We're kicking it old school today by discussing the 90s anime Ranma 1/2.

Ranma 1/2 is a martial arts comedy about marital artists who fell into magical springs that turn them into different things when cold water hits them.  For instance, the main character Ranma fell into the spring of drowned girl and now turns into a girl when hit with cold water.  So we get things like high flying martial arts fights between a red haired girl, a blind duck, and one badass little piggy... all in the name of love.

I'm not sure why we used to like Ranma 1/2 so much.  It's a fun enough series, but it's really repetitive and the animation quality has not aged well at all.  Heck, we even used to wrote fanfics (Kasey's and Melanie's) for some uknown reason.

Don't forget to enter our contest!

The Power of Friendship Podcast is starting its first "contest".  It's easy to enter.  Simply give us a review on Itunes:

Subscribe to The Power of Friendship:

 

And you too can have a free dvd! After you leave us a review (it doesn't even have to be a favorable review, I'm okay with honest criticism) send me an email at thepoweroffriendshippodcast@yahoo.com and tell me which review was yours and where you want me to send the free anime dvd.  I'll even ship outside of the U.S.  If there's some kind of special thing you want me to do if you're outside the U.S. make sure to tell me (like marking it 'gift'). If you are outside of the U.S. please note that these disks are Region 1.

So yes, the Power of Friendship Podcast is bribing you for reviews.  I've got plenty of dvds, and even misc anime stuff I could give out once I run out of dvds. So if you're seeing this several months after the original post there is still a chance I have stuff left.  Also, I will only send one dvd/item per address.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and The Sighs of Haruhi Suzumiya are two seasons of anime about a japanese highschool girl named Haruhi Suzumiya. Haruhi yearns to be special and stand out amongst the crowd.  On the first day of school, she declares that she's not interested in normal humans and asks that any time travelers, espers, and aliens come see her so that they can hang out.

If you haven't figured it out already, Haruhi is a weirdo.

Unbeknowst to her, Haruhi's highschool already has time travelers, espers, and aliens.  And not only that, but she may be more special then all of them combined.

In fact, Haruhi may be God.

I hope everyone hasn't left us after the long hiatus.  I made this episode nice and long to make up for it.  It's full of enthusiasm, maybe too much.  I got rather excited talking about this topic and often times drowned out Melanie.  My bad.  There shouldn't be any more long delays.  I have several episodes already recorded including a request for Howl's Moving Castle, and a Ranma 1/2 episode.

This podcast is cursed.

This is the second time I even tried posting. Arrrrgh.  So this is the gist.  We lost two podcasts to crashes, I had to learn how to put audacity temp files back together (all 500 of them) so I could save one of the crashed podcasts, I had to reformat my harddrive, I had a vacation, and my podcasting hosting company suspended my account due to a glitch in their system that kept my credit card from working.  So apparently I didn't pay them for six months. Oops? I never noticed either. It took two weeks to get that settled, including one day where I had to sneak into a supply closet at work so I could call them when their customer service people were actually there.

Libsyn's new system kind of sucks, too. The old web player no longer works with their newer episodes, and I can't get the new player to work. In theory, the new player would be great because it allows you to listen to any of the podcasts episodes, not just the newest one.  For now, if you want to listen to the episodes, please use the download link on each post.  I'm looking into other alternatives to the Libsyn player or finding out a way to get the new libsyn player to work.

Cursed I tell you.  Cursed.

Audacity, our audio editing program, ate the last podcast then spit it out in over 100 five second chunks.  I'm going to attempt to save it, but it's going to take awhile. 

 

Cowabunga dudes and dudettes!

 

To make up for the missed week last month, I’m releasing this episode a week early.  The next episode will come two weeks from this one.

 

Prepare yourself for a ninja explosion of epic proportions as we review the 1990 live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie!

