EPISODE 200: The Final Episode with The Cartoon Chronicles and Animation Destination

Thank you for 7 years of listening and support. Here is the last episode of Spoiler Force feat. Julian of The Cartoon Chronicles and Brandon of Animation Destination.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:09

All right. So this is the final episode of Spoiler Force Podcast. My name is Ricky. Thank you for tuning in. The final guests on the show that I have with me are two longtime friends and podcasting buddies, Julian Hester of the Cartoon Chronicles and Brandon Jones of the Animation Destination. Hello. Thank you guys for coming through and doing this finale with me, man. I couldn't have asked for a better guest.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

It's great. But first, super surreal and sad though. We'll be honest.

SPEAKER_02 0:41

Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's pretty sad. I've I've come to terms with this, man. It's just, you know, podcasting is is I don't know. I feel like it's me personally, I feel like it's kind of like dying out a little bit just because everyone's doing it. Yeah. And the attention spans of you know of the general audience now has gone to more reels and short, short clips and stuff like that. And yeah, that's a big hassle to constantly make clips and stuff like that. So it's been it's been pretty rough on on myself, just kind of like coming to terms with where do I want to end and all that stuff. But you know, again, that's not what I'm here to talk about because I've I'm over that hill now. So I'm kind of glad to just get this stuff done and out the way, man. Because look, the last recording I did was back in February, and yeah, it's been it feels good to just like not record and like set things up. Like, I'm I'm kind of glad I'm on the end where if Brandon needs a guest, then Brandon can just call me and I can just hop on and not have to worry about editing.

SPEAKER_01 1:38

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 1:41

But but Julian, man, I want to get your thoughts, dude. Because me and Brandon talked about my hero. What was your thoughts on the season eight finale, man? What was your thoughts?

SPEAKER_00 1:52

So I could have done with without the last episode, not that it was bad, just because of like I've always wanted to be left with wanting more, vice knowing kind of how it like finally ends and seeing old Deku. Nothing wrong with it. I I liked what they did. It was like a little kiss to him. I would have much rather preferred it to end the episode before and made me think like, oh man, I wonder what he's up to. I wonder what they're doing. I wonder what Bakugo is slapping right now. However, this entire series, like Brandon, I I think I reached out to Brandon more than anybody and went, holy shit. No, it was it was the text that we had we all had together. Um because I didn't understand why um why why Brandon was upset at at a certain point um with the with the with the in-game fight. I was like, I don't get it. I was like, this is so cool, you know, and I'm always the best and worst fan because as long as I can disappear for 22 minutes into something or an hour and a half or two hours, I'm I'm I'm happy. Very rarely uh will I will I dig you know below surface level, and then that's what I go to you guys for, because you guys are pros at this shit. You see the stuff that I don't see. Um, but I was blown away. The animation style, it seems like everybody was a fan of this last series that was working on it. Uh it felt like a love letter from the creator, it felt like a love letter from the team that was putting this one together. Um, and it's probably up there with some of the best series finales I've seen. I mean, I'd put it up there with Attack on Titan. I still think Attack on Titan was better. The uh season finale, or the series finale, excuse me, but this one, it's like 1A to 1B type of thing for me. I I hard pressed to see something else that's class 1A and 1B? Oh yeah. See, this is why you need to go listen to Brandon because like I said, he's going deep, ladies and gentlemen. But yes. Uh fantastic. Good pull, too, by the way. That beard really makes you distinguished.

SPEAKER_01 3:42

Thank you. It's it's because of all the gray. Just all the gray.

SPEAKER_00 3:47

It's all right here. Don't worry, Ricky. You'll get you'll get it. We all do this.

SPEAKER_02 3:51

You know, I hate I hate that you guys can grow beards, man. I got the freaking foo man shoe shit, dude. Like, I'll grow up my lip and like it doesn't uh my my mustache will grow and like under my chin would grow, but it does not connect. You get the handlebars, yeah. I don't I don't get the connection here.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

So yeah. So I get so many. You could be a grandmaster. We could all bow to Ricky.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

We could do the the the chill bell.

SPEAKER_02 4:19

No, I think for more time I I've got to drink a lot more whiskey. That's what they really do. They just they smoke and drink whiskey and train and still kick your ass, which is freaking scary.

SPEAKER_00 4:29

Yeah, I saw a fight where I did was smoke. It wasn't really a fight, I think it was just a sparring, but they were both smoking in the ring while they were kicking the shit out of each other. It was the funniest shit I've ever seen.

SPEAKER_03 4:39

That's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 4:41

Yeah, it's definitely growing here in the states more. Um, like now that I moved back to Michigan, the Muay Thai scene here has been growing a lot. And uh I've been going to like dropping in at different gyms and just checking out different different uh crews and stuff like that. I was training for a bit, but then I got a new car, so I was like, damn it, that's my gym money. My my payments are going to the car now, my checks going to the car.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

Yeah. So that sucks. I've I've actually been considering joining joining an MMA gym just for the just for the exercise itself. Oh, do it, dude. Get the get the core going. Cause I've I've uh I've I've hit a medical situation uh that my doctor was like, this needs to be corrected. So I'm in the middle of doing that now, which is great. So I'm down good down eight pounds uh in about a week and a half. So and I'm just staying the course, low carbonate, you know, all that stuff. So and uh but uh I've been thinking about like getting some like core exercise going and uh some good MMA gyms around here for that. I'm thinking about joining it, maybe a kickboxing or something. So be pretty not to fight, I'd be terrible at fighting. I just did just just the technique of fighting, like getting into shape would be would be the purpose. That would be I can't I can't sit in a ring with somebody while they're trying to hit me. It's just not gonna I'm like, no, I'm just gonna turtle and not like deal with that. Actually, the hitting I wouldn't mind. It's if someone actively tries to break my arm in a grapple, then I will immediately tap and crawl out of the ring like a child. There's no way, there's no way. Someone tries to break my ankle, I'll just cry.

SPEAKER_02 6:16

So gotta you gotta do the shoot style, man. You gotta scream out all your moves, right?

SPEAKER_01 6:20

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 6:25

Oh man, this is this is phenomenal, dude. Like I've been I've been listening to your podcast a lot, Brandon, at work, and I think I just got done re-listening to your Demon Slayer stuff. And then I finished re-listening to your My Hero movie reviews too. And then um dude, like there was I listened to your Mighty Nine one. Is that the one? And that like that's that DD one. I don't even play DD. And listening to you and your friends talk about that stuff like makes me want to play D.

SPEAKER_01 6:52

Bro, like I didn't even like I didn't even like scratch, we didn't even scratch the surface of that show. Like, I adored that show because I thought Vox Machina was a lot of fun. Um, I thought Mighty Nine was like was like peak, like just beautifully done, like like D as a show type of thing that that I didn't think was even possible to do. Um, and just the the way that they changed what was on the table to what they put in the actual show itself was just astonishing. But like you just go you grab, you know, me, Jay, and John, we were just like talking about you know D D for a lot of that episode. We it's like we'd like go on these rants and stuff. It's like we gotta get back to the actual like show because uh we talk keep talking about like how DD works rather than actually you know talking about the show that happened. But um, yeah, I I I adored that show. I thought it was fantastic. So Julie, you ever play it's on Prime. It's on Prime. Oh, it's on Prime Prime, okay.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

Okay, I got it written down, I haven't seen it. Uh and to answer your question, yeah. Uh back when COVID hit, um, I had never played Dungeons and Dragons before. The closest thing I'd ever played to anything like that was World of Warcraft. Um and uh just a buddy that I played World, two buddies I played World of Warcraft with, and then a third buddy that was refusing to play World of Warcraft with us. And uh we we started Call of Duty, like right after COVID hit. And I suck at first person shooters. Um, and I was like, dude, I'm I don't want to play this anymore. It's like it's fun getting on shooting the shit with you guys, hitting everybody with a bazooka, but this is not uh like I'm I'm dying way too much. And they're like, You want to play Dungeons and Dragons? I'm like, pfft, no losers. He's like, oh come on, try it. So I tried it. I'm like, oh, this is this is pretty fun. And just the customization of the characters you could do. Like, I picked a mage, a mage class, and he's like, Alright, you guys gotta go out there and look, because we did everything online. Uh was it roll 20, I think is what it was, the uh the website. And um I'm sitting there and I told him I I was always a fan of like the blind samurai or the blind swordsman, like that trope. So I was like, I want a blind mage. And uh he goes, Okay, that's kind of weird, but sure, go for it. So Steve Buscemi and uh what was it, Mr. Deeds with his crazy eyes. I picked him as my as my character outlook. Uh and he did as the the DM one of the most diabolical things because I had gotten just like three or four procs with a fireball, just destroyed everything right in front of me. One hit, one kill. And he was like, Alright, this is becoming too easy for you. He was like, So now you have to, and I can't remember the the dice we've had to roll, but I essentially rolled a one through a hundred, and if it was one to forty-nine, I kill the party. If it's fucking 50 or to 100, I hit I hit the boss, and then I would have to roll for how much damage. Um, and then after he instated that rule, uh, I wiped the party. It was total party kills seven times in a row before before I got a fireball that worked.

SPEAKER_01 9:55

A 50-50 shot of of TPK? That's that's harsh. That's a bit harsh.

SPEAKER_00 10:01

That's consistency. Um, and uh that's what they were going for. It didn't go their way, but I was consistently dropping at least four people in a party every week. Jesus.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 10:14

That's branded.

SPEAKER_01 10:15

Somebody had to do it.

SPEAKER_02 10:16

How is it like being a was it DM? How's that like?

SPEAKER_01 10:21

That's fun. I I I like being a DM. I haven't done it in a while. I need to I need to finish my one shot. I've been writing a one shot for a while just to kind of like take to take to a comic shop, and then like people can make their characters. I have character packets for people who just want to show up and like play. I want to make like a uh level three um one shot and then a level six one shot and kind of build my way up to like some higher, higher level, like level 10 uh types of things. But level 10 is just so hard to like make challenging at all. Like they just because in 5e, like if you get to level 10, you're basically like you're just unstoppable. Like it's just insane. When we were playing our um uh we're playing Cult of the Dragon, which is a mo a major module by um by um Woods by uh Wizards of the Coast, and um it uh basically like um it's it's a long we we we did like three years of this campaign, but by the time we got to like level nine and like level ten, we were like just he he was trying to send anything he could to kill us. Like there were like these encounters that he was like, I'm gonna throw in a black dragon, see if that can to do anything. And we took out the black dragon, like it was just like okay, cool. It just we were just so OP, it was nuts. Um, but um that was a really fun campaign. I I I really enjoyed it. Um I I I I want to get back together with those guys and like DM for them because our DM was uh was another guy, but yeah, DMing's fun. I I I think it's a lot of fun because you get to kind of you get to make multiple characters that you know that get to get killed off by the guys instead of making the one character that you have to kind of stick with the whole time. But is there any like you, Ricky?

SPEAKER_00 12:08

Oh nerdy shit. You put us on the spot. What about you? What what nerdy shit are you into hiding over there?

SPEAKER_02 12:14

Shit, just the anime stuff, really. I mean, I I've tried playing D D like one time because I had a friend, I had a friend over here in Michigan that uh he was like a creative, he liked to make board games and tried things out. So I think a lot like I played a little bit, it was like I think it was a one-shot, like my brain is just like a one one-time thing, and we got wiped out by Sauron. So because I think we we forgot to do something like in the cave, like we had to do some sort of side quest to complete the entire storyline. But me and the party forgot to do that thing because we weren't asking the right questions or doing the right things, and like we didn't bother searching the cave because we all were just so focused on fighting and getting out, yeah. So we didn't bother like searching the corners or like seeing if there's any other pathways, we just got out, and then so we got to the final part of the story. We beat the boss there, and then he's like, Well, because you guys didn't clean up uh clear out the cave, Sauron's here, and I was like, damn, we got wiped out. So I take this. That's funny. That's funny.

