# More Than Headlines | The Vatican Loves Anime, Ryō Kо̄no, Ranma 1/2, Kaya-Chan Isn't Scary, Dandadan, Shangri-La Frontier, Blue Lock, Nina the Starry Bride

An episode of [Sakura Society | An Anime Appreciation Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1667084472), 3 Nov 2024, 49 min.

Audio: https://op3.dev/e/podcasts.captivate.fm/media/adc460e5-32e6-440b-9b45-00f4f3560652/More-Than-Headlines-E22.mp3

The twenty second episode of More Than Headlines, your go-to podcast for all things anime is here and it's our holiest episode to date, so please be on your best behaviour. Join hosts Brendan White and Courtney Smith every week as they dive into the latest news, rumors, and must-know updates from the world of anime. Whether you're a seasoned otaku or just getting started, this is your ticket to staying informed and entertained. Don't miss out on the freshest insights and hottest gossip in anime 🥳 Episode twenty two sees the anime rivals discussing: • Luce announced as the office mascot of The Vatican (yes you read that correctly) • Vale Ryou Kouno • Crunchyroll coming to Amazon Prime in Australia • Oshi no Ko officially ending in 2 chapters time • Anime adaptations announced for Kaya-Chan Isn't Scary and The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter • Ongoing impressions and reviews on the latest episodes of Dandadan, Ranma 1/2, My Hero Academia, Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister, Blue Box, Blue Lock, Negative Positive Angler, Nina the Starry Bride and Shangri-La Frontier If you enjoy the show, please rate, review, like, and subscribe to Sakura Society | An Anime Appreciation Podcast — and any other podcasts you love. It takes seconds, costs nothing, and means everything to us creators. (The algorithm only accepts 5 stars, just so you know.) • Stay up to date with me on Bluesky | Instagram | TikTok | Twitter • Join our Discord — a community full of anime and culture fans just like you • Follow my anime Spotify playlist My amazing sponsors: • Audio-Technica — the best in audio equipment • Iced Tea Aesthetics — anime streetwear done right (use code SAKURASOCIETY5 at checkout to save $5) • Japan Crate — Japanese snacks and treats delivered to your door (use code ATEBIT15 at checkout to save 15% + get free shipping) Affiliate links: • Captivate.fm - the best podcast hosting platform • Komi.io - the best linkinbio website • Riverside.fm - the best remote video/podcast recording platform

## Chapters

- 0:14 Introduction to More Than Headlines
- 0:21 Welcome and Host Introductions
- 0:36 November and Anime Reflections
- 1:54 Vatican's Anime Mascot Luce
- 4:54 Tragic Loss in the Anime Community
- 6:34 Crunchyroll Now on Amazon Prime
- 11:42 Rapid Fire News Highlights
- 18:51 Dandadan Episode 5 Review
- 22:52 Ramna One Half Episode Highlights
- 40:15 Negative Positive Angler Updates
- 41:31 Nina the Starry Bride Thoughts
- 43:40 Shangri La Frontier Season 2 Overview
- 48:57 Podcast Closing Remarks

## Transcript

[0:14] Hello and welcome to More Than Headlines, your weekly anime news
[0:17] podcast.
[0:17] Powered by Audio Technica, made by Australians for global citizens.
[0:21] I'm your extremely humble host, Brenda White, AKA the Salt
[0:24] Pepper senpai.
[0:25] And joining me in the studio, my trusted co host and rival, the
[0:28] Y to my nightfall, Ms.
[0:30] Courtney Smith.
[0:31] How the bloody hell are you?
[0:32] I'm good.
[0:33] How are you?
[0:34] I am doing good.
[0:36] We are now officially in November.
[0:38] We've got two months left of the year, which is freaking insane.
[0:41] But the sun's shining, the birds are singing, and the anime
[0:44] is playing.
[0:46] Two months left of the year, it means there's two months left
[0:48] of this season, which is.
[0:50] It's already gone so quickly.
[0:53] Yeah, it's nuts.
[0:54] Like, I was sort of taking stock on a few this season's runs
[0:57] at the moment.
[0:57] Like, oh, episode five's already out for some of these.
[1:00] Like, you know, we're nearly at the halfway mark.
[1:02] It's exciting, but also sad knowing that we're going to say goodbye
[1:05] to some of these characters for a short period of time coming
[1:08] up as well.
[1:09] I just seriously can't believe how quickly I feel this year has
[1:14] flown past.
[1:16] But I'm excited for Christmas.
[1:17] Yeah.
[1:18] Yeah.
[1:18] And as they say, Courtney, time flies when you're having fun.
[1:21] And it has been a year full of fun and highlights for both of us,
[1:25] I dare say.
[1:26] Yes.
[1:28] But let's talk about a weird highlight from this week's news.
[1:33] Okay.
[1:34] Okay, yeah, let's just lead this off as we always do with this
[1:37] sexy drop because just that drop makes me feel alive.
[1:42] Corey, I just got so excited to talk about this, I forgot about
[1:46] the drop.
[1:47] That's okay, that's okay.
[1:48] I understand too, because this is some news that we didn't really
[1:51] expect we'd maybe ever be talking about.
[1:53] Here on mth.
[1:54] In some slightly strange news, the Vatican has unveiled its new
[1:58] mascot named Luce, which means light in Italian.
[2:02] Now, dear listeners, you might be wondering why we're covering this
[2:04] news on the show.
[2:05] Well, it's because Luce looks like an anime character.
[2:08] You heard that right.
[2:09] The Vatican's new mascot is in fact an anime character.
[2:13] Luce has been unveiled as the mascot for the 2025 Jubilee and was
[2:18] designed by the Italian co founder of Tokidoki, a brand known
[2:22] for its references to Japan and Japanese pop culture.
[2:25] Archbishop Reno Fisticella, the Vatican's chief organizer for
[2:30] the Jubilee, described the mascot as part of the Vatican's goal
[2:33] to engage with pop culture so beloved by young people.
[2:38] This is.
[2:39] This is a choice.
[2:40] And I feel this is the Best thing Catholicism has done since
[2:44] turning water into wine many, many, many moons ago.
[2:47] I do raise an eyebrow, though, on some of the art that they've shared
[2:50] where she's got, like, blood covered gumboots.
[2:54] Okay.
[2:55] I.
[2:55] I think it's mud because I think she's supposed to be a shepherd.
[3:01] That's why she's got the, like, staff.
[3:04] Staff.
[3:05] Yeah, I think she's a shepherd and she's, like, got her little,
[3:07] like, raincoat and it's like, muddy.
[3:11] I don't know if, like, shepherds walk in mud a lot, but
[3:16] I think that's what it is.
[3:17] Okay, that makes sense.
[3:18] I thought it might have been like blood of the heretics that they're
[3:20] stomping on, you know, the non believers, like Liu Che, just beating
[3:23] them down with that staff and then a couple of head stomps.
[3:27] Look, some of the fan art that I've seen of Liu Che, like, I wouldn't
[3:30] be surprised if that was the take.
[3:33] Like, some people have really gone wild with the fan art for this
[3:37] character.
[3:38] Yeah, I had a quick little peek before this, after you mentioned
[3:40] it.
[3:40] I haven't seen anything too crazy yet, but I will go down this
[3:45] luche sized rabbit hole after this episode and see what kind of
[3:48] nonsense I can uncover.
