Episode 109: “There Can Be Only…Two.”

Manyuu Hikenchou… Oh, why are we bothering with formalities? The show is Titty Ninjas. If you have an oedipal complex, this show is a dream come true. If you’ve had or wince at mastectomies, this could be a nightmare…

Kevin and I have returned to form; berating current, exploitative anime. There’s probably no better specimen than this show to usher our wrathful return. This podcast is not without our staples: Pretentious energy drinks, 1980s action flicks, monkeys, and irresponsible science.

Episode 108: “Monkeys Sad! Monkey Die!”

We needed an excuse to revisit Michiko to Hatchin–a show we discussed in our earliest episodes–and listener feedback provides! This particular recording went on much longer than expected, as Kevin rolled into his recent movie review. That bit, my friends, will appear in two days in the form of the next Alpha Counter Podcast.

If you’d like to contact us, you can comment below, send an email, mention us on Twitter, or post to us on Facebook!

Omake 19: “Quantum Liam”

This batch of outtakes features various tangents we’ve had on Method to Madness. There’s talk of Heroes Unlimited RPGs. We miss classic Looney Tunes, despite its past insensitivity. We come up with the greatest time travel TV series idea EVER. And webcomics that actually kick ass, like Axe Cop.

On the tail end, I’ve included an outtake with Anime 3000′s Cody Baier, aka @LordSchmeckie, recorded after we’d wrapped up our AniRiff for Garzey’s Wing.

Episode 107: “Planet B612…You’ve Never Heard of It”

The Little Prince is a hipster douche who comes to Earth to remind us how much we suck. He’s that guy whose charity work includes being the weekend friend to children of modest means. Never all that emotionally invested and once he flies back to his home of luxury, you may never see him again.

This is a show from the infant days of Nickelodeon; before it developed any notable original programming. It was an innocent, episodic series of visits, similar to Kino’s Journey. Fantastic for small children, but offers nothing (but ironic comedy) for anyone whose age has reached double-digits.

Episode 106: “Internorts!”

The Adventures of Mark Twain took us by surprise. It’s a lost gem of animation; an artifact lost in the rubble of obscurity. Maybe because it hosts some creepy-ass shit.

I’m ashamed to admit that despite my personal passion for wordsmithing, my pool of consumed literature is pale and shallow. (The reason for this may be elaborated in a future podcast.) This movie has done its job inspiring to seek more of Mr. Twain’s works in hopes to sponge his gift of turning a phrase.

Episode 105: “Ruh roh, rori!”

The year 2011 was a very good year for us in anime. It may be a contributing factor to our recent bi-weekly shift… There’s a shortage of garbage to put up on our podcast pike!

In a sort of lightning round fashion, Kevin and I share some of the notable titles that we viewed last year. Not all of which were released in 2011, mind you, but it is what we saw. Among these titles are included Redline, Level E, Marawu Penguindrum, Trigun: Badlands Rumble, and King of Thorn.

Many thanks to “Paris” and M for their generous donations! If you’d like to contribute to the show, send us an email, send us money, or share this podcast to other people!

Omake 18: “Catch a Tail by the Tiger”

After an ass-full of Method to Mad Libs, it’s time for some real cartoon talk. Before getting back into the anime swing, Kevin and I have some business to attend: A new show to pitch for the Disney Afternoon.

In the final score of the 20th Century, Disney built up an impressive catalog of characters and series through the Disney Afternoon. From the Wuzzles (I count it!) on through to its swan song, The Mighty Ducks.

Through adult eyes, we’d like to revisit our wholesome childhood characters, but through a more mature lens. Bonkers carried the settings established in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, but it failed as a spiritual successor. We’d like another stab at Disney in the noire genre; this round with a more modern cast of characters and maintaining an adult tone. We want a series about Hollywood murder and debauchery…you know, that we can watch with our kids.

Episode 104: “Method to Microbes”

We conclude our Month of Method to Mad Libs with the triumphant return of Kevin! With him, he’s brought what is unarguably our most intense drink test case to date. One that could end a life, or at least a marriage.

Sometimes I wonder what lengths hippies will go to reintegrate our Gaia, Earth. Kombucha will certainly do that; sending you on a shorter course toward your grave. What is not seen in this audio podcast is the moment shortly after my first sip, where I fold over like a puppet whose stings were cut. It robs you of life.

There’s a whole second half to this recording, but it needed some extra care to prepare for its awaiting public. So tune in tomorrow for a special treat!

Episode 103: “Method to Mashups”

It’s Method to Mad Libs Month! Expect rounds of Method to Mad Libs in both Method to Madness and Alpha Counter throughout the course of February!

First out the gate is a compilation of Method to Mad Libs sessions with some very close members of the Method to Madness family. To whet your appetite, there’s a lost clip with the boys over at Anime 3000. The second course is M, a voice that should sound very familiar. Then we top it off with a rare treat: Cody Baier (aka Lord Shmeckie) comes back from Anime 3000 for a rematch!

Episode 102: “Bucket Monkey”

Robin and the Dreamweavers is probably the most obscure cartoon we’ve ever done on Method to Madness. It’s the pilot for a stillborn series that mashes Cool World with all the tropes of early-1990s comics.

For once, we get to put on our hipster glasses and brag, “Yeah, we’re watching this show–oh, you’ve never heard of it,” with sincerity. Robin and the Dreamweavers was a miscarried wretch that was birthed 10 years too late and buried quietly in an unmarked grave. Your life was better in the sweet ignorance before knowing this movie even existed. But it’s too late; you’ve read this far and you’re forever changed… You’d may as well also listen.

Episode 101: “The Littlest Pet Shop of Horrors”

Pet Shop of Horrors left quite an impression on me. After discussing it briefly on the Halloween A3K Panel, I found I had so much left over to say. I’d only barely scratched the surface of D and Leon’s secret bromance. It’s a show that would have been beautifully realized in a Jim Henson series with creatures portrayed by Muppets. Why the talk about Muppets? Cuz there’s also talk about Muppets in this podcast.

It’s quite difficult for me to describe M as a “regular guest” on the show, as the first component of that phrase feels much more at home. Expect to hear more from M on the new Alpha Counter podcast and other corners of AlphaCounter.com.

Episode 100: “Master Cleansers are Full of Crap”

It’s the big 100th Episode for the Method to Madness podcast! Almost two years in the making… How will the boys celebrate this milestone? (With whiskey.)

We did it! We made it to 100 episodes of the Method to Madness podcast! We start things up with our traditional energy drink sampling, followed by some overdue listener emails. Then on to the main event: Exploring the anime series that also passed the 100-episode mark. Most of them, we’re amazed made it past 10.

