Get In The Mecha

Tsurune's Second Season was a blast and an improvement to its predecessor in almost every conceivable way. But what exactly is a sequel and what makes a Tsurune: Tsunagari no Issha a great one? In this episode I try to wrap my head around anime sequels in the context of the show and make some conclusions as to what they are. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 1:59 - I'm Not A 'Sequel Guy' 4:39 - What Is A S...

Get In The Mecha is officially back! In this episode I'm catching up on some of the analysis that I missed by talking about some of the sleeper hits of 2022 that I think are worth going back to. How does Tatami Time Machine Blues differ from The Tatami Galaxy? How does The Girl From The Other Side configure into the current anime landscape? What can music videos teach us about storytelling? All th...

Recently I've been thinking a lot about the things that divide up an anime episode, be it an OP or short intertitles - and so I decided to make a whole episode about them! In this edition of Get In The Mecha, I talk about how these dividing mechanisms make all the difference to how an episode / film feels and ask the question of what is so important about structure. This is the last episode of 202...

On this episode I'm taking a bit of a break from the usual essay-style content to take a look at all the amazing anime coming out this Autumn / Fall! With so many shows coming out, let's take a look at what this season has to offer as well as the promising artists who are behind them. This episode was pretty late but bare with me! Video Version of this episode: https://youtu.be/ROnbAn01RcQ Timesta...

We're just over halfway into the year, so I thought it was the right time to bring back the Get In The Mecha Mid-Year Review, the annual episode of the podcast where I reflect on what I've taken away from anime this year so far. This time around, I have gathered a few insights from watching anime films in the cinema and I also spent time thinking about some of the smaller visual elements that upli...

Water is extremely versatile in the real world and the same can be said for its place in animated filmmaking. In this episode of Get In The Mecha I take a look at how anime makes use of water as a device for telling profound stories, from Attack On Titan to Heike Monogatari. I also discuss why it is worth loooking into these tools for yourself when engaging with a piece of art. Video Version of th...

Neon Genesis Evangelion (my all-time favourite anime series) and Sonny Boy (one of my favourite anime from 2021) touch on similar topics of personal growth, control and even change. In this episode I want to talk about the indirect conversation that Hideaki Anno & co. and Shingo Natsume have as well as what we can take from both anime. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 1:12 - My Experience with Sonny B...

I finally took the time to watch Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu and now I can't stop thinking about it! In this episode, I try to explore one of my favourite aspects of the anime in a bit more depth - the 'death' and 'life' of art. What does this entail? How does an art form or a piece of art 'die'? Is mecha anime dead? All this and more this week. 0:00 - Intro 2:00 - My Favourite Line in Rakugo Sh...

I know we're already in March but let's talk about the anime staff I discovered for the first time in 2021! 2021 was a really great year for anime, in terms of the number of exciting projects that came out, which of course meant that I came across many cool creatives at the same time. In this episode I share who I've come across, why I gravitated to their work and more on this episode of Get In Th...

Get In The Mecha is back and so is our annual edition of Unskippable Openings, where I talk about some of my favourite openings from the past year! An important thing I want to cover in this year's edition is the question, 'what is the relationship between the opening and the show itself?'. In this episode, I try to not only talk about the openings I really liked but the people who worked on them...

The new year is approaching and a there's a lot of anime on the way. On this week's episode of Get In The Mecha I take a look at the anime projects that I'm most excited for and talk about who is working on them. And at the end I give my take on an important question - can this much anime be sustained by the industry? Watch this podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VreGShyXP0w Timestamps: 0:00 - I...

What ties rich historical narratives like Heike Monogatari together? On this episode of Get In The Mecha I complete my trilogy of discussions on Heike Monogatari by taking a look at the anime's smart use of visual metaphors. This week I dive into the various symbols the show uses, what we can learn from them and most importantly - why are they so important in historical anime. Thank you for the re...

I couldn't stop thinking about the anime Heike Monogatari so I decided to make another episode on it - this time, I'm focusing on Episode 9, storyboarded and directed by the amazing Ryouhei Takeshita. This week, I try my best to go into depth on what I think makes this episode a standout one in the series with the goal gaining some more insight into what makes great storytelling in anime. Let's di...

