Under the Kotatsu

We're finishing off our run on Patlabor with a trio of offerings. First there's the main event, Patlabor WXIII, the last of the theatrical animated films and an often overlooked and underappreciated part of the series. Then there's MiniPato, the short form experimental parody anime, and last (and probably least) there's Patlabor Reboot, the 2016 proof of concept for a modern Patlabor series that's finally going to see its actualization in the upcoming Patlabor EZY.

Anime Discussed: Patlabor the Movie 3, MiniPato, and Patlabor Reboot

Next time: Wish Upon the Pleiades 1-6

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It was all leading to this. One Patlabor work stands high above the rest: Mamoru Oshii's Patlabor 2. Join us as we talk about the films big thematic ideas, the masterful soundtrack from Kenji Kawaii, both the showy and subtle animation, the historical context the film was released in, and much more. Folks, they really don't make 'em like they used to.Anime Discussed: Patlabor 2: The MovieNext time: WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3, MiniPato, and Patlabor RebootSend us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu and on bluesky @underthekotatsu.bsky.social<...

With the OVAS out of the way, it's time to dig into the Patlabor movies, starting with Patlabor: The Movie! This movie has a lot of what the OVAs felt lacking, and then some: a lot more character interactions, intrigue, and action, not to mention it looks and sounds incredible. Join us as we dig into another Mamoru Oshii banger.Anime Discussed: Patlabor: The MovieNext time: Patlabor 2: The MovieSend us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu and on bluesky @underthekotatsu.bsky.social

We're finally scratching a big one off of Austin's personal list, and diving into Patlabor! Unfortunately for Danny and Danielle who haven't seen any Patlabor before, that means doing the prep work of watching the mostly good, but not great OVAs before getting to the real high points of the movies. Fortunately though, there's still much to talk about with the OVAs, including the weird resonances with future Patlabor projects which we'll get to in due time.Anime Discussed: Patlabor OVAs 1-7Next time: Patlabor: The MovieSend us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com...

We're changing things up a bit for this episode by reading a manga instead of watching an anime! We read the delightful (yet toothless) BL Metamorphosis. A totally nice manga that maybe could've had a bit more depth and drama going on.Anime Discussed: BL MetamorphosisNext time: Patlabor OVAs 1-7Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu and on bluesky @underthekotatsu.bsky.social

It's time for another show and tell, and this time we decided to forsake good sense and reason by choosing three different bad isekai anime and checking out their first episodes. All three held up to our general expectations of badness, but one was surprisingly fun in its badness, one was just boring, and the other was boring AND offensive. Join us as we roast some bad anime, consider our feelings on the isekai genre at large, and learn about the mechanics of fantasy pregnancy.Anime Discussed: Show and Tell: Bad Isekai Edition!Next time: BL MetamorphosisSend us your...

Now at the end of Shinsekai Yori, we can confidently say two things: one, this show did not need to be 25 episodes long, and two, the queerats were by far the most interesting part of the show. Join us as we dissect the few parts of the ending we actually liked, and the many parts of the ending we didn't.Anime Discussed: Shinsekai Yori 20-25Next time: Show and Tell: Bad Isekai Edtiion!Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu and on bluesky @underthekotatsu.bsky.social

Shinsekai Yori marches on, though it's debatable whether it should have gone on for this many episodes or not. As we reach the three quarters point on the show, we find ourselves frustrated on all the time waste on things that are not the developing rat politics. Anime Discussed: Shinsekai Yori 14-19Next time: Shinsekai Yori 20-25Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu and on bluesky @underthekotatsu.bsky.social

Shinsekai Yori continues to have its series of ups and downs as we jump forward in time two years. We learn even more about the hows and whys of the disappearing children, but unfortunately we also have to deal with the real-world implications this show inadvertently brings into conversation along with it. But most importantly, Squonk returns.Anime Discussed: Shinsekai Yori 8-13Next time: Shinsekai Yori 14-19Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu and on bluesky @underthekotatsu.bsky.social

Time for a new show! This time we're diving into the world of Shinsekai Yori - a world full of psychic powers, genetic manipulation, rat societies, and exploding dogs. Despite some ups and downs in these first few episodes, we're mostly having a good time as this show teases out it's central mysteries and ideas.Anime Discussed: Shinsekai Yori 1-7Next time: Shinsekai Yori 8-13Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu and on bluesky @underthekotatsu.bsky.social

As we come to an end with Granbelm and realize that we were all too right about this show being Madoka with the edges sanded off. But it turns out you need some of those edges to make a compelling show! Oh well, at least there's some evil women and cool mech fightsAnime Discussed: Granbelm 8-13Next time: Shinsekai Yori 1-7Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu and on bluesky @underthekotatsu.bsky.social

We're watching Granbelm, a show with mechs AND magical girls plus a healthy splash of Madoka for good measure. If it weren't for some solid action, and some A+ sicko women, this show would be pretty unremarkable, but boy are we feasting on the sicko energy in this one.

