Canuck Otaku – Details, episodes & analysis

Original record date: First week of December.

After a lengthy hiatus that included a babies, career changes, and a slew of other events, we are back! In this episode, we recap what has been going on in our lives, specifically Chris' new job as a high school music teacher and the direction for the podcast moving forward. 

We are long overdue, but we've got valid reasons for it!

On the contrary, something in Luigi's life arrived underdue and we talk about the birth of his first child on this episode! More importantly (or not), Chris shares his experience in Calgary's first Otafest since the start of the pandemic, his journey taking part in the convention's singing contest and how it felt to be attending a convention once again!

(0:00) - The BABY
(23:11) - Otafest: The Good, the Bad, and the Long Wait Times
(29:45) - The Ota Factor experience
(47:44) - Other Ota experiences 
(55:00) - Using Anime to connect to others

Links to album and social media located below!

This episode is our chat with Natalie London and Taylor Plecity of the indie rock duo, Hey, King! Along with being anime fans, they're also musicians and Natalie is a fellow Canuck so we knew that they'd fit in perfectly!

We discuss the band's newest album which was released on April 2nd, including the creation process and their inspiration towards the composition of many of its tracks. Many of the songs on the album deal with issues such as love, resilience, female empowerment, and moving through difficult times and the two share their experiences regarding those themes.

On the anime side of things, Taylor shares her love for the artform, her experiences with cosplay, and gives some tips for those who are looking to jump into the hobby. We also discuss topics such as having a partner that's an anime fan, FMA, Super Smash, guilty pleasures, and more. Check the timestamps!

(4:16) - Interview Start
(5:44) - Album Creation
(16:17) - Moving on when your Life has been Put on Hold
(28:12) - Introduction to Anime/Cosplay
(40:22) - Choosing What to Cosplay/Tips for Aspiring Cosplayers
(49:48) - Otafest and Touring to Calgary
(54:12) - Having a Partner that's an Anime Fan
(57:38) - Fullmetal Alchemist
(64:54) - Super Smash Melee + Final Fantasy
(72:47) - Interests in Other Nerd/Geek Cirlces
(80:39) - Guilty Pleasures + Rapid Fire
(92:28) - Anime Easter Eggs in Music Videos
(94:45) - Future Projects + Interview End
(97:46) - Conclusion

Links:
Website
Music
Youtube
Band Instagram
Taylor's Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
Natalie's Book

Episodes 29 and 30 are all about Spring 2021! Listen to our grievances with Moriarty, Luigi trying to explain the plot of 86, us trying to avoid the wrath of Tokyo Revengers manga readers, Chris lamenting the identity struggles of artists, and our complete amazement of To Your Eternity.

In this episode, we discuss out general thoughts on some of the shows running this season. The shows in this part are mainly the big-hit, AOTY, Oscar-type shows and include (with time stamps):
 - Mars Red (4:45) 
 - 86 EIGHTY-SIX (14:30) 
 - Tokyo Revengers (27:16) 
 - Those Snow White Notes (35:30) 
 - Higehiro (53:30) 
 - To Your Eternity (76:56) 

*SPOILER WARNING: This episode was recorded after 3-4 episodes of each show was released so just a discretion*

Check out Episode 29 for our thoughts on the lighter, feel-good shows of the season including:
 - Iruma-kun
 - My Hero Academia
 - Koikomo
 - Osamake
 - Nagatoro-san

The next two episodes are all about Spring 2021!

In this episode, we discuss our general thoughts on some of the shows running this season. The shows in this part are mainly continuations, comedies, and romcoms, including (with time stamps):
 - Iruma-kun Season 2 (19:20)
 - MHA S5 (22:00)
 - Koikomo (25:00)
 - Osamake, (33:40)
 - Nagatoro-san (56:50)

Check out Episode 30 for our thoughts on the heavy hitters of the season including:
 - Mars Red
 - 86 EIGHTY-SIX
 - Tokyo Revengers
 - Those Snow White Notes
 - Higehiro
 - To Your Eternity 

How much weight do you put on the visual aspects of a show? To what extent do the visuals and animation affect your enjoyment of a show?

In part 1 of our Spring 2021 preview, we reveal which shows we are watching this season, which will be discussed in our next episode. This episode revolves around Gokushufudou: The Way of the Househusband, which has been one of our favourite shows of the season! The show has been marred with polarized opinions over its production choices and we tackle the questions asked above, which results in another criticism of MAL reviews. Our discussion starts at 22:00 of the episode.

Updates: 
1. Apparently reasoning for the visual style of the anime was as a means to replicate the look and feel of the manga (ie: it was a conscious, stylistic choice)
2. The show was marketed in Japan as an animated comic, not an anime.

Message from Chris: Apologies for the wacky audio. I was doing audio tests with RTX Voice and forgot to turn it off when I recorded the episode :(

This episode is all about Iruma-kun! We start off by talking about our experiences with the first season, especially when used for a watch party before talking about what Season 2 will have in store (mild but inconsequential spoilers discussed!). Chris also takes a look at ambition, one of the series' central themes.
We then did some research on the actual demons that many of the characters were based upon. What were the real Azazel, Asmodeus, Valac, and Naberius like? We share our research on how the original demons affected the names, personalities, and abilities of many of the show's characters. 

In this episode, we discuss the recent news about a second season being announced for The Devil is a Part-Timer, which segued nicely into a talk about why so many series seem to have horrible endings and finales. It also segued nicely into part 1 of our discussion on Iruma-kun, including things we love about the show and going a bit into the lore of the demonology on which many of the characters are based on. Look out for a deep dive on this show very soon!

In this episode, we talk about the pressures faced when talking about the "big" shows in anime and Luigi discusses his hopes for the remainder of Attack on Titan (SPOILER FREE). We also discuss the absolute disaster that is Redo of Healer, the issues around its content and how it could have negative lasting effects before revealing and talking about what shows we have been watching from this season. 

Shows discussed: AoT, Slime Isekai, Spider Isekai, Jobless Reincarnation (Isekai), Wonder Egg Priority, Heaven's Design Team, Tomozaki-kun

Can you trust the public with objective decision making? Is it alright to force objectivity on a very subjective field? Is it alright to pit the creations of artists against each other? Does "favorite" necessarily mean "good"?
While we're doing our preparations for our Winter 2021 preview, we decided to focus this episode on the Crunchyroll Awards, the problems with awards shows in general, as well as discussion on that age-old question: with how many shows that are out there, just how do you choose what to watch?

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