Author Archives: Jon

About Jon

Jon is a Japanese culture enthusiast, professional pervert and roleplaying fanatic who appreciates flexible gender identities. He enjoys science fiction, Gunpla, classical music and Red Stripe.

Bakacast – LOVE ME!!

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Bakacast, hasshin!

We start off this episode by debating the role of ‘liberated sexuality’ versus feminism in American comics, then we take advantage of the lull in between seasons to get a couple of extra reviews in. First we discuss the psuedo-cyberpunk film Mardock Scramble: The First Compression, then the live-action adaptation of Space Battleship Yamato. After our regular anime reviews Dusty and Glen fangirl over the finale to My Little Pony‘s first season. Finally, a listener question from somebody named Instant Milk sparks off a discussion about the merits of flat chests versus jiggly boobs.

Please email listener questions to bakacast[at]projectharuhi.net or leave them in the comments below.

Note: I originally intended to use the Madoka Rap as the OP, but its lyrics are a bit too NSFW for the podcast. Listen to it here instead.

Time Index

  • 00:00 – OP: TAKE9 by Yoko Kanno

News

Reviews et al.

  • 14:24 – Mardock Scramble: The First Compression
  • 31:27 – Ikoku Meuru no Croisee 12 (END)
  • 39:10 – Hanasaku Iroha 25
  • 46:03 – Dantalian no Shoka 11
  • 53:32 – Mawaru Penguindrum 11
  • 1:02:48 – My Little Pony 25-26 (END)
  • 1:15:03 – Space Battleship Yamato
  • 1:29:56 – Listener Questions
  • 2:06:20 – ED: Shinryaku no Susume

Bakacast – Game of Evangelions

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Y’know, as the end of each anime season rolls around, I grow a little wistful. While editing this podcast, I reflected on the many happy memories this season has brought me, mainly in the form of Bunny Drop. It’s certainly appropriate that a show so steeped in mono no aware would bring a tear to my eye at the prospect of its passing.

Anyway, on this episode of Bakacast, we bid a fond farewell to Steins;Gate and Bunny Drop, as well as a not-so-fond farewell to No. 6. Dusty tells us about his latest gaming experience, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and I shamelessly plug Game of Thrones and the Rebuild of Evangelion films. We also all have a good laugh at the total stupidity of Hot Topic’s shameful attempts at cosplay.

Please email listener questions to bakacast[at]projectharuhi.net or leave them in the comments below.

Time Index

  • 00:12 – OP: Game of Thrones Main Theme

News

What We’ve Been Doing

  • 9:00 – Deus Ex: Human Revolution
  • 12:30 – Game of Thrones
  • 15:25 – Rebuild of Evangelion

Reviews et al.

  • 18:00 – Hanasaku Iroha 24
  • 21:51 – Steins:Gate 24 (END)
  • 27:57 – Ikoku Meuru no Croisee 11
  • 30:54 – Bunny Drop 11 (END)
  • 32:55 – No. 6 11 (END)
  • 38:03 – Dantalian no Shoka 10
  • 44:19 – Mawaru Penguindrum 10
  • 49:24 – My Little Pony 23-24
  • 57:27 – Listener Questions
  • 1:18:18 – ED: Fly Me to the Moon – 2007 Mix (Evangelion 1.0 OST)

 

Bakacast – The Pompadour Always Wins

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I could start off this post with a bunch of poppycock about who appeared on the podcast and which news stories we covered and BLAH BLAH BLAH, but there’s really only one thing you care about.

Yes, this is the podcast where we review Redline.

That single fact eclipses almost everything else because Redline is an absolutely amazing work of art, a must-see film. If you have not watched this masterpiece, do so now. Otherwise, enjoy our review and discussion of it.

Also, No. 6 sucks.

  • 1:54 – Whatcha been doing?
  • 14:55 – Redline
  • 28:17 – Hanasaku Iroha 22
  • 36:35 – Steins;Gate 22
  • 48:34 – Ikoku Meiru no Croisee 8 & 9
  • 54:29 – Bunny Drop 9
  • 58:38 – No. 6 9*
  • 1:06:17 – Dantalian no Shoka 8
  • 1:10:30 – Mawaru Penguindrum 8
  • 1:16:56 – My Little Pony 19 & 20
  • 1:30:09 – Listener questions

We didn’t get enough listener questions this time, so send us more! Please email them to bakacast[at]projectharuhi.net or leave them in the comments below.

*Giggity.

How to Play Hi10P Anime

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So, a lot of fansubbers are switching over to a magical new H.264 profile called Hi10P. Basically, 10 bit color is supposed to deliver anime MKVs in smaller filesizes and with less banding. A few fansub groups have already made the switch, and many more are expected to come the fall season.

The problem is, the CCCP is using outdated technology doesn’t support Hi10P yet. The beta tryout does, but it’s glitchy as all hell. So what’s a poor otaku to do? There are several options for PC users, some better than others.

Continue reading →

Bakacast – Hurricane Fight!

