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Show Notes
0:00: Justin and Helen FINALLY return to talking about stuff over the internet, and they both have much to catch up to! Helen unfortunately got COVID-19 so the episode was delayed from last week, and to make up for it, they will be two podcast episodes back-to-back. Starting with this one. And it’s all about the news and licenses since the start of the year!
News
2:00: But first, the two briefly discuss the Los Angeles wildfires that occurred earlier in the year, which did affect a number of voice actors and a number of events in the area that were Japanese pop culture related. Our thoughts are with them and everyone else in LA that were affected by the fires.
4:15: Along the way, a GoFundMe campaign was launched for longtime VA Mike McFarland, who did have successful brain tumor surgery but will need the money to hire an live-in medical assistant.
5:22: The year has started with many yikes and yeeshes all around, but in the anime world, producer Kouichirou Itou (producer involved with a number of Makoto Shinkai films) has pleaded guilty to obscene acts with 3 minors; A massive scandal has gone on at Fuji TV involving a former SMAP member and TV host reaching a settlement out of court with a woman following an incident of nonconsensual sexual activity, a now former president, and many sponsors pulling their ads from Fuji TV — which includes the legendary Sazae-san, which ran with no sponsors for the first time in 14 years; And as expected due to his affair, Toru Furuya will no longer play Toru Amano in Detective Conan as he’s now been replaced by Takeshi Kusao.
12:28: VIZ had a week in two days. They ended up getting their Twitter account hacked (after an online fight they did not beat the hacker) on Monday, then the next day a very notable title leaked on digital outlets. You’ll know exactly what that is in the licenses section (but if you’ve been following VIZ you know what that title is)
14:54: As discussed some time ago, Manga Library Z has launched a crowdfunding campaign to try and reopen the service; Stripe has now banned Manga Planet due to R18 content on the service; the two hosts then get into Diamond Comic Distributors filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and how much this could affect the manga industry.
23:17: The two hosts run through a number of hiatus that have occurred since the new year, from Kai-hen Wizards to Cat Companions, for various reasons; we also have a couple series either resuming, like Battle Angel Alita Mars Chronicle and Berserk, and one artist whose had a notable injury preparing to return to A Vampire Dies in No Time. And then there’s CLAMP returning to work on xxxHOLiC: Rei after all this time!
29:12: Remember when it was stated that Danmachi Season 5 would return in early Spring 2025? Yeah, you probably already saw episodes 12 and 13 already!; already Helen and Justin are dooming about Pass the Monster Meat, Milady now that it’s being delayed from its April air date to now premiering in October; voice actress Azuki Shibuya was on hiatus for roughly a year, but she’s now resuming VA activities.
33:16: Finally, a couple of notable deaths occurred, starting with voice actor Dale Wilson, the voice of Cell in Ocean Group’s version; animator Eisaku Inoue revealed on Facebook on January 8 that animator Yōichi Ōnishi passed away; And music composer of a number of works, from Cat’s Eye to Kimagure Orange Road, Hiroshi Shinkawa, passed away at 69.
Licenses
35:37: The two hosts talk about a non-license, but soon enough Crunchyroll will apparently be licensing manga — again! Yeah, you can bet most manga enthusiasts were shocked that they’re getting back into the manga game after going out sad some years ago; the two hosts then discuss the new official manga/LN service Novelous, which normally would be a good thing, except Shogakugan is using AI to assist translation/localization for their works — both wonder if this will go over well with anyone.
43:26: VIZ ended up having a number of announcements over the past couple weeks:
- Maid to Skate
- Moan: Junji Ito Story Collection
- Kaiju No. 8: Relax
- The Art of Rumiko Takahashi: Colors 1978-2024
- Kamudo
- One Piece: Law’s Story
- Phantom Busters
- A box set of Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku
- A NANA 25th Anniversary Edition (deluxe 2-in-1)
- Fabricant 100, Shiba Inu Rooms, Dear Anemone, MamaYuyu, Kyokuto Necromance, Astro Baby (all digital releases)
- A complete box set of Disney Twisted-Wonderland: Book of Heartslabyul
- And yes, that leaked title was Kingdom, which was indeed a surprise announcement from VIZ.
53:02: Seven Seas of course has come back in the new year recharged, refreshed, and refocused enough to deluge our Wednesdays with new titles, some of varying qualities, and some with names that Justin could not help but think, “Never thought I’d tweet something like this.”:
- The Princess I Loved in My Past Life is Now a Middle-Aged Dad
- My Girlfriend is 8 Meters Tall
- The Misdeeds of an Extremely Arrogant Villain Aristocrat (Airship)
- The Cuckolding Wizard’s Adventure (Ghost Ship)
- God of Seduction in the Bedroom
- The Handsome Catboy Wants to be His Pet
- Hope You’re Happy, Lemon
- No God in Eden
- Breathless Time Traveler (Airship, by the creator of Toradora))
- Cupid is Struck by Lightning
- Rebel Hero: I Will Use My Skills to Control the Scheming Princess’s Heart and Body
- I’m Running for Crown Princess, but All I Want is a Steady Paycheck!
- I Can’t Stand Being Your Childhood Friend
- Magic Maker: How to Make Magic in Another World
- Sacrifice of My Manly Soul
- The Devil Princess (Airship)
- Let Me See the Real You, Senpai!
