The Shounen Protagonist

9: I Will Get A Little Mad As A Treat

Atomic and Tavarita discuss their time at AnimeFest in Dallas, the furry COVID comic that has everyone dunking on OP, and the endless cycle of dissatisfaction that plagues anime fans.

8: I Hope Kirishima Marries A Woman

What's to update on a weekend with no conventions? A lot, apparently. Atomic and Tavarita talk the controversial date changes for Holiday Matsuri, the turbulent landscape of social media trends, the danger of lost media due to recent MAX announcements, and what it means to be a real anime ~enjoyer~.

7: Oh God, Is This Gonna Be A One Piece Podcast?

Atomic and Tavarita talk Metrocon and Okashicon, along with (not so) expert opinions on the development of convention juries and table placements for artists at future conventions. Atomic gives thoughts on this season's anime to watch (and to avoid), and recent binges watching Jerma. Both discuss One Piece GOLD, Oda's legacy as an artist and story-teller, and One Piece's place in the Eastern entertainment zeitgeist. There's never been a better time to be a One Piece fan!

6: The Time I Got Reincarnated As Jared Leto’s The Joker

As Atomic and Tavarita come into July, they discuss Anime Trivia, Delta H Con and AX FOMO obliteration, upcoming announcements such as Suicide Squad's upcoming ... (checks notes) isekai anime(??) and the constant struggle for dominance among social media platforms.

5: It’s Been A While...

Atomic and Tavarita discuss their experience with latest conventions, as well as a much-needed update in episode formatting.

4: The Great Twisting: Uzumaki and The Horror of Reality

In this spooky Halloween episode, Atomic and Tavarita talk about horror manga-ka extraordinaire, Junji Ito, and in particular, his work Uzumaki -- considered to be his magnum opus. Join them as they discuss what makes good horror, why Ito's work is so scary, and the future of Uzumaki as a franchise. Happy Halloween y'all!

**Content Warnings: Existentialism, Uzumaki and other Junji Ito Spoilers, Murder, Suicide Mentions**

[Show Notes]

• K, B. (2019, June 10). An interview with master of horror manga junji ito (full length version). grape Japan. Retrieved October 26, 2022, from https://grapee.jp/en/116016
• Thacker, E. (2016, April 30). Black illumination: The unhuman world of Junji Ito. The Japan Times. Retrieved October 26, 2022, from https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2016/01/30/books/black-illumination-unhuman-world-junji-ito
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, October 22). Uzumaki. Wikipedia. Retrieved October 26, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzumaki
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, October 23). Junji Ito. Wikipedia. Retrieved October 26, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junji_Ito

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

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

3: A Single Thing In Nature: Mushishi and The Futility Of It All

In this episode, Atomic and Tavarita discuss the sleeper hit manga and anime series Mushishi and its mastery of the art of short storytelling. They dive into Mushishi's haunting naturalism, the possibility of a shadow biosphere, and the entropy of our universe. This one is a thinker!

**Content Warnings: Existentialism, Talk of Animal Death**

• [0:00] Episode Introduction
• [0:29] Episode Title, John Muir
• [1:40] Housekeeping!
• [6:15] The Career of Yuki Urushibara
• [13:39] The Mushishi Manga
• [19:47] Manga Publishing Issues & FOMO
• [23:56] World of Mushishi
• [1:03:33] The Shadow Biosphere
• [1:14:04] The Mushi & Entropy
• [1:39:54] Why Fish Don't Exist
• [1:45:40] Outro - Alexa Guesses That Anime

[Show Notes]

• Conover, E. (2015). “Shadow biosphere” might be hiding strange life right under our noses. Science. Published. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa7865
• Davies, P. C., Benner, S. A., Cleland, C. E., Lineweaver, C. H., McKay, C. P., & Wolfe-Simon, F. (2009). Signatures of a Shadow Biosphere. Astrobiology, 9(2), 241–249. https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2008.0251
• Miller, L. (2021). Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life (First Printing ed.). Simon & Schuster.
• Ohara, T. (2007, February 3). Mushishi Live-Action Movie Interview. ComiPress. https://www.comipress.com/article/2007/02/03/1449.html
• Oxford Essential Quotations, & Ratcliffe, S. (2020). John Muir. Oxford Reference. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191843730.001.0001/q-oro-ed5-00012574
• Universe Today [Fraser Cain]. (2020, January 28). Is There A Shadow Biosphere? Searching For Life On Earth That Isn’t Related To Us [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2brd-3OVgn8
• Wikipedia contributors. (2021a, August 7). Yuki Urushibara. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuki_Urushibara
• Wikipedia contributors. (2021b, August 31). Mushishi. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushishi

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

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

2: Not With A Bang, But A Whimper: Hunter X Hunter & Hustle Culture

It's already getting deep fam! In this episode, Atomic and Tavarita discuss the origins of the classic shounen series "Hunter X Hunter" and the controversial career of its creator, Yoshihiro Togashi. Furthermore, they talk of the deadly work culture that has developed in the manga industry, how consumers can help, what we can learn from Togashi's career - and by extension, what we can learn from the decline of his protagonist Gon.

Find your favorite artists on Fanbox: https://www.fanbox.cc/

**Trigger Warning: Premature Death Mentions**

1. [0:00] Episode Introduction
2. [1:32] Anime Houston!
3. [9:26] Episode Title, "The Hollow Men"
4. [11:14] The Career of Yoshihiro Togashi
5. [40:10] "Hiatus X Hiatus" & Burnout
6. [1:25:00] What We Owe Creators
7. [1:38:00] Outro - Alexa Guesses That Anime

[Show Notes]

• Eliot, T. S. (1925). The Hollow Men by T S Eliot. All Poetry. https://allpoetry.com/the-hollow-men
• Rudlin, P. (2021, July 2). So, What is Karoshi Actually? Japan Intercultural Consulting. https://japanintercultural.com/free-resources/articles/japanese-business-keywords/so-what-is-karoshi-actually/
• Sridhar, P. (2020, January 24). What We Owe to Creators: Burnout in manga artists and how to prevent it. Anime Feminist. https://www.animefeminist.com/what-we-owe-to-creators/
• Wikipedia contributors. (2021, August 16). Yoshihiro Togashi. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshihiro_Togashi

[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

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