It’s Episode 3 of Nerdy Talk, Better known as the Snow Episode due to the fact that most of the attending members were hunkered down and weathering a severe winter storm! That didn’t stop the discussion, though!
Topics for the evening include Neon Alley’s evolution to an on-demand service, Discotek’s Blue Sub Dub Flub, and the issue of the “Good Old Boys’ Club” in anime fandom. Our special guest for the evening was AnimEigo CEO and co-founder Robert Woodhead, who discussed the progress on the Bubblegum Crisis Kickstarter project, as well as the challenges and advantages of the Crowd Production approach.
I’d like to extend our deepest thanks to Mr. Woodhead for sitting with us tonight!
On a related note, those looking to pre-order the Bubblegum Crisis Blu-ray set that missed the Kickstarter period can do so via AnimEigo’s website.
This evening’s edition of Nerdy Talk features the following members:
- Mike Ferreira
- Matt Brown
- Erin Dale
- Zachary coursen
- Guest: Robert J. Woodhead
At the moment, we’re available via iTunes, Blubrry, and standard RSS
| Subscribe via the following outlets: | ||
 iTunes | Blubrry | RSS |
Those who can’t wait to dig in can view the podcast below.
Show Notes
Correction: During the course of our show, we mentioned that Sailor Moon made money. Apparently, it didn’t break even. However, Revolutionary Girl Utena and Fruits Basket both posted profits. Thanks to Daniel Zelter for pointing this out!
00:30: AnimEigo is one of the oldest companies in the anime industry. Founded in 1988 by Robert J. Woodhead and Roe Adams, the company is best known for its releases of fan favorites of the time, like Urusei Yatsura, the Oh My Goddess! OVA series, and Bubblegum Crisis.
01:21: Great Teacher Onizuka was a 1998 comedy-drama series based on the manga of the same name. The series starred Eikichi Onizuka, a 22-year-old biker gang member turned teacher that aims to become the greatest teacher ever. He’s hired to a school in Kichijoji to teach a class that’s wild enough to drive teachers to nervous breakdowns and even mysterious deaths. His job becomes a journey of self-discovery as he aims to break through and help his students, one by one.
01:46: Garzey’s Wing is a 1993 OVA by Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino. The series, which is a pseudo-prequel to Aura Battler Dunbine, has earned a reputation for being unbelievably bad. The plot is nonsensical, the characters are poorly written, and the dub is a hilarious example that takes “doing it wrong” to new levels.
03:44: Daryl Surat is a prominent contributor to Otaku USA magazine, who also co-hosts the Anime World Order podcast.
04:10: Cat Soup is a surrealist short film directed by Tatsuo Sato. The film follows Nyatta, a young kitten who travels to the land of the dead to save his dead sister’s soul.
04:16: Bubblegum Crash is the direct sequel to the Bubblegum Crisis OVA.
04:46: Crusher Joe is based on a series of light novels by Dirty Pair creator Haruka Takachiho. The title proved popular enough to spawn a film and two OVAs, which were all released by AnimEigo. The film is well known for its over-eager use of eyecatch-style scene transitions.
05:37: Discussion based on the interview “Exclusive: Director Jaume Collet-Serra Dishes His Vision for Akira”
13:04: To be fair, Gundam did create a lot of stereotypes and tropes.
14:20: Say Yes! was an insert song in the Bubblegum Crisis. It was performed by Maiko Hashimoto, who played the character “Vision” in the series.
15:02: Konya wa Hurricane is probably the best-known of all of the Bubblegum Crisis insert songs. It was the first vocal theme in the series, and used to set the stage for the rest of the series. The song was performed by Oomori Kinuko, who played the role of Priss.
15:09: “Soldier Girls” is the common name for Bubblegum Crisis insert song Angel of Loneliness. Mike referenced the title incorrectly.
16:30: Blue Submarine No. 6 was one of Gonzo’s earliest works, and began distribution in 1998. the title was released in the west by Bandai in 2000, with each 30-minute episode being shipped per volume.
17:20: The first anime DVD release in the United States was actually Ghost in the Shell, which hit stores in 1996. Toshinden was the second anime DVD releease, which hit in 1997.
18:41: Had to give a shout out to El Hazard, which is currently available through Nozomi Entertainment (affiliate link)
20:30: News Story being discussed: Discotek Issues Statement on Blue Submarine No. 6 Dub
23:05: In Episode 2, Mike went on a fairly spirited rant about the Wonder Momo anime series.
24:00: To be fair, it was Caturday!
24:49: News Item Being Discussed: Neon Alley Evolves, Sheds Linear Feed For More Content
26:25: Mike talked with the Neon Alley crew in October 2013.
29:13: The Big K Event was a sneak preview of the dub premeire for Neon Alley members.
35:34: The Vashta Nerada were an antagonistic force in Doctor Who. They were microscopic, carnivorous creatures. While harmless individually, a large swarm of Vashta Nerada could strip an organism to bare bones in milliseconds. The name literally means “”the shadows that melt the flesh.”
36:49: Atlanta was hit by a snowstorm in 2014, which essentially shut down the city. Traffic pile-ups and snowy roads halted all travel.
38:03: Discussion of the following: Ask John: Did Girls Cause America’s Anime Bust?
39:36: Scuffle over Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero occurred in the comments feed of Shelf Life: La vie en Rogue, among other places.
39:41: The myth of Fake Geek Girls, and the shaming of female fans is a major problem, both in anime and other “nerdy” hobbies.
44:04: If you haven’t seen it yet, track down a copy of Record of Lodoss War. It’s out of print at the moemnt, but it is fantastic!
49:15: Data provided by Quantcast.
53:49: AnimEigo held a Kickstarter drive to fund the Bubblegum Crisis Ultimate Edition Blu-Ray set.
54:18: Postcard results were listed on the KickStarter post Postcard Election Results!
55:50: The Google Doc can be found here.
61:18: The comic released by Dark Horse was Bubblegum Crisis: Grand Mal by Adam Warren.
68:26: Single Transferrable Vote is a voting system that is used in many nations, including Ireland, India, and Australia. The United States typically uses “First Past the Post” voting.
72:38: AnimEigo released Macross in 2001, after a Kickstarter-ish pre-order drive. The title was a sub-license from Harmony Gold.
73:10: Speakerphone effect is unintentional. We had some connection troubles that we didn’t pick up on until after recording.
76:45: Woodhead mentioned that pre-orders can still be made at BGCUE.com.
79:37: Nene’s Hardsuit was quite pink.
83:10: 3-D printed shoes are indeed a reality!
84:56: Spirit of Wonder: Miss China’s Ring was released by AnimEigo in 2001. It has since become an absolute rarity in the market, often fetching over $100 on the open market. Side note: Dr. Breckenridge totally looks like Hayao Miyazaki.
