Japanimation Station Season 6 - TOMINO-THON!

“I guess we do battle tonight, Pops!”   For the penultimate episode of Japanimation Station Season 3, we’re looking at a selection of Lupin the 3rdfilms and specials from the brink of the new millennium! Starting with 1996’s Dead or Alive, a theatrical feature directed by Lupin creator Monkey Punch himself, which sees our favorite thief embroiled in a narratively messy but visually stunning advent...

“I can’t just ignore a lovely lady with a big Diamond.”   As Lupin the 3rd rounded the corner of the 1980s into the 1990s, the character and the series was in a period of transition. The 1987 OVA film The Fuma Conspiracy featured some of the franchise’s greatest animation, but also had a completely different voice cast than Japanese fans had come to know and love. The series went back to the tone...

“Nobody said I’m not in. We’re just out of cognac.”    With Lupin the 3rd Part III, Lupin officially the enters the 1980s and he’s got a new attitude, a new look, and a new jacket – a pink one! The Pink Jacket Adventures, as this series has come to be known, is one of the weirder and wilder chapters in Lupin history, with Yuzo Aoki leading a talented team of animators to create a take on Lupin tha...

“Believe in the power of the thief.”    Before he left the world of Lupin behind and went off to change the course of anime history forever with Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Hayao Miyazaki returned to TMS for a final set of Lupin the 3rd projects that have become iconic anime classics: The 1979 feature film The Castle of Cagliostro, and episodes 145 and 155 of Part II, “Albatross – Wings of...

“Lupin, our manly drama ends today!”    Airing from 1977 to 1980, the second Lupin the 3rd TV anime – retroactively titled “Part II” – produced a whopping 155 episodes, and with the iconic red jacket and the entire five-person crew (Lupin, Jigen, Fujiko, Goemon, and Zenigata) in tow for every adventure, this is the series that firmly cemented Lupin III as an enduring anime icon, and set the tone f...

“Wherever he goes, he’ll be chased. That is his destiny.”    In 1978, Lupin the 3rd made the leap to the big screen with his first animated feature film, and while the second Lupin movie, 1979’s Hayao Miyazaki-directed The Castle of Cagliostro, is the more famous film, The Mystery of Mamo is arguably the single piece of Lupin animation that cuts closest to the heart of the character and the tone,...

“I’m a greedy person. There’s so much I want to do with Mom and all of you.”    Weekly Suit Gundam is back to review the second and final season of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury, which brings the story to a close with a rousing, jam-packed set of episodes that’s darker, richer, and more action-filled than the first season. This is the first mainline Gundam series besides Reconguista i...

“Lupin. He’s a nice man. But he’s cool.”  Welcome to Season 3 of Japanimation Station: The Classic Adventures of Lupin the 3rd! This season, we will be exploring the countless capers of one of the most enduring icons of anime from his very first animated appearance in 1969 up through the dawn of the 21st century. In today’s season premiere, we go through the history of Monkey Punch’s original Lupi...

“For the sake of someone other than yourself, you can exert infinite strength.”   The third season of the hit anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba recently wrapped up its hotly anticipated third season, adapting the “Swordsmith Village Arc” of Koyoharu Gotouge’s manga, and as big fans of the series who have reviewed all the prior arcs, we’re here for a deep dive with another amazing season. This s...

Hosts Sean Chapman and Jonathan Lack give you a special look at Season 3 of Japanimation Station, THE CLASSIC ADVENTURES OF LUPIN THE 3RD, premiering July 4th, 2023! In this 8-episode season, we will be surveying 30 years of anime history through the exploits of the infamous thief Lupin III and his friends Daisuke Jigen, Fujiko Mine, Goemon Ishikawa, and Inspector Zenigata! From the original anime...

“Getting to know someone is all about little moments like that, wouldn’t you agree?” In this super-sized season finale of Japanimation Station, we close out ufotable/Moon Works with two reviews: First, we discuss Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family, the 2018 original net animation spin-off of Fate/stay night that sees Shirou and all his friends making food and enjoying each other’s company. Animated...

“I’ll show you a miracle.” The journey of Fate/stay night comes to a close with the third and final chapter of the Heaven’s Feel trilogy, Spring Song, and Sean and Jonathan are both in absolute awe at what this film achieves. Bringing the stories of Shirou, Sakura, Rin, Ilya, and the other surviving characters to a surprising, incredibly emotional conclusion, this final film is a true tour-de-forc...

