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Who knew sci-fi McGuffins were so good at healing the mental scars caused by divorce? The Dragon Torque seems way more useful than a silly crystal skull.

In this episode of Bakacast, we express shock at Future Diary having two great episodes in a row, agree on the one true pairing for Persona 4’s Yu, have yet another discussion on the pros and cons of the -monogatari series as a whole, and mourn the loss of Nichibros’ sense of humor. And in a very special listener questions segment, Glen, Larry and I reveal which fictional females directly influenced our taste in women.

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

Time Index

• 00:07 – OP: Youthful (Chihayafuru)

Reviews et al.

• 1:51 – Chihayafuru 19
• 8:35 – Persona 4 19
• 16:17 – Future Diary 18
• 20:31 – Last Exile 17
• 28:34 – Nisemonogatari 7
• 43:54 – Mouretsu Pirates 7
• 52:19 – Daily Lives of High School Boys 6
• 1:01:34 – Noein 13 & 14
• 1:17:00 – Listener Questions
• 1:50:16 – ED: Filament (Future Diary)

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Maybe it’s just me, but an antagonist whose primary methods of villainy include goading you into eating baked goods and deliberately falling down stairs doesn’t seem particularly threatening.

In this week’s episode of Bakacast, I use my powers as Podcast God to drop Black Rock Shooter (much to Glen’s disappointment), Mouretsu Pirates gets totally awesome, High School Boys continues its sad descent into mediocrity, and we finally get fed up with Nisemonogatari’s abysmal pacing.

Also, a listener question prompts me to change the header image of Project Haruhi. You’re welcome, Mr. Cambpell.

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

Time Index

• 00:08 – OP: Paradise Lost (Ga-Rei Zero)

Reviews et al.

• 3:00 – Chihayafuru 18
• 6:33 – Persona 4 18
• 12:39 – Future Diary 17
• 20:13 – Last Exile 16
• 28:38 – Nisemonogatari 6
• 36:15 – Mouretsu Pirates 6
• 41:12 – Daily Lives of High School Boys 5
• 45:25 – Black Rock Shooter 2
• 51:02 – Noein 11 & 12
• 57:24 – Listener Questions
• 1:17:20 – ED: Braveheart (Black Rock Shooter OVA)

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Oh man, why am I such a lazy jerk? Even with my new job, it shouldn’t have taken me this long to post the new podcast. My only explanation is that I’m basically terrible.

Which means I have at least one thing in common with Black Rock Shooter.

I’ll give you a minute to recover from that sick burn that just blindsided you. Once you’ve dusted yourself off, I’ll inform you that–in addition to discussing the many and varied ways that BRS fails completely–we profess profound disappointment in the Persona 4 anime’s hesitance to follow the game’s lead with Naoto, pile even more love on Mouretsu Pirates, and make a hilarious mistake during our Last Exile review that we don’t even figure out until after the recording stops.

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

Time Index

• 00:11 – OP: Komorebi no Contract (Star Driver)

Reviews et al.

• 3:15 – Chihayafuru 17
• 7:48 – Persona 4 17
• 13:49 – Future Diary 16
• 17:16 – Last Exile 15
• 31:28 – Nisemonogatari 5
• 37:10 – Mouretsu Pirates 5
• 44:15 – Daily Lives of High School Boys 4
• 51:22 – Black Rock Shooter 1
• 47:28 – Noein 9 & 10
• 1:06:06 – Listener Questions
• 1:22:09 – ED: Naisho no Hanashi (Nisemonogatari)

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How is it possible for Nisemonogatari to hook us as hard as it has? On paper, it shouldn’t work. Yet even the most dialogue-heavy and plot-irrelevant episodes leave us begging for more. I still haven’t exactly figured out what Shaft’s secret is.

My current theory is mind control rays.

Speaking of baffling, we bring back the news segment to discuss ADV’s ill-advised license purchases, lament Symphogear’s descent into “so bad it’s boring,” and curse whatever anime gods decided it would be a good idea to bring recap episodes back in vogue.

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

Time Index

• 00:07 – OP: Dead End (Future Diary)

News

• 2:00 – ADV License Prices

Reviews et al.

