Bakacast #253 – Return of the Mana Dolphins

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Is this what sex is like?

This week on Bakacast, I actually remember to record it. So that’s helpful. In anime news, though, Larry gets back on board with JoJo’s, Aaron and I attempt to puzzle out exactly how stupid Shirou is, Sidonia really gets its money’s worth out of that squeaky-toy sound effect, and Kick Heart delights us. Well, most of us.

Oh, and we go through the shows we have to look forward to in the summer season. The verdict? A big ol’ shrug of our shoulders. Seriously, outside of, like, two shows, we have no idea how solid next season’s gonna be.

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

Time Index

  • 01:09 – JoJo: Stardust Crusaders 46
  • 05:16 – Seraph of the End 10
  • 09:20 – Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works 22
  • 16:16 – Blood Blockade Battlefront 10
  • 21:35 – The Heroic Legend of Arslan 10
  • 28:13 – Ore Monogatari 10
  • 34:19 – Punch Line 9
  • 36:46 – Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches 9
  • 41:05 – Knights of Sidonia S2 9
  • 46:21 – Sailor Moon 23
  • 48:35 – Kick Heart
  • 54:42 – Listener questions
  • 1:14:11 – Summer 2015 Preview
  • 1:58:45 – Excerpt from “Brothers in Arms” (Tom Holkenborg | Mad Max: Fury Road)

Bakacast #252 – The Lost Episode

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Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. I went to hit the “record” button, and I realize an hour and a half later that it did not, in fact, record anything. I was pretty frustrated, to put it mildly. But hey, silver lining! This little accident forced me to actually write something for a change instead of just hitting a button and spewing mouth-thoughts into a microphone. Though if I’m gonna be honest, my writing probably won’t be any better. Sorry!

JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure #45
Lord Dio doesn’t need to kill you right now, even though he totally can. Because Lord Dio knows success isn’t just about killing. It’s about crushing your enemies, seeing them driven before you, and hearing the lamentations of their women and Speedwagon-equivalents. You can’t just kill Jotaro. You’ve gotta destroy every last bit of hope that exists in him first. Also: you’ve gotta drive a taxi down sidewalk, GTA-style. Apparently some people were mad that the anime didn’t actually show people being run over and crushed by car tires? That seems like a weird thing to get mad about, but then I never came to JoJo’s for the gore.

I came to JoJo’s because Dio is fabulous.

VERDICT: 5 ZA WARUDO’s out of 5

Seraph of the End #9
I’m gonna be honest. Whenever Larry and Ben start talking about this show, I zone out. So I have no recollection of anything they said about it. Larry reads all the dumb stuff I put up here, though, so if he wants to edit in his opinions then he is more than welcome to do so.

Fate/Stay Night #21
Oh, thank God, it’s finally over. I mean, it still took way longer than necessary, leaving only a few minutes of the episode that weren’t devoted to Archer and Shirou engaging in one of the dumbest conflicts I’ve ever seen in a piece of entertainment media, but I take what I can get. And what I got was Shinji becoming a giant Akira-esque flesh monster. You hurt me real bad, F/SN, but I guess I can learn to love you again.

Now let’s see how ridiculous you make the upcoming sex scene.

VERDICT: 2 Shirou tautologies out of 5

Blood Blockade Battlefront #9
This show is perfect, and now it also has a cool fishman. I think I’m getting the vapours.

VERDICT: 5 Hellboys out of 5

The Heroic Legend of Arslan #9
Maybe it’s just because Arslan fares very poorly in comparison to Legend of the Galactic Heroes, but it kinda seems like it’s not that good? Arslan himself is cool, and most of his followers (with the obvious exception of the bard whose name I cannot be bothered to remember) are entertaining, too. The archer-priestess’ clothing design is a bit silly, but at least no one’s objectifying her (other than, again, the bard). But man, the evil priest is so ludicrous that it’s impossible to take him seriously as a threat. I wouldn’t even consider him a character. He’s just a cardboard box that someone wrote the word “evil” on with a Sharpie. The question the wider conflict brings up isn’t, “How will these two cultures be changed by this violent collision with each other?” Instead, it’s, “How long will it take before Arslan murders every one of these idiots?” And that question just isn’t very interesting to me.

VERDICT: 2 twirling mustaches out of 5

Ore Monogatari #9
I didn’t watch it, but I’m guessing every character blushes, like, eighty times.

Punch Line #8
Exposition exposition exposition, exposition.

Exposition.

Panties.

Exposition? Exposition!

