But maybe that’s okay considering this show is about improvisational jazz. Also, cranking up the Maybe They’re Gay beyond the level of “Awesome” straight to the josei-default level of “Internet.” Given the staff pedigree–one needn’t say more than “from the makers of Cowboy Bebop”–this was one of the most watched simulcasts of last year. But how’s it compare? Time to meet the Buddha.

While you’re waiting for the next episode to come out, check out The Golden Ani-Versary of Anime, as co-ordinated by the really interesting to stare at Geoff Tebbetts. He’s conscripted a team of bloggers, podcasters, and other anime luminaries to write posts dedicated entirely to one year of anime, starting with 1963 (the debut of Astro Boy TV) and culminating with 2013. So far, they’re up to 1970. In one month’s time, they’ll be on 1980…which is the year they convinced Daryl to write about. Given that he’s never actually done any anime blogging before, perhaps he should be writing that now instead of 3 weeks from now…

Anime World Order Show # 109 – We Have Finally Reached the Mystery Frequency

In a rare deviation from our usual set of hijinks, Clarissa isn’t around and we review a NEW show for a change as Gerald espouses the merits of Shoji Kawamori’s latest venture, AKB0048.

Update: A lot of people are having trouble seeing the download link. This is an issue brought about with the latest versions of Adobe Flash, which handles the on-page player and text link. For now, you can click here to download.

Introduction (0:00 – 43:24)
Clarissa isn’t with us this time around, so that means it’s time to PAR-TAY by reading the emails asking us about the deeper meanings behind Violence Jack or the lack thereof. That also means it’s time to slag on graduate level anime academia now that she isn’t around to defend her life’s pursuit. The last anti-Clarissa topic we indulge ourselves in has to do with what anime is good to watch with your dad.

Promo: Method to Madness (43:24 – 44:17)
The last time, we thought we had played the most recent promo for these guys. Turns out that we played the old one with the old URL. So we’re fixing that. Their latest episode is about the Rock-a-Fire explosion documentary. That guy lives right in Orlando. Also, we watched that documentary at like 2 AM to ring in the new year.

Review: AKB0048 (44:17 – 1:19:09)
Remember this exchange in Patlabor the Movie 2?
“I understand there’s a 98% hit ratio using the fire control system.”
“And what if your FCS is malfunctioning?”
“Sir? Police Labor activities are normally conducted in pairs.”
“And what if your partner’s Labor is disabled?”
“But the odds against that are a million to one…”
“Training to prepare for that one in a million is our job as cops, YOU MORON!”

Our experience with AKB0048 is the anime equivalent of that.

Closing (1:19:09 – 1:32:10)
We’ll try and record some more things pretty soon, though we don’t know when Clarissa will be around. As noted, the Colony Drop fanzine is now free as a digital download. Also, if you must know, Daryl did stream 2 hours of Japanese pro wrestling which was never released in the US and was from largely defunct companies…but was promptly perma-banned from Justin.tv and Twitch (he wasn’t even USING Twitch!) 30 minutes later anyway. Both by account and by IP. So much for THAT idea.