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We're back for our first podcast of the year and we're talking all things Winter 2023! This is a very busy season with some absolute gems at the top, a bunch of mid and some diamonds in the rough.
Graeme talks through the "feudal airtasker show" Revenger as well as the CGI Kaina of the Great Snow Sea. Charlie examines the controversy surrounding the Trigun Remake Stampede (hint, more CGI) as well as the brilliantly titled Ice Guy and his Cool Female Colleague.
Sam speaks about some video game adaptations of varying degrees of quality in Nier: Automata and The Legend of Heroes: Trials of Cold Steel - Northern War.
We also discuss some heavy hitting returning anime in Vinland saga, Tokyo Revengers and The Misfit of the Demon Academy as well as several others which have caught our attention this season.
FEATURING
Sam
Charlie
Graeme
ANIME REFERENCES
VINLAND SAGA
Thorfinn is son to one of the Vikings' greatest warriors, but when his father is killed in battle by the mercenary leader Askeladd, he swears to have his revenge. Thorfinn joins Askeladd's band in order to challenge him to a duel, and ends up caught in the middle of a war for the crown of England.
(Source: Kodansha USA)
Tokyo Revengers
Takemichi Hanagaki is a freelancer that's reached the absolute pits of despair in his life. He finds out that the only girlfriend he ever had in his life that he dated in middle school, Hinata Tachibana, had been killed by the ruthless Tokyo Manji Gang.
The day after hearing about her death, he's standing on the station platform and ends up being pushed over onto the tracks by a herd of people. He closes his eyes thinking he's about to die, but when he opens his eyes back up, he somehow had gone back in time 12 years.
Now that he's back living the best days of his life, Takemichi decides to get revenge on his life by saving his girlfriend and changing himself that he'd been running away from.
(Source: Crunchyroll)
TRIGUN STAMPEDE
Vash the Stampede’s a joyful gunslinging pacifist, so why does he have a $6 million bounty on his head? That’s what’s puzzling rookie reporter Meryl Stryfe and her jaded veteran partner when looking into the vigilante only to find someone who hates blood. But their investigation turns out to uncover something heinous—his evil twin brother, Millions Knives.
(Source: Crunchyroll)
NieR:Automata Ver1.1a
The distant future, 5012.
The sudden aerial invasion of Earth by ＜Aliens＞ and
their creations ＜Machine Lifeforms＞led mankind to the brink of extinction.
The surviving number of humans who took refuge on the moon to organize a counterattack using
＜android＞ soldiers to recapture Earth.
However, the war reaches a stalemate as the ＜Machine Lifeforms＞ continue to multiply infinitely.
In turn, humanity deploys anew unit of android soldiers as an ultimate weapon: ＜YoRHa＞
Newly dispatched to Earth ＜2B＞ joins＜9S＞, the analyst currently stationed there, where amid their mission, they encounter a myriad of mysterious phenomena...
This is the story of these lifeless ＜androids＞ and their endless fight for the sake of mankind.
(Source: NieR:Automata Ver1.1a Official USA Website)
Kaina of the Great Snow Sea
A world blanketed in an endless and ever-growing ocean of snow. The people eke out a living, either huddled around the roots of enormous trees dotting the surface, or high in the canopy, which spreads over the planet's atmosphere.
A chance meeting between Kaina, a youth from the canopy, and Liliha, a young woman from the surface, sets off a chain of events that will change the fate of the world.
(Source: Polygon Pictures)
Bungo Stray Dogs
Stalked by a beastly white tiger, Atsushi Nakajima has no idea that the menace lives inside him—a power that catches the attention of the Armed Detective Agency. Using inhuman abilities to combat crime, this team takes Atsushi under the wing of their most eccentric member, Dazai. Together, they tear through mafia-muddled mysteries while enemies keep an eye on the tiger’s lofty bounty.
(Source: Funimation)
Tomo-chan Is a Girl!
Boyish high school girl Aizawa Tomo finally manages to tell her childhood friend Jun that she’s got a crush on him. Unfortunately, her confession goes right over his head—he didn’t even realize she was a girl until junior high, and even now, Jun still thinks of her as a bro! How can Tomo-chan possibly convince him otherwise and win Jun’s heart?
(Source: Seven Seas Entertainment)
The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague
The setting is a workplace where a snowy-white romance blows in like a blizzard.
Himuro is a descendant of yuki-onnas living in modern times and a newbie office worker. When he gets emotionally overwhelmed, he ends up causing blizzards or starts building snowmen and igloos. Whenever his secret romantic feelings for his unique yet kind coworker Fuyutsuki intensify, he sometimes ends up freezing those around him. Then, there's Fuyutsuki. Everyone always sees her as the cool type, but Fuyutsuki is actually also pretty curious about her mysterious coworker, Himuro.
Their relationship continues to gradually evolve daily through work and work events. Eventually, they start to spend time with each other outside of work, but they're both a bit awkward when it comes to love, so they just can't seem to get closer...
A heartwarming workplace fantasy romcom starring a seemingly cool couple is about to begin!
(Source: Crunchyroll)
HIGH CARD
After discovering that his orphanage was on the brink of closing due to financial stress, Finn, who was living freely on the streets, set out for a casino with the aim of making a fortune. However, nothing could have prepared Finn for the nightmare that was awaiting him. Once there, Finn encountered a car chase and bloody shootout caused by a man's “lucky” card.
Finn will eventually learn what the shootout was about. The world order can be controlled by a set of 52 X-Playing cards with the power to bestow different superhuman powers and abilities to the ones that possess them. With these cards, people can access the hidden power of the “buddy” that can be found within themselves.
There is a secret group of players called High Card, who have been directly ordered by the king of Fourland to collect the cards that have been scattered throughout the kingdom, while moonlighting as employees of the luxury car maker Pinochle. Scouted to become the group's fifth member, Finn soon joins the players on a dangerous mission to find these cards.
However, Who's Who, the rival car maker obsessed with defeating Pinochle, and the Klondikes, the infamous Mafia family, stand in the way of the gang.
A frenzied battle amongst these card obsessed players, fueled by justice, desire, and revenge, is about to begin!
Revenger
As master assassin Usui Yuen looks into a series of assassinations made on the grand samurai clan, the Satsuma, he encounters Kurima Raizo, member and survivor of one of the attacks. Together, they discover the true nature of these murders is bigger than over stolen resources. As they get closer to the truth, will they come out alive to exact revenge?
