Transcript
zuuuuu: On another exciting episode of the Animation Delivery Podcast, we are going to be sharing our thoughts on Amazon Prime's Batman the Cape Crusader, and we're just going to be telling you that you missed you right after these ads that may not pop up.
J Scoots: you Sing along if you know the words. ah One, two, three, it's time for animation deliberation. A conversation and a celebration of our favorite action animated series. Yeah.
zuuuuu: yale Welcome back to another episode of Animation Deliberation, the podcast where we take action animation and cartoon seriously, but not too seriously. We are your hosts. I'm Zuhar Ali.
J Scoots: And my name is J. Scottie St. Clair.
zuuuuu: I've missed you, buddy. It's been a while.
J Scoots: Yes, yes indeed. It has been a while. It's been a while, but we're back and I'm not talking about the 1993 animated film.
zuuuuu: We are.
J Scoots: Have you seen it?
zuuuuu: That's when I was born.
J Scoots: Are you familiar with what I'm talking about though?
zuuuuu: No.
J Scoots: Check it out. it's like I'm probably unlocking memories for certain people right now. But yeah, in 1993, there was an animated movie about dinosaurs that were gifted the gift of like sentient intelligence and travel to the future.
zuuuuu: What's it called?
J Scoots: It is a wacky, it's ah it's called We're Back, a dinosaur story. And I haven't watched it in years, but I watched it on repeat when I was in my very formative years.
zuuuuu: Back diets forced.
J Scoots: So I'd be curious to hear if anybody else out there has the fond memories that I do.
zuuuuu: Oh, maybe I have seen this.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: I think you're unlocking memories from me right now.
J Scoots: that's That's the goal.
zuuuuu: This looks familiar.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: Huh.
zuuuuu: Yeah, this is a type of nostalgia everyone's missed from us.
J Scoots: i'll so I have another one in mind, but I'll save that one for the next time we cast.
zuuuuu: Okay.
J Scoots: I'll just say it.
zuuuuu: Tune in next time.
J Scoots: and adventures Nemo's Adventures in Slumberland.
zuuuuu: ah
J Scoots: I think I'm getting that right. It might be misconstrued a little bit. Let me but let me see. ah Little Nemo, Adventures in Slumberland. Yes, it was a 1989 film that came out in Japan, but actually came out a couple years later in the United States.
zuuuuu: What the heck?
J Scoots: And it's one of those ones I remember the VHS being played on repeat when I was very, very young. But then I didn't think about it for years and years and years. And now that you can actually watch it on YouTube for free.
zuuuuu: Huh.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: Yeah, I've never heard of this one. This one hasn't ring any bells.
J Scoots: That one might be a little bit before your time. ah
zuuuuu: Back in my day.
zuuuuu: All right, man.
zuuuuu: We were talking about other podcasts that we've been doing, like we still make appearances here and there from time to time. You want to tell the people what you've been working on lately?
J Scoots: Yeah, sure. I just, first of all want to, you know, Apologize to everybody out there. It was a extended hiatus that was initially kind of unplanned. But then as we talked about it, you know, lifestyle changes and having more on our plates and then, you know, kind of the pressure of feeling having to catch up on everything we missed, you know, we we kind of dropped the ball on communication. So we are sorry.
zuuuuu: PDF you
J Scoots: for that, but we are excited to be back. And yeah, in terms of what I've been doing to keep busy, ah the main thing in terms of podcasting has been multiverse news, which is the weekly show on the stranded panda network that tackles
zuuuuu: can
J Scoots: all of the like movie and TV news that's happening in the world of geekdom. So it's been a lot of fun to be a part of that and watch it grow. It does involve a little bit more preparation and legwork than some of the other podcasts, which, you know, could be a factor in why, you know, we ah took a little but little bit of a break here, but so no excuses. that's ah That's kind of what I've been up to. How about you?
zuuuuu: um Also for the listeners make sure you follow multiverse news on their social medias as well because they do a really good job of updating it and talking about the stories that they're gonna cover so um I mean like I can't keep up every week but sometimes there's something that stands out like
J Scoots: Oh yeah, thank you.
zuuuuu: oh I didn't know about that or oh, yeah, like I want to hear more of that So it's like sometimes keeping up with the show socials will like push you more to like listen to the episodes um So it's ah it's a great way to just kind of get a quick idea of like what's going on in the world When you're like struggling to keep up with podcasts, so definitely keep up with that. It's a great source for news. That's great content great layouts Your team has been doing a fantastic job with that Yeah
J Scoots: That's the best review we could get because that is our goal. That is our goal. If you're you know in the know and maybe you didn't have enough time to pay attention to everything that came out that week, we want to be the source of collection for that news for you. So thank you for the kind words, my friend.
zuuuuu: Yeah. And with the time going on, um or at this point of time in recording, all of the boys just ended. You did a great job of reviewing those. Check out Pan Division. um
J Scoots: PandaVision has ah now become always watching.
zuuuuu: Oh, excuse me. Always watching. It's just like, i I hear it, I see it, but it still like hasn't clicked to me. It's not called that yet.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: But yeah, not too much going on for me in the the podcasting realm. um I have my episode of Peds' Gapfest coming up soon where it's like at the end of every book. At the end of every Harry Potter book, um me being a movie -only watcher, like I'm reading the books for the first time, so I just kind of give my impressions on that.
J Scoots: Okay.
