The Importance of Anime


Episode 117

The Importance of Anime

Anime has inspired an entire generation of artists, and for this episode we sit down with @blancobourne to discuss the anime influences that have shaped his music career. With songs like 'Shippuden' and 'Akaza', Blanco weaves deep cut anime references into his effortless flow. Even the title of Blanco's new EP 'Paradise on a Lifeboat' is an anime reference! You can find Blanco on all major streaming platforms and also on YouTube at @blancobourne

FEATURING

Sam

Charlie

Graeme

ANIME REFERENCES

Welcome to the N-H-K

Satou’s life – or what’s left of it – is a paranoid mess of conspiracy theories and social anxieties. He’s terrified of the outside world; his apartment is overflowing with the remnants of cheap take-out food; and his retinas have been permanently scarred by a steady diet of internet porn. But maybe it’s not all his fault. After all, the nefarious N-H-K is out there, and they’re determined to turn society’s fringe-dwellers into a brainwashed lot of jobless, hopeless, futureless recluses. Enter Misaki – a mysterious girl-next-door type who is Satou’s last chance to beat down his inner demons and venture out into the light of day. She’s ready to help him overcome his crippling phobias, but Satou would rather cower in his existential foxhole and pretend to work on the demo for his virtual sex game. He’s afraid to face the world. She’s strangely desperate to fix a total stranger. Maybe together they can be normal. (Source: Funimation)

naruto

Naruto Uzumaki, a hyperactive and knuckle-headed ninja, lives in Konohagakure, the Hidden Leaf village. Moments prior to his birth, a huge demon known as the Kyuubi, the Nine-tailed Fox, attacked Konohagakure and wreaked havoc. In order to put an end to the Kyuubi's rampage, the leader of the village, the 4th Hokage, sacrificed his life and sealed the monstrous beast inside the newborn Naruto. Shunned because of the presence of the Kyuubi inside him, Naruto struggles to find his place in the village. He strives to become the Hokage of Konohagakure, and he meets many friends and foes along the way.

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

Naruto was a young shinobi with an incorrigible knack for mischief. He achieved his dream to become the greatest ninja in the village and his face sits atop the Hokage monument. But this is not his story... A new generation of ninja are ready to take the stage, led by Naruto's own son, Boruto! (Source: VIZ Media)

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

It is the Taisho Period in Japan. Tanjiro, a kindhearted boy who sells charcoal for a living, finds his family slaughtered by a demon. To make matters worse, his younger sister Nezuko, the sole survivor, has been transformed into a demon herself. Though devastated by this grim reality, Tanjiro resolves to become a “demon slayer” so that he can turn his sister back into a human, and kill the demon that massacred his family.

Chainsaw Man

Denji is a teenage boy living with a Chainsaw Devil named Pochita. Due to the debt his father left behind, he has been living a rock-bottom life while repaying his debt by harvesting devil corpses with Pochita. One day, Denji is betrayed and killed. As his consciousness fades, he makes a contract with Pochita and gets revived as "Chainsaw Man" — a man with a devil's heart. (Source: Crunchyroll)

Attack on Titan

Several hundred years ago, humans were nearly exterminated by titans. Titans are typically several stories tall, seem to have no intelligence, devour human beings and, worst of all, seem to do it for the pleasure rather than as a food source. A small percentage of humanity survived by walling themselves in a city protected by extremely high walls, even taller than the biggest of titans. Flash forward to the present and the city has not seen a titan in over 100 years. Teenage boy Eren and his foster sister Mikasa witness something horrific as the city walls are destroyed by a colossal titan that appears out of thin air. As the smaller titans flood the city, the two kids watch in horror as their mother is eaten alive. Eren vows that he will murder every single titan and take revenge for all of mankind.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

The adventure is over but life goes on for an elf mage just beginning to learn what living is all about. Elf mage Frieren and her courageous fellow adventurers have defeated the Demon King and brought peace to the land. But Frieren will long outlive the rest of her former party. How will she come to understand what life means to the people around her? Decades after their victory, the funeral of one her friends confronts Frieren with her own near immortality. Frieren sets out to fulfill the last wishes of her comrades and finds herself beginning a new adventure… (Source: Crunchyroll)

Hunter x Hunter (2011)

A new adaption of the manga of the same name by Togashi Yoshihiro. A Hunter is one who travels the world doing all sorts of dangerous tasks. From capturing criminals to searching deep within uncharted lands for any lost treasures. Gon is a young boy whose father disappeared long ago, being a Hunter. He believes if he could also follow his father's path, he could one day reunite with him. After becoming 12, Gon leaves his home and takes on the task of entering the Hunter exam, notorious for its low success rate and high probability of death to become an official Hunter. He befriends the revenge-driven Kurapika, the doctor-to-be Leorio and the rebellious ex-assassin Killua in the exam, with their friendship prevailing throughout the many trials and threats they come upon taking on the dangerous career of a Hunter.

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