Key Frames

Episode 117 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. Well, now that Ben has watched Vision of Escaflowne and Magic Knight Rayearth, he's decided that he likes isekai anime, so in this episode he joins Duncan to dive into the development of the genre. What nuggets of wisdom will they unearth from the distant eighties and nineties? Will Ben discover that he is actually able to appreciate The Twelve Kingdoms now? Will Duncan be able to thread the needle of InuYasha being isekai? Ben certainly tries to do that when they talk later about Aria, the "other world" in question of course being Mars. Check it all out for yourself! The post 117 - Undine Monthly first appeared on Key Frames.

Episode 116 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. Nine out of ten doctors agree, it's best to get one's excitement or disappointment over new anime out at the very beginning of the season. Accordingly, in the interests of good health, Ben declares war on the latest season of Rent-a-Girlfriend, shocking absolutely no one, while Jeff has nothing but hope for yet another girls-with-guns show. Andy, brave as ever, has declared that an isekai parody is the best anime of the season, despite its lack of songs by Creepy Nuts, and Duncan... well, Duncan's doing just fine with his theories on heavy metal and masculinity. Strap in, this one's a biggie! The post 116 - Rude Nude Dude 'Tude first appeared on Key Frames.

Episode 115 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. That's right, it's another discussion of everyone's favorite cyberpunk franchise! It's been barely a month since Ben and Duncan cautiously praised the first few episodes of the second season of Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045, but now they're back to say that the caution was warranted and that the series represents a nadir for Kenji Kamiyama's otherwise interesting career. What did they like, what did they hate, and how does it relate to the broader conversation about producing and marketing franchises in anime? Why, you'll have to listen to find out! Also, note that this is the last of Key Frames' biweekly episodes: from this point onward, we'll be releasing episodes on the first Tuesday of every month, to permit more of our hosts to attend more regularly. The post 115 - The Franchise Is Vast and Infinite first appeared on Key Frames.

Episode 114 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. What's the biggest surprise in this episode? Is it that Jeff managed to watch eight love comedies, in whole or in part, and found none of them to be particularly great? Is it that Ben expressed disappointment about two of the spring anime season's biggest hits after claiming repeatedly to be jaded about all of them? Is it that Duncan's favorite show happened to be something called The Executioner and Her Way of Life? All of this and more will be revealed to you when you listen to this latest episode. The post 114 - Time Will Ripen first appeared on Key Frames.

Episode 29 of Key Frames: Inbetweens, a mini-podcast about anime. We just did a tween on Mobile Suit Gundam, one of the defining franchises of anime, so why not another? Jeff and Duncan drink deeply of the original Ghost in the Shell movie, which they praise for asking questions more than giving answers, and they ponder how it pointed the way forward (and, in a handful of cases, backward) for cyberpunk as a genre, anime as a medium, and cyborgs as a lens through which to view alienation from one's own body and society. It's not quite what it could be, since Ben couldn't be there, but maybe he'll be back in the next episode to give everyone what for. The post Inbetween 29 - An "Every Other Year" Thing (Ghost in the Shell (1995)) first appeared on Key Frames.

Episode 113 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. Isn't it strange sometimes how things can have opposite meanings in different contexts? If I call something "magic," depending on the tone of my voice, I could be saying either that it's a beautiful spectacle of otherworldly mystery or that it's complete bullshit that doesn't explain anything and means nothing on its own. I guess that's just how context works, though. Is "selling out" really a possibility if all anime, at least outside of crowdfunding, is corporate on some level? Is it really a sequel to Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex if it's just recycling elements from previous installments in the franchise? Ben and Duncan discuss this and more in our latest episode! The post 113 - It's Just Magic first appeared on Key Frames.

