Not too long ago, Otaku;Hourly covered the long-anticipated Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel — Presage Flower movie premiere at the red carpet on November 3rd, 2017. Being the first part of a movie trilogy for the Fate franchise, the crew was presented with an incredible and rare opportunity to interview both the director of the film and the Japanese voice actress of Sakura Matou at the Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
This opportunity was entrusted to our research expert, Kaleb Lee, also known as the radio personality “D.O.C.” on Otaku;Hourly. Here’s a look into Kaleb’s first-time experience as a reporter on the red carpet.
The first person you hear anytime you tune into Otaku;Hourly is the show’s creator and host, Jonathan “Joestar” Beltran. In this Otaku;Hourly: Behind the Scenes interview, Jonathan talks about how he got into radio, how Otaku;Hourly wasn’t his first idea, and where he plans on taking the show next.
Get a glimpse into the makings of an “Otaku:Hourly” episode as you listen to one of our most recent live episodes, covering the infamous anime “Ghost Stories” in our studio at 22 West Media.
Scott “Cynical Experiments” Ross, Christian Wiseman, Matthew “Donnie K.” Mercado, and Marvin “Marth” Ray T. Hidalgo talk about “Ghost Stories” for tonight’s episode on Sept. 27. “Ghost Stories” was a show created in 2000 by studio Pierrot and dubbed by ADV Films, who rewrote the script into a dark comedy for English-speaking viewers.Jonathan “Joestar” Beltran, the host of “Otaku;Hourly,” lowers the audio input on the studio’s microphones as he cuts the show to commercial break on Sept. 27. Jonathan is the founder of “Otaku;Hourly”, and has been the show’s host for more than two years.Cynical Experiments, Christian Wiseman, and Jonathan “Joestar” Beltran joke about the dated early 2000s references and crude humor in the anime “Ghost Stories” on Sept 27. “Ghost Stories” was the crew’s favorite show to cover for “Sept-terrible,” the theme for last month’s episodes which featured infamously or controversially bad anime.Jonathan “Joestar” Beltran gets pumped about the prospect of grabbing chicken wings while watching “Ghost Stories” with the crew on Sept 27. Donnie K. began the tradition of enjoying chicken wings with friends while chatting and casually listening to anime in the background.Donnie K. and Marth joke with the crew during the second commercial break on Sept 27. “Otaku;Hourly” was being filmed on Facebook Live for the show’s Facebook page by Marth, giving viewers another glimpse of “Otaku;Hourly” from behind the scenes.Jonathan “Joestar” Beltran articulates his thoughts on “Ghost Stories,” comparing the anime’s style of dark, crude humor to internet trolling and memes not seen in most anime on Sept 27. The crew then proceeded to plot with him on how they could make “Ghost Stories” into an eternal meme passed down for generations.Jonathan “Joestar” Beltran packs up his laptop and equipment after ending tonight’s show on Sept. 27. The show ended at 10 p.m. and the crew prepares to go home after a long day.Christian Wiseman talks with Marth after the show while Jonathan “Joestar” Beltran uploads the recording of tonight’s live show for the “Otaku;Hourly” Mixcloud account on Sept 27. Jonathan is dedicated to recording and reviewing his audio every week to see how he can improve his performance as a show host.Christian Wiseman, Cynical Experiments Lain, Jonathan “Joestar” Beltran, Marth, and Torilyn “Toramelle” Mundi wish Harry Levin, the host of “Cloud Nine,” good luck on his show as they leave the radio station on Sept 27. The crew of “Otaku;Hourly” likes to keep a friendly working relationship with the other show hosts at 22 West Media.Christian Wiseman, Marth, Jonathan “Joestar” Beltran, Toramelle, and Cynical Experiments chat as they head to their cars after the show on Sept 27. Jonathan helped Christian carry a piano, borrowed from the station, to his car meant for a funeral service the following morning.
Back in July, when we first covered Anime Expo, I had a chance to interview Arianne and David of Idea Factory International, who have been good friends of the show ever since our Localization ft. Idea Factory Int’l episode. During the interview, we talked a little about Hakuoki Kyoto Winds, which Ari especially was enthusiastic about being Idea Factory’s first major Otome game.
Otome games are a category of game typically featuring a female protagonist chasing after romantic male interests. Otome games are a niche market in the gaming industry, especially in the west, but can permeate a number of genres and aren’t just limited to dating sims. Many feature complex and compelling storylines, with Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds being no exception.
Benny Carrillo, a friend of the show and Head Editor of Operation Rainfall, gave me a lot of background on the history and impact of the series before I interviewed David and Ari. He even wrote an article on the importance of the Hakuoki franchise, illustrating how the series provided much needed exposure to Otome games in the west.