 

Actually, I feel like we short changed this movie.  Prior to recording, I felt like we could wring a lot more discussion out of it.  Oddly enough, for a movie with guys in rubber turtle costumes doing martial arts, it’s surprisingly straight forward.  The plot more or less boils down to – bad ninjas show up and bring down Americas youth, good turtle ninjas come and stop them, and pizza is awesome.

 

It’s still a really enjoyable movie though, and has held up quite well over the years.  Many of the jokes are still funny, the practical special effects have aged well, and the choreography is top notch.

 

In this episode, we also learn a new and interesting way to use a blow-dryer.

 

If you have a movie or anime you’d like to see us review, drop us a line by commenting on this blog, or by emailing us at thepoweroffriendshippodcast@yahoo.com.  You have a VERY good chance of having your favorite anime or movie reviewed!  

 

 

 

I apologize for the podcast being released a week late.  I don’t have an excuse beyond me being confused about what week it was… oops.  I'm going to attempt to release another episode next week to make up for the lost time.  We have several recorded, it's simply a matter of me editing the darn things.

 

This episode is a special request from listeners Monica G and Tora-chan.  We review the 1982 fantasy movie The Dark Crystal.  The Dark Crystal is an all puppet movie directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz.  Although this is a typical nostalgia geek movie, neither Melanie nor I had seen this movie prior to reviewing it.

 

The plot goes like this … Two good puppets who are the last of their puppet race must set forth on a perilous journey to defeat other evil and less pretty puppets and restore peace to their world.

 

Melanie also makes me admit that if Bill Murray and I were the last humans on earth I would utilize him in repopulating the earth……… thanks a lot for asking that Mel.

 

If you have a request for an anime or movie you'd like to hear us review, please send us an email or leave a comment on this post!

 

 

  

By special request from Emmy Kay, this week we're reviewing the 1984 fantasy film The Neverending Story.

The Neverending Story is about a young boy named Sabastian who steals finds a fantasy book called the Neverending Story.  The book majorily breaks the fourth wall and starts to talk to him as if its real.  Which means that you are listening to a podcast about a movie about a kid who doesn't know he's in a movie who reads a book about another kid who doesn't know he's in a book.

But whose listening to YOU dear listener?

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN.

There's no little intro skit this week, because Melanie is gone and not answering my emails. I think it's safe to assume she's joined a technophobic cult that believes in becoming one with the land and venerating the radish.  I had heard her say many times "To eat radishes is to be close to god".  Little did I know how far reaching her beliefs were.  She shall be missed.

Slayers Next is the second season of Slayers, and by far the best. The series improves greatly from Slayers.  The animation quality increases, the humor hits home more often, and the plot can be quite powerful at times.

In this episode, we get into the nitty gritty of the plot of Slayers Next and also some of Slayers Try. As of this recording, however, we had not yet watched Slayers Revolution and Slayers Evolution-R so you don't have to worry about being spoiled on those.

If you haven't seen the show and are interested, the series is really easy to obtain. Deep Discount has the first three series (Slayers, Slayers Next, and Slayers Try) for less than $50 dollars. You can also watch all three seasons of Slayers legally for free on Funimation's official website  and on some of the episodes are also up on Funimation's youtube page.

Willow is a 1988 fantasy film directed by Ron Howard and starring Warwick Davis.  Willow is a young farmer who goes on a quest to save a baby's life from an evil queen who belives the child is destined to overthrow her.  Along the way, he makes friends with a quirky cast of characters and finds the inner strength to become a hero.

What can be said about Willow? It's a cult classic that's been on our 'to do' list since first deciding to do a podcast.  The film holds up very well and is still a joy to watch with adult eyes.  If you've never seen this film, by all means look it up.  It's readily available and is even on Netflix's Instant Watch service.

We were both rather sick when we recorded this episode, but we only sound slighty froggish.

In this episode, we finally review Slayers! This nineties fantasy anime series is near and dear to me and Melanie’s hearts.  It was the anime series that made me an anime nerd and holds up quite well to this day. It’s still my favorite anime series.