SPEAKER_01 13:14

One shots always have like those typical twists or whatever. The um that we we played a level the same DM who did the cult of the dragon, he did a one shot for level 20, uh, which is the highest level in DD, because he just wanted to do a level 20 where you fight an ancient red dragon. And I'm like, that sounds rad as hell. Let's do that. Um, so we all made level 20 characters. It was he gave us level 20 characters, and you got to pick a legendary item. So it was just like this crazy power fantasy. We could do whatever the hell we wanted, basically, you know, uh, to fight this dragon. What class did you pick? I cle I picked Barbarian, which I had never picked before. Uh, I'd never been a barbarian because I was like, I'm just gonna what I wanted to do.

SPEAKER_00 13:56

Are you tanking or are you DPSing?

SPEAKER_01 13:58

Oh yeah. Like I I picked I I picked the the toughness feat, which gave like plus 10 HP for every level that I was. So it was just like I had like 385 HP. It was insane. Like it's just like it was nuts. Um, my rage lasted for a full day, so I could just go rage the whole time. Um, it was I should have picked the flying boots for for my legendary because then I could just have like flown up and fought the dragon when he was in the air, which would have been perfect, which would have been perfect. Um I had to jump a few times to hit him a few times, but uh my character's name was Raid the Shadow Legend, uh, because I wanted the meme name. So it was just like I was I really I really enjoyed that one. But again, like the end of it was like, oh, the twist is the person who hired you is a green dragon, you had to fight the green dragon later. So it was just, you know, they always like to throw those in.

SPEAKER_00 14:53

Like, but what class did you play, Ricky?

SPEAKER_02 14:57

I don't know. Like the guy that I my friend that did it, and he was just like, because we were learning it, so he just made something up on the fly. He just had like the he just had like the mat and like the little figures and the dice. Oh, really? He had all the accessories and everything. So he just like just try it, like see if you like it. So that's like the only the only time I played it, but then like even then, it wasn't like a legit campaign, like how when Brandon and his friends play or how you guys play, so it was just more like on the fly.

SPEAKER_01 15:23

Oh I wanna, I wanna I wanna fix that for you. Like, I want to bring you into a thing and like create a character and get it all cool and everything, it'd be great.

SPEAKER_02 15:34

So what I was gonna say earlier about because we're on the topic of D D. Brandon, can you explain to Julian how good fucking Freerun is?

SPEAKER_01 15:41

Oh my god, dude. Free run is so it is so goddamn beautiful and wonderful. I adore that show. I think I think you should I think you'd absolutely love it. It's and again, it's like it's just it's the most chill, wonderful, heartfelt bullshit I have ever watched in my life. It is so good. Um I adore it, I think it's great.

SPEAKER_00 16:05

Um, you know, like you said, I'm for sure not getting out of that first episode without crying.

SPEAKER_01 16:10

It's it's it's so good. I actually did not cry on Freeran until episode two. No, I I trying to think when I first like got teary-eyed. I I want to say it was oh man, and the proposal no, it was uh oh, it was the old dwarf. I think that's what got me. The old dwarf in the town. That one okay, that episode got me. I I got I got I got really really choked up on that one. It might not have been the first time, but I remember that being like really like this show hits different. This is just crazy good. But yeah, no, it's great. Um when I go back and re-watch episode one, I do tear up because of the context of everything that you get afterwards, and then like that first scene be that first ending scene becomes so much more afterwards. But man, what a what a wonderful show. What an absolutely wonderful show.

SPEAKER_02 17:09

Um Julian, you'll like that show because Himmel is voiced by Bakugo in both English and Japanese.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

That's true. Oh, let's fucking let's fucking go. Yeah, it's Bakugo's voice actor in both, which is hilarious because he's not angry at all. Yeah, he's so chill, he's so chill. Bakugo? No way. I I do like that like uh American productions are kind of doing that now. They're kind of getting the same voice actors to play other characters in a lot of ways, like or like people who have played the same voices in other animes, they'll get those people for later ones. Uh I've noticed they're they've been doing that quite a bit because they kind of hit the same notes in a lot of ways.

SPEAKER_02 17:50

Yeah, I think that's pretty cool sometimes. But I don't know, I I think that like sometimes give other actors a chance to because I think I think this the Seiyus in Japan are like A-list celebrities over there compared to over here.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:03

Like they they pull so many jobs over there.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

I never realized it until there was a there was an interesting story that I'd looked up because I was very perplexed by it. Um uh I forget her name, um, but the voice actress who plays Detective Conan, right? Um, she's also a uh she's also a singer in a in a in a band called Two Mix, which does like the Gundam Wing theme and a bunch of themes for anime. And unbeknownst to America, uh Detective Conan is like the biggest fucking anime in the world in Japan in Japan. It's huge. They like they named an airport, yeah. They named an airport after it. Like it's just like like Detective Conan's been running for like, you know, over a thousand episodes, over 1300 episodes. It's insane. Um, but you know, she plays the main character in it, uh, this little boy detective. And uh I noticed when I was watching the Ranma remake, right? Uh she plays the middle sister of the Tendo family in in Ronma. And she played her originally in the old one. It's because they get all the original people back to like play the voice actor and to voice act the new ones, which is kind of kind of crazy because like Ranma sounds like an old man, which is funny. I think they probably could have stood to hire a new guy for that one, but still. Uh, but uh Nabiki is played by her, and I just thought that was the weirdest thing ever that like probably the biggest voice actress like in the country is playing this bit part of a of a minor character in this you know anime reboot. So I actually looked up uh like this article that talked about it where they interviewed her and said, like, why like were was there any like like problems coming back to this very minor role? And she said that that was the first job she ever had in the industry, and she was more than willing to come back and play. Full circle, yeah, because like it's like I didn't have a regular job when I was playing Nabiki back in the day, so I would I'd love I would so would love to come back and play that again because it was you know, before she was famous, before she was, you know, anything. So I thought that was really cool that she that's so dope. Yeah, that she came back just because, like, oh, that's yeah, I I was I didn't that was my first job was doing that. So I'd love to do that again.

SPEAKER_00 20:30

So case closed for you American listeners for detective concept, yeah. I used to watch that one because that one would come on before the Cartoon Network block back when I was going through middle school and high school. So like 5530, you would generally see that, you know, that or fuck I don't think it was Sailor Moon, it might have been um Speed Racer from time to time when I was a little bit younger. Uh but those are like the two, and I remember uh case close going like dude, this is so fucking cool. You can be a little guy, you can be a detective, and you can be a fucking kid. That's cool. And then I realized like uh that doesn't happen because you could just get punted uh as a little kid.

SPEAKER_01 21:08

Tiny child can just get uh murdered very easily.

SPEAKER_00 21:10

So this guy turned me in, eat him across the building. Right.

SPEAKER_02 21:16

So what do you guys think of like how voice acting kind of is kind of gearing towards like more mainstream actors now? Like, for example, like Invincible, right? They're bringing in a lot of more TV movie actors to do voices versus like getting actual voice actors.

SPEAKER_01 21:31

Yeah. They've shifted off yeah, they've shifted off a little bit of it because I think they realize that they're spending a majority of the limited budget they have on people like Aaron Paul. Uh, because I know Aaron Paul's not coming back as uh Powerplex. I know he's not gonna renew him when when Powerplex comes back in because it's just like I like how much more like money can you give it? And no spoilers for this season or anything, but like, you know, um um Crap. Um, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is not in a lot of this season, you know. Uh he's he barely has a few lines, so it's like they barely, you know, they definitely paid him the minimum that they possibly could for that. Um if it's not a major character, I just don't think you need to have like a celebrity come in and do it. That said, sometimes you can do it because I thought Jeffrey D. Morgan's conquest was amazing. He was a per a perfect casting, and then you got Stephen Yuan getting enacting some revenge on him, which was great. It's like that's that was that was perfect, uh a little bit of casting there, and it's has that you know uh Kirkman, you know, uh uh synergy along with it. And full circle again, yeah. And dude, this season frickin' uh what's his name? Uh from uh Ronan the Conqueror, I forget the the actor's name. Uh but uh he is it Ronan, yeah, Ronan from uh from Guardians of the Galaxy. Oh uh Lee Pace. Lee Pace. Lee Pace kills it with Thrag this season. Yeah. So good.

SPEAKER_02 23:06

That dude's got the phenomenal speaking voice, man. It's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 23:09

He's got so many speeches this season, it's nuts, and it's just like it's all like low tone and like kind of crazy, and it's just super cool. Like it's very cool. Absolutely loved it this season.

SPEAKER_02 23:20

That that's the that's the season, right? Where they because I've seen clips where they're comparing like Thrag doing Detroit Smash.

SPEAKER_01 23:27

Is that is that it? Yes, there is there is a punch in this season that is so fucking cool. It is like a one-punch man punch. It's so well done. Oh my god. Can I spoil that one for you guys? I don't know if I want to spoil it.

SPEAKER_00 23:42

We're on the force podcast last episode.

SPEAKER_01 23:44

Yeah, why not? Screw it. Um, so he he he's he's about to punch, we'll just say it, Nolan. He's about to punch Nolan, and he rears back to do the uppercut, and he rears back so hard it creates a vacuum that sucks Nolan in like half a foot, so he can then uppercut him into orbit. It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life. That's pretty dope. It's so cool. Like just the pullback is enough to pull him in. It's so crazy.

SPEAKER_00 24:13

Science.

SPEAKER_02 24:15

I've seen the clips. They're like, dude, like like Omni Man just got freaking Detroit smashed. Like, that's that's terrible. I mean, they were like doing side-by-side clips, like All Might and Thrag pulling their arms back.

SPEAKER_01 24:24

Like, oh, that's so good. So good. It's great. Thrag is dope. I absolutely love it. They did a great job of making him a fucking problem that season. So super fun. Yeah, I gotta get out of here.

SPEAKER_00 24:38

Seeing your seeing your eyes light up when you when you go, holy shit, that was such a cool fucking punch. That's what we're here for, ladies and gentlemen. That that right there, pure enjoyment of a piece of art that somebody put on TV for us, you know.

SPEAKER_01 24:54

Yeah, and I think this is the first time I'm actually appearing on uh on Ricky's uh podcast because my camera my camera always never worked, but now it's finally working. So yeah, well that's good though.

SPEAKER_02 25:05

I don't I don't have to like find like a gif to cover Brandon's exactly. But I I thought I thought I picked good ones, like the Attack Attack when I picked Reiner and then or my hero one I picked uh Jiro because that's Rainer's favorite.

SPEAKER_01 25:17

Yeah, this sound would be Thrag pulling his punch back, you know.

SPEAKER_02 25:22

Yeah, I I gotta catch up on Invincible. Man, I heard I I've read a little bit of the comics and I watched a little bit of season one only because like what drew me in that show was when Omni Man like took out his Justice League, and I was like, Okay, I gotta watch this. And then Steven Yun being the main character, and then all the memes, like think, you know, like this is what happens, you know, all the memes are coming out.