J Scoots: Okay.
zuuuuu: I'm in the middle of Prisoner of Azkaban right now.
J Scoots: Nice.
zuuuuu: 323 with Reed Murphy, football season is starting back up, so I might be on there more often.
J Scoots: Mhm.
zuuuuu: It's more of a time for many things, not a lack of interesting. Um, but yeah, my, my biggest thing is that I started a business this year. Um, so it's just been like fully invested in that. And then it's like busy time of the year right now too. I'm like booked two weeks in advance. So I'm just super grateful and. um humble with just how busy things have been for a first -year business right off the bat um if you guys want to follow upright exposures on my socials to keep up with some of the work i've been doing my like my portfolio and my pictures and stuff um that'd be greatly appreciated um but yeah so it's like i've i've ever so missed podcasting and i'm watching content but there's just like
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: by the time I it' it takes so much effort to like keep my eyes open just to watch sometimes and it's like oh man to coordinate and record and because once I get into it I get into the whole process so hopefully you know talking to you again today will be what sparks me to just you know start straightening up on that um yeah yeah that'd be cool
J Scoots: Oh, for sure. For sure. We'll get you back on the saddle one way or another. We'll get you on multiverse news again from time to time. Yeah. yeah
zuuuuu: we You and I talked about um when we were trying to figure out the format of the show of like doing more season feedbacks instead of like weekly watches just for like time's sake. So for the audience, that is kind of the plan going forward.
J Scoots: Yeah. Mm -hmm.
zuuuuu: um we We loved having episodes come out every week and watching shows every week and talking. but like Like obviously we want this to be fun at the end of the day and we wanna be able to commit to talking to you guys more often. So that that might be the approach going forward just so we can make sure we ah stick with it.
J Scoots: for sure.
J Scoots: Yeah, absolutely.
zuuuuu: E, did I miss anything?
J Scoots: Absolutely. No, and I would just say, you know, um to put ah a bow on it or a pen in it, I feel like you undersold yourself a little bit. Like this guy, he took the plunge. He left a you know paycheck, a, you know, a guaranteed paycheck to strike out on his own and start his own business. so incredibly inspiring. Just want to give you some kudos and again, encourage all of our listeners to go support upright exposures and support our, our guys who hair here.
zuuuuu: Yeah.
J Scoots: He's doing it.
zuuuuu: Yeah, self confidence is my strong suit, so I appreciate that.
J Scoots: Absolutely.
zuuuuu: That being said, man, the amount of emails and DMS and people adding us in the strain and panic group like that alone, like because in my head, it's like, are they really going to miss us that much?
J Scoots: ah
zuuuuu: Like we're just a podcast talking about, stuff but but you guys actually reaching out the way that you did um that.
J Scoots: Mm -hmm.
zuuuuu: um well I'm not getting emotional thinking about it right now. like that That hit hard. I was like, damn, they like genuinely love what we do.
J Scoots: yeah Yeah, we got.
zuuuuu: that Thank you, guys.
J Scoots: We got paragraph -long emails, DMs, people tagging us in the Stranded Panda chat Facebook group asking where we are, when's this gonna get covered, letting us know about news that was coming out.
zuuuuu: Yeah.
J Scoots: So yeah, we definitely appreciate the outpouring of love and support and inquiring about where we are. ah There's too many people to name, but I know Andre Sparks, TJ Stafford, ah Kristi, I can't remember her last name, but. So, so many.
zuuuuu: Christie G.
J Scoots: Christy G sounds right. Yeah. I know she always calls us for dude dudes.
zuuuuu: Yeah, my dudes.
J Scoots: All right.
zuuuuu: All right. um Let's talk some let's talk some animation, my friend.
J Scoots: yeah Yeah, kind of piggybacking off what you brought up going forward. We probably will be doing more season reviews rather than episode by episode reviews.
zuuuuu: Yeah.
J Scoots: But ah at the time of this recording, we did just have a big animated property at a DC drop on Amazon Prime, and that is Batman the Caped, Batman Caped Crusader. Batman Caped Crusader. That's kind of tough to say. So we're we're discussing episode one now, which is titled in treacherous waters.
zuuuuu: Yeah, I can read a synopsis. Before we get to the synopsis, what was your impression when you, I think I like messaged you the trailer like right away when it came out. What was your impression of the series? Like what were your thoughts when you saw that for the first time?
J Scoots: ah I thought it looked cool. I thought it was accomplishing two things. I thought it was hearkening back to the animated series from the early 90s, which is like a hallmark for, for Batman and any incarnation.
zuuuuu: Mhm. Yeah.
J Scoots: And then the other thing that kind of stuck out to me is the way the ears are a little more pointy and higher up on his head. Plus the fact that he's wearing gloves. It just takes me back to that. Like, I know it's one of the, it might be the very first appearance of Batman, if not, you know, one of the earliest appearances but there's a comic cover with him swinging on a rope holding a guy with like a gun in hand with gloves on.
zuuuuu: Yeah.
J Scoots: So it just kind of brought that to mind. So I was like, okay, this feels like it's kind of a ah cross section between two very um ah memorable moments in Batman's history.
zuuuuu: Interesting.
zuuuuu: Yeah.
J Scoots: How about you?
zuuuuu: um So I shared the sentiments on just seeing 90s. The voice actor is doing a great job of like, doing his best Kevin Conroy, like, obviously, there will be no other to like him, but like, he's doing a great job at like, matching it.
