Episode 20: For goodness SAKE, it's anime!

Hello and welcome back to another three hamster boys podcast. As always, I'm your host Alexander and joining me is my brother, Nick.

Hello.

And our father, Jeff.

Jeff. Father. Yeah.

I was thinking about trying to give you something fun and then it was just Jeff came out and that was it.

For this episode JJK is fun. Oh, there it is.

Okay. I see you. He's been paying attention to what we talk about. Oh, no.

He hasn't even seen JJK yet. Well, I guess with that, you know, today's episode, we're gonna be talking a little bit about anime and more of our our kind of typical informational podcast. I don't even know what our episodes have been called with like talking about like information.

Right now, there has been no top there's

no name this came except for the topic and the drink.

Yeah. I

feel like this

is like a

lore dump. Like, we're just

here to talk about anime. With like a little bit of our own takes on it.

Yeah. And I and I think that this one's a little bit unique because we're also have a complimentary drink to go with

it. That is true.

I was gonna say, I don't actually think that's unique. I think most of

the time We try to spin it when we talked about dungeon or Dungeons and Dragons. Right.

Yeah. And we did a

Gluhwein. Right. For the Christmas one. Yeah.

Yeah. I believe so. Well, since we already are talking about it. Yeah. We're going to be trying something brand new. This is more of a a learning experience for us. Most of the time where we come in with like a pretty good idea or grasp of like how an alcohol should taste or sort of our experience with it. And as a whole, we're talking about sake Mhmm. But we are trying to take a more refined and learning point of view from it.

It sounds so weird for us actually.

We we actually have a strategy for tasting. Yeah.

It's less of like, I put some stuff together and let's see how it looks or tastes or This

is three different types of wine. This is what we're gonna

and then we give it your take our takes. But, we're trying something brand new. So, through information and digging, we we wanna learn how to really identify what good sake is or the levels of like, I can tell the difference between the quality of sake as it's presented. And we are starting with It has its own condition rubric or qualifications.

Yeah. So that they there's a couple of different parameters when I was looking this up, but polishing is the number one parameter.

Which is it's sounds crazy when you talk about it. Rice polishing.

Yes.

Where each grain is shaved off just a bit to get closer to the flavorful core and less of like the

The husk.

The husk. The the less flavored. So it enhances the overall body of the sake, the more polished it gets.

And it's it's crazy to think how small a grain of rice is. Right. So when you're taking 50% of it off, know, it just it it's just a weird concept to think about.

And, if you can imagine, the more polished it is, the more expensive it gets as well. So, since there are not a mass amount of sake brewers in Virginia, we had to expand a little bit further out. But don't worry, pretty sure most of these sake brands are American in some way, no matter how they advertise it.

If you viewer were worried that we were not getting American branded sake, why are you worried about

that? Yeah. So, of course, this will capture the most authentic sake tasting experience for your listening or viewing pleasure.

So so all of us have tasted sake before.

Yes.

But we just we basically were were like, that tastes good or that doesn't taste good. Yeah. We have we have We had no idea what the difference one differences were.

Yes. Right.

So, we have three brands that are

So so, Joon Mai is the terminology that I had to use. I think this is just the overall identifier for rice polished.

No. Means natural. It just just has those ingredients in it. If it's non then it adds the alcohol to it.

Love it. I would say this is a learning experience.

And then, the polishing is how you is the junmai means that it's that lower level and then

So then So it's Junmai and then it is a Junmai Ginjo. And then the highest quality which is a Junmai Dai Ginjo. And Junmai starts at a 30% polished rate which means that 30% of the husk has been removed. The Ginjo is a 40%, so 40% of this husk is removed. And then Dai Ginjo is basically 50 and up. Anything above that, and that is the highest quality, so we've been told. This is all from a a relative like this is the information we have and we'll see how it tastes.

Yeah. Think that the the one thing too that that we're we're coming into this understanding is that we are not getting the top Japanese brewers.

So Yeah. The the No.

So so we may not see the big difference in the the quality because they're probably not the best brewers.

From our batch.

We're also not Somali. We don't have this.

So We don't have like the distinctive like, ah, I can tell the difference.

Right. Yeah. And I think that after looking at this, I feel like we've done a lot of non junmai because we get the Oh, this one's pear. This one's peach.

Those are all Junmai though.

I don't know. So

Yeah. Yeah. Well In any in any case, we are going to start with the Hakusuru organic sake from I think it's Oregon. That's what it says on the label. It should be a very clean sake, good old glacier water tank.

And it's got the lowest polish. It's got the

That was a really unfortunate tank on our part.

Yeah. It wasn't satisfying. But Drink it. But drink it. Drink it. But it should be good. I don't know. Glacier water is always my expectation with this kind of stuff.

Nope. Yeah. That's exactly what you can expect. There is

I think it's it's a very light rice wine. There's a bit of an aftertaste that coat your tongue with it. Mhmm. But I think it's definitely a mild taste.

Yeah. I mean, it's it's good. This is like When I think of sake, this is kind of what I think about a lot where it's too easy to drink. Glacier water is a great way of describing it where it's like, it's just clear, it's clean.

It's got this little bit of crispness

to it. And then of course, there's a little bit of that aftertaste, but for the most part, it's like you're drinking water.

Yeah. Very tasty.

It is very tasty.

I mean, no complaints.

You

know, from our inexperienced tongues to really identify it like, this might be the sort of base level, but it's it's tasty. I don't It's good. I'm not against it.

I'm gonna be curious to see if we're gonna be able to taste the difference.

I'm a little worried that it'll be like, tastes very similar.

Well, we'll we'll we'll find out. We'll have the opportunity. I do wanna talk about our theming for today here. We have decided Actually, was you who wanted to talk about anime.

I'm the least knowledgeable. This is this is kinda like the Dungeons and Dragons where I'm going to be the inquisitive one in learning all this stuff.

Yeah. So I I think the big thing is when we're talking about anime, what exactly are we talking about? Like, what is anime? How how do we define anime? How do people define anime? And I I'll start with this the structural one gosh. Okay.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Do you I'm 'm sure.

Yeah. I don't know.

I I feel like it's a very It's it's like one point of view.

Yeah. Yeah. I I agree. I I mean, I I always joke, oh, that's an anime. And, you guys are like, no. That's just animation. But, yeah. So, what what Okay. So, how would

you define anime? I think it's partly the root of it. But, I I honestly, it's it's about intentions and like really capturing a vibe. Yeah. Because Western cultures try to capture it Yeah. But you there's something distinctive that's missing. And I don't know exactly how to capture it. Mhmm. I don't know. For someone who's watched a lot of anime, would you agree that it's like a there's some sort of energy that is carried or how it's presented?

Yeah. Well, I I think, yeah. No. I I agree. I think like the the basic definition of anime if if you look it up, is it is anime is Japanese animation.

Right. I think that or like the Simpsons or something like that.

The Simpsons.

It's like so defined as American cartoon.

Yeah. And you definitely look at it and people go, that's an American cartoon. Yeah. You know. But, you know, it's it's like when we we were watching the vision anime that Disney did. You could tell that even though it was an American theme, those animations were definitely anime.

Oh. You're talking about the Star Wars Visions

Yeah.

Where they had Japanese studios. Well, had animation studios from all over.

Right.

But, some of them, yes. Yeah. Yeah. I I I do hear what you're saying. Yes.

It's true. But there Watching it, there was like a genuine western influence to it that made it feel off.

It was I think Is it the storyline, you think?

I I It's so hard. It's so amorphous to to It's it's like Kinda describe.

It's a moving target. There's Yeah. Something off about it that doesn't fully capture the feel of it.

Yeah. Because there are a lot of times where anime is going for more of a western feel. I feel like Cowboy Bebop is a good example But, of I don't think there's anyone sitting down and being like, okay. Cowboy Bebop, not an anime.

Yeah. That conversation has never happened.

Yeah. That's not happening. But even other things like Trigun also have more of this kind of sort of western style.

Yeah. It feels very like out like wild west to it. Even though it has like futuristic aspects to it, it's very grounded in being inspired by the wild west revolver, you know, gunslinger Yeah. Sort of environment.

Well, mean, the other thing you guys We were talking about this earlier was is that, whenever you watch Chinese anime and you hear them speaking Chinese, it loses a vibe to it also that

It's not a vibe. It's just a jarring moment.