Christmas Special: “Fist of the North Pole” or “Ho Ho Hokuto no Ken”

When Kevin and I realized that there exists no Christmas Special episode of Fist of the North Star, we knew that it was our task to correct this oversight.

Our little holiday treat from the post-apocalypse will fit right in your stocking, just before it kicks your ass. Kenshiro is not only the successor to hokuto shinken, but also of the Santa Clause. You do NOT want to be on Ken’s naughty list.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Method to Madness podcast!

Omake 17: “Take the Physical Challenge”

Our 100th episode of Method to Madness is just around the corner! But first, we have a very special announcement, followed by another round of outtakes.

This round of outtakes includes bits from our Tenchi Muyo! guest podcast with Matt Kraft, my adventures with ordering services from Best Buy online, and Whovian shenanigans. Kevin also indulges in some talk of creatures from folklore and their integration into cyberpunk RPGs. And it wouldn’t be Method to Madness without sharks.

Episode 99: “Gist of the North Star Part II”

You think we forgot about The Gist of the North Star? Episodes 6 thru 10 pits Kenshiro against The Army of God. How can we neglect podcasting about something like that? No more than Ken can ignore a kicked puppy.

And puppies do get kicked. Grandma’s are nearly plowed. Children are orphaned. AW, HELL NAW.

It’s difficult to tell what would be more dangerous in the post-apocalypse: A nuked-out Jesse Ventura or a rescue attempt by Bat. If I fell under capture or plunder from Jesse Ventura (even pre-apocalypse), I would feel much safer in his care. Bat’s technique is effective in erasing the problem, but not truly solving it.

Episode 98: “Bangin’ Benton”

Cyber City Oedo 808 is one of the greatest anime of all ti–you know, fuck it. We don’t need to tell you this. Just go to Amazon and buy it for only $3, while you still can. Then thank us later. CLOCK’S TICKIN’, CHUMP.

But for the illuminated few that already own Cyber City (and the dregs who deny themselves), this podcast will still be a treat. Join our celebration of some classic Kawajiri cyberpunk action.

For the record, they are called "jutte".

Episode 97b: “Time for Me to Fly”

Part 2 of Kevin’s Dragon*Con report continues where the previous left off; concluding his escapades through convention-sanctioned speed dating. Later, his mettle is tested in the Magic: The Gathering tournament… Not in his performance in the game, but his patience from judo-chopping douchebag opponents.

Of all the John Ringo panels, Kevin attended all the ones that mattered. He also lamented the played-out, gross commercialization of HP Lovecraft memes and the almost inappropriate gypsy caravan of cosplay strippers.

Episode 97a: “I Publish Cute Girls’ FanFic”

Dragon*Con 2011 got a touch of The Business this year. Kevin joined a few of our friends to the World’s Largest nerd herd. This is Part 1 of his report, in which he recounts his maiden voyage into the great geek gathering.

I, unfortunately, could not join my friends this year, and I never have thus far. Economic excuses aside, it’s also been the price of my own cowardice. I want to experience everything there is at Dragon*Con, but as anyone who’s been can confirm, that is simply impossible. I’m overwhelmed by event schedules, peer synergy, and the fear of missing rare opportunities.

Thank goodness Kevin went as my proxy and he generously allowed me to experience the con vicariously through his storytelling.

Episode 96: “NOBODY HAS TO DIE. I ONLY WANT THE STAR CRUISER.”

Tenchi Muyo!: Ryo-Ohki is an OVA buried deep in the ancient catacombs of my anime past. As such, I retrieved another relic from that era: Matt “@PhantomFHarlock” Kraft.

It’s been a while since Matt’s been in Neverland; a metaverse innocent to concepts like career, parenting, or mortgage…where the landscape is painted with cartoons and poor eating habits. But for Tenchi Muyo, I could think of no better expert.

Matt also provides us with insight to how a geek negotiates pastimes with family responsibilities. Raising children affects how we view our own hobbies… Sure, we “turned out okay”, but how will the current generation of media mold the clay of our offspring’s minds? Did we have it better, or do they? Matt gives his best guess.

Oh yeah, and there’s that whole Alpha Counter thing we did.

Episode 95: “Too Soon?”

Kevin loves violent justice. Sean loves time travel. Put those two hands together and you get our latest podcast exercise! How would you prevent 9/11?

This may be our most insensitive podcast to date. But we make no apologies! Terrorists are assholes and have at the very least earned the barrage of juvenile pranks we’d arrange to not only thwart, but also demoralize their campaign.

Come for the terrorist jokes; stay for Sean waxing nostalgic over live-action stage shows based on 1980s cartoons. A He-Man roller derby musical…that happened.

Promo: Whiskey Thursday

Episode 94: “McDDLT”

Ghost is for counter-terrorism what Meg is for sharks. John Ringo needs to write for H-games, since our eponymous hero takes direction from the same moral compass. Need further convincing? Ghost has a harem and bangs underage rape victims.

Ringo’s storytelling stylings may share a common cousin with eroge, named Mary Sue. Ghost could also be taken as a dark comedy, and it likely is. Fans of manly anti-heroic fantasy are in for a treat, but ingest this book in small portions. Marathoning it at great length may result in shock by its deluge of horrific antics.

We have also determined that the time machine will be a hipster invention.

Promo: The Speakeasy Podcast

Omake 16: “Mute = Cholesterol?”

Our outtake podcasts are often complimented as our best work, which sounds counter-intuitive. Why would we (or, more accurately, I) edit out our “best” material from each episode? I begin to question my own judgement–of topical relevance, comedy, and my place in the universe–but within a picosecond my ego reminds me that I’m never wrong.

The magic of converting what was once chaff into vital stuff is context, I believe. A variety bag of assorted candies will be consumed faster than a 1-pound dedicated bag of Tootsie Rolls. Except for Dum Dums, no one eats those. Well, except maybe strippers, whom I assume buy them in bulk instead of wasting time sifting through Sweet Tarts and Double Bubbles. Costco would be wise to stack their Dum Dum pallets next to their drums of pole wax.

Within this batch of podcast outcasts are bits from M’s recent guest hosting, conspiracy theory talk from a podcast you won’t hear in full until next month, and a classic Sean Russell moment from the High School of the Dead episode of the A3K podcast.

Episode 93: “Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce”

Tiger and Bunny is a rip-off. It’s currently available for free on Hulu and we are not paying them enough! This is the type of show that we needs encouragement to produce more.

We don’t spend much time discussing Tiger and Bunny, but only because there’s so little to say. It’s a superhero buddy comedy. It’s good. You should watch it.

