Approaching 30 as a Single Anime Girl

Spoiler alert: This episode contains spoilers for the anime series ‘Naruto’, ‘Fullmetal Alchemist’ and ‘Shingeki no Kyojin’. Nat interviews up-and-coming Japan-based author Ambika Nagino (writing as A. A. Vora) whose longtime love for anime transformed her life in unexpected ways.  Listen to her recount her experiences with a senior executive who loved ‘One Piece’, a pair of ‘Love Live!’ obsessed senpai… and a colleague whose mutual love for ‘Pokémon’ battling ended in a marriage proposal. Join Nat and Ambika as they fangirl about ‘Mo Dao Zu Shi’, gush about the recent romantic developments in the ‘Sasuke Retsudan’ novel, consider the implications of pareto efficiency during a titan attack, and discuss the profound impact anime has in bridging people from different backgrounds. Ambika also shares some exciting details about her new Young Adult fantasy trilogy, releasing with Penguin Random House in summer 2024.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains some references to sexual assault. If you / someone you know has suffered from sexual abuse, please reach out to the resources available in your country / region of residence for help, such as The 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line if you are in England & Wales. Disclaimer: This episode contains discussions around societal issues in Japan. While this episode’s guest is a Japanese person, she is NOT representing herself as an authority on this subject. The contents of this podcast are for entertainment purposes only. Joining our A30SAG cast as another one of Nat’s university friends, Yukari introduces her own take on anime culture and its relationship with Japan as someone who was partially raised there.  Nat and Yukari briefly discuss East Asian student society culture, then move on to the popularity of anime, Sanrio and Disney among adults in their homelands. Yukari recalls her exposure to anime growing up and her experiences meeting international fans of both anime and Japan. They then discuss the prominence of the Vocaloid community and escapist entertainment in Japan, and little things that make them miss living in East Asia sometimes. Yukari expresses her admiration for particular aspects of anime and hopes for improvement in others, and also her personal hopes for improvement around certain issues affecting Japanese society.

Disclaimer: This episode contains discussions around mental health but these discussions DO NOT constitute any advice or services to listeners. While this episode’s guest works with mental health, she stresses that she is NOT a psychologist. The views, thoughts and opinions presented by the guest are her own and do not represent the views, thoughts and opinions of the A30SAG podcast. If you are seeking or considering therapy, or any related treatments, please obtain INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONAL ADVICE regarding your personal mental health situation. The contents of this podcast are for entertainment purposes only. Spoiler alert: This episode contains spoilers for the anime series 'Death Note' and 'Vampire Knight'. For this A30SAG episode Nat interviews another one of her old classmates / long-time friends from secondary school. Heleyna Spirithold is here to talk about... everything. The episode starts off with Heleyna recounting how she began playing Dungeons & Dragons ("DnD") and how she came up with her DnD name. Our guest goes on to talk about her introduction to video games, her work as a general health coach, and her take on tarot card readings and manifestation. Heleyna also touches on her brief experiences with anime, namely Ghibli movies, 'Death Note' and 'Vampire Knight'.

The giggle monsters are back! Rae makes a sky-highly anticipated comeback in this A30SAG episode, where Nat and Rae do a dive into the otome games ("otoge") world.  Rae explains what otoge are, how she got into them, and what she loves about them. She discusses games such as 'My Forged Wedding', 'Collar x Malice', 'Tears of Themis', the platforms on which she plays otoge (console and mobile), and other aspects including character profiles, the worlds in the games, and of course, the inevitable integration of gacha. Nat recalls her first otoge 'Love Academy' that she played as a teenager, and other sporadic experiences with otoge since. Let's reach deep down inside our otome hearts together!

Welcome to the special episode dedicated to Taylor Swift, where Nat shares her journey as a Swiftie through all the eras.

Another anime and gaming veteran guest Julian joins A30SAG to talk about his very own anime journey that started with 'Gunslinger Girl' and 'Strike Witches', describing the evolution of his anime taste as phases: 1, 2, 3 and 3.5. Nat and Julian discuss the seiyuu industry and music franchises such as ‘Love Live! School Idol Project’, ‘BanG Dream!’ and ‘Revue Starlight’, exploring the deep philosophical question of “what makes an idol an idol”.  They move on to talk about Julian’s love for ‘Gundam’ model kits and how the juxtaposition of the idol and mecha genres is done well in the ‘Macross’ franchise.  The episode continues with a discussion on mobile games including ‘Honkai Impact 3’ and ‘Arknights’. Nat and Julian wonder what Julian’s next anime phase could be.

Spoiler warning: Episode contains spoilers for 'Bocchi the Rock!', 'Wonder Egg Priority', and 'Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica Movie 3: Hangyaku no Monogatari'. Yet another very special A30SAG guest Zans joins in for an episode on the show to talk about his experiences as a weeb. Originally a gamer, Zans talks about how Anime Society at uni and 'Kill la Kill' opened up his world, and how his exposure to this very unique anime convinced him to walk the path of the weeb. He goes on to reveal how he started writing anime reviews on MyAnimeList, and how his style of review has changed. Zans also talks about the time he almost gave up watching anime, and what made him continue with this hobby. Nat and Zans discuss niche anime such as 'Mawaru Penguindrum', 'Shoujo Kakumei Utena', and 'Flip Flappers', and share their love for the Madoka Rebellion movie soundtrack (the third Madoka movie). Moving on with the conversation, Zans opens up about the joys and sorrows he's experienced as a two-time Comiket-visiter, and what he thinks the do's and don't's are when planning a trip to the famous(ly crowded) doujin convention.  Wrapping up, Nat and Zans get into a prolonged discussion about their understanding of AI generated fanart, and what they think of it for now.

Happy New Year to our first recurring first guest Andrew! In this first episode for the new year Nat and Andrew talk about the anime season that just passed (Fall 2022), the upcoming season, isekai trash, what they've been excited for and disappointed by, and which series they considered to be Anime of the Year 2022 in their hearts. Andrew goes on a rant about anime character deaths. Nat tries to convince him to read BL. They talk more about adaptations both in the anime industry and overall in entertainment. Spoiler warnings for 'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba', 'Chainsaw Man', 'Kaichou wa Maid-sama!', 'That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime', 'Attack on Titan', 'Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood', 'Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War'.

Extra Christmas episode bundled with Season 1 of 'Approaching 30 as a Single Anime Girl'. Happy holidays!

In this normie, no filter (actually probably negative filter) episode Nat welcomes her first ever guest from secondary school - Rapha!  Nat and Rapha start off their conversations with the unlikely (or maybe likelier than they thought) topic of dragons, then explore a range of things like meme culture when they were teenagers, some school anecdotes when they were classmates, and mainstream cartoons and anime they've seen.  Strap in for some unadulterated adulterated laughs.  Please note: The dark humour exhibited within this episode is for comedic purposes, neither Nat nor Rapha condone physical violence / unkindness towards people and are civilised and peaceful humans. :)