After completely missing out on August, Mike quickly gets the first episode of September out of the way. And we quickly talk about Kevin’s brief experience at this year’s FanExpo Canada and how it fit in with our fandom this year

00:30:30 - Then we talk about Toronto’s Union Station and Amy’s experience at a Gashopon pop up there earlier today

01:05:35 - James goes through some of the summer company announcements made during convention season. Which gets into a talk about extras on physical media releases

01:22:50 - Mike remembers Tanaka Atsuko and Rachael Lillis

This Week’s Drinking Game: Here’s to the ones that we got. Cheers to the wish you were here but you’re not

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng, Mohamed Sharmarke, Amy Lynn Greig

Opening Theme: “FUBUKI - Snowstorm” performed by Pico Masaki

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*Note: This was taped just before the Euro Final

James is English, Moh has relatives in England, we had to talk soccer to start, before getting the former caught up on the space heaters

00:12:19 - We finally talk at some length about the demise of Gainax. Maybe time gives us a little perspective and lessons

00:25:55 - Crunchyroll getting rid of their comments functions, we discuss how this happened and other motivations behind it

00:46:35 - Let’s go to Los Angeles. First we talked about the Dodger x Hololive promotion. And then Anime Expo and the line between artist alley and dealers room

01:17:47 - The Community Calendar. Back to the two Muv Luv bundles on Humble. Oh and the Revue Theatre in Toronto is doing a 20th anniversary showing of Place Promised in Our Early Days (which will probably be done by the time this goes up). And Flow is coming to Toronto

This Week’s Drinking Game: Take a shot when Bluelock is referenced

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng

Opening Theme: “FUBUKI - Snowstorm” performed by Pico Masaki

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The first episode of 2024 (which was taped a week before it was published) starts with us catching up with James. He’s been playing some games. So we talk games 

00:28:35 - James gives another eye roll in talking about his latest shopping experience on the Crunchy store. Another lesson about being a Canadian fan

00:52:10 - We look back on the verdict in the Kyoto Animation arson tragedy

01:04:50 - We look back at the beginning of Anime North season, and the traditional scramble for early spots of any sort at the convention later this year

01:15:06 - The community calendar (of items that may have already passed as of publishing). A Japan Foundation Toronto discussion on Japanese Arcades. And KPop group ITZY is coming to Toronto

And more shopping at the end

This week’s drinking game: Take a shot of espresso when you realize Mike wants to finish the episode

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng

Opening Theme: “FUBUKI - Snowstorm” performed by Pico Masaki

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Of course the big story this week is the not so surprising acquisition of Crunchyroll by Sony. But before that we’ll talk about goings on at the Japan Foundation in both Toronto and New York. And after that we’ll talk Anime Dallas and the Lupin III manga, among other things

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng

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We start this week with the COVID news in the Toronto Area, and a COVID movie run for James and Moh to see the latest Fate/Stay Movie. Then we talk a variety of topics. Like the delivery of Angela’s Kickstarter Comic, remembering Kirby, Maradona, and Tony Hsieh, Simon and Schuster being sold to Penguin Random House, Anime Matsuri, online events at the Japan Foundation in both New York and Toronto, and more on the Netflix algorithm and what happened when some of us answered its call along with some recommendations in the aftermath

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng, Mohamed Sharmarke

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After following up on the pandemic situation in Toronto (which probably sucks as much as it would in your part of the world), and Kevin gives his thoughts on Kat Callahan’s appearance, we talk at length about Netflix’s foray into Anime with Wired’s talk with their chief anime producer. Then we talk about Seven Seas going deeper into light novels, Media Blasters getting out of the DVD on demand business, and a big week in the video game industry concerning hardware, and issues with a big name in it. We’ll then end it off with a look ahead to the online anime calendar this week

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng

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SPOILER ALERT: LOTS OF KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD ONES IN THIS EPISODE

A special tribute edition commemorating the late Izumi Matsumoto and his most famous work, Kimagure Orange Road

Journalist and writer Kat Callahan shares her memories of Matsumoto and KOR with Mike by doing a deep dive into the story and characters, the impact on both the overseas fandom and domestic industry; spending time with Matsumoto in 2012, and perhaps how his health problems led to an incomplete legacy

Mike Nicolas with guest Kat Callahan

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We start the Halloween episode reminiscing about trick or treating past, and the one that isn’t presently happening. Kevin’s downtown shopping trip of various geek places. A preview of the Orange Road special with Kat Callahan. Sony and Crunchyroll looking like a thing. Netflix and Anime being a thing. Amazon responding to a digital downloads lawsuit as the DRM discussion continues. Songs of Tokyo, Retrocrush, and Sean Connery

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng, Mohamed Sharmarke

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In between some Toronto related pandemic news (which of course would be of interest to fans), we talk about the death of Izumi Matsumoto and the legacy left by Kimagure Orange Road, and a bullets segment where Evangelion, Haruhi, and Viz manga pick ups are brought up