[3:50] Because I'm sure people out on the Internet have done some very
[3:52] heinous things with this mascot already.
[3:54] In all honesty, though, the Vatican getting an anime mascot was
[3:59] not on my 2024 bingo card.
[4:01] I don't think I ever would have seen this coming.
[4:05] Like, in any timeline.
[4:07] Like it.
[4:08] Just when I first saw the picture of the Pope with the little
[4:12] Luce figurine, I was like, this is fake.
[4:16] This is AI generated.
[4:18] Yeah, I thought exactly the same.
[4:20] I thought someone was on midjourney saying, anime character
[4:23] with the Pope, you know, literally, Please.
[4:25] But no, it's legit.
[4:27] It's real.
[4:28] And I do love that anime and God are uniting to help carry us
[4:31] through the tough times.
[4:32] So.
[4:33] So praise be to our anime gods and more of these weird, unique collaborations,
[4:38] please and thank you.
[4:39] With the power of God and anime on our side, Brendan, we can
[4:42] do anything.
[4:43] Praise be.
[4:45] Amen.
[4:48] All right, what else we got?
[4:50] It's a sad, sadder news.
[4:54] Anime art director Ryo Kono has passed away.
[4:57] She died suddenly on October 23rd of suspected gastrointestinal
[5:02] bleeding.
[5:03] She was the art director for all three scenes of Mob Psycho, 100
[5:07] Devil Man, Crybaby, Paranoia Agent, and Space Dandy, among other
[5:12] popular shows.
[5:13] She also worked as a background artist on many anime films,
[5:17] including Perfect Blue and the Psycho Pass movie.
[5:19] Her work had a massive impact on the anime industry and it's sad
[5:22] to see yet another powerhouse of art pass.
[5:25] Way too soon rest in peace.
[5:27] Konosan.
[5:29] Genuinely tragic news for one of the industry's best.
[5:32] Her fingerprints are all over some of the most visually distinctive
[5:36] IP in anime and her vision and talent will surely be missed.
[5:40] So, yeah, thoughts and prayers out to the the broader family.
[5:43] Yeah, it's been such a huge year for losses in the anime industry
[5:49] like this and I think it's definitely like, you know, obviously
[5:52] Cornwall San was a lot younger, but a lot of the other deaths
[5:56] that we've seen have been from older people dying of natural causes.
[6:01] And I think growing up with the things that they've created and
[6:06] been a part of, you just, you never realize how much of an impact
[6:09] it has on you.
[6:11] 100%.
[6:11] And it just goes to show that we are quite often in the darkest
[6:15] timeline because you know, Trump survives many assassination
[6:18] attempts and then we see good, fantastic people like this dropping
[6:21] like flies.
[6:22] So yeah, anime gods, please unite and fix this timeline for us.
[6:26] Is that the Vatican?
[6:27] Luche.
[6:28] Yeah, Luche.
[6:30] Praise be Lucha.
[6:31] Save us.
[6:32] All right, let's end on a much more positive note.
[6:34] Crunchyroll is now available on Amazon Prime Video here in Australia.
[6:39] If you have an Amazon prime account, you can add on a Crunchyroll
[6:42] subscription and have access to the streaming services full library.
[6:47] So it still costs the same amount of money as a regular Crunchyroll
[6:50] subscription, but being able to have all of your subscriptions
[6:53] in one place may make things a little bit easier to manage.
[6:56] If you don't have a subscription yet, you'll be paying
[6:59] $10.99 Australian per month after a seven day free trial for
[7:03] the fan level sub.
[7:05] This gives you access to the full library of anime that Crunchyroll
[7:08] has available.
[7:09] But if you want you can join the Mega Fan level subscription which
[7:13] costs 1399 Australian dollars per month after a seven day free
[7:17] trial and gives access to offline downloads, discounts in the
[7:20] Crunchyroll store and access to the Crunchyroll game Vault.
[7:24] I am a card carrying Mega Fan.
[7:26] Are you also a card carrying mega fan, Mr.
[7:28] Smith?
[7:29] So I wasn't and then I tried to download some stuff for a plane
[7:35] ride and realized I wasn't and have now upgraded to Mega Fan.
[7:40] Yeah, it's the best, best perk of that sort of subscription level
[7:43] because yeah, I had a couple of long, long haul flights this past
[7:46] week and having my library on command like you know, on demand
[7:51] There while I was up in, up in the air with no Internet was a godsend.
[7:55] So yeah, very happy for that.
[7:57] But on a personal light, I feel this is quite the convenience
[8:01] for me potentially because I need to sort of look into the semantics
[8:05] of this Crunchyroll Amazon prime subscription collab here because
[8:10] my downstairs television, I've got a wall mounted TV in the lounge
[8:14] room.
[8:14] It's nice and comfy, comfy couch.
[8:16] You know, I love sitting, sitting down, cuddling with the boys
[8:18] watching there.
[8:19] But it doesn't have access to the Crunchyroll app.
[8:22] Yes, I could buy an Apple TV because I've got an Apple TV up here.
[8:25] It's the best and maybe I could, but this is going to save
[8:28] me a couple hundred dollar reduce because I can hopefully just
[8:32] maybe fold my existing Crunchyroll account into Amazon Prime.
[8:36] That's the thing I need to work out.
[8:37] Can you just log in with your existing and it just has that there
[8:40] as a singular hub or do you need to sign up fresh through Amazon
[8:45] Prime?
[8:45] So if you have to sign up fresh, then boo you and I'm not going
[8:48] to be happy.
[8:49] But if I can just log in and get all my existing watch lists and
[8:53] history there available downstairs, I'm going to be a very
[8:56] happy boy.
[8:57] Because at the moment I'm having to like cast from another
[9:00] device or you know, navigate the web browser, which is not a good
[9:04] time.
[9:05] Surely you can, I would think that you can just put your account
[9:09] into Amazon Prime.
[9:11] You'd think for that convenience?
[9:12] Yeah, for me, look, it's great in terms of accessibility I think,
[9:19] especially people who, they have Amazon prime and you know, they
[9:23] don't have Crunchyroll and they want to get into anime.
[9:26] I think kind of just having it there is quite convenient.
[9:29] And I, you know, it's the, the, it's the Foxtel setup, right,
[9:33] where you have your, all your subscriptions in one big service
[9:38] and you kind of pay for that.
[9:40] But I already have Amazon prime and Crunchyroll separately
[9:44] and unlike you, I don't have the issue of having my wall mounted
[9:51] TV because I have my PlayStation in the lounge room which
[9:57] has the Crunchyroll app on it.
[9:59] So I don't feel the need to sign up through this kind of model.
[10:03] But in terms of accessibility and of course for Brendan's bougie
[10:08] viewing experience, this is a great, great development.
[10:12] And don't be hating on the bougie life.
[10:14] Like bougie life is good life.
[10:15] Thank you very much.
[10:16] I'm not hating, I'm just saying you have it, which is nice.
[10:20] And it is nice.
[10:21] And I'm happy that now my biggest bugbear was where I'm like,
[10:24] I want to watch Crunchy or I want to watch, you know, anime outside
[10:28] of things on the Netflix app or something.
[10:29] I'd have to woe is me, come upstairs and watch it on this giant
[10:33] telly beside me in the studio.