Yeah. Because I what I would say is, there are Chinese animation coming out here that I think fit anime. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

It's just like, it feels weird because even though they're Japanese and either Mandarin or Cantonese, I don't know what what's normally being spoken. Either of these languages, either of these three languages, I don't We don't speak them. It shouldn't matter fundamentally. Don't understand. Yeah. Fundamentally, it shouldn't matter. But, you just get used to So, see hearing Japanese Yeah. That when it's not Japanese, you're like, something's something's off.

Yeah. Something's weird. It's not like It's not bad. Right? But, your your brain is like, why are they speaking like that now? Right? It's like, I've listened to English my whole life. When my first French film happened, you're like, what is happening? You know, it's it's sort of that like switch you're like, the content is good. I just need to adjust to it. Right? Like, flip a little switch.

Yeah. Yeah. Don't think we did a very good job of defining anime. And that's I think like Nick said, it's a moving target. But Japanese animation is the fundamental core of it.

Yeah. And I I would say it's also partly how much you honor it if you aren't from a Japanese studio. Mhmm. Because I think there are studios

that get close. Yeah. And

I think that would would you know, you'd it starts an argument of like, should it be considered anime? Yeah. And like, once again, we're not defining it, but it it is just a conversation that does happen when you're talking about it. But to clarify, anime isn't one genre. It's not one thing.

It's definitely not one art style. Definitely not one art style.

Not one art style. Not one character type. It it should be seen as just an additional piece of media or art. Right? Movies are one. Animated movies are another. Television shows are another. Anime just falls into that very very broad category of just a type of media that you can absorb because there's no set rules and that's part of it why it's so compelling because it's just a whole new avenue of art for you to to experience.

Yeah. I think kinda going off of that, we can talk briefly about some of the genres that might be different that you might find in anime just as terminology wise. Because like, when we're talking about Yes. It's an overarching umbrella term that when we're talking about genres, like things like action, comedy, rom com, food, horror psychological like these are all like normal things that you'll find within anime

as well.

Yeah. But there are some kind of overarching genres that might be unfamiliar to new people breaking into anime. Absolutely. I think Shonen is probably

Shonen is the one that you know. Yeah. If you know anything about anime, you know Shonen. It it basically translates to young boy. So, it's like intended for like, you know, boys and like teenagers. Yeah.

So, this is the Pokemon Naruto Yeah.

Pokemon Naruto. Naruto. If you wanna get more niche, get into like Bleach, One Piece a little bit. Yeah. Other Shonen is like Hitman Reborn, Radiant, Black Clover, Fire Force. Yeah. It My Hero Academia. Oh, yeah. It's huge. It is Dragon Ball. Yeah.

Yeah. Dragon Ball.

Dragon Ball. That's a big one. It is it is probably the most well known. Yep. But following it is it's the counterpart which is Shojo. Shojo. Yep. Yeah.

And and Shojo is basically like like Nick said, basically its counterpart. So like young girls is like, typically like like girls and teens. It is kind of what what it's geared towards. And I mean, some some examples of that is like fruits basket.

Yeah.

Oh, the RN High School Host Club will fall under that umbrella as well.

I would say the most well known one Yeah. Which is a cultural phenomenon Okay. Is Sailor Moon. Oh, Sailor Moon. Yeah. Of course. That's the biggest one. That is worldwide. Yeah. Yeah. Because everyone knows that. Yeah. They're I mean, Olympics like do inspirations by it. That it's a huge show. But that falls under the show joke category.

Yeah. And and then you get into like the the magical magical girl kind of like trope as well. Absolutely.

And then the last one, which is probably the one that's not said out loud the most. Yeah. When you hear it you're like, what is that again? And it's it's a genre called seinen and it just means adult or young adult. Yeah. And it usually implies that the theming or the presentation of what they're showing is just more mature. Mhmm.

And not from a not from a not from an x rated position. Although, may be some content like that.

It it it's it's like seeing an r rating. Yeah. I would say. Yeah. Yeah. Rating still exists, if you see that you are expecting some amount of Mature. Mature like theming and and examples. I would say the most well known of those are Berserk. Yep. Vinland Saga.

Mhmm.

Probably Chainsaw Man.

I'm waiting for you to say the big one that I'm thinking of.

And Attack on Titan.

Attack on Titan. Yep.

Those are huge, they're massive, and they carry these weights of very mature, probably more thoughtful and heavier themes.

And and also usually more mind blowing I think is how I they're they're just like, okay. I mean, one of the things that you you guys have shown me a variety of anime. Yeah. And one of the things that that I find interesting is that anime is able to

pick

themes that other other media may not address or look at or they're able to present it in a way that's very unique and different.

I think the presentation is the most part. Because I think any any art tries to fulfill an intention. Yeah. But I think anime is sometimes a platform that can really capture it in in a in a in a spectacle that no other can replicate.

But you think of Attack on Titan. That that's such a unique presentation of of theme and whatever. It just is very different.

It's true.

Yeah. I think with any sort of animation, you can cover more fantastical grounds that like we can't necessarily do or tell those stories with live action. Yeah. And I think because of that, animation is a vastly important and necessary component to storytelling. And unfortunately, I think sometimes it's overlooked in that regard where people just there are some people who just cannot get into animation either because they just don't like it or because they have preconceived notions that it's

for Disney.

Yeah. It's true. I think Disney has played a large part in in making It's not a bad thing. In making animation really digestible for everyone. Right. Right? And and it cuts out this expectation that, oh, it really can't talk about themes that like only adults will understand. Yeah. I mean, yeah, that that goes into it. Like there is a misconception that people see anime and they see all these bright colors Mhmm.

is more to it. There are darker, grimier experiences in anime that if you are looking for that, it's there. Yep. Alright. Well, we'll continue this conversation in a second here. I think we are all out of our drinks. We need another glass of sake. Absolutely. We'll be right back in a moment. See you soon. And we are back. What was that? Energy. Oh my gosh. What was that? I was lip syncing. Yeah. Scared me for a

favorite show.

Yeah. Thought you were like, no no no wait wait wait. Don't start. Don't start.

He was dubbing over it.

Yeah. Oh my gosh.

There we go.

Yeah. Well, great segue.

But before we talk about dubs, let's talk about what we're drinking. So, we are stepping up the next level with the Junmai Ginjo. So this is the 40% polishing. The brand is Tyku? Tyku? Yeah. Tyku. It says it's produced in Japan, but bottled in New Jersey. So, I'm very excited.

And, it's a cool bottle.

It it is a cool bottle. I don't know how well it captures.

That's actually the main reason There were

a few Ginjos and this is the one that we're You were like, this bottle is cool.

This will look good on

the on the shelf. I think

it was this or the $80 Mexican Yeah. Kimchi. That's true. Which would have been fun too.

Yeah. Either one. Yeah. But but we ended up this one.

This one was a little less expensive.

Yeah. So, I'm not expecting we're gonna be able to really taste the difference. I think this might be just maybe cleaner. I don't know what As we're stepping up the levels, I don't

know what we're looking for. It is cleaner. It's close.

I thought you're you're just It's cleaner. That's it, your honor. I have no more words for it.

Wait. It has like no aftertaste. It has even less of whatever lingers on your tongue. It is actual glacier water.

You're right. I mean, that's what I was saying. It's cleaner. It does it doesn't has a little bit of that Mhmm. But it it doesn't linger as well.

It just

goes down even smoother.

That's what I was about to say. This is why sake is so dangerous. This one You're just like, we're drinking water.

This one is actually so clean. I don't think there's alcohol in there, which is probably the bad perspective. I think this is It's how vodka is perceived.

Right.

Right? It's like the closer it gets to distilled and whatnot, just the less of a presence it has. Yeah. This is what I think of. Yeah. Is is what it, you know, what I think about. This is just so good.

Next one is only gonna taste like water?

Yeah. Yeah. It might.

We'll we'll see. We'll see. So, wow. Yeah. I mean, I think that's You know really good.

That's really The

other thing

is is you almost have a almost a fruity taste.

I think that's your mind playing tricks. I

don't know

there's thinks this is just water.

No. I think there is some sort of sweetness.

Yeah. It's not fruit, but it like you said, it's a it's a rather than being the harshness and not it wasn't really harsh.

It's like the aspect of a watermelon.

Yes.

Water.

Water. Water.

Yeah. But like it it it has you like I identify some sort of like refreshing lightness in addition to this drink. Mhmm.

But, yeah. That would be This is dangerous.

This is actually dangerous. Yeah. Wow.

It's delicious.

