Show #112: A Christmas Carol (2009)

We ain't afraid of no ghost, and to prove it we're gonna forge on with our annual holiday tradition with Disney's A Christmas Carol!

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An admirable effort from seasoned director Robert Zemeckis this year, who for whatever reason persists in his odyssey to create the most terrifying human simulacrums committed to film, suitable in this instance however as the more ghastly elements of Charles Dickens' classic book are pushed to the fore. Bolstered even further by some entertaining voice performances, more's the pity when the film regularly skids off the tracks and mars the atmosphere for some not-as-exhilarating-as-they-think-they-are action set-pieces.

THE SHORT VERSION

Horrifying apparitions

Lack of restraint

Immersive 3D!

Let’s Go! Episode 9 – Always Beat Up Time Travellers

A pre-amble to the festive fun in store next week as we are gifted with sadistic Santas, holiday heroics and mixed up timelines both real and fictional! All this plus:

• Lovely Muuuuuuuco! #7
• DD Fist of the North Star Strawberry Flavour #11
• Mr Osomatsu #11
• Concrete Revolutio #10
• One Punch Man #11

Listen up!

Show #111: Star Wars Rebels

Jeremiah O'Connor returns from beyond space to give his expert opinion on officially approved side story Star Wars Rebels!

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Shameless opportunism? Us? Nah, we were just so excited to get Jerry back on the podcast because Star Wars Rebels is a genuinely great franchise spin-off show and, as Jerry goes into exhaustive detail about, evidences a good approach for dealing with a universe this large. By offering a premise with original characters with no significant ties to established figures the show is free to play around in this fantastical setting, giving the audience a chance to invest in a story that will surely come to prominence on its own merits.

Jerry's Twitter

Jeremiah's Strange Times

THE SHORT VERSION

Hopeful heroes

Sinister Sith

Some sideburns wearing a man

Let’s Go! Episode 8 – JoJo’s Badgers

Niall's away this week, a development which unexpectedly reveals him as the glue holding this podcast together. Find out how the Let's Go Gang soldier on to talk about:

• Dragon Ball Super #22
• Lovely Muuuuuuuco! #6 AND #10
• Concrete Revolutio #9
• Mr Osomatsu #10
• One Punch Man #10

Listen up!

Let’s Go! Episode 7 – Heartfelt Tales of Idiots

We've been too silly the past few weeks. Time to balance that out with an emotional rollercoaster of compelling cartoon content! This is a show about men and their feelings, but also:

• Dragon Ball Super #21
• Mr Osomatsu #9
• Lovely Muuuuuuuco! #5
• Concrete Revolutio #8
• One Punch Man #9

Listen up!

Show #110: "9"

Anthony Askew of Dynamite In The Brain salvages the wreckage of the post-robocalypse and presents us the patchwork creation of Shane Acker's 9!

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Quite awkwardly named this one, as it came out the same year as another film called "Nine"! You won't find Daniel Day Lewis in this though, rather a bleak industrial fantasy that struggles to fill its feature length. 9 retains the imaginative design work of the original short that inspired it, but like the wasteland it depicts there are slim pickings to be found in the plotting and characterisation departments, with whatever exists cobbled together into a not-unpleasant but unsatisfying whole.

THE SHORT VERSION

Forlorn ragdoll people

Terror beasts

Soul Stealin'

Let’s Go! Episode 6 – Calming Podcast

Our favourite shows are reading from the same script this week as we get multiple instances of murder mysteries, pop star performances and terrors from the deep! All that plus:

• Dragon Ball Super #20
• DD Fist of the North Star Strawberry Flavoured #8
• Lovely Muuuuuuuco! #4
• One Punch Man #8
• Mr Osomatsu #8
• Concrete Revolutio #7

Listen up!

SOTSM x DITB: Sword of the Stranger

Niall joins Brian and Anthony over on Dynamite In The Brain for a little chat all about one of his favourite films, the sort of rollicking action adventure that doesn't get made often enough these days, along with a quiz about some strange swords. Listen up!

Let’s Go! Episode 5 – TOTTY!

In the absence of Anthony it's finally safe the broach the topic of DD Fist of the North Star and its companion segment Strawberry Flavoured! All that plus the usual siblings, superheroes and sixties nostalgia.

