Ani-Gamers Podcast

Wow! 200 episodes! What a run it’s been, but as Evan reminds you in this episode, whatever you do don’t start at Episode 1. Evan and David reminisce about 200 episodes and 18 years of the AGP, interspersed with some discussion of the latest anime and manga they’ve been checking out, including Jaadugar, The Ghost in the Shell, Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games, Akari, and March Comes in Like a Lion. Subscribe to the Patreon for our upcoming bonus episode featuring the cut-for-time Nintendo Direct discussion! Runtime: 1 hour, 10 minutes Direct Download RSS Feed iTunes Spotify Google Music Send us Feedback! Support us on Patreon! Join our Discord server! More episodes Show Notes Opening/Ending Song: “Blues Machine” by Scott Gratton Episode edited by Evan Minto. Topic: Listener questions + Quicksave Evan is watching Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia and The Ghost in the Shell David is reading Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games Evan is reading March Comes in Like a Lion and Akari BlueSky: Evan, Ani-Gamers Mastodon: Evan, Ani-Gamers Instagram: Ani-Gamers Twitch: David & Inaki Subscribe to Evan’s digital manga service Omoi (formerly Azuki).

We are back at it again with the light novels in this sixth episode of AGBC Part V: The Reading Experience. This time, we’re reading Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Stop at Nothing to Become a Librarian Part 1: Daughter of a Soldier, Vol. 2, the story of a little girl trying to make paper. Topics include sharp criticisms of the new Bookwalker app, drinking shampoo, and ancient Egypt. Post in the Discord or pop off in the comments below on anything and everything AGBC and maybe we’ll talk about it on the next episode. Runtime: 53 minutes Direct Download RSS Feed iTunes Spotify Stitcher Google Music Send us Feedback! Support us on Patreon! Join our Discord server! More episodes

Evan and Pat went to Otakon with a surprise guest: David, who attended the Washington, DC anime convention for the first time in a decade! The hosts discuss why Otakon is the best anime convention around, the guests and panels they saw, and more. Topics include: the lettuce that kills you, forbidden Lord of the Rings panels, and the most impregnatable man in fiction. Runtime: 1 hour, 14 minutes Direct Download RSS Feed iTunes Spotify Google Music Send us Feedback! Support us on Patreon! Join our Discord server! More episodes Show Notes Opening/Ending Song: “Blues Machine” by Scott Gratton Episode edited by Evan Minto. Topic: Otakon 2026 BlueSky: Evan, Pat, Ani-Gamers Mastodon: Evan, Ani-Gamers Instagram: Ani-Gamers Twitch: David & Inaki Subscribe to Evan’s digital manga service Omoi (formerly Azuki).  

Evan and David reconvene to discuss the anime, manga, and games they’ve been checking out: Journal with Witch, Owarimonogatari, Frieren Season 2, Demon’s Souls, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, and In This Corner of the World (the manga). Also Project: Hail Mary for a little bit. Topics include: anime for adults, playing NES games on the Switch 2, and why do they call it Owarimonogatari if they keep makin’ em. Runtime: 54 minutes Direct Download RSS Feed iTunes Spotify Google Music Send us Feedback! Support us on Patreon! Join our Discord server! More episodes Show Notes Opening/Ending Song: “Blues Machine” by Scott Gratton Episode edited by Evan Minto. Quicksave Evan watched Journal with Witch David is watching Owarimonogatari Evan watched Frieren Season 2 David is playing Demon’s Souls Evan played Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light Evan read In This Corner of the World BlueSky: Evan, Ani-Gamers Mastodon: Evan, Ani-Gamers Instagram: Ani-Gamers Twitch: David & Inaki Subscribe to Evan’s digital manga service Omoi (formerly Azuki).  

The Tolkien sickos are unleashed at last! In this Golden Ticket episode requested by DustyStars, Evan and Inaki review the 2024 anime film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, discussing its status within the franchise, effectiveness as a standalone film, and adherence to Tolkien canon. To redeem your own Golden Ticket and request a review of a specific piece of media, join the Ani-Gamers Patreon! Topics include: incel kings, elephants where they don’t belong, and the plural of maia (it‘s maiar). Runtime: 1 hour, 53 minutes Direct Download RSS Feed iTunes Spotify Google Music Send us Feedback! Support us on Patreon! Join our Discord server! More episodes Show Notes Opening/Ending Song: “Blues Machine” by Scott Gratton Episode edited by Evan Minto. The Review Namedrops: J.R.R. Tolkien (duh), Peter Jackson, Phillipa Boyens, Kenji Kamiyama, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, The History of Middle Earth, The Children of Hurin, The Song of Beren and Luthien. Inaki mentioned this Tumblr post about Lord of the Rings in the context of WWI BlueSky: Evan, Inaki, Ani-Gamers Mastodon: Evan, Ani-Gamers Instagram: Ani-Gamers Twitch: David & Inaki Subscribe to Evan’s digital manga service Omoi (formerly Azuki).