We recommend this one.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, honestly. Well, yeah. Alright. Back to what we were talking about with with anime. We kind of have gone over a little bit of like what anime is. Obviously, think it's really difficult for us to really pinpoint a definition. We talked a little bit about the kind of like sub genres that you'll see. Yeah. I think it's also

There's plenty

more. And there are plenty We didn't

name what anime are intended for what audiences. Yeah. We didn't actually go into the specifics of new genres that have really identified it. But but nonetheless.

Yeah. Like Oh. Yeah. We we could literally go into like genres that are almost specific to anime. Yeah. Like isekai.

Isekai has it's like the genre defining for for anime.

Yeah. But, I I don't think we need to go into that right now. Yeah. Along I think something that newer audiences to anime might not recognize or might not understand is that along with genres like this, there are also some very common tropes that pop up. Oh, yeah.

Yeah. It's it's

rigid. Because it's Japanese.

Well, it's it's odd though. I would say no other piece of media ever follows it this rigidly. Yeah. It's it's weird if you're not in it.

Yeah. Because you can you can go whenever right before they release it, you have all of these people that are going, okay, this is what the fall schedule looks like.

Yeah. We're talking about it. Yeah. Yeah. We're getting into it. We're talking about it.

Yeah. So for anime, like like dad said, there it typically follows a four season like like a fall, winter, summer, spring release times for new anime. So, can literally go online to something like Ani chart and see what is coming out

Every anime from the summer is coming out.

Yeah. Exactly. What what are the anime that are releasing this summer? This fall? And there's no exceptions.

Yeah. It's it's crazy. When I when I first started looking at this a couple years ago, I was like, so all of the studios play together.

It's it's odd. I think a part of it is in Japan, it anime is like something that's shown on TV. And so a lot of this is a like A network TV. Yeah. At the end of the day. It's just like the the turnover is much more consistent than something that you would see from Well, perhaps America is is similar in like ABC like like if you look for a sitcoms, they'll always be a sit com

the three major networks always have the fall premiere

of Right.

But I don't think it's to the the same level. Like same playing field. So,

I'm gonna get into a different topic. Sure. So

Of Of course.

We talk about a Yeah, of course. We talk about what is a season of a anime.

Mhmm. Okay.

So, if you look at a quarter, it's thirteen weeks.

Mhmm. Yep.

And usually, a season is 13 or 26.

12 to 13 episodes.

Yeah. 12 to 13. Which is basically one quarter.

Yep. Yep. There are exceptions like you just said. Yep. It sometimes goes up to twenty twenty four, 25, 26 episodes.

But basically, they're just releasing every week.

Every week. Mhmm. And all all every time there's a new season, every anime is really All all the seasonal anime is released within a like two week span. Mhmm. So it'll be like, oh, it's Thursday. This anime is coming out.

Yeah. Exactly. So like if you wanna get into new anime and you go to one of those sites like Annie chart, you're like, oh, well, I It's the end of the week now. See, 20 anime have just dropped. I can watch 20 new first episodes of all these anime if I want. True. And

every I mean, the weekly schedule is this like foundation that started from like TV. Right?

Right.

Like, I would say like morning cartoons. Follow the same idea.

Every Saturday morning.

Every Saturday morning. Exactly. Same same idea. Right? It's But on like a broader scale.

I was like, it's on a massive scale.

But like, even anime that have been around for a long long time still keep it up. In America, One Piece airs Saturday night. And you gotta keep up with it.

Yeah. You don't mind.

It's true.

Yeah. Yeah. I I did wanna talk about that because it is kind of different than what most people

are expecting. Yeah. And that is a trope.

Yeah. That is a trope. But there are also a lot of common character tropes that anime have that I feel like there's way too many for us to

So many. List. A

lot of them are really focused on what you talked about before. Young boy, young girl, and adult. There's there's some common tropes for those.

Sorta kinda. Yeah. So character archetypes are a weird thing in Japan and anime. Where it's so prevalent that they are too aware of it. So so the If you get into anime, the first common trope that you'll ever hear

I know what you're gonna say.

Is called a tsundere. Yep. Okay. What is that? It is the Okay. It's so weird. I think it is It it makes It's so common in anime and I'm so deep in it that it's so weird to actually like acknowledge.

No. It's it's weird to try to describe because it's just like commonplace.

So, entomology wise. Like the actual phrasing of it. Japan loves onomatopoeia.

Alright.

So, Sun Sun, the first part of tsundere is to turn your nose up in an arrogant manner. Oh. And dere dere is your heart beats faster. It's the sound of your heart. Oh. Like fluttering.

Yeah. So you can literally go to and like dere dere, you know.

So it's odd. But the the archetype is basically someone who acts in a either pompous or arrogant manner. But that isn't there. But it it's usually as a mask to hide their true feelings

Oh, yeah.

Where they might be in love. So deri deri mean is like a sort of to convey like love or like a pitter patter of your heart.

Yeah. Because I I I was watching some anime and you guys were like, oh, that's such and such and you're like, oh, yeah. That guy likes that girl. And I'm like, yeah. But he's trying not to show off that he does like

It's a weird thing.

It's so interesting that your first connection is a a male tsundere character.

Those are harder to identify. Good

on you. Good on What other tropes? I mean Any Shonen character? I was Yeah. Any any Shonen protagonist?

A guy who loves to yell and thinks the power of friendship is the strongest thing. And can eat a million plates eater. Big eater is such a good trope. Okay. Think of like every anime character is Shaggy and Scooby and it's just it's just a good time.

Well, a lot of them are like the frat boy kind of theme, know, where they're just,

my bros and I are gonna

do this great things together.

Yeah. It's sort of. But I also would counter that and say that a lot of protagonists, especially shonen protagonists are almost painfully left blank Yeah. In terms of being a character as it is meant to be a self insert for the viewer.

And mainly their lines are just, I'm gonna do this and I'm gonna protect my friends. Yeah. And that's typically how deep those characters go. Yeah. And that that is a common trope unfortunately.

But it is kind of fun with the power of friendship will conquer everything.

It's a joke. That's very common. They they are so common that is tsunderes are a joke Yep. Or joked upon. They themselves are not. It's just something that has been a Just a popular thing that people write in.

I think it You'll Getting into anime, the more you watch, you'll immediately be able to recognize these. So much so that the kind of satire, the comedy animes will often make it a point to use these tropes and then demolish them. Absolutely make fun

of it.

Or, overuse them to the point where you're like, okay.

I I get what's happening here. Beat you over the head with this trope and you're like, okay. This is a lot but I get what you're doing.

And interestingly enough, I think the horror genre also takes the dare approach but uses what is known as a yandere. Which I actually don't know the etymology of the yond part of yondere.

I do not know either. Yeah. But it's Okay. Yeah. How do you describe this? So, there's two levels to yondere

as well. It's true.

Don't know if you know. So, yandere basically is just a book, a sort of blanket term for someone who loves someone so much that they're willing to do anything. So, that's why genre.

Oh, yeah. Oftentimes, yes.

They will kill, kidnap. There's no morality when it comes to getting their love. So they are addicted and it comes with the common phrase, if I can't have you, then no one

can. Yeah.

This this is the bunny rabbit boiling on the stove and anyways.

You're making reference, we don't know.

And there's an even heightened version of that, which is they should It's just a more extreme horror version of it. Where it's like, I have to prove that I love them Wow. To such a degree like, I'll bring you bodies to prove how much I love you.

So one of the things that we we were we kind of gone away from the genre thing, but one of the things that I thought was amazing is we were looking at something about what type of anime we wanted to watch or doing a search on Google and it was funny because you can really select any topic. Yeah. Because we were talking about it that I looked up food and there's a whole

Oh, yeah.

Food's a

bad example.

There's so much food but there's like food and all these sub, you know, because like right now we're watching

Delicious in Dungeon.

Delicious in Dungeon.

I I literally think we're just like an episode or two away from finishing.

But the Delicious in Dungeon Dungeon one is that these guys are fighting monsters, but the real theme of it is how they're cooking the monster.

Yeah. Absolutely. And so

it's it's such a unique What we were talking about the at the first part of this is that anime can do things that are just so unique and different.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, here, you know, while we're talking about this, we we can just go ahead and talk about it. Obviously, talked about like Shonen and Shojo and and Seinen. But literally, we we There are other like sub genres that you probably wouldn't expect.

What's even fascinating is they have a spin off series called Code Black where it takes place in a body that's unhealthy. Oh. Yeah. So you get more extreme things like smoking or cancer. Wow. Super informative, but also super fun.

There are also anime where nothing happens. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Where there is no conflict, there is no strife.

So it's just like every day?

