Episode 120: Magic Knight Rayearth


Magic Knight Rayearth

Magic Knight Rayearth

This week we’re joined by Kittyhawk and Abby again as we look into the weird, wild world of Magic Knight Rayearth, a shoujo series by CLAMP.

We explore a series about three little girls who are summoned to a magic realm by a princess who wants them to kill her for falling in love…because love is bad if you’re the princess, apparently. Oh, and there’s some stuff about being the pillar, or some other such gobbledy gook. Something about a little Pikachu-thingy creature also being God. And then the series asks if it’s really incest if you’re making out with yourself.

Look, the point here is that Rayearth is a weird attempt to follow up the shoujo groundwork laid by Sailor Moon. As I had only played the Sega Saturn game (and a fine game it is) I sat back slack-jawwed as the ladies explained to Ben and me exactly what this show is all about.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy some magic girly goodness, I guess.

Oh, you guys get bonus homework! Since I lerves me them vidjero games and wish to spread as much love as I can about the Saturn and publisher Working Designs, I humbly ask that you listen to this episode of Retronauts to hear an interview with Victor Ireland. He talks about the torture that it was to port Rayearth to the states and what the US anime rights holders had asked him to do! Yikes! Must listen!

Oh, and don’t forget to subscribe to the new Retronauts blog, because they’ll be making new episodes again soon!

that Alcione is quite the looker, I must say.

that Alcione is quite the looker, I must say.

Well.  My head asplode.

Well. My head asplode.

Ah, memories.

Ah, memories.

The Very Best of Jenny Stigile

Jenny Stigile sang the theme song on the Sega Saturn version of Magic Knight Rayearth.

Episode 114: The Vision Of Escaflowne


Vision Of Escaflowne

Vision Of Escaflowne

This week, it’s The Vision of Escaflowne! In this series, a girl is whisked away to a planet called Gaea, a world of robot mecha and divining powers.

Kittyhawk and the Chu take over this episode and a lot of passion for the show, both positive and negative, comes to the surface. Things become heated for a moment, but we’re all cool in the end.

This episode may have some of the longest stretches of audio in which neither Ben nor Neil say ANYTHING.

Episode 103: The Disney Afternoon


Disney Afternoon Gang

The Disney Afternoon Gang

Hey! We’re here again with The Chu from Raizap and Rick from The United States of Geekdom. We’re talking about the Disney Afternoon. We’ll be going through the block from its earliest inception all the way to when it fell apart. It’s eighty minutes of us talking about furry bait characters, chipmunks dressed like Magnum PI, and Jim Cummings.

Next week, we’ll have a special Black Friday episode. Don’tcha dare miss it!

Episode 100, Part 2: Slayers TV


Slayers TV

Slayers TV

At long last, it’s the second part of our Slayers special! Joining us tonight is The Chu. We talk about the Slayers TV series, which spans an epic 104 episodes! Three back-to-back seasons were made back in the 90s, and then an extra series of episodes were released in the 2000s, several years after the original series.

We also have an extrended pre-show, in which we talk about time lines and story chronology, and we talk about why some people don’t understand that trying to make everything fit together ruins the story more than it helps. Somehow, we resisted bringing up Star Wars.

Topics covered:
The Slayers (TV series)
Slayers Next
Slayers Try
Slayers Revolution
Slayers Evolution-R
Slayers Royal
Lost Universe


Episode 100, Part 1: The Slayers – OVAs and Movies


The Slayers

The Slayers

Ladies and gentlemen, there are only a few anime series I would recommend to the non-anime fan. Slayers is one of them.

The Slayers series is so extensive and huge that we had to split it up into two halves. This week, we’ll be talking about the movies and OVAs. Returning to the show is the Chu as well as Lina Inverse herself, Cynthia Martinez. Even after hearing us spoil the hell out of this series, you’re going to want to track down these DVDs and share them with everyone you know.

Slayers is one of the funniest anime series ever made.

Discussed:
Slayers The Motion Picture
Slayers Special
Slayers Return
Slayers Great
Slayers Gorgeous
Slayers Excellent
Slayers Premium

World's Least Frightening Vampire

World’s Least Frightening Vampire


Naga?

A mystery is solved