August 3rd, 2010 by The Grey Ghost
Episode 43: “I May Have Gone Too Far…”
Space Thunder Kids
Run Time: 51min 27sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]
Feedback? Send an email!
Space Thunder Kids… Oh the sweet blissful ignorance I took for granted before investigating this video. It occurred to me to apologize for sharing this anime with you, our faithful fans, but NO. I refuse to assume any ownership in the existence of this commercially animated abortion. Seek this video out at your own risk, but heed our words as warning.
This is more than just the worst anime ever made… It is an Arkham horror, marking all those who witness it and sentencing them to psychological descent. Like Nick Cage said in 8MM: “There are some things that you see, and you can’t unsee them.”
In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.
Posted in Podcast | 15 Comments »
July 30th, 2010 by The Grey Ghost
Welcome to Fan Service, my first attempt at writing a regular geek-centric advice column for this site… It’s a part of my mission through this site (and the podcast) to improve the lives of my fellow geeks, be it by entertainment or enlightenment. Topping the leaderboards of a geek’s daily struggles is the art of romance. Especially the fellas, whom I address the most.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Fan Service | 15 Comments »
July 27th, 2010 by The Grey Ghost
Episode 42: “Dumb and Summoner”
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu
Run Time: 56min 52sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]
Feedback? Send an email!
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu (or Baka and Test – Summon the Beasts) teaches a higher form of education; putting into practice that the spoils of victory are heavy motivators for self-improvement. Students enter into gladiator battles armed only with their test scores in order to claim or defend a social status adorned in privilege. Make the grade and you shall crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.
This could be a great show (or an awesome video game), but it quickly buckles under the growing infection of moé. Before you know it, you’re watching another romantic comedy drama. This show has its genuinely funny moments, but you’re probably better off watching a show like Tora Dora! or Tenjho Tenge.
Tear up that dance floor, Mahoney!
In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.
Posted in Podcast | 14 Comments »
July 22nd, 2010 by The Grey Ghost
A topic that’s a frequent fly in our podcast ointment is fan service. It is a poison to Japan’s entertainment industry; transforming those otaku who ingest large, regular doses into ghoulish misshapes of humanity. Exposure to the One Ring is less toxic and more likely get you laid.
But it didn’t used to be that way.
Fan service, literally, was a way that creators used to give appreciation to fans of their shows. These often took the forms of Easter Eggs within other shows. A brief cameo or in-joke would spark delicious glee with those watching “in the know”.
On occasion, full productions were put together as an entire entrée of fan service. A perfect example is Scramble Wars. This early 1990s OVA is regarded as the anime counterpart to Wacky Races (though a more accurate comparison would be to Laff-A-Lympics). Only instead of Yogi Bear, Jabber Jaw, Speed Buggy, and (of course) Dick Dastardly & Muttley, the celebrity contestants hail from Bubblegum Crisis, Gall Force, and Genesis Survivor Giarth.
Then something strange happened. Someone, somewhere had the bright idea, “Hey, I know a real treat to give the fans! Let’s take their favorite female characters and put them in bikinis! Maybe even…naked? Tanaka, you know what naked boobs look like, right? No? Well…can you draw them? Yeah, I knew you had that shit down, dawg.”
At first, this was a treat, but little did we know just how far it would escalate. It’s like when your mom starts out encouraging you to eat healthy snacks like fruit or granola. But as you get older, her resolve weakens as she more often offers you cheaper, pre-packaged cookies and candy for goodies. By the time you’re in college, you’re stuffing football helmets filled with Oreo brownies covered in Snickers ice cream and chocolate chip cookie dough…for lunch.
Over the past decade or so, fan service shifted into a sexually potent feature. “Fan service” became the Trojan Horse for [s]exploitation. Exploitative shows had already existed for decades (mostly thanks to Go Nagai), but what was once niche was quickly becoming the standard. Every series got its token beach episode or bathhouse scene. Costume designs for anime and video games became more provocative. And for a fandom that’s dominantly male, this proved to be a commercially successful move.
Once production companies hopped on this gravy train, they knew that if they were each going to compete in the industry, they needed to continue pushing the envelope. Enter the invasion of lolicon, moé, incest and any imaginable fetish into our cartoons. Titillation used to be the icing to the fandom; now we’re served solid slabs of fan service fondant. Seemingly sweet, but sure to turn your stomach.
