Since I am going to be on a plane for a little while, I think this will be the best time to release this episode. If you are wondering why I am going to be on a plane, I am on my way to Anime Expo. If you are also planning to fly to LA, or just want something new to read, we recommend the titles we talk about in this episode. This time, however, we are going to be covering some of our favorite manhwa, or Korean manga. They might be read differently than most manga, but they are still worth your time. We also read off some of our recent feedback. Don't expect much note since my flight leaves in about 30 minutes.

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(0:00 - 12:36) Intro

I am serious. All that audio we had was really hard to recover. For some reason, everything on this Earth was trying to make noise while we recorded. Either it's family visisting to watch soccer, motorcycles, serial killers next door using saws, or a fan blowing right into the mic which has to be on or else one of our host will die of heatstroke. I didn't care at this point, so I am going to release this with my dog and family still in the background. I am going to start investing for a studio.

(12:37 - 18:57) Discussion (A Brief History Of Manhwa)

Peterson said that this is the history and I believe him.

(18:58 - 27:25) Discussion (Jack Frost)

Hellsing + High school = Jack Frost

(27:26 - 31:49) Discussion (Unbalance X Unbalance)

Hot teacher + Guy who slaps bitches = Unbalance X Unbalance

(31:50 - 39:45) Discussion (THE BREAKER)

(History Strongest Disciple Kenichi / 6) + Oh! Great fan service = THE BREAKER

(39:46 - 43:12) Discussion (Veritas)

THE BREAKER > Veritas

(43:13 - 45:31) Earcatch

Anime 3000 Thanks for the promo plug. I honestly was not expecting to hear Josh when you gave me the promo.

NPC Podcast Glad to know you are recording again.

The Unofficial One Piece Podcast See you in LA.

(45:32 - 1:15:23) Mailbag

Thanks for everyone writing in to the show. We may have a new way for you guys to send us feedback. More on that later.

(1:15:24 - 1:16:53) Closing

I will comment on this episode if I survived the flight.

Please feel free to leave a comment or contact us via email at: SSAApodcast@gmail.com

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There's an 8,000 lb fluffy pink gorilla in the comfy bedrooms of anime fans everywhere, and it's no secret that it's piracy. With the combined Japanese & American Industries losing millions each year, studios closing their doors & reducing their workloads even the most insanely opinionated of pirates can't ignore that these events coincide with fansubbed anime and scanlated manga being more widely available. Companies are cracking down even harder than they did previously leaving many an inconvenienced fanboy squawking in disbelief while the purists enjoy a bit of unearned schadenfreude.

However, the questions I'm positing in this post are a bit different when it comes to the piracy issue. We want to tackle this from another angle (no, not from behind). We have a pretty good idea of piracy in the US/Canada & Japan as there's no shortage of evidence of companies that are doing much more poorly than they were just a few years ago, and we feel like we'd just be rehashing old talking points if we bothered with those markets.

My questions are for those of you that listen to our podcast from around the world. We know you're there, we've seen the hits, and enjoyed an email or two. In your country, how easy is it to access anime legally? As a non-American fan I know firsthand how boned I am when it comes to viewing anime on Funimation's site or Hulu.com (Copyright blah blah blah), and since my country is too small to warrant anyone going out of their way to ensure broadcast rights are covered for it, I probably will not be able to legitimately (without workarounds) view English-licensed anime. Customs markups here on DVDs & manga run anywhere from 10-30% so you can see how even a casual anime addiction can quickly get wildly expensive. Factor in shipping (often from seller to an import company and then from import company to my country) and it now approaches ludicrously insane. Ignoring the price factor, bookstores here see no reason to distribute manga on any sort of large scale & anime stores are almost completely unheard of. (There's one, I think, and I'm not quite sure of how much actual anime they sell)

If you live in a region where most anime outside of the basics (what has run on US TV for years) is unlicensed in your language, does this then prompt you to turn towards piracy or do you only sate your addiction with what you can access legally? How much of a markup are DVDs sold at when it comes to what your American/Canadian counterparts can purchase them at?

What kind of pirate are you? (Obviously if this question doesn't apply to you ignore it) Is it out of laziness, to spite the industry, or because you're genuinely frustrated at not being able to access the latest shows legally like others? Expound upon your concerns and feelings, don't worry about sending us pages and pages, we'll read it we swear.

If you're from North America and want to send in your view, you're more than welcome to do so, we're interested in hearing about this topic from all perspectives, even those I vehemently disagree with. I (and my colleagues) are very much interested in seeing the more worldwide picture.

Big Ups from the former Charlestown, stomping ground of this fine dead gentleman,




email us at ssaapodcast@gmail.com
tweet us at twitter.com/ssaapodcast or twitter.com/damedrfoxyb

OK. Since the actual discussion in this episode is not that important, I am mainly using this as a medium to announce that we are officially going to Anime Expo. The fact that this is the worst kept secret is not really the point of me announcing it here. We recorded this some time ago and we really had no idea the cost of how we are going to get some of the cast over there to Los Angeles. Foxy is demanding that I ask the audience to donate what you can to cover her cost to get over there. It turns out that the giant turtle that she lives on is slowly sinking and we need the funds to develop a vehicle for her to use to travel around the oil spill and get to the con. I seem to pick the worst times to tell people not to donate to our podcast. Consider the donate button as a "Help Foxy Not Die" button.