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng, Mohamed Sharmarke

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Zannen Canada host Jesse Betteridge joins us to talk about Sailor Moon’s appearance on Canadian streaming service Crave, and the business dealings behind the scenes that led to the pick up. After catching our breath from that conversation, we talk about the ghost towns that are movie theatres (with Moh risking his life having gone to see Akira in 4k), and movie adaptations of video games. That and the usual to-do items on our lists

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng, with Jesse Betteridge and Mohamed Sharmarke

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First, a quick Raptors thought (and a little schattenfreude towards the Clippers and Bucks). Then we continue our Zoom-tastic journey with thoughts of Crunchyroll Expo (7:09), and CR’s various partnerships (8:52), Media Blasters showing some life on blue ray (13:05), Right Stuf thoughts and the status of their adult label and special editions (15:13), which ultimately leads to a conversation about North American licensors and titles so directly tied to them (20:58), Bartender, Planetes, Violette Evergarden (26:15), and Discotek’s Primetime Monday presentation (30:19) with a follow up to the digest from the week before (32:15), with some memories of seeing many of these titles the original time (35:45)

In the second segment, Moh talks a little bit TIFF@Home and seeing “Under the Open Sky” (54:54), and more specifically the odd experience of watching it at home and how it was handled as opposed to the in person experience both emotionally and logistically (58:42), and the movie world going forward (1:07:20). Then we pause for a moment to reflect on the sunset of the Nintendo 3DS and the handheld video game console era (1:12:23), and the dawn of the PS5 with their showcase this week and individual takeaways from it (1:26:24). Mike joins the arguement that the success of Ghosts of Tsushima will strengthen the calls for an English release of the Yakuza samura era spinoffs (1:42:05). We finish by giving a recommendation to watch the Anime Sway panel put on by the Japan-America Society of Dallas and Fort Worth (1:43:56)

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng, Mohamed Sharmarke

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With it being the 19th anniversary of 9/11, Mike begins the episode by telling the story of a close friend’s close call.

Kevin asked Mike to do his version of a masterclass on the fine art of selling second hand anime and manga merchandise (6:51). And Mike, needing some selling tips, readily agrees. So here’s a quick rundown of the points in his lesson

12:50 - Patience

13:55 - Do an annual or semi-annual “spark joy” inventory

15:25 - Using cloud services like google drive to both catalog and advertise

17:20 - Take all your merchandise photos at once

20:35 - Consider Reddit as well as eBay as a place to sell

24:05 - Is a rerelease of the title forthcoming? Use that to maximize value

27:50 - Other online sites

31:35 - PayPal and currency conversions

36:58 - It’s overwhelming starting off, but just do it and learn along the way

42:35 - On selling mulitple volumes of the same title

47:55 - Shipping, both conventional and alternative methods

55:12 - Conclusion

Eventually towards the end of the class, we go off on a tangent on how productively we have spent the pandemic, with Mike saying he’s completely wasted it (50:19)

Then we look back on Angela’s return and look ahead to future episodes on things like this year’s virtual edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (1:00:49), and memories of Ready Player One (1:10:10)

Also points for any listener who can make out Kevin’s niece in the background

Mike Nicolas, Kevin Ng, and Mohamed Sharmarke

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Mike begins the new one on one segment with an old friend as Angela finally makes her return visit to the Roundtable

First we do a quick update on the Kickstarter campaign for her new comic (2:43), how she’s managing during the pandemic (3:49), her visit to Japan ten years after her time there as an english teacher and how things had changed between the two times (7:44)…and Mike somehow managing to get the Yakuza video game back into that part of the conversation. Then we actually talked about her Kickstarter comic “The Moonstone Diadem”, how an Inktober challenge snowballed (13:03), specific influences in it like Utena (18:55), and her thoughts on being a fan of 90s anime in general as Mike updates her on older anime on streaming services (25:57). In the process Mike plugs NHK’s “10 Years with Miyazaki” documentary series again and the two end up talking about the emotional, mental and physical costs of work (29:03). Angela also comes back to her regular work on how expiring technologies effect archiving and evolution of games and their presteige as artforms (35:41). Then Mike reopens old wounds about Angela’s past feelings on Makoto Shinkai both then and now, and how Angela’s past feelings are becoming Mike’s current ones (38:55). Finally, Angela makes a wish to see the next “Made in Abyss” movie as we lament what should have been FanExpo Weekend in Toronto (43:30)

Mike Nicolas and Angela O'Hara

Angela's Links

Kickstarter page for The Moonstone Diadem: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/themoonstonediadem/the-moonstone-diadem-by-angela-ohara?ref=user_menu

Twitter: @fellminagames

Webpage: http://artbyangela.ca

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Mike, Kevin, and Moh gather around the table for the final time in 2023 and talk more Miyazaki, Mike and Moh’s Netflix watches, streaming services Mike should take a longer look at, defining titles of various generations of fandom, and Kevin’s little exercise. We then make our new years resolutions and debate how fast we’ll break them