SPEAKER_01 25:43

I I I got I got kind of disillusioned by season two. I thought season two was pretty weak. Um, and the first episode of season three is so bad. I I hate that episode with like a mighty passion. Um, so I was almost like luckily they dropped three episodes of season three all at once. Um, because episode two of season three is probably my favorite episode of the whole series. Uh so I was like, okay, they got me. They got me back on board. Let's go. Um, and then that the rest of that season proceeded to be like the best season of the whole show. And I I I'm now I'm now fully on board with what they're doing. So uh and this season was great too. This season was was was very top tier. So I'm I I'm not reading the comic. I don't want to spoil myself on on everything, on anything huge. So I I just did never read it. Somehow that was one comic that just I never read it or that never went through any kind of osmosis. I didn't know the Nolan switcher, like the the uh the switch and that happened at the start. So I I assumed that like Nolan was just gonna die like horribly, and then like Mark was gonna have to take over his you know his uh stead, but it's totally different. And I I I was it was it's awesome. Like I absolutely love it.

SPEAKER_00 27:07

So I've only seen the uh first season, yeah. Uh that uh that uh train sequence. Like whenever that show first came out, I would talk to people and like I was thinking about Invincible. Should I watch it? And I showed them the train sequence. I'm like, this is and it's like Ricky knows I'm not a big fan of dark shit and and shows, you know. I like lighter, lighthearted stuff. Yeah, and that is one of the most spectacular moments I've ever seen in a piece of animation in my life. Yeah, just the timing, the acting, the visuals, just the physical, him just treating humans like ants through a subway. I was blown away, and especially at the time, because this is like six years, not that long ago. But that was probably like the most brutal thing I've ever seen in animation, too. Yeah, you know what I mean? I don't remember seeing anything like too much crazier, too much heavier than that. And I was like I said, I was just rewinding like, whoa, this how the fuck did they do all this shit? You know, very cool scene. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 28:08

Well, Julian, since you like the lighthearted stuff, watch free. That's as late, that's as light-hearted as you get.

SPEAKER_01 28:15

Oh, dude, you're gonna love it. You're gonna love that show. It's just I've got it written down. It's so chill, it's so wonderful.

SPEAKER_02 28:21

Like you can finish season one and two like pretty pretty quickly now that season two's ended.

SPEAKER_00 28:28

Well, I I told uh I was telling Ricky before we started, Brandon, that uh I got into two. Well, I got into one new show. And I think I've I think uh you have an episode on this one. Uh Delicious and Dungeon. Have you done an episode on this?

SPEAKER_01 28:40

I I haven't yet. I need to I need to actually do an episode on that one.

SPEAKER_00 28:43

Yeah, it's a good one. I don't know where I heard it, but I was listening to somebody's podcast and it was like they talked about this. And I just checked out the first episode, you know, cooking for a living. I was like, oh, let's see. And they have some of like the coolest twists that a dungeon monster would have because they essentially start cooking. Their friend gets eaten, uh, swallowed by a dragon. And if you can get to them before they are like dead, dead for a long time, they can revive and they kind of get a new chance to come back into the dungeon, right? So they don't lose their life in real life. And uh so they lose all of their money. They try to go deeper and deeper and deeper into the dungeon to save his sister, their party member that was eaten by a red dragon. Um, but they run out of money and they can't afford to eat. So they start cooking the monsters in the dungeon. It is, like I said, it is so fucking cool. Like the level of detail that they do for cooking, the explanation on why they're doing X, Y, and Z whenever they're cooking, and even how they're cooking it. Uh, I don't want to spoil too much, but there's one scene, I think it's an episode two or three. They're fighting you. You guys know what mage armor is? Mm-hmm. All right. So have you seen this show yet? Uh because that uh, Brandon, have you seen Delicious and Dungeons? Yeah, I said no, I just hadn't done an episode on it yet, but uh, so you know the episode with the mage armor where he's trying to fight him. So usually mage armor, Ricky, like they're uh controlled by a puppeteer, it's like the wizard of oz. Somebody else is pulling the strings of these ghost armor, and they had already started eating shit. I think they had eaten a scorpion at that point, uh, maybe even a bass list. I can't remember if the basilisk had come in yet um with the omelet and shit. But they're fighting this ghost armor and they knock the heads off, they pull the arms off, and they know there's nothing there. There's no strings holding it, there's no ghost, there's no nothing. So it was weird. And uh, I can't remember, I think he tried, uh he saw something come out of the armor. So he grabs the helmet and he goes and he stabs his uh sword in between like the helmet, and something like an oyster or a clam comes out. So essentially a clam, a bivalve, took over this medieval night armor, and then they treated the cooking portion of this like clams, oysters. So they grilled them, they sauteed them, they did all this shit. It was just a it's so fucking cool what they do with the show and how inventive they are with it.

SPEAKER_01 30:57

Yeah, it's a lot of fun. I I I need to do an episode eventually. We did talk about it, I think, on my best of episode. That might have been what you did. I think we talked about it a bit like that. I think that was one of John's top ones because he'd never um he'd never watched it before. So yeah. Yeah, yeah. Um I I hadn't what I haven't watched uh Witch Hat Autilier yet, either Otelier or however you however you say it. But that's the three big fantasy is Freerun, Delicious and Dungeon, Dungeon Meshi, and uh Witch Hat Autilier are the three big major um uh fantasy manga that are now adapted, and people are really praising that one already, and I I need to get on board with it because apparently it's really good.

SPEAKER_00 31:48

So I'll get that one out too.

SPEAKER_01 31:50

Yeah, I'll get it out.

SPEAKER_00 31:51

My list is ever growing.

SPEAKER_01 31:53

I know it's crazy. I also started um Demons of the Shadow Realm, which is by uh Arakawa, the creator of Full Metal Alchemist. Um that new anime is out. Um and go in blind, man. That anime is crazy. That's crazy stuff. Like it you can watch the trailer because the trailer doesn't really show you everything. So it's it's it's pretty amazing. I I really enjoyed that one too. So Demons of the Shadow Realm is really good.

SPEAKER_02 32:25

So I got recommended that one uh by a friend. I put it my on my watch list, but I haven't started yet. Yeah, still trying to finish Vigilantes. Yeah, there's so much.

SPEAKER_01 32:36

There's so much to watch.

SPEAKER_00 32:38

There's too much at times. Vigilantes has been great.

SPEAKER_01 32:41

I I can't like quite like I'm enjoying Vigilantes. I'm not getting as hype about it as I thought I would, though, oddly enough. I think this season was more hype than last season, but like I'm not like like the main character, I'm just not getting behind him. Love Knuckle Duster, love Pop Step. Crawler, I'm just kind of like, yeah, he's alright. But I'm not like, you know, I'm I'm just not like backing him for some reason. He's not he's gonna have a Deku moment though. He's gotta have a Deku moment, and he had a little bit of one this season, which was good, but but he's he hasn't had like a really good one. He I don't know, he it at times he seems too put together and like I don't know, but then other times he's like really pathetic. I I can't nail down like how he is, you know what I mean? I don't know. It's it's it's it's it's kind it it hurts the show a little bit for me.

SPEAKER_00 33:30

So um but the intro songs are just so fun though. The intro songs are especially the first one. Last I hated it at first.

SPEAKER_01 33:36

Oh, last season's intro song was dope. I absolutely adored that thing.

SPEAKER_00 33:40

I love the colors, the flashing, and them sitting on top, that Batman moment. Yeah, I mean it was just it was just dark night returns. That's what that's the vibe that I've gotten. I don't know, I don't read too much into it because I always I always get everything spoiled whenever I try to Google and do any kind of research on something I'm watching. Um, but I'd be like really interested because you know, I mean, Horikoshi did my hero, right? Yeah, yeah. Okay, so I mean he drew a huge influence from X-Men, right? Right, talked about all of that shit in there, and then you know, I wonder if if this was his DC side, like because Knuckle Duster, he he's got that old man Bruce Wayne vibe to him.

SPEAKER_01 34:15

Yeah, for sure. He's very he's very he's very Batman, very Punisher. It's all of like the vigilante types you would see, like kind of mixed into one.

SPEAKER_00 34:24

So the street level.

SPEAKER_01 34:26

Yeah, and he's a lot of fun. Like I I love like how they how they kind of made him like kind of crazy, like he's kind of a psychopath. Like that's you kind of you kind of have to be to be this like d uh un you know zero powered, you know, uh punch people in the face kind of guy. So he's just hopped up on painkillers and he's just nuts. Like I I love I love Duster. He's cool, he's a fun character. But but I for some reason, like I can't like I can't get hype for that show for some reason. I don't know why. And like I don't know. I don't know what's I don't know what's keeping me from like it it being like a top tier for me. It's like it's one that I'll why Rishi.

SPEAKER_02 35:05

Yeah, I think it's pretty repetitive, man. Like it's I can see why Brandon feels that way. It's like every episode Koichi's doing something, it's either a very simple like rescue mission, like getting a cat, or he's with another like hero, like with Aizawa or Fat Gum, or you know, like that. The progress of the story is very slow. I I can see that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:26

I I kind of dig it though, because I feel like the first one was pretty fast-paced. The first season. I see not fast-paced, like he had a pacing problem, but it just seemed like boom, boom, boom, it was just building, building, building, building. This one seems to build a little and stagnate. It's almost like a Tarantino film in a sense, where they're trying to lay all the foundation, yeah, and then at the end, I'm hoping they pay off. So I've enjoyed it so far.

SPEAKER_01 35:50

Yeah, this season is better. They do have a great connect, like probably my favorite aspect, they don't explore enough of it because that is like I don't think that like I don't think Pop Step is in the show enough, honestly, because like my favorite part of the whole thing is the fact that he has this giant hoodie collection of like All Might stuff, but he doesn't have one, and he doesn't realize that she has that one because she gave it to him when he saved her. That's great. Like, more of that shit, please. That's like wonderful. Like, that's like my hero shit, you know, and just like we don't explore that enough in the in this, you know, in in these episodes, but it's typical shonen, man.

SPEAKER_02 36:27

They're they're not gonna fig they're not gonna let him figure that out like until towards the end.

SPEAKER_01 36:31

That's fine, but at least like thread me a little bit more, you know. It's like that's fine if you can't like put them together because they can't, it's a shonen, they can't ever put them together. Um, you know, you're just trying to be swooned.

SPEAKER_00 36:41

Is that what you're saying? I just like I like better date me. Yeah, I'm saying, right?

SPEAKER_01 36:46

I just I really like the the emotional stuff, man. That's that's the that's the connection, you know. The the mom episode was really good too from last season. That was one of the better episodes. Um, so you know.

SPEAKER_00 36:57

Heavy episode.

SPEAKER_01 36:59

Yeah, you know, it's it's it's it's just that stuff's cute. Like I like that stuff when they they you know you you get into the and you get into their motivation and like why they do what they do, and it's you know, like it's kind of it's kind of dark that he had like most of his powers repressed because his mom was too overprotective, you know. It's like, oh man, that's a little brutal. So but yeah, I'm I'm hoping it gets uh once they have everything established, and now the Captain Celebrity's out of here. I don't need to uh he's I don't need I don't need him around anymore, so that's fine.

SPEAKER_00 37:34

But what a great douche to play though.

SPEAKER_01 37:38

Oh yeah, yeah. I I liked what they finally did with him. I just every time he was on screen, I'm like, less of this. I don't need this anymore. But they developed him well enough. I was I was happy with with it by the end, so so that was fine.

