Podcast

Click image for full-size (Artist: 古都はいぢ＠スパヒロDC29)

Another anime season is nearly in the history books – which means it’s a perfect time for the Random Curiosity writers to get together again and do what we do best: discuss our favorite shows of the season, talk about what we’re looking forward to watching this fall, all while making fun of everyone and everything. No topic is off-limits, not even our own fellow writers! This podcast was also recorded in the wee early hours of the morning (8am) so it’s a more freeform affair this time around, but we’ll hope you enjoy it nonetheless. And as always, we love to hear any of your questions and suggestions in the comments. Yorushiku onegaishimasu!

  Participating Writers
  Time Index and Transcript
  • 00:00 – 00:22 – RandomC’s Theme Song (composed by Moomba, check out the full version at music.ei-n.com)
  • 00:23 – 06:27 – Introductions
  • 06:28 – 12:44 – TARI TARI
  • 12:45 – 20:52 – Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate
  • 20:53 – 24:06 – “Smart” shows
  • 24:07 – 28:44 – Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon
  • 28:45 – 32:18 – Kuroko no Basuke
  • 32:19 – 38:59 – Binbougami Ga!
  • 39:00 – 39:44 – Intermission Song — 「Make My Day!」 by Piko (Binbougami Ga! OP)
  • 39:45 – 45:59 – Assorted favorites of summer
  • 46:00 – 51:22 – Fall shows we’re looking forward to
  • 51:23 – 52:27 – Why we might not cover certain shows
  • 52:28 – 54:51 – Shout outs and conclusion
  • 54:52 – 65:07 – Outro and Bloopers — 「Zero」 by Nakanishi Tetsukazu (Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War OST)

Transcript – Many thanks to Zanibas, Xumbra, and four loyal IRC regulars who graciously donated their time and effort to transcribe our podcasts: Isabel, Jif, LightnDark, and Reverry.

Download (txt file)

  Listen to the Episode
Summer 2012 Retrospective Podcast | Duration: 65:07 – 89 kbps VBR [flv:rc_podcast_05.mp3 350 0] Download 154 kbps VBR version (72 MB)

 

55 Comments

  1. I-it’s not like I wanted to help out or anything like that!..D-don’t get the wrong idea!

    On a side note, it was an interesting and fun experience (ok maybe not when I was listening to the same line 10-20 times trying to make out what was being said).

    I came to realize that a huge amount of effort is being put in to make the podcast a reality. I do have the raw footage (which I’m willing to let go for $5..j/k), the edited v1 (which I worked on) and then the final edited v2? which further refined the podcast.

    So essentially there is a whole lot going on behind the scenes, the transcript itself also went through multiple QCs (and raging because certain lines are hard to make out). B-be grateful guys!!! Hopefully the transcript will get more views 😛

    PS: I hate you Stilts. Why you call Tomatsu Haruka -> tomato???
    PSS: The blooper portion on the disconnects = THIS IS HILARIOUS, could it be divine intervention? /seewhatididthere

    LightnDark
    Reply

    2. You’ve never heard of that nickname? And c’mon, I like her! I only use nicknames for people I like. Or am around a lot. Or who I think up a really good one for. Or who will be annoyed if I call them one. Or when I’m bored.

      …okay, so bad example, but I do like ‘er! :3

      Stilts
      Reply

    4. It was certainly an interesting experience to transcribe the podcast.
      Would have been much better if I got to hear it live *sniff* *sniff*. Zani no baka…

      Did managed to see LightnDark go all tsundere for Stilts so I did enjoyed the whole transcribing process.

      Yorushiku Onegaishimasu <- Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu ne?

      Reverry
      Reply

  3. I’ll have to agree with Verdant and Mochi on Tari Tari. It was good and entertaining, but it definitely wasn’t world-shatteringly amazing. It was good but it’s not going to be in my top favorite anime series. Just something good to watch to pass the time.

    This podcast needed more Hyouka (and maybe Jinrui) love. 🙁 Haven’t checked out Space Bros, but I’m leaning toward Hyouka as the smartest show. Although Jinrui has interjected a lot of social commentary in there and it’s pretty intelligent in how it pokes fun at certain things, it’s just my preference for Hyouka’s superbly subtle character development. The mysteries aren’t too great themselves, in terms of what they were trying to solve, but the way Hyouka has weaved the mystery solving with advancing the characters is great, and it’s smartly written in that Hyouka’s able to walk the viewers along with Houtaro in an engaging way (more of a credit to KyoAni, but the dialogue itself is pretty easy to follow as well) as he explains his deductions.

