It's been a good couple of years since Felipe was on the show, but he's finally back with a vengeance as we tackle 2 distinct topics. First, Felipe enlightens John with insight on the skateboarding boom of the 2000s and the wild ride it's been for longtime pro Chad Muska in particular, as told in an entertaining documentary that you can legally watch for free on Vice's YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/3JFihjEWU3c After that, the meat of the episode is a deep dive into not a game series, not a g...
Dec 20, 2022•2 hr 10 min
Mia brings her nerd A-game to school John on a trilogy we both love, but one that for her isn't just a movie, but a lifestyle. Fresh off Fellowship hitting its 20th anniversary (And Two Towers as well a month after this episode publishes), we look back at Peter Jackson's now-legendary adaptation of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. From Viggo Mortensen injuries to Hugo Weaving rapping in Elvish, we take a long look at all three films and additional material, including the earlier animated ada...
Nov 13, 2022•2 hr 32 min
Mia returns to the show for an opening portion where we talk games new and older! John discusses his obsession with Cyberpunk 2077 as well as its gradual change to being seen in a more positive light through updates, the next-gen versions, and the tie-in anime Edgerunners. Mia then does a deep dive into her obsession with modding the living daylights out of Skyrim, Bethesda's tendency to leave bug fixes to the modders, and how she can't imagine a world without Inigio. All hail Inigo. Next part: ...
Oct 18, 2022•1 hr 17 min
John & Chris catch up to talk cartoons old and new! We start with more talk on Arcane, both to get Chris's observations, and also since the original review was recorded before the proverbial Netflix dam burst. Oh, and Chris reveals a cool personal connection to the League of Legends franchise that you'll just have to hear for yourself. For the meat of the episode, we do another retro anime deep dive, but this time with a film that holds some nostalgic significance to both of us, the 1987 cul...
Jun 19, 2022•1 hr 56 min
John and Ben do a deep dive into the League of Legends Netflix adaptation that has received widespread praise. And if you ask us, that's entirely deserved, because Arcane is one of those shows that just does everything right. From the unique and incredible animation, to the mature and well-written stories and worldbuilding, to the plot points that left us with our jaws on the floor, Arcane sets a benchmark for video game adaptations and animation as a whole. Spoilers abound, so please watch the ...
May 08, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Fellow animator and friend of the show Ben Reynolds comes back on to talk with John about cartoons - and keeping in tradition with previous appearances, we're talking niche anime, with a big emphasis on retro. We talk the cool but brief 80s OVA Dragon's Heaven, from its unique art style and bizarre opening to the wild world of anime in the heyday of VHS, and then venture into the recently fansubbed 2003 reboot of the iconic Astro Boy, discussing its amazing visuals, surprisingly thoughtful writi...
Apr 08, 2022•57 min
Dave Roberts returns for a massive episode covering all sorts of media. We kick off by talking about stuff like Jackass Forever and the state of Bruce Willis's career, John talks revisiting OG Final Fantasy VII with an HD coat of paint via mods, and Dave discusses the Dexter revival miniseries, what it does well, and how he would have gone about certain plot beats differently. For the main topic, John prompts a deep dive into one of his favorite by-chance obscure movie discoveries ever, that bei...
Mar 12, 2022•2 hr 23 min
We may be late to the party on this one, but there's no way we're skipping a discussion on this movie. Patrick goes over his personal history with the Spider-Man property, and a deep, spoiler-filled talk of the cultural phenomenon that is the third MCU Spidey film ensues between him and John. From a flip-flopping Sandman to cracking each other's backs to what we can take away from the ending, we cover it all. BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE. John and Patrick have started a separate podcast called Chance ...
Jan 18, 2022•57 min
This show is no stranger to the MCU, but it's been a hot minute since the Infinity War & Endgame spoilercasts, and even longer since our last dedicated dive into this pop-culture juggernaut. Making her first appearance on the show, John's comrade in fandom Mia helps us catch up with releases beyond Black Widow, both by reflecting on memories of movies past, adjusting to an MCU without T'Challa, and in particular discussing the recent Shang-Chi and what its attention to cultural detail, great...
Oct 15, 2021•2 hr 12 min
John & Dave journey to Eternia to unpack what we would call the latest version of the He-Man franchise (If not for the fact that a totally separate reboot also came out on Netflix soon after this - what a crazy world we live in). From our personal history with the property and showrunner Kevin Smith, to noting some great worldbuilding and character nuance, to the show being the latest in a long line of things splitting fanbases, there's a lot to discuss. Next episode: Shang-Chi/Marvel Disney...
