Episode 12: All-Star Holiday Extravaganza

Get in the holiday spirit as Jesse, Karl, Eryn and Rin-senpai recount their personal highlights of 2015.

Episode Breakdown:
01:00 - News rundown
15:00 - We each share our media highlights of the year


Contact:
Twitter: @zannencanada
E-mail: zannencanada@gmail.com
Blog: http://www.zannen.ca

Theme song by Karl Olson. Check out Packet Flood, the album all of this show's music is taken from, on his Bandcamp.

Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/zannen-canada/id1013994040?mt=2#
Subscribe on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/zannen-canada

Please leave a rating or review!

Episode 11: Bishounen Sparkles Make the TPP All Better

A little bit of everything: Adult Swim Canada, geoblocking issues, and a rundown of some of the best and worst new anime now streaming from Japan.

Episode Breakdown:
7:00 - Adult Swim schedule updates for November and some thoughts on Two Nuts and a Richard 20:00 - Some news on Canadian dubbing, or lack thereof
28:00 - Streaming gaps, and are shomi and crave viable options for anime?
43:00 - What's been geoblocked?
53:00 - We talk about what shows are streaming now, specifically One Punch Man, Osomatsu-san, Comet Lucifer, and more
1:24:00 - Addendum

Contact:
Twitter: @zannencanada
Blog: http://www.zannen.ca

Theme song by Karl Olson. Check out Packet Flood, the album all of this show's music is taken from, on his Bandcamp.

Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/zannen-canada/id1013994040?mt=2#
Subscribe on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/zannen-canada

Please leave a rating or review!

NOTICE: Feed Change In Progress

Quick heads up that while I will continue to update this blog, I'll be completely switching the Feedburner over to my Soundcloud feed starting next episode. If you're subscribing to Zannen, Canada through one of the RSS feeds that I originally set up when I launched the podcast, this is the last update you will see. If you are receiving the show through one of these feeds you may not receive episode 11 when it launches within the next few days. Make sure to keep a close eye on things if you can.

Want to make absolute certain that you receive every new episode as soon as it launches? Subscribing to the show on iTunes is always the best option. If you use Soundcloud, you can subscribe directly to the show there as well. I also post updates immediately on Twitter. Is Zannen, Canada still not available on your podcast program of choice? Please let me know in the comments or contact form, and I will look into it as soon as I can.

Episode 10: The Love Live Movie and the Politics of Waifus

Bummed out that Love Live: The School Idol Movie didn't open in any Canadian theatres at all? You're not alone! Randy, Eryn, and Rin-senpai chime in on what they think went wrong with this supposedly "international" theatrical release.

Contact:

Zannen, Canada: Twitter | Blog

Randy: Twitter

Eryn: Twitter | YouTube Channel

Rin-senpai: Twitter | YouTube Channel

Theme song by Karl Olson. Check Packet Flood, the album all of this show's music is taken from, on his Bandcamp.

Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/zannen-canada/id1013994040?mt=2#
Subscribe on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/zannen-canada

Please leave a rating or review!

Episode 9: Anime on Teletoon? It's More Likely Than You Think!

Karl and Brittney join me to take a good hard look at [adult swim] Canada now that we get it, talk about the big changes in children's television stations, and dissect the smidgen of hope for adult-targeted anime that has surfaced on Teletoon.

Episode breakdown:

3:50 - An overview of [adult swim] Canada since their expansion, and some initial impressions of Night Sweats (basically, it’s a good show!)

31:00 - Detangling the mess of changes happening in children’s television with Corus’ launch of The Disney Channel Canada

45:00 - What these changes could mean for anime on TV!

Contact:

Zannen, Canada: Twitter | Blog

Brittney: Twitter

Karl: Twitter | Ultraklystron.com

Theme song by Karl Olson. Check Packet Flood, the album all of this show's music is taken from, on his Bandcamp.

Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/zannen-canada/id1013994040?mt=2#
Subscribe on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/zannen-canada

Please leave a rating or review!