[10:34] But I just like the comfy couch, because in here, I'm just
[10:37] sitting on, like, a big beanbag with the boys, which is comfy,
[10:39] but it's not the same.
[10:40] No, it's not.
[10:41] Like, even so, for me, the three places I can watch anime are
[10:45] obviously in my lounge room with the big comfy couch here at
[10:48] my desk, which is fine.
[10:50] I have my comfy secret lab chair.
[10:52] Hashtag not sponsored.
[10:54] Not yet.
[10:55] Not yet.
[10:56] Look, when those footrests come out, I will be living the dream.
[11:01] I'm gonna immediately get one of those footrests and, like, lay
[11:04] down watching anime at my desk.
[11:06] It sounds nice.
[11:07] And like, I will admit I've got a big beanbag up here that I'll
[11:10] just fall into and then the boys will cuddle up with me.
[11:13] But then it's like trying to watch all three of us get out of
[11:16] this giant beanbag to get up afterwards.
[11:18] It's.
[11:18] It's not a pretty sight.
[11:19] It's very, like, Australia's Funniest Home Videos type of clip
[11:22] because we're all like, just turtles on her back going, help me.
[11:25] I can't get out.
[11:25] Like, I'm stuck in the beans.
[11:28] Stuck in the beans.
[11:30] The beans.
[11:33] Oh, my gosh.
[11:34] I would love to see that, to be honest.
[11:36] I'll see what I can do next time.
[11:37] I'll film.
[11:38] Film.
[11:39] A little outtake for everybody.
[11:40] Excellent.
[11:42] Let's get into the Rapid Fire news, though.
[11:44] There wasn't much in terms of Rapid Fire News this week, but still
[11:51] presented by Otaku Box, the only anime box with scale figures
[11:54] voting and ecchi.
[11:56] First up, the Oshi no Ko manga will end in two chapters, which.
[12:02] Are you caught up with the manga?
[12:03] I'm caught up the third last chapter.
[12:06] I can't think of the more clever word to describe it than that,
[12:10] because the penultimate's obviously the second last.
[12:12] The trialtimate.
[12:13] I don't know.
[12:14] Pen penultimate.
[12:15] Pen penultimate.
[12:16] Double penultimate.
[12:18] Pen penultimate.
[12:20] I read that.
[12:21] That chapter this past week and like, this, this manga, like,
[12:27] I've sort of said it a few times on the pod now.
[12:29] Like, it goes some places after this second season and the
[12:33] emotional trauma that the characters and I too, Am feeling
[12:37] via these characters is immense.
[12:40] So I'm looking forward to seeing this story wrap up because
[12:43] I feel like I'm ready for it to end.
[12:45] And I don't mean that in a disrespectful way.
[12:47] Like it's fantastic storytelling.
[12:48] It's checking all the boxes for me.
[12:51] But man, just the.
[12:53] The heartstrings cannot be pulled on any more.
[12:55] Courtney.
[12:55] I am feeling very vulnerable and very weak.
[12:58] But I'm also very happy that I've sort of taken this journey.
[13:00] We've only got two.
[13:01] Two more chapters to go.
[13:03] So I was kind of reading around like on the forums on both
[13:06] my anime list and Anime News Network for this news basically.
[13:12] And everyone for the most part is actually really happy that it's
[13:16] ending because they feel quoted not by me, but they feel that
[13:22] there's been a bit of a declining quality of the story, that
[13:27] it has kind of dragged on for too long.
[13:29] So hearing you kind of have similar feelings, like you're ready
[13:34] for it to, you know, kind of be put to bed, this is obviously
[13:38] a very positive piece of news.
[13:40] Yeah, it's.
[13:41] And I can't wait.
[13:42] Like I think just processing it in my head internally.
[13:45] I reckon if, you know, we keep up to date and the anime keeps getting
[13:49] renewed, I reckon we might get a five season run based off where
[13:52] we're at.
[13:53] So okay, yeah, maybe four if they extend.
[13:56] Maybe the episode counts out beyond 12 for a few here or there.
[13:59] But I think we're at least getting a couple more seasons at
[14:01] a minimum.
[14:02] Yeah, we're.
[14:03] Well we're obviously definitely getting season three.
[14:07] So yeah, I'll be interested to see where they go from here.
[14:11] Obviously being an anime only.
[14:13] But we have some more news which is about some anime announcements.
[14:17] So first of all, the manga Kaya chan isn't scary, is getting
[14:22] an anime.
[14:23] Now this manga, it's kind of like Dark Gathering but instead of
[14:33] like magic and occult powers, this kindergarten child is just like
[14:39] really strong.
[14:41] Like one punch man.
[14:43] Like physical but like exorcism from.
[14:48] What fun.
[14:49] It sounds fun.
[14:50] Like I saw a couple of just like the key art for the anime announcement
[14:55] looks cute.
[14:55] And yeah, the character like Kaya chan, she looks just like the
[14:58] younger version of the one of the lead.
[15:02] Like one of the MCs from Dark Gathering.
[15:04] Like without the crazy eyes.
[15:05] That's the only thing that's missing is the crazy eyes.
[15:08] So I wasn't sure if it was maybe at first set in that same world.
[15:11] But like the.
[15:12] The manga sounds interesting, the story sounds fun and yeah, I'm
[15:17] going to be checking this out when it comes out next year for sure.
[15:20] Apparently it's like quite horror coded as well, which is kind
[15:25] of exciting because I feel like we don't get a lot of really
[15:29] like horary horror manga, like scary horror manga and series.
[15:34] I feel like Dark Gathering was really scary.
[15:36] So I think having something kind of in that same vein will be
[15:40] really fun.
[15:41] Yeah, I'll try and.
[15:42] I'll try and read a couple of chapters of this over the next few
[15:44] weeks and get a bit of a temperature check because yeah, I
[15:47] think we are starve with good in parentheses true horror a lot
[15:51] of the time.
[15:52] So if that can sort of execute that formula here with, with Kaya
[15:56] chan, then hell yeah.
[15:57] And the other big announcement that we have, I am very excited for.
[16:02] So I'm excited.
[16:05] But I'm also not excited because a series called the Other
[16:10] World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter is getting an anime
[16:14] adaptation.
[16:14] Now this series is a BL series.
[16:18] Yes, two thumbs up from me.
[16:20] But it's also an isekai.
[16:23] I just.
[16:24] Are you a little torn with that?
[16:25] Like I know the BL stuff obviously, yes, double thumbs, double
[16:28] check mark, all that stuff.
[16:30] But I know you've got a little bit of isekai fatigue, but yeah,
[16:34] people are all about it.
[16:35] Like there's apparently 1.4 million copies of this series that's
[16:38] out in print.
[16:39] So people are very, very happy and keen for this franchise.
[16:43] The, the title of it made me laugh.
[16:45] You don't often see the term bean counter thrown out in any sort
[16:49] of title at the moment.
[16:50] And I'm all for it.
[16:52] And that with isekai, like I'm keen.
[16:54] I'll be checking it out.
[16:55] Yeah, definitely.
[16:56] I'm excited.
[16:57] I just, just, I'm hoping it doesn't kind of go into that like
[17:02] battle anime Isakai vibe.
[17:06] Which is usually my only problem with kind of isekai and fantasy
[17:10] is when it goes into the battles.