Anime Discussed: Granbelm 1-7

Next time: Granbelm 8-13

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu and on bluesky @underthekotatsu.bsky.social

We finished Mononoke! Any hang-ups we had about this show were alleviated by a very strong showing in these final episodes. Lots meaty themes and ideas to dig into, but also: haunted train!!!CW: Brief discussion of sexual assault and abortion

It's time to exorcise some evil spirits as we begin Mononoke! A show with tons of visual style, and a fun Agatha Christie-esque structure. We have a great time working to uncover the truth, reason, and form of this anime.

CW: Abortion and Miscarriage

Anime Discussed: Mononoke 1-6Next time: Mononoke 7-12Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu and on bluesky @underthekotatsu.bsky.social

It's episode 100!

To mark the occasion we've invited our friend Tyler back on the podcast to once again discuss Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece with us. Since this is episode 100 of the podcast, we jumped ahead to episode 100 of these three long running Shonen anime.

Surely a big, significant number like 100 means all three are action packed, emotional episodes right? Right??? Well either way, we get to ruminate on long running adaptions, the ways they handle outpacing the source material, and lament (but mostly celebrate) the loss of this particular type of Shonen manga adaption...

In this special (not actually special) Kotatsu after dark episode, we finish Scorching Ping Pong Girls! While it suffers from some unavoidable consequences of adaptation, we managed to have a fun time with this one. Though that doesn't stop us from making some unfair comparisons to Ping Pong the Animation. Anime Discussed: Scorching Ping Pong Girls 7-12Next time: Episode 100!Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu and on bluesky @underthekotatsu.bsky.social

Given our history with ping pong anime, it was only a matter of time before we watched one of the only other ping pong related shows besides Ping Pong The Animation, Scorching Ping Pong Girls! Or as I like to call it, Flaming Ping Pong Girls cuz these girls sure are gay. Oh, and the ping pong is pretty cool too. Anime Discussed: Scorching Ping Pong Girls 1-6Next time: Scorching Ping Pong Girls 7-12Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu and on bluesky @underthekotatsu.bsky...

Last time, two of us foolishly held on to the hope that the second half of Dual would really lock in on some interesting ideas, themes, character arcs, etc., but one of us correctly predicted that nothing interesting would happen. Somehow they made a science fiction harem show that manages to miss the mark on both fronts. Join us as we air are greviences about this disappointing relic of the post-Eva 90s.Anime Discussed: Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure 8-14Next time: Scorching Ping Pong Girls 1-6Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com...

Going in we knew Dual! would be an Evangelion inspired anime, but we did not know it would be a harem anime or that it was created by the Tenchi Muyo guy. However, it does have some interesting sci-fi ideas when it's not being a harem show. Here's hoping the ratio of those things works out in our favor by the end of the show...Anime Discussed: Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure 1-7Next time: Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure 8-14Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu and...

Our old friend Toh EnJoe has done it again. He made a show with some interesting ideas that got bogged down by BS pseudoscience and bad writing, but hey, at least Jet Jaguar, Godzilla, and Pero 2 are all here to give us something to enjoy. We're going to have to send this podcast back in time to prevent the Catastrophe of us watching it.Anime Discussed: Godzilla Singular Point 7-13Next time: Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure 1-7Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu and on bluesky...

Hope you're read up on your Cryptochemistry and Algebraic Cosmology because we're covering the Toh EnJoe (he of the two worst Space Dandy episodes) written Godzilla S.P, a show with some cool kaiju and nonsense pseudo-science, but with way too many characters with little to do. None of that matters though because we're here for our boy Jet Jaguar.

Anime Discussed: Godzilla Singular Point 1-6

Next time: Godzilla Singular Point 7-13

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM...

It's time for another show and tell! We've got an interesting mix of older anime to talk about, from an iconic Ikuhara show from the 90s to two OVA from 1989 with very different tones. It's also our 4 year anniversary, so you know that means: time for each of us to attempt to put all of the anime we've watched over the last 4 years into ranked lists. Our number one picks honestly won't surprise anyone, but some of our others might! Anime Discussed: Show and Tell! Next time: Godzilla Singular Point 1-6 Send us your questions! You can email us...

We've reach the end of our time with Milky Holmes! Unfortunately for us the back half of this season is much more dense with plot that the first half, and features an unlikely (and unliked) side character become the final boss for reasons? Anyway, there's still enough trademark Milky Holmes stupidity for us to enjoy. Make sure to join us next time for another show and tell and to celebrate 4 years of Under the Kotatsu! Anime Discussed: Milky Holmes Season 2 7-12 Next time: Show and Tell! Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com...