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We began this time around with a repeat of our anti-racism declaration in light of the Jacob Blake shooting and subsequent events. Then we tried to get back on track by talking about Shiro Usazaki finally breaking her silence after the cancellation of the Act-Age manga (9:10). But it went completely off the rails as we found out about the passing of Chadwick Boseman (17:03). After taking a breath and regaining our composure, we finish up with the bullets (27:05) and a final thought about fandom’s current generational divide (56:26), in what has arguably been the toughest week of a very tough 2020

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng, Mohamed Sharmarke

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We start the episode with Mike finally finishing Yakuza 0 (1:39), and Terrace House: Opening New Doors (3:00) and wonders how these foreshadow what’s to come in both series. Kevin talks about Kaiju #8 being his current manga read (8:52). James then briefly mentions Millionaire Detectives (11:58)

Kevin has a “Say it ain’t so” moment with the Tatsuya Matsuki incident (12:52). And where this event, which ended Act-Age, compares with similar incidents with people in the industry

Then we talk Sony and their move to give their animation operatons more prominance in their overall entertainment portfolio (43:26). How Sony’s overall business has changed over the last thirty years, away from electronics and more towards entertainment and video games (48:32). And their first look at possibly buying Crunchyroll and other possible suitors (1:03:07)

As we end, we give a quick shout out to the host of the Geek Eire Podcast (1:15:55), follow up thoughts to what was on Mike’s mind the week before (1:17:59), and Kevin points out that a milestone for us that quietly passed (1:23:30)

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng, Mohamed Sharmarke

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With this week being the 75th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Mike shares his thoughts on what perhaps the most least appreciated english translated manga set during that time. And the legacy of the story on the discussion of the bombing itself

Moh couldn’t make it tonight and sent his regards. The scraps left over talked about the previous weekend’s online convention offerings (10:35) with Anime North’s Momiji’s Online Experience (13:08), and Comic Con @Home (36:07), along with their differences, what was actually seen, and how both their online versions were pretty similar to their traditional convention counterparts

In the second half of the show we briefly talk about Toshihiro Nagoshi’s (Yakuza’s Director) praise of Ghosts of Tsushima and how video game development differs in Japan and other parts of the world (51:53), the current issues with Sentai Filmworks in light of Crunchyroll taking down a chunk of their titles (1:05:25). Then each member of the roundtable makes a single recommendation to read or watch right now (1:14:45), and we end off on a follow up to a story we mentioned two years ago on the One World Kimono Project (1:30:10)

All this before Mike finally finished Yakuza 0 a few hours later

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng

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Editor’s Note: It took Mike more than ten days between taping this episode and eventually posting it. If you listen very closely, you’ll know why that happened pretty quickly

We give our recaps of Funimation Con, Anime Expo Lite, and Aniplex Online a week after they had happened. Kevin and James talk at length on the licenses announced peppered with further thoughts on the digital and physical distribution of manga, light novels, and even video games (3:10). Then a thought on the concerts seen (37:30). And we finish by looking ahead to Anime North and Otakuthon’s online offerings (45:22)

Hopefully the turnaround for the next episode won’t take double digit days

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng, Mohamed Sharmarke

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We start the talk that matters with Mike’s thoughts after finishing the Wotakoi anime and starting Yakuza 0 (5:15), then first impressions of Funimation Con and Anime Expo Lite and look ahead to the continuation of those and Aniplex Online (14:39)

In the second segment, we’ll revisit the Terrace House/Hana Kimura fallout (47:08), and Ghibli on Netflix Canada with Mohamed (51:12), and wonder where do Canadian Anime fans sit in the grand scheme of worldwide fandom (54:40). And then we end of on something concerning a life sized Re:Zero model (1:10:24)

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng, Mohamed Sharmarke

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Let’s be honest, when something happens you’re happy about, you’re not really picky about how it happened. Especially when you think it wouldn’t happen. But then sometimes you are curious about how the loose ends got tied up

On the heels of the news of Netflix Canada acquiring the rights to stream the Studio Ghibli catalogue on Monday, Zannen Canada’s Jesse Betteridge joins the virtual table to talk about what may have happened behind the scenes to make the deal happen, and who may have lost out on a missed opportunity

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng, with guest Jesse Betteridge

Show notes and Links: https://animeroundtable.wordpress.com/2020/06/22/6ixtalk-anime-roundtable-v2-0-digest-4-june-22-2020/

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Mike opens up with some thoughts on the current anti-racist protests (1:45). Then we actually start on the regular talk going back to the digest three weeks back (12:15), with the memorial service for Zac Bertschy (13:28), and the Japanese fallout from death of Hana Kimura and the price of fame in the reality television and social media age (19:56). Kevin then returns to give his thoughts on the first segment (42:20), and then the bullets (49:22)

- Cloud Matsuri, the UK’s noteworthy shot at the virtual con. And the announcements coming from it (49:44)

- Tokyo Keizai article about Anime Industry’s reservations about Netflix (1:05:00)

- Studio Ghibli streaming, HBO Max and Canada (1:11:16)

- Julian Lai Hung hired by Crunchyroll after working for Netflix (1:25:25)

- Shaman King anime reboot (1:28:37)