J Scoots: Mm hmm.
J Scoots: Mm hmm.
zuuuuu: um But my excitement was I really loved the most recent The Batman movie by Matt Reeves with Robert Pattinson.
J Scoots: Yeah, yeah.
zuuuuu: So seeing that he was involved in the creation of this had me really excited um because
J Scoots: Mm hmm.
zuuuuu: I think one of the causes of the superhero fatigue right now is that like things are just like too big with multiverse and time travel and space and fantasy. There's just a lot going on that like I personally have missed ground level action.
J Scoots: Sure.
zuuuuu: So to have one of the the great things about the Batman was just it was just a detective. It was actually just a freak in a suit. So to it knowing that the the genius behind that is going to be bringing that vibe to this animated series and having like a continuous story for us to go off was something that was really ah exciting for me.
J Scoots: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Likewise, I really enjoy the Batman. And I think my favorite thing about it is probably Robert Pattinson's Batman.
zuuuuu: Mm -hmm.
J Scoots: But in, in the years since that release, the one criticism I have against it is it's like 20 minutes too long. It just like towards the end, it starts to be a little bit of a slog to get through.
zuuuuu: sit
zuuuuu: Yeah, I might actually watch it tonight just cuz it's been a little while um So we watched the have you seen only the first episode or did you watch past it?
J Scoots: Ooh, there you go. Yeah.
J Scoots: I've only watched the first episode so far.
zuuuuu: Alright, perfect.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: Yeah, I watched the first episode right before getting on, so um yeah, here's your synopsis.
J Scoots: Cool.
zuuuuu: As well as the Cobblepot, owner and singer of the Iceberg Lounge has been making a name for herself in Gotham City's criminal underworld as the Penguin and trying to eliminate mob boss Rupert Thorne by destroying his organization's warehouses. However, Thorne is able to survive with help from a leak from the Penguin Circle, believing it is her youngest son, Aaron, as well that kills him. However, her eldest son and real source, Ronald, seeks out the Commissioner Gordon for protection. With help from Jim's daughter Barbara Gordon and the vigilante Batman, Ronald safely reaches the Gotham City Police Department, but Oswalda launches a missile to destroy the police station. Unbeknownst to her, the station is evacuated before it's destroyed. Batman successfully captures Oswalda, but realizes later that in doing so, he left a power vacuum in Gotham's underworld for Thorn to fill.
J Scoots: Okay.
zuuuuu: um
J Scoots: First things first, before hearing that synopsis, I had no idea that this gender bent version of the penguins name was Oswalda. And that is hilarious.
zuuuuu: Yeah, they said it in the episode, and I messaged Hailey right away, like just wrote Oswald Light All Cast and just laughing emojis.
J Scoots: I did that.
zuuuuu: That cracked me up.
J Scoots: Yeah, that's hilarious.
zuuuuu: but
J Scoots: I must've missed that when I was watching. That's great.
zuuuuu: That was interesting.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: Any thoughts on that? The gender swap and Gordon's race swap, I guess.
J Scoots: On
J Scoots: Uh, I thought it works. I thought it worked for this universe in this episode.
zuuuuu: Yeah.
J Scoots: It didn't, you know, rub me the wrong way in any sense.
zuuuuu: Nope.
J Scoots: It's, uh, I don't think it's been done before. So, uh, Minnie driver is a great talent and I thought she was, you know, doing a great, great job voicing the character. So yeah, I didn't have any, any qualms with it whatsoever.
zuuuuu: yeah Yeah.
J Scoots: It didn't particularly stand out as like, Oh, this is such a, you know, innovative or shocking version of the penguin. It was like, it was the penguin. I guess the little, uh, The singing number was was something a little bit different. Having the the penguin be a little bit more of a show person in that sense, but yeah, all in all, it was it good.
zuuuuu: yeah that was well first to i i was like oh he's a little more mobile because he can actually fight batman and not be like stubby the whole time so i was like oh cool she can move the sick um the whole thing with the the whole sword bit was awesome with that in that regard um but also when the when the show bit thing started that you mentioned it reminded me of the gotham live action series where it was like they had like so many versions of the joker because you were like which one's the actual joker like they were like teasing us for a while so i was like
J Scoots: True. That's true.
J Scoots: Yeah.
J Scoots: Okay.
J Scoots: Right, right.
zuuuuu: are we Are we doing this bit right now, or is this actually Penguin?
J Scoots: Hmm.
zuuuuu: But when they when they made that swap, it reminded me of ah of a post that I saw on Facebook that had a few of the characters from The Boys and who their comic counterparts were.
J Scoots: Okay.
zuuuuu: Like, um ah what's her name?
J Scoots: Right.
zuuuuu: Vicky? Victoria Newman?
J Scoots: Victoria Newman. Yeah.
zuuuuu: Yeah, so apparently the original character was a guy, and there was like three other examples of that.
J Scoots: Right.
zuuuuu: um the
J Scoots: I think Mallory Grace is a guy in the comics who is kind of like the CIA handler.
zuuuuu: The the soup that was like the storm.
J Scoots: Oh, Stormfront. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
zuuuuu: Yeah, so all of them were apparently guys in the comics and the the caption on it was like these role swaps don't matter if you have great characters.
J Scoots: Oh, for sure.
zuuuuu: So I was like off the bat. I was like, oh, yeah, like but they did a good job with the character. So really careless.