Mhmm. Yeah.

Yep. It's called slice of life.

Oh, yeah. Okay. Yep.

And to some of those extremes, it's literally just like the characters are camping together. And that's that's the show. I would say

even even an even more extreme one is there's an anime called Tana Cocoon is always listless. And it's just about a guy who wants to sleep in class.

Yep. And that's it. Yep.

And he spends like twenty minutes figuring out the best hand placement on where he should lean on when sleeping in class. So

when we talk about anime having a bunch of genres, it really does encompass a wide range where I think when when a lot of people think about anime, they're thinking about like the Dragon Ball, the Naruto, the Pokemon where it's like action, combat or they're thinking about like the romance, the kind of like the big eyes and the flowers in the background when a character walks in. Yeah. But, there's so much more to that. I mean, and then you get into like some of the psychological horrors like psycho pass where it's like, what if there's a world where thought crimes or like your genetic code is based on whether or not like predetermines whether or not you'll be able you'll do a crime and therefore like they stop crime before it happens by killing people with an AI gun

and we've talked about some other ones like, was it based on the food is how strong you are and

Toriko. Yeah. Toriko. Once again, it's an overlap.

It's a shonen, but it also is super food based.

Yeah. It's just It's crazy to me and hearing you guys talk about it, you you always go, well this one has this or this one has that and I'm like, yeah. I I I mean, I barely scraped any of the surface

think that's why Well, going back to it, it what it's what makes anime so appealing because it feels so far fetched and outlandish or absurd that you're like, how do they do it? Yeah. And you get to really dive in.

And plus if you have an interest whether it's food or sewing or whatever, you can you can find that thing that interests

you. Is definitely a a a topic, a genre that if you like, it is in there in anime for you. The last

sort of trope vein that I wanna talk about is about episodes.

Mhmm.

And, there is There are tropes within just how an anime does things. Constants that no no matter what they'll probably show up. It is it is a joke that in any anime from like o five to like 2016, every twelve minute or 12 episode show had a beach episode. Oh, yo. Mhmm. There was always a beach episode. Everyone was in their swimsuits and just having a grand old time. Yeah. That is a common thing.

So common. No matter what the anime was.

You're like, how did we get here? A beach episode will happen or a pool episode. Yep. Something with a body of water happens. The other main one that is it is timeless. Mhmm. And that is the tournament arc. Oh my gosh. Yep. Tournament arc, it's so overused but it's roughly, hey, our characters are going head to head with a bunch of people.

I'm just thinking about that. It is

in every one of them. It's in

so super common.

But I think for writers, it's like this is how we determine like how do how do we show off new characters or potential new characters that can show up later. How do we set up a power system and like a sliding scale and how do we show where the protagonist compares or how do we show how like how the pro really how the protagonist is gonna win and beat all these people. Yeah. Like it's a quick without a training montage, it's like how they up their level. Like, oh man, that guy was really hard.

Those are the two. I don't know if you have any on the top. Those and Tournament Arc are once again, so overused that they've been parodied. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. You can't go wrong. Before we switch strings, I do wanna talk about one thing that is a slightly off topic, but I feel like it's important to mention here. Whenever you talk about anime, it's almost impossible to get away from the sub versus dub argument, debate, discussion. Conversation?

people are still like in such a hierarchy like, oh, you still watch dub? Yeah. You know?

Well, the the thing that I always find amazing about that is that you guys will go, oh, that voice is in this other anime is this Yeah. It's it's a you you always talk about this pool of voices that are really good, so they're used over and over again for dubbing.

And that is the same for subbed and dub. Yep. I will know Yuki Aoi's voice in a heartbeat. Wow. She is one of my favorite voice actresses in Japan. And I know when she's doing it and she has an incredible range. But I can identify all of hers. And then, yeah. It's it's the same for it and it gives a level of comfort and familiarity even though it's crazy. Here's the thing.

Yeah. I think that that's if if you are gonna watch it and be intent on watching it, I find that the subtitles allow the anime to really express itself as it was supposed to express itself. Cause not The dub doesn't always do justice for the voice actors in Japan.

It's true. It gets closer to the casting director and sound engineers intentions for the the actual anime.

Mhmm. Sometimes you run into problems with dubbing where you're trying to get like character, like mouth movements or the same like length of time that people are talking. So sometimes sometimes the dub can be a little awkward where people are obviously having to like say extra words to fill in.

Or say something really fast.

Or say something really fast. And, you know, you don't run into it all the time. I think most of the time they do a great job with those dubs. But sometimes it's like a little awkward listening to it.

Yeah. Yeah. Yep.

Alright. I think it's time for

My glasses are empty. Number

three. We'll refill and see you in a second year. Yep. And, we're back. Hey, y'all. Great to see you again. This bottle also looks very different from what we've had before. What are we drinking now?

For the final step of the Junmai journey. Yeah. We have the Junmai Dai Ginjo.

This is so much more aromatic.

Yeah. You were pouring it and You were smelling it. You were smelling it.

I mean, I can smell it now.

I don't think I can smell it

right now.

I can't smell it now.

Well, I'm closer to the table.

Okay. Yeah. That must be it. That must

be it. That's gotta be it.

Without realizing it, this is also the Hakusuru, which is the first brand that we drink. So, bottled in Oregon. But this is the 50% and plus Dai Gingjo for the rice polishing. It's extremely clear. And the bottle is very nice. It's like a cool blue. I like it. Yeah. Honestly, I don't really know what else to say. There was a pretty distinct difference between the last two, but I have no idea what this might entail.

Tink. Tink.

It's also named Shoune. I don't know what that means. If it means something, let us know. It might just be the name of the specific sake in the bottle. Okay.

Yeah. I mean, immediately, you're right. It's a much stronger smell. I think this one has a bit more of a stronger upfront taste than the others. But, yeah. Then it just kinda like dissipates on my tongue.

Yeah.

You you know the from inside my mouth, this one hits the top of the mouth more than the back of the tongue.

Yeah. Mhmm. This starts feeling like a white wine almost. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's got it's got a fairly potent beginning, but instead of leaving the traces of what you might expect in a white wine, it sort of just goes. Mhmm. So, it's got like a very full upfront taste, but then dissipates.

And I I think that that sweetness that we started feeling in the second one is a little bit more prominent here.

Yeah. This one I'm starting to compare it to a

I might be having a dad moment, but it almost smells like licorice to me when I smell it.

Wait a minute.

A Twizzler.

Yes. I did I I caught the licorice. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

But, yeah. It's it's So, when we started doing this, we were like, are we really gonna be able to taste the difference? Yeah.

Listen. I was doubtful.

And, plus, as we're drinking more, we're probably

Our senses are sharpening. Yeah.

That's what it is. They're sharpening. Yeah. But, I am Not

as sharp as a hammer.

Yeah. I am very surprised that we're able to taste the difference.

Yes. Although And, yeah.

I think it also might be partly by the bottle. Right. Like, in addition to whatever they do for each level of the chunmai, I do think that these are distinctive on their own. Right. So I'm not sure if we were handed, you know, three of these exact branded ones, but just the different levels. If we could tell the difference?

Yeah. I think that that's what we because

we were talking about this is that if you had three chardonnays

Yeah.

That were this considered the same level Yep. They're gonna taste very different.

Yeah. Yeah. What what I was

gonna say is, we can tell the difference, but I can't tell if it's a vertical difference.

It's true.

I could definitely tell from the last two, but this one I feel like is in a category of its own in my mind here.

I agree. I think it I'm also in the mindset I'm like, there isn't a blatant like, oh, this is the better one. Yeah. Right? Like, I still like the first bottle.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think that I think that sake in general is such a delicate taste. Yeah. Right? So basically, we've just had three different butterflies land on our tongues basically.

That's a fun that's a fun imagery.

It's a heavy butterfly.

But it's butterfly been drinking. Yeah.

But I mean, it's just the the delicateness of it is just a little bit different on each one of them.

It's true.

And I agree with you. I don't know whether it's vertical or not. I do like this taste better. Okay. Than the first one because it was This one's less on the back of my tongue.

Yeah. I I will say that might be the the most distinctive is the first one had a lingering taste that like I could do without. Yeah. The second one definitely showed it Mhmm. Where it's not needed to be a really good experience. This one does linger a little bit, but I think it is more pleasant than the first one.

Right. And if this one's like on the edge of my tongue and top of my mouth, that's where I'm tasting it.

Yeah.

Yep. I agree. But tasty.

Well This has been a great adventure for Sake.