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Karen wasn’t able to appear on this podcast, as she was off bravely challenging the Hurricane Lord to a battle of wits and martial strength. As a result, we delayed our Redline review by one week. It will be on the next podcast, we promise! To make up for it, we cover a couple of mecha-related news stories and give an impromptu preview of what we’re looking forward to in the fall season. And, now that I’m back, I inevitably get in an argument with Dustin about Dalian’s merits (or lack therof) as a character.

  • 2:03 – News Segment (Tomino announcement and new Eva Rebuild trailer)
  • 7:18 – Watcha Been Doing?
  • 15:03 – Hanasaku Iroha #21
  • 18:58 – Steins;Gate #21
  • 24:26 – Bunny Drop #8
  • 32:34 – No. 6 #8
  • 39:14 – Dantalian no Shoka #7
  • 46:34 – Mawaru Penguindrum #7
  • 53:10 – My Little Pony #17 & 18
  • 59:08 – Upcoming season (based on Scamp’s preview)
  • 1:10:35 – Listener questions

As always, if you would like to submit listener questions for a future episode, you can email them to bakacast[at]projectharuhi.net, @reply them to Project Haruhi’s Twitter account using the hashtag #bakacast, or leave them in the comments below.

Bakacast – STALKING STRATEGY!

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It’s the Bakacast Comeback Tour!

Any rumors of our death are grossly exaggerated. After going on hiatus last week due to most of our staff being on vacation, we’re back this week with a vengeance! Well, half a vengeance anyway, since Karen and Dustin were still unavailable. But Joris (aka Aquagaze) filled in for them, so that brings us up to a solid three-fourths of a vengeance… and I’m pretty sure the album art makes up for the rest.

1:15 – Steins;Gate 16 & 17
7:58 – Hanasku Iroha 16 & 17
13:43 – Double J 3 & 4
16:09 – Sacred Seven 3 & 4
22:26 – Ikoku Meiru no Croisee 3 & 4
30:34 – Nyanpire 3 & 4 (DROPPED)
34:54 – Bunny Drop 3 & 4
42:53 – No. 6 3 & 4
49:43 – Mawaru Penguindrum 3 & 4
58:17 – Dantalion no Shoka 1-3
1:09:51 – Listener questions

Click to see the song by John Gibson.

[spoiler]

It’s been seven hours and fifteen days (ten days but who is counting)
Since you took your podcast away
I go out every night and sleep all day
Since you took your podcast away
Since you been gone I can do whatever I want
I can see whomever I choose
I can watch my anime on a fancy tv
But nothing
I said nothing can take away these blues
`Cause nothing compares
Nothing compares to you

It’s been so lonely without you here
Like a bird without a song
Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling
Tell me baby where did I go wrong
I could load my Ipod with every podcast I see
But they’d only remind me of you
I went to the doctor n’guess what he told me
Guess what he told me
He said you should watch HOTD and Fractale too
But he’s a fool
`Cause nothing compares
Nothing compares to you

All the flowers that you planted, mama
In the back yard
All died when you went away
I know that listening to you baby was sometimes hard
But I’m willing to give it another try

Nothing compares
Nothing compares to you
Nothing compares
Nothing compares to you
Nothing compares
Nothing compares to you
[/spoiler]

Sorry I didn’t get to all the listener questions this week, but I felt the ones involving My Little Pony should be saved until Dustin and Karen returned.

If you would like to submit listener questions for a future episode, you can email them to bakacast[at]projectharuhi.net, @reply them to Project Haruhi’s Twitter account using the hashtag #bakacast, or leave them in the comments below.

Bonus Trivia: This episode of Bakacast was exactly 1:44:44 long. I’m sure that means something. Somebody call a numerologist!

Bakacast – L’Episode Francais

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Le wah! Qu’est-ce qu’on va faire sure le lit?

This episode of Bakacast is brought to you in three languages… French, English and Engrish. Since we don’t have QUITE as many new anime to review, we manage to get in a “Whatcha been doin” segment, in which Dusty waxes poetic about L.A. Noire and I mumble incoherently about Space Battleship Yamato. In our review segment we surprisingly pick up Hanasaku Iroha again, if only for mocking purposes, before covering the usual plethora of anime old and new. And at the end we even have time for a few listener questions! Did you know we each have unique reasons for disliking professional wrestling?

  • 1:48 – Whatcha been doin’
  • 9:28 – Steins;Gate 15
  • 14:24 – Hanasku Iroha 14 & 15
  • 19:07 – Double J 2
  • 22:24 – Blade 2
  • 26:03 – Ro-Kyu-Bu 2 (RE-DROPPED)
  • 28:50 – God’s Notebook 2 (THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE HAS DROPPED THIS)
  • 33:11 – Sacred Seven 2
  • 37:33 – Ikoku Meiru no Croisee 2
  • 43:32 – Nyanpire 2
  • 46:41 – Bunny Drop 2
  • 53:48 – No. 6 2
  • 59:26 – Mawaru Penguindrum 2
  • 1:04:30 – Manyuu Hikenchou 1 (DROPPED)
  • 1:11:32 – Mayo Chiki 1 (DROP-KICKED)
  • 1:15:40 – My Little Pony 9 & 10
  • 1:21:55 – Listener Questions
If you would like to submit listener questions for a future episode, you can email them to bakacast[at]projectharuhi.net, @reply them to Project Haruhi’s Twitter account using the hashtag #bakacast, or leave them in the comments below.