    I’m going to have to check out Space Bros now. It was on my backlog, though.

    The early morning podcast was definitely entertaining, but I highly wouldn’t recommend it to you guys anymore lol. Being half-asleep transcribing to half-asleep people made it pretty interesting though.

    Isabel
    Reply

    1. I’ve been meaning to watch Tari Tari but looking at The reaction of the Bloggers i think i’m gonna hold off on doing that for a while (it doesn’t help that P.A. Works drama are never right up my alley, for instance, i didn’t like True Tears….)

      Yeah, this podcast needs more Jinrui love (probably one of the most intelligent anime i’ve ever seen in quite a while, looking forward to seeing this getting “The surprise of the year” award in the best anime of 2012 report)…if it had a shortcoming, probably it’s the fact that the finale didn’t really feel like a finale…but overall, it was still awesome…

      Hyouka features the best animation quality out of all series this season (yes, i’m including Fate/Zero in that regard, the blooming sakura scene at the end was so beautiful..)

      Watch Space Bros, bro..u’re missing out…

      Best anime of Summer :
      Hyouka
      Kuroko no Basuke
      Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita
      Kokoro Connect

      My favorite anime series of the year :
      1.Fate/Zero
      2.Sakamichi no Apollon
      3.Hyouka
      4.Kuroko no Basuke
      5.Tasogare Otome x Amnesia
      6.Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita
      7.Nisemonogatari
      8.Kokoro Connect
      9.Nichibros
      10.Jormungand

      kingofconquerors
      Reply

      1. For me Nisemonogatari should be top 5. I must agree with your list so far, but Nise should be after Hyouka or before. Whether the series may applied to everyone tastes or not or many may not be fond of ‘Seinfeld’ comedy, it was a very nice series with gorgeous animations. I found the series immensely entertaining base on their conversations much like I enjoy the Fate/Zero series, especially that episode where the 3 kings wine discussing a great deal of what it means to be a king.

        Wait, Binbougami ga! is on the Podcast but yet no one is covering it in this site?
        Accel World ended, at least first season, and no one said two shits about it even though it was massively cover?
        Natsuyuki Rendezvous also ended and it’s also not on the Podcast even though it was cover. Just what the Hell is going on? @__@

        But Hyouka not being cover at all takes the cake especially considering that it has in fact ended. Doesn’t help matters that the blogger appears to have clock out right after episode 19. Like seriously? :[ The worst thing that could happen, and I somewhat expect it, is one HUGE blog entry putting them all together in a quick unflattering fashion. I think the best reviews happen after the episode is viewed, in this case it may be nothing but flashbacks of recollective memory of a post that it won’t have that much of an affect like it should have all because they have been view almost a month ago. -SIGHS- Either way I’d still look forward to it whenever if ever.

        solarasreign
        Reply

      2. In retrospect, I think I should’ve probably not commented on the lack of notable Hyouka mention (I was slightly teasing…). I actually went back and realized that Hyouka’s been talked about a lot in previous podcasts, so there’s no sense in having it hog all the attention here. Unlike a lot of the other shows that were not as popular here or just weren’t covered here at all, and they deserve the airtime (?) on the podcast more (esp. Binbougami, since I know a lot of people really wanted to see that covered). I probably really wanted to hear a discussion about Jinrui more than anything else, but since Enzo was busy with his move, I can understand that too. Besides, the writers are doing this for fun, so who’s to say what they should and shouldn’t talk about? 🙂

        I didn’t mean to incite the flames of angry Hyouka fans waiting for the final Hyouka post. o.o I’m sure the post will come eventually, and it’ll be worth the wait. It just means that my prospective comment on Hyouka will be longer, since I’ll have more time to reflect on it lol.

        Anyways, podcast was great! Keep up the good work.