- The unveiling of the PS5. And the change of strategy in the initial hardware release (1:34:33)

- Kota Fukihara passes away (1:41:26)

- Shintaro Tsuji steps down as head of Sanrio at age 92 (1:44:35)

*laid out in actual bullets

And we’ll end off with what’s on our queue’s as the pandemic finally sees some light at the end of the tunnel (1:48:39). Count how many mic cut offs happen throughout the episode…and who got cut off

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Mohamed Sharmarke, Kevin Ng

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We look back on a difficult weekend for fandom on what would have been the final day of Anime North. First we look back on the legacy left by Zac Bertschy in light of his sudden passing last week (2:37). Then we talk about the death of professional wrestler and Terrace House star Hana Kimura (25:44). After we actually lament the Anime North that isn’t (37:39). Then we finally lighten it up by talking about what would be one of the highlights of Anime North, the online presentation of Anime Hell (40:33). And finally we talk about the Humble Manga Bundle if you’re into reading your manga with an “e” (49:40)

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng

In light of what was talked about in this episode, if you or anyone you know are having any suicidal thoughts, help is available. National suicide prevention lines are available in the US at 1-800-273-8255, and in Canada at 1-833-456-4566, also Canada has the Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868

Episode Show Notes: https://animeroundtable.wordpress.com/2020/05/24/6ixtalk-anime-roundtable-v2-0-digest-3-may-24-2020/

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The head man behind Anime Lockdown, JP joins the Roundtable for an all encompasing chat on the online convention’s aftermath (6:07), the idea of doing the convention and things that happened during it, the merits and quirks of an “online convention” (10:30), and get JP’s thoughts on the other online shows about to happen (58:55). After the break we talked a little bit about the Geek Eire guys’ involvement - aka one of our three listeners - in Lockdown (1:19:40), and then reminiced about the early days of anime podcasting (1:22:40), and how enjoying content has changed (1:34:10), and the ultimate question as to a second Lockdown and what to look forward to in the YouTube channel (1:47:00), and we’ll end with a final thought for the Anime North that won’t happen this year (2:01:55)

All this coming in at a whopping two plus hours (not under two as Mike first thought). We were more likely boring and not brief, but it certainly wasn’t the longest episode we’ve done

Mike, James, Kevin, Mohamed, with special guest JP from Anime Lockdown

Episode Show Notes: https://animeroundtable.wordpress.com/2020/05/15/6ixtalk-anime-roundtable-special-the-lockdown-interview-may-15-2020/

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*SPOILER WARNING*

Mike and Kevin talk about and try to wrap their heads around every aspect of The Boy and the Herron, Miyazaki’s latest (final) film. And I mean EVERY POSSIBLE ASPECT

In a nod to the concept of necessity being the mother of all invention, the Roundtable makes history tonight with it’s first online episode…or at least starts to technologically play catch up…one or the other

After Mike, Kevin, and Moh show some contrition for episode 17 (and James disavows any responsibility for it), Mike updates the story that was on his mind a few weeks back (5:23), then everyone else updates their lives in the pandemic lockdown (7:08), including our thoughts on console video games. Then we talk about how the pandemic has affected the actual Japanese industry (36:15), and the Toronto anime scene (43:45). On the topic of coping in the COVID era, in the second half of the show we talk about Anime Lockdown and give our quick day one impressions (50:45), and other anime streaming options (1:27:22), before ending on other tech ways people have been dealing with COVID (1:36:32)

At least we remembered to hit the unmute buttons on the microphones

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng, Mohamed Sharmarke

Episode Links: https://animeroundtable.wordpress.com/2020/05/01/6ixtalk-anime-roundtable-v2-0-18-may-1-2020/

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Mike wanted to try and gather the others for a social distancing Roundtable. However he’s just left isolated instead and only has this story to tell about the Roundtable’s return a few years ago and the guy who told him to bring it back to the basics

Producers note: This was taped before the COVID 19 pandemic reached serious levels, and before Anime North got cancelled. So this is even more out of date than usual. But we did want to share our thoughts at the time

Mike encourages people to count how many times he got wrong how many years had passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake as we start the episode by reflecting on it on its anniversary (5:05). Then we give our initial thoughts about COVID 19 as it started to make its mark on society and the anime industry (13:40). Then we talked about the success of the Korean movie Parasite (31:30). And finally we give thoughts on the current crop of movies in theatres (50:55), a Netflix recommendation (1:00:10), and some final convention thoughts (1:03)

It’s amazing how much has changed since then

Mike Nicolas, Kevin Ng, Mohamed Sharmarke

We start our first ramune filled episode of 2020 talking about Bell Let’s Talk Day (the episode was taped on January 29th), and Moh’s appearance in this year’s promotional ad. Then we talk about the North American theatrical run of Weathering with You (7:45), and the interview with Makoto Shinkai (25:05). Then G-Kids in theatres and a tangent on what James and Kevin are buying these days (43:20), and a shout out to a recovering Fred Schodt (52:00). With a final apology for being so long with this episode (54:05). Hopefully the next episode isn’t at Anime North