[17:12] But I'm hoping it really focuses on the bl, which maybe is
[17:16] like selfish of me because we should be able to have LGBT anime
[17:22] without just romance.
[17:24] But it's all I care about.
[17:26] Yeah, and that's fair.
[17:27] That's fair.
[17:28] But like just reading the synopsis, like Condu is this character
[17:31] that's getting Isakai'd and I'm assuming he's gonna use his,
[17:35] his bean counting mathematical wits to probably try and avoid as
[17:38] much combat and battle as possible.
[17:40] So it's.
[17:41] I reckon it's going to be funny.
[17:42] It's going to be cute, it's going to be awkward and hopefully
[17:45] it's going to be very heartwarming too.
[17:47] The character models, like, they're, they're good looking boys.
[17:49] So yeah, they're.
[17:50] If the animation sort of translates to that quality, it's
[17:53] going to be a good watch visually at the very least.
[17:56] Yeah.
[17:56] And so the sad thing with this is when I saw this announcement,
[17:59] I was really excited.
[18:00] But of course I saw it on Twitter and of course there are a
[18:03] lot of people with some unsavory opinions on Twitter.
[18:06] And I was kind of sifting through the comments and there was
[18:08] a lot of people being like, don't care.
[18:11] Not going to watch it.
[18:12] Why does it have to be gay?
[18:14] I'm like, it's not for you, it's for the girlies.
[18:17] Shush.
[18:18] For the girlies.
[18:19] And some of the non girlies.
[18:21] Yes.
[18:21] God.
[18:22] Oh.
[18:23] Anyway, if you got nothing nice to say, don't say anything at
[18:26] all.
[18:26] Like, that's an age old saying that, you know, is universal and
[18:31] eternal.
[18:31] So just keep that in mind, people.
[18:33] Yes, yes.
[18:34] I'm sure it's not our wonderful viewers and listeners.
[18:37] No, we've got a great community here.
[18:40] So anyone else out there that's got those things to say, get
[18:42] to step in.
[18:43] Yep.
[18:44] But can we talk about what we've been consuming this week?
[18:48] We can indeed.
[18:49] We can indeed.
[18:50] Did you want to start us off?
[18:51] Because I know exactly where you're going here and I am happy
[18:54] to talk about this anime and this world until I run out of breath.
[18:57] Okay, we'll do it first because even though I would love
[19:00] to save it for last, I'm just too excited.
[19:02] So Dandaran episode 5 came out on Thursday night.
[19:07] I watched a Friday lunchtime.
[19:09] We finally, finally get to meet the Maneki Neko that we've seen
[19:14] all over the opening and ending credits.
[19:17] I love it so much.
[19:19] And of course I am extremely grateful that Ocarun is keeping his
[19:23] powers for now.
[19:25] But we'll see.
[19:27] It was so good.
[19:29] Again, this is like, I know we're only five episodes in, but
[19:33] it's my number one anime of 2024.
[19:34] Like I'm saying that with a bullet, I know where the story goes.
[19:38] The animation quality is not going to dip.
[19:40] I saw some rumors the other day too, that season two is coming
[19:42] out in July next year.
[19:44] I don't know if there's much sort of weight to that rumor, but
[19:47] like, I think based off the success of this, it's probably true
[19:50] because it's like the second Most streamed thing on Netflix the
[19:53] last couple of weeks.
[19:53] So people are hungry for Dundadan.
[19:57] And this fifth episode was great.
[19:59] We did sort of get a little bit more of a step back from the
[20:03] occult and the supernatural and the aliens and just have.
[20:05] It had a bit more like day to day high school life and the awkwardness
[20:09] that Ocaroon has to deal with.
[20:11] And I just love the constant ships in the night that was happening
[20:14] in this fifth episode where Momo and Ken, they just want to see
[20:17] each other.
[20:17] They just want to talk to each other.
[20:19] You know, they want to talk about ghosts and aliens and life
[20:22] and they just couldn't sort of sync up.
[20:23] And then they have their first, you know, pseudo kiss in a
[20:26] way where they clang teeth.
[20:28] Which is also one of my favorite sort of early panels from
[20:31] the manga.
[20:32] And it's perfectly translated to the anime so well.
[20:36] Yeah, seeing the.
[20:37] Seeing the little how the Money Cat Came to Be fantastic.
[20:40] I've been patiently waiting for that sort of penny to drop the
[20:44] last few episodes without people that didn't know actually,
[20:46] you know, what makes this little cat sentient and don't want
[20:49] to sort of spoil that, but it's great.
[20:51] And then also getting introduced to one of our other sort
[20:54] of like secondary main characters with Aira getting a little
[20:58] bit of air time at the end and you can already see she's the popular
[21:01] girl who's a bit of a.
[21:03] And Momo ain't having none of that.
[21:05] Like, I'm gonna avoid spoiling too much here, but I'm excited that
[21:08] we get her introduction and it felt like they converted her perfectly
[21:12] from panel to screen with that too because her mannerisms and her
[21:16] tone was exactly how I thought it was going to come out vocally
[21:19] and visually and oh, it's so good.
[21:21] I love this world so much.
[21:22] Courtney.
[21:23] I really liked the way that this episode was focused more on
[21:27] the kind of day to day, like, slice of life, like, vibes.
[21:32] You know, they're at school, we have, you know, I love your like,
[21:35] comparison of like ships in the night.
[21:37] That was really, really cute.
[21:38] Like, she's like, okay, he'll be in the cafeteria and he's like,
[21:41] oh, she'll be at the school store.
[21:43] And then like they kind of switch and it's just really wholesome
[21:47] and cute and you can really.
[21:49] It just feels really real and grounded and especially in a show
[21:53] about the occult and aliens and ghosts.
[21:57] So it was really, really nice.
[21:59] So good.
[22:00] So good.
[22:01] And I love that, like the broader world is sort of seeing this
[22:05] budding relationship or these feelings.
[22:07] Like you see a couple of Momo's friends are like, oh, she's
[22:09] into him so much.
[22:10] And like it's just the best it is.
[22:12] If you're not watching Danden, go do it and finish listening this
[22:16] or watching this episode first, then go check it out.
[22:18] Because yeah, it's ascending goat status for me.
[22:20] Like I am obsessed.
[22:22] Like you said, it's probably your favorite anime of the year.
[22:26] It's definitely 100% my favorite anime this year.
[22:28] Like hands down, I am loving it.
[22:32] I'm loving the kind of like emotional roller coaster that we're
[22:37] going on.
[22:37] Even though it's not like a super emotional show.
[22:41] Like it's not all in the feels all the time but like I feel like
[22:45] I can really relate to it in a way which is really, really nice.
[22:49] I've also been enjoying Rama one half though.
[22:52] I watched episode two, Episode three.
[22:56] Two or three.
[22:57] It's just fun and light hearted and I think the charm of
[23:02] it lies in the fact that it is primarily episodic.
[23:05] Kind of similar to Urusei Yatsura.
[23:08] It's really easy to watch, easy to digest, just a pleasant show
[23:13] all around.
[23:14] Yeah, I'm with you.
[23:15] I watched episode five this morning because we get the Sunday
[23:18] drops with Ranma one half and yeah, it's still really good.