- Ripples in the River
- Wimpy Demon King and Tsundere Hero
- Don’t Hold Back, Lord Hades (Steamship)
- Grand Metal Organs
- I’m the Heroic Knight of an Intergalactic Empire! manga
- Our Dining Table: Seconds, Please!
- Dysfunctional Family Theory
- The Demon King is Way Too Overprotective!
- Afterglow
- Virgin Knight: I Became the Frontier Lord in a World Ruled by Women (LN & Manga, Ghost Ship)
- Kaiju Kamuy
57:00: Yen Press also had some new titles to announce before the month ended:
- [Oshi No Ko] Spica of the First Star (Yen On)
- Delicious in Dungeon World Guide: The Adventurer’s Bible, Complete Edition
- Lycoris Recoil Official Comic Anthology: React
- Bocchi the Rock! Comic Anthology
- Neighborhood Craftsmen: Stories from Kanda’s Gokura-chou
- How to Eat Life (Yen On)
- Super String: Marco Polo’s Travel to the Multiverse
- To Sir, Without Love: I’m Divorcing You (Yen On)
- Almark
- MONSTER TRIBE (Yen On)
- Suzuki-kun’s Mindful Life
- Sword of Stallion (Yen On)
- Konosuba: Even More Explosions on This Wonderful World!
- Dead Mount Death Play Side Story: Phantom Solitaire’s Art of Disguising Oneself as a Supernatural Being
- Guillotine Bride manga
- A Misanthrope Teaches a Class for Demi-Humans manga
- Double the Trouble, Twice as Nice
- Li’l Miss Vampire Can’t Suck Right
- Yen Press will also release a collector’s edition of Fujino Omori’s Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon and release Nagaru Tanigawa’s The Theater of Haruhi Suzumiya in print
1:00:10: And then J-Novel Club sort of joined in the licensing hubbub, but only in regards to announcing new digital to print titles…that includes one title that for sure will be shrink-wrapped!
1:04:06: Living the Line’s made a deal with the Marina Shirakawa estate, so expect a number of manga from Shirakawa to be released from them over the next couple years; Dark Horse did indeed have a whale of a (few?) weeks, which includes bringing back Blood Blockade Battlefront and Planetes in updated editions, more Gou Tanabe’s H.P Lovecraft manga, and finally something new for a change; Inori, the creator of I’m in Love with the Villainess, has a new work will be coming soon in English but in an unusual way; Kodansha licensed Satoshi Morie’s Killing Line manga, which is now out digitally.
1:07:16: And yeah, Discotek has done it again. Justin and Helen can only respect their game as they once again announce titles that’s either so obscure, or so legendary, or somehow a combination of both that they went into tremendous detail on the work on it. Or if it’s just a legendary title you might’ve heard of that they’ve went into tremendous detail on the work on it (Example: Urotsukidoji):
- Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend (uncut, a brand new 2K scan and restoration using one of two last known existing 35mm print of the uncut version, which originates from a private collection; took nine months to restore using AstroRes upscaling technology; release includes the uncut three episode OVA version in subtitle-only standard definition, the 1989 compilation film version, and other features)
- Cyborg 009 Vs. Devilman
- Angel Heart
- Osomatsu-Kun
- Flame of Recca
- Space Adventure Cobra – The Movie
- 2014 live-action Lupin III movie
- ViVid Strike! (Discotek then explained why this will be the last they could get of this franchise for a good while)
- Higurashi: When They Cry
- DearS (AstroRes)
- 2011 Tomorrow’s Joe live-action film
- NANA and NANA 2 live-action films
- Hana Yori Dango Final live-action film
1:12:25: And in final licensing news, Media Blasters will be releasing a title that both the hosts had to wonder how much ecchi is too much ecchi…?
Streaming News
1:14:08: GKIDS has been working pretty hard over the past few months, and they sure got a slate of titles to share with everyone — from Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- and that anime’s multiple screenings to bringing Hideaki Anno’s LOVE & POP live action film to North America and to acquiring the rights to Witch Watch!
1:18:41: Netflix will again be adding a few more anime to their service, but they will also again be raising their prices; Crunchyroll confirmed there was login credentials posted online, but it did not mean their service was compromised; Crunchyroll has again added more Precure to their service; and Tubi TV added After War Gundam X to its service, which prompted Helen mid-podcasting to send Justin the exact images from the show that has been memed in the anime community; and one Fall anime 2024 show is FINALLY officially streaming thanks to Pony Canyon.
1:23:22: And after so long, a bunch of Macross anime have been added to the US on Hulu. From Macross Dynamite 7’s release it did cut one character’s drug and sexual assault scene, which did generate some discussion.
Weird News
1:25:49: Both hosts wonder just it’s possible to crowdfund something so quickly following Katana Maidens’ success; Both hosts are confused about Bleach being tied into a New Zealand murder case somehow.
1:29:28: Name changes are a thing when creating something, and it’s always possible for any sequels to be renamed as well, would just have the original title as a subheading. You rarely get title changes during its run, so for Boys Gilding the Lily Shall Die!?, we will be wondering just how TOKYOPOP will now localize the future volumes of this series now that it’s called Kiss Yori mo Kimi no Neiro de Me ga Sameru in Japanese.
1:31:37: It has been light of weird news to kick off the year, but we would naturally get a story about two conventions fighting each other over supposed secrets, and a story about Genshin Impact cosplay appearing in a Coldplay music video for whatever reason (Helen explains why!)