Promo: Anime Addicts Anonymous Podcast

Episode 92: “The Gist of the North Star Part I”

The Fist of the North Star is the greatest anime series of all time. OF. ALL. TIME. We discussed Fist in our podcast debut; in a time when there was Madness, but the Method was still to be sorted out. Now we return to the show to give it its due homage in a full retrospective series we like to call “The Gist of the North Star”.

NOTE: From September thru December we’ll be adjusting our release schedule so that new podcasts episodes publish every other week. Both Kevin and my workloads have ramped up, Kevin has some family business to tend to, and the holiday season is just always especially busy for me. We intend to still record as much as we can, but the schedule adjustment will allow us some much-needed elbow room while still providing our listeners with regular content.

The good news is that this will likely free us up for side projects, so you can expect more written articles on the website and guest appearances on other podcasts.

Come the beginning of the new year, we expect to return to our weekly schedule; rested and ready to dole out the harshness.

Promo: The Cool Kids Club Podcast

Episode 91: “Puppies and Bunnies (DIE.)”

Watership Down has a reputation, grossly skewed by YouTube AMVs. The Plague Dogs, on the other hand, assaults your sympathy with the beat of a taiko drum.

Our podcast’s familiar, M, joins me for this round while Kevin is wrestling sharks for justice and popsicles. Fans of M can read more of her written and doodle-riffic effects in her blog, Empersonal.

Promo: Fightbait.com

Omake 15: “On Air”

This past June, close friend Phil Lee invited us onto his local radio show to discuss anime podcasting and share stories from Animazement. We thank Phil and WXDU for allowing us a brief, shining moment over the airwaves. Luckily for the Internet, the broadcast was recorded and we’re able to share the interview with you!

I’m familiar with the Duke University station, having DJed there myself briefly last summer. It’s a memory I cherish, however I’d be hesitant to return to the studio. Not out of any sour grapes–the staff and crew are great–but hosting a music block isn’t nearly as comfortable a fit as talk radio, my natural habitat.

Episode 90: “Adjective Noun Gerund”

Mad Libs is a cheap party game that anyone can play. The real fun, of course, is how you play it. Exercising a more…unorthodox vocabulary can generate legendary scripts. We hope our technique catches on.

A listener email also sparks a discussion about the Vulcan/Romulan relationship shared between the anime and furry fandoms. The geek family tree is a convoluted briar patch. Each thorn stabs at a neighboring branch, denying their common root.

Promo: AAA Network

Episode 89: “Whoo OOH!”

Moetan slithered into our Garden and seduced poor Kevin, charming him with the promise of 13.5 episodes of concentrated depravity. He was unable to resist discussing it on this podcast. Be kind to Kevin; he’s not the villain (at least, here). He’s the victim of his own predilection for masochism and cartoon ducks.

The best part of this show is the ending. Obviously because that’s where it ends, but it’s also where we’re presented with the same Mahoromatic-style twist ending where all my wishes came true. It may be the only episode worth watching.

Promo: Fightbait Whiskey Thursday

Episode 88: “And THIS…is NOT the katana…”

The Sacred Blacksmith has forged a wedge that’s split Method to Madness in twain! It has my blessing as a worthwhile show, though there is no budging The Business.

Fan service is the salt of storytelling; in anime and most other breeds of entertainment. A pinch here or there can give a show an enriched flavor. More than a dash, and it ruins the experience; rendering it vile, inedible, and even toxic.

This show uses just what the recipe demands, losing none of its charming zest. Kevin, however, is a supertaster with an unforgiving pallet.

Promo: Anime World Order

Episode 87: “Hustle That Muscle!”

DD Hokuto no Ken either opens the Fist of the North Star doors to a new audience or completely alienate veteran fanboys. We can’t seem to agree on which. One thing we can agree on: Super-Deformed Fist of the North Star is a fun idea.

These 3-minute shorts have afforded the boys some much needed spare time in this busy summer. Kevin’s throwing a party and strong>he needs your help! Sean just needs to rest after hoisting around the pallets of sheet metal corpses at his day job.

Promo: Speakeasy Podcast

Omake 14: “That’s Not Romantic”

Remember our Clannad podcast? No, no… The original recording that didn’t make it. Weren’t you curious how that first round went despite technical interference? Just in case, we’ve included portions of that for this batch of outtakes.

Within this sideshow of aborted audio are pieces of our lost Clannad recording, energy drink experiments, and even the original recording of what became our promo for the A.A.A. Network. Enjoy hearing how the podcast sausage is made.

Promo: A.A.A. Network

Episode 86: “Inspired By Olsen Wells”

Back to the Future and Demon Souls satisfies Sean and Kevin’s lusts for time travel and fantasy adventure, respectively. We also discuss punching babies in Yakuza 2 and Kevin shares his recent rediscovery of Magic: The Gathering.

Promo: Anime World Order

Episode 85: “Gobblecockers”

Koe de Oshigoto shows you how the sausage is made in the eroge industry. That is, if sausage was made from candy and strawberry cake instead of the standard lips and buttholes.

There’s more than meets the eye in this OVA; subtext on multiple dimensions. Obviously, there’s the same exploitative social grooming of the audience that we also saw in Clannad. But there’s more even within the microcosm of the show… A dark conspiracy that we bring to light!

Have you sent us any email? You might hear your name in today’s podcast! We finally dip into our mailbag to respond to some listener feedback.

Promo: Anime Addicts Anonymous Podcast

Episode 84: “Wish? Did Somebody Say Wish?”

Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a good show about a bad deal. As a general warning, we spoil this show all to hell. But you know what? You should go watch it anyway. It’s cool; we’ll wait.

What Kevin suggests as a catchphrase of mine is the moral from Charles Perrault’s original version of Little Red Riding Hood. Its parable was to warn young women of the seductive trickery of men. Applying it to Madoka is just as sound a fit.

Little girls, this seems to say,
Never stop upon your way,
Never trust a stranger-friend;
No one knows how it will end.
As you’re pretty so be wise;
Wolves may lurk in every guise.
Handsome they may be, and kind,
Gay, and charming – never mind!
Now, as then, ‘tis simple truth -
Sweetest tongue has sharpest tooth!

I shamefully realized too late an easy parallel between Mami and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Just as well, since I’d sooner generate more comparisons to Buffy the Vampire Slayer than Star Wars.

Promo: Fightbait.com

Episode 83b: “When There’s No Room Left In Hell…”

Part 2 of our Animazement 2011 coverage kicks off with our applause for Anime Hell. Our advice for Anime Hell: If you haven’t been, go. If you have been, go again and drag in those who haven’t.

