TLDR: It was better than the microphones for this taping…and you can hear it Mike and James give their review on the first Anime Revoution Toronto the previous weekend, and in particular the Japanese guests. With a few thoughts on the Toronto Game Expo which was also the same weekend. With a longer conversation about the convention scene for Toront…

Mike and James finally go back to the podcast mics. And James talks watching Virgin Punk in theatres, XSEED, and Crunchyroll subtitles. Mike talks his first impressions of using the Manga UP service. We look ahead to Anime Revolution Toronto. And end with a tribute to an Anime North original Visit our linktree for more information and links: animer…

In this episode, we talk about summer finales and fall season

Our first regular episode since Anime North begins by looking back on the Demon Slayer movie talk in last week’s Space Heater. And a question about how much Sony’s recent form has been a win 00:31:40 - Crunchyroll announces an opening for their returning manga service. And there is an extra charge for it and… Mike seeks therapy after going anime wi…

We talk about some finales in this episode

Taped after the successful opening weekend of Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle in North American theatres. Mike hasn’t seen it, but Kevin and Moh have. So we talk about that and “a few” things surrounding it Visit our launch page for more links: animeroundtable.com

In this episode we talk about Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Part 1, Seasonal Animes, HD2, BF6, and Tarkov

The short answer is yes...as James catches up with the Mike. Gives his view last week's chat on the VShojo controversy, his thoughts on manga, light novels, and how they roll into anime. And then he talks about what caught his attention, namely the Animeigo and Discotek panels at Otakon and how they're a throwback to anime announcements from a by g…

Mike finally returns on the podcast side and catches up with Kevin for a talk around the space heater. We get Kevin's take on recent manga announcements from Anime Expo and San Diego, as well as his take on Mike's recent thoughts on manga and light novels. Then, Kevin did see BlackPink when they were in Toronto a few weeks back. So we get his thoug…

Day two from Anime North always starts with impressions of it. Especially the weather and cosplay, what we saw in the TCC, and the panels seen and even done 0:49:40 - We talked about Matt Alt’s article about the resilience of the popularity of Japanese Pop Culture in comparison to Western…perhaps it’s a focus issue. And maybe the west’s influence i…

We look back on Day 1 of AN. We talk initial impressions, how the AN compound looks, the weather, then some thoughts on the foreign film tariffs and wonder how this either ties into anime in North America and how it makes any sense Then we look ahead to Day 2, and Mike's special presentation before the evening taping Mike Nicolas, James Austin, Moh…

Editors Note: This was taped just before Switch 2 preorders were also delayed in Canada. Which means a chunk of this aged about as well as milk... A very long conversation about the ongoing Ghibli/ChatGPT controversy, the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct, and V-Tuber Mint Fantome speaks as herself to explain her world to the rest of it Mike Nicolas, James …

James finally gets a little time away from work again to visit Mike for a Space Heater. After a quick overview of shopping options in Toronto, they decided to talk about the Animeigo documentary series “The Anime Business”, the upcoming Anne of Green Gables anime and the hopes for it in Canada, and James’ thoughts on Assassin’s Creed: Shadows and h…

We start with Mike looking back on 19 years (on and off) of the Roundtable. And then current events with the Oscars, a followup to Space Heater and Ontario politics (with the election earlier in the week) 18:25 - Everyone around the table tonight has seen Gundam GQuuuux Beginning in theatres. And we have thoughts from Gundam watchers, and newcomers…

Kevin gives a Mike quick lecture to Mike as feedback on the first gaming stream. Then we talk Japanese Music with his thoughts on seeing Nano and MADKID in concert, Cloud Nine CEO Takuya Chigira’s thoughts on the state of JPOP internationally. How the downfall of a former member of SMAP is proving to be an issue for the TV network he was an anchor …

Mike and Moh sat down for a space heater. We started by looking back on the first gaming stream on Twitch the night before, and the ongoing Playstation Network outage, which at the time of taping had gotten to 25 hours. But at the heart of the matter, Mike and Moh wanted to talk about The Colors Within, and why you should check it out in theatres b…

We just had to talk about the reveal of the Switch 2 and take a quick trip down recent Nintendo history and how it rebounded from the Wii U almost 15 years ago. And wonder about the future of the handheld gaming console world as a whole. Then we dive into some anime headline with Diamond Distributor's Chapter 11, Discotek's latest reveals, Crunchyr…

We begin 2025 with Mike and James doing a live video space heater where James goes on a rant about the issues with the Phantom Trigger Grisaia anime Kickstarter and looks back on similar anime and manga crowdfunds over the years. Then, some CES news with Crunchyroll looking to restart their digital manga service (hot off the heels of the increased …