This has been a great adventure. Absolutely. And we're gonna continue this adventure by continuing our talk of anime. And I think we've kind of been a bit technical. Not even like very technical, but talking about like the dissecting a bit of anime and what goes into anime. And I think it's time for us to talk about like our experience

Oh, yeah.

With anime. We're making it personal. As as well as kind of our our intro to anime because I think for a lot of people there is that moment where you are going from just like seeing anime casually like maybe you'll flip the channel and like one piece is on or Naruto or Bleach or whatever. And then moving to like purposefully and actively watching an anime for the first time as like going into like, wanna experience this medium and what it has to offer.

So, I I Okay. That's a great I do wanna talk about this, but

Oh, he's cut he's cut me off immediately. I'm gonna

I'm gonna I'm gonna go off on a tangent Okay. As I always do. Most of these I think most of these anime are based on manga.

Most of them. I I think that's a fairly okay setting this Yeah.

So, did anime lead you to manga? Were you Had you seen manga before anime?

No. I definitely watched anime before manga.

Yeah. Definitely anime before manga. Yeah. And I don't consume that much manga.

Yeah. I I don't think Nick and I Nick or I read a lot of manga. Occasionally, there'll be something that'll catch my eye. Like, my my roommate had the entire box set of Demon Slayer and made me read all of it. So I I read that and I read a good chunk of Marshall as well. But I I mean

I had a moment where I read a bunch and now they're all being made in the anime and I can't just help you. I'm just frustrated because I'm like, why did that one get it?

Yeah. It's less of like, oh man, the book was better than the movie or whatever and more of like, the book, why didn't they make that into a movie?

Yeah. Yeah. It's kinda like that one. It's it's not like, oh, the book is so much better. It's like, why did they choose that book

Right.

Kind of feel.

The the other thing is is something that you guys talk about a lot is that there's a season one and Okay. Then there's thousands of them that

are just You're right. We didn't talk

about anime tropes, back into the third part of Wow.

That might be the harshest anime trope out there.

This is something You know what? Honestly, if you're getting into anime, you gotta accept this. Alright? Instead of there's no happy endings, there's no endings. Alright? 12 episodes will happen and you're like, I can't wait for the season two of this. It never happens. It never happens. It will never happen. You have to get in the expectation that if an anime airs for 12 episodes, that's it. That's all the content you'll ever get from that anime sometimes.

Yep. Or ten years later, they'll make a season two for no And it feels so late.

Shout out to Blue Exorcist. Yeah.

I mean, I I think that you guys have said, man, that was so good. And then then there's the other side of the trope. They make a season two. That's just horrible.

Why did they get why did they give it a season two?

You know, because I think a lot of times you guys go, I just don't look at season two.

I mean, we were talking about this last episode I think with Dork at the Dark Where it should should just be acknowledged as the season one and no further.

I have in the meantime watched the anime, the OVA and the season two. And Yeah. Yeah. The Season two had its moments, but I think overarching they just like killed the main character as like a good character. So, it's kinda rough.

But, good good honestly. Good call. We weren't even thinking of that. Yeah. Yeah. That's the biggest anime trope that if you're getting an anime, you gotta know. You gotta know.

Disappointment will abound.

Well, and I think part of it is one like normal TV stuff looking at ratings like how watched was it? Do people want it? Whatever. But also, like sometimes you have to think like, this anime is just kind of an advertisement for like the light novel. Yeah. Sometimes it is just

sometimes it is just an encouragement to go watch the source.

Yeah. And that is weird to think about and painful a bit.

Well, other thing I I was thinking about is that there's a worldwide audience, but I'm not sure that they're looking at a worldwide audience when they create

Probably not.

I don't

Probably not.

They're probably saying, this is not appealing to the Japanese audience gonna do a season two.

Yep. Yeah. Maybe. And also, I think sometimes it's like arbitrary or they're just like, this is our is our pony. We are going to make this show pony work no matter what. We're gonna prince this around.

And that's tough sometimes. Sometimes you're like, this shouldn't be the one getting all the attention and budget. Yeah. But that's okay. Moving back to what we were talking about.

Sorry about that. No.

No. Honestly. No. That was a good one. Great. Great swoop in. Yep. We're returning to the the first experiences. Yep. And you were you were starting to talk about how valuable or impactful

Yes.

Your very first intentional anime is. Yes.

Yeah. I I think I had seen like Pokemon or like Dragon Ball on TV before. But it's like in passing, you're seeing like Yeah. Maybe like an episode every now and then. You're not like sitting down and watching the story happen. And I think your first go at anime especially because sometimes anime is weird.

Oh,

yeah. Is different than what you're expecting, different than what you've seen in the past. Your first experience with anime could really make or break whether or not you wanna continue watching anime.

Yeah. I think, for me, if it's weird, I'm like, this is interesting. Yeah. Well See, cannot remember the first anime that I I saw.

I I was about to say, weird in certain ways.

No. I Well, for me

it's weird in any way. That's because we've catered to No.

I totally agree. So so they they have It's kind of like when you you say, okay, my son is now 11 years old. We're gonna touch on some topics that might be a little bit adult, but they can watch it now. There's gonna be extra gunplay or whatever it is in an action adventure movie or whatever. So, how they have pulled my my wife and I into anime is, okay. I think the parents can see this one now.

Yeah. Yeah. It really is like

We are handpicking we go to a drawing board and we're like, is this a really good one? Yeah. What should we look out for if they do watch it?

Yeah. But the the problem is, sometimes you just get fixated on anime that is like, probably not great. But, you're like, this is the one that resonates with me.

Oh, yeah. And you And and back to the first, sometimes you just throw it at someone who's like, I need to get an anime. What should I watch? And you just throw an absolute curveball at them and that's how they begin their anime journey sometimes.

Well, I'm I'm thinking about the ones that you've shown me. Right? We've seen Fullmetal Alchemist.

Like eight episodes. Yeah.

You've seen a couple episodes.

We also saw the one that mom actually loves, which is the My Dad's Hitman or

Oh. The

Way of the House Husband?

The Way of

Okay. Okay. I was I was a little unsure.

Yeah. The Way of the House Husband, she Your mom absolutely loves that.

I mean, which is a weird one because like the animation style is Really bad. Yeah. It's like slideshow There's no animation.

Yeah. It's it's it's very different. And then, you I've also seen Attack on Titan for a few episodes.

Yeah. We didn't get too far yet.

I Please. Please. You just watched a couple episodes. You can't say that you've seen Attack on Titan.

We've seen

You saw season one of Demon Slayer.

The Demon Slayer, which which I loved.

Yep. You're almost done with Delicious and Dungeon.

Almost done with that. But So Demon Slayer is one of those ones that is really hard to watch in some ways.

Elaborate. Yeah, please.

Because it's it's very very bloody.

Oh. Oh. No.

Bloody comparatively to what you've seen. Yes. Yeah. There isn't like a, oh, I got shot. There's like a speck of blood.

No. I mean, a spider web goes through a group of fighters.

Yeah. Oh, man. Yeah. Yeah. We've been just desensitized, I guess. Yeah. Dude, I'm I'm like, that's that's cool.

This because what we've talked about was it the abyss?

Oh. Oh, maiden abyss. That that's the the gore isn't the

I was about to say that

That's more psychological.

Oh, man. Oh, man. But, yeah, then Oh, man. I don't didn't wanna go down this But

then, we've also seen One Piece.

You've seen a couple of

episodes of One Piece. So, they've gotten to Usopp in One Piece.

Which is what's episode 12? No. We've gone further than that. No?

I don't think so. 12

out of thirteen hundred? Eleven hundred?

Eleven hundred thirty?

Hey, you're almost there.

Yeah. Baby steps. And you've seen A Vampire Dies in No Time.

Yep. Yeah. What

else? I think that's

Tanya the Evil.

Tanya the Evil, Yudra Senke.

We've seen a couple Ghibli movies.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah. You've seen Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle.

And, what's the one that

Oh, Princess Monona? Princess Monona?

Absolutely. Which which for those who don't know what Ghibli is it has a very distinctive art style.

Oh, yeah. All Ghibli is just a studio and it is probably the most whimsical and fantastical. It hits a lot of people in nostalgia because that's what they kind of grew up with alongside Disney if they absorbed anime in any way, to be honest. And there's like a lot of well known ones. Spirited Away is probably the well

Almost well I think so. Yeah.

Ponyo is also extremely well known because Liam Neeson did the dub for it.

Right. Yeah. I mean, Howl's movie castles Christian Bale.