Chronicles of an Anime Audiophile: Those Damn FLACs

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Any excuse to post Mio fanart.

I’ve always been a bit of a videophile. That’s why I’m unable to abide the terrible video quality on Crunchyroll. However, I recently discovered my anal-retentive pickiness also extends to music. I recently became dissatisfied with the audio quality of my cheap, $10 Walmart earbuds and decided to spring for a fairly inexpensive but high-quality pair of Sennheiser around-ear headphones.

Almost immediately, I began to notice problems with my music collection. A lot of my anime soundtracks, particularly the ones with lower bitrate encoding, now sounded vaguely flat and lifeless. My iPod sounded cheap and tinny. The problem wasn’t in the headphones themselves, since high-bitrate music and videos with FLAC audio sounded absolutely amazing through them. No, the problem lay elsewhere.

Without even realizing it, I was becoming an audiophile.

Continue reading →

Review – Space Battleship Yamato

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Although I’ve never seen the original Space Battleship Yamato anime, nor it’s American incarnation Star Blazers, I’m always a sucker for a good sci-fi action flick. My particular interest in this film was piqued when I saw the trailer; it almost seemed as if the Japanese film industry was trying to make its very own big budget popcorn flick in the vein of Star Wars. As one of Japan’s premier sci-fi franchises on par with Gundam, Yamato seemed like the perfect film to receive this kind of pseudo-Hollywood treatment. However, it was a big gamble… most live-action adaptations of anime created thus far, whether by Americans or Japanese, have been a disappointment. Could Yamato break this trend?

I’m happy to report that the end result is a flawed but fun high-octane sci-fi action film. Although it suffers from all the pitfalls inherent to Hollywood-style blockbusters, it also does an excellent job of playing to its strengths. It is, in every sense of the word, a popcorn film… and a damn entertaining one at that.

In the year 2199, the Earth is under siege by an unknown race of aliens whom humans have named the Gamilas. Although humanity was successful at resisting them initially, the aliens’ technology evolves at a rate faster than humans can match. Now the Earth has been rendered uninhabitable by constant meteorite bombardment, with only a handful of survivors living underground in squalor. The United Nations of Space has refitted the old, scuttled Japanese warship Yamato into Earth’s final star cruiser, intending to evacuate as many survivors as possible. However, a message from the planet Iskandar in the Large Magellanic Cloud offers humanity aid, promising them a device that can cleanse the Earth of radiation and make it livable again. The message also contains schematics for a powerful Wave Motion Engine, which will allow the Yamato to make the journey quickly using warp. As humanity’s last hope, the Yamato sets out on a desperate journey to find Iskandar, dogged by Gamilas attacks along the way.

More after the break.

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Bakacast – The B-Team

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BEHOLD! I, the mighty Jon, have returned from my hiatus and taken command of Bakacast once again! And just in time to review all the exciting new summer season anime!

Because of the sheer number of new anime we had to review, we skipped our usual introductory segments and went straight for the sweet stuff. Next week should be a lot less hectic though, since we’ve already dropped over half these shows.

We review the new anime in roughly the same order they appear on Random Curiosity’s summer preview guide, in case you want to follow along.

  • 2:05 – Gosick #24 (END)
  • 8:48 – Steins;Gate #14
  • 13:02 – Double-J #1
  • 16:32 – Blade #1
  • 20:10 – Ro-Kyu-Bu! #1 (DROPPED HARD)
  • 22:55 – God’s Notepad #1
  • 29:34 – Uta no Prince-sama #1 (DROPPED)
  • 31:41 – Sacred Seven #1
  • 36:44 – Ikoku Meiro no Croisee #1
  • 43:40 – Kaitou Tenshi Twin Angel #1 (DROPPED)
  • 45:23 – Yuru Yuri #1 (DROPPED WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE)
  • 50:01 – Kamisama Dolls #1 (SNORE… I MEAN, DROPPED)
  • 54:33 – Nyanpire #1
  • 55:16 – Bunny Drop #1
  • 1:02:30 – No.6 #1
  • 1:07:29 – Idolmaster #1 (DROPPED)
  • 1:13:30 – Blood-C #1 (I PITY THE FOO WHO DON’T DROP THIS)
  • 1:19:15 – Mawaru Penguindrum #1
  • 1:28:07 – Morita-san wa Mukuchi #1 (DROPPED)
  • 1:28:32 – My Little Pony #7 & 8
  • 1:36:35 – Listener questions

If you would like to submit listener questions for a future episode, you can email them to bakacast[at]projectharuhi.net, @reply them to Project Haruhi’s Twitter account using the hashtag #bakacast, or leave them in the comments below.