Episode 112 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. I know we talk a lot about sex on this podcast but, to be fair, anime is extremely horny. As fans of it, we have to apologize for (or at least tolerate) jiggling boobs, panty shots, and more or less everything about the "harem" subgenre. That's why it's kind of a relief to talk about adult relationships in the shows we like! You know, people having sex first and then catching feelings, people whose connections with their partners are more about comfort than romance, and of course the endless (and endlessly) homoerotic fan service of shounen and seinen battlers. Not to mention that, after the break, we have One Piece talk from Andy, Magic Knight Rayearth talk from Ben, and School Days talk from Jeff, while Duncan scoffs at us all! The post 112 - World of Sex first appeared on Key Frames.

Episode 28 of Key Frames: Inbetweens, a mini-podcast about anime. The creeping obsession with Mobile Suit Gundam shared by Ben, Duncan, and Jeff gains another toehold in the podcast with this tween on the celebrated 1989 OVA written by none other than Hiroyuki Yamaga of Studio GAINAX fame. Hear our hosts talk about being anti-war in an anime designed first and foremost to sell toys, about the beauty and demise of hand-painted cel animation, and their evolving relationship with this, the nonpareil of mecha anime! And don't worry, complaints about how annoying Al is and how dumb Lt. Col. Killing's name is are kept to a minimum. The post Inbetween 28 - Space Is Not the Place (Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket) first appeared on Key Frames.

Episode 111 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. You'd think that Ben and Andy couldn't hold down a podcast by themselves, but you'd be wrong. These hosts are two great tastes that taste great together, and they even agree on some anime! Hear them heap praise on Ya Boy Kongming! and Spy x Family, two of the big winners at the outset of the spring 2022 anime season, and hear them heap... other kinds of things on the rest of the shows they're watching. Just kidding, it's way better pickings that last season! The post 111 - Honey Carole Clover Tuesday first appeared on Key Frames.

Episode 110 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. What do you do when recapping an anime season almost entirely dominated by two or three shows? Why, you have an end-of-season episode where every anime gets a full five to fifteen minutes of discussion, for once! My Dress-Up Darling and The Case Study of Vanitas are the clear winners, in terms of time devoted to them, but Ben, Duncan, and Jeff find something to love even in relative disappointments like Akebi's Sailor Uniform and Ranking of Kings. And that's not even taking into account the older stuff they talk about near the end! Surely, not one to miss. The post 110 - Tinfoil and Black Oil first appeared on Key Frames.

Episode 27 of Key Frames: Inbetweens, a mini-podcast about anime. It's time for a rematch on whether Violet Evergarden is profoundly moving or manipulatively sappy! Duncan, Andy, and Jeff square up over the sequel movie that was released two years ago in Japan and last year worldwide, but don't worry, it's not Violet-loving Andy vs. the world this time. Jeff and even Duncan join him at times in praising the movie, in between analyzing it as a meditation on discomfort with modernity and the instantaneous communication that underpins it. Should you watch Violet Evergarden: The Movie, even if you haven't seen the show first? Well... maybe you should listen and find out! The post Inbetween 27 - The Letters You Don't Write (Violet Evergarden: The Movie) first appeared on Key Frames.

Episode 109 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. If you thought that last episode's dissection of a particular host's taste in anime girls was a good time, you're really in for a treat! It's the topic now, although Duncan dresses it up by making it about how off-putting fan service in anime can be. Listen to how everyone loves tsundere characters, Andy recommending Jeff some peak yandere content, and Jeff being disappointed that The Case Study of Vanitas isn't hornier! Oh, also, Ben watched Kageki Shoujo!! and of course he loves it. The post 109 - A Skinemax Mentality first appeared on Key Frames.

Episode 108 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. Once upon a time, Andy bought Ben a couple of video games as gifts, but Ben didn't make the time to play them, so Andy made Ben feel really bad about that fact on a podcast to which dozens of people listen. This is now the final episode, because Ben's going into hiding. Kidding! We are talking about NEETs and hikikomori, though, so Ben's embarrassment and shame are fitting in a way. Also, after the break, Andy and Jeff talk about Ranking of Kings and other anime currently airing, while Ben gives his take on the decade-old Mardock Scramble movies. The post 108 - The Hobby Fairy first appeared on Key Frames.

