***Spoiler Warning: Severance (2022)*** Three wolves rage inside your breast. One really likes work, the other really likes his dead wife. The third wolf is that devourer of worlds known as Isekai - he lives both without and within us all. Does our discussion of Severance really warrant a spoiler warning? I don't really think so but there you go anyway. Severance asks a question posed very Spike Jonesily: what if the mysterious door transported you not into John Malkovich but your boring office ...
Jul 07, 2022•2 hr 5 min
Lemme just upload this and be done. Show notes to follow. I haven't uploaded this because internet issues caused my audio to sound like garbage and editing this ep felt like suffering through Itachi's sharingan genjutsu. So I simply decided not to edit it! Listen to us vape on mic and listen to me struggle to recall the term "cognitive dissonance" for like 5 minutes. Anyway, enjoy!
Jun 12, 2022•3 hr 3 min
***Spoiler Warning: Warcraft (2016)*** Have you heard about the latest Activision Blizzard scandal? They got a talented indie film director to helm their cinematic vanity project based on the Warcraft IP five years ago. I know, I can't believe it either. And the worst part is... it might be an Isekai! In all seriousness fuck Bobby Kotick, Microsoft and the games industry that sustains itself on violence against workers, women and people of colour. Is it an Isekai starts at (16:51) In this episod...
Jan 19, 2022•2 hr 25 min•Ep. 17
As promised, here's part two of our discussion covering episode 5 as well as our closing thoughts. Once again, a big shoutout to Sam for joining us on this episode! We cover: Episode 5: The Morning of Our Promise Is Still Distant (3:06) Closing Thoughts at (57:11) Yep, we went long with this one! These episodes offered a one-two combo of genre and pacing, switching it up on us with alacrity, hitting us with delicate left jabs followed by some rather straightforward, unsubtle rights. While I take...
Dec 02, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 16
A big thank you to Sam, who guests on this episode! ** This one went a bit long so I decided to split it up into two chunks. It's pretty much a standard ep, but we only discuss episodes 3 and 4. Our discussion on episode 5 and our closing thoughts will be uploaded some time next week. Sorry if you are inconvenienced by this, but it does help get it out on time and keeps the eps from being massive. ** We've all been hate watching Netflix's Cowboy Bebop and stirring up the vitriol within our souls...
Nov 27, 2021•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 15
***Spoiler Warning: Cube (1997)*** Colonel, come in. This is Snake. Kept you waiting, huh? Laurens was feeling a bit under the weather so he asked me, Solid Snake (as voiced by David Hayter), to sub for him. He also asked me to make my voice extra gravelly. I'm not sure even a veteran of stealth operations, such as myself, could survive in the cube from the 1997 indie sci-fi horror Cube. Luckily that's not what we debate in this weeks "Is It an Isekai" segment. Instead we wonder how does the cla...
Nov 15, 2021•2 hr 6 min•Ep. 14
***Spoiler Warning: Pleasantville (1998) *** Hell is other suburbs. I can think of no place I'd rather avoid than an American suburb. But what if you where isekai'd to one by an evil genie TV repairman? Sounds like you're in Pleasantville (1998). We give everything away about this film. Again we see sitcom nostalgia and suburban ennui rear it's ugly head in our "Is it an Isekai" segment. More like UnPleasantville, am I right? Upsettingville, more like. NPR's Shittown, more like! Okay I'll stop. ...
Oct 15, 2021•2 hr•Ep. 13
*** Spoiler Warning: The Cell (2000)*** We sensory dive into the mind of a psycho killer in this weeks "Is it an Isekai", only to find that it's full of elaborate set design and bondage gear. The contradictions of the human mind, folks! We're talking about The Cell. The visually arresting and suspenseful sci-fi thriller direct by Tarsem Singh starring beautiful queen Jennifer Lopez and wretched goblin man Vince Vaughan. It's pretty good... but is it an isekai? Find out from (12:36). A trolley is...
Sep 28, 2021•2 hr 51 min•Ep. 12
*** Spoiler Warning: Annihalation (2018) *** In this episode's "Is It an Isekai" segment we delve into the forbidden zone where no man dare venture. So instead they sent in a team of women including Natalie Portman. Can they unravel the mystery of the shimmer? Or will they find that they too have been isekai'd? We talk about some broader story elements in Annihalation without getting into specifics. Check it out at (23:15). There's so much anime out there it's hard to keep up at times. Neverthel...
Aug 28, 2021•2 hr 59 min•Ep. 11
Boy oh boy, we recorded a monstersode! I managed to whittle it down to 3 very concise hours of chat, goofs and takes. But it was the hardest thing I've ever had to do for the pod. Watching these 3 episodes comes in second. Big shoutouts to Joss, who guests on this episode and even brings along an "is it an isekai" for discussion, 1971's Mr Benn. Is it an isekai? A slice-of-life? Or even a magical girl anime? Find out at (23:16). We're tackling a new isekai starting this week. It's High School Pr...
