The O-Talk Podcast

It has been over a year since Geneon went up in smoke. Many great titles that where licensed by this company are now in limbo. The 3 titles that I will discuss about had been licensed by Geneon at one point and had they own individual success. The shows that I will be talking about in License This are Cardcaptor Sakura, Serial Experiments Lain, and Hellsing.

Back in the early 2000's, Cardcaptor Sakura came to the U.S. as part of the magical girl craze that was popular at the time. It original aired on Kid WB after-school TV block under the name Cardcaptors. For what it was worth, it was an ok show but something did not feel right about. Later on, we all learned that the show was original 70 episodes long, not 39. What happened was that the slow episodes that did not focus on the Clow card were omitted. Also any scene that had pedophilic and homosexual undertones were also edited out.

Fan wanted an unedited and uncensored version of the show and Geneon delivered. It was released in both VHS and DVD formats in a total of 18 volumes. In 2006, the license rights of Cardcaptor Sakura had expired. Nowadays, the DVDs of this anime will go for at least $700 U.S. Dollars. The one company that I could see picking up this title is Funimation. They can release it in small season box sets in the same format as how Yu Yu Hakusho was re-released.

Serial Experiments Lain is an interesting anime. The main theme of this anime is what is reality? There are episodes that make the viewer wonder if what the characters is experiencing is real, nothing but a delusion, or a fabrication of an outside force. Trying to explain what this anime is about is difficult without giving away spoilers. In the past, I had a 5 hour discussion about this anime and the meanings of certain scenes. This anime was directed by Ryutaro Nakamura(director of Kino's Journey), original character design by Yoshitoshi ABe(creator of Haibane Renmei), and the screenplay written by Chiaki J. Konaka(worked on RahXephon).

The one company I see picking up this title would be Section23 Films. They can market it as a legendary title that ever anime fan should watch. Since it is only 13 episodes long, they can sell in a compact complete collection.

Hellsing has vampires, guns, blood and its set in Great Britain. I see Funimation picking up this title to bank on the whole vampire fad at the moment.

With only a few weeks left, the 2010 spring anime season is coming to an end. There have been several series that have stood out for me. Today in License This, I will talk about Working!!, Mayoi Neko Overrun!, and Angel Beats!

Working!! is about the daily events in a certain Wagneria family restaurant. The series focus mostly on Souta Takanashi, a 16 year old high school student, who loves all things small and cute. I can relate to this anime series because I have worked at a restaurant similar to the one in the show. I could see Funimation picking up this series.

Mayoi Neko Overrun! is an interesting harem anime. The show follows Takumi Tsuduki, he lives with his older sister at the bakery they own. His childhood friend, Fumino Serizawa help out at the bakery. One day, they come across this quiet mysterious girl who stay living and helping out at the bakery. However, this happens to be the most normal thing that happens in this anime. This series becomes your stereotypical silly over the top harem anime but funny. Media Blasters would pick this up because they know that boobs and fan service makes them money.

Angel Beats! is set in a school that is in between heaven and Earth. People who die end up here and fight against angels. The interesting this is that you cannot die via physical trauma(getting shot or stabbed) but you can get erased. The only way of getting erased from said world is when a certain condition in met and you obtain peace. The interesting, the cast of characters are always changing. Funimation would be the one to benefit the most from picking up this anime.

So, what are you opinions on the titles I mentioned in this post?

Today in License This, I decided to cover an anime and a manga. The similarity between these two, they are of the ecchi variety. I will be talking about Ladies versus Butlers! and My Balls.

Ladies versus Butlers! is romantic comedy set is a special private school that is divided by social class, servant-ed and upper-ed. The servant-ed students are training to become maids and butlers. The upper-ed students are high class aristocrats and 99% of these students are female. The story follows Akiharu Hino, a servent-ed student who looks like a street thug but has a heart of gold. He pretty much gets himself into sexy and funny situations. Did I forgot to mention that this is also a harem anime.

The one company I see picking up this anime is Media Blasters. This is something right up their alley.

My Balls is an interesting manga, there's a war between heaven and hell. An angel seals away the queen of terror into crystal ball. However, there was a freak accident and the queen of terror was sealed into the right testicle of Satou Konta, he has no girlfriend and he's also a virgin. Satou must not ejaculate for 30 days or all humanity as we know it is doomed. The lesser devil, Elyse makes it her mission to release her queen from her prison by seducing Satou. But, Elyse has no experience is that department.

This manga is really perverted to the point of borderline porn. I feel dirty after reading a chapter or two. The one company I would see picking up this manga is Tokyo Pop.

So, what are your opinions of these series?

In 2004, the light novel, A Certain Magical Index was released. Within 6 years, 22 volumes have been released to date. In 2008, the light novel got an anime adaption and it spanned a spin-off series as well. Today in License This, I will be talking about A Certain Magical Index and A Certain Scientific Railgun.