I can’t remember anything they actually talked about. I seem to remember some pretty okay jokes, though? Also, Yuta totally breaks that dude’s limbs against a tree, and that’s hardcore.

VERDICT: 3 pet bears out of 5

Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches #8
Well, I guess this show had to have a bad episode eventually. We’re clearly supposed to empathize with the three students who got framed, but we have no idea what they were framed for or why it seems to be such a big deal. I mean, Yamada’s gang doesn’t seem very popular in school, and they’re not being assholes about it. Maybe if they had spent more time characterizing the people we’re supposed to feel sad for and less time trying to make us cry over blue-twintail-girl’s not-very-tragic backstory, it might have worked somewhat.

But they didn’t do that, so it was mostly an episode about how a four people are huge jerks to Yamada’s friends for very tenuous reasons.

VERDICT: 2 utility closets out of 5

Knights of Sidonia #8
Is there a show airing this season that has worse slice-of-life segments than Sidonia?

Oh, wait, Vivid exists. Never mind.

Still, whenever things get peaceful in Sidonia, the show seems to fall back on one of four things: 1) Izana getting mad at Tanikaze for being the biggest idiot who ever lived; 2) naked ladies; 3) Tsumugi being hella moe; or 4) actual plot development (this one is rare). I am not a fan.

The only good thing I’ll say about Tanikaze’s stupidity in this episode is that it gave us a scene where Izana’s grandmother demands that Tanikaze bone Izana or she will decapitate him with a bomb. Like a XXX parody of the movie “Speed.” That’s set in space. And has placenta monsters.

2 fear-induced boners out of 5

Bakacast #251 – Wet and Ready

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The Little Caesars of sexual innuendo.

I don’t know why I’m watching anything other than Blood Blockade Battlefront. Like, what’s even the purpose of anything else? JoJo’s is cool, I guess, but the only characters worth a damn are Jotaro and Dio (and I guess we can count Joseph for his meme potential). Fate/Stay Night has decided that endlessly repeating a stupid argument is way more interesting than, you know, plot development, fight scenes, and its only remaining female characters (who happen to be the best ones it has). Sidonia has fallen into the abyss of endless fanservice. And Arslan is…well…it definitely ain’t Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

Next week, I’ll just skip all the other shows and watch BBB eight times.

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

Time Index

  • 00:53 – JoJo: Stardust Crusaders 44
  • 05:37 – Seraph of the End 8
  • 10:07 – Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works 20
  • 19:32 – Blood Blockade Battlefront 8
  • 26:17 – The Heroic Legend of Arslan 8
  • 31:59 – Ore Monogatari 8
  • 33:44 – Punch Line 7
  • 50:15 – Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches 7
  • 56:19 – Knights of Sidonia S2 7
  • 1:05:20 – Saint Seiya: Soul of Gold 4
  • 1:11:20 – Bodacious Space Pirates: The Abyss of Hyperspace
  • 1:22:12 – Listener questions
  • 1:52:00 – Strong in the Real Way (Rebecca Sugar | Steven Universe)

Bakacast #250 – Unlimited Dialogue Works

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Unknown to brevity, nor known to pacing.

I chose the image for this episode largely because I like seeing Shinji in physical distress, which happens to be the only satisfying thing about F/SN right now. Thankfully, JoJo is finally out of the doldrums and back to being ridiculous in an entertaining way. Punch Line surprises us by finally showing us its true power level (and revealing something about its main character that I really hope I have the correct interpretation of, because it’d be really cool). Nanoha Vivid, however, has started to make me feel uncomfortable while watching it. And Paranoia Agent finishes by leaving us somewhat baffled and mildly unsatisfied.

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

Time Index

  • 00:57 – JoJo: Stardust Crusaders 43
  • 05:28 – Nanoha Vivid 7
  • 15:02 – Seraph of the End 7
  • 19:06 – Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works 19
  • 32:20 – Blood Blockade Battlefront 7
  • 36:40 – The Heroic Legend of Arslan 7
  • 44:36 – Ore Monogatari 7
  • 45:49 – Punch Line 6
  • 48:52 – Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches 6
  • 53:27 – Knights of Sidonia S2 6
  • 1:01:38 – Sailor Moon 22
  • 1:03:47 – Paranoia Agent 13
  • 1:14:29 – Listener questions
  • 1:20:10 – Believe (Kalafina | Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works)

Bakacast #249 – Ice Ice Baby

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Even though he’s a murderer, I kind of prefer JoJo’s Vanilla Ice.

