Japanimation Station Season 5 - Grand Tour! – Details, episodes & analysis

It’s the penultimate episode of our Kyoto Vacation season, and while we wait to board the plane back to America, we’ve got one last show to review: Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, which aired two seasons in 2017 and 2021. A delightfully silly and surprisingly sweet slice-of-life comedy an office worker and the extra-dimensional dragon who’s infatuated with her, the first season was directed by the great Yasuhiro Takemoto, before his tragic death in the 2019 arson attack that took the lives of so many Kyoto Animation artists. The second season, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S, was finished by the studio’s other stalwart veteran director, Tatsuya Ishihara, as the first series the studio had back on the air after the attack. It’s a great show in both incarnations, different in some notable ways based on the personalities of the two directors, but more than anything, the series attests to the artistry and humanity of Kyoto Animation, and their resilience in continuing to create in the wake of such overwhelming loss.  

Enjoy, and come back next week for the FINAL episode of the season, as we take a look back at our entire Kyoto Vacation, create a tier list of KyoAni shows, and announce Seasons 5 and 6 of Japanimation Station!  

Time Chart:

Theme Song: 0:00:00 – 0:01:30 

Intro & History: 0:01:30 – 0:44:12

Eyecatch Break: 0:44:12 – 0:44:49

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Review: 0:44:49 – 2:34:28

End Theme: 2:34:28 – 2:35:59

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content! 

https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheWeeklyStuffPodcast

Visit our website and subscribe to Japanimation Station on all podcast platforms: http://japanimationstation.com/

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcast platforms: http://www.weeklystuffpodcast.com

“re:CAPTURE” and “ice” – Original Music & Lyrics by Thomas Lack, featuring Hatsune Miku & Megurine Luka. https://www.thomaslack.com

The 7th and final part of our epic Kyoto Vacation is titled“Through Rain or Shine: The Life and Times of Violet Evergarden,” and in today’s episode we reach the end of that story with Violet Evergarden: The Movie. And what a movie it is. Here is a film that made at least one of our hosts ugly cry, and deeply affected both of us. An outstanding masterpiece of a movie on its own terms, and a tremendous conclusion to the Violet Evergarden story, director Taichi Ishidate and screenwriter Reiko Yoshida both outdo themselves here, telling a tale about guilt, death, love, and acceptance, and doing it with nearly unparalleled artistry. It is as profound a work as Kyoto Animation has ever created, and one of the best animated films we’ve had the pleasure of reviewing on this show. 

Enjoy, and come back next week for the penultimate episode of the season, where we’ll be discussing Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, the other major KyoAni series that straddles the horrific arson attack that devastated the studio. 

Time Chart:

Theme Song: 0:00:00 – 0:01:30 

Intro & History: 0:01:30 – 0:57:45

Eyecatch Break: 0:57:45 – 0:58:23

Violet Evergarden The Movie Review: 0:58:23 – 3:29:57

End Theme: 3:29:57 – 3:31:26

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content! 

https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheWeeklyStuffPodcast

Visit our website and subscribe to Japanimation Station on all podcast platforms: http://japanimationstation.com/

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcast platforms: http://www.weeklystuffpodcast.com

“re:CAPTURE” and “ice” – Original Music & Lyrics by Thomas Lack, featuring Hatsune Miku & Megurine Luka. https://www.thomaslack.com

Part 5 of our Kyoto Vacation, “Kyoto Animation’s Splendid Isolation,” comes to a close with one last adventure with the characters of Love, Chuunibyo, and Other Delusions, in their 2018 movie, Take on Me! The film finds Rikka and Yuta off on a journey across Japan as they ‘elope’ after Rikka’s big sister Toka plans to move her to Italy for her final year of high school. Many hijinks ensue, and while Sean and Jonathan are again slightly divided on how effective the storytelling is, as they were with season 2, we enjoy celebrating just what a funny, lively production the film is, and the strong ending it delivers this great group of characters. 

Enjoy, and come back in June for the premiere of Part 6 of our Kyoto Vacation, where we’ll be reviewing the film A Silent Voice before leaping into the world of Sound! Euphonium. 