Aside from talking about the fallout from the Video Game Awards, you know we just had to talk about every piece of Sony and anime related news over the last few weeks (00:17:00) 00:22:00 - Sony becomes the largest major shareholder in Kadokawa. And a little more about how we got to here 00:37:42 - Bloomberg’s expose on the inner workings of Crunchy…

Mike, James, and Kevin catch up after a month and a half off. We talked about Black Friday shopping in Canada (especially video games and some from the store formerly known as Right Stuf) before talking about Sony’s pursuit of Kadokawa and VISA of all things Visit our linktree for more information and links: animeroundtable.com…

We finally get in for the first time in a few months. But Mike and James kept it simple and just talked more of the ups and downs of Playstation’s last bit, then the busy week Toho has had, remember a few more voices that have been silenced, and James’ further issues with Crunchyroll taking over Nozomi’s Kickstarter campaigns Visit our linktree for…

Mike and Moh test out some new equipment by talking a little Playstation. A little bit of Pro, 30th Anniversary, and maybe a new portable as the 6 comes out? Hope the new equipment passed the test Visit our linktree for more information and links: animeroundtable.comبقلم Anime Roundtable

After completely missing out on August, Mike quickly gets the first episode of September out of the way. And we quickly talk about Kevin’s brief experience at this year’s FanExpo Canada and how it fit in with our fandom this year 00:30:30 - Then we talk about Toronto’s Union Station and Amy’s experience at a Gashopon pop up there earlier today 01:0…

*Note: This was taped just before the Euro Final James is English, Moh has relatives in England, we had to talk soccer to start, before getting the former caught up on the space heaters 00:12:19 - We finally talk at some length about the demise of Gainax. Maybe time gives us a little perspective and lessons 00:25:55 - Crunchyroll getting rid of the…

It’s been two weeks since the ITZY concerts. Mike and Kevin were on site for the ITZY concerts in Toronto. So they talk about their observations from different angles, from Kevin’s previous experiences at KPOP concerts, to Mike soaking in the atmosphere around the concert hall. And how it reminded them of Anime North Visit our linktree for more inf…

Mike, Kevin, and Mohammed give a few thoughts on Anime North almost three weeks after, the City Hunter live action almost three weeks after Mike was supposed to have watched it, a conversation with a friend and listener sparking another thought on merchandise, and maybe three headlines as we settle back into the mics Not necessarily in that order T…

We actually got a few people in the audience, it didn’t last long though. As always we started with impressions of the con so far. First with the new layout again, then the actual panels and events we saw Then we get to the news 00:53:50 - Matt Alt talked about the potential and pitfalls of AI in the fine art of translation, so we did too 01:19:20 …

Mike, James, and Lawrence make their observations as day one of Anime North winds down. Also we revisit some of the conversations from last year after the Nominoichi, and James and Lawrence give their thoughts on Akira Toriyama Give it a listen before day two begins Check out our website for more links and socials: animeroundtable.com…

Mike’s voice and well being has recovered enough for him, James, and Kevin to sit around and talk about the world that has passed by in the last two months. After looking back on the Leafs’ season, we actually look forward to TCAF and Anime North (but watch your cellphones), and other things headlines that caught our attention This Week’s Drinking …

We spend most of the episode sharing our memories and giving a toast to Akira Toriyama after news of his death broke But we did also talk about these too on the community calendar Humble Bundle: Japanese Language, Culture, and Travel Momo Anime Market at The Momiji Centre Mike Nicolas, Kevin Ng, Mohamed Sharmarke, Amy Lynn Greig Opening Theme: “FUB…

Mike, James, Kevin, and Moh briefly got together over coffee and each talked about one thing that caught their attention this week Moh: Initial reactions to the Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender live action Kevin: The latest on the Ninjisanji controversy James: Some titles people thought would never see an english release (from titles like Tsuki…

We are able to return two weeks after the last time we taped (and less than a week after said episode was posted). Too bad Mike was still half asleep through it 00:05:15 - Changes abound at Anime Toronto. We try to make sense of that and what it means for the anime convention scene in Toronto 00:28:00 - Sony is finally winding down the Funimation s…

The first episode of 2024 (which was taped a week before it was published) starts with us catching up with James. He’s been playing some games. So we talk games 00:28:35 - James gives another eye roll in talking about his latest shopping experience on the Crunchy store. Another lesson about being a Canadian fan 00:52:10 - We look back on the verdic…

Mike, Kevin, and Moh gather around the table for the final time in 2023 and talk more Miyazaki, Mike and Moh’s Netflix watches, streaming services Mike should take a longer look at, defining titles of various generations of fandom, and Kevin’s little exercise. We then make our new years resolutions and debate how fast we’ll break them Visit our web…

*SPOILER WARNING* Mike and Kevin talk about and try to wrap their heads around every aspect of The Boy and the Herron, Miyazaki’s latest (final) film. And I mean EVERY POSSIBLE ASPECTبقلم Anime Roundtable