J Scoots: I
zuuuuu: The one thing that I wasn't sure of, do you have any knowledge of Barbara Gordon being ah a lawyer? Or is that something new?
J Scoots: Uh, that's a good question. I, and I did find myself having that question during the episode, but I didn't, bruss I didn't bristle against it too hard. I thought it worked, but I, this might be a first.
zuuuuu: Yeah.
J Scoots: I can't say for certain.
zuuuuu: Yeah, that was because when her character popped up, just because like you have an impression of what Barbara looks like, I was wondering, I was like, is this Barbara right now? And I was like, has she been the lawyer before? i would just So if any listeners have more context to that, if there's a version of her, if they're really trying something new with that, like I would love to know.
J Scoots: Right.
J Scoots: Right. I kind of had the same thought process there because I think in her first scene with Harvey Dent, who is being voiced by Dietrich Bader, which is interesting because when I first heard his voice, I was like, is that like Christian Slater? I was like, that voice sounds super familiar, but I didn't know who it was. And yeah, it's Dietrich Bader, which is hilarious because he voices Batman. on the Harley Quinn animated series.
zuuuuu: Oh, interesting.
J Scoots: ah But yeah, during during that interaction, Dent refers to her as Gordon first. And I was like, OK, so that's probably Barbara Gordon. But then a couple seconds later, he does follow up with Barbara. So i yeah.
zuuuuu: Yeah.
J Scoots: yeah
zuuuuu: Yeah. So I think those were the only two changes I noticed, uh, at the show.
J Scoots: Right. ah But to take it back to the penguin for just a second, correct me if I'm wrong here, but I think um another big kind of difference for the character there was her sons, like having a family like that. i'd I don't know if I've ever known the the pink ah penguin to have ah you know his family involved in his his criminal empire like that.
zuuuuu: So that was where I was unsure if it was actually their mom, like their biological mom, or if it was like kind of like a bit for the game that like everyone calls her mama type of thing.
J Scoots: ah Oh, okay.
zuuuuu: Like, uh, and letter Kenny, how, um, like everyone calls, I'm forgetting the character's name, auntie.
J Scoots: Yeah. Yeah. I know what you're talking about. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
zuuuuu: Yeah.
J Scoots: Uh, you could, you could be right, but I felt like the two characters that we focused on, like I think one's name was Ronnie and then the other one was Aaron. Like their interplay together, like they seemed like they were closer than anybody else and they like, they were legitimately brothers.
zuuuuu: Mm -hmm.
J Scoots: And I, I got the sense that they were, they were her, her kids maybe adopted, but.
zuuuuu: Yeah.
zuuuuu: From the synopsis, I'm feeling like they're actually related. But when I was watching it, I wasn't sure.
J Scoots: Okay.
zuuuuu: Because it says like, however, her eldest son and real source. um So, yeah, that's that's interesting that, like, we're introduced to kids for the first time and like she already offed one of them.
J Scoots: Well, I guess offspring because they're not, there they are her kids, but they're adults.
zuuuuu: Yeah. Yeah.
J Scoots: Yeah. Yeah. Which is surprisingly dark.
zuuuuu: Yeah, she had a biological offspring and then killed one right away and is like ready to to like drop a building on the other one.
J Scoots: Yeah.
J Scoots: Yeah. i
zuuuuu: She's like, you know, I don't hold grudges for long. Like, oh,
J Scoots: ah yeah i I knew something bad was going to happen, but I didn't know they were going to take it that far.
zuuuuu: Yeah.
J Scoots: like that's That was the first time the series was like, oh, OK, we're going to go there.
zuuuuu: I think that's why this is on Prime.
J Scoots: Yeah. yeah
zuuuuu: Um, but I was laughing when I read the synopsis because of the fact that it's like, Oh, it was a big mystery where these explosions were coming from. It's like, wait, nobody heard the fucking cannon coming off of a ship in the middle of the harbor.
J Scoots: Right. Yeah. yeah
zuuuuu: but so they'll say It's like, okay, it's imaginary. It's superhero stuff.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: I get it. But it gave me a good leverage.
J Scoots: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
zuuuuu: Like surprise is both that everyone's partying on has a cannon.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: it
J Scoots: Yeah, that's pretty good.
J Scoots: I forgot what I was going to say.
J Scoots: Oh, yeah. Okay. You brought up ah our new Batman. So the actor is Hamish Linklater, who I've only seen in a couple of things, but the main thing I recognize him from is ah legion I think he was in the first couple of, he might have been in all three seasons of Legion, but I know he was in the first couple of seasons of Legion. And then he worked with Noah Holly on a season of Fargo as well. So wasn't really sure what to expect. ah But just in this first episode, I will say I think he's got a great Batman.
zuuuuu: Mmhmm.
J Scoots: I'm not sold on his Bruce Wayne quite yet. Cause that was the great thing about Kevin Conroy.
zuuuuu: Really?
J Scoots: He had distinctive, i there was the moment where, you know, Bruce Wayne was like, he got to, you know, play the, the playboy and pretend like he forgot the guy's name and spill his drink on him and everything like that.
zuuuuu: Mmhmm.
J Scoots: and That all worked and in the sense of feeling like Bruce Wayne, but in terms of the actual voice, I didn't feel like he did enough to like change the inflection. That was the great thing about Kevin Conroy.
zuuuuu: Okay.