        Isabel
        Reply

      3. @Solarasreign i didn’t pick Nisemonogatari in the top 5 because i thought its ending wasn’t as good as the ones carried by the series above it…i mean, it was really underwhelming, the final battle wasn’t as engaging as i thought it would n’ though the philosophical talk slipped in between Araragi and that exorcist girl was engaging and thought-provoking enough to keep me watching it with rapt attention, i thought the overall ending just wasn’t satisfying enough to make the series end on a high note..which is a shame since i thought the karen arc was really well-done….

        and yeah, where are the reviews of the last 3 episodes of Hyouka…it’s a shame that this series feels neglected because it’s probably one of the best series around….

        by the way, in response to the assorted favourites of the summer

        Best moment:
        ‘The Kiss” in eps.12 (Campione!)
        ‘Kise vs Aomine’ (Kuroko no Basuke)
        “The Ending of arc 1” (Kokoro Connect)

        Best animation:
        Hyouka
        Kuroko no Basuke
        Kokoro Connect

        Best Character
        Chitanda ERU (Hyouka)
        Watashi (Jinrui wa suitai wa Shimashita)

        Best OP :
        Natsuyuki Rendezvous – See You

        Best ED :
        Kuroko no Basuke – ED 2 (Catal Rhythm by OLDCODEX)

        KingofConquerors
        Reply

      4. I’m really really sorry all, I have had the post for episode 20 of Hyouka written for a while now and I’m currently working on episode 21′s essay, but I was thinking I’d release all three at once so it won’t take up too much space on the front page with all these finales and intros. I should be able to get the post out by the end of this week though.

        I promise that it’s not quick and unflattering, and I hope that none of my posts ever come off that way. I’ve put a lot of time and though into each post, and I write them after watching an episode sometimes as many as 3 times so it won’t be based on flashbacks from memory either. Anyway, my sincere apologies for being so late, and I’m happy to hear that many of you still looking forward to it despite its tardiness.

        verdant
        Reply

  4. For the smartest anime, I’d say Hyouka and Jinrui. Hyouka has excellent writing, especially in the character development, while Jinrui put different theme (from mangaka to civilization) and satirize it awesomely…come to think about it, why so little mention about Jinrui?

    Anyway, very nice podcast 🙂

    Kevin Yamagata
    Reply

    1. come to think about it, why so little mention about Jinrui?

      I think I was the only person on RC regularly following it, except Stereoman. It didn’t even make the cut for the mid-season podcast and I was actually on that one!

      Sorry for missing out on this, BTW. With the move coming up this week I just haven’t had a minute to spare.

      Guardian Enzo
      Reply

  7. If Hyouka is what passes for “smart” anime these days then the concept itself is in a LOT of trouble. Then again when it comes to watching TV anime I don’t typically think, “Oh boy I’m really going to be mentally taxed here”. Psychologically and maybe emotionally, but very very rarely mentally. Last time I could say I was mentally stimulated watching an anime was watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Patlabor 2: The Movie comes to mind as well, neither of which were TV shows of course.

    Sadly there was a time during the late 90’s/early 2000’s where there were a lot of what could be said to be challenging TV anime that loved to challenge the viewers perception of events and make social commentary at the same time, but that of course didn’t end up lasting.

    Kaioshin Sama
    Reply

    1. It all depends on what your definition of “smart” is. If, as you said, it should be psychologically and mentally stimulating (challenging, even), then yes, I’ll agree with you that Hyouka is just not “smart” in that sense.

      The reasons why I thought Hyouka was “smart” all ties into its writing and execution, not really in how it makes you feel and/or think. Although it has made me ponder about certain walks of life and different ways of perceiving people, but everyone can take something different from the same show.

      Isabel
      Reply

      1. “The detective story is a kind of intellectual game.” – S.S. Van Dine

        It was smart. Hyouka’s intellectual challenge were in the mysteries.

        It was possible to deduct that Irisu had a strong love for mysteries on the first episode of the movie arc. I made a big theory that arrived to that conclusion, with some extra deductions that were wrong.

        Then, anyone could have made their own thinking on what was behind the school announcement at the start of EP19. There are enough early clues (the episode’s name was one of them) to figure the mystery out very early.