If you thought season 1 was stupid, wait to you get a load of season 2! Join us as we delight in just how head-empty and nonsensical Milky Holmes season 2 gets. Anime Discussed: Milky Holmes Season 2 1-6 Next time: Milky Holmes Season 2 7-12 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu and on bluesky @underthekotatsu.bsky.social

Merry Christmas! We're celebrating the holiday by watching two very dumb and fun special episodes of Milky Holmes including the Christmas Special! Not much too say about these, but we had fun celebrating the holidays with our favorite incompetent detectives! Anime Discussed: Milky Holmes Season 1 Special + Christmas Special! Next time: Milky Holmes Season 2 1-6 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu and on bluesky @underthekotatsu.bsky.social

We've reached the end of the first season of Milky Holmes! Do the girls finally get their Toys back? Does the plot make any sense? Just how important are these boob jokes? Answers will be revealed! Anime Discussed: Milky Holmes 7-12 Next time: Milky Holmes Season 1 Special + Christmas Special! Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu and on bluesky @underthekotatsu.bsky.social

We've convened to discuss one of the dumbest (non-derogatory) shows we've watched for the podcast: Milky Holmes. Despite being about a group of detectives, there's not a lot of mysteries being solved, but there is a lot of fun and dumb comedy, even if some of it has aged liked vinegar. Anime Discussed: Milky Holmes 1-6 Next time: Milky Holmes 7-12 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

It's time to talk about the power of friendship and senshado as we discuss the second half of Girls und Panzer, a show that on paper has not right being as good as it is. This podcast too was senshado the whole time. Anime Discussed: Girls und Panzer 7-12 Next time: Milky Holmes 1-6 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

Panzer vor! We're beginning our foray into the world of Senshado with the first six episodes of Girls und Panzer. Despite some weirdness around the edges with this show's usage of World War II iconography, we had a really fun time with this silly yet well made show. Anime Discussed: Girls und Panzer 1-6 Next time: Girls und Panzer 7-12 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

Unfortunately, we can't say that Ex-Arm betrayed the hype. It truly is the worst anime we have watched for this show, and that's really saying something. Join us as we close the book on this awful series, and try not to talk too much about Metal Gear Solid 4 along the way.

Anime Discussed: EX-ARM 7-12

Next time: Girls und Panzer 1-6

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find us on Cohost...

We've been watching too many good shows recently, so we decided to test ourselves by watching the infamously bad, Crunchyroll produced EX-ARM. We were prepared for bad CGI animation, but we were not prepared for everything else about it being equal bad. Turns out it's hard to make a good anime when almost everyone involved has never worked on an anime before!

Anime Discussed: EX-ARM 1-6

Next time: EX-ARM 7-12

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on...

We've reached the end of the line on our OVA train, so it's time to wrap things up with a one-off episode on Gunsmith Cats! Apart from the last few episodes of Bubblegum Crisis, we missed out on the 90s in our recent round of OVA picks, and boy, do we get a healthy dosage of 90s anime action in this series. Join us as we discuss the hijinks of gun nut Rally, and grenade girl Minnie as they take down gun runners, Russian assassins, and corrupt politicians on the mean streets of Anime Chicago. Anime Discussed: Gunsmith Cats ...

Since the OVA was an incomplete adaptation, we've done our due diligence and have read the Alien 9 manga. All of it! Unfortunately that means we read it's two sequels: Emulators and Next, which kinda step all over the interesting parts of the original manga. But hey, we still have a good time picking apart the manga and thinking fondly of the anime. Anime Discussed: Alien 9 Manga (Including Alien 9 Emulators and Alien 9 Next) Next time: Gunsmith Cats Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find...

Next up on our current round of OVA coverage is Alien 9! Despite being an incomplete adaption of it's original manga (which we'll be covering next episode), we managed to have a great time discussing this stylistic strong, Evangelion influence OVA from the early 2000s. And Discotek, if you're reading this, please put this one out on blu-ray. Anime Discussed: Alien 9 Next time: Alien 9 Manga (Including Alien 9 Emulators and Alien 9 Next) Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find us on Cohost @underthekotatsu.

Continuing our run of anime OVA coverage, we watched Dallos, which on top of being the first ever OVA might also be one of the most overtly political. We've got all kinds of great revolutionary imagery and themes to talk through as we discuss a truly one of a kind anime from our boy Mamoru Oshii. Anime Discussed: Dallos Next time: Alien 9 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find us on Cohost @underthekotatsu.

We finished Bubblegum Crisis! But does Bubblegum crisis really finish? Not really. These last few episodes are a messy and definitely doesn't offer a satisfying conclusion, but hey it does have some sick stuff like more orbital lasers and a spider mech. Anime Discussed: Bubblegum Crisis 5-8 Next time: Dallos Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find us on Cohost @underthekotatsu.