J Scoots: He had like a distinct Batman voice and a distinct Bruce Wayne voice. And I didn't really feel that as strong here. And it doesn't always have to be the case, but I did find myself missing that a little bit.
zuuuuu: in Okay, that's that's fair because watching it I guess I was fixated on the expressions and dialogue So it's like the things that he was saying and the way that he was carrying himself like it did seem very Bruce Wayne but yeah, I guess I didn't go like on my initial watch I didn't go that far into the
J Scoots: Mm -hmm.
zuuuuu: Comparison of like Cleven Conroy doing a really good job of actually voicing two separately He's even said like he's voiced like what you just said Bruce Wayne and Batman are two entirely different people that he covers so yeah, I I see where you Where you come from on that?
J Scoots: Yeah. yeah
J Scoots: Right.
J Scoots: Mm hmm.
zuuuuu: um Apparently this gentleman Hamish was in the 2005 Fantastic Four and
J Scoots: Mm hmm.
J Scoots: Oh, I just re -watched that not that long ago and I still didn't recognize him. Do you have a credit? Does it say who he is?
zuuuuu: the The character's name is Leonard?
J Scoots: Okay.
zuuuuu: I don't know who that could be, but...
J Scoots: Yeah. Yeah. I have no idea. Maybe, maybe a guest at the wedding.
zuuuuu: um Oh, possibly.
J Scoots: I don't know.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: um But yeah, nothing else really. He was in Battleship.
J Scoots: Yeah. I have not watched that.
zuuuuu: I watched that once.
J Scoots: I had, I could tell it wasn't going to be good from like the first trailer that I saw, and I never heard any, you know.
zuuuuu: Oh! Sorry, he was he played ah Lincoln in Manhunt, and I absolutely love that show.
J Scoots: Oh,
J Scoots: I haven't seen it. I heard good things.
zuuuuu: That's a great show.
J Scoots: Okay. yeah he he could Yeah, he could definitely be a good Lincoln. He has the look for that. Whenever I think about him, it's so a terrible point of reference because I doubt anybody really knows what this guy looks like, but I also think he looks a lot like the ah the late James Horner, composer of He worked with James Cameron a lot. He, he did like the Avatar theme amongst others. Yeah. I think he's one of the last things he worked on was the amazing Spider -Man films. And he has one number and I, the amazing Spider -Man two is not a good movie in my opinion, but one of his, his numbers in that, I think it's called rooftop kiss just gives me goosebumps.
J Scoots: Every time I listened to it really, really good.
zuuuuu: Interesting.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: We can have a whole discussion about Amazing Spider -Man 2 at a later time.
J Scoots: Oh, okay.
zuuuuu: um And how much I enjoyed it and how disappointed I was with the trajectory of that.
J Scoots: Interesting. Oh, yeah.
zuuuuu: like I just wanted to slap Sony for messing up what I thought was a good thing.
J Scoots: Uh, okay.
zuuuuu: um But yeah, if you guys have Apple TV, you should definitely check out Manhunt.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: I've been loving the history stuff that they've been putting up on there.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: I didn't realize Lincoln had such a squeaky voice. That really threw me off when we started of talking.
J Scoots: Hmm.
zuuuuu: um But yeah.
J Scoots: Another thing that's
zuuuuu: solid Solid start for this guy. That was Batman.
J Scoots: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely a solid start. One thing that struck me a little weird though is, and I guess given the nature of the episode in this world that it's kind of dropped us in, even with like some of the dialogue coming from Barbara, like she said, you know, the Batman is real. I met him kind of, you can still tell that this world Batman's kind of a new thing.
zuuuuu: Which I like.
J Scoots: He's not, yeah, yeah, I love that too. It's a great backdrop, but It was interesting to me that Batman actually played like a lesser role in this first episode. Like even with you reading the synopsis, it was mainly about Penguin.
zuuuuu: Mm -hmm.
J Scoots: and and everything that she had going on. So I did think it was an interesting narrative choice to let him kind of sit in the background in this first episode. ah But the other thing that struck me as odd is when he was interacting with Alfred. At first I did, I mean, I assumed it was Alfred.
zuuuuu: They call them petty birds at first.
J Scoots: Yeah, I thought that was weird.
zuuuuu: but
J Scoots: I thought that was like cold and distant and did not feel familial.
zuuuuu: I agree.
J Scoots: It didn't feel like he was a father figure to him. He really felt like he was just like a ah butler.
zuuuuu: His butler, yeah.
J Scoots: Yeah, I was like, what an asshole.
zuuuuu: They made him like short and stubby when you know that like he has a history of, you know, actually being in combat and being able to carry himself in this and that.
J Scoots: Uh, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
zuuuuu: So I was like, yeah, I think that was probably the biggest change that I wasn't a fan of. Like I like to offer his voice, but yeah, I do agree.
J Scoots: Okay. Sure. Sure.
zuuuuu: It's like the it didn't even feel like You know, Bruce was like in a moment and Alfred was just kind of like, yeah, he's just doing a thing. Like that, that seemed like the norm and I wasn't.
J Scoots: yeah that's that was yeah it's like what the hell
zuuuuu: And the fact that he called him Pennyworth was like, bro, no, no, no, no. Put some respect on that man's name.
J Scoots: Well, I guess the one piece of headcanon that maybe I can use is if we are buying into the fact that this Batman is like a new thing. Maybe Bruce is just coming back from one of his long absences and their relationship is slowly coming back.
zuuuuu: Sure.