        11.5’s mystery was easy as hell as soon as it pops out if you pay attention too.

        xRichard
        Reply

  8. Ctrl+F, “Hyouka” in the transcription. 2 hits.

    I know that it’s not ok to complain about something that we all get for free and you guys put so many ours into, but I’m saddened by how Hyouka failed to have a proper coverage here, same as Horizon S1 in the past.

    xRichard
    Reply

    1. Than ya shouldn’t 😛 In all seriousness, it’s not that we’re disrespecting shows by not talking about them, it’s just that we either didn’t feel like talking about them at the time or didn’t really have anything to say. Besides, we’ve talked about Hyouka at some length in previous podcasts, which is more than many other shows have gotten.

      Related: I also haven’t finished marathoning the end of Hyouka :X Doing that now!

      Stilts
      Reply

  10. I guess it’s unavoidable, but it’s kind of annoying that the fujoshi angle is brought up so much in regards to Kuroko’s Basketball. They realized they could get that base with the anime and so they started doing stuff like the endcards but the show and manga itself don’t have that as a part of it so the fact that it’s chained down by this obnoxious base is just frustrating stuff. A lot of different kinds of people greatly enjoy it and it just upsets me that such a good manga is probably going to be forever linked with this now. The anime adaptation was fantastic but I don’t think it did the manga many favors in regards to its perception from people who haven’t(And might NOT watch it, since they think it’s for fujoshi, despite it just being a shonen thing based on basketball)watched it. I suppose I do have to admit that there’s no way it’d have sold so well without the fujoshi, though…

    Altritter
    Reply

    1. T____T Finally, someone who shares my views! I don’t mind the association honestly, but it does kind of annoy me when people simply dismiss it as “that fujoshi show”. Yes, there are elements which can be taken as BL, but that’s with any and every show (hi, Code Geass, hi every Gundam show ever, hi Bleach, hi Naruto, lol Kuroshitsuji), not just this one.

      But honestly, its popularity isn’t based off the BL market alone – the joke about the fandom just makes it seem like the fanbase is solely comprised of fujoshi. That’s like saying the entire Naruto fandom is made up of people who just want to see Sasuke and Naruto get it on. I’ve said it so many times so I’m not gonna reiterate here, but like I attempted to say in the podcast (and failed. MANY TIMES.), the fujoshi represent just one of the many audience Kuroko no Basuke can cater to.

      BakaMochi
      Reply

      1. Yeah, the fanbase truly is much larger than the fujoshi- which is part of why it can get frustrating when people unfamiliar with it act like they’re all of it when they aren’t. I actually recall a poll a while back with Japanese fans that was a 60/40 female/male split (It does run in the nation’s biggest shonen magazine after all) and all kinds of people enjoy the manga and anime in the western anime fandom too. And it’s a real shame you had such connection issues in the podcast, haha. I really wanted you to be able to finish what you were trying to say!

        Altritter
        Reply

      2. Yeah, it’s always a pain when people associate this brilliantly made adaptation with Fujoshi…i mean, is it because it’s got a lot of men? (i mean, Slam Dunk and Dear boys were also filled with men, i’m not hearing a lot of fujoshi shouts about them [at least not to my knowledge]), or is it because the mains had different hair colors?….

        no, i mean, really people are missing out…this is for me, the best sports anime i’ve ever seen (and i’ve seen a lot of them, Slam Dunk, Dear Boys, Giant Killing, u name it…)so yeah, i just feel it’s inequitable that all the quality success of this anime is marred by Fujoshi sentiments…

        kingofconquerors
        Reply

  11. No love for Kyoukai Senjou :/

    Best anime this year so far (in my opinion…working on watching some not mentioned so it may change)

    1. Fate/Zero: ending was predictable, but the path towards that ending made me cry manly tears (and bumped up my disgust for the bad guys who lives)
    2. Hyouka: Moe + mystery plot + slice of life that actually leaves you thinking.
    3. Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon II: a bit confusing for people who don’t want to look into gaps (props to Stilts and the Infodump site for filling those gaps), but worth the watch as the music, execution of battles, politics and drama was great all around. (And Musashi keeps surprising me time and time again…Im looking at you Tenzo, Neshinbara, Adele, Musashi the automaton, Naomasa, and Futayo). This definitely needs a season 3 (just like To Aru)
    4. Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka of the dead, Dog Days’, and Upotte!: these 3 series are somewhat of a niche and was very entertaining. Kore wa Zombie had a more serious plot embedded in the comedy (which makes me look forward to its next season if it will happen) which kept the run fresh (although blatant fanservice could get a bit excessive). Dog Days’ threw a wrench by making it a 3 war battle and still gave a bit of everything hammy. Upotte! Was a show out on left field, but was very educational (if your a gun fan) and hilarious with the metaphors of these girls being guns XD

    More to add after I finish other series on my list.