Now here we are: In a dark age for anime, where what’s essentially soft-core porn is now the lifeblood of the industry. Where fan service once rewarded faithful fans, it’s now a device for drawing attention from new viewers.
As I’ve said, I’m prepared to ride this through because I have faith that it is temporary. As long as I draw breath, I will continue to endorse anime and video games that are fun without resorting to spank material. I want to be there when we as otaku ring in the new era where “fan service” returns to its roots.
Fan service… We’re taking it back.
Posted in Anime, Rants | 16 Comments »
July 20th, 2010 by The Grey Ghost
Episode 41: “Now I Got Yer Soul, Bitch!”
Folklore (and Disgaea)
Run Time: 55min 12sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]
Feedback? Send an email!
Folklore and Disgaea: Infinite have recently been satisfying our pangs for gaming. “Satisfying”, I use generously.
As much as we have to say about these games in this podcast, we have so much more to say about just about everything else. Mostly turtles, rats, pizza…just about every ingredient for an unconscious Ninja Turtle discussion, if not for the inclusion of horrible, horrible internet memes.
In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.
Posted in Games, Podcast, RPGs | 3 Comments »
July 13th, 2010 by The Grey Ghost
Omake 6: “It’s Got Space All Up IN IT.”
Outtakes
Run Time: 42min 18sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]
Feedback? Send an email!
Fresh from the cutting room floor, we present the latest batch of outtakes! In an effort to keep the show’s length within the tolerable span of an hour, sacrifices must be made. Sometimes we go on wild, unrelated tangents or there’s material that we just fit into an episode.
Extra Bonus: This clip show includes outtakes from next week’s podcast!
Promo: Fight Bait!
In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.
Posted in Podcast | 13 Comments »
July 7th, 2010 by The Grey Ghost
The Last Airbender is the first of three films planned to theatrically retell the story of Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender in live-aciton. After a decade-long sabbatical from producing good movies, director M. Night Shyamalan sought this as his own personal “Star Wars Trilogy”. Tragically, he chose the wrong Star Wars trilogy.
I should warn you, I draw many parallels between The Last Airbender and Episodes I-III in this review, but only because they’re impossible to ignore.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Reviews, TV & Movies | 4 Comments »
July 6th, 2010 by The Grey Ghost
Episode 40: “This Ain’t Nick Arcade, Son!”
Arcade Gamer Fubuki
Run Time: 47min 05sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]
Feedback? Send an email!
Arcade Gamer Fubuki has taught me that Kevin and I should put better effort into researching the shows we watch before podcasting about them. And by “better”, I probably mean “some”. Cuz had we learned beforehand that Arcade Gamer Fubuki is a parody of Game Center Arashi, this show might have made a crap-ton more sense.
This is a cute little show for fans of old-school games…or of panties. Yes, it’s a panty fan service show, but it’s just below the line of excess and there’s enough legitimate humor to compensate.
In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.
Posted in Anime, Games, Podcast | 12 Comments »
June 29th, 2010 by The Grey Ghost
Episode 39B: “BRB Popsicles”
Animazement 2010 Review Part 2
Run Time: 48min 43sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]
Feedback? Send an email!
Our Animazement 2010 coverage continues!
Saturday was the apex of our convention experience; a whirl of events, commerce, and good drink with good friends. Sunday wound down the weekend, but not without a grand hoorah.
Also, Kevin hates furries.
In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.
Posted in Anime, Podcast, Rants | 13 Comments »
June 22nd, 2010 by The Grey Ghost
Episode 39A: “Raleigh! Con-ven-tion!”
Animazement 2010 Review Part 1
Run Time: 42min 16sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]
Feedback? Send an email!
Animazement reminds us why we not only love anime, but also love being part of the fandom. Strangely, the opposite is simultaneously true.
Kevin and I has so much to say in our podcast report of Animazement 2010, we had to split it into two parts! In part one, we discuss Thursday’s pre-con harbingers along with the big con kick-off on Friday. Stay tuned for part two when we follow up with Saturday and Sunday.
For those curious about the kinds of horrors inflicted upon hapless otaku during Anime Hell, the video playlist has been posted here.
In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.
Posted in Anime, Podcast, Rants | 24 Comments »