J Scoots: And and you know and a lot of um iterations, Alfred is not you know the most staunch supporter, at least initially.
zuuuuu: Mm -hmm
J Scoots: So maybe maybe as episodes go on, we'll find out that maybe that's the reason they're kind of at odds, but who knows?
zuuuuu: The Batman v Superman one where it's like maybe you'll find a nice girl that can get you to settle down It's like we don't have that outfit But yeah, if this is if this is early in Batman's career um Which some of the dialogue has shown that it is maybe that is it where it's like Bruce is frustrated Alfred's trying to find this line of being
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: a butler to a vigilante as opposed to the wealthy family that he was used to. um So maybe we'll get more ah character breakdown of that as we go. But yeah, initial impression I was like, do not talk it out for that way, sir.
J Scoots: I hope so. yeah
J Scoots: I'm right there with you. I'm glad I wasn't the only one.
J Scoots: Any other thoughts or you you want to give like an overall opinion? Cause I think I'm probably sitting at like a seven out of 10 for the first episode. I wasn't like blown away. I was ah pretty impressed with the animation. I thought that was one of the strongest aspects of it. Um, great, great vocal performances, but ah like I said, not completely blown away, but definitely encouraged to check out the second episode and see where this thing goes.
zuuuuu: Yeah. Yeah, um I liked his initial appearance. I liked how they went straight to the point. um I'm feeling like this is one of those shows where the first episode was very foundational. So now that they've set the stage, they can like really um dive deeper into stuff from here on out.
J Scoots: Sure.
J Scoots: yeah Yeah.
zuuuuu: um We probably should have just watched the first two episodes to prove that, but it's all good. I was talking to Haley about this right before, because she watched the whole thing, so she asked my impression.
J Scoots: Oh, wow.
zuuuuu: um so I was very excited because of the trailer. So it's like my bar instantly went really high.
J Scoots: Uh -huh.
zuuuuu: um I think they did a good job. I'm entertained. I want to like, I'm genuinely intrigued with episode two. But overall, I'm still in like that whelmed phase. So like three out of five type of um I'm intrigued to see what's going on.
J Scoots: Sure, sure. Yeah.
zuuuuu: But like my expectations have tempered, if that makes sense.
J Scoots: Yeah. um Yeah.
zuuuuu: Yeah.
J Scoots: Totally makes sense. Yeah. Nothing wrong with that.
zuuuuu: Yeah. So yeah, I think the next time we talk about it probably would be when we watch the rest of the series. Yeah.
J Scoots: Yeah, yeah. I'll go ahead and ah crank out the rest unless episode two like dives off a cliff or something like that.
zuuuuu: Yeah, right.
J Scoots: I can't imagine that's the case though with the talent involved. ah You mentioned Matt Reeves being involved as an executive producer, but also with the connections to the 90s animated series. Bruce Timm is an executive producer and then JJ Abrams is a an executive producer as well.
zuuuuu: Mm -hmm.
J Scoots: So definitely got some, yeah, I think he's got more hits than misses in my opinion, but yeah.
zuuuuu: Yeah, which is a big name for better or for worse.
zuuuuu: True. I'm trying to remember who Sam Register is. That name is really familiar.
J Scoots: Oh, he's like, he's the the guy.
zuuuuu: Current President of Warner Brothers Animation, okay.
J Scoots: Yeah. He's the guy when it comes to ah WB animation, if it's Looney Tunes, if it's DC. Yeah. I think, um, way back when, when.
zuuuuu: Tom and Jerry's Scooby -Doo.
J Scoots: Uh, I hate that I'm not going to be able to pull a guy's last name, but one of our very first interviews was a guy named Michael who worked for, uh, you know, one of the, one of the animation studios. I hate that. ah But he worked on Tom and Jerry and stuff like that.
zuuuuu: Yeah.
J Scoots: And when we, he mentioned the name Sam register, like he, he knew, yeah, he, he worked for Sam.
zuuuuu: Oh, okay.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: That was such a great interview.
J Scoots: I'm talking to Sam, like I, like I know him.
zuuuuu: That, that one. And, um, I'm forgetting her last name now. Uh, joy.
J Scoots: Noir, right. Or maybe I hope i I might be mispronouncing that, but she was the composer for like skydance and stuff like.
zuuuuu: Yeah, join NGIAW. She's been working on so much cool stuff for Skydance.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: A couple of movies and TV shows and stuff and the behind the scenes stuff that she's been doing. Like every single time she posts a story with her voice and just like, you're still incredible. Maybe they get you back on the show sometime.
J Scoots: Yeah. That would be great.
zuuuuu: oh
J Scoots: Yeah. Yeah. I really enjoyed speaking with her. Yeah.
zuuuuu: Yeah, that's awesome.
J Scoots: But yeah.
zuuuuu: More interviews to come.
J Scoots: All right. Well, I guess the plan for the back half of the episode is going to be a little less structured, just kind of a loosey goosey catch up conversation. Just talk about some of the other stuff we've been watching. So yeah, yeah.
zuuuuu: Yeah, so for listeners, if you've watched Cape Crusader, send your feedback. i Just open up with, like, spoiler if you can. So um we know to watch ah read up on all that. ah DM's Animation Deliberation on Instagram. um I don't think I have a login for X. Do you still have a login for X? It's been a while.