Episode 8: The Worldwide Woes of Adult Swim (or: There Are Bigger Problems Than Toonami)

Why doesn't Adult Swim seem to work outside of the United States? Does it just not translate anywhere culturally? Or is it because of corporate politics? Karl Olson (Ultraklystron) returns along with animation storyboarder Corey Barnes (who's worked on Archer, China IL, Superjail! and Axe Cop) to mull over why the subversive network has such a hard time gaining traction in international markets. We also talk about Spider Riders.

Episode breakdown:

04:20 - Anime Revolution and some lessons in Spider Riders nostalgia

12:00 - All about Adult Swim

Contact:

Zannen, Canada: Twitter | Blog

Corey: Twitter

Karl: Twitter | Ultraklystron.com

Theme song by Karl Olson. Check Packet Flood, the album all of this show's music is taken from, on his Bandcamp.

Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/zannen-canada/id1013994040?mt=2#
Subscribe on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/zannen-canada

Please leave a rating or review!

Episode 7: Can We Just Agree That Anime is More Popular Here?

Mike Toole swings by to help determine why anime is more popular in Canada than it is in other regions like the United States. I don't think we find a definitive answer, but along the way we talk about Otakon, the 80s Astro Boy dub that aired on Global, World Masterpiece Theatre on Radio-Canada, and that elusive Dragon Ball Kai Ocean dub.

Contact:

Zannen, Canada: Twitter | Blog

Mike: Twitter | THE MIKE TOOLE SHOW

Theme song by Karl Olson. Check out his music at Ultraklystron.com.

Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/zannen-canada/id1013994040?mt=2#
Subscribe on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/zannen-canada

Episode 6: The YTV Anime Master is Not Unstumpable

  

YTV's infamous Anime Master is at last ambushed and unmasked for all to see! But first, Karl and I talk a bit about streaming on MAL, why you shouldn't use Hola after all, and why you should care about not being able to watch NieA_7.

Episode breakdown:

01:30 - Karl and I talk about region issues on Viewster and MAL embracing legitimate streaming.

20:00 - Anime Master time!.

Contact:

Zannen, Canada: Twitter | Blog

Emily: Twitter | Moon Chase

Karl: Twitter | Ultraklystron.com

Theme song by Karl Olson. Check out his music at Ultraklystron.com.

Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/zannen-canada/id1013994040?mt=2#
Subscribe on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/zannen-canada

Episode 5: Talking with "PJ" Phil Guerrero

  

Randy and I sit down with Phil Guerrero, former host of YTV's The Zone block, who tells us about the loneliness of bingewatching, living the fast life in LA, and what it's like to be haunted by a single, over-used photograph.

Episode breakdown:

02:03 - Phil talks about his time on The Zone.

33:30 - How the internet screwed everything up and why TV personalities just aren’t the same anymore.

50:00 - Snit

52:15 - Exodus to Los Angeles

1:10:30 - Phil talks about his current online streaming project, Mainstream Media Unplugged

Contact:

Zannen, Canada: Twitter | Blog

Phil Guerrero: Twitter | Mainstream Media Unplugged

Randy Forbister: Twitter

Music by Karl Olson. Check out his music at Ultraklystron.com.

Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/zannen-canada/id1013994040?mt=2#

Now on the iTunes Store and Soundcloud

You can now subscribe to Zannen, Canada through the iTunes Store and Soundcloud. Files will still be uploaded to the blog, although there might be a delay. I'll keep using these services so long as my audience numbers are high enough to justify it, so please keep spreading the word about this show and subscribe.

iTunes

Soundcloud

Episode 4: Workaround Dystopia

This episode I'm joined by Lance Heiskell (former Director of Corporate Strategy for FUNimation Entertainment) and Karl Olson (nerdcore rapper Ultraklystron) to talk about anime streaming and simulcasts in Canada. Geoblocking and the inability for American companies to understand the problems with it, the ethics of VPN use, and weighing streaming and broadcast as forms of discovery are all on the agenda.