We're diving into more 80s OVA goodness with Bubblegum Crisis, a series that has way more style than plot, but hey, who needs plot when you've got style and the budget of an 80s OVA. Join us as we talk about the first few adventures of the Knight Sabers as they fight against *checks notes* Boomers? Anime Discussed: Bubblegum Crisis 1-4 Next time: Bubblegum Crisis 5-8 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find us on Cohost @underthekotatsu.

What started off as an excuse for us to pay tribute to the late, great Akira Toriyama somehow turned into us reliving the entire 1989 Toei Manga Matsuri movie lineup. So join as we have a great time with Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone and Mobile Cop Jiban: Great Explosion at the Monster Factory of Fear, and then have an alright time with the Akko-Chan and Akuma-Kun movies. Anime Discussed: Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone (and the rest of the 1989 Toei Manga Matsuri) Next time: Bubblegum Crisis 1-4 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail...

We finished Bocchi! Let's all hope they make another season though because this show was great. Filled with great music and animation, this is the new anime we've watched for the podcast, and it did not let us down! Anime Discussed: Bocchi the Rock! 7-12 Next time: Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find us on Cohost @underthekotatsu.

We continue the theme of anime about bands with a completely different show than given: Bocchi the Rock! Join us as we bask in the extremely high highs of this show's production and work to complete our Bocchi-dexes. Anime Discussed: Bocchi the Rock! 1-6 Next time: Bocchi the Rock! 7-12 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find us on Cohost @underthekotatsu.

We say our goodbyes to given by watching the first movie and the OVA (sadly we must wait for the English release of the second movie), and feast on all the nasty, juicy drama between Haruki, Kaji, and Ugetsu... oh, and I guess Mafuyu and Uenoyama are there too. Anime Discussed: given the Movie + OVA Next time: Bocchi the Rock! 1-6 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find us on Cohost @underthekotatsu.

We're not done with given yet, but we are done with the 11 episode TV anime. We bear witness to the power of rock music to let two boys fall in love and process emotional trauma. We also manage to find some time to complain about our least favorite British rock band yet again. Real ones already know which band. Anime Discussed: given 6-11 Next time: given the Movie + OVA Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find us on Cohost @underthekotatsu.

We're moving on from gay skating to gays in a band with given! The first half of this show is mostly setup, but we still have a good time talking about the boys and their homosexual musical escapades. But before we can get to any of that, it's our 3 year anniversary! Which means it's time for another ranking of all the anime we've watched. Anime Discussed: given 1-5 + 3 Year Anniversary Rankings! Next time: given 6-11 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find us...

We've completed our short program, so now it's time for the free skate as we talk about the second half of Yuri on Ice! We've much to talk about like kissing, wedding rings, JJ style, pork cutlet pirozhkis and more! Anime Discussed: Yuri on Ice 7-12 Next time: Given 1-5 + 3 Year Anniversary Rankings! Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find us on Cohost @underthekotatsu.

Oops! Someone spilled some gay into my sports anime. We're here to talk about the first half of Yuri on Ice! A show that honestly doesn't need an introduction. If you're listening to this, you probably know about the gay figure skating anime already. Anime Discussed: Yuri on Ice 1-6 Next time: Yuri on Ice 7-12 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find us on Cohost @underthekotatsu.

We're back! After taking a break we're back to talk about... a J-drama, a visual novel, and a tokusatsu show? That's right! It's time for a special non-anime show and tell episode. We've got three very different things to share, from an endearing drama with a cute sci-fi premise, to a visual novel about queerness and devils, to a tokusatsu show about a certain purple robot who fights for justice. Anime Discussed: Show and Tell - Anime Ja Nai Edition Next time: Yuri on Ice 1-6 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com...

We finished Canaan! This show was an absolute train wreck by the end, but that didn't stop us from having a good time talking about just how much of a train wreck it was. Maybe you should play 428 Shibuya Scramble instead and skip this anime.

CW: Discussion of sexual assault, necrophilia, light body horror, misogyny

Anime Discussed: Canaan 8-13

Next time: Show and Tell - Anime Ja Nai Edition

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also...

You know, we've been watching too many good things recently, so it's time for an absolute trash-fire with 2009's Canaan, a sequel to a bonus scenario in 2008's 428 Shibuya Scramble for the Nintendo Wii, and if that sounds like a poor basis for a show, you'd be right! Join us as we try to process one of the messiest shows we've watched to date. Anime Discussed: Canaan 1-7 Next time: Canaan 8-13 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find us on Cohost @underthekotatsu.<...

We finished Gunbuster, and it's finally time for us to talk about the Gunbuster in action! Also: Black hole bombs! Melodrama! Budget Constraints! So many exciting things to discuss! Anime Discussed: Gunbuster 4-6 Next time: Canaan 1-7 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find us on Cohost @underthekotatsu.

