Ghost Divers (Connor & Niamh)
Explore every episode of Ghost Divers
| Pub. Date | Title | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 Nov 2020 | [S1E1] Intro to Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex | 00:27:18 | |
Episode Notes"It is a time when, even if nets were to guide all consciousness that had been converted to photons and electrons toward coalescing, standalone individuals have not yet been converted into data to the extent that they can form unique components of a larger complex." Dive into Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex! Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod[at]gmail and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod Release Schedule[S1E1] Intro: November 27, 2020 Works Cited“Ghost in the Shell: the Major’s Body (3)” by Claire Napier (full series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) “The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility” by Walter Benjamin “Beyond the Image in Benjamin and Bazin: The Aura of the Event” by Monica Dall’Asta, published in Opening Bazin: Postwar Film Theory and Its Afterlife “Entomology of the Pinup Girl” from What is Cinema?, vol. 2 by André Bazin “The Ontology of the Photographic Image” from What is Cinema?, vol. 1 by André Bazin The Ghost in the Machine by Arthur Koestler Kino-Eye by Dziga Vertov The Political Unconscious by Fredric Jameson Content Warnings for the AnimeGore / Head Trauma Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 31 Jan 2025 | [S16E10] Question Bucket: C.C.'s Limited Edition Sebulba Character Topper Cup from Pizza Hut | 03:41:30 | |
0:50:32: Answering questions The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! | |||
| 29 Mar 2024 | [S14E16] NANA, chs. 62–65 | 03:56:31 | |
0:07:48: Synopses OP: "Your Guitar" by Shonen Knife Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for the DiscussionChildhood abandonment | |||
| 07 Jun 2024 | [S14E21] Question Bucket: Charles Barkley has read all of NANA and he's currently unemployed (with Special Guest Star Autumn Blake) | 04:12:20 | |
0:03:38: Draft OP: "Platonic" by Aiha Higurashi You can send emails for Psycho-Pass: The Movie or write into future Question Buckets at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for the DiscussionSome use of the f-slur | |||
| 30 Aug 2024 | [S15E5] Berserk, eps. 20–25 (with Special Guest Star Autumn Blake) | 03:06:47 | |
0:14:18: Synopses for all episodes The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content WarningsExtensive discussion of rape and sexual violence | |||
| 14 Mar 2025 | [S17E3] Chobits, eps. 7–13 (with special guest Em Marko) | 03:44:34 | |
0:09:40: Synopses The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content WarningSex and sexuality This podcast is powered by Pinecast. | |||
| 27 Sep 2024 | [S16E1] Intro to Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion | 00:42:44 | |
Dive into Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Release Schedule[S16E1] Intro to Code Geass: September 27, 2024 | |||
| 30 Apr 2021 | [S3E4] Question Bucket: Magical Realist Tokusatsu | 02:42:44 | |
It’s Question Bucket Time! As always, we start out by wrapping up our series discussion, including some discussion of The 08th MS Team’s reference to the Vietnam War and whether we think there’s anything even there or if US viewers just jump to Vietnam because it is our jungle war but not necessarily Japan’s jungle war, why we chose The 08th MS Team despite knowing a lot of people are down on it, the value of talking about things you have mixed feelings about and debating with someone else about different reads, more homie kissing, what kind of albums each member of the 08th MS Team would press. Also, Niamh manages to talk about Icelandic sagas for a bit because fae is extremely that bitch. We then talk about Connor’s non-anime thing, The Commercial Album by the Residents. We talk a bit about trying to engage with music even when it doesn’t come to you quickly, the history of the Residents as a band and art collective, the racist ethnography of Nanook of the North, the tension between conceptual foundation for an album and the actual experiential quality of listening to an album, Niamh being a bit of an asshole, and the possible influence that the Residents might have had on music that came after. After that, we discuss Niamh’s non-anime thing, Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale, but then kinda just be bummers about how neither of us can identify with this sweet and idyllic portrayal of childhood, but also the ways this game still rings true to some of our experiences with media and card games as kids. We also talk about the differences between sugar-coated, gritty, and bittersweet. We also quickly answer a few questions about tokusatsu (we hate it), magical realism (we love it), and what recent anime we would send through a wormhole to the ‘90s to change anime discourse forever. You can write into future Question Buckets at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Works Cited in this DiscussionBrennu-Njál’s saga (a.k.a. Njála) Suicide by Suicide “Monster Mash” by Bobby "Boris" Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers “Come On Feet” by Quasimoto Silent Shout by the Knife My Father’s Arms are a Boat by Stein Erik Lunde and Øyvind Torseter Moonstone: The Boy Who Never Was by Sjón Danzig Trilogy: The Tin Drum, Cat and Mouse, and Dog Years by Günter Grass Content Warnings for this DiscussionMention of abusive relationships and child abuse Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 05 Mar 2021 | [S2E3] Sakigake!! Cromartie High School, eps. 14–26 | ||
Episode NotesNiamh and Niamh’s Cohost discuss episodes 14 through 26 of the first season of Sakigake!! Cromartie High School. We take a slightly more synopsis-laden approach this time to try to ground ourselves in the rapidly escalating and (d)evolving world of Cro High, bounding off of topics like Cro High’s use of manzai forms, the literalization of the punchline, the stretching and decontextualization of recurring jokes, Yamaguchi’s failure to fully understand the humor of the show in which he is a character, and our conclusion that the show is ultimately mocking us personally as a podcast that is trying to analyze it. Niamh also thinks fae's really fuckin funny with the editing on this one. Also, don't forget that we will be recording the Question Bucket soon. The deadline to write into our Question Bucket for this series is March 13. You can write into ghostdiverspod[at]gmail and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod Content Warnings for this DiscussionBrief Discussion of Shock Violence (Regarding Adult Swim) Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 01 Oct 2021 | [S5E6] Magic Knight Rayearth, eps. 40–49 (with special guest Autumn Blake) | 03:18:11 | |
We are finishing out our discussion of Magic Knight Rayearth Season 2! These are some of Niamh’s favorite episodes of anime ever! Connor and Autumn think they are just good but it’s fine. In between recording the last episode and this one, Niamh read all of the manga, and so we start with a little discussion about how the manga and anime differ. We also talk about the pacing of season 2 and how it might relate to the unwillingness of the Magic Knights to fight after the tragedy of season 1; why the show can’t really develop Hikaru x Lantis because what it’s more interested in is Hikaru having to confront her need for love from others so that she can ignore her own self-hatred; how Hikaru and Eagle just talking through the problem is actually a sign that both characters are at a place where they can talk openly and in opposition to the Pillar System; an actual discussion of the Asmi ship and why we keep mocking Connor about this; the historical ubiquity of straight readings of old anime and how canonically Hikaru wants to marry her entire polycule (it’s in the fucking manga); Niamh’s updates to the Rayearth car names document for season 2 and also this ad for the car that fake Presea is named after; Hikaru x Nova and how it ties in with the end of season 1; a brief history of modern concepts of sexuality and Niamh finally reading from Cruising Utopia; Cephiro as a “stage” for the imagining of a new queer polyamorous utopia for Hikaru; and “queerbaiting” old anime like Rayearth as a “stage” for the imagining of queer possibilities. Also, don't forget that we will be recording the Question Bucket soon. The deadline to write into our Question Bucket for this series is Sunday, October 10, 2021. You can write into ghostdiverspod@gmail and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Works Cited in this DiscussionThe NeoRayearth.net Fan Rants page that Niamh mocks Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity by José Esteban Muñoz (esp. chapter 6 "Stages: Queers, Punk, and the Utopian Performative") Content Warnings for this DiscussionMental health issues, self-hatred, and suicidality Homophobia / queerphobia Cigarettes Sex Alcohol Drugs Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 20 Dec 2024 | [S16E7] Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2, eps. 7–12 | 02:49:45 | |
0:25:18: Synopses for all episodes The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content WarningSuicide | |||
| 27 Oct 2023 | [S14E5] NANA, chs. 13–18 | 03:40:13 | |
Why does Trapnest take over everything important in my life? Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for the DiscussionSex and sexuality Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 18 Apr 2025 | Manga Café vol. 4: Last Quarter | 01:13:04 | |
Em and Niamh talk about the last of the four (get it?) Yazawa Ai manga to be officially translated into English. The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! This podcast is powered by Pinecast. | |||
| 28 Mar 2025 | [S17E4] Chobits, eps. 14–19 (with special guest Em Marko) | 02:47:31 | |
0:05:43: Synopses The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content WarningSex and sexuality This podcast is powered by Pinecast. | |||
| 18 Aug 2023 | [S13E5] Question Bucket: Is Yayoi bucatini? | 02:38:39 | |
01:56:14: Time stamp to skip the Madoka Magica and Fate/Zero spoilers You can write into future Question Buckets at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Works Cited in this DiscussionSorgenfrei, Carol Fisher. Unspeakable Acts: The Avant-garde Theatre of Terayama Shūji and Postwar Japan. University of Hawaii Press, 2005. Content Warnings for this DiscussionPedophilia Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 17 Mar 2023 | [S12E4] Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, eps. 14–19 | 03:31:22 | |
Topics discussed: An aside for a correction email; the show being cheeky with McGillis’s obvious disguise; Tekkadan’s lack of understanding of their own revolutionary impulses; the show’s nuances in presenting the difficulties of Marxist politics; the narrowness of Kudelia’s default idea of revolution; Tekkadan as revolution as action without a conceptual framework, Kudelia as revolution as a concept without concrete practice, and the need of the two to come together to achieve more; Savarin’s failure to see oppression broadly as its own form of violence; Atra’s heroism and revolution is situated in the interpersonal; the medieval theming of the show’s mechanics; the Dark History; the Earth as a symbol in Gundam; Chocolate Man vs. Prune Boy; the masked man is obviously Char; Carta Issue is a ZZ character; deferring on McGillis again because he’s still too much of a mystery to talk about at this point in the show without Niamh having to just grit faer teeth and remain quiet while Connor speculates; how Atra’s approach to relationships provides a space for mutual support and emotional comfort rather than romantic competition; the themes of faith, trust, and responsibility and their link to ideology; Connor and Niamh write fanfic where we keep teasing a character survived, but only to reveal episodes later that they didn’t; the relation of colonialism, imperialism, and human bodies; Ein as a class traitor; Ein’s sublimation and rage over his oppression into revenge against Crank’s killers; foils for the main characters; the Earth entry scene as a broader Gundam trope and the danger of the Earth’s pull; just a little bit about Mikazuki; Niamh and Connor try to remember what movie Shree Klime is from; explaining what’s happening in SEED Destiny and realizing that everything sounds like it should be great; Connor and Niamh could take ideas from SEED Destiny and create an incredible show; Connor has become bogged down in Victory; G Gundam; there are only six kinds of foxes; what even is a highball; diet sodas and nutrition; a weird argument Niamh got into in high school and still remembers; Niamh takes a break to text Em about Chrono Cross; content warnings for the next batch of episodes (starts at 3:30:00). Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for this DiscussionViolence and death Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 14 Oct 2022 | [S10E1] Intro to Paranoia Agent (with special guests Josh McKenzie and Craig Neeson) | 01:06:56 | |