 

Slayers is the humorous fantasy tale of Lina Inverse badass sorceress supreme who steals from bandits and gives to herself. Her love of money is only equal to her love of food.  Steal Lina Inverse’s ham sandwich and you’ll quickly wish you’d never been born.  Also, don’t mention she’s short, flat-chested, and has a bad temper… Really it’d would be best to avoid her at all costs.  Maybe take a vacation to another city if she’s headed your way?

 

Lina is joined by a crew of quirky sidekicks all of which are pretty darn interesting in of themselves.  Through various circumstances the Slayers often have to save the world from total annihilation (mostly because they'd be on the world when the annihilation would happen).

 

Slayers is the first season of this totally awesome anime series which is followed by Slayers Next, Slayers Try, Slayers Revolution, and Slayers Evolution-R.  There are also some O.V.A’s where Lina runs around with different characters from the series, but I don’t recommend them.

 

Definitely check this series out if you haven’t seen it already!  The first three seasons are dirt cheap on Deep Discount.  Look forward to our reviews of the rest of the Slayers seasons on later podcasts!

 

Next Episode:

We review the classic fantasy flick, Willow.

Skulduggery Pleasant is a Young Adult Fantasy series by Derek Landy that so far consists of the books, The Sceptor of the Ancients, Playing with Fire, and The Faceless Ones.  The premise is that a twelve year old girl named Stephanie Edgely is saved one day by a talking skeleton detective. That day she discovers that magic is in fact real.  However, unlike most people upon having their world view turned upside down her reponse isn't 'Waaaah I want my life to be normal again!' 

No, her response is, 'CAN YOU TEACH ME TO THROW FIREBALLS WITH MY MIND?!' 

Well, that's her response after she passes out.  No one's perfect.

Skulduggery Pleasant is one of the best book series I have ever read. I sincerely hope that it's able to one day rise to Harry Potter level of fame.  It more than deserves it, and is a beacon of light to anyone who yearns to read about a heroine who kicks butt and doesn't appear to have an emo bone in her body.

This episode is meant for those who already know and love the series. We discuss and analyze the plot of the first three books and theorize on the plot of future books.  So please, come back to this episode after you have read the books.  Otherwise, you'll be cheating yourself out of one amazing ride.

If you haven't read the books already, you must check them out!

Melanie made me watch a furry movie.

The Secret of NIMH is a 1982 movie directed by Don Bluth.  The premise is that a widowed mother must find a way to stop the plow from destorying her house in order to save her very ill son.  There are also several rodents with psychic powers.  It was the 80s, go figure.

We tried recording in the same room poor people style (with one microphone). It sounds like we're recording from within the core of the earth. Oh well, we won't try that again. I tried to enchance this episode in the post-editing process by inserting smartass comments throughout.  I'm not sure how that turned out.  Any comments pertaining to my success or epic fail would be greatly apprettiated.

Hook! Hook! Where is the Hook?!

Arrrrgh mateys! Ye be listening to our review of the 1991 fantasy movie Hook!  In this movie there be the scallywags Robin Williams as Peter Panning and that scurvy dog Dustin Hoffman as Captain Hook. Swab the poop deck and be ready to eat a parrot! Arrrrrgh!

Ok, enough of that.

Hook is the story of a grown up Peter Pan who has forgotten everything about Neverland.  One day Captain Hook shows up and kidnaps his kids and he must regain his former glory to save them.

The movie was directed by Steven Spielburg and seems to get ragged on a lot by the internet.  But you won’t see that from here!  We both have rather fond memories of the movie and Roofio’s mysteriously dyed hair.

In fact, if I ever meet Dante Bosco in real life, I vow to say, “Roofio you’re alive!”

Then he’d be like, “What the %$#@&* is wrong with you?! That was decades ago!”

Yeah, it’d be so worth it.

