Under the Kotatsu

We've been watching too many good shows recently, so we decided to test ourselves by watching the infamously bad, Crunchyroll produced EX-ARM. We were prepared for bad CGI animation, but we were not prepared for everything else about it being equal bad. Turns out it's hard to make a good anime when almost everyone involved has never worked on an anime before! Anime Discussed: EX-ARM 1-6 Ne...

We've reached the end of the line on our OVA train, so it's time to wrap things up with a one-off episode on Gunsmith Cats! Apart from the last few episodes of Bubblegum Crisis, we missed out on the 90s in our recent round of OVA picks, and boy, do we get a healthy dosage of 90s anime action in this series. Join us as we discuss the hijinks of gun nut Rally, and grenade girl Minnie as they...

Since the OVA was an incomplete adaptation, we've done our due diligence and have read the Alien 9 manga. All of it! Unfortunately that means we read it's two sequels: Emulators and Next, which kinda step all over the interesting parts of the original manga. But hey, we still have a good time picking apart the manga and thinking fondly of the anime. Anime Discussed: Alien 9 Manga (Includin...

Next up on our current round of OVA coverage is Alien 9! Despite being an incomplete adaption of it's original manga (which we'll be covering next episode), we managed to have a great time discussing this stylistic strong, Evangelion influence OVA from the early 2000s. And Discotek, if you're reading this, please put this one out on blu-ray. Anime Discussed: Alien 9 Next time: Alien 9...

Continuing our run of anime OVA coverage, we watched Dallos, which on top of being the first ever OVA might also be one of the most overtly political. We've got all kinds of great revolutionary imagery and themes to talk through as we discuss a truly one of a kind anime from our boy Mamoru Oshii. Anime Discussed: Dallos Next time: Alien 9 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekot...

We finished Bubblegum Crisis! But does Bubblegum crisis really finish? Not really. These last few episodes are a messy and definitely doesn't offer a satisfying conclusion, but hey it does have some sick stuff like more orbital lasers and a spider mech. Anime Discussed: Bubblegum Crisis 5-8 Next time: Dallos Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us o...

We're diving into more 80s OVA goodness with Bubblegum Crisis, a series that has way more style than plot, but hey, who needs plot when you've got style and the budget of an 80s OVA. Join us as we talk about the first few adventures of the Knight Sabers as they fight against *checks notes* Boomers? Anime Discussed: Bubblegum Crisis 1-4 Next time: Bubblegum Crisis 5-8 Send us your questions...

What started off as an excuse for us to pay tribute to the late, great Akira Toriyama somehow turned into us reliving the entire 1989 Toei Manga Matsuri movie lineup. So join as we have a great time with Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone and Mobile Cop Jiban: Great Explosion at the Monster Factory of Fear, and then have an alright time with the Akko-Chan and Akuma-Kun movies. Anime Discussed: Dragon Ball Z...

We finished Bocchi! Let's all hope they make another season though because this show was great. Filled with great music and animation, this is the new anime we've watched for the podcast, and it did not let us down! Anime Discussed: Bocchi the Rock! 7-12 Next time: Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @unde...

We continue the theme of anime about bands with a completely different show than given: Bocchi the Rock! Join us as we bask in the extremely high highs of this show's production and work to complete our Bocchi-dexes. Anime Discussed: Bocchi the Rock! 1-6 Next time: Bocchi the Rock! 7-12 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekot...

We say our goodbyes to given by watching the first movie and the OVA (sadly we must wait for the English release of the second movie), and feast on all the nasty, juicy drama between Haruki, Kaji, and Ugetsu... oh, and I guess Mafuyu and Uenoyama are there too. Anime Discussed: given the Movie + OVA Next time: Bocchi the Rock! 1-6 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@g...

We're not done with given yet, but we are done with the 11 episode TV anime. We bear witness to the power of rock music to let two boys fall in love and process emotional trauma. We also manage to find some time to complain about our least favorite British rock band yet again. Real ones already know which band. Anime Discussed: given 6-11 Next time: given the Movie + OVA Send us your questions...

We're moving on from gay skating to gays in a band with given! The first half of this show is mostly setup, but we still have a good time talking about the boys and their homosexual musical escapades. But before we can get to any of that, it's our 3 year anniversary! Which means it's time for another ranking of all the anime we've watched. Anime Discussed: given 1-5 + 3 Year Annive...