Episode 107 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. I hope you're prepared to hear Ben, Andy, and Duncan say, "I don't know," a lot! Turns out, there are a lot of different ways to come at depictions of religion in anime, from its function in society to the nature of divinity. Don't worry, all of the hosts find plenty of opportunities to bring up cyberpunk and isekai, so you'll still know that you're listening to an anime podcast. To further cement that impression, after the break, they talk about recent shows and movies like Belle, Orbital Children, and the Shirobako movie. Check it out! The post 107 - Rebuild Yourself first appeared on Key Frames.

Episode 106 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. The thing about writing blurbs for the podcast is that sometimes your present self gets mad at your past self for squandering ideas. Like, sure, last episode's end-of-season coverage was barren enough to joke about, especially without Jon's contributions, but it was like a lush, fertile field compared to this episode's beginning-of-season lineup. Four hosts watching six shows between them, three of which are sequels or continuations! Goodness gracious, what a world. At least Ben, Andy, Duncan, and Jeff get plenty of conversation out of Akebi's Sailor Uniform and My Dress-Up Darling, as well as reaching back to the anime of previous years to talk about Steins;Gate, Magic Knight Rayearth, and whatever nonsense show Andy's in love with. The post 106 - Wide-Faced Girls first appeared on Key Frames.

Episode 105 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. After an entire season of complaining that there weren't many shows worth talking about, can Ben, Andy, Duncan, and Jeff fill up almost two hours with conversation anyway? What are you talking about, of course they can! They have Komi Can't Communicate and the fourth season of Aggretsuko to wrestle with, as well as Blue Period and Ranking of Kings to praise as pleasant surprises. Even in a leaner season of anime, there's always something to say. The post 105 - Monarch'd first appeared on Key Frames.

Episode 26 of Key Frames: Inbetweens, a mini-podcast about anime. Six years and a hundred and twenty-three episodes ago, in an earlier era of the podcast, Ben pitched an episode spotlighting the film adaptation of Clamp's apocalyptic manga. Instead, everyone picked Natsuyuki Rendezvous, an anime that Ben hated. Now he'll have his revenge! Duncan and Jeff join him to wonder in bafflement at the attempt to cram a half-dozen volumes of material into an hour and a half of screen time... and maybe find something to love? Not Andy, though. Andy calls in at the end to say that it's pants. The post Inbetween 26 - Afraid of the Future (X/1999) first appeared on Key Frames.

Episode 104 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. These anime are short, but so are our attention spans! Whenever they manage to stay on the topic of short-form anime, you'll get to hear Ben talk about anthology movies, Duncan about the Japan Animator Expo, and Andy about music videos (and a very randy robot). Also, tune in for the scoop on the newest installment of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, which definitely doesn't involve any phonetic shenanigans with the protagonist's name. The post 104 - Jone Jocean first appeared on Key Frames.

Episode 103 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. You thought we covered maids in episode 41, the one about And Yet the Town Moves, but the joke's on you! Ben, Duncan, and Jeff barely talk about that anime at all this time, preferring instead to wallow in garbage like Mahoromatic and He Is My Master. After the break, at least, they class things up a bit with discussions of Heike Monogatari and the Type-Moon franchise? You'll have to see for yourself if it was all worth it. The post 103 - No Old Maids first appeared on Key Frames.

Episode 102 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. What, again, is the taxonomy of school anime? First, This School Is Real, where school is depicted realistically and features teachers, classes, and grades. Second, We Have Clubs, I Guess, where school exists only insofar as clubs and their requisite activities exist. Third, School Is Just a Place, where school is just a backdrop for unrelated characters and situations. Last, What Even Is School, where school bears no meaningful resemblance to school in real life. Tune in to hear Ben, Andy, and Duncan discuss all of this and more! The post 102 - Good Thighs, Everybody first appeared on Key Frames.