In light of Discotek's recent blu-ray release of it, we're watching the 80s OVA classic Gunbuster! Austin and Danielle are already sold on this one, but Danny might need some more convincing with the second half of the show. Fortunately there's still plenty of cool things to talk about in these first three episodes like time dilation, training montages, and giant bug monsters! Anime Discussed: Gunbuster 1-3 Next time: Gunbuster 4-6 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find us on Cohost @underthekotatsu.

We finish our duo of Masaaki Yuasa films with his most recent work: Inu-Oh! We had a great time with this historical rock opera about two dudes making great art. If you haven't seen this one already, go watch it! Anime Discussed: Inu-Oh Next time: Gunbuster Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find us on Cohost @underthekotatsu.

For his next pick, Danny had selected a duo of Masaaki Yuasa films for us to watch, starting with the 2017 film The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl. The vibes are good, and the animation is good, but is the awful male protagonist enough to sour all of that? Maybe! Listen to find out. Anime Discussed: Night Is Short, Walk On Girl Next time: Inu-Oh Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find us on Cohost @underthekotatsu.

We finally close the book on Cowboy Bebop by watching the movie. Against all odds, we mostly managed to had an ok time with it, despite the fact that somehow all of the major problems we had with the TV series manage to show up in big and small ways throughout the movie. This movie truly is a microcosm of all of our thoughts about Cowboy Bebop as a whole. Anime Discussed: Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door Next time: Night Is Short, Walk On Girl Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com...

Time for us to close the book on Bakemonogatari. It's been a rough ride, but fortunately we find at least a few things to like about Tsubasa Cat, the final arc of the series, though maybe it didn't need to be a full five episodes long. Join us for our final thoughts on the anime, many more thoughts about how the anime compares to the books, and our evolving opinions of Shaft as an anime studio.

Anime Discussed: Bakemonogatari 11-15

Next time: Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door

Send us your questions! You...

Time for two more arcs of Bakemonogatari, which means two new girls. We're still not having a great time with this show, but one of us has started to do their homework and read the novels which leaves us wondering: why is this such a bad adaptation? Anyway, Mick Garris if you're reading this please come on the show. Anime Discussed: Bakemonogatari 6-10 Next time: Bakemonogatari 11-15 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find us on Cohost @underthekotatsu.

New show! We're finally diving into the world of Nisio Issin, and also diving back into the world of Shaft Animation. The results are... mixed? Is this show kinda problematic? Yeah, but mostly it's just kinda boring. Regardless, we have a pretty good time digging into whatever's going on with this show. Anime Discussed: Bakemonogatari 1-5 Next time: Bakemonogatari 6-10 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

We finish Space Dandy and put to rest the question that started all of this: is Space Dandy the anime that people should be recommending for first time watchers over Cowboy Bebop? The answer is yes, yes, absolutely yes.

Anime Discussed: Space Dandy 21-16

Next time: Bakemonogatari 1-5

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

We love to do two things on this podcast. Trash talk Cowboy Bebop and gush over Masaaki Yuasa. Well, we already did enough trash talking about Bebop when we started Space Dandy, so now it's finally time for us to gush about the one episode Yuasa did for this show. We also talk about 6 other episodes, I guess.

Anime Discussed: Space Dandy 14-20

Next time: Space Dandy 21-26

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

We continue to have a dandy time as we finish up the first season of Space Dandy. Save for one notably bad episode, this show is nothing but back to back bangers. We've got time loops, wacky races, plant planets, and more! Anime Discussed: Space Dandy 7-13 Next time: Space Dandy 14-20 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

Ever since we started this podcast we've been threatening to watch Space Dandy (mostly because our collective memory of it said it's far superior to Cowboy Bebop). Well it's finally time to make good on the promise, and you know I hate to say it, but we were so right. Join us as we have a great time talking about everything from boobies to zombies to space ramen to more boobies. Anime Discussed: Space Dandy 1-6 Next time: Space Dandy 7-13 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter...

It's time for us to say goodbye to Paradigm City, but not before we talk through the wild ending, bad French accents, clown cyborgs (who are also French), and more! Make sure to stick around to the end where we get to test our Big O knowledge to prove whether or not we're real fans. Anime Discussed: The Big O 20-26 Next time: Space Dandy 1-6 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

It's time for season 2! Unfortunately between seasons 1 and 2 the early 2000s happens and so we now enter the digipaint zone. Fortunately this show is still really well made so even the specter of digipaint isn't enough to ruin the good time we've been having with Big O. We also get to meet a new tumblr sexy (clown) man, so honestly we're having a great time all around.

Anime Discussed: The Big O 14-19

Next time: The Big O 20-26

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or...

We're back with more Big O! We finished season 1 and are still having a great time. We bask in the neo-noir vibes, herald the return of some of our favorite sickos, and pog out at the mecha action. Oh, and it wouldn't be right if we didn't also take the time to compare some of the best episodes of this show with some of the worst episodes of Bebop. 

Anime Discussed: The Big O 7-13

Next time: The Big O 14-19

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.c...