“To begin, a rabbit jumps behind the moon. What is it that the black rabbit sees on the horizon with his big red eyes? A fish on the land has trouble when he is stepped on by cows. The playful palace where the butterfly dances vanishes away. At twilight, the cows starts it by chance and the goodness continues. The golden fox grins at you. And then…” Dive into Paranoia Agent! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Release Schedule[S10E1] Intro to Paranoia Agent: October 14, 2022 [S10E2] Paranoia Agent ep. 1–7: October 28, 2022 [S10E3] Paranoia Agent ep. 8–13: November 11, 2022 [S10E4] Question Bucket: November 25, 2022 Works CitedExcerpt on “Detoxifying Culture” by the prominent literary critic Kamei Katsuichiro from the Overcoming Modernity Symposium of July 1942 organized by Kamei and two other major literary critics, Kawakami Tetsutarō and Kobayashi Hideo, published in Japanese Philosophy: A Sourcebook edited by James W. Heisig, Thomas P. Kasulis, and John C. Maraldo, 2011 Quote from “On ‘Overcoming Modernity’” by Odagiri Hideo originally published in Bungaku (Literature), April 1958, quoted in the chapter “Overcoming Modernity” published in What Is Modernity? Writings of Takeuchi Yoshimi, edited and translated by Richard F. Calichman, 2005 Content Warnings for the AnimeDepiction of mental health crises Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 14 May 2021 | [S4E2] Neon Genesis Evangelion, eps. 1–6 | ||
Episode NotesWelp, here we go... I hope you aren’t interested in hearing two people talk a bunch about the lore of Neon Genesis Evangelion because that’s not at all what we’re interested in. But if you’re here for people talking about trauma, the indoctrination of toxic masculinity, and the nature of the fractured self, Connor and Niamh have got you covered. We start out with Niamh describing the time fae went to pick up Shinji in faer car and use it to launch into discussion of mechs as bodies, how Evangelion draws extensively from the groundwork and themes laid out by Gundam and other earlier mecha anime, the overapplication of death of the author, the complicity of the US in the way that young girls are sexualized in Japan, Niamh trying to remember a galaxy brain meme, the difficulty of critically dealing with harmful tropes or topics like the sexualization of young girls in a work of media without falling into the problem of having to replicate it in the process, the conditioning of toxic masculinity, an actual breakdown of our read on Misato in general, how the animation of Evangelion contributes to the feeling of isolation, the significance of the codified cultural ritual of “tadaima” and “okaeri” for the meaning of Shinji and Misato’s relationship, how the series employs humor to continue to further its darker thematic elements, the employment of male nudity in the series (especially regarding Toji’s butt), the horror of combat in Evangelion, the fumbling missteps of Evangelion trying to discuss teenage sexual desire, the mingling of sexual desire with greater questions of identity and self, the textual effeminacy of Shinji’s design and tragedy of Rei's design, and Connor putting off really getting into his psychoanalytic theory bullshit and narrative theory bullshit. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Works Cited in this Discussion“Misora Hibari and the Girl Star in Postwar Japanese Cinema” by Deborah Shamoon Content Warnings for this DiscussionCaptive bolt pistols used in animal slaughter Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 21 Jan 2022 | [S6E8] Revolutionary Girl Utena: Adolescence of Utena (with Special Guest Star Autumn Blake) | 03:16:45 | |
It’s time for what if Magic Knight Rayearth was Redline! We talk about the relationship of the movie to the show; look at some of the characters that only briefly appear in the movie; the unreality and unreality of Adolescence of Utena; our different reads on the movie, which honestly might just be our attempts to describe the same unified read but fractured through our own perspectives in the same way different characters speak of eternity, that which shines, miracles, or the power to revolutionize the world; the outsized presence of Shiori in the movie compared to some of the other minor (and even major) characters from the show that barely appear in the movie; what the hell is going on with Touga; the image of liberation at the end of the movie and how it relates to ideas of potentiality rather than the promise of utopia (including a call back to our least favorite series we covered last year); and more. Also, don't forget that we will be recording the Question Bucket soon. The deadline to write into our Question Bucket for this series is January 29, 2022. You can write into ghostdiverspod@gmail and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Content Warnings for this DiscussionRape Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 05 Feb 2021 | [S2E1] Intro to Sakigake!! Cromartie High School | ||
Episode NotesDear Listeners Booting Up This Episode On Their Podcast App of Choice: The guys that appear in this anime are delinquents. So, please do not, under any circumstances, imitate what you see in this anime. Dive into Sakigake!! Cromartie High School! Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod[at]gmail and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod Release Schedule[S2E1] Intro: February 5, 2021 Works CitedGabriel Gundaker talking about the Coinstar not working “The Yakuza Film: An Introduction” by Keiko Iwai McDonald, published in Reframing Japanese Cinema: Authorship, Genre, History “On Ninkyo” by Sato Tadao, Shisō no kagaku Content Warnings for the AnimeAbleist and Sexist Language (Note: The dub is worse in this regard, including use of the f-slur) Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 31 Mar 2023 | [S12E5] Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, eps. 20–25 | 03:27:16 | |
Topics discussed: Trying to imagine the position of being completely unmoved by anything except Biscuit; spending over a half hour to synopsize three episodes; Connor figured out why he was trudging through Victory; Victory and disgust at the Earth and the ocean; abjection around the Alaya-Vijnana system and cybernetics in general; IBO’s belief in the transformative power of the truth and electoral politics; the tension with Kudelia and the danger that her revolutionary politics can easily be subsumed into the web of capital; McGillis’s ability to manipulate the political systems around him; the desire to find a place of peace amidst war vs. the necessity for continued violent resistance; Yukinojo’s resignation in contrast to Merribit’s active objections against Tekkadan’s drive for violence; the limited choices presented to Tekkadan; Carta Issue thinks she is a master tactician because she read Sun Tsu’s Art of War; Niamh loves Carta Issue because she’s kitsune-themed; Gjallarhorn was doomed from the start; the nuances and complications of the conversation between Mika and Orga; Mika tops from the bottom; the conflation of liberation and violence; the potential necessity of Orga to direct Mika’s violent propulsion towards good ends; Moby Dick and monomania; more synopsizing; the theme of betting and its relation to yakuza; Atra, Kudelia, and the anime trope of the bento box; Graze Ein as a Psycho Gundam; Graze Ein as a warning of a possible future for Mikazuki; Ein’s sadism and derangement; the reduction of Ein to an instrumentalized weapon built out of the contradictions of his character; McGillis’s character and his plans to overturn the regime of Gjallarhorn as a deconstructivist; McGillis’s lack of values in general; McGillis as individual vs Tekkadan as communal; McGillis as a foil to Orga and Kudelia; a satisfying pop; accidentally going to the St. Paddy’s Day parade and getting called the f-slur; Connor’s Ghost Diver’s mug; Niamh teases the fact that fae had a very major thing spoiled about IBO from the beginning, which we still haven’t gotten to. Note: We didn’t do a discreet content warning at the end of this episode solely because it’s just more of the same with regards to violence, death, and gore. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for this DiscussionViolence, death, and gore Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 29 Sep 2023 | [S14E3] NANA, chs. 1–6 | 02:57:33 | |
Hey Nana... 'member when we first met? Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 06 Aug 2021 | [S5E2] Magic Knight Rayearth, eps. 1–10 (with special guest Autumn Blake) | 03:25:23 | |
This podcast is named after the Rolls-Royce Ghost Diver. We start out with Niamh reading through this nice little document fae created before diving into the discussion of the episodes. We touch on topics including the comedic tone of the early episodes and its use of JRPG tropes; how the girls are gay; the triangulation of Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu onto class distinctions, forms of femininity, and also the three hosts of this very podcast; Hikaru’s need for unconditional love, Umi’s fraught relationship with her parents, and Fuu’s struggle with self-hatred; the nature of Cephiro as a world of will and how it relates to themes of wish fulfillment and destiny in magical girl anime; the transition of girlhood to womanhood as a core theme of Rayearth; stories about getting high; the construction of types of masculinity in Rayearth; images of motherhood; and the core conflicts being set up for the three girls. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Works CitedNiamh’s Ultimate Combination AMV Content Warnings for this DiscussionMind control / possession Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 13 Sep 2024 | [S15E6] Question Bucket: Griffith staring at Minister Foss over a half-unwrapped burrito a.k.a. Polonium is not an element (with Special Guest Star Autumn Blake) | 03:00:23 | |
Basically just answered emails the entire time so no neat divisions for timestamps for this one. You can write into future Question Buckets at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for the DiscussionSome use of the f-slur I think? Maybe? | |||
| 03 Sep 2021 | [S5E4] Magic Knight Rayearth, eps. 21–30 (with special guest Autumn Blake) | 02:57:24 | |
Niamh keeps saying fae’s Nova and we’ve all just been waiting for this stupid brat to finally show up. We’re discussing episodes 21–30 of Magic Knight Rayearth! We start the conversation with Niamh reading through this document fae made on the origins of the new character’s names for season two, then dive into topics such as the uneasiness around the way the girls immediately take on the role of magic knights again; how Rayearth is finally really a mech show; the problem of straightness vs. queerness in season two and Hikaru as a polyamorous character; the pacing of season two; how the series is further developing the themes of the show around patriarchal systems and the inability of people to conceive of themselves outside of the systems in which they live; how the show is setting up themes of relationships, jealousy, guilt, and the impositions of heteronormative culture; and finally some stuff around Hikaru, Nova, and the Pillar System that has been signaled pretty heavily in these first 10 episdes but maybe some viewers would miss. Sorry if that last bit kind of feels like spoilers,episodes but it’s all in there and we ended up thinking it’s better if we can just acknowledge that these things are happening so we can talk about them more! Anyway, write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Content Warnings for this DiscussionPossession & brainwashing Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 01 Jan 2022 | The First Annual New Year's Special: Independent People by Halldór Laxness | ||
Happy New Year! It’s our first annual New Year’s Special and we hope you enjoy it. If you will permit us, we start with a bit of self-indulgence as we look back at the first year of the podcast, including us ranking our favorite series we’re covered on the show. If you will not permit us, you can jump to 1:29:30 where we start our discussion of Halldór Laxness’s Independent People. We start with a fairly lengthy section of Niamh providing historical context around the novel before getting into our conversation around the themes of the novel. We then finish with some emails from fans! You can check out our notes from Independent People here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zIDcah4_tid-1GnNNPsle08DzYMovtAixqTiLWQclGY You can write into future Question Buckets at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Works Cited in this DiscussionA History of Icelandic Literature edited by Daisy Neijmann “Halldór Laxness and the CIA” by Chat Lemoine "Do not praise that piece of shit Bjartur: Independent People, reviewed" by Sam Knight Content Warnings for this DiscussionSlavery / indentured servitude Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 10 Jun 2022 | [S7E10] Question Bucket: The best part of a bread bowl is that there's no evidence | 02:34:18 | |