Oct 01, 2021•1 hr 12 min
Anime expert, Pro Evolution Soccer (Or eFootball?) player, and all-around friendly European Dave Roberts finally returns to the show for a massive talk with John on all sorts of topics. Initial freeform talks include early days as an anime fan, personal projects in podcasts and on YouTube, and thoughts on potential new Olympic sports. John then gives his initial, spoiler-free thoughts on the finally-localized The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles and the unique factors its setting and time period pr...
Aug 24, 2021•1 hr 47 min
There's no point in acting like listeners aren't familiar with the original Aladdin in some way - it's one of the most iconic Disney films ever made, and remains John's all-time favorite film from the studio. So rather than do a more standard freeform talk about it, we do a more analytical deep dive and dissect it as a piece of animation and filmmaking to nail down just why it works so well. From making the most of all its characters, to a soundtrack with no weak links, to what makes this one of...
Aug 06, 2021•54 min
Were you expecting this episode to come out last month when we first teased recording it? So did we, but the production turned out extremely cursed, so we're thankful this is finally an actual completed podcast that you can really listen to. John catches up with Patrick to briefly discuss returning to improv in a gradually vaccinated world and the letdown that is Space Jam: A New Legacy before discussing our first mutual movie theater viewing this year in the form of Black Widow, from the stella...
Jul 23, 2021•44 min
It's a special day for the podcast, as OG co-host Chris Wade finally makes his first appearance since the Mortal Kombat episode to talk many things near and dear to both his and John's hearts. We open things up with more general talks about recent media we've been consuming, then revisit our passion projects The Will of Monsters and Spacious and talk how work and ideas on both have progressed since our initial discussions in 2017. After that, we discuss Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and what makes it...
Apr 30, 2021•1 hr 58 min
Animator Ben Reynolds returns to talk with John about two pieces of media that, despite being very different, may be kindred spirits in terms of the positive and inspirational effects they've had on us. John starts things off with his thoughts on Pixar's Soul, how it handles representation and some of the reasons for its somewhat divisive public reception, and why its ultimate message struck him so deeply and why the movie has ended up meaning so much to him personally. After that, we take a loo...
Jan 17, 2021•1 hr 36 min
John catches up with friend of the show and fellow podcaster Tyler Moliterno to finally talk something non-Marvel on the show. Tyler gives his thoughts on the long-time-coming third Bill and Ted movie, and both of them tackle one of the most beloved trilogies of all time by unpacking the Back to the Future series. Not just the stories, too, as Tyler deep dives into the brain-melting alternate timelines, versions of characters, and crazy ramifications of the time travel that blows John's mind, th...
Oct 29, 2020•2 hr 28 min
After discussing and speculating on the announcements from DC Fandome, we wander away from favorite game ever territory and more into banana-slamma territory, as John and Patrick discuss the roller coaster that is post-Country Donkey Kong. From the infamous cartoon to DK64 and the Rare-free Gamecube era, all the way up to coming full circle with Retro Studios' stellar Country revival, to John doing pipe dream voice casting and really needing to watch Big Little Lies. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 2:49 ...
Sep 12, 2020•1 hr 30 min
We live to pod another day! Almost exactly a year after our hiatus began, John finally dusts the podcasting setup off and revives an unorthodox show for the unorthodox happenings of 2020. Patrick Fleury returns to help John give some updates on voice work, dearly departed grandmas, and various life changes since the last episode, as well as Patrick giving his overall thoughts on the recent PS4 hit Ghost of Tsushima. But for the meat of this episode, it's on like *TRADEMARKED* as we begin to tack...
Aug 28, 2020•1 hr 14 min
Kingdom Hearts III isn't the only thing we're putting a bow on. Chris finally gets to give his opinion on the show regarding Avengers: Endgame. From character arcs he was satisfied with, to others that felt mishandled, where his feelings on Tony Stark now stand, and the continuation of feeling for Thor. (This was recorded before the Marvel/Sony bombshell dropped; we would have brought it up otherwise.) Afterwards, inspired by the recent release of its latest entry, we talk all things Mortal Komb...
Sep 01, 2019•1 hr 24 min
Every time we aim to not have a long break inbetween episodes, it just sort of happens. Recorded straight from John's place rather than over Discord, John and Chris touch on the whirlwind of things that they've gone through this summer, from surprise cats to surprise Dreamworks reachouts to impulsive acting to a possible podcast curse. Then we wrap up our thoughts on Kingdom Hearts III since we've been able to finish it in the half-year since release. Or rather John has finished it and Chris tap...