I have been waiting for this episode of JoJo’s for so long. I am so happy we can finally talk about it. And I am also very happy that Nanoha Vivid has finally gotten around to showing its titular character fighting. Took it long enough. Meanwhile, Fate/Stay Night continues to mistakenly believe that anyone cares about Archer and Shirou’s mutual angst, Blood Blockade makes even filler episodes entertaining, I still hate that asshole bard in Arslan, and Punch Line is actually really interesting now? Huh.

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

Time Index

  • 00:53 – JoJo: Stardust Crusaders 42
  • 05:42 – Nanoha Vivid 6
  • 09:08 – Seraph of the End 6
  • 11:58 – Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works 18
  • 30:14 – Blood Blockade Battlefront 6
  • 33:26 – The Heroic Legend of Arslan 6
  • 37:59 – Ore Monogatari 6
  • 41:37 – Punch Line 5
  • 45:38 – Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches 5
  • 50:40 – Knights of Sidonia S2 5
  • 57:44 – Saint Seiya: Soul of Gold 3
  • 1:01:08 – Paranoia Agent 12
  • 1:07:06 – Listener questions
  • 1:27:59 – Dream Eating Monochrome Baku – real vocal cover by Clear (Project Diva | Nem)

Bakacast #248 – That’s Pretty Kyousougiga

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No one’s punched their dad yet, but there’s plenty of episodes left for that.

On this week’s episode, we lament JoJo’s interminable pacing, finally learn when Shirou and Rin get it on, have a lot of fun saying “Dog Hummer,” and reveal that I have–in fact–been watching Hunter x Hunter again. I even talk about how crazy it is when that one muscle guy bites the leech dude’s skull off. Now stop bugging me about it.

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

Time Index

  • 01:02 – JoJo: Stardust Crusaders 41
  • 04:28 – Nanoha Vivid 5
  • 08:48 – Seraph of the End 5
  • 10:42 – Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works 17
  • 22:05 – Blood Blockade Battlefront 5
  • 26:20 – The Heroic Legend of Arslan 5
  • 30:35 – Ore Monogatari 5
  • 33:09 – Punchline 4
  • 35:00 – Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches 4
  • 39:10 – Knights of Sidonia S2 4
  • 43:27 – Hunter x Hunter 44 – 47
  • 46:37 – Sailor Moon 21
  • 50:54 – Paranoia Agent 11
  • 59:04 – Listener questions
  • 1:12:48 – 猿は木から何処へ落ちる (Hello Sleepwalkers)

Bakacast #247 – You’ve Seen This Crap Before

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Yep, even the monster woman. Pretty sure Wicked City did that.

So Luke finally got around to watching Isuca, which he colorfully described as a “gas chamber.” Which I guess means he liked it? Yeah, that’s how metaphors work. By the end of his segment, I felt a little bad about what I did, so I gave him a much easier assignment for next time: Triage X. I’m a good friend.

In other news, we find that Nanoha Vivid is much better at being shounen than it is at being slice-of-life, Blood Blockade vampires are way better than most vampires these days, and Yamada-kun might secretly be the best rom-com this season.

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

Time Index

  • 01:27 – JoJo: Stardust Crusaders 40
  • 05:29 – Nanoha Vivid 3 & 4
  • 09:39 – Seraph of the End 4
  • 14:27 – Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works 16
  • 17:49 – Blood Blockade Battlefront 4
  • 22:49 – The Heroic Legend of Arslan 4
  • 26:32 – Ore Monogatari 4
  • 31:46 – Punchline 3
  • 37:41 – Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches 3
  • 44:31 – Knights of Sidonia S2 3
  • 55:17 – Luke Reviews Isuca
  • 1:21:51 – Saint Seiya: Soul of Gold 2
  • 1:27:00 – Paranoia Agent 10
  • 1:37:43 – Sailor Moon 20
  • 1:41:11 – Listener questions
  • 2:21:29 – Parade (Paprika)

Bakacast #246 – Hyper Chess

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Coming soon to a Hell-Wal-Mart near you.

On this episode of Bakacast, Blood Blockade manages to make chess really interesting, Yamada-kun surprises us with how decent it is, Ninja Slayer surprises us with how bad it is, and Sidonia goes full moe. Also, my dogs bark a lot. I’m sorry about that. Dogs have no respect for audio quality.