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng, Mohamed Sharmarke

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There’s a lot to catch up on in two months. But we start way off topic with talking about the sports talk shows that were in the inspirations for the Roundtable with a brief history of sports and radio broadcasting in Toronto (4:50). Then we actually start talking anime, and the limited theatrical release of Promare in late September, and the gang’s individual experiences in going out to see it and the extra interviews at the end (31:21), and Mike’s thoughts as to fire being a recent theme in anime especially in light of the Kyoto Animation Fire and the culture of fire fighting and prevention (58:24)

In the Bullets Segment, we talk about more recent thoughts on the Cowboy Bebop live action (1:15:03), Rei Tanaka’s Anime Central Announcement…oh and her upcoming photo book (1:20:38), two shows that caught Mike’s attention on Netflix recently (1:28:00), Overwatch 2 with Toronto mentioned as a map (1:33:26), James and Mike give some thoughts on things worth watching including a Sherlock adaptation and an NHK World music show (1:46:33), and Kevin suggestions one final movie screening (2:02:20). And finally we give our reactions as IFF 2020 announces their first guest (2:04:45)

Hopefully we’re all caught up until December

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng

Before the Anime North episodes in May, Mike and James tested the microphones and told the story of the convention’s proximity to one of the early Amber Alert cases in 2019

This was in light of another Amber Alert issued in the Toronto Area earlier in the week. So Mike felt this was a good time now to share this story

We begin tonight on a reflective note as we commemorate 18 years since 9/11. Then we get to the episode young Moh wanted to do, but could attend the taping of himself as James and Kevin talk about seeing the North American premier of Weathering with You at the Toronto International Film Festival, with Makoto Shinkai in attendance (6:58). In the aftermath of the discussion, Mike brings up a book he’s been meaning to read that does use the 2011 earthquake as a plot device (43:50). Then he celebrates the end of the KOR Manga Kickstarter Oddesey (45:50)

We begin the bullets segment with further thoughts from the Kyoto Animation Fire (48:37), the latest in the Vic Mignogna saga in hopefully the shortest bullet ever (55:30), and some PR trouble for group for group that runs IFF/AnimeRevolution (58:38). And finally the latest in online buying (1:04:20), and the Community Calendar (1:13:48)

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng

The Kyoto Animation Studio arson dominates the start of this episode, more than three weeks after. We take a step back and give our thoughts on the coverage and the immediate and long term affects on the industry, and remember some of the victims (22:50)

As we come back from the break we regard James and Neil’s lack of appearance (31:25), then we go into the Toronto Anime Community calendar with the Mississauga Japan Fest (35:50), Weathering with You’s North American premier at TIFF (38:35), screenings at the JCCC, and end off with Kevin talking about his upcoming trip to K-Con in LA (55:10)

Mike Nicolas, Kevin Ng, Mohamed Sharmarke

After more than a month off, and a Wendy’s and Tims run, and a week after this was actually taped, we’re finally back with this quick episode on the hottest day in Toronto yet. We start by looking back on Anime North and the Fred Schodt interview (3:33), and his last panel about his view on manga translation (11:35). Then we talked about our take on the ups and downs of Anime North’s strict fan run angle (24:53). Next we give our take on a few aspects of Neon Genesis Evangelion’s Netflix premier, from the music (31:20), the new English Dub (33:52), and the translation of one specific scene (37:20). Finally we preview digest #3 in hopes of digesting AX, including Kevin’s reaction upon hearing Harmony Gold’s renewal of their Macross license (51:37), and a final We The North moment (58:25)

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng, Mohamed Sharmarke

Web: animeroundtable.com

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Twitter: @animeroundtable

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https://animeroundtable.wordpress.com/2019/07/13/6ixtalk-anime-roundtable-v2-0-12-july-6-2018/

Legendary Manga Translator Fred Schodt honours us by becoming our first major guest to do the Roundtable in this special sit down taped last Saturday afternoon at Anime North

We begin with Fred and Mike looking back on his first visit to Anime North back in 1998 (the second one), and a panel they did together about History in Anime and Manga. And how Mike first told him about Rurouni Kenshin during that panel (3:30)

Then Fred talks a little bit about the honours he has received from the Japanese Emperor (Order of the Rising Sun: Gold Rays and Rosette) and the Japan Foundation, and how in receiving the latter he ended up meeting now Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako a year and a half ago, and how he was a fan of Astroboy (9:05)

We then start to talk about two of his Anime North panels, first about his friendship with Astroboy’s creator, Osamu Tezuka relaying a few stories about him (17:35)

Then we talk about his panel about the Four Immigrants Manga which he published in 1998 (around the time of his first AN appearance). Fred gives a quick biography of Henry Kiyama, how he came across his work, and how he became very close friends with the Kiyama family. Also we talk about the recent musical adaptation of the book (24:50). In the process of the conversation Mike recalls some stories of his own grandfather (34:27)