We’re here to talk about depressing work lunches and answer all your questions about our own Ghost in the Shell AUs, kissing and tucking, soft drinks, Tony Hawk Pro Skater, art, and NANA. You can write into future Question Buckets at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for this DiscussionFood, just a lot of food talk Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 21 Jun 2024 | [S13E6] Psycho-Pass: The Movie | 02:39:35 | |
We finally return to watch Psycho-Pass: The Movie! 00:20:07: Synopsis Also, don't forget that we will be recording the Question Bucket soon. The deadline to write into our Question Bucket for this series is Saturday, August 12, 2023. You can write into ghostdiverspod@gmail and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Works Cited in this DiscussionFanon, Frantz. Les Damnés de la Terre (The Wretched of the Earth), 1961. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The Social Contract, 1762. Content Warnings for this DiscussionBody horror, exploding bodies | |||
| 02 Sep 2022 | [S9E2] Serial Experiments Lain, eps. 1–6 (with Special Guest Star Autumn Blake) | 02:07:08 | |
Topics discussed: Vibes Are Happening; Lain’s Position in a Cultural Conversation; Assigning Emotions or Motivations to Characters in Lain is an Interpretive Act; soi soi soi soi pv zk pv pv zk pv zk kz zk pv pv pv zk pv zk zk pzk pzk pvzkpkzvpvzk kkkkkk bsch; Making Autumn Explain the Plot of Solid State Society, A Movie They’ve Never Seen; The Visual Aesthetics of Lain; The Mediation of All Conversation; The Disconnection of Temporal and Physical Space; The Audio Aesthetics of Lain; The Tech Aesthetics of Lain; The Influence of the Internet on Identity and Its Tension Between Liberation and Corruption; Alienation and Horror; We Will Sell Out to CrunchyRoll If They Pay Us Enough; A Preview of Who Kisses and Who Tucks; Niamh Gets Mad At Funko Pop for Their Ghost in the Shell Funko. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for this DiscussionSuicide Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 03 Mar 2023 | [S12E3] Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, eps. 7–13 | 03:47:54 | |
Topics discussed: Is there anything going on with Moby Dick references?; the introduction of the Turbines to further explore gender and sexuality on the show; the introduction of the various meanings of family; the harem anime providing a potential framework for Atra to reapproach the romantic tension triangle between, Mika, and Kudelia in a way that allows her to reach out to and support Kudelia; the appeal of Mikazuki as a romantic interest for Atra and Kudelia; the glimpses into characterization around Fumitan; Kudelia Aina coming to terms with her own sexuality under the influences of all the other pressures on her; Atra’s navigation of sexuality and the sexualization of bodies; the framework of the family as an facilitating factor for understandings of relationships and sexuality; McGillis is a Char; the kanji meaning of some of the characters’ names; the mobile suit designs in IBO; Evangelion spoilers about what the Evas and Angels are (1:45:18 to 1:46:45); the various tensions between Orga and Merribit; the meaning of food in the series, Atra’s relationship with food, and possible stunted growth in Atra and Mikazuki due to childhood starvation and malnutrition; Orga’s responsibility to take care of the sexual needs of Tekkadan; reincarnation, rebirth, religion, and tensions between the social classification of characters in the show as “human debris”; the spiritual means of processing their emotions and its limits as it encounters the pressures of gender roles and their socioeconomic classification and oppression as lesser human or inhuman; Mika’s reflections on his sadism and its narrative link with his expression of romantic interest in Kudelia; the subdued characterization of Mika throughout the show so far; putting Almiria and McGillis on the back burner until we get a clearer sense of McGillis as a character, aside from how it’s already relating to the utilization of bodies to maintain social orders and political power; cleanliness and dirtiness in the delineation of class in IBO; the Norse mythology references in some of the names from Gjallarhorn; the Five Guardians of the Universe; alienating people with Connor’s bits; content warnings for the next batch of episodes (starts at 3:44:20). Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for this DiscussionSex, sexuality, and the sexualization of women’s bodies Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 19 Jul 2024 | [S15E2] Berserk, eps. 1–6 (with Special Guest Star Autumn Blake) | 02:44:14 | |
0:08:25: Synopses for all episodes The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content WarningsRape and sexual violence, including discussion of child sexual assault | |||
| 21 Jul 2023 | [S13E3] Psycho-Pass, eps. 9–16 | 03:40:59 | |
00:23:57: Discussion for episodes 9–11 01:14:08: Discussion for episodes 12 & 13 01:53:12: Discussion for episodes 14–16 Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Works Cited in this DiscussionHegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. The Phenomenology of Spirit (1807). Zoubek, Wolfgang. "Terayama Shûji: Japanese avant-garde theater from the 1970s reviewed four decades later." 富山大学人文学部紀要= Journal of the Faculty of Humanities, University of Toyama 68 (2018): 281-326. https://www.hmt.u-toyama.ac.jp/uploads/zoubek68.pdf Terayama, Shuji. "Manifesto by Shuji Terayama." The Drama Review 19, no. 4 (1975): 84-87. Content Warnings for this DiscussionBody horror and exploding bodies Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 12 Nov 2021 | [S6E2] Revolutionary Girl Utena: Student Council Saga pt. 1, eps. 1–7 | ||
This episode is dedicated to all the GL-loving long-haul truckers in the audience. We see you, we support you, we will always be here for you. Anyway, we start our discussion of Revolutionary Girl Utena with a deep dive into the first half of the Student Council Saga spanning episodes 1 through 7! We try to untangle everything that is introduced early on in this series including cyclic time, fairytales, gender roles, the tension between reality and unreality in the show and the evocation of the artifice of theatre and animation, the series’ immediate engagement with patriarchal systems, portrayals of queerness, the interiority of Utena’s characters (especially Anthy), the difficulty of resisting a system from within it, how Utena must have influenced Cromartie High School, the overt lesbianism in the series, and Touga’s creepiness and what Connor as anticipating as the series continues. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Content Warnings for this DiscussionAbusive relationships, especial physical abuse Sexism Incest / age difference / pedophilia Alcohol (post-ED) Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 02 Apr 2021 | [S3E2] Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, eps. 1–6 | 03:16:55 | |
Episode NotesConnor and Niamh break the Shinigami curse that killed their first attempt at recording this episode and successfully scribe a podcast episode using the new Record Press technology. We start off by talking about how really we’re just talking about Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team in order to let Connor rant about the first Mobile Suit Gundam and then get into what is probably the most we are probably ever going to do synopses on this podcast. Connor gives a lot of context from older Gundam and like… kinda spoilers I guess? We do get very out of scope quickly as we talk about Gundam broadly but eventually, Connor does rein us in to talk about how The 08th MS Team is specifically pulling on and immediately developing existing tropes in the franchise, our initial impressions on Shiro and Aina’s relationship and how it relates to Newtypes as a concept, Niamh’s rewrite where Shiro is replaced as the main character by Karen who is explicitly trans and dating Aina, the sexualization of Kiki (and young girls in general in anime and beyond), how combat is handled and depicted in The 08th MS Team and how it points to thematic readings of the instrumentalization of human bodies and lives, different types of mecha, if the series is actually doing anything meaningful with sexuality, the canon ages of different characters, the gender happening, and more! Niamh also had to try very hard to not just spoil things throughout this conversation. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod Works Cited in this DiscussionWe didn’t really cite any works for this series! Content Warnings for this DiscussionDiscussion around the sexualization of young girls Brief discussion of sexual assault and abuse Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 17 Sep 2021 | [S5E5] Magic Knight Rayearth, eps. 31–39 (with special guest Autumn Blake) | 03:20:35 | |
We run a tight ship over here at Ghost, Divers, and Associates LLC. Nobody forgets to open the Google doc. No one accidentally uses their webcam’s mic to record half the episode. And definitely there is no bratty antagonizing of one of the hosts for misremembering a scene from the anime by another one of the hosts. We just focus right in on discussing episodes 31-39 of Magic Knight Rayearth. We start our discussion with some of the character design elements and uhhh none of us had read the Rayearth 2 manga at this point so we say some wrong things about which characters appeared in the manga as well. We then dive into a lengthy discussion of the series’ bathhouse episode (it’s actually pretty interesting!) and how it relates to queerness and the impositions of straightness in Magic Knight Rayearth; the way Lantis problematizes Hikaru’s relationships with other characters she loves; queerbaiting; what’s going on with Presea and this short motherfucker Clef; the difference in the structure of these episodes compared to earlier in the series; Eagle and Geo and how Eagle clearly isn’t over his ex; the weird extended queerphobic joke around the Djinn Raccoon and Rasheen; the Clemi ship and the possibility that Clef is Umi’s beard; Umi & Chizeta; Fuu & Fahren; and Hikaru & Nova. Also, here’s the Rayearth car names document for season 2 if you need it again. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Works Cited in this Discussion"Deviant Male Identities in Japanese RPGs: Heterosexual Heroes, Gay Villains" by Juan F. Belmonte, presented at the 2016 Different Games Conference Content Warnings for this DiscussionEthnic stereotypes Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 24 Dec 2021 | [S6E5] Revolutionary Girl Utena: Ohtori Akio Saga, eps. 24–33 | ||
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! We got you a gift of this discussion episode for what might be some of the darkest episodes of the series (although I suppose we haven’t gotten to the Apocalypse Saga yet, have we?) We start our discussion of the Ohtori Akio Saga with a lengthy synopsis of the arc, then start with the lightest material we can by looking into the “Cro High” episodes around Nanami that help ease us into the series’ darker series around the exploitation of sexuality before zooming out into a broader discussion of the general themes across the entire arc. In running through the episodes, we hit on topics including Akio as the tempter and grand manipulator; Akio’s car as a symbol of toxic (and phallic) masculinity; the temptation of Nanami and the way she is confronted with her desires in the form of Akio’s abuse of Anthy; the sympathy the show presents around Juri and how it pairs her desire to save someone else up against Utena’s desire to save Anthy; the relationship between Juri, Shiori, and Ruka and the competitive desire between Shiori and Ruka to possess and control Juri; an extended look at what’s happening with Utena, Anthy, and Akio; and the way the show understands and frames what is happening to Utena as grooming and rape even as it depicts her own struggles with the feeling she wants it and blaming herself for what happens. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Content Warnings for this DiscussionIncest Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 15 Oct 2021 | [S5E7] Question Bucket: Ferio is really excited to be dating a bi girl now so he can get Chic-fil-A again (with special guest Autumn Blake) | ||
