Show 156 This time, we have a super special guest appearance! The cousins also have a great time talking about a Bocchi the Rock.                                         *Note, the audio intro for this episode was written entirely by ChatGPT.   This week's hosts: Laven - @LavenVoth Kenny - @sakoku_otaku With special AI-powered guest appearance by: JackGPT   Introductions BankBros and Japan’s Pajama Sam’s “What’cha been watchin’?” // Catch up with the hosts Kenny Trigun Stampede Reading ‘Chainsaw Man’ — caught up with current on the manga JackGPT Cyberpunk Edgerunner   Bocchi the Rock // ぼっち・ざ・ろっく Based on a Yonkoma by Aki Hamaji Adapted into anime in 2022 Directed by Keiichiro Saito Studio: CloverWork What it isn’t: BanG Dream Sanrio Boys What is it like — a beautiful combination of: BECK Mongolian Chop Squad K-on! Tetsuko no tabi — no seriously     Download Audio File Here

Show 155 This time, the cousins talk about Kumoricon 2022! It's our annual con review. Once again, I (Laven) wasn't there. So Kenny paints us all a picture of what it was like to be there. This week's hosts: Laven - @LavenVoth Kenny - @sakoku_otaku Correction Corner We released an unedited version of Ep 154. It was fixed! Kenny’s spouse is totally fine — successful appendectomy and recovery. Kumoricon 2022 Mega Review! This is our annual review of Kumoricon… that come out about once a year. 2022 marked the 20th year for the convention, and Laven and Kenny have been attending for 17 years. What did Anibros Creative do at Kumoricon 2022? Anime Jeopardy XV: Royal Edition Celebrity Anime Jeopardy! Anime Jeopardy NRT (18+), sponsored by FAKKU Kumoricon by the Day Day 0, Thursday Kenny witnesses angry vendors! Thank you Specialty Badge people Some waited in line for hours! Day 1, Friday Anime Taboo! Anime Jeopardy XV: Royal Edition Alisa Freedman - Great lecture style panels on pop culture Zack Davisson - Localization 101 Live Drawing panel with GEEKBOAT featuring Wakabayashi and Koyama Kenny got a drawing of Tomino Day 2, Saturday Anibros interviewed GEEKBOAT!  Tonari Animation, discussed the “Gawr Gura, Shark’d” opening animation  Kenny missed the TRIGGER Q&A but Piper took notes Celebrity Anime Jeopardy! Featuring Zack Davisson (author, translator), Jarrett Martin (CEO, Tonari Animation), and Queen D (Cosplayer, Burlesque) Anime Jeopardy 18+ Sponsored by FAKKU Anibros team took a turn messing with Kenny Day 3, Sunday Nothing really! Highlights! Bad — lines Semi-bad — split convention area Good Content! Staff! Anime Jeopardy! Artist Alley!       Download Audio File Here