Saturday and Sunday is the meat and viscera of the convention, respectively. This year marks the first–of what we hope to be a legacy–panel hosted in part by Method to Madness. We also bought stupid anime girl figures with bobble boobs.

Footage of the panel can be viewed below:

Episode 83a: “Con Men”

Animazement 2011 has come and gone in a blink of an eye. Every year, we heed the call of The Gathering to unite with our geek kinsmen in a three-and-a-half day campaign over downtown Raleigh, NC. Then, as if it were a mirage, it’s gone. We return to our daily lives questioning if our episode into a different world had actually happened.

My initial impression can be found in my personal blog, but here is where Kevin and I offer our full report. This round, we provide handy survival tips as they cover the proceedings from Thursday thru Friday. Tips that will not so much optimize your con experience, but rather save you from the wrath of others. Although, they may be the same thing.

Highlights: The boys nearly get conned at the con. Anime-themed mixed drinks that suck. Sean is a world warrior, but Kevin is a goddamn superhero.

I should mention that the pseudonymous “Paris” and boyfriend, William, that Kevin refers to are the hosts of the Flavor Text Podcast. You should listen to it. Maybe then they’ll make more.

Coming soon in Part 2…

Episode 82: “Get Back in the Arms of a Good Friend”

Space Adventure Cobra is a manly show. As such, while recording the podcast, we drank…like men! This resulting podcast should (we hope!) or should not surprise you, given our impaired judgement.

We probably haven’t been this intoxicated during a podcast since Needless. However, Space Adventure Cobra is worth your full attention. Unlike the much-discussed Akira and Cowboy Bebop features, Hollywood would have to make special effort to corrupt the simple premise of the proposed Cobra live-action film.

Episode 81: “You’d Want Him Too, If You Only Knew”

I Don’t Like You At All, Big Brother! is the much less cumbersome Western title for Ochinko Oniichan no Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki ja Nain Dakara ne!! Honestly, the time it takes to articulate that title is near double my attention span for the show itself.

This podcast is filled with dirty talk…most of it irrelevant to the review. I’m actually pretty proud! We’ve assigned ourselves an “explicit” tag, but it is only now that I feel we’ve duly exercised that status.

You know you want all up in this.

I’m starting to see a lot of new listeners around here… Which means that a lot of you are breaking the first and second rules of Fight Club. Be that as it may, we felt it was time to take a look at some of the highlights of the Method to Madness podcast, thus far.

With nearly 80 (dear lord, have we done that many already?) episodes under our belt, not everyone has the time, interest, or attention span to dive into the entire archive. So let’s make it easy… Listed below are some of the best episodes we’ve done to date, in no particular order:

• Superbook
• Highschool of the Dead
• Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu
• KissxSis
• Sharks!
• Animazement 2010 Pt1 & Pt2
• Unico in the Island of Magic
• A Wind Named Amnesia
• Yakuza
• Fist of the North Star (Live Action)

Fan Favorties:

• Saber Marionette J
• Baki the Grappler
• California Crisis

You can find additional material from us over at Anime 3000 and we occasionally appear on other podcasts found on the AAA Network and Fightbait.com.

Veteran fans: Did I forget your favorite episode? Post your favorite podcast episode in the comments and welcome the new folks into the fold! Spread the love!

Episode 80: “Elephant Snowball”

Astarotte’s Toy, aka Lotte’s Toy, aka Lotte no Omocha!…or as I call it, Dick-Suck Disgaea…nearly cost me my soul. This is why podcasting about anime requires the buddy system, since The Business had to swoop in to save me by, well, giving me the business.

Despite its criminal premise, this show attempts to distract its audience with what could be a genuine struggle of a scarred latchkey girl, burdened by royal responsibility. Fortune shines on her when her duties deliver the surrogate family she’s always needed and the opportunity to rebuild the lost ties with her estranged mother. She finally finds the love she–

ACK! There I go again… Look, this show is about a 10 year-old demon girl with severe daddy issues enthralled to suck dick for survival. At best, this show is a bottomless well for jokes about boobs and blowjobs.

Episode 79: “ATLUS Shrugged, P-body High-Fived”

Portal 2 and the PSN outage dominated the news in the past month; the ramifications of the latter still yet understood. Previous rants on our website about EULAs and virtual property are suddenly shadowed when we fall victim to real theft.

It’s easy to demonize Sony for their security oversight, but the dark truth is that this could happen to any online service: Amazon, iTunes, Google, Facebook… The “cloud” moniker is especially appropriate, since trust in them is trust placed in vapor.

As of this post, Sony’s claimed–in the same breath–that the hackers executed a “very carefully planned, very professional, highly sophisticated criminal cyber attack”, yet were so sloppy as to leave a calling card.

I don’t know if anyone in Anonymous was responsible for the breach or not, but I’d assume whomever was clever enough to break their way into the network understood the value of covering their tracks. It’s not difficult to imagine that Sony was left with little to no trace of the culprit, but saw an opportunity to vanquish at least one of their enemies. It’s like walking in on a murder scene where the victim has written the suspect’s name in blood on the floor to his right…except he was shot twice in the head and was left-handed.

Sounds like a job for Ace Attorney, Miles Edgeworth…whom we also discuss in this podcast.

Episode 78: “Grog’s Log”

Galaxy Angel is an excellent afternoon treat. At the end of the day, plotz yourself down on the couch with an instant dinner and unwind for 15 minutes.

While each episode contains a plot reminiscent of the Animaniacs or the Muppets, there are fresh laughs to be found. The characters have noticeable dimensions beyond just their bust measurements. There is no guilt to this pleasure; indulge!

Reward for a life well lived.

Episode 77: “YOU’RE NOT REAL.”

Clannad is a vile anime whose sins are so detestable, we risked Heaven’s wrath to speak of it…twice. This podcast was recorded while God dragged His fingers across North Carolina just a couple weeks ago. If it was to be our swan song, we could die complete in our mission on Earth exposing Clannad‘s evil.

The moé glamour of this show fails on us. Its true face is one of misogyny and female subjugation; a culturally toxic pill issued in a bright, candy wrapper.

Feminist Hulk would disapprove.

Omake 13: “Mr. Rogers Gets Tha Money”

We go into overtime very often in recording this podcast… We can’t resist a good tangent. But we’ve taken those excess yarns and spun together a fine tapestry of bonus material for you!

Enclosed within are outtakes of our podcasts for Garzey’s Wing, Angel Beats!, Venus Versus Virus, and all the other spoilers we couldn’t fit into our review of Durarara!

Episode 76: “God’s Gift to Buttholes”

Emails have been piling up in our inbox, so we’re taking this week to play catch up. So the first half of this podcast is all about YOU, the greatest podcast audience on the internet.