It's true. Yeah. They they pull out the stops. They

do. I mean, but also the Boy in the Heron,

the most recent movie. Had an incredible cast. Mark Hamill. Yeah. William Dafoe. Robert Badinson, my hero. Dave Bautista was also

in it. Yep.

So I think that you guys have been very selective in letting us kind of see a wide variety and then for me also, I'll drop in

Go in your own. Yeah.

Because I'll go, well that looks interesting. I'll do it and then like I said, there was the one where this introverted guy and this out out, you know, very outgoing girl and the guy's like, oh, she's so she's so wonderful. You know, and she's like he's like and she's like, I don't wanna pay attention to you. So, I don't know what it was but you're like, oh, that's this and I'm like, I guess so. I don't know what it is.

I have no idea what you're referencing. Could be anything.

I'm confused, but that's great. Yeah. All of this to say is, it's important to know where to begin. Consider it like a like a hive. Okay. And you gotta know what the best entrance is. Right? Like Or honestly, just look at it like a house. Yeah. Don't climb in through the chimney. Bad stuff will happen. Take the front door. It's the easiest and and like most like understandable.

Nick, do you remember your first your first anime that you watched? So so, it was recommended to me.

Okay. Okay. But you also alongside recommended another So, I watched them parallel. Sure. So, the one that was recommended to me, and the one that probably got me really hooked to be like, what is this? It's an anime called Angel Beats. Mhmm. It's 12 episodes contained, which means it actually has an ending. Yes. And the other one that you recommended

Oh God. What do I recommend?

Was Senyu. Oh my god.

That's great. No. That's perfect.

Senyu is a shorts comedic just a rag on RPGs and fantasies.

Oh, really?

Where it's like, you're the hero number one forty one. You know?

It's weird. Okay. So, this goes even more into like the tropes of anime. But anime is typically about thirty minutes. Like what you'd expect for like a TV show on television. Some of them go a little bit longer.

Yeah.

Some of them have like exception episodes that are like longer. Like sometimes the pilot is a bit longer. But most of the time, they're about thirty minutes. Most of the time without commercials, it's like twenty three.

Yeah.

But, there's also like a sub genre of anime, where it's like shorts, where the episodes are like five minutes Real quick.

Max. In and out. And

so, Senyu is a show where it's like bits, nothing but the bits, all the bits. Mhmm. It's just comedy bit after comedy bit over and over again, but in a fantasy world that's making fun of RPGs. It's really funny. Really quippy. Really quippy. And, yeah. It it it's a great one.

So, those those are my intro, basically. Those are the ones that I think about the most. Yeah. Because they were my first. Angel Beats, we talk about this. Yep.

Do you do you wanna quick share your first Yeah. Anime? Because I'll I'll say, I had very like good something that sticks with me forever and something that I don't think was phenomenal, but I watched. I also watched two anime kind of parallel as my first. Before I talked to someone and they were like, hey, you should watch Angel Beats.

Dude, I didn't know you caught Witchblade that early.

It was so early. Oh.

So, is this is

a a cringey one

or No. No. No. No. What

I will also say, it's kind of weird because you're in the room here. I watched both of these probably a little too early. Both of these shows MA rated, so mature audiences. Darker than Black MA because it touches on some sexual themes that we talked about. But mainly because it's like violence and like Gory. Gory. Yeah. They're like killing people and oftentimes it's pretty obvious.

Witchblade. Witchblade. Okay. Speaking of a genre that we didn't talk about which has cemented itself in. Yeah. Anime, it's called ecchi.

Yes. It's a term that you'll hear a lot in anime is fan service. Basically, it's just like over sexualization of characters.

Oh, okay.

Witchblade kind of perfectly encompasses that. That's a tough one.

It That's a tough one.

It follows this like mom who gets powers to turn into like basically like a sexy demon lady essentially. Yeah. And she fights other sexy demon ladies.

So, it's it's for young guys.

No. It's for older yeah. It is not a shonen.

It is very gory. There are a lot of like sexual themes. Even some of the enemies are like kind of sexual representations in a way. And also, this show just wasn't good.

No. Not a good show.

It's just not good.

I haven't finished it because I thought this was bad. But, that was later when I started watching it. Oh. As a first? No good.

No good. So, I watched Darker Than Black and I was like, this awesome. I love this. And, I watched Witchblade and I went, I don't think anime is for me. I don't think I wanna watch It's

It's so real. I I was like, that was terrible. Before we get real deep into it, I wanna say, there is the the extremes for perception of anime. Yeah. We talked about, oh, it's anime. It's animation for kids. There is an absolutely valid perception that anime is for degenerates. Yes. For people who just have this sort of like a fiending for you know sexualized animated characters. Yeah. Yeah. That is another extreme. That's not what anime is. No. But, there's a whole genre for it.

Yeah. You can find that. Yep. Alright. I think we've been talking long enough and we need to get to our last sake. So, we're gonna go finish our our cups. You're already done.

Yep. I really liked it.

Very tasty.

And, we'll go on to the next one. We'll see you in a moment here. See you soon. Rare for And, we're back. As Nick said, a rare four part episode here, as we have a special drink to finish us off. Nick, what are we drinking?

Okay. So, once again, I might need assistance because I'm still having trouble really figuring out the difference between all the June Mais and then this is not a Jun Mai means it's been introduced alcohol later on.

So the what I've read about it is that these non Jun Mai, they add alcohol to add a full body nature to it. So, what we're really gonna be trying to taste is whether it deviates from that clean clear taste of the natural because it means natural.

Yeah. Gotcha.

So and there's like four three ingredients, just like the purity laws for beer in Germany.

Right.

Mhmm.

So, non junmai adds this extra like brewers alcohol to it. So, it's it's adding additional flavors.

So, this might be closer to a spirit.

It it might be closer to a spirit.

Yep. Yep. Well, that's exciting.

It is. I I I mean, I'm Then again, it may not taste any different to us, you know. So Yeah.

Well So this is Kyodai. It is also a Dai Ginjo though. So it means it does have the really high quality polishing attached to it. This is a product of Japan as far as we know. It's imported from California. But other than that, that's all we know about it. It's once again extremely clear. There's no And deceptive. There's no way to tell any differences for the most part.

Did you smell this while you're pouring it?

Not. It was not as aromatic.

Yeah. It Oh, man. I'm I'm afraid this It smells

like the the first two.

I'm afraid this might be like a vodka where it's like, oh, it has no scent and then Oh, they're going

don't worry. It it isn't gonna hit you like a vodka. This one I think is a lot more reminiscent for me of the first two. I think that third one really kinda threw a wrench in what I was expecting sake to be. This one is just so smooth for me. So It it just goes down super

I would It's hard to describe how much fuller the taste is. Yeah. Because it's When we drink the sake, the the other three, it was clean.

It just kinda hit the tongue and Yep.

It was gone. This one lingers in the front of my mouth, in the back of my mouth. It lingers all over. I just think it's it's a fuller. It's still a very clean taste.

Yep. It kinda reminds me if you put two and three together.

Oh, interesting. Yeah. Yeah. That's a good way of looking at it.

Whereas the very full body nature of the third one, but it still has that really like quick like end. Yep. Like the second one. Mhmm.

I mean, I think that now we're spending the time to look at these individually. Yeah. But I don't think that if you look at the first one and the fourth one, the disparity between those four is not enough for us to really say.

Oh, no. I would say if we did a blind test, no idea.

Yeah. Know. If we did a blind test, only one that I would get right is the third one.

I think I could get the second one. Oh. Because it ended so abruptly. So,

the one thing that we did not get is that there is a table sake, Which is considered polishing that's lower than

30%?

Lower than the 30%.

Right.

And so, it it is kinda like table one where you go, okay.

Does the job.

That's a $5 bottle of whatever.

Yeah. Yeah. I think we didn't need to do that.

Yeah. No. I don't think so either. But I think that these And the other thing is is that we have to think that this is the highest level sake from a polishing standpoint. So we're getting a very good non junmai.

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's delicious.

So Very tasty.

Yeah. I I mean And I don't think it was. I would be curious to see if if we picked like So, none of these bottles were over a 100.

It's true.

That's true.

Yeah. Because that would be a lot.

Yeah.

But there were bottles that were over a 100. Mhmm. And, we we could have gotten one. I don't know if we would have

really Appreciated.

Appreciated the the higher cost.

That's how I feel about wine.

Yeah. I agree. I mean, I We had a friend that their rule was if it was under $10 she was willing to buy it. You know? This is a few years ago.