We're kicking off the third year of Under the Kotatsu with a stone-cold banger: The Big O! We had a great time talking about this show's excellent pacing, it's character development and wordlbuilding, and how it's basically just the Batman of mecha anime. Showtime! 

Anime Discussed: The Big O 1-6
Next time: The Big O 7-13

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

It's our two year anniversary! And also our 50th episode! To celebrate the occasion we spend the first half of this episode doing our second show and tell. This time we each picked two episodes of a different slice of life comedy anime to share with each other. Then in the second half we look back on our last two years by asking each other some questions and going through our personal rankings of all the anime we've covered in the last two years (the results may surprise you... or maybe not).

Here's to two more years...

Surprise! We decided (literally at the end of this episode's recording, lol) to cut our coverage of Lucky Star a bit short. There's only so much to be said about a 15 year old comedy anime that (like a lot of comedy) hasn't aged well. Did that stop us from going nearly two and a half hours on these episodes? Hell no! You know how we do.

Tune in next time for our second show and tell episode and to celebrate our two year anniversary! 

Anime Discussed: Lucky Star 7-12
Next time: Show and T...

It's time for a new show, and Danielle has selected the well loved KyoAni comedy classic Nichi—I mean Lucky Star! In true Under the Kotatsu fashion, we all have different feelings about this show so far, but at least it's not as heavy as some of the other things we've been watching recently.

Anime Discussed: Lucky Star 1-6
Next time: Lucky Star 7-12

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

After covering the beloved anime classic Ghost in the Shell last time, it's time for us to cover it's much less talked about sequel. In a rare occurrence, none of us had actually seen this one before, and what we discovered was mostly a film with some cool scenes but not a lot of great thematic work to back it all up. Hope you like guys citing quotes back and forth at one another! At least we got more great Kenji Kawai music and a whole lot of basset hound.

Anime Discussed: Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence<...

Because we enjoyed Angel's Egg so much, and because somehow neither Danny or Danielle had seen it before, we watched the 1995 Mamoru Oshii directed classic, Ghost in the Shell! While there is much to love about this film (just look at the length of this episode) from the music, to the extremely well aged mix of traditional and computer animation techniques, we unfortunately still aren't saved from having to deal with this film's conservative gender politics.  Regardless, we had a pretty great time digging into this one. Please enjoy our longest episode yet, and make sure to stick around u...

Last time we were left divided on how we felt about Now and Then, Here and There. Well now on the other side of this show we've found unity. Unfortunately we've unified around how awful this show turned out to be. What we thought might turn out to be a show about the refusal of fascist ideology and the fight for a better future somehow managed to backpedal into pro-life conservative nonsense in it's second half. Despite the show being appalling and bad, we manage to have a pretty good time ripping it apart and getting angry over all...

After a short break, we return to your regularly scheduled programing to talk about the 1999 Isekai Now and Then, Here and There! While Austin and Danny are deeply interested by this show's violent depiction of an apocalyptic world consumed by fascism and what it means for one to have to maneuver within said world, Danielle is rightfully dismayed by the show's handling of it's few women characters and the ways in which this show uses sexual violence against women as a short hand for broader systemic violence.

If you thought all that sounds like a lot, wait...

It's that spooky time of year, so we watched Mamoru Oshii's moody, atmospheric 1985 OVA, Angel's Egg. We gush all over this one from the music, to the striking direction, to the poetic nature of it's storytelling. This one's an all time classic

 
Anime Discussed: Angel's Egg
Next time: Now and Then, Here and There Episodes 1-7

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

We're back to finish Bloom Into You, and since the anime offers no attempt at an ending, we turn towards the manga to see how things turn out in the end for Yuu and Touko. Join us as we compare and contrast that half of the manga the anime adapted and then deep-dive into the half that wasn't adapted.

Anime Discussed: Bloom Into You manga
Next time: It's a Halloween Special! We're watching Mamoru Oshii and Yoshitaka Amano's Angel's Egg

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail...

The curse of incomplete Yuri anime adaptions gets the better of us this episode as we discuss the second half of Bloom Into You. Despite this show not giving us a lot of closure on it's core themes and concerns, we still manage to have a lot to say about just how weird this adaption feels, how it might've ended up that way in the first place, and how we would've done it differently given the chance.

Anime Discussed: Bloom Into You 7-13
Next time: Bloom Into You manga

Send us your questions...

Somehow we've done 39 episodes of this podcast without talking about a yuri romance anime. Well, it's Danielle's turn to pick the show, and she's here to fix that with 2018's Bloom Into You. We have much to say about these first six episodes ranging from adaptation choices to genre tropes to messy relationship dynamics (though maybe not messy enough) to our scathing indictment of student council narratives—it's a great episode!

Anime Discussed: Bloom Into You 1-6
Next time: Bloom Into You 7-13

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gm...