Connor and Niamh are joined partway through by Autumn for the Question Bucket and we are basically just hanging out and having fun. We start out with some updates! The Intro episodes for our next series is no long going to drop on the same day as Question Buckets just to give us all a little more time and breathing room. But if you’re sad about the potential loss of content, don’t worry, we also announce the first of what will be our annual New Year’s Day Special! Every January 1st, we’re going to release a bonus episode about whatever we want, and our very first one will be talking about the Icelandic literary classic Independent People by Halldór Laxness! If you want to read the book and write in, we’ll announce the actual recording date when we know it but it’ll be no earlier than mid-December. Anyway, sorry that this is a mukbang podcast now but we’re reviewing some beer and food on this. We talk a little about the manga and then Niamh just yells for a while about the OVA and how bad it is before getting into the actual questions, including what car we would be named after if we were Rayearth characters and what our color and element would be, which Rayearth character kiss the homies goodnight and tuck the homies in goodnight, what fast food restaurants the Rayearth characters love, and the favorite vtubers of the three Magic Knights. We then talk a little about Brandi Carlile’s new album In These Silent Days, which is maybe the most serious part of this otherwise goofy episode. We also take some shots at the new Kacey Musgraves album, sorry if you like it. You can write into future Question Buckets at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Content Warnings for this DiscussionAlcohol, tobacco, and drug usage Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 05 Feb 2021 | [S1E6] Question Bucket: Let's talk about gender, baby, let's talk about you and me | 03:41:44 | |
Episode NotesHello and welcome to this very focused and concise Question Bucket episode. We only got two emails, so we definitely didn’t somehow record for four hours straight in a delirious frenzy of topics. Anyway, we start with an attempt to encapsulate our read on Major Kusanagi and how it relates to our political worldview, bringing in and diverging toward other topics like Iceland’s Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness, the way public policies funnel those suffering from poverty into the military, the anarchist utopianism of Zhuangzi, reparative justice, Major Kusanagi’s ideological attachment to Section 9 and the power it provides her, and finally an answer to a question about micro machines. We then answer a question about foundational media for us (Chrono Cross and Icelandic music for Niamh, Prince and James Joyce’s Ulysses for Connor) before diving headfirst into the “non-anime” topics we brought. Niamh is talking about Persona 3 Portable and how its portrayal of self-harm, savior complexes, and kink are deeply hurtful and honestly just fucked. As Niamh says in the cold opening disclaimer for this episode, this part of our discussion in particular gets pretty heavy, so please be careful around the Content Warnings for this episode if you may be triggered or affected by discussions of things like self-harm, abusive relationships, biting and blood kinks, etc. Connor tries as best he can to follow that up with a look back at The Knife’s Shaking the Habitual and its position as an abrasive album that engages with the music that came before it and also might point towards some of the queer music that came after. We finish out answering a question about how to survive grad school, and how maybe our perspective on grad school is uniquely bleak because of the particular cruelty of the program we both attended. Sorry for being a downer. Works Cited in this Discussion“If you want to understand me better as a person, play Chrono Cross” by our very own Niamh “A Better Lover” also by our very own Niamh, published by ZEAL Content Warnings for this DiscussionBrief Mentions of Online Harassment Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 08 Jan 2021 | [S1E4] Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, eps. 14–19 | ||
Episode NotesWe decide that this is just going to be podcast with some long ass episodes and really dig into episodes 14 through 19 of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Before we even get into the episodes, we already have a lot to say about the series and how it relates to the current political reality of when we recorded this episode—which was the day news outlets declared Biden the winner of the 2020 American Presidential election. Okay, look, I cut out a lot of our election discussion, so just like… know it could’ve been worse, okay? Anyway, after front-loading this conversation with some political talk, we used it to jump into Major Kusanagi’s need for Section 9 to maintain her body, the capitalist view of the economy as a game you can win, Section 9’s complicity in upholding the injustice of capitalism, the Tachikomas awakening to class consciousness, Batou’s relationship to gender (Gender: It’s Not Just For The Major) and toxic masculinity, the patriarchal hegemony on the gendered expression of emotions, Aramaki’s relationship with the Major, Japanese nationalism and nationalist violence, cycles of revenge and the inscription of revenge narratives into a national identity, the potential value and danger of the merging of consciousnesses and creation of new identities, and the tension between efficacy and righteousness in Section 9’s fulfilling of their role as government agents. Also, apologies for some of the weird audio on this one. It turns out Discord was really laggy (and variably so) for us and Niamh’s mic volume got fucked up at one point. Fae had a hell of time trying to get things sounding okay. ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚ Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod[at]gmail and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod Works Cited in this Discussion“Ghost in the Shell: the Major’s Body (3)” by Claire Napier (full series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) “The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility” by Walter Benjamin “Beyond the Image in Benjamin and Bazin: The Aura of the Event” by Monica Dall’Asta, published in Opening Bazin: Postwar Film Theory and Its Afterlife “Entomology of the Pinup Girl” from What is Cinema?, vol. 2 by André Bazin “The Ontology of the Photographic Image” from What is Cinema?, vol. 1 by André Bazin Content Warnings for this DiscussionRacism Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 23 Jul 2021 | [S4E7] Question Bucket: LCL is just Gamer Girl Bathwater, if you really think about it | 04:09:15 | |
Episode NotesWelcome to Ghost Divers, a true crime podcast or something I guess. We start by looking back a little at our long journey with Neon Genesis Evangelion and talk a little about how our personal experiences informed our readings of the show and, especially, the movie. We then answer questions about reading Eva through Anno’s life, our least favorite Eva spinoffs, dismemberment and abjection, Toji’s hair color in the show vs. the manga, what astrology signs image meme Eva characters would create, kissing the homies goodnight (redux), Asuka as a Twitch streamer, how Gendo should just fuck off actually, and experiencing media too young. For our non-anime things, Niamh brings When the Pawn… by Fiona Apple and we talk a little about it, but honestly also talk a lot about critical approaches to media in general. We then move on to Connor’s pick of A Brighter Summer Day and talk a little about how the film constructs space in relation to history and politics. You can write into future Question Buckets at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Content Warnings for this DiscussionAbusive relationships Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 10 Dec 2021 | [S6E4] Revolutionary Girl Utena: Black Rose Saga, eps. 14–23 | 03:29:59 | |
We’re trying something new for this episode where we just very intentionally do a synopsis of the entire arch right at the top and then get into a more freeform discussion. The synopsis honestly takes a while because we have a lot to cover, so if you want to skip it, you can jump ahead to 55:35. Just be aware that we do include some commentary as we go. After the synopsis, we get into a discussion of the themes of the Black Rose Saga, including the contrast of above and below; visual parallels between Mikage Souji and Chida Mamiya and Utena and Anthy; the tensions between reality and uncertainty or incoherency; the psychological tensions for the need for liberation vs. the danger of unrestrained ego and individualism; the way that the series tests Utena’s intentions and actions; the metatextual figuring of the minor characters of the series as the duelists in this arch; the continuation of the series’ focus on religious practices with an additional tying in of psychoanalysis and psychology through its parallels with Catholic confessionals, and how these relate to deviant forms of desire; the complexities of the relationship between Juri and Shiori and also the way it complicates our understanding of the relationship with Utena and Anthy; some specific discussion of individual characters; an extended take on how Revolutionary Girl Utena and Cromartie High School relate thematically; and more! Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Content Warnings for this DiscussionArson and death by burning Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 26 Apr 2024 | [S14E18] NANA, chs. 70–73 | 03:47:09 | |
0:06:19 Synopses OP: "Shadow of love" by Olivia Lufkin Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for the DiscussionAbusive relationships, manipulation, controlling behavior | |||
| 20 Aug 2021 | [S5E3] Magic Knight Rayearth, eps. 11–20 (with special guest Autumn Blake) | 03:00:18 | |
Connor, Niamh, and Honorary Third Ghost Diver Autumn are back again to discuss the second half of the first season of Magic Knight Rayearth. It’s a mech show now? We get into the gradual tonal shift as the series progresses and grows darker; the color coding of characters around red, blue, green, white, and purple/black; Caldina’s character as another mode of femininity and as a person swayed by the love of the Magic Knights; Hikaru and blood and its thematic resonance for the show as a whole; the recurring themes around free will, possession, and mind control; the themes of love and the limits of love to protect you from harm; the queer-coding of Inouva; Connor’s attempt to stop being so mean to Niamh’s beloved dumb bishie, Ferio; the metaphorical usage of the Pillar system of Cephiro to talk about gendered expectations in patriarchal cisheteronormativity; and the tragedy of Princess Emeraude and Lord Zagato and how it ties together all the themes so far and also leaves open the door for far, far more in need of exploration in season 2. Join us next time, for the first ten episodes of season 2 of Magic Knight Rayearth, episodes 21–30! As a note, the post-ED backmatter for this podcast episode includes some Madoka Magica spoilers. Anyway, here’s the Rayearth car names document for season 1 if you need it again. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Content Warnings for this DiscussionSexualization of women Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 11 Nov 2022 | [S10E3] Paranoia Agent ep. 8–13 (with special guest Josh McKenzie) | 02:52:27 | |
Topics discussed: There Needs to be More Maromi Merchandizing; the Shockwaves of the First 7 Episodes; Collective Narratives of Shared Truth; the Hell of Animation Production; Overcoming Modernity; the Conservativism of Paranoia Agent; the Return for Traditional Japanese Values with Misae as a Traditional Japanese Mother; the Cyclical Nature of Paranoia Agent; the Power of Ideas and Their Emergence from the Social Consciousness; the Balance of Maromi and Shōnen Bat; the Double-Edged Sword of Modernity; the Restoration of the Traditional Passing Down from Mother to Daughter; the Resolution of Sagi Tsukiko’s Trauma but not the Mass Trauma of Society; Tempering Our Reading of the Series with Communism; the Animation Episode; the Full Deconstruction of the Animation of the Show; Hating on Persona 4 Golden; Fiction, Cycles, and the Constructions and Articulations of Ideas and Identities; the Suicide Episode; Detective Fiction as a Mode of Existentialist Fiction; Questions About Tokyo Godfathers are Banned; and the Five Kinds of Animals. Also, don't forget that we will be recording the Question Bucket soon. The deadline to write into our Question Bucket for this series is Saturday, November 19, 2022. You can write into ghostdiverspod@gmail and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Works Cited in this DiscussionExcerpt on “Detoxifying Culture” by the prominent literary critic Kamei Katsuichiro from the Overcoming Modernity Symposium of July 1942 organized by Kamei and two other major literary critics, Kawakami Tetsutarō and Kobayashi Hideo, published in Japanese Philosophy: A Sourcebook edited by James W. Heisig, Thomas P. Kasulis, and John C. Maraldo, 2011 Quote from “On ‘Overcoming Modernity’” by Odagiri Hideo originally published in Bungaku (Literature), April 1958, quoted in the chapter “Overcoming Modernity” published in What Is Modernity? Writings of Takeuchi Yoshimi, edited and translated by Richard F. Calichman, 2005 Content Warnings for this DiscussionMental health crises, self-harm, and suicide Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 10 Nov 2023 | [S14E6] NANA, chs. 19–24 | 04:16:53 | |
"It felt like I was going to disappear into the 4-hour podcast..." 0:13:17 Synopses OP: "Hide & seek" by LOVES. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for the DiscussionSex and sexuality Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 13 May 2022 | [S7E8] Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd Gig, eps. 20–26 | 03:17:20 | |