We then give a preview of Fred’s final panel about his own thoughts on manga translation, the history, and where it stands today. Which we’ll talk about in episode 12 (38:32). Mike then brings up Fred’s lecture at the Japan Foundation after AN ’98 on the actual manga culture in Japan then, and what it might be like today in light of digital consumption (40:21)

The conversation ends off with Fred’s reaction to seeing Anime North 21 years later as we watched con goers pass by the AN Office’s Display room (52:00). And Mike gives a final thank you by telling Fred about another story as he gave him a stamp commemorating the Vancouver Asahi baseball team, which we mentioned back in episode 8 (58:10)

Mike Nicolas and James Austin. With Special Guest Frederik L Schodt

Web: animeroundtable.com

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Twitter: @animeroundtable

Check out our webpage for full show notes and links

https://animeroundtable.wordpress.com/2019/06/02/6ixtalk-anime-roundtable-presents-a-conversation-with-frederik-l-schodt-may-25-2019/

After looking back on the Space Heater Chat and some purchases in the latest Indigo Books sale. We focus on Crunchyroll on a few fronts this time around

00:09:45 - The retail side of CR with the end of Right Stuf. James gives his experience ordering from the revamped retail site

00:37:03 - New mobile games to Crunchyroll services, and manga service winds down. And James puts up an arguement as to why that’s not a totally good thing

00:51:07 - So what about the Crunchyroll’s current anime season?

And then on to other things

01:04:14 - AnimeNYC will have its 2024 edition on August 23-25th, the same weekend as FanExpo Canada. Aside from other news coming from this year’s edition

01:10:20 - Japan Foundation has a discussion on video games and trauma recovery

01:13:50 - James and Kevin go fanboy on Daigo

01:23:30 - Kevin talks a little more about his time watching V-tubers

This Week’s Drinking Game: Take a shot of Espresso when you realize Mike really wants to go to sleep soon

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng

Opening Theme: “FUBUKI - Snowstorm” performed by Pico Masaki

On our second night at Anime North, we’re joined by Jesse Betteridge from the Zannen.ca Podcast. He gives his impressions of Anime North, as well as recap his panels at the convention (3:40). Then we get into a longer discussion about the Anime convention scenes in both Toronto and Vancouver, and what to maybe expect from the International Fan Festival as they attempt to settle into Toronto (Vancouver’s Anime Revolution is put on by the same group). Also Jesse makes some very interesting observations between Anime North and Anime Evolution, the former Vancouver convention, and how Anime North isn’t too big on having too much of an industry presence (20:20).

That sets up Norm McEvoy’s annual appearance, which explains a few things. In addition Norm reminices about AN’s early days, and how it became the institution on Dixon Rd, and likely why it works there (1:03:25). Norm also remembers Dick “The Destroyer” Beyer and his influence on Japanese Pro Wrestling and Pop Culture (1:18:35). Then to end it off, Kevin gives a promo for the Toronto Japanese Film Festival. And Mike previews the sit down conversation with Fred Schodt (taped earlier in the day) , which will be put up very soon (1:52:56)

Mike Nicolas, Jesse Betteridge, Kevin Ng, with James Austin

Web: animeroundtable.com

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Twitter: @animeroundtable

Check out our website for more details and links

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Editor’s Note: This version of the episode has been updated with edits to take out as much of the stammering (“umm”s, “ahh”s, and “like”s) as possible, and keep the episode easy to listen to. Expect this type of editing in future episodes

Mike became so tired and confused by the time we taped this episode, he wasn’t sure if this was episode 10 or digest 3.

Night one at Anime North starts off with the final touches for a hopeful special guest later during the con. Then becomes pretty much an open mic episode as Mike and James invite a volunteer to tell us about his day one before Mike, James, and then Kevin do the same (4:50). With Mike doing a preview of the Fred Schodt sit down by talking about his first panel on the Four Immigrants manga, and Jesse Betteridge’s panel on Anime Deaths (39:45), and Kevin talking Nominoichi (43:40). Mike and Kevin then invites one of the con goers to the mics, who talks about the lack of DVDs in the dealers room (47:50), and the Black Folks Like Anime Too panel (51:54). Then we end off looking ahead to day two (1:00:22)

And who would have thunk it, trying to edit out all of the “umms” and “ahhs” and other types of stammering took out almost five minutes from the orginal product. Five minutes you can have back, you’re welcome….are we that bad?

Mike Nicolas, James Austin. With Sukhee Hong, Lawrence Black, and Kevin Ng

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@animeroundtable

And don't forget to check our website for further show notes and links

https://animeroundtable.wordpress.com/2019/05/24/6ixtalk-anime-roundtable-v2-0-10-may-24-2019/

Today’s secret word is “icon”

