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Show Notes
0:00: Justin and Helen had much to talk about in this episode, so they quickly jump straight into the news, beginning with a manga artist being inducted in Japan for tax evasion.
4:05: A couple series are returned from various hiatuses, starting with GTO, then Terraformars, and then Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles, which was less hiatus and more a publisher change!
7:27: That said, we now have a few manga going on hiatus. For at least Jeweler Richard, there’s plans to bring it back before 2024 is over. Ghost Reaper Girl, on the other hand, is certainly going to be indefinite now that the series will go on hiatus due to Akissa Saike’s health once again.
8:42: And another print magazine will end in Japan, as Shinchosha’s Monthly Comic @Bunch magazine is no more, now launching a digital magazine.
Licenses
10:24: Sakura-Con happened a few weeks ago, and a few companies had announcements, starting with Kodansha:
- Fall in Love, You False Angels
- Senpai Is an Otokonoko: My Crossdressing Classmate
- I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day
- Thunder 3
- Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island
- Dra-Q
- Honeko Akabane’s Bodyguards
- Suzume
- Confession
- Dogs and Punching Bags
- Love on the Horizon
- Shimazaki in the Land of Peace
- You Must Be This Tall to Propose! (Kodansha April digital release)
13:23: Yen Press of course would have announcements at Sakura-Con since that’s an annual convention for them:
- 86—EIGHTY-SIX Alter (LN)
- Pink & Habanero
- Tougen Anki: Dark Demon of Paradise
- When the Villainess Seduces the Main Heroine
- Spring Storm and Monster
- Victoria of Many Faces (LN)
- Detroit: Become Human -Tokyo Stories-
- From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won’t Leave Me Alone manga
- Hero Syndrome (LN)
- Even a Replica Can Fall in Love (LN)
15:02: J-Novel Club sensed it was time to do some announcements, and they had 9 of them, all announced on their Twitch stream this past Friday:
- From Two-Bit Baddie to Total Heartthrob: This Villainess Will Cross-Dress to Impress! (J-Novel Heart)
- Goodbye, Overtime! This Reincarnated Villainess Is Living for Her New Big Brother light novel (J-Novel Heart)
- A Surprisingly Happy Engagement for the Slime Duke and the Fallen Noble Lady (J-Novel Heart)
- The Invincible Summoner Who Crawled Up from Level 1: Wrecking Reincarnators with My Hidden Dungeon
- The Death of the Skeleton Swordsman: Dominating as a Cursed Saint
- To Another World… with Land Mines! Manga
- My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World manga
- I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic manga
- The Eternal Fool’s Words of Wisdom: A Pawsitively Fantastic Adventure manga
23:44: Seven Seas recently announced they’re pausing Wonderful Wednesday announcements for April, so this was the last bunch of new titles until they resume:
- The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store
- I Quit My Apprenticeship as a Royal Court Wizard to Become a Magic Item Craftswoman
- Someone’s Girlfriend
- Do You Like Big Girls? in omnibus format
Streaming News
26:29: In shocking news, Oi! Tonbo is streaming officially on Amazon Prime. Before you think, “Amazon is back streaming anime again???” Justin explains the circumstances around how this is being streamed and also apparently it’s best to avoid finding out how bad the English dub is for this!
28:59: Suzume and the GTO anime is now on Netflix; Meanwhile, the original 1981 Urusei Yatsura and a couple Hakuoki anime can now be watched on Crunchyroll.
Main Topic: Winter Anime 2024 Final Impressions
30:05: Justin and Helen finally give their final thoughts on the Winter Anime 2024 season, which included some standouts (7th Time Loop, A Sign of Affection), anime that didn’t turn out so well (Metallic Rouge, Instant Death), and at least one person watched a couple anime that aired starting from the Fall (that person was Justin).
But both hosts spend some time talking about The Apothecary Diaries though.
Weird News
1:34:06: Let’s just say policies will be reviewed with the abnormal amount of leaks from anime airing on Crunchyroll this season, as there’s been more than a few that calls into question what the heck happened.
1:36:42: Yeah, Justin can at least believe that Jujutsu Kaisen was the most in-demand animated TV show from last year, so nice of the Guinness World Records to confirm it.
1:38:29: TO Books launched an official manga service where you can subscribe and choose to read a couple of Google translated manga that’s not even properly QC’ed. Justin and Helen have many questions, and somehow we talk about Sam Pinansky and Bookworm Part 4 in this section!
1:44:39: Manga creators going to other magazines is not unusual, but it is rare for a best-selling manga creator to go to a new magazine…so Wakui doing a new series in WSJ just leads one to wonder what was Kodansha thinking?
1:50:23: Helen goes over Captain Tsubasa creator Youichi Takahashi retiring from working on Tsubasa, which includes him still working on it but only releasing the storyboards of chapters.
1:53:40: Not sure what happened in Japan to cause this, but this recent ban of non-Japanese nationals for Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments is pretty bizarre.
1:54:48: Finally, the debate on whether isekai is a word to use or not is now null and our opinions don’t matter, because it’s now Oxford certified. That TOTALLY means it’s fine for it to be said instead of another world right? Right?