In order to save this podcast from going for 4 hours, Connor and Niamh had to crash the satellite that our old Audacity files are stored on into a nuke, but it’s okay, we don’t need them anymore anyway. Before our heroic, fiery death in the sky, we talk about things like Kuze (and not Elon Musk) as a great man of history; the incoherence and failure of the narrative structure of 2nd Gig as demonstrated by its complete disinterest in exploring what a bioroid even is; how 2nd Gig does try to explore some of the themes of the death around the Puppetmaster but as an inversion, and how this draws on the themes of ashura Noh; how 2nd Gig fumbles a lot of these themes, especially around the character of the Major; the concept of virginity as it is clumsily deployed in the show; the conclusion of the political aspects of 2nd Gig; the imagery of the cherry blossoms used in the final scenes; our plans to eventually cover all of Ghost in the Shell; a digression into NANA; and some final thoughts on how political theory and ideology is handled in the show. By the way, if you are interested in NANA, Niamh will be back next week with a bonus episode featuring Em of Abnormal Mapping where we dig into the manga! You can also check out their guest appearance on Ornate Stairwells mentioned in the post-ED section here: https://ornate-stairwells.pinecast.co/episode/317edfc9/cure Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Works Cited in this Discussion“The Major’s Body (10): Ghost In the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: 2nd Gig” by Claire Napier (full series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) Content Warnings for this DiscussionBrief discussion of COVID Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 24 Jan 2025 | Manga Café vol. 3: Neighborhood Story | 01:11:33 | |
The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! | |||
| 04 Feb 2022 | [S6E9] Question Bucket: Who on Utena tucks? (with Special Guest Star Autumn Blake) | 02:30:42 | |
We are joined again by Autumn Blake to talk a little about the Utena manga and answer all your emails! We also have some updates about our new diving schedule with official announcements of our planned guests for future series Baccano!, Serial Experiments Lain, Paranoia Agent, and Kino’s Journey. For the manga, neither Connor nor Autumn had the chance to read all of it, so Niamh gets a little into her takes but we move on pretty quickly to your wonderful emails. Highlights include good shōjo pulls; the gang mostly not knowing Homestuck; why we all love Nanami; Niamh’s well-documented hatred of all ATLUS games; how Connor and Autumn apparently just wish Utena was Yu-Gi-Oh!; an extended diversion into the best cooking competition show ever made, MasterChef Australia; tucking; Revolutionary Girl Pootana, poo; and which Utena character is a toxic gamer. You can write into future Question Buckets at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Content Warnings for this DiscussionGrooming, rape, sexual abuse, and sexual assault Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 15 Sep 2023 | [S14E2] NANA, Nana K. and Nana O. | 02:37:39 | |
We discuss the first volume of NANA comprising of the original one-shot stories. 0:09:39: Komatsu Nana one-shot 1:23:30: Ōsaki Nana one-shot Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 13 Oct 2023 | [S14E4] NANA, chs. 7–12 | 04:17:20 | |
The hand I was holding then was the only one I wanted to hold that night… and forever... Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for the DiscussionSuicide references Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 05 Jan 2024 | [S14E10] NANA, chs. 37–41 | 03:56:14 | |
0:06:35 Discussing the image of the moon in NANA OP: "Under the Moonlight" by Buck-Tick Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for the DiscussionDrugs, drug abuse, and addiction | |||
| 06 Jan 2023 | [S11E3] Kino's Journey —the Beautiful World—, eps. 8–13 + ep. 0 (with special guest kb) | 03:05:54 | |
Topics discussed: The Individual vs. Society; Kino’s increasing meddling or involvement in the countries they visit; the optimism or pessimism in the ending of episode 8; pushing against social mores vs. outright violent resistance; the bourgeois consumption of the novel and the cutting off of the revolutionary potential of literature and criticism; solipsism; the problems of the family in liberal society; work and mechanized labor; gender roles and labor; aimlessness, purpose, and purposeful aimlessness; the only appearance of the Master in the entire show; the system of state violence and the personal relationship to violence; the faltering of the handling of the violence of Tatatans; the critique of 21st century warfare and American militarism; gender norms and motherhood in the construction of state violence; the saddest fucking episode of Kino’s Journey; the pain of seeing what your childhood would’ve looked like if it was healthy and normal when you are queer person with childhood trauma; the ambiguous pang of yearning; utopia as fleeting and potentially unsustainable; modeling the process of utopian creation as a shared social goal; the depersonalization of the philosophical mode throughout the series in contrast to Kino’s willingness to give into the personal in the final episode; the positioning of the final episode chronologically early in Kino’s journey but at the end of the show Kino’s Journey; and the most nothing episode of Kino’s Journey that’s like fine, it’s kinda funny. Also, don't forget that we will be recording the Question Bucket soon. The deadline to write into our Question Bucket for this series is Friday, January 13, 2023. (Note: We're still hoping to record Saturday like usual, but it might get moved to Friday so that's the date if you want to play it safe.) You can write into ghostdiverspod@gmail and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for this DiscussionUnreality / questioning reality Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 05 Jul 2024 | [S15E1] Intro to Berserk (1997) (with Special Guest Star Autumn Blake) | 00:57:27 | |
Dive into Berserk (1997)! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Release Schedule[S15E1] Intro to Berserk: July 5, 2024 Note: Starting with S15E3, discussion episodes will be a week early in the Patreon feed if at all possible! Intro episodes and Question Bucket episodes will not due to the nature of how we record them. Content Warnings for the AnimeRape and sexual violence, including reference to child sexual assault | |||
| 25 Oct 2024 | [S16E3] Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, eps. 7–12 | 02:43:58 | |
0:12:03: Synopses for all episodes The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content WarningSuicide | |||
| 24 May 2024 | [S14E20] NANA, chs. 78–80 | 03:44:56 | |
0:12:26: Looking back on the series as a whole OP: "Punk Mushi no Onna" by Jun Togawa Also, don't forget that we will be recording the Question Bucket soon. The deadline to write into our Question Bucket for NANA is May 31, 2024. You can write into ghostdiverspod@gmail and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for the DiscussionDeath, fatal car crash Punk Mushi no OnnaOne! Two! Three! Four! In the moonlit white forest, This is the image of me as I reach my final metamorphosis When at last | |||
| 16 Feb 2024 | [S14E13] NANA, chs. 50–53 | 03:24:26 | |
0:04:32 Synopses OP: "Eyes for the Moon" by Mika Nakashima Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for the DiscussionSex, sexuality, and sex work | |||
| 01 Apr 2022 | [S7E5] Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd Gig, eps. 1–6 | 03:31:39 | |
It’s here! It’s time! We’re watching through Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd Gig. We know that Niamh doesn’t like is as much as the first season, but will Connor agree? Only time well tell… In this episode, we discuss topics such as how 2nd Gig differs structurally from the first season of Stand Alone Complex; the explicit inclusion of politics into the story; discontinuity and homage in 2nd Gig; the handling of sexuality and sexism; the significance of names; Noh theatre; the historicity of 2nd Gig’s Japan; and more! Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for this DiscussionViolence Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 28 Oct 2022 | [S10E2] Paranoia Agent ep. 1–7 (with special guest Josh McKenzie) | 02:24:01 | |
Topics discussed: Breaking the Pattern of Paranoia Agent in Episode 7; Repression and Alienation; It’s ‘Cause You Be On That Phone; The Tsunami as Lil Slugger; Issues of Victimhood; Shōnen Bat is a Stand Alone Complex; Harumi and Maria; Niamh is Still NANA Brained; Announcement of Our Next New Year’s Special; Josh Says the Wildest Thing About Tokyo Godfathers; Crises of Childhood, Femininity, and Masculinity; The Worsening Effects of the Sluggings; The Animated Being of Maromi; Lil Slugger as Another Mascot Character; The Existentialism of the Detective Fiction Framing; The OP and the ED; and Critiquing Maromi Plushes. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for this DiscussionMental health crises, self-harm, and suicide Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 23 Jun 2023 | [S13E1] Intro to Psycho-Pass | 01:28:06 | |
Dive into Psycho-Pass! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Release Schedule[S1E1] Intro to Psycho-Pass: June 23, 2023 [S1E2] Psycho-Pass, eps. 1–8: July 7, 2023 [S1E3] Psycho-Pass, eps. 9–16: July 21, 2023 [S1E4] Psycho-Pass, eps. 17–22: August 4, 2023 [S1E5] Psycho-Pass: The Movie: August 18, 2023 [S1E6] Question Bucket: September 1, 2023 Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 29 Apr 2022 | [S7E7] Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd Gig, eps. 14–19 | 03:43:35 | |
This week on the podcast, 2nd Gig has started to try to bring in more of the case-of-the-week format, but some of the skill and magic of the first season is gone. We dig into the incongruence of the few case-of-the-week episodes; 2nd Gig’s growing fascination with creating backstories for characters; the geopolitical allegory of 2nd Gig and specifically Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution and its connection to Japanese nationalism and fascism; the show finally developing the Tachikoma some more; podcasting is synchronizing your consciousnesses; the quality of the animation in 2nd Gig; more backstory on Kuze and how it relates to Noh theater and themes around death; Koestler’s theories in The Ghost in the Machine; the difficulties and problems of even the good-faith reading of what happens between the Major and the boy Chai; Niamh’s apparently inexplicable love of 2nd Gig’s Wings of Desire episode; themes around the failures of heroism and leadership, and the beginning of the end… Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Works Cited in this DiscussionThe Ghost in the Machine by Arthur Koestler “The Major’s Body (10): Ghost In the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: 2nd Gig” by Claire Napier (full series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) Content Warnings for this DiscussionSexual harassment, abuse, and rape Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 22 Jul 2022 | [S8E3] Baccano!, eps. 9–16 (with special guest John-Charles Holmes) | 03:11:32 | |
"Long podcasts are such a crime. They take the limited amount of time that is given to man, and rather than spending it in indolence or drowning it in pleasure it just sits there sucking, eating it up. I can't put up with that, long podcasts are a crime! Death to long podcasts! Die!" Topics discussed: Oops! All Anime Sicko Murderers; Using Non-liner Storytelling to Tell Jokes; Bill Gates; Destabilizing Anime Archetypes; Yum Yum Time to Eat Your Shōnen Anime; Czes Has Been Waiting Centuries to be Called a Good Boy; The Protagonist of Baccano! is Graham Specter; Casting Timothée Chalamet in the Live Action Baccano!; Watching Baccano! with Your Girlfriend; My Hero Academia; Upholding Traditional Family Values by Stealing Cellphones; Understanding the Philosophy of Graham Specter; Ronny I and Ronny II in the Notorious B.E.Ginning; Post-ED Games Talk; Biblically Accurate Bill Gates. Also, don't forget that we will be recording the Question Bucket soon. The deadline to write into our Question Bucket for this series is Thursday, July 28, 2022. You can write into ghostdiverspod@gmail and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for this DiscussionDiscussion of gore, torture, and dismemberment Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 01 Jul 2022 | Manga Café vol. 2: Paradise Kiss (with special guest Em Marko) | 01:11:42 | |
Continuing the Yazawa Ai train, Niamh once again calls in friend-of-the-pod (and kinda just the co-host of this sporadic new manga talk show) Em Marko to talk about Paradise Kiss! You can write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter: The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Abnormal Mapping Network: abnormalmapping.com Content Warnings for this DiscussionAbusive relationships (briefly) Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 01 Jan 2023 | The Second Annual New Year's Special: NANA by Yazawa Ai | 04:42:51 | |