“She’s all I want to protect.” The dark saga that is Heaven’s Feel enters its especially dark middle chapter with Lost Butterfly, the second film in the trilogy, and one that delivers an enormous, eventful, complicated slice of movie for us to break down. Filled to the brim with surprising revelations, major plot turns, and huge character moments, the film sees Shirou and Sakura becoming more and...

“If I ever did something bad, would you forgive me?” We enter the final phase of ufotable/Moon Works with the first part of the Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel trilogy, Presage Flower, the first of three films adapting the third and final route of the original Fate/stay night visual novel. And whether you’re experiencing the story in its original visual novel setting or coming to it through ufotabl...

“That’s Hell you’re walking into.” Where the first season of Unlimited Blade Works provided a lot of essential character work, the second season – episodes 13 through 25 – is where the plot kicks into high gear, and there’s a lot to break down on this episode, as the show doles out revelations about Archer and Shirou, brings Gilgamesh and his monstrous narcissism into the fray, and delivers twists...

“Starting now, things are gonna get real flashy!”     The premiere of the Swordsmith Village Arc is just two days away – on April 9th – and we’re finishing out our reviews of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, ufotable’s extraordinary anime adaptation of Kyoharu Gotouge’s hit manga, with a look at the show’s singular second season. Fresh off the unprecedented success of the Mugen Train film, Season 2...

“I am the bone of my sword.” After the breakout success of Fate/Zero, ufotable returned in 2014 with an adaptation of the second route in the Fate/stay night visual novel: Unlimited Blade Works. And it’s a big series, released in two seasons, with the first including three hour-long episodes, and the entire production showcasing some of the highest-quality animation ever featured on television. It...

“Set your heart ablaze.”    Ahead of the premiere of the Swordsmith Village Arc on April 9th, we’re revisiting a series of reviews of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, ufotable’s extraordinary anime adaptation of Kyoharu Gotouge’s hit manga. This time, we’re talking all about the 2020 feature film sensation Mugen Train, which set historic box-office records in Japan and around the world – and is jus...

“Glory lies beyond the horizon.” After covering just the double-length first episode last week, we’re back to discuss the full run of Fate/Zero, the Fate/stay night prequel that became a breakout anime hit all over the world, and given the run-time of today’s podcast, you can probably guess our thoughts on it. This is a tremendous show, whether you’re seeing it for the first time (like Jonathan) o...

“The bond between Nezuko and me can’t be severed by anyone.”  With Season 3’s Swordsmith Village Arc of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba right around the corner – it premieres April 9th – we are re-releasing a series of episodes from our sister series, The Weekly Stuff Podcast, in which Sean and Jonathan review all of ufotable’s extraordinary anime adaptation of Kyoharu Gotouge’s hit manga up to now...

“The Holy Grail will save you.” After finishing up The Garden of Sinners last week, we are taking our first steps into the larger world of Fate/stay night, the most iconic of Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon’s creations, with Fate/Zero, the prequel anime based on the light novel series by Gen Urobuchi. On today’s episode, Sean gives us an in-depth introduction to the original Fate/stay night visual novel...

“Your dream will live on.” After adapting the original seven chapters of Kara no Kyoukai, ufotable returned in 2011 to animate the novel’s Epilogue chapter as a half-hour short, and in 2013 for Future Gospel (also known as Recalled Out Summer ), based on an additional chapter Kinoko Nasu wrote in 2008, 10 years after the original serialization. Both turn out to be essential parts of the experience...

“I won’t let you go, as long as I live.” The original 7-part run of The Garden of Sinners comes to an end with these last two installments, Oblivion Recording and A Study in Murder: Part 2, the former providing a lighter, more comical one-off case where Shiki teams up with Touko’s apprentice (and Kokutou’s little sister) Azaka, while the decidedly-not-light latter chapter returns us to the mystery...

“You know, high rises are strange.” We are only reviewing one installment of The Garden of Sinners this week, but since that installment is Paradox Spiral, we basically have no choice, and it’s not even because this is one of the only Kara no Kyoukai films that runs a full two hours. It’s because Paradox Spiral is one of the best and most artistically audacious things we’ve ever reviewed in our ma...

“My eyes allow me to see death.” Our journey through The Garden of Sinners continues with the third and fourth installments – Remaining Sense of Pain and The Hollow Shrine – as we learn (most of) the story behind Shiki, their powers, and how they, Kokutou, and Touko all came together. Remaining Sense of Pain sees the trio tackle one of the darkest cases in the series with the abused Fujino Asagami...