[23:22] It's really enjoyable seeing what happened to Akane at the back
[23:26] end of episode four, trying to avoid things, especially for you,
[23:29] Courtney, because you haven't watched it yet.
[23:30] So maybe don't read my show notes there too because it does sort
[23:32] of mention some stuff that happens.
[23:34] But seeing her go from that shifting into episode five and sort
[23:38] of trying to bounce back from this, this big moment and also then
[23:42] seeing Ranma like sort of put his guard down a little bit and be
[23:45] like, you know what, I need to try and make her feel better.
[23:48] What can I do to help you?
[23:49] And like I care for you and I want to make you smile and laugh.
[23:52] So it's nice to see some of the heart come through amongst the
[23:56] constant crazy fighting and you know, cold slash hot water transitions
[24:00] we're getting more often than not.
[24:02] And also we do find out in episode five why Ryoga has so much
[24:07] bloodlust and hatred towards Ranma who gets introduced and he's
[24:11] just, you know, trying to challenge him to a duel with his,
[24:13] his very heavy evil umbrella of doom.
[24:16] So we get some understanding as to why he's got so much anger
[24:20] towards Ryan.
[24:20] We're in episode five and we get a really, really Cute and fun
[24:25] payoff with that in the midpoint of the episode and throughout
[24:27] to the rest.
[24:28] And like I said, Courtney, just a fun, easy watch.
[24:31] Like that episodic storytelling works.
[24:34] The animation style is so fun and so distinctive this season as
[24:38] well.
[24:38] And there's some scenes with Ryoga where he's walking along a
[24:42] beach in this fifth episode.
[24:44] And it's very like fever dreamy and like sort of like Miami
[24:48] Vice 1970s vibe.
[24:50] So when you get to it, like you see it stands out so much and
[24:52] it's just, it's just a good time.
[24:55] Yeah, I'm so excited to catch up.
[24:57] I've been trying really hard to like, you know, I was saying last
[25:01] week or the week before that I've been watching like everything
[25:06] in order obviously, but I watched like episode one of one thing,
[25:09] then episode one of the next and then.
[25:12] And I've been doing that.
[25:12] So now I'm getting up to the episode threes of everything.
[25:16] So wait, I'm getting there.
[25:19] I'm very excited is all I can say.
[25:22] I love that.
[25:23] Something that has been less exciting for me though is tying the
[25:26] knot with an Amagami sister.
[25:28] It's been pretty disappointing.
[25:31] It's become my hands off anime of the season.
[25:33] I watched episode three and they do their wedding meeting their
[25:42] or how do you call it, like a pre marriage arrangement meeting
[25:47] where they kind of go on like a date and he goes on a date with
[25:50] all of the sisters.
[25:51] And it's just so cliche but so poorly done.
[25:58] Like I don't mind a cliche if it's done well, it's just not done
[26:02] well.
[26:03] I've got pretty much mirrored sentiment that you're feeling there.
[26:07] Like the first episode, it certainly hooked me.
[26:10] After episode one, I'm like, oh, this is cute.
[26:12] It could be something fun.
[26:13] But yeah, the story quality just seems to be on a bit of a steep
[26:18] decline.
[26:18] And I'm finding myself less and less enthused as far as what
[26:23] might happen with this story.
[26:25] And then even like, yes, there is some comedy and some whimsicalness
[26:29] to this whole pre arranged wedding thing, but they just constantly
[26:32] gloss over that the youngest daughter that he could be marrying
[26:34] is like 13 and he's like 19 years old or something.
[26:38] Like there's age gaps between the three sisters obviously because
[26:41] you know, they're not triplets or something.
[26:43] But yeah, the youngest one, like she's tiny.
[26:46] Like that's stranger danger territory.
[26:48] And it's just never acknowledged in this anime.
[26:51] And even though it is gorgeous visually and the, the Voice work
[26:56] in the subs.
[26:57] Great.
[26:58] The dub's a little lacking, if I'm being completely honest.
[27:00] I listened to back to some of the dub stuff and it was a tough
[27:02] slide.
[27:03] But yeah, I'm just struggling because I thought this was going
[27:06] to be a good one.
[27:06] Thought it's going to be nice.
[27:08] I think something I would love to see from this show and something
[27:12] that I feel would make it good is him being with the older sister
[27:18] or like him deepening his relationship with the older sister.
[27:22] I think that, you know, I know it won't happen, but there could
[27:26] be something really, really special there.
[27:28] And then kind of seeing how the two younger sisters navigate
[27:31] that because obviously, like, they feel like, you know, potentially
[27:36] they could be the ones marrying him, but if we really focus
[27:40] in on the relationship between him and the older sister, I feel
[27:43] like it could really go somewhere nice.
[27:45] Yeah, I think so.
[27:46] And there was some nice moments in these sort of most recent
[27:49] episodes where we're learning about like, you know, the pseudo
[27:52] orphanage that he grew up in and how he was always helping the
[27:54] other kids and the young woman that's sort of running the orphanage
[27:58] who's had his back.
[27:59] And he's always just been there for everybody.
[28:01] So there is some nice character development.
[28:04] But yeah, I think the sooner we get away from the, the love quadrangle
[28:08] here and maybe just focus on this is the way to go, the better.
[28:11] Because it would get rid of so much awkwardness and unnecessary
[28:15] moments and fan servicey stuff that's going on.
[28:18] Yeah, I think so.
[28:19] Like, I feel like if you want a good version of this show, watch
[28:23] Rama one.
[28:25] Like that's basically it.
[28:26] Just watch that.
[28:27] Like that one has sisters.
[28:29] They're cute and wholesome.
[28:33] But I also finished after school hanako kun part two.
[28:37] So each episode of that is 10 minutes long and it's four episodes.
[28:40] And so part one obviously had the same thing.
[28:43] I had four 10 minute episodes.
[28:45] Really, really cute.
[28:46] Really, really fun.
[28:47] Part two, exact same thing, just cute, fun.
[28:51] It feels like a fan fiction of Toilet bound Hanako kun.
[28:55] And I think that's why I like it so much is it kind of just has
[28:58] these like alternate universe short stories that are there for
[29:02] fun.
[29:02] Like it's not to be taken too seriously.
[29:05] It probably is canon.
[29:07] I'm unsure.
[29:08] But if it was, it doesn't matter.
[29:11] I like the sounds of that.
[29:12] Like it's nice that it feels fresh and familiar at the same time.
[29:15] By the, by the description you've sort of just provided there.
[29:18] I don't think I'm going to check this out anytime soon.
[29:20] I'm just going to live through you and that positive review.
[29:22] But I'm happy for this world to sort of return to form.
[29:25] So I remember that part one for after school was a little.
[29:28] How you going?
[29:30] I.
[29:30] I really liked it.
[29:31] I like.
[29:32] I understand that maybe people kind of wanted more from it, but
[29:37] I don't know.
[29:38] I think I really just appreciated being in the world of
[29:41] Hanako kun.
[29:42] Like I really.
[29:44] I really like it.
[29:45] Like, I love the, you know, the spider teacher who has the tired
[29:49] eyes and smokes and lives in the library.
[29:53] And you know, all the characters are really just cute.
[29:56] The art style is really cute.
[29:58] The music is cute.
[29:59] The voice acting is phenomenal.
[30:01] I will never ever get over the voice acting in this show.