SPEAKER_02 37:51

Julian, you looking forward to the uh the last my hero, I guess, episode or OVA that's coming in like what two weeks, two weeks from now. Ten days. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:02

Yeah. I'm gonna watch it, but it's it's just one of those things where it's like I kind of wish, you know, I'd I'm good with where it left me. You know what I mean? I don't I don't know. It it's just like I as fans, we always want more, right? I was like, oh man, I need another season, I need another wrestling fans, one more match. You hear it all the time, you know what I mean? And it's just like sometimes I think shit should be put to bed and just let it be. You know, I haven't gone back and watched Attack on Titan, even though I want to, because that that that series for now, I didn't watch anything, and I think we wanted to talk about this, Ricky. I didn't watch anything for a couple days after. No TV, no fucking Instagram, no nothing. It just made me think, and it was just executed so well. And then the only show that's ever done that before, um, you know, since I've been an adult, um, was Cowboy Bebop watching that one and then how it ended. I'm just like, fuck, dude, this was so much a thinker than it then I think it really led on to be. Um you know, but I would love for them to have ended it like I'd said before, like one episode before our finale. And then I'm really hoping they just don't try to like not the fan service is bad, but like the fan bases can be very, very toxic. And my hero was very it was a very apparent thing for for a lot of the fan, not a lot, a little bit of the fan base, the vocal minority. Um, so I'm hoping that they don't just like bend and do something that you know might have made somebody upset.

SPEAKER_01 39:32

Yeah, they they don't typically bend to those sorts of uh things, but it it it's it's also an adaptation of a special manga issue that came out. So there'll there'll probably be some extra stuff that we didn't get or that yeah, I enjoyed it. It's a good way to sum up like the like it's like an epilogue, really. Yeah, it it it was kind of done because they'd sort of rushed the ending for it. They didn't rush the ending in the anime as much. They you kind of got to see like you know, like Tony Stark Deku and stuff like that. So you didn't really get to see that in the in the the end of the manga. It was just like one splash panel of them all kind of like you know, uh diving through yeah, kind of diving through the city. So you didn't get like this nice wrap-up type of thing with it. So I I liked the end of the manga, but a lot of people were upset by it. Um because Deku and Bakugo didn't fuck, I guess. I don't know. Um, you know, like so uh I mean, but uh you know, there was a lot of upset people over there. Because I you experienced it again when the anime came out, people whoo like no, that's not a thing. Shut up, you know. Um so uh, you know, like I didn't think it was really needed, but I did I did like the special issue, so I'm I'm I'm kind of excited for for it. So I I'm also a Shipputin fan, you know. I like when you go back and you explore like the like what what happens afterwards and stuff. It it's it's reminiscent of comic book media that comic books don't stop, it's just more stuff, you know. It's like you then you get rebooted and you get a new creative team and you just do more of the thing. And sometimes it sucks, but sometimes you get like a really good creative team on a comic that like that nails it. And you're like, oh, if we didn't keep going, we wouldn't have gotten, you know, uh Jeff Johns on JSA, we wouldn't have gotten, you know, this version of uh The Watchman, we wouldn't have gotten this version of you know Wolverine by whoever, you know. It just it it sucks that there's no permanence at all in American comics because like, oh Superman died, yeah. This week, okay, cool. When when's he back? Like, what's the you know, it's like yeah, it's like who cares? Like, like who cares? Well Wolverine dies just when it shut up. No, he didn't. It's like you know, and of course he can't only Uncle Ben.

SPEAKER_00 41:54

It was only Uncle Ben for so long, and even then they retconned it.

SPEAKER_01 41:57

Yeah, even that they retcon sometimes. He always gets re-dead, but they retcon it all the time. You know, Gwen Stacy, like that was the other way like Spider-Man's family dies just because the Peter must suffer. That's that's the whole idea. But you know, even even that is just like, oh, like it can never be permanent, which you know does suck. Whereas manga and stories like Attack on Titan is so perfectly circular that it just you don't need to go, and it's not even an ending that he gave you. It's like this is a cycle that will continue. He walks into the tree, it you can't end what this is. Like that, that was the whole point of it. Uh, you can have these light moments or these light points and these moments where you can lead people out of the forest, but someone's always gonna wander back into the woods, you know. That's how it's that's how it works. And I, you know, I could go on and on about how freaking no one gets that thematic like moment of attack on time. No one gets it. No one gets it. They all think it's fascist propaganda, they're idiots. Like, I can't stand it. Like, uh, there's so many stupid articles out there writing about like how well actually the manga co is actually pseudo-fascist. Shut up, you're an idiot, you're a moron. You didn't listen to anything he said. Like, oh god, it kills me.

SPEAKER_02 43:19

Julian, you never rewatch Attack on Titan after finishing it.

SPEAKER_00 43:23

Uh no, I like with with how Brandon was so passionate the last couple minutes. Was I too harsh on that last episode? Fuck.

SPEAKER_02 43:32

No, no, first thing I was thinking of was like, fuck, did I you have to at least rewatch it again so you pick up the the things you missed? Yeah, attack on Titan. Yeah, dude, because the writer does so well of like dropping Easter eggs and like little foreshadowing bits that you missed out on the first watch.

SPEAKER_00 43:48

Yeah, but that's why I listened to you guys because I'm just looking at a surface level and I can appreciate it for what it is. Yeah, and then I go to y'all and I'm like, all right, these guys know what the fuck they're talking about.

SPEAKER_02 43:58

It's like that meme with Charlie. Is it Charlie Day? He has like the map and like all the conspiracy. That's that's on Taco Titan.

SPEAKER_01 44:04

Yeah. It it will be cool if you go back and revisit it with uh with somebody though, and like you know, you start to notice like my favorite thing of going back and re-watching that show is Berthold uh like the looks he gives Reiner when Reiner is going on about his like you know, it's oh yeah, back in the village we did this, and like and like Berthold's just look at him like, What the fuck are you talking about? None of this is true. Like, he's just like giving this dead-eyed, like, you're crazy, you're insane. Like, it's so fun.

SPEAKER_02 44:35

Like, uh dude, even I I'll just say this like, even in season one, like if you re-watch like the first couple episodes, like you'll catch on, like, oh man, Bertholdt, Reiner, Annie, they were already there in the beginning, too. Like, they snuck in, you know, the knowing that knowing that that's them attacking the the wall, then you see glimpses of them being like younger kids of themselves, like in line for food, or like you know, they the way how they just interact, and the hell, even like you see how Annie acts and how why she's so isolated because she doesn't want to be there.

SPEAKER_01 45:03

Yeah, he planned so much out, it's so well done. I I I I keep trying to convince some friends of mine who like kind of got like you know, disillusioned by that show. They they they didn't like the uh the twist of uh Aaron being a Titan. They like they liked the idea of like the Titans being like these creepy monsters that you know and you know, which they still are, but like it sort of like impressed upon him that it wasn't going to be like humanity versus these, you know, you know, creepy yeast monsters. It's gonna be like something else. And it kind of turned him off from it. And I I tell him all the time, like, you need to go and like finish it, like regardless if that turned you off. Like the idea of humanity versus monsters is still entirely the theme, and it works so well, and it becomes like this whole other thing, and it's because we're the monsters, Brandon.

SPEAKER_02 45:58

I know it's we are the real titans, it's the monsters the whole time. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 46:04

It's crazy. Oh man, it's good stuff, great stuff.

SPEAKER_02 46:10

No, I I think people like also trip on like season three, like once they were fighting like Kenny's group, they're like, dude, what happened? Why are they fighting humans? Like, why are they fighting the government?

SPEAKER_01 46:20

Like, dude, this is why that's so good. That was like one of my favorite because that was one of my favorite parts in the manga was just like like now they're fighting, like just this whole corruption of this society kind of breaking down, and like now we're getting like a glimpse into like what this is and like why they're pinned up in these set these three walls, you know, three sets of walls. Like it I was super into it, but even even during the manga, people were like, Oh, this this arc sucks. I don't know, I don't know, they gotta fight monsters. I'm like, guys, you gotta you gotta explain stuff, you know. It's like I but I get it because there are some other shows that I think like kind of do that. They take a they take a risk or they go somewhere else, and then I'm I'm kind of like eh, I don't like where this is going. This is kind of bull, this is kind of dull, you know. So it's taking a different swing at something that I didn't really care about or that I'm not as locked into.

SPEAKER_02 47:15

So I am definitely like I have a huge watch list on my anime list, which I'm like refusing to watch things now. I tried rewatching the uh or not re-watching, but I tried watching the new Ronan Warriors that came out in the spring. And it just that's the same, that's the same company or the studio that did season three of One Punch Man, right? Yeah, JC Staff did that one. JC Staff, yeah. So like it's it it looks pretty good, and then like it just I don't know, they look too like K-pop boy band to me. And I I couldn't get through it. Like I I know that they they showcased like the old the older ones, like the the first set of Ronin Warriors, yeah, for the samurai, like this the samurai, whatever troopers, I think. Troopers, yeah. I I I like that, but it just I couldn't get into it, and I know they only did this for toy sales.

SPEAKER_01 48:01

Yeah, I haven't I haven't checked right, I haven't checked it out yet. I've heard good things. Uh I've heard it's pretty good. I heard it, I hear it gets really like it it gets better as it goes along, too. So um they obviously JC staff opposite put their A team on that one, they did not put it on uh One Punch. Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_02 48:19

They had their third stringers doing One Punch Man season three.

SPEAKER_01 48:23

So trash, man. I I it was so bad. I went and I I just said fuck this, and I started reading the manga. I just like I was like, I I need to experience this how it should be experienced, and I just started reading it. I I'd never read the One Punch Man manga before, and he took it seriously. I did, I just I took it personal. I took it Murata does so much better than the staff. Oh my god, he's such a good artist. I hope, like, there is a there is a manga panel that is the coolest fucking thing I have ever seen in my life, and I hope to god that JC Staff gets their shit, Bandai Namco and and JC Staff gets their shit together and makes this show good again, um, or gives it to another studio, whatever. Maybe MAPA picks it up because Moppa can just do anything and you know not pay their employees, I guess, but whatever. I don't know what they do. Uh and um uh or Euphottable who just does all this good stuff and never pays taxes.

SPEAKER_02 49:26

Good lord, if you votable takes one punch man, it's game over.

SPEAKER_01 49:29

You kidding me? It's like insane. But there is a scene in the manga of a guy looking at the moon, and it is the coolest thing I've ever fucking seen, and I want to see that animated like well. I want to see this done.

SPEAKER_00 49:47

Oh, it's send us a screen cap of that one if you can.

SPEAKER_01 49:50

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 49:51

I will uh it's it's totally a spoiler, but uh I will absolutely the one I want to see is freaking Phoenix Man versus uh Child Emperor. Yes, yeah, that's the fight I want to see. Yeah, because reading that in the manga, dude. The anime studios have to like go hard on that fight. That's a huge, huge fight.