Aug 12, 2021•3 hr 9 min•Ep. 10
***Spoiler Warning: Avatar (2009)*** You say furries have invaded the mainstream? I say they have been among us all along... Avatar shows us just what its like to be reincarnated as your fursona OC copyright do not steal. Is it an isekai? Find out at (12:45) We've got a mini Otaku Glossary segment today. We really just talk about what isekai we might want to watch. We think about the parts that make up an isekai and where this branching path may take us next. This segment starts at (27:03) We co...
Jul 24, 2021•2 hr 7 min•Ep. 9
Welcome to the Isekai show! We put the age old question of "is Futurama an isekai?" to rest in this one. We go into so little detail about the series that it hardly warrants a spoiler warning imo. I think we do a pretty solid job of arguing our side! This segment goes from (24:58) to (32:28). If you thought anime was purely fictitious, then let me tell you about economics! In this week's Otaku Glossary we talk about Japan's Lost decade, the asset price bubble of the the late 80s and early 90s an...
Jul 10, 2021•2 hr 33 min•Ep. 8
***Spoiler Warning: The Truman Show (1998)*** I hope you are ready for some furore and controversy as we duke it out over whether The Truman Show is an isekai or not. It's a film starring Jim Carrey from the late 90s, and what a great film it is! We cover almost all of the big twists relevant to our discussion, so if you somehow haven't seen it then - damn - I wish I had your brain. This segment runs from (19:37) to (30:02). In The Otaku Glossary we do a deep dive analysis of the opening and end...
Jun 26, 2021•2 hr 25 min•Ep. 7
***Spoiler warning: Super Mario Bros. (1993)*** In 1993 there was a film about the super Mario brothers. It's true... and it's weird. And It might be an isekai?? We discuss in non-specific detail. If you simply must find out for yourself, unspoiled, then skip segment 22:10 to 29:09. The Otaku Glossary segment is back and it starts at 29:10. We talk about the meaning behind some of the names that have popped up so far. We talk about angels and demons and how wHaCkY those Abrahamic religions are! ...
Jun 12, 2021•2 hr 33 min•Season 2Ep. 6
***Spoiler Warning: WandaVision*** It's a new season so we are cracking open a new anime. Settle in, we're talking about The Devil is a Part-Timer. It starts off pretty strong! The usual Is This an Isekai segment is present. This time we discuss the Disney plus series WandaVision. Be warned for there are mild spoilers! As per usual it's not like we break it down beat by beat, but I know how spoiler aversion can be. Is this an Isekai runs from 10:21 to 16:58. In this episode of the pod we cover: ...
May 29, 2021•1 hr 53 min•Season 2Ep. 5
*** Spoiler Warning: The Wizard of Oz (1939) *** In today's "Is This an Isekai" we talk about the Hollywood classic The Wizard of Oz. This warning is merely a formality as we both kind of forgot what happens in the Wizard of Oz. I mean aside from the broad strokes that you are no doubt familiar with. And if you're not then you can go watch this boring ass movie from 1939 that is only of interest to film theory dweebs. If you must keep your Oz experience pure, skip 14:49 to 19:00. But eff that, c...
May 15, 2021•1 hr 58 min•Season 1Ep. 4
*** Spoiler Warning: The Matrix (1999) *** For "Is this an isekai" we discuss the classic sci-fi action film that started it all: The millenium, red pills, overpowered main characters. We don't really go into heavy spoilers beyond what has already seeped into to the culture through osmosis, but if you'd rather skip it to be on the safe side it's 12:34 to 17:49 No extra segments on this one. The episodes of Hamefura we cover, along with their starting timestamp, are: Episode 7: Will he come at me...
May 01, 2021•2 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 3
*** Apologies: I had to take down the ep and upload a version that's a tad louder! I also made it so the transitions are a bit less jarring. Sorry if you were in the middle of serious pod sesh. Once again, we're still learning! *** *** Spoiler Warning: LOST (2004) *** I'm sure by now you must have realised you would be getting spoiled on Hamefura. But in this episode we also happen to talk spoilers about the 2004 TV show Lost on the "Is this an Isekai" segment. If you'd rather not hear that then...
Apr 17, 2021•2 hr 29 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Welcome to Reincarnated as Podcasters! We'll be talking through an Isekai series a couple of episodes at a time. First up is My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom aka Hamefura. We also briefly chat about our history with anime and the The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Please pardon the audio quality, we're still learning. Hope you like it!
Apr 03, 2021•2 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 1