Time Chart:

Theme Song: 0:00:00 – 0:01:30 

Review Part 1: 0:37:18

Eyecatch Break: 0:37:18 – 0:37:55

Review Part 2: 0:37:55 – 1:53:47

End Theme: 1:53:47 – 1:54:48 

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content! 

https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheWeeklyStuffPodcast

Visit our website and subscribe to Japanimation Station on all podcast platforms: http://japanimationstation.com/

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcast platforms: http://www.weeklystuffpodcast.com

“re:CAPTURE” and “Rolled Into One” – Original Music & Lyrics by Thomas Lack, featuring Hatsune Miku. https://www.thomaslack.com

With 2013’s Gundam Build Fighters, Gundam leaves the world of life-and-death warfare and science-fiction (mostly) behind, and instead settles in for a slice-of-life sports anime centered around the Gunpla plastic models that have long been one of the most beloved and popular parts of the franchise’s legacy. And in a wonderful surprise, it winds up being one of the franchise’s finest hours, a practically perfect 25-episode series chock full of great, vibrant characters, big laughs, awesome Gunpla designs, and truly rousing, get-on-your-feet-and-cheer caliber mobile suit duels. Whether you’re a Gundam novice or a grizzled veteran, Gundam Build Fighters has something for everyone. It’s as entertaining an anime as you’re likely to find, and maybe the most crowd-pleasing installment in the franchise’s stories history – and because of that, it’s a real treat to get to talk about here.

Enjoy, and come back in two weeks for Gundam Build Fighters Try!

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast!

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Follow Jonathan Lack on Twitter @JonathanLack

Follow Sean Chapman on Twitter @SeantheChapman

WeeklySuitGundam.Com

http://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Almost two years ago, we took a little detour from Gundam to review Neon Genesis Evangelion upon its Netflix streaming debut, and promised that we’d come back to discuss Eva again if and when the 4-film Rebuild of Evangelion project was ever finished. And with the final film in Hideaki Anno’s lifelong passion project, Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0: Thrice Upon a Time, now streaming worldwide (alongside the first three films) on Amazon Prime, we’re keeping our word and then some, with our longest Weekly Suit Gundam episode to date! We discuss all four films in the Rebuild project, diving deep into how these masterpieces fully realize the magic that was always there in Evangelion, but for us at least was held beneath the surface by frustrating and limiting creative choices in the original series. These are great, beautifully told, stunningly animated productions that give Shinji, Asuka, Rei, Misato, and everyone else the fully realized character arcs they’ve always deserved, and ends in a place that feels like Evangelion has finally found the conclusion it was always searching for. And that’s more than enough to fill a super-sized podcast.

Enjoy, and come back in two weeks for GUNDAM BUILD FIGHTERS!

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast!

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Follow Jonathan Lack on Twitter @JonathanLack

Follow Sean Chapman on Twitter @SeantheChapman

WeeklySuitGundam.Com

http://weeklystuffpodcast.com

It’s the end of an Age on today’s show as we finish reviewing Mobile Suit Gundam AGE, covering the 3rdand 4th arcs and episodes 29 through 49 of this severely underrated gem. This half of the show sees another jump to a new generation, as we join young Kio Asuno on his journey to learn the true nature of the Vegan and their world, reunite with his pirate father, and to bring his grandfather Flit back from the brink of his vengeful vendetta. It all builds to an outstanding conclusion, with a truly terrific set of final episodes that brings the series full circle in powerful fashion, and along the way we have all sorts of fun and interesting things to talk about, making for a great discussion about a Gundam series that deserves a much better reputation than it’s previously enjoyed.

Enjoy, and come back in two weeks for a detour back to the world of Neon Genesis Evangelion as we review all 4 Rebuild of Evangelion movies!

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast!

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Follow Jonathan Lack on Twitter @JonathanLack

Follow Sean Chapman on Twitter @SeantheChapman

WeeklySuitGundam.Com

http://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Continuing on to the next full-length Gundam series, we reach Mobile Suit Gundam AGE, Sunrise’s 2011 collaboration with video game giant Level-5, whose lead creative Akihiro Hino conceived of and wrote this child-friendly Gundam series that spans 3 protagonists over 3 successive generations in a century-long space conflict. AGE did poorly upon its initial airing in Japan, and has suffered a quiet and often negative reputation in years since. But we don’t think that reputation is deserved – through its first two arcs, at least, AGE is an imperfect but extremely compelling show, with a really cool central narrative conceit, great characters, and some really interesting ideas that take Gundam to places it had never been before. At the very least, it’s a show worth giving a serious shot, and in this first part, covering Arcs 1 & 2 and episodes 1 through 28, we aim to do just that.