    Guilty Crown (last fall, yes but still)
    Tari Tari
    Sword Art Online
    Muv Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse
    Kokoro Connect (already way up on my rank but as it is still unfinished, I will hold back on ranking)
    Eureka Seven AO
    Accel World

    Arashi Yamato
    Reply

  12. Some of the series I quite liked in the summer include:

    Jinrui
    Binbougami ga (a surprise for me)
    Hyouka (more specificly Kanya-fest arc)
    KoiChoco (a surprise for me as well)
    Kyoukaisen
    Muv-Luv
    SAO

    I’m also one of the people who really wants to read the KoiChoco VN, since 1 cour simply does not do that series justice.

    I was somewhat disappointed with the direction of Boku H, and dropped it halfway through. I read the manga for it, and it was pretty decent, with both main leads being pretty likeable. In the anime, however, I didn’t sympathize at all with the MCs, and the heavy fanservice / borderline hentai direction of the anime really put me off.

    On the other had, I thought Binbougami / Oda Nobuna would be relying purely on fan-service (the distasteful kind), but both turned out to be surprisingly good.

    Kentaiyoshimi
    Reply

    1. Binbougami ga was a surprise for me too. I watched the first episode to see what it was about but it ended up being hilarious that I kept on watching it. Each episode prove to be funnier then the first and it kept the humor going throughout. I can understand why it was drop or never cover in the first place, it doesn’t have a super powerful story line and it’s mostly parody and goofy above all. But it’s definitely worth a watch.

      KoiChoco was one that I started but I never got hook on it after the first episodes. I found it hard to get into since I rarely see anyone speak of it nor give me great reviews of it. D:

      solarasreign
      Reply

    1. We didn’t really go topic-by-topic as much as we normally do. That said, if you were looking for more talk on Kyoukaisen, it’s a good thing we didn’t…it wouldn’t have gotten talked about if it hadn’t just been brought up, lol. It’s sort of a hard show to talk about off the cuff, and only a few of us were brave enough to watch it (<3 mooms and zephy!).

      That said, you’re completely right (and I mention this in a few posts, specifically my Season 1 Final Impressions and the Season 2 Episode 13 one I just posted)…one of the reasons I love Kyoukaisen so much is that it has dedicated couples, and a lot of them. A harem is good fun, but it’s nice seeing the guy get the girl (and vice versa) without there being 4+ guys and/or girls who lost. Not everyone has a love interest, but if they do and they fight for them and they have a bit of luck, they can get their happily ever after…just as it should be.

      Stilts
      Reply

  16. To be honest , none of the anime from last season impress me. There are quite a few of decent one that are fun to watch like jinrui , hyouka , Rinne and Natsuyuki . But none of them really leave a big impression to me . Most probably forget about them half a year later.

    Walaoa
    Reply

  18. @verdant I don’t think your posts ever come off as unflattering but very well organize. They always go above and beyond. If anything I was extremely excited that you got to cover Hyouka. Personally, fan-girling aside, you are one of the best authors around for your deep analysis. At least to me, and I think many can agree with that. Hyouka has that special ability to make me come back for more and their immense attention detail that I always know that you will be there to cover it up with that same premise. It was a bit upsetting to see the weeks go by and no word of the latest episodes, made worst that they were the final ones. Can’t imagine my excitement when I read that you are still planning to cover it, I was actually worried that you’d drop it. But I’m happy to know that you do write your reviews after watching any episode and not wait for the last minute before posting it online, that means the impact that Hyouka delivers will be there regardless if it’s posted or not. And when Hyouka leaves a great impact, you always convey that in your reviews and that makes it really exciting for me to come online just to read them. I’m looking forward to your post Verdant!

    solarasreign
    Reply

  21. Forgot to mention things about Joshiraku. While there are lots of puns and wordplays (even until recently translated episode 10), I feel there are more universal, or even Western-oriented references that come out recently,
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Personally, I’d put Joshiraku ahead of Binbougami ga! for this season.

    Kevin Yamagata
    Reply

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