The second act is a tale told by “Keb’n” highlighting two colorful characters from his college days. One’s a big dumb monkey and the other is a drama-lusting twink.

If you’d like to send some feedback yourself, send us an email!

Episode 75: “Lesbian Water Slides”

Plastic Little gets a pity hump from us, years after it toyed with our hearts and broke it back in high school. It’s a gorgeous OVA whose looks was really all it had going for it–not much substance and just enough fan service for you to notice how desperate it is. There’s no need to try so hard, Plastic Little…we like you. Relax.

This show is worth a watch. For no other reason than the delicious eye candy; beautiful by even modern standards, let alone early 1990s.

Kevin also introduces us to the vintage works of Art Frahm.

The Culprit:

HP +100, DEF +3, END +1, Resist against Fire, Poison, and Petrify

NONE OF THIS AWESOME SHIT HAPPENS

Episode 74: “HULK SMASH CHOKEHOLD OF GENDER ROLES.”

Iron Man‘s adaptation into anime form could have been (should have been?) a fantastic sentai action series. This doesn’t belong on the G4 Network…its rightful home is on 4Kids.

We would have also accepted a DBZ-style shounen fighting series; one where every so often Tony Stark fires planet-ending repulsor beams from orbit, Rhodey occasionally declares, “That’s crazy!”, and arc generator power levels reach over NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAND. The fight scenes would be choreographed by putting Justin Wong in front of Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. We’d rather watch that show than what was actually produced.

Just put the 49sec mark on loop and you’ll get every show by Hiroyuki Morita.

Why is this man still allowed to draw comics???

Omake 12: “Waiting for Watubi”

K-On! is a show most requested for us to review here on Method to Madness. We were overwhelmed by the powerful fan following of this anime and caved in to its demands. This is a special episode of the podcast especially dedicated to you.

After giving K-On! an honest watch, we can see why the show is so incredibly popular. There’s the hook of the cute girls in a band, but you’ll fall in love with the tales of survival, wacky antics, the bonding of friends…and the rest.

Villgust

Feedback? Send an email!

Villgust highlights all the wonderful elements that made 16-bit-era JRPGs so great. The Super Famicom game of this show’s origin was never released stateside, yet it feels like an old familiar friend. Acquire and view this OVA by any means possible.

Lessons to take from this venture: Boomarangs are dumb melee weapons, catgirls are not furries (regardless of what Kevin insists), and koalas are nature’s cutest sex offenders.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Listener Email and Video Games

Feedback? Send an email!

We don’t own any of the video games that we discuss in this podcasts. We possess them, sure. Even purchased most of them…through legit channels, for that matter! But by golly, we’re going to play the shit out of them while we have them.

At least, until The Man takes them all away.

Found in this episode is talk of games like Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Fallout 3, and various morsels of DLC.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Angel Beats!

Feedback? Send an email!

Angel Beats! gets the bajeezus spoiled out of it in this week’s podcast. At least, we only spoil half of the show, as it appears you’re watching two separate series in tandem. One of episodic, cartoony antics; the other of dark, soul-scarring horrors.

The show lures you in with rubber mallets, cheesy puns, and wacky capers. Then shit gets real. The yucks get hushed by infanticide, domestic abuse, and life-crushing tragedies.

We also tell very insensitive jokes.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Venus Versus Virus

Feedback? Send an email!

Venus Versus Virus is an anime about individuals whose special sight is beyond the normal spectrum, yet most of it falls apart unless the viewer observes the events through a narrow, myopic lens. The moment you begin taking in the show at more than face value, it falls apart.

That aside, it leaves us wanting to know: When they gonna kiss already?? With all the lesbian feminist undertones–vilifying and minimizing the male characters–the male audience is also punished with this 12-episode cocktease.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Alpha Counter

What’s Alpha Counter, you ask?

In 2006, The Grey Ghost co-hosted a live video game talk show called Alpha Counter along side Matt “Harlock” Kraft. The show (like its parent network) was short-lived… But this week we exhume a “Best Of” collection of the show and breathe new life into it. The news stories may be dated, but the topics are no less relevant today as they were then.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Outtakes!

Here we go, running at the mouth again. Every podcast recording is bound to sprout basal shoots of tangential discussion. Or sometimes–in the case of our Take the X Train podcast–we just can’t keep our shit straight. This isn’t a filler episode… It’s the roast turkey sandwich you savor for lunch the day after Thanksgiving.

QUICK CORRECTION: The obscure movie mentioned at the top of this podcast is actually titled Nothing But Trouble, a movie featuring an impromptu performance by Tupac Shakur and Digital Underground. Don’t believe me? Examine the video below:

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Superbook

Feedback? Send an email!

Superbook (and it’s successor, The Flying House) is an anime about the Bible. I don’t know what else I can contribute to that description, since those few words perfectly encapsulate the show and all they imply. It’s an anime. About the Bible.

Yes, there’s a robot.

Rather, this show gives cause to remember to check your smoke and carbon monoxide detector’s regularly. Always keep a fresh battery and run tests once a month.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Highlander: The Search for Vengeance

Feedback? Send an email!

Highlander: The Search for Vengeance is like a good pizza. It has the meat of Fist of the North Star, the sauce of Ninja Scroll, held together with the cheese of Yoshiaki Kawajiri, and rest upon the firm crust of Highlander. Sure, you may have your favorite of all ingredients, but you’re still just eating pizza.

As the Highlander franchise goes, this movie is one of its shining stars. But take that under the context that the Highlander family includes such deformed bastard children as “The Quickening” and “The Source”. Any praise is a back-handed since this anime is only saved by its mediocrity.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Garzey’s Wing

Feedback? Send an email!

Garzey’s Wing paradoxically tells you everything that’s going on, yet not once tells you just what the fuck is going on?!?

This is the OVA that you show someone you detest that’s grown curious about anime. Or the annoying girlfriend who wants to share in your hobbies, but doesn’t understand that anime is “your thing”; just as you respect that following new episodes of True Blood is “hers”. It is a ward against those whom you wish to express without words, “Stay the hell out of my fandom”.

Unless you share a fondness for MST3K-style commentary, in which case perhaps game on.

This show was put together by the beloved creator of Gundam, Yoshiyuki Tomino. Consider this the unwanted child that he didn’t have the stones to abort. Instead, he dropped it in the night on a stranger’s doorstep (where it grew up to be a top-billing circus sideshow act) and dreads the occasional phone call when it tries to catch up on lost time and ask uncomfortable questions about its conception.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

VIDJERGAMES!!!

Feedback? Send an email!