After our extended 3-D Zelda retrospective last year, the full Ani-Gamers staff (Evan, David, Inaki, and Pat) return for a multi-part dive into every 2-D Zelda game, starting with the earliest entries: The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and A Link to the Past. And as a bonus, they throw in the much-maligned and non-canon CD-i games Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. Topics include: being gifted a sword, skellingtons, and The Zelda Wars. Runtime: 1 hour, 36 minutes Direct Download RSS Feed iTunes Spotify Google Music Send us Feedback! Support us on Patreon! Join our Discord server! More episodes Show Notes Opening/Ending Song: “Blues Machine” by Scott Gratton Episode edited by Evan Minto. The Review Namedrops: Nintendo, Nintendo Entertainment System, Famicom, Super NES, Super Famicom. Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka, Tadashi Sugiyama and Yasuhisa Yamamura, Phillips, Sony, Yoshi’s Island, Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore Twitter: Ani-Gamers Twitch: David & Inaki Mastodon: Evan BlueSky: Evan, Inaki, Pat Subscribe to Evan’s digital manga service Omoi (formerly Azuki).

Evan and David are back for Evan’s review of CITY The Animation, the 2025 spiritual successor to Nichijou from the same manga author and studio: Keiichi Arawi and Kyoto Animation. Topics include: production perverts, the short round one and the tall lanky one, and crispy noodles. Runtime: 1 hour, 7 minutes Direct Download RSS Feed iTunes Spotify Google Music Send us Feedback! Support us on Patreon! Join our Discord server! More episodes Show Notes Opening/Ending Song: “Blues Machine” by Scott Gratton Episode edited by Evan Minto. The Review Namedrops: Kyoto Animation, Nichijou, Keiichi Arawi, Taichi Ishidate, Azumanga Daioh, The Daily Lives of High School Boys Twitter: Ani-Gamers Twitch: David & Inaki Mastodon: Evan BlueSky: Evan Subscribe to Evan’s digital manga service Omoi (formerly Azuki).

We are back at it again with the light novels in this fifth episode of AGBC Part V: The Reading Experience. This time, we’re reading Victoria of Many Faces, the story of a former spy trying to start a new life in another country. Topics include inevitable comparisons to Spy x Family, dissatisfaction in the workplace, and Italian grandmothers. Post in the Discord or pop off in the comments below on anything and everything AGBC and maybe we’ll talk about it on the next episode. Runtime: 54 minutes Direct Download RSS Feed iTunes Spotify Stitcher Google Music Send us Feedback! Support us on Patreon! Join our Discord server! More episodes

Dropping in for a holiday visit to take part in Anime Secret Santa, Jared and Ink of Oldtaku no Radio talk about the 2024 movie, Ghost Cat Anzu. The movie, based off of a manga by Takashi Imashiro, focuses on a tween, Karen (#NotThatKaren), who is taken away from the city by her widower father and dropped off at a rural temple tended by her grandfather. The movie deals with the processing of loss and grief via a sense of sympathy as well as a nostalgia for youthful mischief, bolstered by supernatural elements, and makes fantastic use of ishōtenketsu structure to nail its finale. Direct Download – RSS Feed – Spotify – Stitcher – Google Play: Music – iTunes – Send us Feedback! – More episodes Runtime: 1 hour, 9 minutes Show Notes Episode edited by Ink (Ink’s computer was dying, so he apologizes for some of his choppier bits) The Review: Ghost Cat Anzu Name drops: co-directors Yoko Kuno (Linda, Linda, Linda) and Nobuhiro Yamashita (The Case of Hana & Alice, select Crayon Shin-Chan movies) Ghost Cat Anzu can be streamed via HBO Max and has a North American physical release via GKIDS Socials: Jared, Ink

In this episode recorded shortly after the release of the Switch 2, Evan and David review their new consoles and the launch title Mario Kart World. How does the Switch 2 measure up against its predecessor, and is Mario Kart World enough of a departure from the formula to warrant a sequel to the definitive Mario Kart 8 Deluxe? Topics include: “the bullet bill is also my stand,” Grand Theft Kart, and donkloadable content. Runtime: 1 hour, 9 minutes Direct Download RSS Feed iTunes Spotify Google Music Send us Feedback! Support us on Patreon! Join our Discord server! More episodes Show Notes Opening/Ending Song: “Blues Machine” by Scott Gratton Episode edited by Evan Minto. The Review Namedrops: Nintendo, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 2DS, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Donkey Kong Bananza, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Metroid Prime 4, Megaman X4. Twitter: Ani-Gamers Twitch: David & Inaki Mastodon: Evan BlueSky: Evan Subscribe to Evan’s digital manga service Omoi (formerly Azuki).