Enjoy, and come back in two weeks for Part 2 of Mobile Suit Gundam AGE, with episodes 29 – 49!

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast!

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Follow Jonathan Lack on Twitter @JonathanLack

Follow Sean Chapman on Twitter @SeantheChapman

WeeklySuitGundam.Com

http://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Premiering worldwide on Netflix this week after its debut in Japanese theaters last month, Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway’s Flash is the first film in a planned trilogy adapting original Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino’s trio of novels from 1989-1990, following the exploits of Hathaway Noa 12 years after the events of Char’s Counterattack. And it’s a terrific start to this new film series, offering some of the best animation, music, set pieces, and writing in the history of the franchise. From Tomino’s characteristically rich writing to the complex and nuanced vocal performances to how this story fits into the larger cycle of Tomino’s original Gundam saga, Hathaway’s Flash offers so many rich avenues for discussion, making for a podcast that’s an hour longer than the film itself, and could have gone on much longer still.

Enjoy, and come back in two weeks for Part 1 of our Mobile Suit Gundam AGE review, where we’ll cover Episodes 1 – 28!

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast!

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Follow Jonathan Lack on Twitter @JonathanLack

Follow Sean Chapman on Twitter @SeantheChapman

WeeklySuitGundam.Com

http://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Two years ago today, Weekly Suit Gundam was born, and what a wild ride it’s been! Just as we did on its first anniversary, we’re using the show’s birthday to take stock of everything we’ve reviewed up to now. With a particular focus on the “Year Two” shows – namely G Saviour, 0080: War in the Pocket, 0083: Stardust Memory, The 08thMS Team, Gundam SEED, Gundam SEED Destiny, Gundam 00, and MS IGLOO – we rank the best mobile suits and best songs from the series we reviewed this year, and adjust our master rankings for those topics from last year’s anniversary show. For the main event, we each rank all 21 Gundam shows and movies we’ve reviewed these past two years, and then come together to create our complete, unified, official Weekly Suit Gundam series rankings thus far. With listener feedback, lots of reflections on the show’s second year, and a roadmap for year 3, today’s episode is a really fun trip down memory lane and a great start to the next, climactic phase of the series, as we inch closer to Gundam’s present day.

Enjoy, and come back Monday, July 5thfor our review of Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway after it’s July 1st debut on Netflix!

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast!

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Follow Jonathan Lack on Twitter @JonathanLack

Follow Sean Chapman on Twitter @SeantheChapman

WeeklySuitGundam.Com

http://weeklystuffpodcast.com

This week, we have a quick little bonus episode for you, with an excerpt from this week’s Weekly Stuff Podcast, where we talked about two major pieces of Gundam news from the past few weeks: The announcement that Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway will be debuting worldwide on Netflix very soon, on July 1st, and the reveal of a brand new Gundam SEED movie coming from the original creative team. We knew both of these items would be of interest to listeners, so we thought we’d throw this excerpt in the podcast feed for those who don’t listen to the mothership show. And just to clarify the schedule for the immediate future, our next episode of Weekly Suit Gundam will be on Thursday, June 24th, and it’ll be our 2nd Anniversary Spectacular episode, where we’ll be adding all the shows we reviewed this part year to our official ongoing rankings, and list some of our favorite songs and mobile suits and more. It’ll be a lot of fun. And then the next episode after that will be our review of the Hathaway movie, which will come out on Monday, July 5th. And after that, we’re moving on to Gundam AGE. So lots of good stuff to come – and we hope to see you there for all of it. Enjoy!

Subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast!

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Follow Jonathan Lack on Twitter @JonathanLack

Follow Sean Chapman on Twitter @SeantheChapman

WeeklySuitGundam.Com

http://weeklystuffpodcast.com