Video games are a holiday staple. They’re our cellmate in the snow-tombed brig of winter.

This season, we rumbled with the undead in titles like Splatterhouse, Ghostbusters, and to some extent, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. Kevin wants you to play Kingdom of Loathing. And you better should.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Favorites From 2010

Feedback? Send an email!

2010 has come to pass; another chapter closed. The subjects of this podcast aside, we never quite see the full scope of anime volume we’d consumed until we look behind ourselves. There’s a sense of accomplishment in realize that in such a short stretch of temporal road, we’d bore a substantial burden. That is, until we also recognize the bulk of our load was crude excelsior we could have easily cast away.

This week, we look back at some of the shows we watched in 2010 that we may not provide for a full podcast, but are at least noteworthy. Come for the Strike Witches 2 and Cat Shit One…stay for the Millennium Actress and Summer Wars.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Highschool of the Dead

Feedback? Send an email!

Highschool of the Dead is no Dawn of the Dead. It’s barely House of the Dead.

The zombie apocalypse genre is arguably played out, but its longevity can be attributed to its beautiful simplicity. There are so many stories you can tell in that setting, and only so many ways you can fuck it up. Japan finds a way to taint (see what I did there?) this otherwise robust premise with goddam fan service…an infectious blight more widespread than the T-virus.

The veil of survival horror fantasy is quickly dispelled when your series includes a scene where a rapist grips a student’s breast like a piping bag. Just sayin’.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Random Ramblings

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

Within this podcast, we’ve announced our first Method to Madness Podcast Contest. To learn the rules of this contest–one where you can win free anime DVDs–just listen to the end of this podcast. For submissions to this awesome contest, please contact us here.

It’s almost Christmas! Here at Method to Madness, the holidays mean one thing… No, not presents or family gathering. It’s drinking. (Though that’s usually related to family gathering.)

The Grey Ghost and The Business are taking a break from their usual anime or video game review, just to toss back a few and shoot the sugarplums. There’s talk of PlayStation3 oddities, reality television, and our new Lord and Savior: Liam Neeson.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Feedback? Send an email!

Kick Ass! It’s Christmas!

Christmas is the time for outtakes…AGAIN. Shortly before our most recent podcast session, Kevin and I exchanged our Christmas gifts. And as our gift to you, we recorded the experience and combined that with bits taken from our first podcast of the upcoming year.

Double Bonus! Fightbait LIVE! Episode 10 guest-starring The Grey Ghost:

Podcast: Download (Duration: 02:14:39 — 92.4MB)

The gifts that keep on giving…

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Feedback? Send an email!

Ladies Versus Butlers!

Feedback? Send an email!

Ladies Vs. Butlers was just the reminder we needed as to why we do this podcast. It’s been a nice little vacation, in our OVA oasis from the 20th Century… But that’s not where we are. That’s not where we need to be.

This anime hits us two-fold: Not only is it just another goddam fan service show, but also because, despite the title’s implication, not a single serving tray nor feather duster is wielded in epic combat. Yet we overcome, and this episode proves as a Method to Madness tour de force.

Progress...?

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Orguss 02

Feedback? Send an email!

Orguss 02 is, unlike Macross II, a super-dimensional sequel that eclipses it’s predecessor. It’s an OVA 6-pack that’s a fulfilling treat with each episode you crack into. And by the time you’ve imbibed your fourth round, shit starts to get a little cray-zayyy!

This was a nervous reunion for me; cautious of the nostalgic lens and the psychological justification of spending $30 per episode on VHS. Viewing it again with unbiased eyes, I can clearly see Orguss 02 is an old, true friend that I’m pleased to introduce to The Business.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Favorite Song Lyrics

Run Time: 52min 13sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Song lyrics… Cuz it’s our podcast and we feel like it. Don’t worry; there’s at least one song that we discuss that’s anime-related and thus relevant with the rest of our podcasts.

This deviant exercise mostly orbits around Kevin’s passion for country music and the emotional tapestries loomed by their lyrics. I can’t throw stones his tastes in music, living in the glass house where my own musical tastes dwell. Or rather, the glass unfurnished studio apartment with a single potted geranium in the window.

What are some of your favorite song lyrics? Post them in the comments!

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Take the X Train

Run Time: 51min 07sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Take the X Train is an OVA carried from Fast Karate’s mouth to God’s ear. It’s the closest we’ve gotten to realize “Lightning Train“.

This “poor man’s Akira” is 50 minutes of your time well-spent. Seasoned otaku will appreciate its beautiful animation and stimulating story. New otaku will probably just make an Ozzie Osbourne AMV out of it. Whatever it takes to put this footage in front of you, it’s a valid excuse.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Outtakes

Run Time: 50min 34sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

This set of outtakes is something special because they contain clips from a lost recording we did for a Shinesman podcast. We may still cover Shinesman in the future, but the night we recorded this material, a wild Boomer began attacking the city; our sign to leap into the AD Police chopper to go in for a closer look.

Other clips included come from such gems as KissxSis, Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, and our Anime Lightning Round.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Zillion: Burning Night

Run Time: 51min 57sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Zillion: Burning Night–not “Burning Zone”, as I absentmindedly referred to it–is everything you’d expect from an OVA based on a video game from the 1980s… Except no one expects the steamroller train!

This show has kindled some interest for me in the Sega Master System’s Light Phaser games. The light gun is easily sexier in design compared to Nintendo’s “Why’d you have to go and make it orange?” counterpart. But how optimistic can I be if all I want to do is shoot J.J., Apple, and Champ in the face? That is, after the sour forbiddance of punishing that mocking dog with the sadistic, haunting laugh.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt

Run Time: 47min 39sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt is quite possibly the only “panty” show to emerge from Japan to win my complete and absolute favor. It’s a show conceived an ocean away from its true audience–the cartoon parallel to a teriyaki cheeseburger with a side of wasabi fries.

The beaded drips of disappointment from otaku looking to this show as spank material is delicious Schadenfreude. Amidst all the dick and fart jokes, you’ll find no money shot. Appreciate the satisfaction of busting a gut over busting a nut.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Vandread

Run Time: 44min 28sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Vandread takes you to the front lines in the galactic battle of the sexes. It’s a world where men suffer from crippling inadequacy and women are so compassionate they become ineffectual. Is this social commentary told through vintage-style science fiction? Or is this just another HOMEBOY GON’ PILOT THA ROBOT AND SAVE THE UNIVERSE!!?!

This is anime; you do the math.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

My Hime

Run Time: 46min 32sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

My Hime might be an anime version of Highlander, if there weren’t already a Highlander anime. In the end, there can be only one, but not without laying a path of anguish. This is no game for martyrs or masochists, for the defeated in this tournament themselves lose nothing–it’s those closest to them that pay with their lives.