I'm not quite there.

Yeah. Yeah. But yeah. I I mean, I think that I understand why they added this to make it I think it's more of a spirit.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's what I'm saying. I think this would be When I'm making cocktails, this is the one I would use. Yeah.

Yeah. It's probably true. Yeah. Because it because it does act more like a gin or whatever.

Yeah. This is probably a better, no matter how good of quality it is. Obviously, we can drink it. Because it has this very full bodied one, this is probably the easiest to identify in a cocktail with a bunch of other spirits with it as well.

Because the other ones would Like the the Dae Ginju that we had first, that would be lost, I think.

The first Jinmai?

Yeah. The first Jinmai.

I think the first and second one would disappear and you might get like a little bit of like refreshing or crispness and that's the only identifier. This one, I feel like could hold up against not a gin. Not a gin. No. Not a gin.

No. But you could could do some some lighter ones where

Tequila.

Tequila definitely. I think this would go pretty well with the tequila drink. Or liquor. Or liquor. A liquor.

Yeah. I think a liquor would be a more appropriate because I'm trying to think of what when you'd miss mix sake and tequila. I'll find one. Yeah. I'll find one. I'm sure you will. So Alright. We've talked a lot about anime here and I think a part of it we're like, oh, our anime experience was good or it was mixed or whatever. But, a bad first anime experience can really make or break your love of anime.

So, here we're here to help that.

So, we're here to help that a little bit. We've talked about our firsts. But now, I think we wanna talk about what would be a good anime to be your first. If this is your something you're considering.

And there's some parameters that we wanna put in. To really try and cultivate like for you. Just a little bit more. Because we can throw out three anime and those not appeal to what you're looking for. Right. So, we we talked about it. I think Angel Beats, my first anime, highly recommend as a first anime.

I'm gonna give a caveat to that.

Okay. Hit me with it. You haven't even seen Angel Beats. I haven't seen Angel Beats. And he's already He's giving caveats.

Because

Is that is that why? Because you haven't seen it?

No. No. No. Because like the the girl animes are a certain feel to them. You know, that if someone's looking for like an entertainment kind of anime, those seem to be more like entertaining kind of not very deep kind of animes.

Okay. I think I know what you're saying but I don't necessarily know.

So like, I I was watching one where these teenage girls were going to the beach and they were going to an ice cream shop and.

That doesn't really help

keep going.

So, it it wasn't, you know, it was more I guess, it's more slice of life.

I think you don't like slice of life. No. I

think that if someone's looking at it and that's what they like, then Yeah. There's some really good animes that do that.

This is I'm recommending Angel Beats.

Yeah. Okay.

It hits everything. Every note.

Okay.

It is action, comedy, romance. It's emotional. It's deep. It's thought provoking. It hits so many milestones on what you might be looking for.

It also hits common anime tropes. It's a good way to prepare you for them as you go in the future.

Without absolutely, know, blunting you with It it teaches you, yeah. What to look for, expectations, while also having really good dub.

Yeah. A really good dub.

That's a really important part.

Yep. Which means that it's easy for new viewers to get into. I think the only drawback for Angel Beats is it's old.

It's old. Yep. Sorry.

So, the animation is not quite up to what we're seeing nowadays. But don't let that

don't let that stop you.

But honestly, I hope that doesn't stop you anyways because there's a lot of great older shows and anime out there that are phenomenal. Like? Which one do you want me to say?

Don't know. Was hoping you had a segue into another recommend.

Oh. Okay. So,

I was I was gonna go with with my tried and true, but

what are you doing?

So, that movie that we just saw.

Just saw? Oh, Red Yeah. I'd recommend that as a first.

I thought that that was really a fun watch. Yeah. And there wasn't It really could be an all encompassing audience.

So, maybe this is my hot take here. But I think movies don't Don't count. Don't really count. They don't count. I I don't think movies Okay.

They don't count. Because I

think it's so easy for a movie for a movie to be a one off for you. Like, can watch Red Lion. You can watch Akira. You can watch a Ghibli movie and not really be into anime. Yeah.

I

think there's a certain level of commitment. Might be the hardcore Yeah. Like, this might be the holier than thou point of view that we might have, where you've gotta put in the time to be an anime watcher. Yeah. You're be like, I've watched every Gibley movie. I love anime. You've seen one grain You've seen a lawn. Yeah.

Yeah. But, yeah. I also think that like Yeah. Like Ghibli Ghibli movies have a very similar style and a very similar feel. And I feel like if someone has only watched Ghibli movies, do do they do they like anime? They like Ghibli but like,

that doesn't mean that they like Yeah.

And you're right. That that might be my hottest take here.

But Not as a gatekeeping sense, but as a sense that like, you really need to You need to be in the dirt.

There's so much out there. Yeah. Yeah. I think we were talking about it before, but I think I think something that I would introduce or recommend us like a first time watcher. I think Angel Beats always is a great example.

Welcome to Hogwarts. Yeah. Welcome to

Hogwarts except the main character doesn't have magic. He just doesn't have magic. No magic. And so, he has to

You know what magic is? God. Things. He

has to solve all of his problems via brute physical strength and it's just a very funny slapstick comedy. As an example, it's time to ride a broom. Everyone is floating on their brooms. Wow, magic. Do you know what he does?

He throws the broom so hard and then catches up to it and sits on it as it's still being thrown. And look, he's flying on his broom.

Or you know, like the classic scene in Harry Potter where they're like, make your broom rise up into your hand. Now, obviously, he can't do it, so he just stomps on the ground and the broom He's raises up into his inhumanly strong. Yeah. But that's what makes it so funny is he's surviving in a world of magic and kinda similar to Senyu, not quite the same way. But, it's just a bunch of It's like a bit to bit

a lot of bits.

It's just a funny silly little comedy.

My only concern, the plot line just has so many holes

on it. Oh, yeah. It's not deep at all. And it it's like it's like the the classic. I think we've kind of gone away from it. But in the past, I think a lot of the Shonen anime have been like, you need to complete this one task or you'll die.

Yeah. The stakes are put to a 100 Yeah. Immediately. Immediately. And, it doesn't stop. And, there's a point where you're like, I wonder what's gonna happen. Yeah. You know, there's something that's too predictable about it because like, oh, if the main character fails, it's over.

Yeah. This show is not a thinker. It's just a funny show to get you into anime as a whole. And it has some tropes in it. It has like your typical Hogwarts kind of setting. So if that's what you're familiar with, I think it's really easy to get into and it's a comedy with a little bit of action.

Alright. So they watch their first one they go, this is interesting.

Yes, sir. Yeah.

Now I wanna watch some more.

Welcome to other western media inspired content. Watch Baccano. Yes.

Oh, I That's what you were throwing it up for me for. Yes.

Yeah. Yeah. Baccano. So, Baccano, this should also be on your first to watch. But, mafioso supernatural immortality shtick on a train called the flying pussyfoot. Yeah.

That's not where I was going but

No. Honestly though, Boknoe is such an interesting show because we When looking at Marshall, the show has no depth. The stakes are what they are whatever. Boknoe is such an interesting and complicated and complex story that follows like several different story lines that converge. It is so interesting. It is funny. The dub is so

good because you have all actors putting on terrible Italian accents. It's the funniest thing ever.

But it's like there are moments There are characters specifically designed to be the clowns, to be the comic relief. And then it gets into these really serious like mafia scenes. Mhmm. All with this like supernatural undertone in the fact that some of these people are mortals and sometimes you don't know which ones they

are. Someone gets caught coming good now and they just stand

right Yep. Back

And usually that's a villain shtick. Yeah. Oh, the villain gets back up. Oh, no. It's like just one of the cool guys and he's like, brush off my suit. Oh, I hope my hat doesn't have any holes in it. Yeah. I

I think that one of the things that has that when I've watched you guys talk about this and watched is that if you're watching your first anime and it doesn't hit the spot, you you should try something different.

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Because I think, you know, we we've talked about this is that if you go on to Netflix or something like that, they'll have a list of anime. And if you just I I go in there and say, well that looks interesting or I have no idea what that means. Yeah. You watch a couple episodes and you can do it. And like I said, I saw the visions from Disney Channel. Yep. Those are definitely one offs. They're they're they're standalone pieces, but they made me appreciate the artwork of these different studios.

Yeah. It is a bit difficult. I think Netflix is one of those weird ones where they have so strange choices Yeah. For anime. Where some of them are like, I've never heard of this before.

Well, some of them are Netflix only.

