Taiiku Podcast

Watching spring training games is this weird exercise in determining whether any given player will be anything, or maybe they're just taking a spot to give others a rest. Or maybe they're younger folks with real promise. Or maybe they just had a particularly good game that day. This episode, we're talking about Nozomu Mochitsuki (author) and Gilse's (illustrator) Tearmoon Empire published by J-Nov...

The NCAA tournament is about to start, which means more pain for my alma mater Iowa State. I was all in on Hoiball, all in on the Holy Prohman Empire, and now I'm all in on whatever they're calling T. J. Otzelberger's Iowa State. Also the women's team is doing way better, so I'll probably be watching them more... This episode, we're talking about CLAMP's Suki published by Viz (formerly Tokyopop) a...

Trying to get into hockey more, and watching some Kraken hockey as I edited part of this podcast. While I still do not know much about the rules and the advanced stats like I like (I gotta find a Kraken podcast...), I have a feeling this last place 17-36-5 team with 39 points is not that good. Anyway. This time, Chris ( @gokuffy ) and Chris ( @antoniuspius ) join me in a return to the town of Twin...

MLB is in a lockout because the billionaire owners don't want to give any inch to players that, for the most part, do not and will never make millions. They can afford it. This episode, we're talking about PEYO's Boy Meets Maria published by Seven Seas. Then we talk about Kousuke Oono's The Way of the Househusband published by Viz. Spoiler alerts for Boy Meets Maria through that discussion. And tr...

AEW is very nice. Very evil. This episode, we're talking about Mari Yamazaki's Thermae Romae published by Yen Press as our old series. For our new series, we're talking about Kyouka Izumi (novels), Oumiya (story), Reiko Sakurada's (art) The Savior's Book Cafe Story in Another World. Thermae Romae credits: Translation: Stephen Paul Lettering: Lys Blakeslee The Savior's Book Cafe in Another World cr...

Chelsea won a match while we recorded this, which is good. And the Clippers won after coming back from 30+ down. So I feel like this podcast is a good luck charm? Or these are extreme coincidences. But who knows with sports fandom. Anyway. This time, we're back talking about movies. But not David Lynch movies; our favorite movies of 2021. Joining me in this venture is Chris ( @gokuffy ) and Corey...

It is my opinion that MLB players should, on whole, be paid more and owners should be taxed more. Anyway. This episode, it is our annual January episode, and we are counting down our top five favorite anime of the past year, in this case 2021. Joining me on this four hour tour is Chris ( @gokuffy ), Chris ( @antoniuspius ), Helen ( @WanderinDreamr ), and Patz ( @PatzPrime ). Listen Show notes: 0:3...

I've been trying to follow hockey more, and it is regrettable that the Los Angeles Kings are lame and the Chicago team is both racist and a hot mess off the ice. The Chicago thing happened after I made the decision on a team, and that team is the Seattle Kraken. I regret to inform the rabid fans of my sports updates before podcast notes that this team is not good, but I love them. This episode, we...

The Chicago Bears are a bad football team, and Justin Fields is the hope for the future of the offense. Matt Nagy I still think is a good head coach (given that he hasn't really lost the faith of his players, it seems, until like this season even though they've been bad for a while), but very obviously a bad playcaller. I hope to one day see Justin Fields tear up the NFL. Anyway. This episode, it'...

I no longer have the outlet of Corey's podcast to talk about sneakers, but I'm a big fan of Air Max 1s and I would like more of that particular silhouette to go with my Hypland stuff. This is actually somewhat relevant to the podcast. This episode, we're just counting down our favorite manga of 2021! It is not necessarily all new 2021 manga, but manga that is new to us in 2021. The song you heard...

I've been watching that Hawkeye TV show too. It is, regrettably for Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye continuing to exist at all, pretty good. Hailee Steinfeld is incredible. Vera Fermiga is incredible. The Fraction/Aja run of comics is one of the few that I've actually read (pay David Aja dammit), and they are good. But none of this changes that Hawkeye should have died in Endgame. I also remember in Infin...

The Chicago Red Stars are in the NWSL finals this Saturday, trying to give Chicago a championship double. Why is it at 9 in the morning. This episode, we're talking about Kenta Shinohara's Astra Lost in Space and Tomohito Oda's Komi Can't Communicate, both published by Viz. The songs you heard in the episode are "star*frost" by nonoc, "Astra-gō no Bōken" ("The Adventure of the Spaceship Astra") by...

The Chicago Sky are WNBA champions. The Chicago Red Stars are moving on in the NWSL playoffs. Sports is good, sometimes. Anyway. This episode, Chris ( @gokuffy ), Chris ( @antoniuspius ), and I finish up season two of Twin Peaks. Then, Chris, Chris, and I talk about Denis Villaneuve's new Dune: Part One. And finally, Ink ( @AnimatedInk ), Basil ( @itsbasiltime ), and I talk about Burning Kabaddi....