It's another episode of the Anime OVA series! On this week's edition, I take a look at two OVAs that I enjoyed recently, namely Kyō Kara Ore Wa!! (From Today I'll) (1992) & Lodoss-tou Senki (Record of Lodoss War) (1990). These OVAs are quite different from one another - yet they both taught me a lot of things about comedy, direction, storytelling and more. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 1:17 - Intro...

Heike Monogatari kind of came out of nowhere and already there's so much to unpack from a visual perspective. In this episode, I attempt to break down this anime's approach to visual storytelling by going through the work of the various storyboard aritsts & episodes directors that featured on Episodes 1-4. How does it's approach fit with the epic's themes? How does Naoko Yamada's style as a di...

Akiyuki Shinbo may be one of the greatest anime directors of all time - but how exactly does he direct anime? In this week's episode of Get In The Mecha, I do a brief study of Shinbo's OVAs to get to the bottom of what his style really looks like and what we can learn from his approach to anime. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 1:56 - Context 3:08 - Le Portrait de Petit Cossette 9:09 - Shin Hurricane Poly...

In anime, animation direction is incredibly important - it has the ability to change our entire understanding of an episode and can help convey the ideas that the creatives are attempting to convey. In this week's episode, I take a closer look at how this can really affect out experience as viewers and what we can learn when we make ourselves more aware of this important credit. Timestamps: 0:00 -...

Sonny Boy has blown me away countless times and the eighth episode of the anime storyboarded by Keiichirō Saitō honestly took it to another level. In this week's episode I want to break down my thoughts on the way this episode was directed and get to the bottom of why it's so effective at making the viewer uncomfortable. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 1:57 - Context & Credits 7:54 - Visual 'Emptines...

Mecha anime pretty much always concerns the characters in it. Although this may sound like a fact to some, other people have a different viewpoint. In this episode of the podcast, I attempt to counter the idea that some mecha anime are focused mostly on 'the mechas' while others do on 'the characters'. Get In The Mecha Season 2 starts now! *Once again, apologies for the very late episode - trying...

This episode concludes both our look at the 90s Evangelion titles and this season of Get In The Mecha! In this season finale, I dive deep into the second half of The End of Evangelion - let's talk about music, absurd imagery and of course the iconic ending. Thanks for listening & see you on E101! Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 4:00 - Absurd Imagery 12:13 - The Rift Between Dreams & Reality 15:24...

We finally made it. On the 100th episode and first part of the season finale of Get In The Mecha, let's discuss the first part of The End of Evangelion (1997), directed by Hideaki Anno & Kazuya Tsurumaki. Blurring the lines between beast, human & robot, Anno & Tsurumaki's direction and loads more this week. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 1:34 - A Bit Of Context 6:22 - Tackling Humanity 9:23...

Wonder Egg Priority has come to a close, which means it's a great time to reflect on the entire series and of course its ending. This week on Get In The Mecha, I do a bit of a mini-retrospective after the airing of the thirteenth and final episode. What still makes this series so special to me? Does the ending change how I view the entire show as a whole? Who exactly worked on this show? All this...

Odd Taxi was a beautiful anime that got me thinking a lot about 'society'. What exactly makes a society? What is it that we all share as people? All these questions have been swimming in my brain for quite a while now, which is why I wanted to take on this anime for this week's podcast. From conceptualising society as a connected whole to the desire to connect with our fellow man, lets discuss thi...

Sonny Boy is director Shingo Natsume's next big project. In this podcast episode, I take a deep dive into what exactly it 'is' on a political level as well as a visual level. How has Natsume's style & career built up to this point? Are we inherently political beings? Why do I like Sonny Boy so much? All this and more on the 97th episode (and the first video podcast) of Get In The Mecha. Timest...

It has been a long journey... but we finally made it to the final arc of Bakemonogatari, The Tsubasa Cat Arc! In this episode, let's talk about the final 'act' of this fifteen episode drama. From the mental health aspects of the show becoming more prominent, to the cinematic aspect ratio used throughout the arc, what makes this arc such a special one and why exactly is this one of my favourite str...