Anyway, we, or likely just me, are going to be attending as regular guests of the con. I checked the analytics and can tell that our one listener has been checking our site in a lot of cities in California. If you feel like meeting us (please say no), email us and we can do a meet-up of some sort. I am sure that the guys from the One Piece Podcast might be around too if that gives you an excuse to see us. Regardless, I am going to be taking my portable mic and I might ask random strangers questions that I may post on the podcast. For those that are wondering about information on the con itself, go to the Anime Expo site.

Oh right. Funkatron from the Unofficial One Piece Podcast asked us to record our first impressions on the Spring '10 anime season. That is in here too.

Click here to download episode (Right-click and Save As)



(0:00 - 14:11) Intro

I told you I would beep it. I love how we are always timely about doing these kinds of episodes. We usually do this when a bunch of shows are about to end or new ones have already started. Be sure to expect our Summer Anime Preview in November.

(14:12 - 39:10) Discussion (Our First Impressions Of This Season)

Here is the list that we used. If you have been following the Twitter, you know that I have been watching more of these shows already. I don't think we are going to have our final say of this season. We may do a recommendation episode about an upcoming season of anime. That will give us a reason to stop doing these episodes for a while.

(39:11 - 40:56) Eyecatch

Orange Anime Podcast Glad to know you guys aren't dead. If you are wondering, we will be going to Florida Supercon too.

Jammer's AniMovie Podcast I added you to the cast page. If you like the description, awesome.

(40:57 - 1:35:06) Discussion (More Of Said Impressions)

Sorry Funk, I didn't put the promo in there.

(1:35:07 - 1:55:52) Closing

That's twice now that I referenced Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series.

Please feel free to leave a comment or contact us via email at: SSAApodcast@gmail.com

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I honestly wanted to do this episode as organized as possible. This is how a mistake turned into an idea which turned into a 2 hour long discussion about Haruhi Suzumiya. For this episode, I bring over Jammer from his AniMovie Blog...cast. I swear this guy combines words for noreason. Since I have been on almost every anime related episode he has done, I figured it would be appropriate for him to do a guest spot over here and talk about the subject of his first episode. Without his fire flowers, he now steps into the ass backwards realm. Hear how well he survives.

Click here to download episode (Right-click and Save As)



(1:47 - 9:28) Discussion (The Second Season)

That's Jammer by the way.

(9:29 - 25:39) Discussion (Where To Start?)

It's to you how you are going to watch this one. You may have to check online for the different orders.

(25:40 - 29:14) Discussion (Chibi Time)

The Haruhi-chan series is very fun to watch. They aired around the time when the second season started. This discussion will bleed over to the next one.

(29:15 - 29:55) Intro

I make fun of his show now, but it is really good listen. Chances are I am going to appear in a bunch more episodes. We may have something else planned for the future. Stay tuned.

(29:56 - 34:25) Discussion (The Ultimate Narrator)

Though I didn't get a chance to say it, Crispin Freeman does a good job as Kyon. Yes, I have a bit of a bias towards the Japanese actor. Not that I didn't mind the dub, but I guess I just wasn't expecting to hear his voice when I saw it. Haruhi was hit or miss with me. Try it out for yourself.

(34:26 - 40:39) Discussion (She Rocked My Socks)

I have managed to get a few of Hirano Aya albums and most of them have a good sound. Here is an interesting example of her singing.



Yeah, her range is pretty amazing. Here is a bit of normal voice with a interesting surprise.



This is her recent single, Speed Star. There is a lot of running.



(40:40 - 43:50) Discussion (Season Two...Again)

I can't really say much else about this season. Obviously, the elephant in the room is the whole Endless Eight debacle. I think all the talking points have been said and plenty of videos of people complaining about it. I hate having all the negative vibe on the show so I would rather not discuss it. Someone decided to use their time to make it easier on everyone who wants to watch those episodes. This is only part one. I am sure you can find the rest by yourselves.



(43:51 - 1:17:16) Discussion (The Story)

This is the biggest segment of the episode. I know I should have brought this up earlier. I didn't really expect to have the topic go all over the place on this episode. My plan was to have this as straight forward and organized as possible. I am sure I could rearrange it make it flow well, but that it is not worth the trouble. I don't think I have as much time to do crazy stuff for my episodes. Maybe in the future I will start experimenting a lot more. For now, you are going to have to deal with what we give you.

(1:17:17 - 1:32:39) Discussion (Not The ASOS Brigade)

Since the discussion lead to something else, I might as well explain what the ASOS Brigade is. This is Bandai's idea of marketing Haruhi here in the States. Here is a clip of the first episode.



I think you are starting to get the idea. The whole thing came from a site that released videos with information on how the series was going to be coming out in America. They are doing it again now to promote the second season. I hope it turns out well for them. I would actually like to see more crazy ways that companies could do to promote their series. I guess Haruhi is the only show crazy enough show for them to bank on.

(1:32:40 - 1:48:22) Discussion (Smoked Cheese)



(1:48:22 - 1:55:52) Closing

Oh right. The movie.



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