Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Email | RSS
Show Notes
0:00: Justin and Helen talk about all the manga or anime or works they’ve consumed over the past two weeks. It may or may not involve libraries for one of them!
Pandemic News
8:10: More early 2021 conventions are being cancelled — Anime Los Angeles and Katsucon, and the latter getting cancelled does make Helen a bit sad.
9:50: A few anime films — Gundam: Hathaway and Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop films — finally have air dates in Japan after they were scheduled for this year.
10:35: The final bit of news is how people are handling COVID-19, and while this is more or less is a small sample size — 166 out of roughly 2,000 members of the Japan Actors Union — this ended up getting reported, then about two weeks later live action actor Akira Kubodera passed away due to suspected suicide, so Justin and Helen discuss this situation a bit.
News
13:35: The creator of Toriko, Shimabukuro Mitsutoshi, now has a new series in Weekly Shonen Jump — which can’t be great based since it’s all public about what he did. The two hosts try to figure out why VIZ decided to add it though.
17:20: Square Enix Japan is launching a new light novel label, which means two things are going to happen:
- The US Square Enix office is probably going to start bringing a few of those at some point in the future.
- Potential renegotiations may be needed for a few titles, as Der Werwolf (J-Novel Club) and Make My Abilities Average (Seven Seas), which were both Earth Star titles, are now on SQEnix’s new LN line.
20:04: Demon Slayer is now the 7th biggest film worldwide; Haikyu! is topping 50 million copies in circulation; and SSSS.Gridman is going to air on Toonami in January.
Licenses
21:53: Seven Seas is starting an Airship imprint — which basically puts their LNs and prose into this line — and will launch in January.
23:38: J-Novel Club announced they’ve licensed the following titles:
- Natsu Hyuuga & Touko Shino’s The Apothecary Diaries
- Tsunehiko Watanabe & Jyuu Ayakura’s The Ideal Sponger Life
- Ghost Mikawa & tomari’s My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me!
- Kota Nozomi & Meruchi Nanase’s Are You Okay With a Slightly Older Girlfriend?
- Akamitsu Awamura & mmu’s She’s the Cutest… But We’re Just Friends!
- Hyougetsu & Yuuchi Kosumi’s Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight ~Origins~ Manga
- Makishima Suzuki & Shimo Aono’s Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! Manga
26:14: Kodansha did a Kodansha Live event of licenses, and here’s what they’ll be releasing in summer 2021:
- Negi Haruba’s The Quintessential Quintuplets in Box Set form
- A Complete Collector’s Edition of Yoshitoki Oima’s A Silent Voice
- Finally announced they’re releasing a paperback edition of Naoko Takeuchi’s Sailor Moon (Called Sailor Moon Naoko Takeuchi Collection)
- A paperback edition of Yukito Kishiro’s Battle Angel Alita
- Kaori Yuki’s Beauty and the Beast of the Lost Paradise
- Keito Gaku’s Boys Run the Riot
29:38: Sol Press announced they’ve licensed the following titles:
- Koi’s Is the order a rabbit?
- Miyuki Nakayama’s BLEND･S
- Akatsuki & Merontomari/Yuui’s The Game Master has Logged In to Another World LN
- Tsukikage & Chyko’s Let This Grieving Soul Retire! Woe is the Weakling Who Leads the Strongest Party LN
- Shin Kouduki & necömi’s I Surrendered My Sword for a New Life as a Mage LN
31:53: Well, we couldn’t end the year without another new publisher emerging right? Well, this time we have a localization company (Local Manga) that’s going to publish Ri-Ru-‘s The Perfect Son (Complete Edition) this month and Prince Noir early in 2021.
32:50: Yen Press has announced they’ve licensed the following manga and light novels (this is also the part where Helen totally gives up announcing Japanese author/pen names forever):
- Kennoji, Fuu Araki, & KWKM’s Hazure Skill: The Guild Member with a Worthless Skill Is Actually a Legendary Assassin manga
- Rato Kitaguni’s I’m the Catlords’ Manservant
- Ono Yourei’s Hard-boiled Stories from the Cat Bar
- Akiyoshi Ota & Tatsuya Endo’s I’m the Hero, But the Demon Lord’s Also Me
- Shindeiru Hotondo’s Uncle from Another World
- Yuusuke Nitta, Yukinatu Amekaze & LOL’s If the RPG World Had Social Media light novel, manga by Sato Kamegoya
- Tsukikage & meron tomari’s The King of Death at the Dark Palace
- Tatsuya Ikegami’s Your Turn to Die: Majority Vote Death Game
- Makoto Shinkai’s Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below & 5 Centimeters per Second novels (these will actually be together)
- Aidairo’s Afterschool Hanako-kun
38:10: TOKYOPOP just won’t go away! Here’s what they’ve licensed, where one of them Helen wonders how they didn’t get slapped with copyright, and one Justin learned is real recent:
- Sachi Miyabe’s Mame Coordinate
- Karakara Kemuri’s Laughing Under the Clouds
- Gorou Kanbe’s Like Two Peas in a Pod
- Mone Sorai’s Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide
- Ate & Sou Inaida’s I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway!