Well we've made it to the end of The Summer of Wixoss™️ but at what cost... Join us as we pick apart this shows attempt to wrap up its plot, get a rundown on the actual rules of Wixoss courtesy of Danielle, and somehow make even more unfair comparisons to Yu-Gi-Oh!

Anime Discussed: Selector Spread Wixoss 7-12
Next time: Bloom Into You 1-6

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

As The Summer of Wixoss™️ blazes on, we move into Wixoss's second season, Selector Spread Wixoss. Is it any better than the first season? Oh hell no, but it does gives a plenty to chew on from extremely questionable sound design decisions to messy depictions of queerness and abuse. Oh, and it wouldn't be a proper discussion of Wixoss if we didn't spend at least a little time comparing it to gold-standard card game anime, Yu-Gi-Oh!

Content Warning for discussion of emotional abuse and manipulation, particularly centered around a queer relationship.

Anime Discussed: Selector Spread Wixo...

The Summer of Wixoss™️ rages on as we finish the first season of Selector Wixoss. As more of the world of Wixoss is revealed to us, we're left with even more unanswered questions about the nature of the world, but mostly we're just wondering why our new favorite anime sicko isn't in these episodes as much, though she does a have a sick scar now.

Anime Discussed: Selector Infected Wixoss 7-12  
Next time: Selector Spread Wixoss 1-6

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on...

We know you've all been waiting for it. It's time for the Summer of Wixoss™! Join us as we start our journey to figure out just what's up with the 2014 Mari Okada written card battle anime about traumatized teenage girls. A show which dares to ask: what if we never explain the rules of the titular card game?

Anime Discussed: Selector Infected Wixoss 1-6
Next time: Selector Infected Wixoss 7-12

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

So you know how we were all really high on this show last episode? Well, a funny thing happened... At least the animation was still great!

General CW throughout for discussions of graphic violence, sex, gore, sexual assault, death, familial death and dismemberment. 

Anime Discussed: Devilman Crybaby 6-10

Next time: Selector Infected Wixoss 1-6

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

We're back with a new anime, and this time we're returning to one of our favorite creators with director Masaaki Yuasa and studio Science Saru's Devilman Crybaby. As you might expect, we go long about this show's unique visual aesthetics while also making time to talk about music, tone, and all the other things we really liked about Crybaby.

General CW throughout for discussions of graphic violence, sex, sexual assault, and gore.

Anime Discussed: Devilman Crybaby 1-5
Next time: Devilman Crybaby 6-10

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu...

It's time for a special one-off episode, and this time we're doing a show and tell episode! Each of us picked two episodes of something we've seen before to share with the class. From an uncomfortable ecchi to a wholesome romcom to a daring magical girl show, we've got a wide variety of anime to share with y'all!

Anime Discussed: Show and Tell!
Next time: Devilman Crybaby 1-5

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu

As our time with Flying Witch comes to a close, we must ponder such important topics as ghost cafes, foxes and what sounds they make, time zones, spicy radishes, ladder etiquette, pickling, hotcake lore, and much much more.

Anime Discussed: Flying Witch 7-12

Next time: Show and Tell!

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

Good vibes only this episode as we've watched the first half of Flying Witch, a show that makes up for a sparse plot with good vibes and fun characters. We talk about what makes a show like this work, strange voice casting decisions, bitter foods, dog girls who don't know how good they got it, and more!

Anime Discussed: Flying Witch 1-6
Next time: Flying Witch 7-12

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

We're back to talk more about the cool giant alien man whomst fights the even cooler giant monsters. The second half of Gridman managed to wow us even more than the first half, so join us as we talk through the climax of the show, what characters we liked most, our favorite Kaiju, and all the '93 Gridman references that Austin marked out for. BABY DAN DAN.

Anime Discussed: SSSS.GRIDMAN 7-12

Next time: Flying Witch 1-6

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us...

Access Flash! Resident toku nerd, Austin, is here to guide Danielle and Danny through Studio Trigger's 90s tokusatsu throwback show, SSSS.Gridman. We talk about the show's incredibly strong direction, its relationship to the original Hyper Agent Gridman and other tokusatsu, and how horny animators need to chill with the fan service... but mostly we're just here to talk about how capital C Cool this show is.

Anime Discussed: SSSS.GRIDMAN 1-6
Next time: SSSS.GRIDMAN 7-12

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us...

We're back to talk about the second half of Terror in Resonance, and we're ready to ask all the hard-hitting questions: Did it keep pace with the first half of the show? Does it stick the landing? Does the way it writes it's female characters get any better (lol, god no)? Is it better than Eden of the East (of fucking course it is, lmao)? All this and more!

Anime Discussed: Terror in Resonance episodes 6-11
Next time: SSSS.GRIDMAN 1-6

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com...