After looking back on the Space Heater Chat and some purchases in the latest Indigo Books sale. We focus on Crunchyroll on a few fronts this time around 00:09:45 - The retail side of CR with the end of Right Stuf. James gives his experience ordering from the revamped retail site 00:37:03 - New mobile games to Crunchyroll services, and manga service…

After Mike recovers from yet another illness, he, Kevin and Moh have a morning coffee to talk about the last month to settle back around the table. Like Halloween and Anime North, thoughts on the Overwatch League Finals as Championship Season in various eSports wind down, and the uncomfortable story and latest developments in the Johnny Associates …

A rare time we decided to get right to the main topic and talk at length about PLANETES and Vinland Saga creator Makoto Yukimura’s appearances this past weekend in Toronto 01:20:32 - Then in brief, more Haruhi to celebrate 20 years, and One Piece with Jamie Lee Curtis is very possible 01:21:39 - Studio Ghibli sold to TV Nippon. We go through the co…

Amy finally returns and starts with some of her watching over the summer and we follow up from last week’s epsode on Anime Toronto with a thought on the poplarity of Hololive and other types of virtual idols 00:23:55 - So we decide to do a few headlines in brief in relation to live action adaptations. We start with a Japanese Drama based on Pokemon…

James returns to the table for the first time since Anime North. So we start by recaping his take on the anime summer 00:06:22 - A thought on anime on physical media 00:10:25 - The original Sailor Moon TV series is leaving streamer Crave on September 17 as Kevin finally shows up!! 00:17:25 - Discotek will bring back the original Digimon dub cast fo…

Would you believe we taped this more than three weeks ago? Mike, Kevin, and Moe decided to shoot the breeze and talk sports, esports, the convention news to that point, the (at the time) convention look ahead, anime movies, movie festivals, and a thought for those who are no longer with us. Not necessarily in that order…

Mike, Moh, and Kevin just had to talk about Toronto politics throughout the chat (we taped it as the city elected its new mayor). Mike, Moh, and Kevin also had to ask again about “appointment viewing” vs binging. Mike, Moh, and Kevin also just had to update the Kenshin reboot controversy (with some thoughts about how adapted titles are better with …

As day two of Anime North ended, Kevin and Amy finally sat around the table to give their impressions of the show so far. Kevin and Amy talk the panels, and Mike talks the general atmosphere…and the parking Then, we have a serious discussion… 51:22 - With the reboot of the Rurouni Kenshin anime now on the horizon, we revisit the discussion that has…

*10:45am Editors Note: Mike was so sleepy while putting up the episode this morning, he put up the wrong one. It's now corrected. To the both of our listeners, enjoy!!* Mike is joined by James, Moh, and Lawrence and make observations on the first night of Anime North 2023 and the Nominoichi. James talks about Jun Miyuzuki’s appearance at TCAF and h…

Kevin and Mike start off by talking about the core items in otaku fandom’s eco-system (and define what a core item is). And then we update manga and graphic novels at this stage of the pandemic in light of the belief that manga sales may have plateaued. Talk some more Kodansha and Drops of God Visit our website for more information and links: Websi…

*WARNING: SOME SPOILERS AHEAD IN THIS EPISODE. IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN SUZUME YET, TREAD CAREFULLY Still settling down from episode 81, Kevin and Moh visit Mike for the first in person taping since August. And Moh brought mochi donuts to boot. After settling down with the donuts, talking Sakura season in the Toronto area, the to do list on our social m…

We carve out time for the first time in a month to gather around the table and talk about the Super Mario Bros movie to start and wonder how other Nintendo IPs would work as movies 0:23:15 - We give a brief thought on Suzume and preview the Space Heater Chat coming up later this week 0:36:35 - James brought up the Polygon article about the staying …

Only hours after Mike put up the Space Heater Chat recorded ten days before, we return for the 80th regular episode with the entire gang who give their thoughts on the recent past, like the Oscars (and specfically the Best Animated Feature) Then what did we miss? 17:45 - The Crunchyroll Awards, what stuck out to us. And a guide on how to start long…

Mike, Moh, and Kevin spend Pi Day going a little off the beaten path, and back to the movies as we talk about the Oscars and the evolution of Michelle Yeoh, her path compared to Jackie Chan’s, and Asian representation in Hollywood and North American pop culture Visit our website for more information and links: Website: animeroundtable.com Twitter a…

Mike and Kevin spent over an hour talking about every possible angle after watching the Kaguya-Sama movie a few days before (on Valentines Day of all days) Sadly we had to end it off on this note… Visit our website for more information and links: Website: animeroundtable.com Twitter and IG: @animeroundtable Email: [email protected] Twitch: …