Anime That Sucks – Anime World Order Podcast: Recent Episodes
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A podcast all about Japanese cartoons and comics as discussed by three self-proclaimed experts in the world of anime and manga! Plus anime news / reviews, coverage of classic anime, hentai / yaoi, and much, much more. Updated every week. We hope.
It’s finally time. As a result of us reaching over 250 Patrons, we’re reviewing what you’ve voted “the worst anime of all time”: Hand Shakers from 2017. But maybe it’s NOT actually the worst, since we can name at least one show that was much worse than it…
Introduction (0:00 – 29:44)
Follow-ups from last episode: as an update to the Macross situation in North America, preorders for Macross Plus Blu-Rays will open up next week, as a Crunchyroll Store exclusive. It…won’t be cheap, from the looks of things. Gerald saw the French animated film Mars Express, which we alluded to seeing the trailer of last episode. He highly recommends it, and you should be able to see it for yourself in a few days since the theatrical run was extremely limited and short. Also, thanks to your support, our Otaku Archive is now an official collection on Archive.org! Thanks so very much!
That’s about it for the good news. We then talk about the whole Toru Furuya situation, which is…extremely awful, but hey. Can’t NOT talk about it.
Review: Hand Shakers (29:44 – 1:24:28)
It’s notorious online. It made the name “GoHands” instantly infamous. But just how bad is 2017’s Hand Shakers? Does it still have that same impact? Have things gotten worse since then? Do we not live in an era where some of the most beloved anime titles utilize comparable animation techniques and story beats?
Have you ever wanted to get God’s attention so bad that you use your sub big hooter girlfriend to power your CG chains? I’m Todd McFarlane, creator of Spawn:
https://www.awopodcast.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Hand-Shakers-Chains.mp4This is not nearly as cool as a bunch of producers looking at a piece of concept art in a boardroom thought it would be, but dangit they’re going to try and convince you it is.
https://www.awopodcast.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Hand-Shakers-Gears-Sword.mp4This is the sort of GoHands camerawork and direction now synonymous with their name. Unlike their subsequent shows, Hand Shakers keeps this up for its duration. Everyone who said it didn’t HAS LIED TO YOU.
https://www.awopodcast.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Hand-Shakers-Bed-Spin.mp4Review: W’z (1:24:28 – 2:12:19)
We’re going the extra mile and reviewing the far less popular STEALTH SEQUEL to Hand Shakers from 2019. We’re pretty sure the people who made this heard of the term “DJ” and maybe saw a picture or short clip of one in action without actually knowing what it is they DO.
DJs are hip and cool and speak in such heavy lingo that it needs to be translated even for the Japanese. Except not really.Prepare to see the same few presumably rotoscoped shots of turntable spinning again and again, independent of the audio that results.Now we need to think up a goal for when we hit 275 Patreon backers. Dare we ask for suggestions?
Mike Toole returns to the show for this MONSTER CHILLER HORROR edition of AWO released on Halloween, in which Gerald reviews the polar opposite of The Poe Clan: Go Nagai’s Shuten Doji! Now that we’ve done this, the YouTubers can follow in our wake and make this one a meme darling.
Introduction (0:00 – 38:58)
We check in with Mike and what he’s been up to, Discotek Media and otherwise. It’s been a few years since Mike was last on, and we didn’t even get to see him this year at all since none of us went to Otakon this year. Plus, we finally play and respond to a listener voicemail after months of having it downloaded and sitting on the desktop waiting to be played. Look, eventually those shortcuts just blend into the background. This then makes us talk about the usual for 39 minutes: things currently airing this season, stuff that just came out on on Netflix which we haven’t had a chance to binge through prior to recording, the state of physical media anime publishing, memeing on Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and Rintaro, and so on.
Review: Shuten Doji (38:58 – 1:45:41)
As part of his revenge against the world, Gerald unearths another generally forgotten (at the time of this recording) OAV that embodies everything the words “Go Nagai” emblazoned on the VHS box cover entails. Shuten Doji is exactly the sort of thing that gave “anime” its negative stigma in the US which never fully went away even after Pokémon came out. It’s violent, sexually crass, ill-paced in narrative, prone to extreme bouts of logic-stretching convenience, and it has got one terrible English dub. In the altered words of the late Menahem Golan, now zeees eeeez a AD VISION! In other words, it’s exactly the sort of thing we crave–well, except for Clarissa because she has sense–the way people nowadays crave being reincarnated in a world governed by generic RPG rules. Never before has there been an anime with a more cogent moral lesson to teach its viewers, which is “don’t adopt children.” Any similarities to the classic creature of Japanese myth are um, tenuous at best.