Yeah. And that's like, that's crazy.

There are some Before we get really deep into it. They're like Basically, every streaming service has adopted having some anime on it. Yeah. Which also spreads out There's not one place you can absorb anime, which is an issue. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. I think that's a good way of looking at it. And also like there's so many Like an anime encompasses so much. You could be like, I'm looking for this kind of anime and then you find something that's similar and you're like, I don't like that at all. Like Yeah. That did not hit the spot

at Well, I mean, we're watching Delicious and Dungeon. Right?

Right.

I would never have selected that.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I could imagine. You know, I would look at that and go, that's so odd. Yeah. That's so weird.

But I love it. Yeah. I absolutely I mean, like you said, we're we're close to finishing this.

We're almost done. Yeah.

So, yeah.

And that one has like 24 or 25 episodes.

Yeah. I think it You do need You need a partner on this journey. Yeah.

Yeah. And it it doesn't have to be someone who's watched anime. But, you just need someone to be like, hey, we're here together and we'll figure it out. Yeah. I will say though, I've watched so many anime with people. Like it is Anime is usually like a really great group watch experience on top of everything.

It actually makes it so much better. Like if it's a really intense show, you have someone to like digest it all with. Or if it's a terrible show.

Dude, rag on it together.

It's actually more fun. Just I think that's like my favorite group anime experience where you're like, this show is awful. Let's watch this with someone else.

I watched like the the least, the lowest rated anime on my anime list with a friend. And we're like,

dad, this is awful. But it was really fun

and we watched both episodes. You were you were getting into it. I cut you off onto If you're in Once you're in the thick of anime, what are the core You're used to it. You're you've, you know, acclimated to the the sort of tropes and everything we've talked about. Once you're deep into it, what are some necessary things to really add to that list to make sure that like, oh, this We wanna make sure these don't slip through these cracks.

Yeah. Well, one of the things that I've looked at is there's a bunch of top 100 list.

Sure. Those are tough though.

They they are tough and because I I think you have to be very careful about what the group thought is on a lot of these. Absolutely.

Yeah. And even our recommendations might have those or Yeah. You know.

I I mean, we are obviously looking at it from a very like singular perspective. We haven't really touched on anything that's like very showjo as like a first watch or like a sports related anime sports watch as a first watch.

Because there are some highly ranked sports anime If

you love boxing, Hajime no Ippo. If you like volleyball, Haikyuu is incredible.

What's that basketball one that

Kuroko no Basket?

Yeah. I don't know Basket.

Or if you wanna go classic, Slam Dunk. Yes.

Slam Dunk is the one I

was extremely highly highly rated. Other sports ones, you have Prince of Tennis, Ace of Diamonds if you like baseball. Yep. If you really like baseball, and my favorite sports anime ever is called One Outs. Yep. It is a psychological anime. And it is so fun.

I think that anime that put sports anime on the map for a lot of people is free. Oh, true. It's an anime about swimming. Oh. But it it was one of those anime that really gained public traction where people were actually like, woah, wait a second. This is gonna be popular.

Very aware of it as well.

And once again, goes back to that if there is a topic that you like.

Yeah. There's probably a show around there's probably a show around

there's a rugby anime, a soccer anime. Yeah. Blue Lock. Blue Lock. Yeah. Sorry.

Sorry. Gotta keep gotta flex it a little bit. Other But but we're into the core of, oh, has this slipped through? I I think there are the ones that are thought provoking Mhmm. And the ones that really make you stop and think at the end of it. Those are the ones that really hit. And I say this because this is basically like my number two, maybe even number one based on how much it impacted me. And every single time I think about it, I'm like, man, that's just a masterpiece.

Yep.

Which is A Place Further Than the Universe.

Oh, yeah.

And that anime is a master class in everything. It is an emotional ride. It is about four high school girls that go to Antarctica. And the story that's told in 12 episodes is magnificent. And I don't know how to convey how much I love that show.

It is so good. But, you will miss it if you only watch dubbed shows.

It has only been subbed. It is

only subbed. And I think that's how you know it's kind of gone under the radar for a lot of people, is if it hasn't been dubbed before. Yeah. And, yes. You are absolutely missing out if you're not watching it.

It's so good. But it's something you don't think about. And and once you're in the thick of it, I think you can We've talked about the expectations of the extremes of episodes. Yeah. We joke about like, oh, 12 episodes, 24 episodes, and then there's one piece with a thousand. Yeah. There's in betweens. And I would say the most renowned anime end up between 50 and a 100 episodes.

Mhmm.

That includes Code Geass. That is a master class of an antagonist protagonist. I talked about this in a previous episode. There is monster, which is one of the most in-depth on morality, and highly themed, and like psychological tell. Yep. Another one is Attack on Titan. Yep. That is a an odyssey. I can't ever describe how interesting this. You He has not been sold. I was not a believer until I watch it all and realized the journey that it really tells and it floored me when I got to the end.

Yeah. See, because I've only seen Yeah. Or 11 episodes.

But the It changes after season one.

Oh, okay.

I did not like season one.

No. It's it's been a not a difficult watch but it's just been

It's not been the most learned.

Yeah. Yeah.

The the show fundamentally changes the genre of the show after season one. And it changes further still up until like season four. But, yeah. I mean, even more so you have like Fullmetal Alchemist. Something that we mentioned before.

Don't watch that. That can't be your first one.

Mean, we're past the first one.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. I I did like it.

Also also, you keep harping on. You've I definitely think that Full Male Alchemist could be

your first show. Oh, yeah. It's a banger.

It is one of the most highly rated of all time.

It was it was tough for me.

Why are you saying was? You're not done with it.

You watch eight episodes.

Well, okay. Because

as a Episode parent four as

a parent, it just it's a tough watch.

Yeah. The themings sometimes are tough and that is understandable.

Anyways, we're we're coming near the end.

We are. This is a call to action at the very end of the day. We do this. We do these informative ones to give something that you might not usually a chance. Mhmm. Anime is this weird amalgam from the outside perspective that is usually has so many So much stigma around it or is just scoffed at and not given the time of day. We've listed off a numerous amount of anime. So many. Too many. Most of them are a pretty good watch.

And the good thing about streaming service is that you can just hit one right after the other and say, this seems interesting Yeah. And then do more than one episode.

I mean, what what I was gonna say is Netflix has a selection. It's not really the biggest selection. Hulu actually has a relatively large selection of anime. And But it Of course, if you're looking for anime specifically Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll is a top dog. Is gonna

be your your best bet for showing this.

Now's the time to mention that unspeakable.

So Yeah. We're not gonna name any names. Yeah. However, there's a very financially agreeable version where you can get every single one even the ones that are on no streaming sites.

Just you know, watch know, where to Type in where to watch anime and I'm sure there's a lot of people that'll help you

There's some people that will really help you out and find a place that really agrees with your wallet and the library that you really want to cultivate.

Yeah. And part of this is grown up is because there is no single source.

There is no single source which is probably from my point of view the most egregious and worst part of it. Yeah. You can't just look for anime.

I mean unfortunately this is kind of the rise of streaming services and what it's become

It's segmenting everything.

Yeah. We're like, oh this show is only on this platform or this show is only on this platform. That's something we we deal with on a day to day basis anyways where you can't watch reacher anywhere except for Amazon prime I think.

Yeah. For prime video.

Yeah. So, alright. We're at the end of the episode. I hope you all enjoyed. I hope you all learned something. Maybe we weren't just talking. But now the question is, which one of our alcohols were the favorite? Dad, do you have a sake that you liked more than the others?

I do. And I will I'm gonna group it together in a different way.

Oh, gosh.

I like the Dai Ginjo.

Yeah. Okay. Yeah. The the this one or the other one? Yes. Okay.

So, you

like the Dai Ginjo as a whole?

Yeah. As a whole. I think that that really

made a difference that I did not think I would

a full body. I feel

like you're cheating a little bit.

Okay. So, that being said is

that if

I had to pick between the two

Okay.

Yep.

You know I like whiskey scotches that have a heavier taste to it. Yes.

Sure.

So, I would say this one is my favorite because it's more full body.

So, the Kyodai Yeah. The one where alcohol is implemented even more so

Yeah.

To it is your favorite.

That is my Alright.

Really quick Nick, what was your favorite? The Taiku, number two. Number two. Alright. I think that number two was also my favorite. Okay. But this

one was

a close sassy. This one

was also really good.

Alright. And that's our time. Thank you all so much for watching. We'll see you next time. Bye. On three hamster voice podcast. Bye.