So after struggling to open our ramune and partake in some Japanese snacks, Mike tells a story about giving a ramune to Veronica Taylor at FanExpo more than 15 years ago (4:55), we acknowledge the New Japanese Emperor and what lies ahead in the Reiwa Era (12:55) and how that name is linked with an adult visual novel (24:20). Then we get to the heart of the episode with our International Fan Festival report (25:32), the screening of Fate/Stay Heavens Feel with Mike making observations living up to his nickname and Japanese guests being incognito in Toronto (33:10). Thoughts on the scheduling of events and autographs (41:30), the Fate/Stay actors talk show (49:00) and recording session (51:00). Ayako Kawasumi’s Q&A (58:05), thoughts on Mecha Ude and crowdfunding productions (1:04:50), Kevin at the IFF Anisong concert Saturday evening (1:09). And did Crunchyroll fuel the video rooms through an offline HD (1:19:45)? And IFF’s spot in a landscape that includes an institution like Anime North (1:20:55)

Then we turn to James and Kevin’s excellent TCAF adventure…and if you thought autograph chasing was hard at IFF and AN (1:36:45). And the bullets, Crunchyroll picking up some Discotek titles (1:55:10), an impression of the first episode of the new Fruits Basket anime (1:59:05), the trailer for Makoto Shinkai’s latest movie Weathering with You (2:10:05), and Moh finally talks about seeing the Code Gease movie (2:12:20). Then we end off by previewing Anime North (2:19:50), with more Nominoichi from trying to get into the Nominoichi (2:25:10). Come join us for a live taping of the Roundtable on Friday and Saturday night at AN

Wow that was long…but not as long as Avengers: Endgame

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Mohamed Sharmarke, Kevin Ng

animeroundtable.com

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https://animeroundtable.wordpress.com/2019/05/17/6ixtalk-anime-roundtable-v2-0-9-may-17-2019/

Unfortunately “Be brief not boring” isn’t the motto as Mike decided to take the mic late night and tell a few stories as the Easter weekend begins, and the night before the International Fan Festival. In it he gives his thoughts on the latest developments concerning the live action Cowboy Bebop and Rurouni Kenshin adaptations (0:44), frustrations with Kimagure Orange Road almost as maddening as Kasuka Kyosuke (9:22), and Japanese Curling and video games (19:33)…dedicating about 10 minutes to each story. Plus an announcement at the very end

Imagine how this would have gone if Austin was on…although Mike blames this more on deciding to plug in the mic at 1am. Maybe he should go back to writing a script for these in the future

Check out the blog for more information

https://animeroundtable.wordpress.com/2019/04/19/6ixtalk-on-mikes-mind-april-19-2019/

With the announcement of Fred Schodt’s appearance at Anime North in May, Mike wanted to start by trying something different and tell a sincere story about his first appearance more than twenty years before…but he forgot to plug in the soundboard. After plugging in the board, we pull the plug on the Vic Mignonga talk by getting Kevin and Moh’s thoughts (10:15). Then we come back to the talk about adapting Japanese works again in light of the Alita: Battle Angel movie, was it one of those things that came a few years late? Spoiler alerts there…like as if no one here knows the basic story (21:19). And that sometimes importing a North American story into Japan have similar dillemas (43:30). Mike reflects on finally finishing the Toradora anime, with James and Kevin broadening that into a longer discussion about the light novel market in North America (55:20). Then James finishes it off with an epic bullets segment on how the former couple of the great anime streaming divorce in the fall have moved on with their lives dating new people (1:31:10), and the Fate/Stay Night movie (2:01:15)

Then one more tejime to seal the deal…well the idea sounded good…

And don't forget to contact us if you have something to say

Web: animeroundtable.com

Email: animeroundtable@gmail.com

Twitter: @animeroundtable

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng, Mohamed Sharmarke

Check the website for more details and links

https://animeroundtable.wordpress.com/2019/03/16/6ixtalk-anime-roundtable-v2-0-8-march-16-2019/

Mike wanted to get some sort of taping done for February. Having failed that, he’s now pretty happy to get that checked off for March right away

James comes in for a free form digest talk, and a warm up for episode 8 later this month. In it we bring up Mike’s lone day at Podcamp Toronto last weekend (4:10), personal anecdotes and thoughts on the Vic Mignogna scandal (25:22), and Mike’s more solid thoughts Marie Kondo’s popularity (1:02:20). We thought we’d be done with those, but then Mike made the mistake of asking James about what’s on his Crunchyroll queue and current issues with the app (1:14:15), and then Mike makes some final NHK recommendations and the events calendar (1:30:30)

Mike Nicolas, James Austin

More Information and links on our website

https://animeroundtable.wordpress.com/2019/03/02/6ixtalk-anime-roundtable-v2-0-digest-2-march-1-2019/

In the interest of starting the New Year on a memorable note, we decided to have five of us around the table…which is already a bad idea. And when one of them is Neil returning after six months…it made having five even more complicated. And considering that it’s the first time young Moh and Kevin are doing the show with Neil…and we had donuts and other edibles around the table…it was over before it started