Happy New Year! We've made it another full year of the show! As with last year's special, we start with a self-indulgent look back at the past year of the podcast and rank everything we've watched. We also run tournaments for the OPs and EDs! We then have our special discussion for the year. That's right, Niamh conned Connor into reading the entirety of NANA! We start talking about the manga at around 1:25:11 and do our best to provide a thorough synopsis before digging into the story's themes and ideas about love embodied by the cast's many different relationships. Also Niamh might con Connor into something else in the process... As a note, this section is really spoiler heavy. I think even with all the big twists and plot points spoiled for you, the manga is still a fantastic and moving read (I in fact know this is true, because I knew many of the manga's biggest spoilers before I actually read through it in earnest myself). That said, I know many people really balk at spoilers, and so if that's you, please please please do yourself the service of reading NANA sooner rather than later and then coming back to this episode at the end. If you have any emails to send us about NANA or any of the anime we've covered or will cover, you can write into future Question Buckets at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Cohost! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Free promo for Ina’s podcast, It’s All Stover: @stovercast (twitter) Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for this DiscussionRape Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 30 Apr 2021 | [S4E1] Intro to Neon Genesis Evangelion | 01:36:51 | |
Do you want to become one with us? To be of one mind and body? It’s a very, very comforting feeling. Email us anytime. Come dive with us into Neon Genesis Evangelion. Just relax and release your soul. Release Schedule[S1E1] Intro: April 30, 2020 Works Cited“Misora Hibari and the Girl Star in Postwar Japanese Cinema” by Deborah Shamoon, published in Signs vol. 35 no. 1 “Kanashiki Kuchibue” performance by Misora Hibari Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection by Julia Kristeva Chapter 1 of Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature by Erich Auerbach Content Warnings for the Anime and MangaViolence, blood, death, and gore Content Warnings for the End of EvangelionMost of above but more intense. Specific scenarios to call out: A character masturbating over the unconscious body of a girl Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 07 Jul 2023 | [S13E2] Psycho-Pass, eps. 1–8 | 03:59:48 | |
00:22:41: Discussion for episodes 1–3 01:20:18: Discussion for episodes 4 & 5 02:11:26: Discussion for episodes 6–8 Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Works Cited in this DiscussionAngelis, Eugenio. (2019). Beyond the Screen: Terayama. Spectatorship. Intermediality. Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale. 55. 10.30687/AnnOr/2385-3042/2019/01/019. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334673210_Beyond_the_Screen_Terayama_Spectatorship_Intermediality Content Warnings for this DiscussionBody horror and exploding bodies Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 14 Jan 2022 | [S6E7] Surprise Bonus Episode: Catching up on Utena with Special Guest Star Autumn Blake | ||
We did not plan this bonus episode at all but Autumn finished the show in preparation for joining us for Adolescence of Utena and decided to call me to make sure we were on the same page, and we just decided to record it for you all. As such, don't listen to this until you've finished the series! If you liked this episode especially, you should really check out Ornate Stairwells is you haven't yet. Our Discord connection was a little weird and got kind of out a sync a few times, so sorry if there's any weird moments where it seems like we are talking over each other or weird pauses in our back-and-forth. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Content Warnings for this DiscussionGrooming, pedophilia, & rape Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 27 May 2022 | [S7E9] Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society | 02:40:46 | |
Just as a heads up: Connor’s connection was dropping out a bunch, especially at the beginning, and was a bit laggy as well. Niamh wasn’t trying to just talk over him so much! We start off with a weird digression into looking into Sci-Fi Channel’s Ani-Mondays block and then getting a rant from Niamh about Chrono Cross Remaster. After that we get into topics like the Japanese political dynamics in the film; whatever the fuck Togusa is doing; parallels being drawn between Kusanagi, Kuze, and the Puppet Master with the final reveal of the Puppeteer; the failure of the neo-liberal imagination and the Major’s eternal cop brain; the failure of imagination in the breaking down of family structures in order to simply rebuild them as a reambulated corpse; reproductions of the state; the surveillance state; placing the movies and show in a chronology simply as a thought experiment. Also, don't forget that we will be recording the Question Bucket soon. The deadline to write into our Question Bucket for this series is June 4, 2022. You can write into ghostdiverspod@gmail and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for this DiscussionBrain hacking / possession Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 01 Jan 2025 | The Fourth Annual New Year's Special: Nasal Gaving | 04:05:06 | |
Happy New Year! Next year we will really try to be faster with the show rankings... 0:05:56 Show rankings Write into future episodes at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! | |||
| 08 Dec 2023 | [S14E8] NANA, chs. 29–32 + Naoki | 03:36:55 | |
0:16:26 Synopses OP: "Drive a car" by Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for the DiscussionRape | |||
| 19 Mar 2021 | [S2E4] Question Bucket: Kissing the Homies Goodnight or: GF stands for Guardian Fbottoming (with special guest Autumn Blake) | 03:35:37 | |
Episode NotesIn what is most certainly the rowdiest, most chaotic episode yet, the Ghost Divers are joined by special guest and person who is hosting this podcast on their network in the first place so how is Niamh ever going to say no to them, Autumn Blake! But before Autumn hops on the call, Niamh and Connor start out with just the regular amount of rowdiness and chaos and get right into the Cro High questions. We start out talking about some of our favorite bits from the show, get waylaid by Niamh’s laundry tips, and then dive into the gender happening in Cro High, vibes you get as a trans person about whether or not a creator would hate you, Takashi Miike’s Dead or Alive trilogy, Cro High’s potential debt to Utena, our favorite cuss word, finding a shared sense of humor with others, etc. Then Autumn joins for our discussion of Final Fantasy 8 and things immediately escalate into a rollicking discussion touching on NORG, which Gundam characters would kiss the homies goodnight, which FF8 characters would kiss the homies goodnight, which Eva characters would kiss the homies goodnight, Niamh’s FF7 OTP, the era of PS1 JRPGs and why they could be weirder back then, how you used to be able to just make bad games and movies, memories of watching friends play Final Fantasy games, the overwhelming adolescence of FF8, more of Niamh’s OTPs, the merciless systems of FF8, breaking JRPGs, the era of guidebooks, etc. We eventually move on to talking about Gaylord Phoenix, 100 Crushes, and queer alt comics in general, especially around themes like the inadequacy of language to talk about queerness and different approaches to trying to talk about this inadequacy anyway, revisiting queer books from the year you came out, Connor’s ongoing role as Niamh’s token cis straight white dude friend, the value of libraries, how to try to get into queer comics, etc. Anyway, go buy the unofficial official shirt of Ghost Divers: You can write into future Question Buckets at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Works Cited in this DiscussionI don’t read theory not even Marx I have never even heard of Hegelian dialectics. Content Warnings for this DiscussionBrief mentions of self-harm Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 17 Feb 2023 | [S12E2] Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, eps. 1–6 | 02:48:33 | |
Topics discussed: Mikazuki is the main guy from Battles Without Honor or Humanity 2; Kudelia Bluth; the very first scene and the symbols of Iron, Blood, and Orphans; why people say this is the Gundam about child soldiers; how IBO engages in the language of Tomino Gundam shows but tries to translate it for a wider audience; our view of Mars; bodies in IBO; the humanness of the design of Gundam Barbatos; body modifications and the beliefs and opinions about them in the society of IBO; abjection (see our Evangelion season): Lü Bubatos; the space rats with whiskers and the Alaya-Vijnana vs. the tropes around newtypes; the two Ainas and Kudelia as a character in the show; race in IBO; our first impressions of McGillis; Barbatos as the Devil’s Machine; and the contradictions of Orga, Mika, Kudelia, and Barbatos and the creation of new potentials. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for this DiscussionBlood, violence, death and some gore, both in mech combat and between humans Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 30 Sep 2022 | [S9E4] Question Bucket: Danza Kuduro (with Special Guest Star Autumn Blake) | 01:45:10 | |
“Most games are mid.” Topics discussed: The Wired vs. Kingdom Hearts; The Ricola Incident; Forever Anime; Things That Are Mid; Kissing and/or Tucking; Coffee Orders; Super Bowl Commercials; Gamer Moded Opinions; and Coffee In General. You can write into future Question Buckets at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for this DiscussionAlcohol Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 19 Feb 2021 | [S2E2] Sakigake!! Cromartie High School, eps. 1–13 | 02:12:36 | |
Episode NotesConnor and Niamh can’t remember the name of a song that’s stuck in their heads, so they try to distract themselves by discussing episodes 1 through 13 of the first season of Sakigake!! Cromartie High School. We start out with the first and really only bit of theory bullshit by talking about the yakuza and yankii genre convention of the giri-ninjo conflict and how it relates to the comedy of Cro High, which we then use to launch into how much Cro High actually operates as a genre parody vs. absurdism, Kamiyama as a protagonist, the process of adaptation from manga to anime, the character of Yamaguchi as the comedian who tries to metatextually analyze the comedy of the show in which he himself is a character, the all-encompassing scope of the comedy of the show, the show within a show that is Pootan, the way Cro High continues to develop expectations in order to subvert them, and more. Niamh also has an (at this point no longer secret) announcement that faer comedy video art series Today’s Garfield Read Aloud has returned as a Twitter account, @GarfReadAloud. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod[at]gmail and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod Works Cited in this Discussion“The Yakuza Film: An Introduction” by Keiko Iwai McDonald, published in Reframing Japanese Cinema: Authorship, Genre, History “On Ninkyo” by Sato Tadao, published in the journal Shisō no kagaku (Science of Thought) Content Warnings for this DiscussionMention of Alcohol (After the outro when Niamh and Connor are joking around) Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 25 Dec 2020 | [S1E3] Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, eps. 7–13 | 02:29:02 | |
Episode NotesThis week, we get deep into episodes 7 through 13 of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. We try a little harder this time at doing some recaps but Niamh gets distracted getting right into faer bullshit from the beginning. Connor makes his case for episode 10, but if you are trying to avoid this one, which has some of the roughest content of the series, just know we discuss it from approximately 1:24:54 to 1:32:27. We talk about the sexualization of Major Kusanagi, the aura of the ghost in the age of its technological reproducibility, how the reproduced object can be reconstructed to produce a new aura with a purpose that can be revelatory just as easily as it can be fascistic, reality and unreality, the societal view of binary gender as “Default Male” and “Other”, choosing to be queer and trans, capitalism’s ability to co-opt that which opposes it, cycles of nationalized violence, the development of AI sapience and individuality, escapism and utopia, and our first big reminder in a few episodes that Section 9 is just a bunch of shitty cops. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod[at]gmail and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod Works Cited in this Discussion“Entomology of the Pinup Girl” from What is Cinema?, vol. 2 by André Bazin “The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility” by Walter Benjamin “Beyond the Image in Benjamin and Bazin: The Aura of the Event” by Monica Dall’Asta, published in Opening Bazin: Postwar Film Theory and Its Afterlife “The Ontology of the Photographic Image” from What is Cinema?, vol. 1 by André Bazin “Ghost in the Shell: the Major’s Body (3)” by Claire Napier (full series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) Content Warnings for this DiscussionSexuality Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 03 Feb 2023 | [S12E1] Intro to Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans | 01:25:20 | |