[30:04] And it was.
[30:05] It's just good.
[30:06] It's a good time.
[30:07] That's what we need.
[30:08] That's all we're here for in life is right.
[30:09] It's a good time.
[30:10] So.
[30:10] And spooky for Halloween.
[30:12] Yeah, Very, very thematically accurate.
[30:15] And the last thing that I want to bring up is I caught up on my
[30:21] hero academia.
[30:22] Finally finished season seven, that last episode.
[30:29] This is I think probably the third or fourth time this show has
[30:34] made me cry in this season alone.
[30:38] Not as much as the last time I cried, but this is like the second
[30:43] most intense episode.
[30:46] I think I have a lot of emotions to unpack now.
[30:51] The those last couple episodes, especially the scenes with
[30:54] Uraraka and Toga.
[30:56] Like God it was.
[30:59] It was so beautiful.
[31:00] But obviously to the point of heartbreaking with what's playing
[31:03] out.
[31:03] But just the exchange between those two girls and the emotion that
[31:08] they're both showing.
[31:09] But then also, you know, there's still a battle for humanity
[31:12] taking place all around them.
[31:14] So getting feedback and thoughts from other characters on
[31:16] both sides of the heroes and villain camps as this fight's playing
[31:20] out really added to that weight I felt.
[31:22] And yeah, it me up big time.
[31:25] I was.
[31:25] I was bawling my eyes out in that sort of exchange with Toga and
[31:29] Uraraka especially.
[31:30] But then in the finale like trying to avoid what happens there.
[31:35] But oh my goodness gracious, it was also just an emotional sledgehammer
[31:38] going right from my head, my heart.
[31:40] Because yeah, there was some big heroic declaration based moments
[31:46] that played out with certain characters and it really set the
[31:49] table for this final eighth season that comes out next year.
[31:52] Like you know where the stakes are at and you know where we're going
[31:56] to be like thrown into straight away with the way that this
[31:59] season ended.
[32:00] And yeah, I'm so hyped.
[32:02] I just.
[32:04] I love women and I love it when girls are friends and they love
[32:09] each other and they understand what it is to be a woman.
[32:15] And I feel like, you know, there's been a lot of things said
[32:20] about the way the mangaka writes her women in this series,
[32:25] but I think.
[32:26] And I don't know if this kind of conversation between Toga and
[32:30] Ochako was, like, in the manga or if this was an anime only scene,
[32:36] but it was really, really well done, and I love it so much.
[32:40] And I think, you know, if you, like me, are someone who prefers
[32:46] to watch anime for those more emotional moments, the payoff really
[32:50] is worth it.
[32:51] For all of the battles and all of the fights and all of the really
[32:54] shoneny ness there is to this shonen anime.
[32:58] I think those really emotional parts do pay off and do make it worth
[33:03] it.
[33:03] I completely agree.
[33:05] I've been preaching about how great season seven's been, and I
[33:09] feel that they're just constantly building on the seasons
[33:11] prior and somehow elevating.
[33:13] Elevating this story in this content.
[33:15] And the way this season wrapped up was, like, not making
[33:18] me pause to think, oh, it's.
[33:20] It's not as good as it was season six or five.
[33:22] Like, it feels like it's just getting better and better and tonally
[33:26] more mature, which I think goes perfectly with the characters
[33:29] and with the reader and with the viewer as well.
[33:30] And yeah, just those.
[33:32] Those lines where she's, you know, smiling and she's like, am
[33:34] I beautiful?
[33:35] And whatever.
[33:35] Like, oh, my goodness.
[33:36] Like, that's all I'm gonna say because I don't want to spoil it
[33:39] for people that haven't yet seen that episode or that chapter
[33:42] in the manga.
[33:43] But, yeah, my heart was exploding all over this studio as
[33:48] I was watching it on the Beanbag with the boys.
[33:51] I was on the couch bawling my eyes out.
[33:54] Freaking bawling.
[33:57] Their conversation was just so real.
[34:00] I was like, my hero's for the girls.
[34:03] That's it.
[34:05] And some others, too.
[34:07] Stop taking all these anime away from me.
[34:09] Courtney.
[34:12] What have you been watching?
[34:13] Well, I've been watching a lot of anime for the boys, Courtney.
[34:16] No, I've been watching anime for everybody.
[34:18] Because, you know what?
[34:19] Sharing is caring.
[34:20] And, you know, we don't.
[34:21] We don't want to gatekeep around here.
[34:23] Gatekeeping's not good, Courtney.
[34:25] Okay, but I'm just gonna do some quick episodic highlights and
[34:31] thoughts.
[34:31] First and foremost, Blue Box watched episode five, Aquarium on
[34:37] Friday night as I was flying home from Perth from work.
[34:40] And I did appreciate that this episode was a bit of a slowdown.
[34:45] The episodes prior to that it was a little bit more fast paced
[34:48] and focusing on the badminton and the basketball and just the physical
[34:52] sportiness.
[34:52] So this was a bit of a step back because Taiki and Chinatsu go
[34:57] on a date to the aquarium.
[34:59] Or is it a date?
[35:00] Is it a friendship hang, whatever it is.
[35:01] So there's that sort of awkward psychoanalyzing that you're
[35:06] seeing Taiki deal with the whole time where he's like, is this
[35:08] a date?
[35:09] Why is she reacting that way?
[35:10] What does that mean?
[35:11] What's that context?
[35:12] So watching him overanalyze, which is something that I can relate
[35:16] to 1 million billion trillion percent in life and especially in
[35:20] love.
[35:20] So I feel that Taiki and I are sort of spirit animals in a lot of
[35:24] ways in this anime or in this manga.
[35:26] But it was just a really nice slow down episode.
[35:31] Allowed us to catch our breath, learn more about Taiki and
[35:34] Chi.
[35:35] And I got a little bit emotional on the plane and there
[35:37] was a big muscly guy beside me that was side eye judging me as I'm
[35:41] wiping tears out of my eyes at you know, 40, 000ft.
[35:44] But that guy, because he took both armrests and most of the leg
[35:49] room like he was a monster.
[35:50] He was.
[35:50] He was built like two fridges.
[35:51] So I couldn't really tell him to get out of the way.
[35:53] And he probably couldn't if he wanted to any because he was so large.
[35:56] But here I am crying to Blue Box on Friday night and it did end
[36:01] on a bit of a cliffhanger with Hina and what's going to happen there.
[36:06] Or you know, she's starting to be a bit more privy to what's going
[36:09] on.
[36:10] So it's like, like big drama for episode six to come next week.
[36:15] So I watched episode three yesterday and just the moment where
[36:24] Taiki finds out that the whole class calls her Chi and it's not
[36:29] just a pet name, I felt so relieved for him.
[36:31] I was like, you got this.
[36:34] It's not about the popular hot guy in the badminton club.
[36:38] It's about you.
[36:39] Yeah.
[36:40] Poor little mate was brooding for so long and I was right there
[36:43] with him.
[36:43] Like I know I would have felt exactly the same.
[36:45] I'm like, why are you calling my beloved Chi while I cannot.
[36:49] I call her, you know, Chinatsu Senpai or something like that.
[36:52] I'm being a little bit more structured and respectful where you're
[36:55] on should A shorthand like nickname form with her.
[36:58] Like please explain.
[36:59] But it's so good.