SPEAKER_01 50:11

Yeah. Yeah, it's it's super cool. I I I I'm I'm excited for pretty much like I'm not excited for it because you know if if they change studios or if like the next season like gets the gets the A team attached to it, you know, because um yeah I know there's one episode of the season they said that was good. I think that was Flash versus um versus the Ninja Guys. Like everybody said that that episode was like, oh, that's really cool, but um, but uh other than that, it was like That's where all their budget went to was that one episode. That one episode apparently went all the budget went there. All the the all the six-fingered uh uh characters and uh cut off heads from oh man, it's so so poorly done. But but yeah, I I I really I really love that that that manga. I felt I I've it's it's so fun where it's going, like where they've taken it, and and I'm I'm excited to see if if they can pull that back and like like make it make it good again because it's it's perfectly salvageable. There's no reason that it has to to die this way. Maybe give it back to Madhouse, you know. Oh man, please. Madhouse is so good for 12 episodes. Oh that's gorgeous. Of course, that was like in 2016. Was that 10 years ago? Yeah, 10 years ago, one punch man season one. Good lord, that's that's crazy to me. Because it was like a four-year gap between that and two, I think. Yeah, good lord. That's nuts. Yeah, because it was pandemic, and again, JC staff didn't even do like a poor job with season two, it was just like not as good as uh Madhouse, but it was still good. Like it was still like a serviceable anime, and then this season was just uh a bunch of stills, one one frame man, you know. Awful, awful stuff. Such a shame.

unknown 52:14

Such a shame.

SPEAKER_01 52:16

Any other animes you guys watching? You guys watch anything else?

SPEAKER_00 52:20

I told uh Ricky that I was on episode what 902 or 904 of One Piece. Nice. So yeah, I'm almost caught up.

SPEAKER_01 52:28

I need to get on that one. That's that's one I haven't. I haven't done that one yet.

SPEAKER_00 52:32

So good.

SPEAKER_01 52:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:34

Definitely watch stuff in between because you can get burnt out real quick.

SPEAKER_01 52:37

Yeah. I need to watch Naruto I need to finish Naruto too. I still have not finished Naruto. Which because I I I I I think it's a badge of honor to say that you've completed the four, you know, the the the big four of manga, I think. Obviously, one's not done yet. One piece still going, but you know, it'll never finish. I think he'll just keep going with it. So who knows?

SPEAKER_02 52:59

Julian, have you watched like the other ones like Naruto or Bleach?

SPEAKER_00 53:04

I watched a little bit of Naruto when I was younger. Um, no Bleach, Dragon Ball Z, of course. Um and that was the four. So, but I've been around One Piece since since it kind of started because I would always hang out at my sister's house. And my brother-in-law James would watch, he would get home and adult swim and be out and he would try to find, and this is back in back in the day day, um, but he you could find bootleg VHS's at some of the Comic-Cons for some of the shows you couldn't get on TV. And he was watching One Piece from as early as I can remember. And I'm I'm looking at it, I'm like, oh man, that shit looks corny. And then flash forward 20-something years, and I'm like, fuck, I guess I'm corny because this show is cool as hell. So, I mean, the characters are just so fun. I mean, you know, Luffy obviously, like every big main character, him, Goku, and you can name another few, they always got plot armor to some extent.

SPEAKER_03 53:58

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 53:59

Um, but it's just uh you look at him, he's like, he's always so happy. I'm like, fuck, I wish I could be that, right? I was like, you never see him depressed unless he's uh you know fighting for a friend, and even then he's just gotta get a little food in him and he goes back to being normal. You know, so it's just it's like I said, it's just fun storyline. There are some story arcs I wouldn't want in there. There's a shit ton of filler. Uh I think they're making one piece Kai um now, at least. And uh but yeah, I I've really enjoyed One Piece. Bleach is obviously on the list with everything else you guys have given me. Naruto, I kind of experienced linearly. Linnarate, is it liner? I can't think of that word. Or linearly. Linear. No, linear, linear, but put L Y on there uh with all of my friends, because all of my friends watched it growing up. And then back when 2020 kicks off in COVID, you know, Hayden's at home, and then he starts anime through Naruto. So it was weird how it kind of comes in cycles. It's my generation and then his generation, and then he gets to experience Dragon Ball Z. I will say he watched Kai, so he didn't really watch 22 episodes of Goku asking for help. Um, you know, but uh but yeah, it it's those are on my list because I know the importance, and I and I do like the uh uh the notion that you were putting out there, Brandon. It's like you kind of gotta you kind of gotta watch the big four, you know, you gotta watch Mount Rushmore.

SPEAKER_01 55:19

Yeah, you know, it's like they they can't be plucked down, you know. It's like and also this year, first time ever, uh each of the big four is going to have something air on television, which I think is great. Okay, it's never happened before. So we're getting the the remake of um Dragon Ball's uh Dragon Ball's um Battle of the Yeah, Battle of the Gods. Yeah, the Beerus stuff. We're getting that remake, um, which I know people are kind of like meh about, but I'm glad it's gotten them out of that creative hole since Toriyama passed away. It's like just put stuff out, guys. Like you have you have stuff, put it out, you know. Like let's let's let's see more. Um and um so that's cool. I did I can't remember what Naruto thing is coming out, but there's gonna be some Naruto special that's hitting. Um could be a saying that for years though.

SPEAKER_02 56:11

Like I think like was it Studio Wit or so on one major studio was like gonna do it? And they they showed like promotional pictures of it, but nothing's ever been announced officially.

SPEAKER_01 56:21

But I think it is coming out this year because like that's everybody's been talking about that, and then obviously Bleach is finishing off in June, and then uh One Piece is coming back, so like all four of the big four are gonna be on the air in 2026, which is just crazy. So, you know, for the first time ever, because DB's because Dragon Ball's been off forever, and you know, it's like they're bringing back our childhoods.

SPEAKER_02 56:45

I know, right? It's crazy. Nostalgia pays off, man. They know that's the big market right there.

SPEAKER_01 56:50

Although, like, I never watched Bleach until I was an adult, never watched Naruto until I was an adult. So, you know now, DBZ. That that I watched as a kid.

SPEAKER_00 56:59

That was that was definitely that was a point at television there, Brandon. That's what that was as a kid.

SPEAKER_01 57:04

Yeah, it was.

SPEAKER_02 57:07

Yeah, Dragon Ball Z was the get home quickly from the bus stop to watch. And then I grew up with pirating Naruto and Bleach, yeah, and then watching the cut episodes on YouTube, like so Naruto episode so and so part one of four, and then you have to go and search for that. I and then like it was all cropped up close to so that they wouldn't get hit with the copyright. Oh my god, dude.

SPEAKER_01 57:30

Yeah, oh I'm gonna show my age. The first anime that I watched was uh that I really watched because there was like Speed Racer was on TV sometimes, and then uh G Force, um, Battle of the Planets. That was that was one that was uh on. But the one that I really watched all the time was Robotech. My dad had the full VHS uh run of Robotech, which in Jap in Japan was called Macross, uh the Macross saga. Man, I loved that show. That was so good. Um, but you know, that was when I was but a a tiny child when that was out. And what's a VHS, Brandon? Uh yeah, VHS is a uh video recording device. Uh yeah. So I it it is weird to like to see like I don't think kids know what VCRs are are now, right? Like they don't know what those are. They don't.

SPEAKER_02 58:22

I showed my like my cousin's kid the VHS rewinder, where you put the tape in and you just close it. Yeah, and they're like, they're like, What is this? I'm like, dude, this is how we would rewind our tapes.

SPEAKER_01 58:33

Yeah, they're like, What do you mean? You can't just skip to the I remember when DVDs came out and you could skip to scenes of a of a movie, it blew my mind. One of the first DVDs we ever had was The Matrix, and it was like, I can just go right to the gunfight scene. Like go right to it. It's like it's a chapter in the thing. It's like, what blew my brain out. It was nuts, it's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 58:59

You know what's crazy is like DVDs back then used to have so much stuff with it, though, like head behind the scenes, directors, like uh commentary and all that stuff. Now, like regular DVDs don't even have that anymore, just play, setup, scenes, scene selection. That's it. That's it.

SPEAKER_00 59:14

And you would buy the director's cut just so you could sit there and watch the movie with the director, probably with the main actor, and they could talk you through scenes. That was what was so cool about that's what's still so cool about physical media. I know you bring it up all the time, Brandon, but that's what's still so cool about physical media is just listening to them like this is why I did an upshot, this is why I did a downshot, this is why I did wide, this is why I took this, I did this, you know. It's so fascinating to hear them speak about it like while it's happening, and you're just not noticing shit because it was like some stuff they kept close to the cuff.

SPEAKER_01 59:45

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I and and just like there's so many good like commentaries back in the day, and I like I really want that for stuff. Like I bought the um uh they finally released the full DVD set of Voltron Legendary Defender or uh Legendary Defender. Um, and I bought that like immediately as soon as it was out. But and it's great to have it because it they never released the full thing and it's been off Netflix forever. Um, it might be coming to prime soon now that they have the movie coming out, but um like there's no extras in it, it's just the show, which again, like that's great because we it was never released before, but uh you know, it's it's cool.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:27

So I don't know. I want more commentary stuff, it's cool. So you guys ever listen to the commentary on Tropic Thunder? Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's a classic. Robert Downey Jr.'s in character throughout the whole freaking movie. Oh my god, dude. I listened to that like a podcast at work. I was just listening to the commentary.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:47

Uh Julian, I think you gotta go, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:00:50

Yes, sorry. Yeah, before before I leave though, Ricky. Sad day to see you go, but I'm so happy at where you're at now. Uh, you know, it's it's been a blast, and it was cool as being able to still listen to your shows because you and Brandon and Larry are like the three biggest people that I speak with uh when it comes to any of my new recommendations because I was a complete and utter outsider before I started my podcast. Um, and now because of y'all, I can sit here and listen to y'all and go like, fuck, that's what they thought. It makes me still retarded because I think this way, but that was really cool. You know what I mean? So it's like you guys took my base level knowledge and really put it up there. Um, you know, so I appreciate both of y'all for that. So, like I said, man, uh congratulations on two episodes, 200 episodes. I'm sorry to see you go, but I'm happy to see where you're gonna go next, man. So thank you again for asking me on.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:41

Yeah, thank you, man. You and Brandon keep uh you know motivating me to do this stuff for the for as long as I lasted, man. So it's been great to have you on, dude. It's it's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:50

Thanks, buddy. And Brandon, as always, you've got the most intelligent brain when it comes to animation I've ever seen. Uh, so keep being you too, brother. I'll talk to you guys soon. Take it. See you soon, man. Later.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:02

Man, yeah, it's uh it's cool to it's cool that you're wrapping stuff up, but you'll be a regular on my show now. So it's oh, yeah, definitely. I'll have you on all the time. So it's like if I need a filler episode, we could talk about all you need is killed you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:16

Oh, yeah, dude. Like we definitely let me know when you want to do that one because I I just finished that one. Me and my girlfriend watched that last weekend.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:21

That was such an interesting movie because like I went in pretty blind to it. Like and like I just saw like the posters, I didn't even watch a trailer for it, and it's so different from like every iteration of that story. So, like, very interesting what they did with it. So I I I very much enjoyed it. So I'll have to re-watch it again and we'll do we'll have to do an episode on it.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:44

So yeah, it's very cool. That that was a really good watch. I think if anything that I really appreciated the most were like was just the fight scenes, yeah, yeah. That was done really well. Yeah, but uh I'll I'll leave it, I'll I'll leave my my thoughts on when we when we uh review it. But yeah, yeah, man. Like I anyone who's listening, dude, like go check out the episodes that me and Brandon have done together on his show on animation destination. Absolutely love those episodes. I I go back, I listen to I re-listened to our Ray Zero one and then our Chainsaw Man one. Like, I like those ones a lot. Yeah, yeah, dude, dude, your show has been carrying me throughout, like has been carrying my day throughout work. Oh I listen to your stuff so much. Like it's just I appreciate it. It's it's like all the stuff I listen to at work, is like it's it's okay, you know. Like I'll listen to Rogan from time to time, and then I'll listen to some movie stuff from time to time, but something about you and your friends, man, the way how you guys like you, Steven, John, how you guys all just banter with each other and then like just go off tangent during mid-episode.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:44

