Anime Roundtable

In the newly renamed segment, Mike gives a thought on Anthony Bourdain, and then comes back to the Toronto Congress Centre and two very different events there over the last few weeks. With a personal anecdote from the latter

After weathering yet another illness, our second episode at Anime North begins with thoughts on Anime North’s second day (except for Austin, he went on another TCAF rave). Then as Neil and Geoff mention to Mike a few of the shows they’ve been watching to get him up to speed, Mike asks about where anime fandom sits in the rest of geek culture, with an amazing insight from one of AN’s longtime organ...

The return episode of Anime Roundtable starts appropriately from Anime North. After seeing illness nearly wipeout the show, it’s somehow brought back to life with late shows and pinch hitters up to our first four mic episode in the 6ixTalk incarnation. We unfortunately start by talking about the Bombay Bhel bombing in Mississauga (and how it hits close to home), day one impressions, a brief rehash...

Mike comes on to test his Yeti mic, tell an HQ story, announce some housecleaning, and details for our Anime North tapings @animeroundtable @6ixTalkPodcast

The return of The Anime Roundtable Canada sadly begins with a serious note, as we share our thoughts on the Yonge Street Attack earlier in the week. Then we try to lighten up the mood looking forward to the Toronto Comic Arts Festival and Anime North, with talk on the latter's Nominoichi Flea Market, and an announcement on the podcast Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Kevin Ng

Mike had certain plans for this episode, but it went off the rails well before we hit the record button Neil returns for the first time in new the incarnation, and picked up where he left off on his soap box (which basically means buckle up). We talk a little politics, the search for a new fourth mic, the business and medical sides of gaming and the Olympics, and some memories of some of the popul...

Sometimes you just have to hit the record button. The cold open and introduction. On its 12th anniversary, Mike and James return for the first time in 8 years just to shoot the breeze and reboot the Anime Roundtable into the 6ixTalk Mike Nicolas, James Austin

Mike speaks for the first time in almost two years as he looks back on the podcast’s past on the sixth anniversary of the first episode. He also shares some of his thoughts on the Japanese earthquake and tsunami on the eve of the first anniversary, and the offerings of NHK World beyond its news coverage. Mike Nicolas

After four months of sitting (and a load of wondering from a few places), here’s the episode taped on May 29th 2010, the second night of Anime North. I am sure plenty is out of date still but some things remain timeless…like issues in the biz, Christopher Handley, our annual appearance by Norm, and the fact that Mike is once again in hiding. Although you may find it interesting when Adam leans on...

In this episode, allergies hit the roundtable so hard that it knocks out one of them. Unfortunately for Mike, he wasn’t one of those hit. Therefore he has no excuse for taking almost two weeks to put this up. In this episode, which was already outdated at the time of taping, we talk about further fallout from the Handley case, Funimation taking One Piece out of streaming, EVA 1.0’s North American...

So after almost a year, the Roundtable comes out of hiding at Anime North. In the return episode, the group shoots the breeze talking about cosplay as an indicator of what’s still popular, convention going at AN, culture shocks as an anime fan after being in Japan, and how times have passed with the end of clubs and the death of a pioneer. Well that’s what we talk about in terms of relevant stuff…...

So after Adam takes a few drinks, some impressions of day two as well as Adam’s appearance on Bite TV with The Conventioneers. After we talk about the Christopher Handley guilty plea and what it’ll mean in the future. Anime North organizer Norm McEvoy then sits for the bullets segment, talking about Taro Aso with Miss Japan, some Funimation news from other conventions, and even what Japan likes to...

Night number one from Anime North, so of course we start off with first day impressions along with wondering how the H1N1 flu and the recession have affected the attendance numbers. Then we talk a little bit more about elitism and fan behaviour in light of recent incidents. Among the bullets, Capcom releases, publishers getting into the used book trade, and even thoughts on an OVA bringing togethe...

So with Anime North about 10 days away, the gang talks about what we’ll be doing there…at the end. But before that, thoughts on the flu (which has now hit the Roundtable), Star Trek, the anime bubble, the vultures around CPM, and Sakura Wars sort of making it to North America. This time sort of in order. Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Adam Grant, Megan Swaine

After a week off, Mike is so rusty that everything he talked about this week is really a blur. He does remember Megan returning, and quite a bit of the conversation centering on her ex. Then he recalls some stuff about further eManga prospects, and Pirate Bay. And that’s before the bullets, which he can’t recall as this is being written. Mike realizes he’ll have to listen to that again to find out...

This week, after complaining about the Toronto transit system and a brief history about SNK (while playing various Samurai Shodown games), we start with two items, one about Amazon and its treatment of mature material, the other about the Philippines and its version of a loli porn ban. In the bullets, James singles out a few shows in the new anime season, comment on Viz finally acting on long awai...

Mike decides to take a week off from taping, and returns after dragging James and Adam to see Dog Sees God, and spends the entire first segment reviewing it and talking about fan fiction in the process. Then we tape the bullets twice because of technical difficulties with Mike’s MacBook, where we talk about Taro Aso’s economic stimulus plan for Japan (built on straw pillars), threats to mangaka, m...

Mike rationalizes this episode as something to nicely prepare him for the headache that’ll be taping at Anime North. The episode takes many different tangents as there is no real topic this week. Mike does remember talking quite a bit about the mini convention that passed last weekend in Toronto, the end of yet another Anime magazine and the coverage of it, and something about one of Adam’s favour...

The return to York University, and the likely retirement episode for the iBook that had recorded the show over the past three years. After talk about the York strike aftermath, James’ latest adventures with the exchange student from Osaka, and a tangent about anime DVD re-releases, we’ll take on the second part of the Ryerson lectures and Jaqueline Berndt’s talk about Japanese aesthetics and ident...

So after Mike does a final check of the equipment, James begins this week with stories about the Japanese exchange student currently at his place. Then we get to the Japan Foundation lectures at Ryerson and talk about Kaichiro Morikawa’s discussion about the Otaku communities making their own space and how Akihabara changed to accommodate, and comparisons with other social spaces. In the bullets,...

Minna no motome o kotaeru ga... Mike dropped his jaw and had to pick it up while listening to this again. But here it is, as good as it’ll get, all of what was recorded for the now infamous episode #50. Along with an intro and further thoughts from Mike nine months later. We didn’t get all of it, but you’ll know quickly that Neil and Adam were sooooo on that night, and gave the audience there what...

Ever wondered what the show would sound like if it was recorded on just the default mic of the recording laptop? Well that’s what happened for the first 45 mins this week as Mike forgot to properly hook the board in before recording. Didn’t help when Garageband stalled a few times during the episode, or in the last ten minutes of the segment when the iBook’s cooling fan come on… Anyway in all of t...

Mike had wished to keep the episode under two hours. But when Megan’s ex-boyfriend and Adam’s co-host makes his first appearance on the show, Mike can just keep wishing. In this two plus hour infomercial for TATANS, we talk about the relevance of cultures in fiction (especially anime) in light of the last couple weeks, more Japanese crime related to anime, more moe related products, and more on Fu...

Douche (Colbert Pronunciation) Mike sighs as he needs Rant Space to once again talk about credentials and credibility in the anime fandom and industry circles in North America. This after being called ignorant and disrespectful to the industry, by a member of the industry. Mike wonders if this was worth his time in the end, but spent it to show respect to this particular member of the industry. Cl...

Megan uses her cell phone to Gabcast her dating tips to geeks, and her thoughts about dating in the the geek sense. It really isn’t all that complicating. Megan Swaine