We've completed our short program, so now it's time for the free skate as we talk about the second half of Yuri on Ice! We've much to talk about like kissing, wedding rings, JJ style, pork cutlet pirozhkis and more! Anime Discussed: Yuri on Ice 7-12 Next time: Given 1-5 + 3 Year Anniversary Rankings! Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us o...

Oops! Someone spilled some gay into my sports anime. We're here to talk about the first half of Yuri on Ice! A show that honestly doesn't need an introduction. If you're listening to this, you probably know about the gay figure skating anime already. Anime Discussed: Yuri on Ice 1-6 Next time: Yuri on Ice 7-12 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com...

We're back! After taking a break we're back to talk about... a J-drama, a visual novel, and a tokusatsu show? That's right! It's time for a special non-anime show and tell episode. We've got three very different things to share, from an endearing drama with a cute sci-fi premise, to a visual novel about queerness and devils, to a tokusatsu show about a certain purple robot who...

We finished Canaan! This show was an absolute train wreck by the end, but that didn't stop us from having a good time talking about just how much of a train wreck it was. Maybe you should play 428 Shibuya Scramble instead and skip this anime. CW: Discussion of sexual assault, necrophilia, light body horror, misogyny Anime Discussed: Canaan 8-13 Next time: Show and Tell - Anime Ja Nai Edition S...

You know, we've been watching too many good things recently, so it's time for an absolute trash-fire with 2009's Canaan, a sequel to a bonus scenario in 2008's 428 Shibuya Scramble for the Nintendo Wii, and if that sounds like a poor basis for a show, you'd be right! Join us as we try to process one of the messiest shows we've watched to date. Anime Discussed: Canaan 1-7 Ne...

We finished Gunbuster, and it's finally time for us to talk about the Gunbuster in action! Also: Black hole bombs! Melodrama! Budget Constraints! So many exciting things to discuss! Anime Discussed: Gunbuster 4-6 Next time: Canaan 1-7 Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find us on Cohost @underthekotatsu...

In light of Discotek's recent blu-ray release of it, we're watching the 80s OVA classic Gunbuster! Austin and Danielle are already sold on this one, but Danny might need some more convincing with the second half of the show. Fortunately there's still plenty of cool things to talk about in these first three episodes like time dilation, training montages, and giant bug monsters! Anime Di...

We finish our duo of Masaaki Yuasa films with his most recent work: Inu-Oh! We had a great time with this historical rock opera about two dudes making great art. If you haven't seen this one already, go watch it! Anime Discussed: Inu-Oh Next time: Gunbuster Send us your questions! You can email us at underthekotatsu.anime@gmail.com or DM us on twitter @underthekotatsu. You can also find us on...

For his next pick, Danny had selected a duo of Masaaki Yuasa films for us to watch, starting with the 2017 film The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl. The vibes are good, and the animation is good, but is the awful male protagonist enough to sour all of that? Maybe! Listen to find out. Anime Discussed: Night Is Short, Walk On Girl Next time: Inu-Oh Send us your questions! You can email us at undertheko...

We finally close the book on Cowboy Bebop by watching the movie. Against all odds, we mostly managed to had an ok time with it, despite the fact that somehow all of the major problems we had with the TV series manage to show up in big and small ways throughout the movie. This movie truly is a microcosm of all of our thoughts about Cowboy Bebop as a whole. Anime Discussed: Cowboy Bebop: Knockin&#39...

Time for us to close the book on Bakemonogatari. It's been a rough ride, but fortunately we find at least a few things to like about Tsubasa Cat, the final arc of the series, though maybe it didn't need to be a full five episodes long. Join us for our final thoughts on the anime, many more thoughts about how the anime compares to the books, and our evolving opinions of Shaft as an anime st...

Time for two more arcs of Bakemonogatari, which means two new girls. We're still not having a great time with this show, but one of us has started to do their homework and read the novels which leaves us wondering: why is this such a bad adaptation? Anyway, Mick Garris if you're reading this please come on the show. Anime Discussed: Bakemonogatari 6-10 Next time: Bakemonogatari 11-15 Send...