I I try to keep it as as lighthearted as possible. The only reason I do this is literally just as an excuse to talk to friends about stuff that I like. That's about it. That's like really the only reason I do it. Like, it's it's fun to put it out there and it's nice. I will say it's been very nice, it's been a very good year. Um, that it's been my most listened to year um since I went to probably apart from like my first few years doing this, it's been my most listened to, it's been my most most downloads uh that I've ever had, which is great. It's been that's good, man.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:17

Like, especially for just doing audio, man. That that's really good.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:20

Yeah, yeah. I uh like like I will say, StreamYard, I finally got a StreamYard account, and like I was doing some video stuff with a friend of mine who we used to do a video game podcast together, and he kind of felt like he wanted to do some of that sometimes. Um, but it's uh it's a little hard for him, so it's very inconsistent. But I started using StreamYard to do that, and I might if I set my studio up correctly, I might just do video from from a certain point onward and just keep the audio uh as an as an option as well. But um, it just there's so much more editing that you have to do when you do video.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:00

And why do you think I'm stopping now? Yeah, I know, right? Like, dude, it's so easy. People don't realize behind the scenes, dude. Like when we're when doing podcasting, it's so rough, man.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:11

And and I'll tell you, like, StreamYard, like that cut my editing down by hours because the first episode we did, we just recorded cameras, and then I had to take both that footage and match it up and put it on a like a background or something and do all this stuff. It's like this is taking forever. This this it took me like a week to get the freaking episode out, and it's just like I I can't do this every time, there's no freaking way. So I opted for StreamYard, and it it it's still a lot more than audio than than doing an audio uh podcast because you know, audio I can just get done. I'm so used to doing audio, it's like you know, the only thing I have to do is like cut out of somebody's curses, and that, you know, I just mark that immediately when it happens, and then yeah, I go to it and I take it out. It's easy. So, you know, it's like it. It takes me no time to edit an audio podcast. So, you know, I I I want to keep that going as much as possible. There has been some video content ideas for like reels and stuff like that that I've thought about. Um, but I don't want to just do it to get listeners. I want to do something that would be fun to do. You know what I mean? Yeah. It's like it if I'm doing it just to get, just to get with the, you know, to to to get with like the the the way things are changing. And oh, you gotta get the with the so because the only social media I have is Facebook. You know, it's like it's the the boomer social media. I don't, you know, like I I I am on Instagram, but I never post there. I need to, you know, work on doing some art and putting up there sometime. But like I don't know. It's I just like to do something that I like. And if I'm not doing it what I don't like, then I'm probably not gonna ever address it again, you know. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:56

So yeah, it's it's dude, like running the like especially like if you're just like a one-man team, like from just my experience, dude, like posting, scheduling things, and doing all the editing, all that it takes a it takes a total. That's how I was so burnt out from like what 2024-ish? I was just burnt out. I took that whole year off. Yeah, I was like, I I didn't want to edit, I didn't want to send emails out. Yeah, like it's it's insane. But like you never thought of like getting other guests on your show, like actors or like people on the production side.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:28

It's funny because like I did um just before I met Julian, and uh then like when Julian started showing me like all the people that he got on his stuff, I was like, shit, this could have been easy, you know. Like that's like like man, like like because people don't really talk to like animators and like people in the industry all that much, and they are so willing to fucking talk to you, like they really want to talk to you about stuff, and so I I do want to do some, but like it it was always just sort of like it was always more fun to just talk about it as like in a fan, even though I love the industry stuff and I love talking about like how did they make this thing and like how did this get made? Like, that's all fun stuff. But for the podcast, it was always just supposed to be like I took it very seriously that it was a celebration podcast, it's supposed to be an animation celebration. I just want to talk about the things that I like. I'm not gonna do episodes about stuff that I hate, you know. I'm not gonna do episodes about like this sucked, you know, because there's so much of that. And to be fair, that stuff is entertaining. I listen to this thing sucked content all the time. Like, I'm not gonna pretend like that's not an entertaining thing to listen to, but it's just like I I don't want to do that. If I'm gonna talk about something, I want to talk about something that I enjoy and I want to be, you know, cool with it. So yeah, but what what are what what are some of your favorite episodes that you've done? What are some favorite uh you know actors that you've had on? Because you've talked to plenty of people.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:00

Yeah, well, for first of all, thanks thanks to Julian, man. Julian's the one that hooked me up with my first actual voice actor, which was uh Adam MacArthur, the voice of Gigi from Jiu Jitsu Kaisen, which I can't wait to do that episode with you and Steven. That's I'm looking forward to doing that one.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:13

Yeah, because oh my god, that I need to schedule it out. I need to finish. I'm two episodes away. I need to finish, dude.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:20

Okay, I can't even talk about it with you then.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:21

I know I know, right? Because I've seen clips of it. I'm like, that's not the manga, that's not the manga at all. Hold on, shit. Let's go.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:31

Like, all right, here we go. So, yeah, I'm excited. I I talked with Adam MacArthur and then right after I spoke with uh Ann Yatko, who voices Nobara. Yeah, so like like I I got to speak with them right when JJK was getting hot. Yeah, so yeah, I I really appreciated uh Julian for giving me, like, or for opening that door for me because like for the longest time I was trying to like get voice actors. Like, if you go back to my archives, dude, like I'm my podcast is all over the place, despite the name itself. Like, I'm all over the place. I'm talking to like musicians, I'm talking to cosplayers and like like uh Hmong content content creators, people from my community, you know, like it wasn't really like what I'm doing now, and so I I guess that's what makes it so hard for people to like get what the podcast was, like in the first like 50 episodes. They're like, dude, are you reviewing things? Are you are you interviewing people? Like, what are you doing? Like, I don't know, dude. Like, I'm just talking. It wasn't stuff, yeah. Yeah, and it wasn't until like around episode like 100 where I started picking up my stride, and then like um, yeah, started talking to voice actors. Like, one of my favorites was with Rico Fajardo, the voice of Lemillion. Yeah, um, he was one of my favorite guests, you know. That dude's super outgoing, super chill. Um, another one was with um with Brianna Roberts from Ranking of Kings. She voiced um I have you seen that anime. I haven't. I need to watch that one. That one's everybody talks about it. Dude, watch that one. Studio Wit does that one. It's like so good. I love the art style, so yeah. Yeah, she voices uh one of the antagonists in that show. And so I spoke with her, and then like another one was like Natalie Van Sistine voices your. She was really cool. Oh, yeah. Uh, and then um another one. I'm trying to, I'm trying to think. Um Lexi Nieto, she voiced uh she she was on some anime. She she was she's more of like a host now. I I believe she does like a lot of like anime convention hosting panels and stuff like that, but she was super cool. And then like just talking with like you know, talking with like you guys, you uh Julian, talking to Salem, like having having other guests on to nerd out about this stuff with, yeah. And like um, it was fun, you know. Like it's those were the episodes I enjoyed the most. Like, I I think I I caught myself like I think that's why I took the hiatus like in 2024, because I was catching myself like saying things that I didn't mean, or like I I like I was just saying things to say it. I I didn't I didn't like say it from like the heart, so and I caught myself like sounding like a kiss ass at times, and I go back and edit and like re-listen to myself talk, and I'm like, why do I why am I talking like that? Like that's not me, you know. So, like I was yeah, yeah, it got and dude, like if you like if people like I'm I'm not saying for you to do it, but like if anyone goes back and listens to like episode one to like this current one, the way how even the way how I speak is so different. Now, my girlfriend went back and listened to my old one, she's like, dude, you sound so different from like when you first started to your more recent ones. Like, she's like, You you're more like free-flowing when you talk now, like, yeah, it took a long time to get comfortable to talk on the mic.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:27

Yeah, you know, I mean that I think that's that that's for sure. Like, I I'm a little bit if you go back to the early episodes, I'm pretty similar, but that's because I was doing a wrestling podcast for like a year prior with my buddy who I do the video game podcast with. So if you were to ever go back and listen to the Schmazz cast, the first oh man, that's awful. That's just awful garbage, and like that. So that was like a full year of like practice to get up to you know, like doing doing that. So um, and I'm sure I sound different then too. I also just those old episodes are terrible, the audio's awful. Uh I have like 50 guests on at one time, it's real stupid. Um, because the whole idea was we were part of this whole like podcasting group network thing. Uh yeah. And it was fun. Like, and it it was it was fun to like hang out with most of it. It's where it's where I met Mitch, it's where I met uh Steven and John. So, you know, there's a lot of people and Jay. I think pretty much everybody who I talk to now I met through that that whole thing, but it just it it became so much better when I was able to knock down the number of guests and just like uh when I started doing one to two guests or you know, stuff like that. It it just made more sense for it. And I have a few interviews, you know. There there's some fun interviews that I've done. Um actually I don't think I have one. It's just one interview. Maybe I just have one. I can't remember. I think I talked, I I do know I talked to Rick Unger, the creator of Biker Mice from Mars, um, because randomly I sent out a tweet uh with a clip of me talking about like, yeah, that Rick Unger guy seems interesting because he like made Biker Mice from Mars and all these other weird cartoons. I I'd like to talk with him. And he sent me a tweet and said, Let's talk. And I was like, Oh, cool. So that was a really fun interview. I think it's the Rob Pulson episode where I put that on. I should have just made it a again, like I I wasn't thinking about it or like making it a thing, but but that's like the only interview I think I ever really did, and I would like to get back to that. But if I did it, I would probably get like a a an interview person and then just talk about a particular show that they worked on and geek out over that show with them. Like I think that would be kind of fun, like rather than like do an interview and like, so what's the animation industry like? Because everybody asks that, yeah. Yeah, because everyone does, yep. Yeah, so it's like I would want to get like Bobby Pontio on and like be like, hey man, you're doing that Sun Chasers thing, but you worked on Tangled the Series. Like, Tangled the Series is dope. Let's talk about Tangled the Series, like just and just talk about the actual show, like you know, like I think that would be kind of fun to to just talk about it, so you know, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:07

That that's what I was kind of doing a little bit too with the guests I had on the show. Yeah, like just kind of not so much like because I you know, I'll I'll ask the typical questions you know, in case like new listeners don't know, but most of the time I I just spoke with them like free flow. Like, I just like there was like no real setup. Like I told them like if you wanted to curse on here, you could curse on here, like just speak your mind, you know. Like, I don't I don't care, I'm not gonna judge. And you know, this most of the guests are pretty, pretty chill, but like you know, I I gotta say this though, man. Like I backed off of getting actors on the show because like I'm pretty sure you've seen this, like how that industry works, and you can kind of just see like going to cons and like working with their trying to work with their management and all that. Like some of those, some of those people, not not naming anyone, but some of those people can get pretty grimy at times, man. Like that's a it's a was a cutthroat industry, you know, like it's you know, it I kind of saw like the true colors of some some some actors, and like yeah, you know, and I it's it sucks.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:04

