Shonen Tapes

OK FINE we'll do the episode. Today we cover the second installment of Vinland Saga. You might be surprised by our reactions, especially if you've heard our initial review review in episode 195.  We examine the new characters and their impact on the story, shifts for returning characters, shifts in the tone of the show, least and most favorite character, if we think it's headed in a...

It's been a little while since we did a good ole fashioned rankings tape, so today we decided to jump into the world of Demon Slayer, and give our personal top 5. We also spent some time at the end of the episode trying to pick out the objectively best characters of the show.  What made us do Demon Slayer? No idea, but it was so much fun to talk about. What are your top 3 characters? Go on ov...

Since our favorite baldy is out sick today, we have asked a friend of the podcast, Cisco from the Dough Bois Podcast, to join us today. Cisco specializes in Amazon Reselling but also dabbles in a bit of Anime, so we spend the first part of the episode learning a little bit more about what that entails as a side hustle. We take advantage of picking the brain of somebody who isn't deep into the...

So we've been feeling a little introspective here lately, and decided to take a look into what anime we have completely changed our tune on. This podcast has  forced us to watch shows we would have otherwise skipped, or not given a second chance on if we were disappointed...and we're seeing that's for the better! What we're noticing is that sometimes we can have some super-vali...

YAOOO we back baby with another banger. After hearing that a show broke One Piece's Gear 5 Luffy episode, we had to immediately check-in to see what all the hype was about. At the time of the recording, from the 2 episodes out, we react to the show and try to guess why it's so successful. We haven't read ahead, so we throw out some predictions as well. We also start out the episode...

OUR FIRST EPISODE IS NOW LIVE ON YOUTUBE, GO GO GO!  Okay, now that that is out of the way, on to the episode. Honestly, we both felt like we had a lot more to say from last week's episode, and wanted to spend a little more time focusing on some of the positive aspects of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2, so that's exactly what we did. Kevin starts off the episode directly speaking to some of the...

The rollercoaster of a banger, also known as Jujutsu Kaisen has finally concluded its second season. While the majority of the internet is in an agreement that season 2 was amazing, Kevin spends this episode making the argument that it was overrated.  The bulk of the episode is the back and forth with us debating the quality, rushed storytelling, character focus, and its overall performance.  We a...

We start off the episode with an announcement before going into the topic. Plucked directly from our discord, we are going to blend different pieces of various anime to form THE PERFECT ANIME. This is one of those creative juices thinky tapes where we get creative. Pretty much, we take a step back and decide what character archetypes, storylines, power scaling, and other aspects of anime can be mo...

Today we dive into the man that used to be Goku's GO-TO GUY. It's crazy that somebody with such heavy impact early on in the series would go on to not even be considered a top 10 character anymore. The Shonen Tapes take a slight issue with this, so in this episode, we try to rectify it. With these improvement tapes, as always, we break down what the issues with the characters are, and wh...

It's been a little while since we've opened up a can of Dragon Ball, so we decided to chronologically go through from Z to Super and dissect the standout fights. We skipped the OG Dragon Ball, so if you're fan...sorry. We usually like to list out our favorite fights with some sort of top 5, but we decided to take a completely different approach so we wouldn't skip as much. Obvi...

Get ready for another good ole' fashioned Shonen Tapes Versus episode, as we take a dive into the world of Attack on Titan and Demon Slayer. In one corner, we have Eren Yeager, the Titan shifter. In the other corner, we have Tanjiro, the kind Samurai of the World of Demon Slayer. But the question remains: who's better?  Join us as we pit these powerhouses against each other, analyzing th...

Baaa!! Baaa!  Join us today, as we are tackling the goats of Anime, and aside from picking a Mount Rushmore, we are narrowing down what we believe to be the greatest anime of all time.  We base our picks on cultural impact, longevity, quality, and public opinion. Obviously there are a good amount of goat contenders, so there is plenty of discourse to be had. While we are in agreement with each oth...

Today we react to this masterpiece of a show, and really see if the ending was as bad as *everyone* made it out to be! From the protagonist, to the antihero, Eren Yaegar took us for one heck of a ride.  During this episode, we dissect the choices made by Isayama and his how he attempts to shape the opinions of his audience when it comes to the Yaegarmeister. We react to the ending credits and ever...