This episode, we're just talking about cancelled manga. Since, here in the US, cancelled can include things like "Tokyopop lost the license to this" or "CMS just shut the heck down" alongside things like Jump series being cancelled actually, we cover a lot of ground. Helen makes the correction that it should be Ayaha not Ayaka, with regards to Hell Warden Higuma. And it does get into some detail o...

The Chicago Sky have won the first of a five game series against the Connecticut Sun in a thrilling double OT game (and lost game two since I wrote this). The Chicago White Sox are going to the playoffs for the 12th(?) time in their 120 year history; for consecutive years for the first time ever. The Chicago Bears...sure are trying. Anyway. This time, Chris ( @gokuffy ), Chris ( @antoniuspius ), a...

There are three days left in the regular season barring any tiebreaker scenarios, and I am HOPING for tiebreaker scenarios. The Blue Jays must win their last three games, the Red Sox and Mariners need to win two of three, and the Yankees need to lose the rest of their games. Let's go baseball chaos. This episode, we're talking about Hiroki Haruse's The Whole of Humanity Has Gone Yuri Except for Me...

I love that we have Shang-Chi, Katy, Wenwu, Xialing, Nan, and Ben Kingsley in a Marvel movie together with few white people, but I really can't wait for Shang-Chi, Katy, Wong, Gemma Chan, Kumail Nanjiani, and Ms. Marvel to be in a Marvel movie together with also few white people. Anyway. Doing a special episode this time with Corey ( @Modandrocker ) and Bamboo ( @ANN_Bamboo ) talking about Shang-C...

AEW Dynamite started while I podcasted and continued as I edited, and I just keep thinking about the incredible sequence of Adam Cole coming out, there being maybe a 1 percent chance he helps the faces, and then he superkicks Jungle Boy and gets kissed by the Young Bucks. Just absolutely incredible. I can't wait to watch Dynamite. This episode, we're talking about Jun Mayuzuki's After the Rain pub...

All Elite Wrestling's All Out pay-per-view was last night as I type this, and I just can't stop thinking about how great and cool wrestling is. Young Bucks v. Lucha Bros was the match of the night. Adam Cole's debut followed immediately by Bryan Danielson's debut is unmatched. I love wrestling. Anyway. This episode, Chris ( @gokuffy ), Chris ( @antoniuspius ), and I take a quick transition away fr...

While editing this episode, I watched what might be known as "beltgate." Baseball is just weird. This episode, we're talking about Dento Hayane's The Cat Proposed published by Tokyopop and Okura's I Think Our Son Is Gay published by Square Enix. The song you heard in this episode was " Make Me Feel " by Janelle Monáe. As always, you can find me on Twitter @ImpassionateK , and my co-hosts Helen ( @...

As I watch the Chicago White Sox, I wonder if their Cy Young vote-getting ace is actually their worst pitcher this year? Poor Lucas Giolito. And as we mentioned during the first Twin Peaks podcast, any Lucas Giolito content is Twin Peaks content! Anyway. This episode, we take a break from David Lynch to dip into Criterion's neo noir movies as Chris ( @antoniuspius ) and I talk about Brick. We were...

I do not have a pair of Huaraches, but I've thought about it. I do have two pairs of Air Force 1 though: Korea and a GORE-TEX. This episode, we're talking about Kamome Shirahama's Eniale & Dewiela published by Yen and Keito Gaku's Boys Run the Riot published by Kodansha. The song you heard in this episode is "California Love" by 2Pac. As always, you can find me on Twitter @ImpassionateK , and...

Stop othering people because they don't speak the same language you do (even though Ohtani does know English). Anyway. Continuing our series through David Lynch, and starting a miniseries of Chris's favorite thing in the world, Chris ( @gokuffy ), Chris ( @antoniuspius ), and I talk about Twin Peaks season one. Then Helen ( @WanderinDreamr ), Cy ( @pixelatedlenses ), and I talk about Those Snow Wh...

The Clippers are yet again down 0-2 in a seven game playoff series, and they're still without Kawhi and the Suns' floor general is about to return. I am not optimistic, and I will be very sad if they end up not even winning a game and especially if they lose the series. Content warning for this episode: The Mars section has talks of suicide, parental abuse, rape, and other general mental health is...

As a very recent (aka lifelong) Chelsea fan, I have been absolutely reveling in their Champions League victory, and it is also when I realize that, through following sports relatively closely to barely at all from 2005 to now, it is the first time in an era of social media that I've really seen a team that I like and support win a championship. And just to scroll through the instagram posts of the...