Show 154 I would like to extend a heartfelt welcome to the influx of new listeners that have been directed to this glorious Podcast by way of Anime Jeopardy, courtesy of Kumoricon 2022. Also, as a disclaimer, this episode  was recorded before the Twitter drama. We reference Twitter several times in this episode, so just keep that in mind. On with the show!     This week's hosts: Laven - @LavenVoth Kenny - @sakoku_otaku Introduction AniBros Creative can be found at anibroscreative.com, and follow up on Twitter at @anibroscreative Laven is @LavenVoth Kenny is @sakoku_otaku Opening Banter “Boy-see” Kenny is a Salaryman and currently being a salaryman in Boise Good Patrick is a resident of Boise but Kenny failed to tell him he’d be coming into his town Kenny has seen a lot of potate-themed art Are we post-Pandemic? Life Protip: Delete more tweets than you send. RSS Check! Looks like we messed up! RIP Feedburner. Listen to us on Spotify! Otaku no Video Two-part OVA created by Gainax in 1991 Director: Takeshi Mori Written by: Toshio Okada Story of a college student, Kubo, who becomes an otaku after a chance encounter with an old classmate and friend, Tanaka. Autobiographical but stylized depiction of the history of General Products and Studio Gainax Features segments called ‘Portrait of an Otaku’, live action interviews with otaku Discussion What new stuff stood out to us? Portrait of an Otaku hit harder now that we’re the age of the folks that made this movie. They do get progressively more and more stupid. Garage Kits are made to be way more popular than they ever were. Otaku no Video remains a familiar and cozy show to return to. Kubo and Tanaka were definitely huffing fumes The Otakuland opening may be a reference to Tomino’s New Anime Century speech The worst part of Otaku no Video is that they become capitalists -- but maybe that is a self-aware acknowledgement of the worst tendencies at Gainax. Highly recommended, definitely watch. The reason we have this podcast. Laven is looking for land to build his own Otakuland Syberpunk: Edgerunner 10 episodes series on Netflix Produced by TRIGGER for CD Projekt Red Director: Hiroyuki Imaishi Written by: Masahiko Otsuka, Yoshiki Usa Based on story by: Bartosz Sztybor (シテボル); Rafal Jaki Discussion “One of the best shows I’ve seen in awhile.” - Laven Fear going in: this is just a video game tie-in, how good could it really be? But! It is really good! Kenny and Laven fight over DARLING in the FUCKS again What’s it about? David Martinez has a bad time: his school hates him, his classmates hate him, and his mom is killed in a car wreck. David becomes an Edgerunner -- a member of a crime team running jobs. He quickly spirals into the dark world of corporate warfare and cybernetic enhancements. Kenny’s Take: Edgerunner is exactly what it felt like to watch anime in the 90s/00s/ This is what it was like to watch Ninja Scroll or Cyber City Oedo It has violence! It has sex! It has a complex story that is based on source material that isn’t 100% present in the anime! Cyberpunk is based a TTRPG created in the 80s by Mike Pondsmith The sensory experience is dialed up to 11. This could only exist as an OVA -- in fact, it is an ONA! Cyberpunk is a love letter to the 80s OVA It is so refreshing to have a true sci-fi and cyberpunk anime again! When our generation is making decisions (after boomers are good, TY Knight Sabers), let’s hope its all nostalgia like this. Who is your favorite character? Laven: Lucy, the main girl -- perfectly engineered for me to like her; Kenny: Maine and Dorio All the characters are really well done and given opportunities to bond witht he audience. Who at Trigger needs to always add the Rebecca-type character?

Well, I've kept my promise. Here is a new episode. Recorded this month. This time, we took notes during the recording session, which I will post them here. Let us know if you like this format for show notes going forward. I'm still too lazy to add time stamps to all of this, but it's all in order: Show 153 This week's hosts: Laven - @LavenVoth Kenny - @sakoku_otaku   Where the fuck have we been!?   (Hey, Shinzo Abe died)   What has changed in our lives in the last few months? Have we done anything exciting? Laven’s super Japanese summer Fireworks display in Nagoya A tangent! Co-op food delivery is starting to push Oden, a traditional Fall/Winter food. Universal Studio Japan! So hot Super Mario World — timed and queued entry like the Star Wars place at Disney/whatever Kessenuma, Miyagi, Japan Kessenuma was devastated by the 3/11 triple disaster Former coworkers started a brewery in Northeast Japan, and was connected to the city through a sister city relationship Laven visited in Spring for a… Spring Fest! Food, beer, music, and fun. This sparked a memory with Kenny — eating at a food festival in Katsuura, Chiba. If you ever go there, get the Katsuura Tantanmen. Adventures in Cooking! Laven and Kaori are mastering Mexican cuisine. Kenny pitched an idea for… Hello Fresh but for Japan! But he’s definitely too late. CookingBros! Baking Spouses! Kenny joined a Sister City organization for Salem-Kawagoe Group arranges visits and exchanges between the cities Using this as an avenue to engage with Japan that isn’t just anime/manga   From the detour Kenny went to Hawaii on his 10th wedding anniversary Kona, visited Hilo   What have we been watching? Reading? Doing? Laven Tried watching (Spring and Summer) Anime about a traditional confectionery shop in Kyoto. Conflict between the son who abandons his family business and the adoptive daughter the takes it over. Yofukashi no uta Did watched Birdy Wing Thermae Romae F Spy x Family Am Watching Isekai Oji-san GeGeGe no Kitaro (Detective) Conan — watching as new episodes they come out Kenny Watching, technically a present tense verb Birdy Wing Spy x Family Oishinbo Read and reading Don’t toy with me, Miss Nagatoro by Nanashi ‘Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World’ by Matt Alt ‘First Person Singular’ by Haruki Murakami Doing Gunpla! 3D Printing Kenny’s wife got a dog! Molly. Video games?   Other Recommendations: White Lotus (HBO), a fun mini-series about people on vacation The Big Hit Show, Season 4, a podcast on the Pokemon takeover of American pop culture — season 4 of some other podcast “The Big Hit Show”   Leave us a review on Spotify! Or Google something. Subscribe to the RSS.   Buy your albums on Bandcamp, kids!           Download Audio File Here