Dive into Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Release Schedule[S12E1] Intro to Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans: February 3, 2023 Content Warnings for the AnimeBlood, violence, death and some gore, both in mech combat and between humans For the episodes 1–6 of the show, we will only get into the first two (blood, violence, etc. and bodies, implants, etc.) Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 11 Oct 2024 | [S16E2] Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, eps. 1–6 | 02:50:03 | |
0:04:21: Synopses for all episodes The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content WarningSuicide | |||
| 27 Nov 2020 | Welcome to Ghost Divers | 00:53:05 | |
Episode NotesHello and welcome to Ghost Divers, an anime podcast with Connor and Niamh. In this introduction to the podcast, we go over the general format and idea for the show, and we also take a moment to talk a little bit about ourselves and what we hope we can offer! Special thanks to theimpliedbear for the use of their song "First" off of their album With Us?. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod[at]gmail and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 16 Aug 2024 | [S15E4] Berserk, eps. 13–19 (with Special Guest Star Autumn Blake) | 03:33:47 | |
0:03:57: Synopses for all episodes The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content WarningsRape and sexual violence | |||
| 18 Feb 2022 | [S7E1] Intro to Our Deep Dive into Ghost in the Shell | 01:02:28 | |
“In that fleeting moment when Connor and I were facing off against the Major, we envisioned the outcome of our discourse, and the hairs on the back of our necks stood on end. After assessing the situation and taking all the factors into account, our experiences as podcasters led us to one conclusion: we were about to die.” The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Release Schedule[S1E1] Intro: February 18, 2022 Works Cited“The Major’s Body (10): Ghost In the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: 2nd Gig” by Claire Napier (full series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) The Ghost in the Machine by Arthur Koestler Content Warnings for the AnimeGore / Head Trauma / Dental Trauma Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 01 Jan 2024 | The Third Annual New Year's Special: Cromartie High — The Movie | 03:46:36 | |
Happy New Year! Will you feel a little better about our little prank if I tell you that not only are we doing Barry Lyndon on Stairwells next week but ALSO Niamh finished recording this episode, went to bed, and then woke up to a day of nothing but fever dreams and sweating through faer sheets? Trust us, it's better this way. Barry Lyndon deserves better than being the afterthought at the end of one of these specials. 0:34:02 Show rankings Write into future episodes at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! | |||
| 25 Nov 2022 | [S10E4] Question Bucket: I saw a calzone and it really made an impression on me (with special guest Josh McKenzie) | 01:45:22 | |
Topics discussed: Once Again, Shōnen Bat is a Stand Alone Complex; Someone Actually Asks Niamh to Talk About NANA; The Forbidden Sixth Route in the Five Kinds of Animal You Can Date Otome; We Have A Very Broad Definition of “Game Show”; The Thematic Pairing of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Jackass Forever; The Teleological Fallacy of Pizza; Niamh Desperately Trying to Get the Podcast Back on Track; and Connor’s Disgusting Recipe for Fast Tea. You can write into future Question Buckets at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 24 Nov 2023 | [S14E7] NANA, chs. 25–28 | 03:32:54 | |
0:07:26 Synopses OP: "Motor psycho" by Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for the DiscussionSex and sexuality Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 12 Apr 2024 | [S14E17] NANA, chs. 66–69 + Takumi | 04:22:28 | |
0:08:21 Synopses OP: "My Funny Valentine" by Buck-Tick Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for the DiscussionSelf-harm, suicide, drowning | |||
| 22 Jan 2021 | [S1E5] Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, eps. 20–26 | 03:01:40 | |
Episode NotesIt’s time to finish out our episode discussions with our breakdown of episodes 20 through 26. We get right into this with high energy because we recorded [S0E1] Welcome to Ghost Divers immediately prior to this recording, so Niamh is already fully on one. Thankfully Connor is here to rein fem in. We start the discussion by trying to put a bow on Niamh’s theory bullshit with Benjamin and Bazin while Connor gets on his own theory bullshit train with Koestler’s The Ghost in the Machine. Throughout the episode, we cover the tension between individual and society, Aoi the individual as distinct from the Laughing Man, Aoi’s reverence to the original and the truth, the Major’s rage as she fights for her body and her need for control, demedicalization and bodily autonomy as part of trans liberationism, the value of the individual vs. the value of the team, the theoretical origins of the ghost in the shell, the similarities and distinctions between Aoi and the Major, the culpability of individuals in institutions and the need for individuals to break with the institutional imperative in order to create change, the tension between individualism and collectivism, the conversations between Batou and the Major relating to her body and why she chose it, the final act of self sacrifice by the Tachikomas, Batou’s own struggles with gender and oppressive systems, and ultimate finish by teasing out some of the quotes provided by the Major and Aoi in the show’s own version of a Works Cited. Also sorry, we had a few audio issues again but Niamh thinks fae figured out the main issues so it should be better going forward. Lastly, don't forget that we will be recording the Question Bucket soon. The deadline to write into our Question Bucket for this series is January 30, 2020. You can write into ghostdiverspod[at]gmail and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod Works Cited in this Discussion“The Ontology of the Photographic Image” from What is Cinema?, vol. 1 by André Bazin “Beyond the Image in Benjamin and Bazin: The Aura of the Event” by Monica Dall’Asta, published in Opening Bazin: Postwar Film Theory and Its Afterlife “The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility” by Walter Benjamin The Ghost in the Machine by Arthur Koestler Kino-Eye by Dziga Vertov The Political Unconscious by Fredric Jameson Content Warnings for this DiscussionSexism Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 17 Jan 2025 | [S16E9] Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2, eps. 20–25 | 02:38:41 | |
0:04:15: Discussion of the ending and the episodes in general 0:41:49: When we start talking about IBO, jump here to skip the spoilers! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content WarningViolence, death, and warfare | |||
| 12 May 2023 | [S12E8] Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, eps. 39–44 | 03:35:18 | |
Topics discussed: Revealed Intentions; the people making IBO love Victory Gundam; how to say Dáinsleif; someone really needed to warn all these characters about death flagging; Iok Kujan continues to survive out of pure stupidity; Hush’s anime rival to gofer lackey arc; the Dáinsleif as an escalation of medieval warfare into modern weaponry; Gjallarhorn’s relationship to myth and history and the original stopping on history and arresting of society into a static structure; the Old Norse legend of Dáinsleif; Orga’s struggles with choices and his acquiescing to others who will make the decision for him; Orga’s lack of control over Tekkadan’s violence; thematic elements of the Reginlaze Julia and the dehumanization of the mech into more of a weapon; Barbatos and Mika’s tail/umbilical cord; gender happens; babies, motherhood, umbilical cords, wombs, and the need for life beyond this moment; Atra’s attitudes and relationships to sex and sexuality; Lafter, Amida, and polyamory; the limited forms of families available and their blending with military organizations; Connor has the worst hair in IBO; masks on masks on masks; McGillis is an iron-blooded orphan; parallels between McGillis and the Legend of Agnika Kaieru and Kudelia and the History of Revolution; McGillis has misunderstood and overestimated the true pillars of Gjallarhorn; Rustal is a materialist; McGillis’s grooming of Almiria and her genuine feelings; McGillis approaches all relationships as dominance and submissions; eyes, monovision, and the potential tension of Mika closing his left eye; “How far should I go?” and Mika’s own conflict around the death march of violence; Mika fighting to end to Atra’s tears; parallels between season one and season two of IBO; Niamh has to make the bed; Irn-Bruded Orphans; content warnings for the last six episodes (start at 3:33:45). Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for this DiscussionMajor character death Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 02 Feb 2024 | [S14E12] NANA, chs. 46–49 | 03:51:37 | |
0:11:38 Synopses OP: "Cinderellalize" by LOVES. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for the DiscussionSex, sexuality, and sex work | |||
| 16 Sep 2022 | [S9E3] Serial Experiments Lain, eps. 7–13 (with Special Guest Star Autumn Blake) | 03:28:14 | |
Topics discussed: Connor Gaslights Niamh; Connor and Autumn Call Lain Mid; Lain and Alice Enjoy Some Eggo Waffles; Digging Into the Ending of Lain; Comparing Serial Experiments Lain with Neon Genesis Evangelion; The Suicidal Reading of the Ending of Lain; How Lain Tempers Its Bleakness with Love; Connor Brain Dumps His Reading of the Series as a Whole; Is Lain a God, a Little Girl, or a Yokai?; Comparing Serial Experiments Lain with Akira; Tremors is a Libertarian Wet Dream Movie; The Horror of Right-Wing Radicalization Online vs. the Affirmation of Positive Identities Online; Why Does Batou Criticize the Major for Going Diving?; Lain Game Dot Net; Autumn and Niamh Record a 40-Minute Podcast About Manga and Chrono Cross Where They Get Quieter and Quieter as They Talk; Searching Tongue on Eat Out. Also, don't forget that we will be recording the Question Bucket soon. The deadline to write into our Question Bucket for this series is Friday, September 23, 2022. You can write into ghostdiverspod@gmail and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for this DiscussionSuicide Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 14 Apr 2023 | [S12E6] Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, eps. 26–32 | 03:13:31 | |
Topics discussed: Niamh’s new way of doing synopses; Julieta is the weird girl to Ple’s silly girl, cyber new type vibes all around; Montag goes masked off and just becomes McGillis; the new yakuza motherfucker; the potential identity of the mysterious masked man; the new state of the world and the lack of significant improvements in the wake of Makanai’s election; Tekkadan’s move from an oppositional force to a part of the standing regime; Tekkadan banning the Alaya-Vijnana system; “I sure hope Tekkadan doesn’t repeat anything from Gjallarhorn”; Atra trying to assert a new space for Mika as a farmer if his role as a soldier is no longer needed; this week’s thematic keyword of “trust”; the link of faces, trust, and intention with the new mask and the new masked man; João’s DMs including the medieval and modernity as well as a quote from Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth; McGillis is a Char (redux); the difficulty in overthrowing or even destabilizing existing regimes; Mikazuki, disability, and his inability to hold back Atra’s bracelet; Mika, Orga, single vision, and monomania; the drive to move forward and the question of when they can stop; paralleling Julieta with Ein; Chad Chadan, that’s it just the name Chad Chadan; Aston keeps throwing up death flags and then dies; the homoromantic tension between Takaki and Aston; Takaki and Aston as a mirror of Orga and Mika; the potentiality for the manipulation of Tekkadan, as well as the terrifying possibility that Orga is himself a manipulator; Takaki as the first character other than Mikazuki to execute someone with a pistol; a taste test between Asahi and Kirin Ichiban; silly girl sweep; and content warnings for the next 6 episodes (starts at 3:10:43). Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for this DiscussionViolence, death, and gore Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 11 Jun 2021 | [S4E4] Neon Genesis Evangelion, eps. 14–20 | 03:14:00 | |