Benny further detailed how Idea Factory International’s localization of the game takes a leap of faith, appealing to a new demographic that might not turn over a profit. This can pave the way for Idea Factory to begin localizing more Otome games and help contribute to a growing new market.
To learn more about Hakuoki, Otome games, and Idea Factory’s role, feel free to check out Benny’s article here.
Recently browsing Tokyo Otaku Mode, news just broke that some new footage and images were released for the upcoming Code Geass movie. For fans of the show who aren’t aware, the Code Geass movies will be a trilogy that recaps the entirety of the series’ first two seasons.
Code Geass has taken the spotlight in the anime community ever since last year’s announcement of both a movie as well as a season 3, known as Lelouch of the Resurrection. Code Geass has been a topic that I’ve been wanting to bring up on Otaku;Hourly for a while now, and what better time than now to discuss my thoughts?
Admittedly, I have my qualms about the upcoming third season of Code Geass. As Gigguk and many other names in the community have expressed, Code Geass R2 had one of the most beautifully written, conclusive endings in anime history. The idea of a third season has been very unsettling among members of the Otaku;Hourly crew as well as myself.
Nonetheless, the recap movie does gives us something to look forward to as we hold our breaths for the future of the franchise. Watching the trailer on the official site, despite being entirely in Japanese, brought back nostalgia for the original series.
It made me wonder if the trilogy can tell the same story better: perhaps three movies will force the writers to create a tighter narrative, paired with cleaned up, updated visuals. Or maybe it will reinforce the idea that the series is perfect as is and shouldn’t be touched any further by Sunrise.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, the crew of Otaku;Hourly was invited by Sentai Filmworks to attend the English premiere of No Game No Life Zero at the Los Angeles Anime Film Festival as press — which I couldn’t attend thanks to a nasty cold.
The movie premieres in theaters October 5th, so this was a good opportunity for the crew to get their first impressions out there early for listeners waiting on the American release.
While the official Otaku;Hourly coverage has not come out yet (the episode will be out September 20th at 9:00 PM PST), I did, in my free time, stumble across a fascinating, earlier review of the film on Anime News Network written by Kim Morrissy. The review gives a good breakdown not on just the film itself, but also how the movie stacks up to the original series.
No Game No Life Zero is an oddity: an anime movie prequel to a series is not commonplace in the anime industry. Originally, I had no idea what to expect of this film. Upon reading this article, I was shocked to learn that the film’s tone and presentation managed to articulate the core themes of the series perhaps even better than the original series.
Morrissy argues that the tonal differences of the film, featuring a much bleaker past in both narrative and visual style as compared to the show, lends favor to the movie’s overall theme of humanity triumphing over all odds. Flawed, sympathetic characters stand in for Sora and Shiro. Victory is most certainly not assured.
While this comes at the sacrifice of the unique feel that the original series used to pull in its original audience, the review advocates that this change is welcome for a standalone prequel. This film may be a departure from the series, but it only serves to strengthen the franchise as a whole, providing depth its storytelling.
All I know is, once I recover fully, I’ll be excited to see the film for myself in theaters!
After getting a call from Geoff Thew (Mother’s Basement), and with time on my hands thanks to being ill, I decided to revisit a few of my favorite videos that he put out in the not too recent past.
I’ll admit: I am a huge Jojo fan. A fan of our host Jonathan “Joestar” Beltran, yes, but also a huge fan of our host’s namesake: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. This series is one of Japan’s most popular franchises, with mangaka Hirohiko Araki even being requested to create a special manga for the Louvre museum (see Anime News Network for more details).
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is a cleverly written, masterfully drawn, and stylishly animated show following the Joestar lineage throughout generations, with each descendant fighting against vampires, pillar men, super-powered “Stand users” and the outright bizarre forces of evil, including family archenemy Dio Brando.
The show has gained cult following in the United States that exploded thanks to the recent anime adaptation, so much so that Mother’s Basement looked in depth into the symbolism behind each and every one of the intros.
SPOILERS AHEAD: Perhaps my favorite of his video series was the Part 4 (or “Diamond is Unbreakable”) analysis because, out of all the intros, Part 4 stood out. These intros, unlike their predecessors, were not stand alone and, in fact, built off of one another in order to tell a story.
The tone of each opening parallels with the changing tone of Part 4, the first intro being more lighthearted, the second adopting a much more serious tone, and the final intro sinister, yet hopeful. Mother’s Basement even dives into how the openings connect with one another, such as the symbolism behind the road signs in the background or why the cast is seen pointing upward throughout all three intros.