40:01: Last episode futekiya had a few announcements for the two hosts to cover…this episode, not so much:
- Kotetsuko Yamamoto’s Omairi desu yo & Honto Yajuu
- Chihaya Kuroiwa’s Mashita no Fudanshi kun
- Yuki Kazami’s TALIM -Dare mo Shiranai Ryu no Hanashi
- Nawako Mineshima’s Unmei to wa ie Kono Teido
- Natsuo Ito’s Kinkyori Renai
- Mio Tennohji’s Bitch na Neko wa/Koukishin ni Katenai/Dokusenyoku ni Aragaenai/Retsujou no Tsume wo Togu
- Aki Nohagi’s Koufuku wa Kimi no Tonari ni
- Yucca Fukushima’s Koi suru α no Sodatekata & BLmangaka, Shucchou Host wo Kau
43:13: Manga Planet is going to have the following yuri super light novels on their service:
- Kosame Tamaoki & Hibiki Aoto’s First Love Story: Shino x Asuka Story
- Mai Yanagawa & Ruri Hazuki’s Yuri Will Not Blossom at Work!
- Nanaoku Hoshii & Taki Kitao’s Two Guns Under the Sheet
- The following Kumako Nambu SLN: Sasayaki no Kiss -Read my lips. (art by Akiko Morishima), Pianissimo of the Lips -Angels After School- (art by Yuu Keijima), LOVELY! -My Adorable Mamecchi (art by Hiromi Takashima), Yurizen! Salon -Shirayuri’s Comforting Food Therapy- (art by Miso Higashikawa)
44:53: Seven Seas did announce a few titles really randomly for Justin’s taste:
- Hirotsugu Ryuusen’s She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wiseman (LN art by Fuzichoco; manga by Dicca Suemitsu
- Shotaro Ishinomori’s SUPER SENTAI: Himitsu Sentai Gorenger — The Classic Manga Collection
- Reina Soratani & Haru Harukawa’s I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again! which is unique in the sense that the illustrator is doing both the light novel and the manga version!
47:02: Enmaku is publishing Ninja World USA, which should be out on digital platforms today.
48:08: Discotek is releasing the Kissxsis OVA in January; Sentai is going to release Venus Wars, which was formerly a Discotek title, in 2021.
Streaming News
49:17: Animelog, which is a consortium of Japanese companies, is starting their streaming service on YouTube.
52:41: Sentai Filmworks is now streaming Fragtime; Tubi TV is now streaming Yamibo – Darkness, the Hat and the Travelers of the Books.
53:09: And in final streaming news, Pluto TV is going to stream Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS…and they’re also going to partner with Cinedigm to launch an exclusive Yu-Gi-Oh! channel.
Weird News
54:20: Chinese streaming site/app iQIYI was streaming Star Twinkle Precure for who knows how long, one of Helen’s friends discovered it and shared the information on Twitter, and after it got popular and spread all around…it suddenly got region-locked! Appears someone on iQIYI made a mistake…
55:48: Now lighthouses in Japan are pretty boys!…Justin wonders why it took so long!
57:34: Let’s just say Tsukiuta the Animation 2 is having some trouble…since the staff had to apologize for the quality in episode 6.
59:10: Yes, you can indeed sleep in a giant Metapod. Just note you can’t use Harden.
59:49: And yes, a fish indeed managed to clear Pokemon Sapphire…in 3000 hours.
1:00:32: Rapper Open Mike Eagle did an interview with Funimation on his new album, called Anime, Trauma, and Divorce, and talks about his inspirations and how it all came about.
1:01:31: If you didn’t realize Demon Slayer is an extremely popular product in Japan, take note of one of its most famous lines “Total Concentration Breathing” being said by the Japanese Prime Minister a few weeks ago!