AniMonday AniMonday

Nariyuki is given the impossible task of tutoring two geniuses in order to receive a letter of recommendation for college. He finds that he’s going to have to use all of his wits and compassion to get these girls to pass or say good-bye to his dreams.

Topics discussed: We Never Learn, Bokuben, We Can't Study, harem anime, tutoring, studying, arts and literature, science and mathematics, STEM, dead parents, loss, broken relationships, Arvo Animation, Studio Silver, character designs, adult characters who look like students

In an attempt to terraform Mars, humanity sent the most durable creature they could think of to the planet: the cockroach. What they didn't plan on was the lowly creatures evolving into unstoppable killing machines. Can an elite team eliminate the threat or is humanity doomed?

Talking points: space bugs, bug juice, Mars, medicine, sci-fi, cockroaches, bear fights, gore, censorship, Mortal Kombat, campy slasher horror

This week in an especially non-spooky Halloween episode, Colin and Kayla discuss the 2014 anime series Noragami!

Hiyori Iki’s life is suddenly altered dramatically when she meets a strange god named Yato and his spiritual weapon Yukine. Trying to live between two worlds will test everything she has ever known, but maybe she will find more of herself along the way.

__Talking points:__ gods and goddesses, spirituality, spiritual weapons, shrines, religion, afterlife, the near shore, the far shore, spirits, tracksuits, cats, delivery service, Bones, animation studios, Hello Sleepwalkers

When humanity is threatened by ferocious monsters, society depends on children trained to pilot battle robots called Franxx. When a mysterious and skilled pilot named Zero Two meets a boy named Hiro, the world might finally have the heroes they desperately need.

This one has a mild parental warning! Darling in the Franxx uses some sexual imagery and innuendo, and it would be difficult to have a serious discussion about the anime without describing some of that. It's nothing major, but listener discretion I suppose.

__Topics discussed__: mecha anime, Evangelion, child soldiers, post-apocalypse, Studio Trigger, A-1 Pictures, collaborative animation, sexual innuendo, robots

Eight years after the death of his father, Kaito Kuroba learns of his father’s secret identity as the Phantom Thief Kaito Kid. When he discovers the organization responsible for murdering his father, he dons the mantle of the Kaito Kid to thwart their plans of achieving immortality through the Pandora Gem. With each stolen jewel he gets closer to avenging his father and stopping the organization.

__Topics discussed:__ the Gentleman Thief archetype, Detective Conan (Case Closed), long-running manga and anime, illusions, sorcery, magic, heists, Persona 5, Death Note

This week, Colin and Kayla enter the Digital World to talk about Digimon Fusion, the sixth anime in the Digimon franchise.

Taiki and his friends are swept into the Digital world where an ongoing war is threatening the lives of the digimon who inhabit it. There are those who wish to take back their once peaceful homes, and fight against the dark powers destroying their land. The unlikely heroes will leverage the power of the cross loader to help save the digital world and their new friends.

How does it stack up against the beloved Pokémon franchise? Are they even worth comparing? What is going on over at Toei Animation?

Talking points: Digimon Fusion, Digimon Xros Wars, Taiki vs. Mikey, English localizations of the Digimon franchise, the Digital World, Shoutmon, Ballistamon, Toei Animation, Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball, transformation sequences, Guile, cartoon theme songs, Pokémon, Scooby Doo