Many of the cleverly hidden symbols foreshadows events in the series as well as relationships, and I highly recommend you check out the first two videos, the first video covering Parts 1 and 2 and the second video covering Part 3’s two openings. Links down below:
Over the last week, I’ve been recovering from a nasty cold that, sadly, prevented me from attending the Los Angeles Anime Film Festival. The story was that Otaku;Hourly was invited by Sentai Filmworks to cover the No Game No Life Zero red carpet event, which was a huge deal to the crew and I. So they went to the big premiere while I rested at home, watching videos on my laptop.
Fortunately, our story doesn’t end there. It was that night that Jonathan “Joestar” Beltran, our host, called me up and put a familiar voice on the phone. To my surprise, it was none other than Geoff Thew, professional dirtbag and mind behind Mother’s Basement.
After wishing me to get well soon, with my voice sounding like the Godfather’s, and bonding over our mutual hatred for Sword Art Online, I broke the news to him about the newly announced “Seven Senses of the Re’Union” anime (which I relayed appropriately as Sword Art Online Anohana crossover — see this Crunchyroll article for why). Promising me some very angry tweets, he handed the phone back to Jonathan and my little story comes to a close. All and all, that made up for a night of coughing my lungs out.
Fans of the show know that we at Otaku;Hourly, not too long ago, did an episode called ‘Sword Art Online (Clap or Crap)” that featured a debate between the crew about our thoughts on the hit, yet controversial2009 anime.
Sword Art Online is a show that I love to hate. It gives me incredible joy to analyze and subsequently rip apart this show. This is by no means out of mean spiritedness (no promises) but rather out of a simple writer’s curiosity for the following:
Why this show is so divisive between fans and critics?
Why are people still talk about SAO, even in 2017?
Why does SAO still rub me the wrong way?
My opinions on the show wouldn’t be as clear or as specific if not for Digibro’s “Sword Art Online – An Analytical Diatribe”. Digibro’s analysis provides a critical, in-depth breakdown at how the narrative of SAO’s first season went horribly, horribly wrong.
Digibro’s video breaks down the show into categories: character, the setting, and the plot — more specifically the Aincrad arc and the Fairy Dance arc. Step by step, his video provides a cathartic experience for those disappointed with the show, all while providing a glimpse for fans into why people have a problem with simply “turning their brain off”.
This is not to say that there aren’t aspects of SAO that I liked: the visuals are impressive, the character designs memorable, and the romance extends beyond the love confession. I initially enjoyed SAO and its initial premise provided several possibilities for very thrilling, human storytelling.
Perhaps that is all the more reason why the show crushed my hopes so mercilessly.
Decide for yourself: Did you enjoy SAO? Do you think SAO is a good show? Please tell us in the comments.
“What might seem effortless at times often requires incredible dedication, and I want to shed some light on the people who help make Otaku;Hourly an incredible, yet always improving show.”
Hello everyone and welcome to the blog! My name is Dakota McNally, the Editor in Chief of Otaku;Hourly, a radio show hosted by 22 West Media that broadcasts to 30,000 students at California State University Long Beach weekly as well as 8,000 people internationally.
Those who listen to the show might know me as the radio personality “The Dex”, who does on-site interviews and coverage for the show. Otherwise, besides the occasional episode, my work tends to be more “behind the scenes”.
To share a little about myself, I am a film major at CSULB specializing in screenwriting with a journalism minor. I was also the previous secretary of CSULB’s Anime Club and used to do a lot of freelance writing and editing, which landed me my position on the show before I became the Editor in Chief. I’ve watched anime for over nine years and read manga for even longer, with my favorite anime being Steins;Gate and my favorite manga being Bakuman.
My favorite episode of Otaku;Hourly was our Anime Expo 2017 — Industry Partners episode, where I was able to help conduct interviews with a ton of different Japanese and American anime and gaming companies at Anime Expo. This episode was also our highest rated episode, earning us 8th in the student radio chart and 20th in the college radio chart on Mixcloud.
I created this blog in hope to bring to light a lot of what goes into the making of each and every episode. What might seem effortless at times often requires incredible dedication, and I want to shed some light on the people who help make Otaku;Hourly an incredible, yet always improving show.
Being on the show for over two years has allowed me to grow and evolve as a reporter and editor, meeting all kinds of people working for top anime production, dubbing, and gaming companies as well as voice actors and local anime content creators. I had the chance to go to Anime Expo and other local conventions as press, covering both the experience and the behind the scenes of the con experience. I’ve even had the chance to talk to fans of the show and get feedback. Each and every experience has been worthwhile, and I hope I can share these experiences with you.
Anyways, thank you for checking out the blog, and I hope my posts can give some interesting new insight into the makings of Otaku;Hourly.
Otaku;Hourly -- Behind the Scenes with The Dex 