Direct download


Episode breakdown:

1:08 – Introducing Lance and Karl

7:50 - The problems with the US-centrism baked into the net and the frustration with embedding

9:00 – Running down the streaming situations of FUNimation, Netflix, Sentai, and Crunchyroll. We also touch on Quebec rights and just can’t resist talking a bit about broadcast and MuchMusic.

37:00 – Why some companies only use Hulu for streaming, and will they ever change?

1:05:00 – If we can’t get this figured out in North America, what hope is there for global streaming?

1:16:20 – Reminicising, simuldubs and some gushing over Shirobako.

Contact:

Jesse: Twitter

Lance: Twitter | Anime Nostalgia Bomb

Karl: Twitter | Ultraklystron.com

Theme song by Karl Olson. Check out his music at Ultraklystron.com.

Episode 3: LA-LI-LU-LELOLA

An interview with the ever insightful Pan, former webmaster of the incredibly popular Canadian anime site LELOLA.net, cosplayer extraordinaire, and Power Rangers aficionado.

Direct download

Episode breakdown:

01:05 - Introducing Pan

14:00 – The lost art of the personalized fan site

20:53 – Exposure and reaction to social justice issues online

27:00 – The Lelola community and the enormous response it received, including Pan fanfiction

37:34 – Power Rangers talk, specifically why Power Rangers Megaforce: Robo Knight Before Christmas is the ultimate cringewatch

43:37 – Pan answers the roundtable questions from previous episodes

51:40 – I address a user submitted question with an answer that I guess is acceptable

53:00 – Call out for thoughts on the state of streaming in Canada

Contact:

Jesse: Twitter

Theme song by Karl Olson. Check out his music at Ultraklystron.com.

Episode 2: He Sold His Soul For Bootleg Rock and Roll

The panel is dominated by Winnipeggers and near-Winnipeggers in our second roundtable discussion of the past and possible future of anime on Canadian TV.

 
Direct download

Episode breakdown:

00:00 - Introductions

01:40 - Some more good anime TV memories including MTN children's shows, Macross Plus, and... some other stuff Teletoon had a hand in.

20:40 - What, exactly, was the big deal with Gundam SEED and Witch Hunter Robin?

22:40 - How we would've benefited from more girl shows, missing second seasons, and the real artistic potential of international co-productions.

37:00 - The common cultural experience of anime bootlegs.

55:15 - Hopes or expectations for the future such as broadcast supplementing geoblocked streams and broadening the possibilities of an unexpected hit.

Contributors:

Jesse: Twitter

Randy: Twitter

Phil: Twitter | Just What Am I Listening To? Podcast

Leandra: Twitter

Ian: Twitter

Special thanks to Karl Olson both for the theme song and for production assistance yet again on this episode. Check out his music at Ultraklystron.com.

Episode 1: Understandable Skepticism

The premiere episode! This is the first of two roundtable discussions looking back at anime on Canadian TV, musing about some missed opportunities, and speculating about what the future may hold.


Direct download

Episode breakdown:

00:00 - Introductions

02:40 - Some fond reflections of anime on Canadian broadcasters. Some appreciation of Witch Hunter Robin, weird movies on SPACE, and lots of Sailor Moon.

37:00 - Some of the biggest missed opportunities. and many tears shed for CHUM.

55:55 - Hopes or expectations for the future of anime on TV. Quite a bit of skepticism, but maybe there's hope for Attack on Titan and Sailor Moon?

Contributors:

Jesse: Twitter

Emily: Twitter | Moon Chase!

Marc: Retroarcadia

Kevin: Twitter | Linked to Japan Podcast

Special thanks to Karl Olson both for the theme song and for production assistance on this first episode. Check out his music at Ultraklystron.com.

Introduction

Nearly five years after shutting down the original news site, I'm pleased to announce that I will be relaunching Zannen, Canada in the form of a podcast. In each episode I will be joined by a variety of co-hosts as we explore the many intersections between anime and Canadian media through streaming, home video, and (most importantly) television. We hope to highlight the many ways that anime has been an integral part of the Canadian media landscape in the past, and will hopefully continue to be in the future.

Keep your eye on this page - the first episode will drop sometime next week. Please tune in!