Aug 24, 2019•1 hr 6 min
We close out May with a first - new guests met through Twitter! Keith and Andy, cohosts of the animation throwback podcast Toon in Pod, join John to talk all sorts of media. After introductions and various retellings of nostalgic cartoon experiences, John finally gives some in-depth thoughts on the Oculus Rift after owning one since February, particularly how useful it's been in making exercise fun, the new life it's given one of his favorite genres via Beat Saber and several other titles, and w...
May 31, 2019•2 hr 7 min
It's the end of an era, as John and returning guest Tyler Moliterno talk the pop culture juggernaut that is Avengers Endgame. The secrecy of this sequel's plot and the promise of closure for this era of the MCU has teased, tantalized, and even worried John, so we lay it all out and go in-depth about the plot, character arcs, surprises, callbacks, and an overall gargantuan talk for an overall gargantuan movie, particularly as John reflects on the journey his favorite film series has taken him and...
May 01, 2019•2 hr 10 min
HEY! LISTEN (to this podcast)! First-time guest Bianca of Generation Animation joins John for talk regarding a recent movie and a long-running game series. First, both unpack Robert Rodriguez and James Cameron's recent big-screen manga adaptation, which is John's introduction to the Alita property while Bianca comes at it from a completionist of the original comic. While not without some genuine issues, there's an impressive amount of stuff to like with it - especially when you look at Hollywood...
Apr 01, 2019•2 hr 2 min
With the release of Kingdom Hearts 3 marking one of the craziest waits in video game history, now felt like a good time for John and Chris to sit and talk their thoughts on the series as a whole after briefly teasing it way back in the first episode. And boy, does it get heated, especially on Chris's side of things. Highlights include our mutual opinions on why the first game's narrative remains the strongest, Why John generally loves the series bar some iffy portable entries while Chris is more...
Feb 19, 2019•1 hr 41 min
Well, we've been gone a while. Time to settle back into our podcasting groove with a doozy of a two-part comeback episode. Recorded directly from Chris's abode rather than Discord, John, Chris, and occasionally Serena "Rabbit" Wade catch everyone up on their busy last few months, how their holidays and recent convention visit went, employment shakeups, and how not fun the flu is. Once that's done, we praise the recent Kirby collab that Chris participated in and further discuss John's still-ongoi...
Feb 08, 2019•1 hr 2 min
Wow, did this end up being a jam-packed episode to make up for a longer-than-usual wait since the TMNT talk. Not only is Chris back on as a guest for the first time, not only is TV editor and writer Alan Denton (Sonic Boom/Sunny Day) making his show debut, and not only does the opening contain talk of pets and how John's Anime USA 2018 experience was the most linked to prior show topics by pure chance, but we also tackle maybe the biggest game of the year and maybe the biggest TV cartoon of all ...
Nov 07, 2018•2 hr 2 min
Patrick Fleury makes his now-annual appearance on the show, which ended up revolving around New York City-based superheroes entirely by chance. He and John give their spoiler-free thoughts on Insomniac's stellar PlayStation-exclusive take on Spider-Man (And some extra thoughts on existing Spidey movies and TV series), with the expected Arkham gameplay comparisons, appreciation of the game's storytelling and character focus, and addictions to web swinging. But the bulk of the episode is focused o...
Sep 29, 2018•1 hr 51 min
We're back! I'm in a hurry to end this hiatus and get this uploaded with the essentials like timestamps, so long story short, me and Ben Reynolds talk the latest MCU film, the latest Mega Man compilations, and a classic fantasy anime franchise. Expect more detailed text here later. Episode 31 will be the long-promised Ninja Turtles retrospective with Patrick. - John Timestamps: 10:00 - Ant-Man and the Wasp (Spoilers - Infinity War spoilers at 21:12) 30:16 - Mega Man X Legacy Collection 47:27 - R...
Aug 29, 2018•1 hr 57 min
The guest co-host train keeps on truckin' as podcasting veteran Dave Roberts talks in-depth with John about a diverse variety of topics. John gives his overall thoughts on the recent PS4 hit Detroit: Become Human (Hint: They involve Walking Dead comparisons, observations on David Cage's recurring flaws and strengths, remembering when games came with more cheats and extras, and Clancy Brown's buddy cop subplot stealing the show), while Dave gives his mixed opinions on the current state of the sho...
Jul 16, 2018•2 hr 3 min
If our E3 thoughts didn't fill the Sketch Watch Play-sized hole in your life quite enough, how about a full hour and a half reminiscing on one of our favorite video game genres? John and Felipe chronicle both the general history and their standout experiences with rhythm-based video games, from its infancy through rapping paper-thin dogs and dance pads to crazier ventures like Elite Beat Agents and Rez. And yes, we devote a huge chunk to our experiences with Guitar Hero and Rock Band, as well as...
Jun 29, 2018•1 hr 28 min
