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Show #064Direct Download:

Music: Conan the Barbarian theme by Basil Poledouris, Berserk music "Forces (God-Hand Remix)".

• Vertical has published the first 5 novels of the Guin Saga, the 120+ volume fantasy series that inspired Berserk and other Japanese fantasy in a Tolkien-esque way (that is to say, Kaoru Kurimoto inspired Japanese fantasy as much as Tolkien inspired the genre in the West, but Guin Saga is not in itself Tolkien-esque).
• 3-4 Guin Saga volumes come out every year in Japan
• The author also publishes a few other books, cleans the house, and is a regular on a quiz show (Specifically Hinto de Pinto). And she’s a literary critic. And she’s a composer. And she composed a musical based on the Guin Saga that has been performed in Tokyo.
• Kurimoto-san married the editor of the sci-fi magazine that first published Guin Saga.
• Noah vocab: Phatic. "A Phatic Experience."
• Guin Saga is the "Mother of Light Novels," along with the Vampire Hunter D novels.

• What is a light novel anyway?
  • Short and Fast read
  • Has illustrations
  • Usually "genre" but not always
  • There’s often a psychic
  • "Feats of the imagination"

• Guin Saga is soon to be an anime series from Aniplex
• Guin Saga is translated by Harvard graduate and fantasy fan Alexander O. Smith (who probably edits his wikipedia page about himself retracted, see below).
• We’re all glad about the Viz Big editions of Vagabond.
• Yoshitaka Amano got famous in part for his Guin Saga covers!
• Noah and I recommend King Naresuan 1 & 2 (but mostly 2). We’re looking forward to part 3.
• Finally at about one hour and 17 minutes Dungeons and Dragons comes up. That’s one hour and 15 minutes longer than it usually takes for Noah to start talking D&D!
• Is the leopard headed fighter in Tekken a Guin reference? Or a Tiger Mask reference?
  • UPDATE: Since Guin was first published in 1979, it post-dates Tiger Mask by 11 years. HOWEVER, as it turns out, before Tiger Mask was a Japanese pro-wrestler, it was actually a MANGA! Who knew???

Show #063 Explicit! Direct Download:

Music: JAM Project singing the Soul Taker Theme, Cha-La Head Cha La, and Wesley Willis’s “I Wupped Batman’s Ass” as well as “Stabbing Westward”

Featuring:

Mike Toole, of Anime News Network
Daryl Surat and Gerald Rathkolb of Anime World Order
David Riley of Dave and Joel’s Fast Karate for the Gentleman
Mike Dent of R5 Central (all of the above are Otaku USA writers as well)
Tyler is the Rangercast
James the Angry Otaku of the Ah!Pon vidcast

Links and cleaned-up show notes coming soon!

Wherein we discuss who the Kano sisters are, and what they were doing at Otakon.
We review the JAM Project concert.
Note to first time concert goers:
– Don’t wear the band’s T-shirt to their concert, you will be “that guy.”
– If the band leaves after their “final number” and the house lights don’t turn on, there’s going to be an encore. Don’t leave!!
– Dave Riley never stops talking!
– Yoshiki Fukuyama’s (Fukuyama was the time traveling cowboy with Sam Hagar’s hair) role models:
1. Gegege No Kitaro
2. Japanese author Osamu Dazai
3. Basaru Nekki
Masaaki Endoh – A member of Poison or Foghat who traveled through time, and became Japanese in the process.

Most violent songs ever created:
– Cha La, Head Cha La
– Violence of the Flame

Gerald points out that we’re mostly Irish.

Dave may have killed Ed Chavez last December.

Birth is worth “exactly $5”. Not plus shipping, just $5 over the counter.

Venus vs. Virus is not Innocent Venus

Chris Oarr might be Dave’s adopted father.

Kigurumi make a showing at Otakon this year

Mike Dent cosplaying as Wesley Willis?

Aren’t you jealous of my Satoshi Kon sketch!?

Tyler is sadly too young to remember the deceased Wesley Willis, known for his song “I Wupped Batman’s Ass”

Noah’s best thing about Otakon: The Akira Baby

Gerald’s favorite: Kappei Yamaguchi’s hair

My Fav: The Anime is Serious Business panel

Mike Toole has seen the Pyongyang animation: Cordo Maltese, there’s a big budget movie Corto Maltese

A three ring binder of badly drawn penises was outselling us in Artist’s Alley (get photo from Gerald)

Mike Dent reveals the last line of his Greatest Movie Ever fanfic.

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