• DD Fist of the North Star Series 2 #1-3
• Mr Osomatsu #7
• Concrete Revolutio #6
• One Punch Man #7

Listen up!

Let’s Go! Episode 4 – Let’s Go Satan!

Anime comes thick and fast from across the board this time around, as Brian reports his findings from Leeds Film Festival and Dragon Ball Super makes a sudden reappearance!

• The Case of Hana & Alice (Fanomenon Anime Day)
• Rakuen Tsuiho - Expelled From Paradise (Fanomenon Anime Day)
• Miss Hokusai (Fanomenon Anime Day)
• Lovely Muuuuuuuco! #2
• Dragon Ball Super #15-16
• Mr Osomatsu #6
• One Punch Man #6
• Concrete Revolutio #5

Listen up!

Let’s Go! Episode 3 – Lovely Pooooooodcast!

It's a right monster of a show this week as by my calculations we may have watched all the anime there is, or at least all of the decent stuff. Check your own figures against our own here!

• Shin Atashinchi #1
• Concrete Revolution #3-4
• Lovely Muuuuuuuco! #1
• Mobile Suit Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans #1
• Mr Osomatsu #5
• The Perfect Insider #1
• One Punch Man #5

Listen up!

Show #109: Black Dynamite Season 2

You best shut the fuck up when grown folks is talking, especially about Black Dynamite Season 2!

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Based on the film of the same name and continuing on from it's last season we follow the ongoing adventures of Black Dynamite and his crew taking down threats to the Black Community and skewering prominent figures alike in their relentlessly irreverent fashion. A much more patchy affair than their last outing, the series occasionally loses focus of where its best humour lies and strays into overly crude territory or often over-recycles some of the best known gags from the film. At it's best though the show offers great if bizarre insight into the pressing societal issues of past and present, because even in our modern age of civil discourse sometimes you just gotta stand up and give your problems a figurative or perhaps literal ass kicking.

THE SHORT VERSION

Social commentary

Prescient parodies

Bad ass mo'fos

Let’s Go! Episode 2 – Too Hot For TV Tokyo

It's only the second installment of our new format and the ante has already been upped considerably. Censorship? Dick punches?! THE WEEK IN JOJO NEWS? All that plus discussion of:

• Concrete Revolutio # 2
• Peeping Life Season 1 #1
• One Punch Man #4
• Mr Osomatsu #3 and 4

Listen Up!

Show #108: Fish Police

Dredged up from the deep after being fed to the sharks many years ago, we investigate the strange case of Fish Police.

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A pretender to the 90s prime time cartoon throne (held in that era in an iron grip by The Simpsons) Fish Police sounds good on paper, an adaptation of Steve Moncuse's bizarre comic with a prestigious cast including John Ritter, Buddy Hackett and Megan Mulally. The execution is sorely lacking though; too dumb for an older audience with lame humour and stale plotlines and grossly unsuitable for younger viewers, laced with sexual innuendo and other mature content. In attempting to be for everybody it was a show for nobody, only notable now for being a fascinating artifact of animation from the time.

THE SHORT VERSION

Hard-bitten carps

Fish fatales

An all shar(k) cast! (Forgive me...)

Let’s Go! Episode 1 – The All-Purpose Anime Podcast!

From Dynamite In The Brain and Secret of the Sailor Madness, the insane individuals behind Let's Go Jojo and Let's Go Goku comes the only weekly anime podcast you need - Let's Go! Delivering a veritable smorgasbord of current cartoon classics that we're currently enjoying, beginning this time with:

• Lupin III Part IV Episode 1
• Concrete Revolutio Episode 1
• Mr Osomatsu Episodes 1-2
• One Punch Man Episodes 1-3

Listen Up!

Let’s Go Goku! Episode 14 - The Battle of Gods Concludes! This Is Every Last Bit Of My Power!

You read that right, this superhuman contest is finally over and with it this spin-off podcast in it's current form! We submit to it's oppressive power and venture off to greener anime pastures. Featuring space subterfuge, dozy deities and a great big sigh of relief from cast and podcast hosts alike. Listen up!

Let’s Go Goku! Episode 13 – Goku, Go Surpass Super Saiyan God!