A Certain Magical Index is set in Academy City, a technological advanced city that most of its population is made up of students with superhuman abilities. The interesting thing is, these abilities are viewed as the next step of human evolution and that magic does not exist. The story follows Toma Kamijo, a regular high school student with no superhuman abilities. But he has a secret ability in his right arm its called imagine breaker, the ability to negate all other abilities.

The story begins when Toma discovers a cute nun hanging from his balcony, her name is Index. Her mind was implanted with the Index Librorum Pronibitorum, 103,000 forbidden magical books that the church removed from circulation. The thing is, there are magical users who want to kidnap Index and the only one who can stop them is Toma.

This type of anime, I can clearly see both hardcore and casual anime fans picking it up. It has great action, the story is intriguing, and the girls are pretty cute. There is one flaw to this anime, it's really wordy. Sometimes, an entire episode is nothing but talking and explaining what is going on in an episode.

A Certain Scientific Railgun is a spin-off to Magical Index. The story covers the events that happen before and during Magical Index from a different perspective of Mikoto Misaka and her friends. There are 2 major arcs full of action in this series but the rest is filler. The filler episodes are a hit and miss because some of them are entertaining, while others are boring. But in the end of it all, it is satisfying.

This series is targeted to only the hardcore otaku and it totally shows.

The one company I do see picking up this anime is FUNimation. They can first license Magical Index and market it to the casual fans. Then after 6 - 9 months, they can release Scientific Railgun as if its a continuation to Magical Index. So, watch are your opinions on these 2 anime series?

What is this? License This is back after a 4 month hiatus. I have not been able to do one of these due to being very busy with life. Now, Today I will cover gag anime that I would like to see get licensed. The Series I will cover are Detroit Metal City, Astro Fight Sunred, and Arakawa Under the Bridge.

Detroit Metal City: Negishi is a nice gentle young man who dreams to be a pop musician. However, he's the lead singer and guitarist of a death metal band called Detroit Metal City. Since he has a double life, he tries to please both sides but he sucks at it. Most of the humor comes from seeing the hilarious situations that Negishi get into because of his stupidity. The one company I would see picking this title up is either Media Blasters or Sentai Works. Funimation would not pick this up because of the comedic over use of the word rape.

Astro Figher Sunred: Imagine, a sentai hero living a regular life with his girlfriend and the evil organization that the hero once fought against got regular lives as well. This is the premise of this anime. Most of the comedy coming from seeing these monsters who look terrifying but they act like normal nice people. What I found to be really funny was the "hero" Sunred, he's a jerk who smokes a lot. I can see Funimation picking up this anime because of the humor.

Arakawa Under the Bridge: Shaft made it and Nino-san is cute. thats all you need to know. Funimation, pick this up.

So, what are your opinions on these shows?

In the United States, the moe trend is not that big. Right now companies mostly focus on anime series that would appeal to casual fans. For those who want to see moe anime would have to rely on fansubs. There is a plethora of moe anime series out there. But there are two that I would like see out on DVD.


K -On! is about four high school girls who join their school's light music club and their antics. The plot sounds boring but the popularity of this anime is contributed to the characters. Love it or hate it, you that there character design is very cute. The company that I see licensing this anime would be Bandai Entertainment. They already licensed two well known anime series made by Kyoto Animation, Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Lucky Star. K-On! is right up their alley.

Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu is about the normal high school student Yuto Ayase finding out that his classmate is a closet otaku. The thing is his classmate is Haruka Nogizaka, the school's Idol. They become friends and over time the relationship grows close. The first season was well liked by most anime fans when it was first aired. As for the second season, it can go f*ck itself for all I care. A company that I would see licensing this anime is Anime Works.

So, moe anime series would you like to see out in DVD?
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Well, For some time I have been thinking of a new weekly article. I came up with License This. This weekly article is going to be about point out anime, manga, and video games that have not been licensed and why they should be. Today is sample post of what I'm going to be doing in the future. The format may change over time.


Sayonara, Zetsubou –Sensei is an anime series that I’m surprised that is has not been licensed yet. With three seasons and two OVA series under its belt, it is just jaw dropping. The animation is great, it has a fun cast of characters, and the comedy is intelligent. The only reason why it would not be licensed, it is because casual anime fans would find it “too” Japanese and would not understand some of the jokes. However, the manga is licensed by Del Rey and it is doing just fine. If it does get released, do not dub it in English. Most of the jokes are Japanese puns and it would not translate well in spoken English.


Otaku no Musume-san is nice slice-of-life manga that I truly enjoy. The story is about a 26 year old otaku who one day discovers that he was a 9 year old daughter. The thing is that she will be living with her otaku father until her mother gets out of debt. With Otaku no Musume-san, we see how it is like to be an otaku later on in life with the added responsibility of having a child. The main character does make mistakes with his daughter but he learns from them to become a better father.

So, what do you think?

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