Episode NotesWe are back again and ready to dive into the back half of Neon Genesis Evangelion with episodes 14 through 20. We start by looking at what actually turned out to be a fairly interesting clip show episode and use it to spring into a discussion of the shift towards greater interiority and the developing undercurrents in the second half of the series; the growing characterization of Rei; Misato and Kaji as a (not always well handled) brat4brat relationship and how it factors into our read of Misato as well as Asuka as a “female impersonator” of Misato; our read on Kaji as an interesting but often creepy character; Eva’s ongoing construction of divided subjects; the psychoanalytic elements of the series and Connor’s theory bullshit about Kristeva’s ideas about abjection; the abjection of queerness; the role of ego in sync rate and pilot performance; the solidification of the show’s thematic elements in order to develop further in the finale; the misdirected desire for comfort that must be resisted to reassert selfhood and allow the potential for further life; our continuing kicking of the Mimesis can down the Ghost Divers road; and an extended discussion of one of our favorite sparsely animated scenes. Next time we will be joined by guest Brad Nelson to talk about episodes 21 through 26! Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Also as a fun note: About a week before this episode was released, Connor finally subscribed to the Patreon in order to listen to Niamh’s new movie podcast with Autumn called Ornate Stairwells! You can check out the public feed for Ornate Stairwells at exportaud.io/ornatestairwells or listen to the episodes early by becoming a patron yourself at exportaud.io. I mean, not episodes of Ghost Divers early, just episodes of Ornate Stairwells early. I’m not putting any more pressure on myself to edit stuff early, and I think this podcast works best if you know exactly when to expect new episodes. Works Cited in this DiscussionPowers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection by Julia Kristeva Content Warnings for this DiscussionDiscussion of grooming and sexual abuse Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 09 Jun 2023 | [S12E10] Question Bucket: There's a lot of porn of Lucario and I think Naze is down with that | 03:43:45 | |
Our bucket is overflowing with questions this week! Thank you to everyone who wrote in. We try to get right to the emails... but end up talking about overall feelings on the show for a while first... Anyway, we have a good mix of serious questions and jokey ones and have fun bouncing between discussions about the pain of childhood and jokes about Pokémon. You can write into future Question Buckets at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 26 May 2023 | [S12E9] Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, eps. 45–50 | 03:53:59 | |
Topics discussed: Once again Niamh has not been able to finish the notes in time. Expect them sometime this weekend. Sorry! Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for this DiscussionFind out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 28 May 2021 | [S4E3] Neon Genesis Evangelion, eps. 7–13 | 03:51:29 | |
Episode NotesWe are back once again with our discussion of episodes 7 through 13 of Neon Genesis Evangelion. These may be what are generally considered the lightest, most slice-of-life/monster-of-the-week episodes of the show, but Niamh and Connor know what this show is and is going to be, so this episode is still plenty dark. Niamh being her most messy Misato when fae recorded this probably didn’t help. We start our discussion with the revelation that Connor is also a Misato x Ritsuko shipper, then get into the way the comparative cheeriness of these episodes feels intentionally hollow and like the illusion of happiness you create when you’re depressed, Eva’s deployment of tropes from “lighter” genres like romantic comedies, the duality of Misato and the ways in which she is actually not like Niamh, the subordination of all characters to Shinji as the self-obsessed depressed protagonist of the series and how this starts Connor and Niamh’s one true fight on Eva that we will never fully resolve, the forced feminization of Shinji, bringing in Misora Hibari as a point of reference for Asuka as an impersonator of Misato, the psychoanalytic theory of abjection as put forth by Julia Kristeva and its relation to Eva, the possibility of communication and connection between individuals, the developing characterization of Rei, Gendo’s position as the antagonist of the series, the divided subject of the MAGI system, more on the divided opinion of Connor and Niamh on whether or not Anno is a hateful little shit man, trying to talk around the end of the show and The End of Evangelion, and putting off some theory bullshit for next time. Also we kinda end up talking more about Asuka and Misora Hibari after we finished recording the podcast proper and that all made it into the post-ED outtakes section so uh… it’s a little more than just goofs this time, you might want to stick around for at least some of it even if you usually skip the outtakes. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Works Cited in this Discussion“Misora Hibari and the Girl Star in Postwar Japanese Cinema” by Deborah Shamoon, published in Signs vol. 35 no. 1 Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection by Julia Kristeva “Kanashiki Kuchibue” performance by Misora Hibari Content Warnings for this DiscussionAlcohol / Alcoholism Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 04 Mar 2022 | [S7E2] Crossover with Ornate Stairwells: Ghost in the Shell (1995) | 05:07:36 | |
Welcome to the overstuffed Ornate Stairwells / Ghost Divers crossover event! Niamh watched Ghost in the Shell (1995) and recorded a Stairwells episode about it with Autumn, then a few days later recorded a Ghost Divers episode about it with Connor. Then fae stitched both conversations together. It’s a whole lot of Niamh and a whole lot of Ghost in the Shell. It's also, hopefully, two interestingly different but connected looks at the same work. Next week Niamh and Autumn will be back to talk about Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. Don't forget that Ghost Divers will be recording the Question Bucket for Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence soon. The deadline to write into our Question Bucket for this series is March 11, 2022. You can write into ghostdiverspod@gmail and follow us on Twitter! ///////Credits for Ornate Stairwells (00:00:00): You can follow Niamh on twitter @FoxmomNia and listen to faer other podcast, Ghost Divers, by going to exportaud.io/ghostdivers You can follow Autumn on twitter by going to @Autumnal_Coffee and listen to all of their podcasts by going to exportaud.io. You can see how we rated this stairwell and all the other stairwells by going to exportaud.io/stairwellquality ///////Credits for Ghost Divers (02:24:24): The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Work Cited in Ghost Divers: “Ghost in the Shell: the Major’s Body (1)” by Claire Napier (full series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) Content Warnings for this Discussion: Depression, suicide, body horror, dyadism, sexism You can also get listen to Ornate Stairwells (and could've listened to this episode of Ghost Divers) a week early by giving us a dollar on the patreon!!! Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 20 May 2022 | Manga Café vol. 1: NANA (with special guest Em Marko) | ||
Niamh decided to have on friend of the pod Em Marko to talk a little about the NANA manga, since we both recently read through all of it! I'm also considering the first of what might be an ongoing series of bonus episodes where we talk a little about a manga series related to a show we've either done on the podcast or plan to do in the future! Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Abnormal Mapping Network: abnormalmapping.com Content Warnings for this DiscussionAbusive relationships Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 16 Apr 2021 | [S3E3] Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, eps. 7–12 | 04:05:36 | |
Episode NotesConnor and Niamh are under new direction (maybe this joke will land in the description?) but are back to discuss the final half of Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team. We start with a discussion of the show’s hot springs episode, how the change in director may have changed the handling of various aspects of the series, the relationship between Shiro and Aina, Aina’s attempts to assert herself against her abusive brother, the potential discrepancies between Shiro and Aina’s political positions and worldviews that never really get explored, how the series tests Shiro’s idealism, our feelings about our first look at ground soldiers on the Zeon side, the incredible new content of Miller’s Report, mechs, Niamh’s rewrite of The 08th MS Team, the failure of Shiro to enacted his pacifism in the face of his own death, how the Apsalus runs on Windows, how Aina and Shiro fail to break from their existing frameworks of understanding war as being fought and won by individuals, the two different endings of the series, how the series deals with new types, the bleak reality of the final episode, but also potentially the sliver of hope within it, and more. Also, don't forget that we will be recording the Question Bucket soon. The deadline to write into our Question Bucket for this series is April 24. You can write into ghostdiverspod@gmail and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod Works Cited in this DiscussionWe didn’t really cite any works for this series! Content Warnings for this DiscussionBrief mention of a gas attack massacre Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 06 Dec 2024 | [S16E6] Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2, eps. 1–6 | 02:21:54 | |
0:20:43: Synopses for all episodes The Show: @ghostdiverspod Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content WarningSuicide | |||
| 09 Dec 2022 | [S11E1] Intro to Kino's Journey —the Beautiful World— (with special guest kb) | 00:46:55 | |
“Someone once told me that watching anime made them want to record a podcast.” Dive into Kino’s Journey —the Beautiful World— (2003)! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Release Schedule[S11E1] Intro to Kino's Journey: December 9, 2022 Content Warnings for the AnimeViolence and gore Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 01 Sep 2023 | [S14E1] Intro to NANA | 00:58:38 | |
Dive into NANA! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Release Schedule[S14E1] Intro to NANA: September 1, 2023 Content Warnings for the MangaSex and sexuality, including rape and sexual abuse Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
| 28 Apr 2023 | [S12E7] Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, eps. 33–38 | 03:56:51 | |
Topics discussed: Iok is a Jerid; Vidar, Gaelio, Ein, and the Norse god of vengeance; the myth of Ragnarök and its significance in Norse mythology; McGillis as a Loki; the patriarchal systems throughout the world of IBO; sacrifice; McGillis’s promise to pass on the colonial apparatus to Orga; an appraisal of Kudelia and the limits of her ability to progress; Atra and Kudelia’s ideas around the end of the conditions that produce child soldiers; Kudelia’s attempts to create the groundwork to support a different future; Tekkadan’s abandonment of Kudelia; McGillis as a groomer; a satisfying amount of Eva to trickle in; they don’t have wheelchairs???; the fumbles in how IBO handles disability; fears over the losing someone to the war; Orga, Atra, and Kudelia all fear losing Mikazuki; Mika moving away from Atra and Kudelia and toward Orga; Mikazuki avoiding grappling with his internal dilemma and unwillingness to give up the power of Barbatos; identification between the pilot and the mech; the contradiction st the heart of Gjallarhorn; the excavating of a past modernity; knights and dragons vs. the terrifying machine of modern war; Gjallarhorn’s role as creator of peace vs. Tekkadan’s threat of total violence and destruction; Hashmal’s destruction of the farm; IBO’s metatextual interest in the repetition of history; the Mobile Armor as humanity’s drive for self-destruction and the religiosity that surrounds that; fox treats for foxes; Gundam F91; Connor’s promised to finish Victory by April 7, 2023; router network configuration; a little more about McGillis as a groomer; content warnings for the next 6 episodes (starts at 3:53:55 — the time stamps for episode 44 are 9:30 to 12:46). Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for this DiscussionViolence, death, and gore Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co | |||
