Anime World Order Show # 13 - It really is unlucky: Pluto, Eroica, and Katsuhito Akiyama

WARNING: in addition to being released later than promised, the audio levels are not properly balanced. I think it's because we mentioned Megatokyo, and the mere mention of its name must have caused us to inherit Fred's laughably deficient work ethic. This week Daryl talks about the currently-running manga series Pluto, Clarissa talks about the really old but also currently-running manga series from Eroica With Love, and Gerald tells us all about the works of director Katsuhito Akiyama.

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Introduction (0:00 - 29:10)
This time we answer a backlog of emails and respond to such things as the new TokyoPop format for Shonan Junai-gumi, modern fandom, and *gasp* a metahuman (Nightwing LOL) the horror of MegaTokyo. We also go into a gigantic number of older shows to check out (there were a TON more but we cut them out), reminisce about Arctic Animation and check out a really great old schooler who uploaded some episodes of a classic F1 racing anime for all of you to check out. Download them here
, but be kind and do not destroy his bandwidth. He also asked for some feedback on the show so be sure to email him your thoughts at mieko2_99 AT yahoo DOT co DOT jp

• TokyoPop's Shonan Junai-gumi page - this is the sequel to GTO and will be released in a new wide-ban format for TokyoPop.
• Megatokyo - you know what the page is already
• Otakon - one of the largest anime conventions in the world
• Graviton City - Project A-Ko - everything you'd ever want to know about the action/comedy classic; the site is currently down
  
• ANN's entry on Iria: Zeiram the Animation
• Galaxy Express 999 TV Fansite
  
• ANN's entry on Dirty Pair Flash
• Bandai Channel's Akira Site (Japanese) - do we really need to post a link about this? Well, have one that's not in English. That's helpful.
  
• The Official Robotech Website - home to the absolute craziest fans in anime. Be careful of those forums, because the folks who post there are lunatics. Some of whom we know.
  
• ANN's entry on Patlabor 2 - really one of the very best political thrillers in anime or otherwise.
• Arctic Animation - they were basically the AnimeJunkies of the VHS fansubbing era
  

Let's News! (29:10 - 35:47)
Gerald reports on his experiences attending the Production IG lecture in which the main speaker didn't actually show up. We were hoping to get an interview with him, but that obviously couldn't happen, so the only news item is that IGPX has been faring really poorly in America. Wait, how is THAT news to anyone?!

Promo: Ninja Consultant (35:47 - 36:56)
Erin and Noah have come up with a new promo for their show, and we're more than happy to play it since they're officially a Better Podcast Than Us. Daryl made sure to put this promo directly after the news segment for maximum joke potential.

Review: Pluto (36:57 - 52:06)
In this review, Daryl talks about the manga Pluto by Naoki Urasawa, the same creator of Monster which Gerald and Clarissa reviewed last week. It's a retelling of one of the more well-remembered Astro Boy stories, only done in a style very much like Monster. Contains some spoilers for the first 26 chapters, which is all that's out so far, as well as for the original Astro Boy tale.

• Dark Horse's Astro Boy Volume 3 - contains the "Greatest Robot On Earth" storyline from which Pluto is derived
• The Laws of Robotics from Isaac Asimov's stories - these are utilized in Astro Boy and Pluto as well
• Wikipedia page on Alexander the Great - I should make a Reign the Conqueror joke here but I'm too tired
• "Urasawa's Pluto and Tezuka's Astro Boy" courtesy of Jog - The Blog
  
• Mangascreener's website - notice that Pluto isn't actually listed there, but they are doing it
  

Promo: Anime Genesis (52:07 - 52:44)
Before you ask: IT'S A JOKE, PEOPLE. The URL for the podcast has actually changed since this promo was done, so use the one we've linked to here instead of the one in the promo. In one of their latest episodes, they mention how "Anime World Order really likes Kazuo Koike." It's a pity that Benu voted wrong on the Frappr map.

Often Overlooked: From Eroica With Love (52:45 - 1:15:48)
Clarissa commits a cardinal sin when reviewing From Eroica With Love and uses the term "gay" as a noun, but Daryl and Gerald stay quiet as she recounts the series that's basically Lupin for girls who like guys who like guys. Marvel at how we all alternate between pronounciations of "Lupin"!

• ANN's entry for From Eroica With Love
• CMX page listing for Eroica Volume 1
• Eroica Fans - the biggest, long-standing English fansite for Eroica (has text summaries of many manga stories and lots of links)
• Japanese fan organization for Iron Klaus - around since 1978 (the story, as I've heard it, is that there is a whole group of women--surely middle aged by now--who never married, because their hearts were only for Klaus)
• Ranking of Best 50 mangas - according to Japanese votes, done by Comic Link in 1998 - Eroica comes in at #43
• A Takarazuka cosplay shoot with otokoyaku dressed as Klaus and Dorian - hey, it was too good to pass up
• Led Zeppelin site - if some of you sad, sad people don't know them already (such as Daryl, who doesn't listen to music at all)

Promo: Otaku Generation (1:15:49 - 1:16:08)
It's a pretty clever promo centering around the tried-and-true bumper promo format. We would do something different, but we lack their immense technical expertise. If you thought our show runs long, they've been running two and a half hour episodes as of late!

Creator's Spotlight: Katsuhito Akiyama (1:16:09 - 1:31:56)
Gerald takes a look at his favorite director, the very unknown Katsuhito Akiyama, director of such show as the original Bubble Gum Crisis, Gall Force (again, this is Gerald's personal fansite so be careful), Sol Bianca, Magical Project S, and recently the new Guyver TV series. An unusual choice? Yes, but that's what we're about here at AWO, the unexpected.

Closing (1:31:57 - 1:33:47)
This week was a very strange one for us. We're very late and on top of that, this episode sounds about as bad as our first one. We'd offer excuses, but nobody wants to hear those. I guess this is the glamorous world of anime podcasts for you. Next week's episode will consist entirely of an interview with Tim Eldred, who in addition to being a huge fan of VOTOMS and Space Battleship Yamato (and Fist of the North Star!) is also a published comicbook artist and has done extensive work in Western animation such as Teen Titans, MTV's Spider-Man series, and Wing Commander Academy (that one's not listed in IMDB or Anime News Network or anything, but Daryl knows it off the top of his head since he was a Wing Commander nut once upon a time when that game franchise wasn't dead). Tim was there when anime fandom first started in the US, and we'll be talking at length about all of these things and then some. We're not splitting this one up like the Patrick Macias interview, so be ready for it.

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