Yeah, it sucks. Like, you know, again, like like you don't want to like think too personally about it because they are in like an industry that like you know kind of encourages you know, like like cutthroat behavior, so it's like it's hard to like judge them too much, but yeah, it's like it yeah, yeah, I I totally agree. Like, I just like it it never really like set well with me to do interviews because again, when I was in that podcasting crew, like I was one of the ones that would go around and kind of get interviews for um uh for cons and stuff, and I just something about it just didn't feel good with me. I don't know, because like we'd have to talk to like their agent would be there, we'd have to talk their agent. You can talk for them for like five minutes, and I'm just like like I don't fucking like you know, it's I I don't want to like be a like first of all, I don't want to be like the guy that's like coming in to interrupt for five minutes. I don't want to like you know, like like if I want to talk if I'm gonna talk to this guy, I want to talk to him like normal. I don't want to just be you know what I mean. Yeah, which there was one really good one that I got, and that was with Jim Cummings. That was a that was a fun one. Uh he was very standoffish at first. Uh he didn't know, and I I understood why, because like it was like, oh hey, like like because the one of the guys that like worked there was like kind of like he would kind of like push himself push to get into these positions and be like, we'd like to get our guy to interview him, blah blah blah blah. So he would like pitch a bunch of stuff to him, and you could see like Cummings was just like Jim was just like, I don't fucking care about this at all. He wasn't saying it in it in initially, but then like I I like went over to him and I talked to him, I was like, Hey man, how's it going? And like I I kept it like as like normal as I possibly could. And then when I started the interview, I started to like throw like some like different types of questions towards him, you know, and stuff like this, or like, hey, I really loved you as Don Carnage in Tailspin. You know, it wasn't like the initial like like stuff that you would normally get, and it was just like, and he seemed to really open up when it was just more of like, oh, this guy actually knows me. It's not just some rando who like you know, like it's like this guy's actually a fan. And he opened up like towards the end of that that that thing. He wasn't his standout, he was very much more open and like got got with the flow. And then even after the con, he like came by the booth that we were sitting at and said hey to me and like like shook my hands like it was awesome. So it was great. So, you know, that that that was one of the better interviews ever did. It wasn't for my podcast, which is why I didn't mention it, but that was a lot of fun, just to kind of kind of get that. But this isn't my podcast, it's your podcast.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:38

Let's I I love it, dude. Like, I I I I love it because like I I've been through the same thing when I was doing press at like conventions, you know, like yeah, like you see how pushy other content creators are because everyone's just there for for content. Anyone anyone with the press pass, dude? Like they're they're just trying to milk content, yeah. So like yeah, and that kind of stressed me out too. Cause like my when I went to anime um frontier in in front worth Fort Worth, Texas, right? I realized like how amateur I looked when I had my press pass that weekend. Dude, like it was because of that con that I went and bought like the the road clip-on mics and all that. Like I bought all that, I bought the clip-on mics, I bought like better gear just because I was using my phone, so I was just I bought better gear. And because like everyone had like the the clip-on mics, and like it like I look so unprofessional that weekend. Like, I'll just tell you that. I look so unprofessional. Like, if you go look at my Steve Bloom press conference video, my like my audio on that one is so bad because you I only had the mic for him, so you could hear him talk, and I had to go through like this whole editing process of writing out subtitles so you can hear the questions and all that. I didn't even finish my my Miley Flanagan one because like that one was just so bad, like I didn't finish it. And then um, but yeah, dude, like I was so amateur starting that week. I was lesson learned, and so I was like, I told my cousin Michael, who was like who was helping me. I was like, I don't think I can do this, man. Like, it's it's like it's I I met some cool people, but man, good lord, it's it's hard, it's really hard. Yeah, it's expensive. Oh my god, dude. Like everyone and their moms is doing like content now and cameras and everything's all expensive now. Freaking AI's taking all of our what what what are they taking? They're taking all of our our memory sticks, or whatever, what's it called?

SPEAKER_01 1:20:19

Like oh yeah, the RAM.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:21

Yeah, they're taking up all the RAM. We can't even get RAM anymore. It's like 900 bugs.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:26

I oh my god, this same time last year, I bought 32 gigs of RAM for my computer. It was like it was like 59. I was like, all right, 32 gigs, 59 bucks, that's cool. And then I was looking at this about a month ago. I was like, I kind of want to upgrade to 64 gigs. Like, I think I need 64 gigs in this thing. Looked at the exact same type of RAM, 64 gigs, 440. You've gotta be shitting me. Like, insane, dude. Like the the 32 gig sticks that I have right now are going for like 258. I'm like, I paid$50 for those. Insane, dude. Insane. I cannot wait for this AI bubble to burst. It's gonna suck though, because it is gonna it's gonna flood the market with burnt out used RAM chips. All like it's gonna be all over, and they're gonna be so burnt out and like cheap as hell. And oh, I'm I'm but I can't wait. I can't wait for the for the bubble to pop. I it's gonna happen this year, I think, after the Disney acquisition thing stopped. That where Disney was like, we're not putting money into this thing, and then they shut that down, like that.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:40

Yeah, because they they they knew what people were doing, man. Like, once they're like, Oh, yeah, we'll we'll let you do AI with our stuff. People were doing some nasty shit with this.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:47

Yeah, and and not only that, it's just like it it became so evident that there was no profitability in this sort of thing. It's just like it's just like the dot-com bubble. You get all these people going, we could do all this stuff with the dot-com, and then you realize that like 80% of those people have no idea what the fuck they're doing with a dot-com, and then the dot-com bubble happens, and that's what's happened with AI. It's just like you're gonna have those ones like like Claude, like that'll stay around because that's a really good organizational, like you know, documentable, like AI generative tool. Like things like that will stick around and they will be big, but all this other crap is just gonna go away and get gobbled up by the other ones, and then we'll have like the stuff that actually works and is actually useful, and and then we'll be back to normal.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:38

Have you seen like what China's been doing with their AI? It is insane. Yeah, you saw the one with Kanye, and he was like dressed in Chinese clothes and singing to Taylor Swift.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:47

Oh my I just like at that's gonna take some laws. Like, there's gonna be some laws that have to come down to stop that stuff to be like, this is illegal, you cannot generate other people doing things that they didn't do. It's just like that's you know, oh man. As much as I hate it, I loved it though. Oh, Kanye East. It's so funny, it really is so funny. The Kanye East joke. That was like what was so funny about the Kanye East joke is like that was a joke that I saw on like a on an app somewhere, someone's name. I think it was on threes, and I'm like one of the guys I was playing against was was Kanye East, and I lost my I lost my shit on that. That was great. Man, but I'm I'm telling you, it's like that AI stuff is funny as hell. The the uh Stephen Hawking's on a on a on a on a ski on a uh skateboard ramp, like that shit fucking slays me. That's the use of AI right there. That stuff. So funny, but man, I tell you.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:51

So dude, like you know, I kind of wanted to bring it back a little bit. I was listening to some of your earlier episodes, and you mentioned that because you said you were you did the wrestling stuff. I kind of put two and two together as you were saying that because like your earlier episodes you kind of had like that like that game show.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:09

It was it it was more of a I was presenting more, it was also because like the early episodes, like I'm sitting at a table full of people, you know. Okay, there's so many people on those on those episodes where I'm just like, eh, what did you think of that? What did you think of that? What you know, it's just it's so bothersome. I I don't like going back to those episodes, but but yeah, it's it's it's it's pretty funny. Um just um yeah, you you kind of have to settle into it, it takes forever, but then you you kind of settle into your into your thing, and it's uh yeah. I I've had many many sign-offs, many catchphrases that I use for sign-offs and stuff. So, you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:45

You never thought of like doing voice acting auditions?

SPEAKER_01 1:24:48

Like you kind of got like a voice for it. I I have thought about it. I it just like I for some reason never when it became kind of like accessible, I I don't remember what it was, but it was just like because I've always been told I have like a radio voice anyway, which has been always been very complimentary. I have a face for radio too. Um, no, um, but um, but I always have I I've always been told even like like in like college, like back when in my 20s, I've had like I have like a radio voice, and um and uh a lot of my friends will have me MC stuff and uh I used to MC some wrestling events a few times. I would do announcing, I would do commentary on wrestling sometimes. Um but I I've I've thought about doing some voice acting and it's it's hard to act when you don't have anything in front of you, you know? It's like voice acting is such a skill because it's like you have to like like you have to really be in the situation with nothing there because your animation's not done when you're doing it. Like you you can't see what's happening, so it's it's um it's tough. It's a tough thing. So but I I've thought about it. Um, I still kind of think about it to this day because like again, that sort of thing is very accessible now because you have uh equipment that you can just buy. Back in the day, you couldn't do you couldn't buy like a microphone that was like voice ready for somebody to voice act on. Nowadays, you can just do that. It's kind of amazing, you know. It's like it's like so how technology is so affordable and like accessible to so many people, you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:29

So I I just makes me think of like this meme where like because podcasting equipment is so accessible now, like you just start taxing podcasting equipment because there's so many people but stupid podcasts out there, you know. Like start taxing because anyone can buy a mic now.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:44

Yeah, everybody's got one, everybody's got a podcast, yeah. And it and it's and I I I appreciate the hustle for some people, you know. Like there was, you know, like I but that's the other thing is like when you when you get into the hustle, I feel like you don't like last or appreciate it as much. Um, because like there were some guys from the DNN, uh the the podcasting network that like split off to do their own thing, like I did, and I noticed like that they were getting a lot more views than me, and like they would do like cryptid podcasts and stuff and talk about like cryptid and supernatural stuff and stuff like that. That was kind of their thing to do. Um, and like they were getting really good views. Like, like I was looking, I was like really jealous because I was like, Man, I wish I could get like views like that. Maybe I need to start doing some more stuff. But like after after like a hundred episodes, they stopped. Like they were like, uh, I I'm I'm burnt out, I can't do it anymore. Because like they're just constantly trying to get that grind and get that like to make the podcast, you know, monetized or you know, make it sustainable. And like I'm just not super worried about it. I just kind of make the thing and put it out and like, yeah. People listen, people listen. Cool, you know, and and it's it it's It it's kind of the only reason that I've kept going is that I haven't really like, you know, like really delved into doing it so much. But yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:09

That's a good mindset though, because you've been doing it for what, over ten years now?

SPEAKER_01 1:28:13

Oh yeah. Uh 12, I think. Yeah. Twelve, yeah. Yeah, 2014.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:18

Yeah. Crazy. I I've been podcasting technically since 2016, but like I've been on my own since like 2019.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:27

And you know, like, you know, like pretty much kind of like what you said, you know, like I started off really enjoying the art. And you know, it I'll be honest, man. Sometimes it does suck when you don't get the views you want, and you get you get you pull, you think you do a good episode and like it doesn't do well. And then yeah, you know, like for me, it it I think for me it really got like not so competitive, but it really kind of like got me upset a little bit when I was like seeing other podcasters get monetized over stupid shit. Yeah, you know, like I'm like, dude, like I I can I I I know I'm putting out decent content, like quality content, right? But like, yeah, all these other podcasters out there making like really dumb content and they're monetizing and hitting the the 1k subscriber mark, you know, like they're hitting all the marks that you want to hit as a content creator, you know. So like doing this for like seven years now, oh seven years in in May when uh seven years, yeah, seven years this year. But like yeah, it kind of just got to me, man. That's probably like that again, that's why I'm kind of like just stopping this stuff because like I I don't feel the love for it no more. Which I I applaud you and Julian, man. I know Julian's been on a break, but I applaud you especially because like you've been you're consistently still putting out episodes, and and you know, whoever, like you said, whoever listens listens, and if they don't, they don't.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:39

Yeah, yeah. And yeah, and I'm and again, it's been it's been a blessing. This this year's been an absolute blessing because it's it's more downloads than I've had uh on the new platform, the podbean platform that I've had than than before. Um it's we're in April, and I've already made more I've got more downloads now than all of 2024. So and we're only in twenty, and we're only in May, so or 2025, sorry. And um, yeah, so it we're we're looking at the biggest year yet uh for the podcast, which is awesome. And I'm not again, I'm not doing anything. Like it's just it's kind of like I'm what I'm noticing is there's a there's this uptick of like a bunch of episodes being downloaded. So it's like one or two people going through and like doing the whole like a big bunch of the cat of the of the whole thing, which is good, you know, because that means like a listener jumped on. So it's uh so it's a lot of fun just to kind of like see those things happen, but it's like happening kind of consistently of like every now and then there's like this big uptick, and it's because someone went and downloaded that, and they downloaded all these other ones afterwards. So um it's been pretty probably for me.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:45

Am I working? Yeah, right. Downloading all of them, yeah. Yeah, for sure. Well, before we finish off though, Brandon, I again I just want to say thank you for for you know for staying on and just talking about this stuff. I got I got some something from last minute stuff that I got a friend who wanted to ask, I guess just general questions for us. Um so you know, if you could give advice on starting a podcast, what would it be?