The battle of gods continues! Again! And we're getting just as weary watching these two brutes slugging it out in space. Featuring dirty dueling, Satanic signatures and a wish upon Whis. Listen up!

Show #107: The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo

That most blessed of holidays is upon us and we get into the Halloween spirit with a most horrifying chapter of a long running franchise, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo!

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For our first foray into the venerable annals of Scooby Doo we picked a more obscure offering that sounds great on paper; beloved actor Vincent Price is a wizard helping the gang capture some runaway revenants. However the transition to actual ghostbusting does not fit so well for the mystery solving teens, already hamstrung by a roster of repulsive replacements dealing out gags that were stale a decade before the show came out and essentially doing away with most of what makes Scooby Doo work in the first place. Vincent Price deserved a better class of cartoon than this, a terrifying apparition that will curse one with nightmares on these late October evenings!

THE SHORT VERSION

Scooby skits

Too good for this show

Scrappy Doo ver. 2.0

SOTSM X DITB: Anime Cat Poker

While you're waiting for us to get our ducks in a row for the next podcast why not enjoy Niall getting into a feline feud with Brian Smith, Anthony Askew and Elliot Page over on Dynamite In The Brain as we attempt to settle once and for all who is the top cat of anime. Listen up!

Show #106: Madonna (1988)

Niall and Dwayne tog out and get on the pitch to scrum down with obscure school rugby OAV Madonna!

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Rugby World Cup fever strikes SOTSM but we're hard pressed for appropriate rugby cartoons, leading our gaze to fall upon this 1988 anime OAV which is dang hard to find due to its naming. A strange mixture of underdog sports story and puerile delinquent school comedy, Madonna stands out even further by often breaking with the conventions of both and focusing on a sport with sparse coverage in the animated medium. But who knows, with recent real world success by the Japanese rugby team the next anime craze mightn't be far away!

THE SHORT VERSION

Unorthodox educators

Ragtag misfits

The next big thing?

Let’s Go Goku! Episode 12 – The Universe Crumbles! Clash! The God of Destruction vs Super Saiyan God!

The showdown between Goku and Beerus ascends far above Earth, but even there will the planet, nay, the universe be safe? Featuring powerful punches, impressive eyesight and Mr Satan subterfuge. Listen up!

Let’s Go Goku! Episode 11 - Let's Continue Beerus! The Battle of Gods!

The battle of gods rages on still. Yes still! Will Goku and Beerus unleash the full extent of their powers this time? You'll have to listen and find out! Featuring island annihilation, shaky spacecraft and flippant fisticuffs. Listen up!

Let’s Go Goku! Episode 10 – Show Me, Goku! The Power of the Super Saiyan God!!

Goku has attained Super Saiyan God-hood and is eager to test his abilities against Beerus, but he'll have a little trouble getting to grips with this new-found power. Featuring petty payback, useful UFOs and a picnic with Pilaf. Listen up!

Let’s Go Goku! Episode 9 – Sorry for the Wait, Beerus. The Super Saiyan God is Finally Born!

Sorry for the wait in getting this post up, in which we find Beerus and our heroes finally solving the mystery of the Super Saiyan God! Featuring deferring dragons, powerful pregnancies and a brand new look. Listen up!

Show #105: Samurai Jack

Leon Everett emerges from a time portal to the far flung past of 2001 to tell future society of the greatness of Samurai Jack.

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One of the shows this podcast was made for, a samurai in the future chopping up hordes of killer robots! It's not all mech massacre though; Genndy Tartakovsky, patron saint of SOTSM, and his company of incredible talent exploit Samurai Jack's malleable setting and characters to the fullest, delivering cinema grade action and atmosphere one moment and providing perfectly pitched levity the next. An unfinished symphony if ever there was one, and a cartoon that will stand the test of time for generations.

Leon's Twitter

Focus Fire Nerd, Leon's game streaming channel

THE SHORT VERSION

Cinematic style

Amusing adversaries

To be continued?

Let’s Go Goku! Episode 8 – Goku Arrives! A Last Chance from Beerus!

Despite a spirited assault from Vegeta the indomitable Beerus still stands and Earth's destruction seems assured... UNLESS the feline foe can be bested in one last contest at the hands of Oolong, of all people! Featuring finger flexing, mediocre music and swine stupidity. Listen up!