We're kicking off the second year of the podcast the same way we started the first year: with a Shinichiro Watanabe show! Thankfully, we're having a much better time with this show than the last one. Join us as we talk about the two teenage boys who do a terrorism, the disheveled, disgraced detective who's hot on their trail, and the best keyboard typing we've seen to date.

CW: Discussion of suicidal ideation, bullying, terrorism, child abuse, fatphobia

Anime Discussed: Terror in Resonance episodes 1-5
Next time: Terror in Resonance episodes 6-11

...

It's our one year anniversary! We spend some time looking back on all the anime we've watched in the last year, remembering the highs and lows, and coming to the horrifying realization that a number of things we've watched are getting live-action adaptations. But before we do that, we talked about the 2016 anime blockbuster Your Name., it's place in the culture, what works and doesn't work about Shinkai's signature style, and the many ways in which this film smacks of gender.

Anime Discussed: Your Name.
Next time: Terror in Resonance episodes 1-5

Send us...

We have arrived at the destination of fate: the end of Penguindrum. Did the ending manage to bring everything together? Or did Ikuhara leave us out to dry? Join us as we process our final thoughts on Ikuhara's messy comeback to anime.

Anime Discussed: Mawaru Penguindrum episodes 19-24

Next time: Your Name. (Plus our one year anniversary!)

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

I'm not gonna lie. These were a rough group of episodes. At least we had a better time talking through our thoughts and feelings than we did actually watching them.

Content Warnings for discussion of rape and abuse, homophobia, and sexism.

Anime Discussed: Mawaru Penguindrum episodes 13-18
Next time: Mawaru Penguindrum episodes 19-24

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

Strap in y'all, this one's a long one. Turns out we have A LOT to say about these middle episodes of Penguindrum. We're still a bit divided on our feelings towards the show and what it's trying to do, but we're definitely not short on things to sink our teeth into.

Anime Discussed: Mawaru Penguindrum episodes 7-12

Next time: Mawaru Penguindrum episodes 13-18 

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

Time for a new show! Danielle has picked Kunihiko Ikuhara's Penguindrum, a show with a whole lot going on in classic Ikuhara fashion. We've got things to say about what works and doesn't work about these first six episodes from both the perspective of first-time viewers and a rewatcher. Fabulous Max~!

Anime Discussed: Mawaru Penguindrum episodes 1-6
Next time: Mawaru Penguindrum episodes 7-12

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

We've crossed the finish line on I.G.P.X which means we get to talk through our mixed opinions about the series finale, rough draft some fan fiction, gain an appreciation for cowboy chic, and finally get to the bottom of who the glizzy gulper of the IG-1 is.

Anime Discussed: I.G.P.X episodes 20-26
Next time: Mawaru Penguindrum episodes 1-6

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

Time to kick it into gear as we head into season 2 of I.G.P.X. More mechs, more races, more drama: season 2 has more of what we liked about season 1 and then some. Join us as we continue to have a good time talking about this curiosity of early 2000s Toonami programming.

Anime Discussed: I.G.P.X episodes 14-19
Next time: I.G.P.X episodes 20-26

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

We're back at it to discuss the second half of the first season of I.G.P.X. These 7 episodes give us even more mecha racing action to chew on, but also more quiet downtime with Team Satomi than the first half of the season. This show also goes on to prove the old adage that Mobile Suit Gundam taught us: fencing is inherently gay.

Anime Discussed: I.G.P.X episodes 7-13
Next time: I.G.P.X episodes 14-19

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com...

It's time for a new show! We're watching the 2005 Production I.G and Cartoon Network co-produced mecha racing anime, I.G.P.X (Immortal Grand Prix). Strap in for high speed mechs, sports anime bullshit, katanas (both real and air), and some sick beats.

Anime Discussed: I.G.P.X episodes 1-6
Next time: I.G.P.X episodes 7-13

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

Well, we made it. We finished Eden of the East, but at what cost? Join us as we talk through the two movies that attempt to wrap up the series, and finally close the book on trying to figure out what the politics of this show are. Folks, it's ain't great.

Anime Discussed: Eden of the East: King of Eden and Paradise Lost
Next time: I.G.P.X episodes 1-6

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu

You know how last time we were all pretty split on how we each felt about Eden of the East? Well let's just say our opinions kinda converged after this batch of episodes for better or worse.

Anime Discussed: Eden of the East episodes 6-11
Next time: Eden of the East: The King of Eden and Paradise Lost

Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu.

Evangelion may be over (for now?), but our journey into Kenji Kamiyama's Eden of the East has only just begun! Like many of Kamiyama's works, Eden feel like it has a lot to say about society, but how much does it actually have to say in these first few episodes? It's fair to say that the three of us each feel very differently about this show so far, so join us as we unpack our various thoughts and feelings about what this show is trying to do, how well it's actually do that. Also fuck Oasis.

Anime...