So now that you’re curious to know what happened on the anime talk, honestly Mike is too. In between all of the filler we did briefly remind ourselves about holding Anime North in Toronto’s west end (13:30), further streaming video thoughts including Mike’s initial thoughts after subscribing to Crunchyroll (17:00), the constant issues of ads on free tiers, a disturbing difference between Crunchyroll searches on both Apple and non Apple devices (36:00), a thought concerning the Japanese businesses mentioned before (56:25), the group’s inital reactions to watching Battleship Tiramisu and the Misinformed YouTube video on anime (1:01:32), Neil’s reaction to the Netflix pick ups mentioned back in episode 6 (1:21:45), upcoming anime theatrical releases (1:30:50), Kevin giving a thought on the end of the Shonen Jump magazine in North America (1:49:20), and a really odd thought about the Marie Kondo phenomenon which Mike knows he’ll talk about a little more in the future (1:51:45)…but right now he really needs to take a candy

Mike Nicolas, Neil Sinclair, James Austin, Mohamed Sharmarke, Kevin Ng

Check the website for more details and links

https://animeroundtable.wordpress.com/2019/01/20/6ixtalk-anime-roundtable-v2-0-7-january-18-2019/

So Mike has something on his mind, but was nowhere close to the studio mics. So he plugged in his smartphone earbuds to make the following to end off 2018

In it he asks a few questions about what to do about older DVDs as he preorders the blu rays of the same show. Looks for suggestions as he finally subscribes to other streaming services. And makes a few NHK reccomendations. All for your New Year’s listening pleasure

Mike Nicolas

Check out the website for more details and links

https://animeroundtable.wordpress.com/2018/12/28/6ix-talk-on-mikes-mind-december-28-2018/

After being gone for two months, we begin with Mike giving a first impression of Oomomo, the newest entry in the trend of 100yen shops and Japanese retailers in the Toronto area (4:50). Then we take another look at the Funimation/Crunchyroll split and the broader story of what’s to come in streaming services (16:06). After sparing a thought concerning the Overwatch League (1:01:55), we do the official return of the Bullets Segment (1:06:18). In it we talk about Evangelion and Netflix (1:06:58), the live action Cowboy Bebop and Netflix (1:18:48), the reboot of the Fruits Basket anime (1:33:14), the missed items on the Toronto Anime Community Calendar (1:38:01), the Toronto International Fan Festival (1:51:01), and the Reel Asian Film Festival (1:59:14). Then we end off with some thoughts Fred Patten, John Rogers, and Stan Lee, who all passed away around the same time back in November (2:11:33)

Listeners will no doubt pass out before the end of this episode. The question is will it be because of alcohol poisoning, or boredom

Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng, Mohamed Sharmarke

Check out the website for more details and links

https://animeroundtable.wordpress.com/2018/12/28/6ix-talk-on-mikes-mind-december-28-2018/

Episode 5 is finally here. And in it, Mike and the younger Mohamed do their best to fend off a nagging cold that Kevin was in the middle of battling. All the while giving their take on Neil and old Mohamed’s July appearance (Yonge Street again, and overseas fandom) (12:53), the September Nerd Market (26:20), the live action Bleach movie (spoiler alert) and why this worked for Mohamed (37:00), Flavors of Youth and why it resonated so much with Kevin (53:28), a quick aside on Aum Shinrikyo (1:09:23), a first blush on the Crunchyroll and Funimation split (1:12:08) along with an interesting rant by Kevin as to his issues with streaming services (1:19:37), and a quick thought on the Kimono documentary (1:33:42)

Oh and we’ll let you know if Mike or Moh get sick (smart money is on Moh…he was sitting beside Kevin)

Mike Nicolas, Mohamed Shamarke, and Kevin Ng (1:49:08)

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https://animeroundtable.wordpress.com/2018/10/19/6ixtalk-anime-roundtable-v2-0-5-october-19-2018/

After Mike recovers from yet another illness, he, Kevin and Moh have a morning coffee to talk about the last month to settle back around the table. Like Halloween and Anime North, thoughts on the Overwatch League Finals as Championship Season in various eSports wind down, and the uncomfortable story and latest developments in the Johnny Associates scandal

Mike Nicolas, Kevin Ng, Mohamed Sharmarke

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Another Month, and another no show of episode 5. So Mike wanted to share a few other things on his mind…namely a past tense entry on the Toronto Anime Community Calendar, and three Netflix recommendations

Something quick and easy to listen to while we continue to assemble the Roundtable

Visit our website for more details:

https://animeroundtable.wordpress.com/2018/10/18/6ixtalk-on-mikes-mind-october-18-2018/

James sits in for a solo for the first time. So what’s on his mind? A lot of Nintendo and the issues he has with their new online services

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https://animeroundtable.wordpress.com/2018/09/19/6ixtalk-on-my-mind-september-19-2018/

Two months on, and Mike and James get off their asses and turn on the mics for a digest and talk about a load of things that have happened in those two months, and would like to talk about more. Lets see…mature Yonge St., X-Japan, a few angles on Kimagure Orange Road, Mike Toole and Canada, the Toronto Anime Community Calendar, BiSH, Angela’s appearance on another podcast, and Kimonos

A digest full of bullets

Mike Nicolas and James Austin

*Note: Website has now been updated, click below for links mentioned in this episode

https://animeroundtable.wordpress.com/2018/09/14/6ixtalk-anime-roundtable-v2-0-digest-1-september-14-2018/