J Scoots: Uh, I, yeah, I can, I can probably find one, but, uh, Twitter slash.
zuuuuu: Okay. I thought we have too many listeners on there.
J Scoots: Well, just, just a quick aside with my experience with X or Twitter, uh, I took an unintended kind of like with this podcast actually, but it ended up being much longer. Uh, it took a little bit of a break that ended up like being two years. And when I came back, it is such a cesspool. It's like. one person's like, you know, tweet is followed by like bots, just like bot accounts, just spamming like gifts and like these stupid stories and stuff like that.
zuuuuu: Yeah, it's yeah it's it's pretty wild over there.
J Scoots: So I spent like an hour when I first went back and just blocking all these accounts. Like I don't want to see this. Yeah.
zuuuuu: ah I'm on there for football more than anything, but the biggest problem I've had with it is um when Demon Slayer ended, I liked one post.
J Scoots: Thanks Elon.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: about like it said like what did you think of the ending and the algorithm has been sending me so much manga content just like stop trying to spoil this for me um
J Scoots: Yeah, I'm, I've actually, all the subjects of that, I've been the targeting of like ads that I'm not even going to say the company because I'm fearful that just saying it out loud again will get them to start sending me ads again. But it's wild things that I have no association with in my life. And I'm like, why are you targeting me with this?
zuuuuu: Oh man. So yeah, um, I'm not a demon slayer.
J Scoots: Yeah, yeah, go for it. um What do you Yeah, what are you thinking?
zuuuuu: So they had their first episode of the Hasha Training Art in theaters. It was a goddamn delight to see that the sound design, it's just beautiful visually as we all know.
J Scoots: Okay.
zuuuuu: It was 10 episodes, the last episode being 40 minutes. And the show itself is actually like done now. So it's not weekly streaming.
J Scoots: Oh, okay.
zuuuuu: There's they're actually There was a cliffhanger at the end of the last episode and they made an official announcement that the rest of the story is going to be a trilogy that is coming to theaters. which is super exciting because this is such a beautiful show that everything about it is just so incredible visually and sound wise that i'm I'm ecstatic to be able to just book a ticket and be able to commit time to just like
J Scoots: Nice.
J Scoots: Hmm.
zuuuuu: embracing the rest of what has been an incredible, incredible, what four seasons of storytelling. I'm so excited with this direction. I'm excited with what they've done with this, like hats off to you, Photoball, for having a schedule sticking to it and bringing up such a big fan base around it.
J Scoots: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I'm really happy for you and I'm encouraged to hear how much you enjoyed that, uh, that new season, the Hashira arc, because, um, you know, with us mentioning that we're kind of making the move away from episode by episode coverage and doing more season coverages. That's one thing I've discovered about anime kind of through the process of doing this show.
zuuuuu: Mhm.
J Scoots: I realized that. There are some animes that I can enjoy watching week to week because, you know, the cliffhangers leave me with enough to like chew on and whatnot. But by and large, I think anime is something that I prefer to binge.
zuuuuu: Yes.
J Scoots: It's just like the episodes are a little bit shorter. And usually you have just like such increased connection and continuity that like sitting down to watch like two, three episodes, it just ends up being much more satisfying to me than waiting week by week by week.
zuuuuu: Mhm.
J Scoots: So. I think coming off of season three, which I liked, but was admittedly probably the weakest season so far, I wasn't like super, super motivated to check it out.
zuuuuu: sure
J Scoots: But now that it's out there in its entirety and I'm hearing such good things, I love Demon Slayer. So I'm super excited to to return that world to that world and get caught up.
zuuuuu: Yeah, and um I don't think it's it's spoilery to say this, but after the first episode, everything is basically like um is a training montage. Yeah, so it's literally every episode is Tanjiro meeting up with a different Hashiro and training with him.
J Scoots: Okay. Okay.
zuuuuu: So for those who prefer the binge, this was a great binge season. It's fun.
J Scoots: okay
zuuuuu: It's lighthearted, but it's probably like the last time you're going to see these characters happy because like we're just going to the war aspect of it now. And then the last episode is just like. absolutely intense. like it's There's a cliffhanger to one that goes into what's wrapping up um the season before going to the Infinity Castle arc.
J Scoots: Okay.
zuuuuu: so um it's For those who were like, oh, I'm just going to wait for it to be done, like I couldn't process that as a concept with the misst village or the swordsmith village because like there was something crazy happening every week.
J Scoots: Okay.
zuuuuu: But this one, like
J Scoots: Right.
zuuuuu: I was like, i I get it. If someone's not watching every week, I get it. this This makes sense to binge.
J Scoots: Sure. Yeah.
zuuuuu: It was exciting like when the last episode happened, and I was like, I really need to talk about it then. But everything leading up to that was just like, yeah, this is a better binge. And and um BBK, we've been talking about anime a lot, so but he like waits for the the English dub.
J Scoots: Yeah. Cool.
J Scoots: Right.
zuuuuu: So like we've talked about Demon Slayer and My Hero, and there's two shows. Currently I'm watching Kaiju No. 8, and I wasn't seeing both of you. I was just like, okay, I understand that the show is popular, but with like there was a point where it's like House of the Dragon, Boys, Acolyte, My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, and I know I'm missing like one more. ah Presumed Innocent, like all coming out.
J Scoots: No, okay.
zuuuuu: It was literally like Monday through Saturday. I had like a weekly release. I was like, I can't commit time to watching another show weekly.