SPEAKER_01 1:31:09

Uh yeah, just get a good mic. Uh that's A number one. Uh, you gotta like there's plenty of tutorials out there. Um, you know, like you can start off with a blue with a with a blue, a Yeti, a blue Yeti. That's that's fine, but you have to dial that thing in and it's listen back to your audio. And and because if it's if it's bad audio, it doesn't matter if you have like the best 3D camera you could possibly have. If your audio is bad, no one's gonna listen to it. It doesn't matter. It just it's it's terrible. And talk about something that you want to talk about. Don't don't grab on to something that's like catchy or like you know, in in in the now. You can grab on to something or do drama casting or whatever that would get you views, like there's lots of stuff that'll do that. Um, but if it's not something that you want to talk about on a really regular basis, you're not gonna keep doing it. You just won't. You'll get sick of it and you'll stop. And um the other thing is, is like and this one's hard because you know, if you if you're trying to be successful with it, you gotta kind of not treat it like a job. Um because if you do, your passion's gonna leave. I feel like your passion would leave. It's like you you kind of gotta bring your passion with you, and some people really like the grind. Like that's another thing. Most successful people really appreciate the grind and really like to hammer out, like, hey, how can I make this better? How can I make this to where people really want to listen? How do I make this so people really want to click on it? A lot of people really appreciate that. So maybe bring your passion to that as well. Like, really try to like nail down what people want to listen to if you want to be successful. Um, but my personal advice is don't worry about being successful, just do something you want to do, and that's like that'll typically like resonate after you know, after so long. People will resonate. People will there will be people out there that will be like, oh, this guy likes talking about this thing, and I'm I'm gonna listen to it. So that that's my advice.

SPEAKER_02 1:33:23

That's great advice. That's better advice than what I would give. I would honestly I would honestly just say, like, you know, if you uh to start a podcast, again, like you said, I I would say get a good get a semi-decent mic. Yeah, you know, you don't you don't need visuals at first, but you know, because that's the thing, everyone's doing visuals. So uh and also I I would also say like you know, just just stick to like you said, stick to a topic that you know you can talk about. Yep. I think a lot of people tried to jump on like a lot of these mainstream topics, you know. We had like what the beginning of 2020, that even now, like people were doing relationship advice, and yeah, you know, a lot of that stuff was hot for a while because everyone wanted to see like you know, men versus women, and yeah, what do you bring to the table? You know, typical stuff like that.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:05

The the woke versus anti-woke content, you know, yeah, yeah, that whole big thing. And you know, I'm I'm not gonna lie, it's entertaining, I'm not gonna say it's not, but you know, and it'll it'll get you views. But I, you know, I don't know how what the lasting power for that is for your own mental health.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:21

I think a lot of that stuff's dying off already. Because I remember dude, like I remember when when I did the when I like because I started the podcast in 2019, so like right when COVID hit, that's when all these like other content creators that just started like a huge uprising of content creators. Everyone had cameras, everyone had mics, everyone wanted to to be a podcaster, and then like yeah, a lot of those podcasters that were around, like I said, you know, when like I told you, like these guys were getting like views and monetization, a lot of them just died out by like 2023, 2024, they didn't even last that long.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:53

Yeah, you know, that's true. Uh Julian was one of those guys too. Uh, that you know, not that he burnt out, but like he was one of the ones that popped on that that time frame. He did it smart though, because he was like, Hey, a lot of people aren't doing anything right now. So he just started hitting up people in Hollywood that do animation. It's like, hey, you want to talk about animation? It's like, yeah, that's fucking brilliant because they're not working right now, you know. It's like nobody's working.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:19

Yeah, so he was smart to jump on that first because now everyone wants to talk to those people in the industry. Everybody does. It's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 1:35:26

I it it bothers me that a lot of his stuff doesn't get as many views as other things that he's done. Like, I love the fact that his Ed and Eddie episode does really did really well and stuff like that. But like some of the some of the some of the the board animators that he's had on, like that's some of the best episodes. He does great work with that stuff. Um, you know, uh spoke to Clint Bartlett, the creator of freaking Hang Arnold, you know. It's like that's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:53

So uh so crazy. All right, and this last one would be the last question here is if you could interview any anime or fictional character, who would it be? And what would you ask them?

SPEAKER_01 1:36:04

Ooh, anime or fictional care. You know, it's it's recency bias, but it would uh it's recency bias, but I would probably pick Freeran.

SPEAKER_02 1:36:14

I knew it!

SPEAKER_01 1:36:15

I would love it. I'd be so good. So good, I knew it. Like, I like imagine having that conversation with someone who is timelessly old, you know, that just like has that viewpoint of like there there's so much I would want like if that was a documentary, like I'd there'd be so much to talk about, talk to her about what she feels and how that you know works. I'd swear to god, it'd be amazing. That would be amazing. It honestly would.

SPEAKER_02 1:36:47

You would have to just pay her with a few grimoires, man. Right, I know, just a few little few little spells, you know.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:53

And it's like, oh man, oh be so good. Because like, like I can't like say like Ichigo, because like Ichigo would be a bad interview, you know, like for bleed, he'd be a terrible interview. Uh, you know, he's he's too cool, he's too cool cat to be interviewed. Maybe yeah, Goku would be terrible, he'd be an awful interview, Vegeta would be awful. Um gosh, uh yeah, Hunter Hunter, like they would all be terrible, they'd all be bad interviews. Like most most shonen characters would be kind of awful as an interview. Um, but Luffy would actually be a good one, I think. But I wouldn't have a whole lot to ask. I haven't watched it. That'd be more of a mukbang. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you definitely have to feed them. You'd have to feed him for sure. Um, but yeah, but I I would definitely do Freeran. There'd be so many actual like I could legitimately view myself asking legitimate questions to Freeran about like what she feels and like what it's like to have like this viewpoint on humanity. Like, why don't you love him? Why I was just like, why didn't you realize?

SPEAKER_02 1:37:59

Why so good?

SPEAKER_01 1:38:02

Oh man, uh god, that show so good.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:06

Yeah, so good. I I think for me, I I would I'm kind of leaning towards like more JJK characters. I think Yu G would be a fun one. UG would be a good one. UG would be a fun one, Gojo, Gojo being Gojo would be pretty fun.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:18

Gojo would be hilarious, actually.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:22

Todo oh man, Todo would be a great one just because off the bat he'd ask you who's what kind of woman do you like? What kind of woman do you like? Yeah. Uh let's see. I I think another good one would probably be like um like Deku, but I think he'd be a little bit too nervous at first until like he got more comfortable. Yeah, uh All Might for sure.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:44

All might would be fun. All might be a great interview. That'd be he'd be he's got the media training. He'd be really good. He's got the media training.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:52

I think I want to think of like a western character because I know that's all anime really, but a good western one would be like uh I would say like I'd say Nightwing. Nightwing would be pretty fun.

SPEAKER_01 1:39:05

Yeah, yeah, because Batman would be terrible, but Nightwing would be Nightwing would be a good one, would be a much better one because you you get the Batman information, but he's actually like personable and can talk to you. So that would be pretty good. That would be a good one. Starfire from Teen Titans, that'd be a good interview. That'd be a fun one. Yeah, yeah. Pretty much any of the Teen Titans, I think, would be a good good interview. So I think that'd be fun. I started Yeah, yeah, that'd be good. That'd be a good one.

SPEAKER_02 1:39:33

I I I'm hoping did you see the new Clayface trailer?

SPEAKER_01 1:39:37

I did. I did. Okay. It looks good. It looks good. I I don't know why this is like the the big project for the DC EU now, but it it looks good. I've I'm nothing against it. It's just sort of like funny that like this is like some sort of launch pad movie. Like, I don't know, it's it's it's interesting.

SPEAKER_02 1:39:57

So I think they want to go more of like kind of I I have a feeling they want to do like the Hawking Phoenix Joker route. Yeah. They want to they want to sympathize the or humanize the villains, yeah. Um I don't know, but that's just what I think. But yeah, yeah, because Joker Joker Joker 2 was horseshit. People hated that one.

SPEAKER_01 1:40:16

Yeah, people hated that one. I never watched it. I oh my god, I watched it in theaters, it's so bad. I knew it was gonna be pretty awful. I was I was kind of like, ah, I don't know about this. I was like, so yeah, yeah, that's a shame.

SPEAKER_02 1:40:34

Well, Brandon, I'm gonna wrap things up here, man. I am again, thank you so much for just putting time to be on the on the finale here for spoiler force, man. Like, dude, I'm I'm glad to have met you, man, to be able to be on your show to talk about anime with someone that that enjoys it as much as I do. And again, dude, like your your content, man. I can't say it enough, dude. Like your show is criminally underrated, man. Like people need to listen to your stuff. Like, you have so much animation, like facts, and like, hey, did you know this? And hey, did you know that? You know, like I I love those little those little details that you throw in in your show, man.

SPEAKER_01 1:41:08

I love it. Thank you, thank you so much. It it's coming to use finally. I've had this stupid information in my brain for so long, and now finally getting it out there. So it's coming to use. It's great.

SPEAKER_02 1:41:19

All right, so um, but yeah, man, if you guys made it this far, thank you guys so much for listening to uh me, Brandon, and Julian talking geek out, man. Um, so anyone who's listening to Spoiler Force, thank you guys so much for being on the show this long for almost seven years now. And um, you know, I as much as I would like to continue this show, man. There's just things that I I I just it's not viable anymore, or at least for me. Who knows? Maybe I'll come back and do a new podcast or something, or maybe I'll come back and start at episode one now that I have a more of a solid footing in in what I want to talk about and do, you know. Um, but until then, man, continue the follow the follow the social media. I'm gonna start changing the uh the social media tags and all that. Hopefully by the time this episode's out, I'll probably I'm gonna try to upload or not upload, but update everything. I think the Instagram stuff, I've been like uh I've been like archiving a lot of stuff on my Instagram profile. So I'm gonna slowly like trans transition that to more of my Muay Thai stuff because I think that's the stuff that I'm I've been enjoying a lot more. Yeah, and like that stuff, like it's not like I'm not trying to make content out of it, it's just something that I like. So like I'm kind of just sticking to that. Yeah, the Facebook stuff will still be the the nerd stuff, like the nerd postings, the nerd reviews, and stuff like that. And again, you can hear my opinions on Brandon's podcast from time to time. I'll absolutely always share that stuff, man. Um, but thank you guys so much. This is the final episode of Spoiler Force. Thank you guys so much, and have a good day.