Sounds intense, except there are pokey-mans and a panty episode.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Anime Lightning Round

Run Time: 46min 44sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

This podcast is like a box of chocolates. You know what you’re going to get (cuz the key is on the box, stupid), but it’s a small bounty of various delicious morsels.

Much like our 2009 recap, Kevin and I unleash a rapid fire lightning round of anime. Shows like Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, Astro Fighter Sunred, Katanagatori, and Lamune bear discussion, but there might not be fertile enough to draw for full podcasts individually.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Saber Marionette J

Run Time: 55min 30sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Saber Marionette J confuses the senses, whether it be visually or in concept. The misogynist themes and fan service refused to go unnoticed, but there’s just enough heart and humor that this show gets a pass.

We warn you: Saber Marionette J is as far into this series that you need to tread. Any other suffix to the Saber Marionette title could result in involuntary cries of anguish and flinging loose objects into your screen.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

KissxSis

Run Time: 55min 25sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

KissxSis… WTF???

Shows like this are currently the methadone of the anime industry. It gets us along day-by-day, but it’s far from a cure and most likely doing more long-term harm than good. Understanding this as I watch KissxSis gets me wondering, “You know, maybe Nick Levasseur was on to something,” as fire cures all ails and evils.

KissxSis presents a window into a world pregnant with insanity. As with every harem show, every warm-blooded biped with a vagina amass toward our lead homeboy’s junk… But none more determined than his two twin sisters. Yes, they are his step-sisters, but this doesn’t excuse either their taboo or their peers insistence that they indulge.

If you like this show, KEVIN HATES YOU.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Fan Mail!

Run Time: 54min 59sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

It’s our first feedback episode! We only get to tackle two listener emails, but they’re big ones.

The first is a followup to our God of War III and Bayonetta podcast and the second tests our understanding of the classic Fist of the North Star anime movie. This all, of course, not without its due tangents and rants on our part.

I wish I'd found this picture for our God of War III and Bayonetta podcast.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Melty Lancer

Run Time: 51min 40sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Melty Lancer is like a Japanese version of the Justice League, minus any of the familiar character history. The fact that this OVA is based off of a JRPG on the Sega Saturn doesn’t earn it any favors from us either.

The lead characters rapidly transition from pop culture icons to super-secret black ops to street cops to saviors of the galaxy…all within six episodes. To suggest that this series needed more episodes will earn you a slap in the face… Because we’re not watching any more of this crap!

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Cutie Honey Flash

Run Time: 53min 33sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Cutie Honey Flash is a bizarre attempt to turn a sexually-charged Go Nagai creation into a child-friendly franchise. That is, with the intent of selling toys of said franchise to toddlers. That would be like adapting the gruesome, violence-saturated Beast King GoLion into a neutered, Americanized children’s cartoon… Oh, wait.

It’s most likely because of this series’ distillation of exploitation that makes the show more accessible to audiences of all ages. Cutie Honey Flash is about a super-heroine who is a resourceful master of disguise. I grant you, her arsenal consists of the full gamut of cosplay fantasy against a horde of incompetent she-monsters, but the girl’s got heart, dammit!

She's accustomed to stairs...

This man is a masochist and a pedophile...NOT A HERO.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

God of War III & Bayonetta

Run Time: 56min 36sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

God of War III and Bayonetta are the closest I’ve ever come to considering video games as actual erotica. Not because of their obvious sexual themes, but because their simple modes of gameplay enveloped in lusciously rendered cinematic eye candy. They may have their flaws and lack much depth, but these titles serve up satisfying portions of escapism, like a well-prepared filet mignon.

Trolling RUINS Lives, Y’all.

Not even Seth Green can convince me to eat Butterfinger.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

OMG SHARKS!

Run Time: 54min 52sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

It’s Shark Week here on the Method to Madness podcast. Yes, it’s a week later than the actual Shark Week they play on TV, but we knew that Space Thunder Kids simply could not wait.

We’ve discussed sharks on the podcast before, and will likely continue in the future. For sharks are the harbinger of nightmares–insatiable feeding machines and sentinels to the oceanic Eden our primordial ancestors inevitably fled.

Except for basking sharks. They are the nerd herd of sharks. Indulge your impulse to throw dodge balls at them.

Free Willy Vs. Air Jaws

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Space Thunder Kids

Run Time: 51min 27sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Space Thunder Kids… Oh the sweet blissful ignorance I took for granted before investigating this video. It occurred to me to apologize for sharing this anime with you, our faithful fans, but NO. I refuse to assume any ownership in the existence of this commercially animated abortion. Seek this video out at your own risk, but heed our words as warning.

This is more than just the worst anime ever made… It is an Arkham horror, marking all those who witness it and sentencing them to psychological descent. Like Nick Cage said in 8MM: “There are some things that you see, and you can’t unsee them.”

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu

Run Time: 56min 52sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu (or Baka and Test – Summon the Beasts) teaches a higher form of education; putting into practice that the spoils of victory are heavy motivators for self-improvement. Students enter into gladiator battles armed only with their test scores in order to claim or defend a social status adorned in privilege. Make the grade and you shall crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.

This could be a great show (or an awesome video game), but it quickly buckles under the growing infection of moé. Before you know it, you’re watching another romantic comedy drama. This show has its genuinely funny moments, but you’re probably better off watching a show like Tora Dora! or Tenjho Tenge.

This is how Sean envisions moé.

Tear up that dance floor, Mahoney!

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Folklore (and Disgaea)

Run Time: 55min 12sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Folklore and Disgaea: Infinite have recently been satisfying our pangs for gaming. “Satisfying”, I use generously.

As much as we have to say about these games in this podcast, we have so much more to say about just about everything else. Mostly turtles, rats, pizza…just about every ingredient for an unconscious Ninja Turtle discussion, if not for the inclusion of horrible, horrible internet memes.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Outtakes

Run Time: 42min 18sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Fresh from the cutting room floor, we present the latest batch of outtakes! In an effort to keep the show’s length within the tolerable span of an hour, sacrifices must be made. Sometimes we go on wild, unrelated tangents or there’s material that we just fit into an episode.

Extra Bonus: This clip show includes outtakes from next week’s podcast!

Promo: Fight Bait!

YOU ARE CRAZY, MATE.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Arcade Gamer Fubuki

Run Time: 47min 05sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Arcade Gamer Fubuki has taught me that Kevin and I should put better effort into researching the shows we watch before podcasting about them. And by “better”, I probably mean “some”. Cuz had we learned beforehand that Arcade Gamer Fubuki is a parody of Game Center Arashi, this show might have made a crap-ton more sense.