The poll will make sense once you’ve listened to the episode.  Also, I have trouble counting whores in this episode for some reason.

 

Icing on ham is....
	Disgusting! What is wrong with Melanie?!
	Delicious! Kasey is a cullinary bigot!
pollcode.com free polls

In this installment, we attempt to analyze and review the 2009 anime series Soul Eater.  Soul Eater is a shonen series about a group of teens who fight evil witches and demons and then consume their souls to become stronger.

No wait! Come back! The series is good I swear!

While the series does have many common shonen tropes, it executes them in style.  The art looks as if Tim Burton and Tite Kubo of Bleach fame had a baby… and that baby could draw gooooood.  The animation by Bones studio is top notch and very fluid in fight scenes.

It also has a wonderfully atypical heroine in Maka. How often are twelve year old girls allowed to be main characters in shonen fighting series?  And said twelve year old girl isn’t used for fanservice? How often do they have a twelve year old girl who is allowed to fight and win against opponents of both genders, and is even allowed to look totally unattractive when she’s being a scary badass?  It amazes me that more people don’t realize how miraculously rare that is.

The series has been licensed for distribution in the U.S by Funimation and will be available as of 2010.  The manga has been licensed by Yen Press and began coming out in October 2009.  If you're interested in continuing the story of Soul Eater through the manga, the anime branches off from the manga at chapter 37.

Warning: We analyze the show as a whole.  If you have not seen all 51 episodes, this installment will completely spoil the ending for you.  Please, if you haven’t seen all of the series, keep this episode in reserve until you do. Soul Eater is good enough that you’re really doing yourself an injustice if you spoil the show for yourself.

I’d love to hear your opinions on Soul Eater or our podcast in general. It’s nice to know we’re not just speaking into a void, ya know?

Please leave a Comment!

Soul Eater Links:
Studio Bones Official Soul Eater Website
Funimation's Official Soul Eater Website
Yen Press's Official Soul Eater Manga Website

This episode I review the 1985 cartoon movie classic Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer. 

Yes, Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer.

Yes, I have lost my mind.

Rainbow Brite is based on as series of hallmark cards about a little girl who controls rainbows and is in charge of all of the colors on earth.  There is also a television series from the eighties that is filled with almost as much crack as this 85 minute movie. Seriously, this thing is cracktastic.  It has pink sparkly mind control robots, a little girl who can breathe in space, a talking robot jet pack horse, and an evil plan to STEAL AN ENTIRE PLANET.

This episode is only half the length of a normal episode because we only had half the hosts. No matter how much I may love the sound of my own voice, I wasn't able to record a full length episode on my own.  Melanie was having computer problems and was unable to record the episode with me so I decided to record it by myself.  Because I'm so dedicated.  And hardcore.  Hardcore Rainbow Brite Watching. It's just how I roll.

Also, Melanie hates me now because she watched this movie for no reason. Ha ha.

Post a Comment!

  This episode we discuss fanfiction! Fanfiction, for anyone not in the know, is fiction written by fans of series/books/movies etc. of properties they do not own. They make no money off of their fanfiction.  The quality can range from better than the original to ‘oh my god a monkey has learned how to type!’

We do have some background in fanfiction.  Both of us are fanfiction writers, and have probably read more fanfiction than is medically recommended over the years.  However, we’re no experts by any means.

In this episode, we cover a wide range of sub topics.  Some of the topics we discuss include:  leaving feedback for fanfiction, out of character tags (OOC), shipping, original characters in fanfiction, Mary Sues, lemons, MMPreg, crossovers, and authors who hate fanfiction of their work.

The specific examples we use to illustrate our points mostly come from anime fanfiction.  For example, Kasey expresses her undying hatred of Sasuke/Hinata stories (stay away from her you bastard!), Melanie attempts to explain MMpreg, no one can remember the name of the 10^th Kingdom miniseries, and neither of us understand why high school Naruto fics are so popular.  Although, having the Akatsuki work at Hot Topic makes perfect sense.