In order to display our undying gratitude to all of our fans who are also mothers, we present to you this Mother's Day Special episode! And, not a moment too soon! This time, the Cousins talk about My Dress-Up Darling, and also discuss the ongoing spring season.   In all seriousness, this is a semi lost episode that I straight up forgot to edit and post. It was recorded on April 17, 2022. So, in your mind, just pretend that it's 5 months ago.   Let us know what your spring plans in the comments! Disclaimer: This was hastily edited. I promise we just recorded a new episode, so in the interest of not skipping episodes, please enjoy this chronologically correct entry. A new one will be on the way very soon.   This week's hosts: Laven - @LavenVoth Kenny - @sakoku_otaku     Download MP3 Here

Happy New Year! Its 2022! Now that its February, I can finally post the episode that we recorded back in December. We discuss Kumoricon 2021, which took place in-person in the midst of a deadly pandemic. Was it amazing? Was it a mistake? Our Man on the Ground™ Kenny brings us his detailed report from the convention space in beautiful and sunny Portland, Oregon. This week's hosts: Laven - @LavenVoth Kenny - @sakoku_otaku     Download MP3 Here

As per usual, there is no particular excuse that this episode is late other than 'I was busy' and 'I didn't get around to it.' But, as it happens, we finally watched the final Evangelion film Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (シン・エヴァンゲリオン劇場版 , Shin Evangerion Gekijōban). Well, one of us is watching for the first time, and the other is watching for the first time subtitled. Will that make a difference? Tune in to find out! "What Have You Been Watching" starts at 6:13. Spoilers for Eva start at the 27:15 mark.   This week's hosts: Laven - @LavenVoth Kenny - @sakoku_otaku     Download MP3 Here

In another exciting edition of "Third-of-life Crisis", the Cousins decide to stay a while on Memory Lane, aka Nostalgia Boulevard and talk about everybody's favorite orange ninja, Naruto. We also spend way too much time talking about the pandemic, so if you want to skip right into "What Have You Been Watching?", go directly to the 30-minute mark.   Kenny read all of the manga, while Laven watched all of the Anime*. *Not including filler episodes.   This week's hosts: Laven - @LavenVoth Kenny - @sakoku_otaku     Download MP3 Here

Surprise! We actually weren't done talking about Gundam. In part 3 of our series, we discuss Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory, and Mobile Suit Gundam UC (Unicorn). Hear me out: It's actually interesting so please listen. But, not before we quickly talk about the other shows we have been watching. During the aforementioned discussions, We found some kids on our lawn, and promptly yelled at them to get off. That's a joke about how we don't understand the youths. This week's hosts: Laven - @LavenVoth Kenny - @sakoku_otaku     Download MP3 Here

Today the Cousins take an exclusive look at Evaneglion 3.0+1.0, aka Thrice Upon a Time, aka Shin Evangelion Gekijōban: ||, aka New Evangelion Theatrical Edition: || As you could have guessed, none other than our Senior East Asian Correspondent Laven was on site to experience the masterpiece as it unfolded within the unassuming Toho Cinema.       Its a bit of a long one, but we do our best not to spoil anything!   This week's hosts: Laven - @LavenVoth Kenny - @sakoku_otaku     Download MP3 Here