• 8:54 – Chihayafuru 16
• 12:19 – Persona 4 16
• 18:26 – Future Diary 15
• 23:05 – Last Exile 14
• 31:16 – Senhime Zesshou Symphogear 4 (PROBABLY DROPPED)
• 32:47 – Nisemonogatari 4
• 38:04 – Mouretsu Pirates 4
• 42:49 – Daily Lives of High School Boys 3
• 46:18 – Noein 7 & 8
• 55:42 – Listener Questions
• 1:21:01 – ED: Rock Over Japan (Mawaru Penguindrum)

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Daily Lives of High School Boys is really good, you guys.

Just so good.

In fact, it and Persona 4 alone made this a good week for comedy, and more than made up for the shows that stumbled (or flat-out sucked). We end up pruning our list a little bit more, I trip over myself trying to explain why Senjougahara is sometimes not a fun character to watch, and we end the listener questions with an anti-climax by talking about how funny a picture I found on Twitter is.

Yes, we realize this isn’t a vidcast. Sometimes we just don’t care.

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

Time Index

• 00:09 – OP: Futakotome (Nisemonogatari)

Reviews et al.

• 2:53 – Chihayafuru 15
• 7:16 – Persona 4 15
• 14:06 – Future Diary 14
• 22:29 – Last Exile 13
• 32:07 – Senhime Zesshou Symphogear 3
• 37:52 – Nisemonogatari 3
• 45:48 – Mouretsu Pirates 3
• 51:00 – Rinne no Lagrange 2 (DROPPED)
• 55:51 – Another 2 (DROPPED)
• 59:54 – Daily Lives of High School Boys 2
• 1:04:04 – Noein 5 & 6
• 1:14:42 – Listener Questions
• 1:32:40 – ED: Sugar Sweet Nightmare (Bakemonogatari)

P.S. I’m on a another podcast now! This one is all about video games and–probably because it was our first episode–is also over two hours long. Thank God I wasn’t the one editing it. Be warned that there is R-rated language used.

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Great Scott! That was a lot of shows to watch! It’s a good thing some of them really sucked, or we’d be in for an incredibly busy season. Unfortunately, Karen won’t be with us to mock the shows that fail. It turns out that watching over a dozen shows while keeping up with her actual adult life can be kind of difficult.

Since we had so many shows to talk about, we skipped the Watcha Been Doing and news segments; but don’t worry, the sacrifice is more than made up for during the question segment, where Glen makes what is arguably the best pun we’ve ever heard on this podcast.

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

Time Index

• 00:03 – OP: Key Plus Words (Persona 4: The Animation)

Reviews et al.

• 2:29 – Chihayafuru 14
• 5:10 – Persona 4 14
• 7:51 – Future Diary 13
• 13:08 – Last Exile 12
• 19:11 – Senhime Zesshou Symphogear 2
• 24:57 – Nisemonogatari 2
• 33:47 – Mouretsu Pirates 2
• 39:27 – Brave 10 1 (DROPPED)
• 43:31 – Aquarion EVOL 1 & 2 (DROPPED)
• 47:47 – Ano Natsu 1 (DROPPED)
• 53:33 – Another 1
• 57:43 – Daily Lives of High School Boys 1
• 1:02:21 – Thermae Romae 1 & 2
• 1:05:13 – Noein 3 & 4
• 1:14:06 – Listener Questions
• 1:41:29 – ED: Wani to Shampoo (Double-J)

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It’s the first episode of the winter season, and Karen from the Otakusphere is back to help us usher in the new shows. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, unfortunately. Moretsu Pirates and Nisemonogatari live up to expectations, and Symphogear is at least terrible enough to be hilarious; but Rinne no Lagrange is just boring and Kill Me Baby is…well…just see the Bakacast title.

Also, we start our retro review of Noein and continue to discuss Persona 4 and Chihayafuru.

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

Time Index

• 00:06 – OP: Trans Am Raiser (Gundam 00 OST Vol. 4)

News

• 2:34 – Bandai ceases NA DVD/Blu-Ray distribution

Reviews et al.

• 9:44 – Chihayafuru 13
• 14:32 – Persona 4 13
• 22:30 – Kill Me Baby 1 (DROPPED)
• 27:22 – Senhime Zesshou Symphogear
• 32:42 – Nisemonogatari 1
• 41:39 – Mouretsu Pirates 1
• 49:26 – Rinne no Lagrange 1
• 56:44 – Noein 1 & 2
• 1:06:44 – Listener Questions
• 1:27:54 – ED: 00 Gundam (Gundam 00 OST Vol. 3)