The plot to Superman? The future plot to GaoGaiGar? I suppose he did become the light…A rare moment in which the leading lady Miyuki is clothed. That is remedied moments later.As the closing theme to Gattiger the Super Car famously asked, why is there the shadow of my mother over my despicable enemy!AD Vision made merchandise for Shuten Doji, such as this T-shirt. If you have an original one of these, people will buy them off you for hundreds of dollars because they have trust funds.
You asked for this. Literally. Thanks to Patreon support, we have brought The Internet’s Mike Toole on to discuss the theatrical film Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative, whose US Blu-Ray release is now but mere days away. Oh boy. It’s one of THOSE episodes. Introduction (0:00 – 25:22) We catch up with what Mike’s been up … Continue reading "Anime World Order Show # 192 – My Gundam Is a Bird; Your Argument is Invalid"
In this episode, we technically do but don’t fulfill a Patreon review request as Gerald reviews the greatest OAV of all by Koichi Ohata, the 5-part saga of Genocyber. Yes, there really are five parts and not three. And it’s the greatest because uh, it’s the longest one. Introduction (0:00 – 31:25)Since the last episode … Continue reading "Anime World Order Show # 185 – Closeup on His Eyeballs Getting Pushed Out From the Other Side of His Skull"
In what is likely but hopefully not our last episode of the year, thus silently celebrating another podcasting anniversary (12 years!), we partially fulfill the donation goal requests by reviewing the 1991 one-shot OAV that is Judge aka Judge: The Magistrate of Darkness. Introduction (0:00 – 33:17) After reading an email espousing the wonders of … Continue reading "Anime World Order Show # 170 – Here Come De Judge! Here Come De Judge!"
For this special SPOOOOOOOOOKY edition of the Anime World Order podcast, we’re rejoined by Mike Toole to review the most recent of Yoshiyuki Tomino’s head-scratching trainwrecks, Gundam Reconguista in G. Why do we keep doing this to ourselves? It’s like Tomino knows the spawn locations and keeps getting us over and over, then teabags us–HEY … Continue reading "Anime World Order Show # 168 – Even If You Don’t Want to Listen, Listen"
It’s a Christmas miracle, everybody! We’re joined once again by Mike Toole, hot off the release of the 2017 Crunchyroll Holiday Special, as we fulfill the promise made a long time ago, back in…uh…actually it was four episodes ago when we last had him on to discuss The Wings of Rean. Anyway, we’re talking about … Continue reading "Anime World Order Show # 160 – Why Must You Be So Cruel to Brain"
After saying we’d do it back during our Garzey’s Wing review and then proceeding to put it off for nearly six years due to fear (hmm, only 56 episodes in six years…), the time has finally come. We’re joined once again by The Internet’s Mike Toole, now Editor-at-Large for the Anime News Network and still … Continue reading "Anime World Order Show # 156 – Interdimensional Hipster Beards Abound"
It’s a podcast. It’s a special podcast. It’s got super discussions about Code Geass, Berserk Season 2, Anime Weekend Atlanta 2016, and Gerald’s review of a Most Dangerous film from 1986, Ai City. Introduction (0:00 – 58:28) The emails ask the question that is either from or will summon That One Guy Who Always Comments … Continue reading "Anime World Order Show # 150 – Clobbering Chuunibyou In the Name of Goodness"
The following episode contains zero edits whatsoever to remove microphone pops, crosstalk, dead air, us saying “um” / “y’know” / clearing our throats constantly, or in any way make the listening experience palatable or enjoyable. There are times we said “we’ll put that in afterwards” in which that does not occur. Releasing a podcast on … Continue reading "Anime World Order Show # 144 – If We Edit Nothing, An Episode Can Come Out This Month"
After missing an entire month, we have returned. It seemed only fitting that after being that late on an episode, Clarissa review a series that’s entirely about doing precisely that: the recently concluded Shirobako. Introduction (0:00 – 48:20) It’s May, so to prove how timely we are we respond to not one but TWO emails … Continue reading "Anime World Order Show # 137 – Open the Box! Open the Box! Open the Box!"
To kick off 2014, Gerald has taken it upon himself to review the 2012 feature film 009 Re: Cyborg. We also delve into an oft-repeated discussion of modern anime regarding its hierarchy relative to other special interest media. M.D. Dave Merrill knows way more about Cyborg 009 than all three of us phonies combined, so … Continue reading "Anime World Order Show # 123 – Hopefully Nermal Was Not in the Nuclear Explosion"