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

Time Index

  • 00:56 – JoJo: Stardust Crusaders 39
  • 04:37 – Seraph of the End 3
  • 09:53 – Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works 15
  • 26:30 – Blood Blockade Battlefront 3
  • 32:37 – The Heroic Legend of Arslan 3
  • 38:12 – Show by Rock 3 (DROPPED)
  • 43:32 – Ore Monogatari 3
  • 48:11 – Mikagura School Suite 1-3 (DROPPED)
  • 56:35 – Punchline 2
  • 1:00:44 – Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches 2
  • 1:03:51 – Knights of Sidonia S2 2
  • 1:16:59 – Ninja Slayer From 1 (DROPPED)
  • 1:24:08 – Paranoia Agent 9
  • 1:32:06 – Listener questions
  • 1:48:45 – sugar sweet nightmare (Yui Horie | Bakemonogatari)

Bakacast #245 – Moms With Benefits

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They’re just friends. Who live together. And raise a child together. And take showers together.

On this episode of Bakacast, we pick up a few more Spring shows and drop a couple that just weren’t earning the time we were giving them. Despite our initial concerns, this season might actually have just as many shows worth watching as the Winter, even if we drop a few shows that are on the borderline. So a pretty good deal for anime fans. Not so great for my work-life balance.

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

Time Index

  • 01:10 – JoJo: Stardust Crusaders 38
  • 06:09 – Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha ViVid 2
  • 12:15 – Seraph of the End 2
  • 17:47 – Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works 14
  • 26:47 – Blood Blockade Battlefront 2
  • 36:47 – The Heroic Legend of Arslan 2
  • 41:15 – Show by Rock 2
  • 44:03 – Gunslinger Stratos 2 (DROPPED)
  • 48:57 – Sound! Euphonium 2 (DROPPED)
  • 51:32 – Ore Monogatari 2
  • 51:32 – Punchline 1
  • 59:12 – Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches 1
  • 1:04:10 – Knights of Sidonia S2 1
  • 1:11:08 – Saint Seiya: Soul of Gold 1
  • 1:15:15 – Paranoia Agent 8
  • 1:18:54 – Listener questions
  • 1:52:13 – Oddloop (Frederic)

Bakacast #244 – The Disappearance of Good Shows

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At least recording a podcast won’t feel like running a marathon now.

Now, I know what you’re going to say. “Dustin, did you really expect some of these shows on your list to be good?” No, of course I didn’t. But I was also hoping that some of the less-obvious-stinkers would be, well, slightly above mediocre. Or at least not insulting. So hey, hats off to Shokugeki no Souma and Denpa Kyoushi for failing to clear my low expectations even harder than I thought they would. That was a hell of an achievement.

On the plus side, Kekkai Sensen is everything I hoped it would be and more. So yeah, just watch that show, I guess. Everything else is superfluous.

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

Time Index

  • 01:02 – JoJo: Stardust Crusaders 37 (yep, this arc is still plodding along)
  • 04:18 – My Teenage RomCom SNAFU 13 (we probably won’t cover this much; I just like to let Ben talk about the millions of shows he watches that I don’t)
  • 08:15 – Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha ViVid 1 (really guys? that second “V” had to be capitalized?)
  • 11:30 – The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan 1 (it’s so moe it has to have “-chan” in the title; also DROPPED like an especially boring rock)
  • 14:53 – Shokugeki no Souma 1 (put in TIME OUT until it thinks about what it’s done and gets better like Ben promises it will)
  • 22:10 – Denpa Kyoushi 1 (DROP-kicked into the sun)
  • 27:36 – Seraph of the End 1
  • 36:53 – Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works 13
  • 42:24 – Plastic Memories 1 (DROPPED before it taints Steins;Gate with its boring-ness)
  • 51:32 – Blood Blockade Battlefront 1 (yes I know the translation is inaccurate; counterpoint: it’s a totally rad title so I don’t care)
  • 57:22 – The Heroic Legend of Arslan 1
  • 1:04:26 – Show by Rock 1 (we didn’t drop this because we’re still trying to figure out how to feel about it)
  • 1:12:11 – Sound! Euphonium (ON PROBATION; if it makes one wrong move, it gets dropped)
  • 1:15:30 – Gintama ??? (I honestly don’t know what episode this show is on; we won’t cover it because no one but Ben watches it and even he thinks it would be hard to cover weekly)
  • 1:24:35 – Ore Monogatari 1 (I refuse to include exclamation points that are at the end of titles, because they’re dumb)
  • 1:28:27 – Paranoia Agent 7
  • 1:33:40 – Persona 3 Movie 2: Midsummer Knight’s Dream (Electric Boogaloo (aka The Dog Is In This One (And Also My Robot Waifu)))
  • 1:46:12 – Sailor Moon 19
  • 1:47:55 – Listener questions
  • 2:35:24 – Hatching Tide Theme aka “That Papaya Song” (Final Fantasy 14 | you will never get this out of your head)