We go on a huge tangent from the usual format and talk about how weapons are handled in anime. In general, a show is either completely based on weapons (usually swords), or only has them sprinkled in.  In general, it seems like ability-based feats are more revered than weapon-based anime - why is that?  We tackle that today, as well as talk about the best ways different anime has utilized weapons...

Okay this by far the most abstract episode we have done in years. Absolutely giving Shonen Tapes 2021 vibes. We basically were thinking what would make a good horror series, but instead of doing the usual "what do you" like and "what don't you like" type questions, we ventured into our creative sides and both created a spooky series for spooky season from scratch. Basicall...

This episode we dive into the creative and powerful transformations across anime. We also touch on the less impressive ones and try to guess why they are lackluster vs their compelling counterparts.  Does Dragon Ball have some good ones because they’ve made so many attempts, or do they just have the formula down? Are we tired of the typical transform when the cards are stacked against you trope ye...

Today we are exploring the origin story of the blue DLC character from Super Smash Brothers - Richtor Belmont😉 Now we tried to tackle this episode in a way where there wouldn’t be spoilers if you hadn’t seen, but some were unavoidable. It’s honestly a good way to judge if this spinoff series from Castlevania is worth the watch!  For the old Shonen Tapes fans, we opened up the episode quickly reac...

Is it pronounced YOU-CHI-HA, OR OU-CHI-YA? Is Itachi more popular than Sasuke, or is Kevin out of his mind? Who is the strongest from their clan?  These are just a portion of the questions we tackle in today's episode. This clan is no doubt one the coldest clan in the show, so we try to theory craft on how they could have handled some storylines and characters differently, if it was up to us....

We decided to see what all the hype was about with the Netflix's Live Action One Piece, and it made for a very back and forth episode. Ultimately, the discussion is around a few things...First, if it lived up to the Anime. Secondly, if it broke the traditional of horrible live action remakes. We really dissect every character and story plot point in today's episode. It ultimately comes d...

HUuuuahhhhhghHHGHHHHATHHHHH!!!! Welcome to the power scaling tape. Obviously we're going to talk a lot about Dragon Ball, but also how other shows have handled their power scaling, and which ones go about it the best. Some shows are balanced, like Attack on Titan, while other shows (like Naruto), we have completely different opinions on when it comes to the power scaling.  This episode is abo...

We are having two absolute beasts of a show battle it out today. It's not denying that they're both fire, but which show is better? We talk about who wins within storytelling, character development, protagonists, and nuances.  It's honestly so difficult, because they're so evenly matched.  One shows leans heavy on world building, while the other show is developing their charact...

Happppy birthdayyy tooo ussss, THREE YEARS BABAY! Three magical years of arguments, takes, theories, discussions, deep dives, and laughter. Today we reminisce on this most recent year of the Shonen Tapes. We pick our favorite episodes, the ones that were a drag, the funny ones, and the future of The Shonen Tapes. Enjoy the episode, but most of all, thank you for taking this journey with us. Here&a...

Today we have our old friend, Brandy Wandy Brandy Boo Brandon join us. One of the OG members of the Shonen Tapes returns to tag in for Mr. ShonenPants to school us on his favorite Anime...OG Dragon Ball. This is a bit of a back and forth because we don't have the same level of love for what started one of the greatest series of all time. Is the show ultimately too goofy, or do you just look a...

Today we have a very special guest to discuss some AOT, the Lofi Maestro himself, Montemusic! In this episode, we each pick five different Titans from Attack On Titan, and pair them with who we think would be a great user from other anime. We tackle this guest episode a little differently, as we learn more about Monte, we also sprinkled in the Titan picks throughout the episode.  We do our classic...

Today we open up a can of My Hero Academia and dissect these mamba jamba's powers. MHA has such a wide range of quirks, from amazing to cringe, heroes and villains alike.  We pick our top 5 favorite favorite quirks, call out some of the worst ones in the show, and spend a little time theory crafting some alternative routes they could have taken with these quirks. So tune in, and please share...