[37:00] It's.
[37:00] It's my number two anime of the season so far.
[37:03] I'm loving it.
[37:04] I can't get enough of it.
[37:05] I've been like reading the manga in parallel and I'm way beyond.
[37:09] But my heart is just overflowing with Blue Box greatness.
[37:12] And yeah, it needs to be checked out.
[37:14] Anyone that loves love, give this a peek.
[37:16] It's so cute.
[37:18] It is cute.
[37:19] I also caught up with Blue Lock Season 2 this past week.
[37:23] It's sort of in my little.
[37:25] My sort of metric of, you know, bad, good, bad, mid good or
[37:29] great.
[37:29] It's sort of in the good to sometimes great for me.
[37:32] This week or the past two weeks, I watched episode 27, episode
[37:35] 28.
[37:36] It was a bit of a mixed bag because there were some really, really
[37:39] cool moments and the character models look great when you're seeing
[37:42] these close up and mid shots.
[37:44] But when they zoom out to the sort of soccer player on the pitch
[37:47] and you get the digital copy paste almost of the character models
[37:51] running down the pitch all looking exactly the same, it really,
[37:55] really breaks the immersion and the enthusiasm for me.
[37:59] And I don't understand how it can look so great in these high leverage,
[38:04] high emotional moment based situations.
[38:06] And then they go to the overview shots and that's where the
[38:09] production quality and the budget's gone to shit.
[38:11] And we've seen on the Internet this week that apparently the deadlines
[38:14] that 8bit have been getting pushed towards to meet, very impossible
[38:20] and not fair on the staff.
[38:21] So I get it.
[38:22] But man, like just if it needs a bit more time in the oven, just
[38:26] let it cook because this franchise is huge and it's on the
[38:29] Ascension and things like this, I worry will derail it and
[38:33] sort of knock it back a bit because the story is cool.
[38:36] Episode 28, especially for me, where we get a little bit more focus
[38:40] back on Rio and watching him sort of try and ascend and adapt
[38:44] to try and get back up to Nagi's level and he sort of takes
[38:46] on this new playstyle which is called Chameleon.
[38:49] So that was kind of cool.
[38:50] And there were some awesome moments between characters, but yeah,
[38:53] just these overall like wide angle shots where you're seeing the
[38:57] players pass the ball around, whatnot.
[38:59] It just sucks.
[39:00] Courtney.
[39:00] It's so rough to watch and it really pisses me off.
[39:04] So I watched episode 27 literally just before we started
[39:08] recording and you're so right.
[39:13] Like you can see where all the budget is.
[39:16] And it's on those like gorgeous close up shots.
[39:19] Like that's what they're taking their time with.
[39:21] And I'm so glad they are.
[39:23] Like, I'm really, really grateful for that.
[39:26] But it is hard to watch when it zooms out.
[39:29] The way I'm kind of moving past that dip in quality is by remembering
[39:36] how great it is when they spend a long time during the abs.
[39:40] That's all that matters to me.
[39:42] That's true.
[39:43] And like, there is many a hot football boy to be seen in Blue Lock
[39:46] Season 2.
[39:46] So each one of those abs, because a lot of them have far more
[39:50] than just a six pack, they've got like 20 packs.
[39:52] So the amount of time that would go into drawing those additional
[39:55] 14 abs.
[39:56] I get it.
[39:56] You've got to put your money where your mouth is.
[39:58] And that's where most people's mouths want to be on those abs.
[40:00] So I get it.
[40:03] I'm not gonna.
[40:04] I'm not gonna add anything more.
[40:07] Okay.
[40:07] I'll quickly mention a couple more before we look to close this
[40:10] episode down.
[40:11] I've caught up to date with Negative Positive Angler.
[40:15] Still great.
[40:16] Still feeling very cozy watching this one.
[40:18] It's like you sort of said your hands off for your hands free
[40:21] anime earlier.
[40:22] It's like that vibe, but yet I'm fully immersed because it's just
[40:25] cruisy.
[40:26] They're just chilling, they're fishing, they're having a joke, they're
[40:30] dealing with some real life dramas.
[40:32] But it's just a good time.
[40:34] And it was nice to see Sasuke in these most recent episodes finally
[40:38] let his walls down.
[40:39] Because he's very much in this anime, when hits the fan, he's gone.
[40:44] He's just like fight or flight.
[40:46] He is flying every single time.
[40:48] Anytime there's badness.
[40:49] Out of here seeing, seeing friends from uni out of here seeing
[40:52] the debt collectors seeing this.
[40:54] But in this one, he finally sort of decided to take a step back
[40:58] and embrace this new group that he's got and embrace this, you
[41:03] know, fishing lifestyle.
[41:04] And now he's working at this mini mart that also acts as like
[41:07] a pseudo fishing store.
[41:08] And all the fishermen friends work there too.
[41:10] And it's just really nice to see.
[41:12] And there's a lot of different dynamics and characters.
[41:14] They're sort of fleshing out these last few episodes.
[41:16] And yeah, it's just.
[41:17] It's just comfortable for me.
[41:18] And God, I love fishing.
[41:20] I'm glad you're enjoying it.
[41:22] I really am.
[41:23] I really am.
[41:23] Something else I wasn't enjoying at first, to be completely
[41:26] honest, I checked out Neen to the Starry Bride because I've seen
[41:29] a lot of positive chatter about this on the social.
[41:31] So I'm like, all right, I'll give it a peek.
[41:33] It wasn't on my radar.
[41:33] Let's see.
[41:34] First episode, a little bit iffy, but episode two and three really,
[41:39] really grabbed me.
[41:39] Courtney.
[41:40] I don't know if I was feeling a little delicate and sensitive at
[41:42] the time.
[41:42] Actually, I feel like that all the time for being pretty honest.
[41:44] So my.
[41:45] My sensitivity levels were at an all time high.
[41:47] Maybe when I was watching episode two and three of Nina the
[41:50] Starry Bride and the romance and the will they, won't they?
[41:54] And the love in these two characters.
[41:56] Eyes was dialed up to 7,000.
[41:59] I'm like it.
[42:00] I'm in.
[42:01] I want to see you two succeed.
[42:03] Handsome yellow eyed boy and Nina with your beautiful blue eyes,
[42:06] make some beautiful babies and save the world.
[42:08] And yeah, I'm.
[42:10] I'm invested now.
[42:11] I'm invested.
[42:13] Okay, Okay.
[42:14] I.
[42:14] I'm curious to see how the rest of it plays out because this
[42:21] show does not really look appealing to me.
[42:25] And I've done the terrible thing of going on my anime list and
[42:29] looking at the score and listeners and viewers.
[42:32] It's not great so far, but we'll take your word for it.
[42:37] Brendan, please continue.
[42:38] Yeah, I'm not saying, like, rush out and go watch it immediately,
[42:41] but episode one, yeah, I was really struggling to care about much
[42:45] that was going on, but episode two and three, there's just big love
[42:49] on display.
[42:49] There's big, you know, the moment, like you can feel the love
[42:53] between these two characters just building scene by scene so it
[42:57] feels like it's going to crescendo.
[42:58] Will it crash horribly or successfully?
[43:01] I don't know, but I'm going to keep watching.
