1: Keep On Living On: The Pokémon Franchise

In their first episode, Atomic and Tavarita discuss the origins of their podcast concept, the humble beginnings of video game designer Satoshi Tajiri, and the cultural impact of his Pokémon franchise, and what we can learn from the never-ending journey of Ash Ketchum.

1. [0:00] Episode Introduction
2. [0:52] Why did we start this podcast?
3. [7:54] Host Introductions
4. [12:20] Logo Discussion & "Ganbaru" Etymology
5. [16:19] History of the Pokémon Franchise
6. [31:36] Pokémon in Science & Sociology
7. [49:17] Pokémon: I Choose You Movie
8. [53:00] Pokémon Edgelord Theories
9. [1:04:00] What We Can Learn From Ash Ketchum
10. [1:25:00] Outro - Alexa Guesses That Anime

[Show Notes]

• Suzuki, M. (2018, September 19). Ganbaru (頑張る) –– What it Really Means and How to Use it. Tofugu. https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/ganbaru/
• Wikipedia contributors. (2021, August 4). Satoshi Tajiri. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satoshi_Tajiri
• Joseph Tobin. (2004). Joseph Tobin. http://joetobin.net/
• Tobin, J. (2004). Pikachu’s Global Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokemon. Duke University Press Books.
• Isaak, M. (2020). Curiosities of Biological Nomenclature: Etymology: Fiction. Curiosities of Biological Nomenclature: Etymology: Fiction. https://www.curioustaxonomy.net/etym/fiction.html
• Gomez, J., Barnett, M., & Grill-Spector, K. (2019). Extensive childhood experience with Pokémon suggests eccentricity drives organization of visual cortex. Nature Human Behaviour, 3(6), 611–624. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-019-0592-8
• Yuyama, K. (Director). (2017). Pokémon the movie: i choose you! [Film]. OLM, Inc.
• Brackett, C. (2021). 10 Fan Theories That Explain Why Ash Ketchum Never Ages. Ranker. https://www.ranker.com/list/ash-ketchum-age-theories/crystal-brackett
• Impidimp. (2021). [Illustration]. https://cdn2.bulbagarden.net/upload/f/fb/859Impidimp.png

[Art Credit]
"Shounen Protagonist" Logo & Design by Jules Riseling
https://www.julesriseling.com (thank you Jules!)
https://www.twitter.com/julesriseling

[Music Credit]
Opening Music: "Next" by Gio Navas
Intermission Music: "Brave" by Gio Navas
https://www.gionavas.com/ (thank you Gio!)
https://www.twitter.com/giomaria