This is a cute little show for fans of old-school games…or of panties. Yes, it’s a panty fan service show, but it’s just below the line of excess and there’s enough legitimate humor to compensate.

And hopefully strike you down like Thor's hammer.

These children are stupid.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Animazement 2010 Review Part 2

Run Time: 48min 43sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Our Animazement 2010 coverage continues!

Saturday was the apex of our convention experience; a whirl of events, commerce, and good drink with good friends. Sunday wound down the weekend, but not without a grand hoorah.

Also, Kevin hates furries.

KEVIN DOESN'T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Animazement 2010 Review Part 1

Run Time: 42min 16sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Animazement reminds us why we not only love anime, but also love being part of the fandom. Strangely, the opposite is simultaneously true.

Kevin and I has so much to say in our podcast report of Animazement 2010, we had to split it into two parts! In part one, we discuss Thursday’s pre-con harbingers along with the big con kick-off on Friday. Stay tuned for part two when we follow up with Saturday and Sunday.

For those curious about the kinds of horrors inflicted upon hapless otaku during Anime Hell, the video playlist has been posted here.

Please notice the Knuckles cosplayer. This will be important later.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Run Time: 31min 15sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

You can’t have “Method” or “Madness” without “M”. Our series of Animazement weekend podcasts continues as our special guest, M, dispenses some wisdom on yo dorky asses.

This episode’s also given me the excuse I’ve been looking for to inject Garfunkel & Oates into the podcast. Give these girls a listen!

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Queen’s Blade

Run Time: 42min 51sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Yes, Queen’s Blade… It’s a show that we’ve treated like dental surgery. We’ve always been told that we should do it. We know it’s going to suck. We procrastinate and reschedule, but we both know that sooner or later, we’re going to have to do it. And now that we’ve done it, we’re ready to put it behind us and never ever think about it again.

Of course, misery does love company. “The Business” and I were thankful to spread out some of ours with M, who was in town to join us for Animazement.

I'm supposed to be turned on, but I'm really just confused.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Time Travel Booty Calls

Run Time: 42min 57sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Using (or abusing?) time travel to tap some vintage tail? Hey, Doc Brown did it in Back to the Future Part III, and frankly, I think he was on to something.

For this episode of the podcast, Kevin and I rescue ourselves from anime burnout by having a geeky back-and-forth about women and time travel.

The exercise is simple: What women (or men) would you travel back in time to meet and in what year? Post your answers in the comments or email them to us! We may even revisit this topic in a future podcast with your answers!

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

California Crisis

Run Time: 52min 56sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

California Crisis is Japan’s love letter to California. It is the state that I once called home before I fled to escape falling into the ocean under the weight of smug hippies and “undocumented immigrants”. However, after a decade of living in NC, the nostalgic parts of me continue to look back to fond memories of the majestic wonders that inhabit So. Cali.

This anime reminded me of how little I’m missing.

I dedicate this episode of the podcast to my homies still kickin’ it on the West Side. As Riverside (and most of the valley area) is the Golden State’s roach motel, I pray they too can one day escape to lands with smog-less blue skies and fertile, green-laden earth.

Listen to your friends, Noera.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Baki the Grappler

Run Time: 47min 33sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Baki the Grappler has some serious frickin’ issues! You go in looking for your daily testosterone fix, but you walk out with an unsettling lesson in anthropology.

To become the Alpha male, one must dominate over all others. The ultimate sign of dominance over another man is to not only beat him in combat, but also steal away his mates. And since our fathers are the iconic male figure as we grow up, it is only once we’ve beaten and usurped him that we truly feel dominant over all.

Read that last paragraph again, do some math, and try not to vomit.

Baki's father is possibly Carrot Top.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Dark Cat

Run Time: 55min 33sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Dark Cat isn’t some trick pony you see at the side show by the sea shore. It’s an OVA from 1991 that is probably best lost; buried under the heap of anime obscurity.

This is a show that could have made for an exciting horror anime or hentai…had it chosen to be either of those things. In fact, it never quite graduates beyond being “almost” anything. There are mystical cat superheroes, romantic drama, haunted children, and bizarre tentacle monsters. Yet we cannot claim that Dark Cat is about any of those things.

Apparently, to our surprise, this OVA survived into the DVD era and is available for well under ten bucks. But is it worth it? Unless its audience is a late-night drunken get-together with you and your buddies, I might pass.

Watch this show instead. Kevin insists.

Oh... Oh God. Just...NO!

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Tenjho Tenge

Run Time: 47min 27sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Tenjho Tenge? Hells yeah! That’s a show about punching! AND kicking! And boobies. And also some…Wait, what was that last one? DAMMIT!

So here we are once again–much as we were with Basquash!–torn between cheering on the super-sweet martial arts beat-down action, only to be quickly deflated by the contamination of fan service. Our dark nemesis, fan service…

THIS IS THE FACE OF THE ENEMY!

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Outtakes

Run Time: 34min 28sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Kevin and I are taking a break this week. We’re both overwhelmed with work; plus we’re preparing for Animazement. We’ll be attending the con this year and will be manning one of the video rooms on Friday. There, we hope to have promotional material for the podcast, including fliers, demo discs, and maybe some other swag.

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Urban Square

Run Time: 44min 04sec
[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Urban Square is a guilty pleasure from the 1980s that we mustn’t let fade into obscure oblivion. While Kevin and I give this OVA its due ribbing, this should not detour you from seeking it out for yourself. It’s woven with threads of cheesy humor and manly action that’s become a lost art to modern CGI-dependent blockbusters.

There’s no reason not to watch this movie immediately after reading this…unless they finally make Jason Vs. Jaws. Then watch that first. But after that, Urban Square.

Bitch, you are so paying for my car!

Knock knock, suckas!

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.

Mahoromatic

Run Time: 50min 46sec

[ DOWNLOAD MP3 ]

Feedback? Send an email!

Mahoromatic appears to be your typical anime: A teenage boy lives alone in a king-sized house, save for the sexy robot maid girl whom he’s subjugated. And despite his general impotence, every female he encounters is feverishly after his junk. This is no different than any other recent anime you’ve seen…

…until the last episode. That’s when shit turns sideways.

As you begin to watch the trailer below, I know what you’re thinking: “Wow! This show looks fucking sweet! Aliens, robots, and explosions are awesome!” This is not what the show is. Once you reach the 1min 40sec mark, the horrible truth shall reveal itself. Kevin insists that the first 25 episodes are payment in advance for the show’s thrilling cyberpunk finale.

How is this the same show???

In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.