Also, if anyone were to ever write a GTO/Utena crossover, Kasey would be your “BFF forevah and evah”.

This episode will have a slight echo if you listen to it with very high quality headphones. I edited it once, but didn't realize it had an echo until I was listening on my expensive headphones.  I painstakingly edited it again, but Audacity corrupted the file when I was almost done.  I apologize, but after 10 hours of the second edit, I just need to walk away from this or forfeit my sanity.

We also start saying curse words this episode, because editing them out is too much work. 

Series Mentioned: Naruto, One Piece, Great Teacher Onizuka, Utena, 10^th Kingdom

Misc links:  Melanie’s fanfiction, Fanfiction.net, Kasey's Fanfiction Recomendation Journal

Fanfics mentioned:  Diplomatic Relations, Time and Time Again, For the Love of My Friends

Not mentioned, but still awesome: Nightmares of Futures Past and Team 8

So do you disagree with our opinions about fanfiction? Agree?

Post a Comment!

 

This episode is fueled by THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP! Yes, we got the retarded name of this podcast from a shonen anime TV Trope, where guts and faith in your friends can weather any obstacle.

We talk about the common tropes, genres, and cliches of shonen anime and manga in a mostly loving tone... We're probably only a few 'springtime of youth speeches' away from becoming Gai from Naruto (only with boobs).

Prepare to tackle with us deep and meaniful questions such as: Why do shonen anime always have one-on-one fights? Which is more powerful blue or red chi blasts? Why does every anime with nurse, maid, or sister in the title suck so very very much?

There are no spoilers this episode except for some very minor spoilers for Hunter x Hunter and School Rumble. All we really did was give away a few of the jokes.

Anime Series Mentioned: Slam Dunk, Hikaru no Go, Yakitate Japan, Prince of Tennis, One Piece, Naruto, Soul Eater, Bleach, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Ranma 1/2, Full Metal Alchemist, Ronin Warriors, Great Teacher Onizuka, Death Note, Hunter x Hunter, School Rumble, Rurouni Kenshin, and Ah My Goddess.

Post a Comment! 

This episode we talk about the mysterious anime fan expiration date. Basically, it’s the idea that you get into anime fandom in your early teens and then slowly its appeal wanes until you are no longer interested in it.  Where have all of the older anime fans gone? Or are they still here, but simply hidden by the hordes of Naruto headband wearing people?  If this expiration date does exist… is our time up?

 

So do you think the anime fan expiration date exists? Comment below!

 

 

Today boys and girls we'll be discussing shoujo anime and manga where we make large sweeping generalizations with no facts to actually back us up. But who needs facts when you've got the shining power of friendship to back you up? NO ONE, that's who!

Also, we cannot pronounce manga correctly. In theory, we know how it's supposed to be pronounced, but years of being isolated hillbilly anime fangirls has ingrained the incorrect way to say it into our brains. I think I need a violent electric shock everytime I say Maaaainga.

The audio quality has improved from the last episode, but my editing skills are still pretty spotty.

Shoujo Manga's we mention that don't suck:
Basara - about a girl in a post-apocylyptic world whose also a revolutionary leader. Also out of print. Good luck finding all of the volumes legally, I haven't been able to (I need vol. 20 so much it burns).
Kodocha - been out of print for awhile too...
Ouran Highschool Host Club - you can actually buy this one (gasp!).
Yami no Matsui - Melanie liked this. It's a supernatural yaoi if you're into that sort of thing.

 

 

Manga authors mentioned:
Yuu Watase - Author of Ayashi no Ceres, Fushigi Yūgi, etc. 
Kaori Yuki - Author of Angel Sanctuary, God Child, etc.

 

Please comment below! No comments make me cry rivers of tears like a melodramatic shojo heroine who cries too goddamned much.