[43:03] It's not like in my top 10 or anything for the season so far, but,
[43:06] like the big love that got me in episodes two and three while I
[43:10] was, you know, semi comatose by pizza over consumption on a Wednesday
[43:13] night, it really hit where I need it to.
[43:16] And yeah, it was cute.
[43:18] It was fun.
[43:18] So that's why you were feeling sensitive and delicate, because you
[43:22] had eaten too much Pizza.
[43:23] Pizza.
[43:24] Pizza, Pizza.
[43:25] Yeah, yeah, too much.
[43:26] Too much New York style pizza and too many garlic knots and a couple
[43:30] of mozzarella.
[43:31] Like, it was not a good time.
[43:32] I think I'm still blocked up from Wednesday.
[43:33] But anyway, let's move on.
[43:37] The last one that I wanted to highlight, I'm fully up to date as
[43:40] well.
[43:40] With Shangri La Frontier, I watched episode 27 and 28, you know,
[43:45] the third, second and third episodes of season two.
[43:48] Fantastic.
[43:49] And consistency wise, I was sort of reflecting on this again
[43:52] today.
[43:53] Shangri La Frontier, I think it's one of the best in the business
[43:56] of the last 12 months.
[43:57] Because the animation is such a high standard, the soundtrack is
[44:00] at such a high standard.
[44:02] The openings, the endings are fantastic, just toe tap and metal
[44:05] bangers.
[44:06] The story is great, the voice work, whether it be sub or dub is
[44:10] great.
[44:10] And I just love this world that they're building.
[44:13] And the world build has happened so far in these second and
[44:16] third episodes.
[44:18] Really enjoying that.
[44:19] We're sort of shifting away from traditional fantasy and sort
[44:21] of dipping a toe potentially into sci fi and Mecca where I'm like,
[44:25] how's this going to coexist?
[44:26] But it's working somehow.
[44:28] And then sort of seeing this evolution of the.
[44:30] The Wolfgang Guild, as they're called now, which is, you know, Sunraku,
[44:33] Pentagon and Oit Katso.
[44:35] Just seeing these three now start to get a bit of global renown
[44:39] after taking down one of these mythical, mythical beasts.
[44:43] Everyone wants to know their name and who they are and how they
[44:46] got there.
[44:46] So we're starting to see like the Lore Guild come in who are just
[44:49] like librarians and just want to know the lore of the world and
[44:52] like the Combat Guild and this and that and this.
[44:54] Like.
[44:55] So we're seeing all this world building and character development
[44:57] and new characters getting introduced very often in these first
[45:01] three episodes.
[45:01] But it doesn't feel overwhelming.
[45:03] Like it all just slots in very easily and it's just a fun time.
[45:07] Like, I love it.
[45:08] It's one of the best, like Isekai in parentheses.
[45:11] Because it is just.
[45:12] They're going into the video game, they can take the headset off
[45:14] any old time.
[45:15] But it is one of the best fantasy video game anime out that
[45:19] I've watched in so long.
[45:20] Courtney.
[45:21] I need to get on it.
[45:23] It's one of those ones that I'm like, I know I want to watch
[45:26] it because I know how loved it is.
[45:28] It's just a matter of finding the time.
[45:31] Maybe in 10 years, maybe.
[45:32] And there's a cheeky little like, will they, won't they romance
[45:35] that's like hinted at too.
[45:37] Like, there's been no real development in the first two seasons.
[45:40] Minor spoilers, but two of the characters from the real world, like
[45:44] the blanking on the girl's name, she's like crushing hard on
[45:48] Sunraku so she's been playing all these games to try and meet him
[45:51] by chance in the game to build the relationship.
[45:53] So you see that cute, awkward sort of bumbling that she has to
[45:58] deal with at the same time when she does cross paths with Sunraku
[46:00] in the game.
[46:01] So that's like another little cool layer that I add to it because
[46:04] you know, we love love here on MTH and Shangri La Frontier.
[46:08] Double double nices, double grates, double goods, double bangers,
[46:13] whatever you want to say.
[46:14] Like it is just all the good stuff.
[46:16] I love that.
[46:17] Yeah.
[46:18] Yeah.
[46:18] So that's me slaying.
[46:20] Yeah.
[46:20] Well, Courtney, that brings us to the end of episode 22 of more
[46:26] than Headlines.
[46:27] Anything you wanted to mention or shout out before we close this
[46:30] down for another week?
[46:31] I streamed a horror game on Halloween night and I got so scared
[46:37] that I made myself throw up.
[46:41] What?
[46:42] Yeah.
[46:43] What?
[46:43] Not on stream after, but yeah.
[46:46] What were you playing that made you throw up?
[46:49] The mortuary assistant.
[46:50] Oh yeah, that is some heebie jeebies.
[46:53] And I don't normally play horror games so I just randomly picked
[46:56] one and I picked the wrong one.
[46:59] Yeah, you went right into the deep end that one.
[47:02] I love horror but I will admit it does scare me and make me unsettled
[47:06] and that game certainly gave me the heebie jeebies.
[47:09] Yeah.
[47:10] Anyway, how about you?
[47:13] I wanted to shout out that we're starting to gear up for the
[47:16] bitties.
[47:17] It's still a few weeks away but we're going to open voting on
[47:21] December 1st.
[47:22] So over the coming weeks you'll start to see our short list
[47:25] that we're going to put together as far as the list of nominees
[47:28] that you'll then be able to vote on to decide, you know, anime
[47:31] of the year, character of the year, et cetera, et cetera for 2024.
[47:34] So that will be available on the website obviously, links in the
[47:37] show notes there.
[47:38] But yeah, just wanted to let everyone be aware that the biddies
[47:42] are returning.
[47:43] And yeah, from December 1st through to December 31st you'll be
[47:46] able to cast your vote.
[47:47] Then we'll announce the winners at the back end of the year,
[47:50] slash the start of 2025.
[47:51] Live fun.
[47:53] Oh yeah, who doesn't like awards?
[47:54] Who doesn't like celebrating like the industry's best?
[47:59] But other than that, you can celebrate us on Apple podcasts and
[48:02] Spotify giving us those cheeky five star reviews.
[48:05] And yeah, we appreciate that to no end.
[48:08] If you are checking us out in video form, obviously YouTube and
[48:11] tick tock is the place to hunt those videos down.
[48:13] Too.
[48:14] We also accept ratings, reviews, subscriptions, comments
[48:17] etc etc anything to keep us standing out in the big juicy anime
[48:22] related algorithm.
[48:23] So yeah if you can do that it takes no time, costs you no money
[48:26] and means the world to little guys like ourselves.
[48:29] You can head over to get the tastiest merchandise in the land
[48:32] over at More than Hentai Life and you can join the score squad
[48:35] over there from the low price of $1 per month.
[48:38] $1?
[48:39] What else can you buy in this day and age?
[48:41] $1?
[48:42] Nothing.
[48:43] Life is expensive, cost of living is increasing so we're yeah
[48:47] doing yourselves all a little favor there and you practice practically
[48:49] making money dollar per month to help keep those physical lights
[48:52] on here in the Segoy studio.
[48:55] But Courtney that is it.
[48:57] So whether your anime be subbed, dubbed or still yet to come,
[49:00] enjoy yourself and much love to all the gorgeous waifos and husbandos
[49:05] out there.
[49:06] Goodbye.
[49:15] It.

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