J Scoots: Yeah, yeah.
zuuuuu: So between Solo Leveling and Kaiju Number 8, which were like high -profile shows, I was like, I have to wait for the binge. um
J Scoots: Right.
zuuuuu: So those are two that BBK really wanted to talk about, but I was like, let me actually have episodes with my actual host first before I start planning but stuff with the guest host. That would just be very rude.
J Scoots: Sure.
J Scoots: Well, yeah, it'd be okay. I guess the less, the less said the the better there.
zuuuuu: So yeah, My Hero Academia is another one that I've been watching every week. um So just for the listeners, like I'm caught up on that. um But those are the two shows.
J Scoots: Okay.
zuuuuu: Kaiju number eight, I'm currently watching in waves. I'll do like four episodes at a time. And then I and ten like i want to talk about that. And then solo leveling, I'm going to watch um afterwards. So that's that's kind of like my anime update right now.
J Scoots: Okay. Cool. How long, how, uh, the current season of my hero, how long has it been going on so far? it Just not, not very long. Right. Or, or roughly you don't have to give me an exact number.
zuuuuu: i Think we're like 10 episodes in Yeah, like there's like the third arc of the season this is the last season too so it's like we're done after this yeah Especially with last season being as heartbreaking as it was every week
J Scoots: Oh, okay. So it has been a little bit. Okay.
J Scoots: Oh.
J Scoots: All right. Well, my hero is definitely one of the shows that I think I prefer to binge just because I love the character so much. And it's, it's one of the shows, like it's kind of upsetting to like watch one and not have another one to go on to after that. Uh, so yeah, yeah, exactly. Exactly. Uh, but I guess before we move on from anime, I guess I'll give a little bit of an update here.
zuuuuu: 15 episodes in.
J Scoots: Okay. Wow. Okay. Yeah. So yeah, definitely well into the season. Uh, but yeah, for my anime experiences in the last few months here, I, uh, i so I was recommended to watch Delicious and Dungeon on Netflix, which is also known as Dungeon Meshy, which means dungeon meal. And once I started, it started a food anime kind of obsession for me because that show was great. ah If you haven't heard of it or seen it or anything like that, just a little
J Scoots: breakdown of what the series is about for you. It's basically Dungeons and Dragons, except for all of the monsters that they kill, they find a way to like make a dish out of it. So it's this like little party going through a dungeon, sustaining themselves on the monsters that they kill. And they're just great, great characters, such great interactions. It's got a great story and a great world. So highly, highly recommend that. And then once ah it's only got one season, though, unfortunately, I think it was about twenty five episodes all on Netflix currently.
zuuuuu: What year did it come out?
J Scoots: ah ah Very recently, it was just like it started, I think it started in like February or so and it wrapped up its ah its run in like April or May.
zuuuuu: Okay.
zuuuuu: Oh, perfect. So it has Hobo coming back next year.
J Scoots: So. Oh, it's it seems like it's wildly popular. So I think ah I really hope it'll be coming back. But then, yeah, going from one ah food anime to the next, I started Food Wars.
zuuuuu: Yeah.
J Scoots: And that has been a lot of fun. I have to provide the caveat that that one has a lot of ah quote unquote fan service. just If you can get through like the first couple of episodes, I promise you it's worth it, but it's it's all about cooking again. so like you know Our protagonist, he prepares a dish and when he serves it to people, when they try it, their reactions are just so ridiculous. like Their clothes like explode off of them. and like they're almost like It's like an orgasmic experience. so like I was laughing my ass off the first couple of episodes. but
J Scoots: it's it's got the heart it's got the characters it's got the world it's it's a really good story and honestly the food looks amazing and i really want to try it's actually educational too because they're teaching about like real world like cooking techniques and french cuisine and japanese cuisine and stuff like that so uh maybe not the the best show to watch if you're trying to watch your figure because it probably will be pretty tempting
zuuuuu: um
zuuuuu: o
J Scoots: But all all in all, a ah great show. And if anybody out there that's listening has watched either of those shows, I would love to to talk about it.
zuuuuu: This will be a good follow -up from the bear.
J Scoots: So feel free to write in some feedback, which I still need to watch.
zuuuuu: Sadly, he didn't miss much there.
J Scoots: I heard season three was like people were a little more lukewarm on it than usual.
zuuuuu: Yeah.
J Scoots: That's too bad. and
zuuuuu: Yeah, I binged the first two seasons for the first time this year or two. So I was really excited for three. And there was elements of it here and there. But overall, it was like slower compared to what we're used to and what we expected.
J Scoots: I tried the pilot when it first came out, and though it's what I've always said. It just like it stressed me out. So I was like, OK, I have to be in the right frame of mind.
zuuuuu: That's a common.
J Scoots: Because I've worked in the kitchen before, so I know how like intense that can be.
zuuuuu: That's fair.
J Scoots: And it was kind of giving me some PTSD and stuff like that.
zuuuuu: Yeah, that's fair.
J Scoots: But I had a friend make a suggestion, and I just i haven't made good on it. But ah they said maybe pair an episode with the bear with something like really lighthearted to like balance out, so I'm not just going episode after episode. So my plan was, I mentioned on the show before, but I I fell in love with the Cartoon Network show, We Bare Bears. So I was like, oh, I'll watch The Bear and then I'll watch We Bare Bears.
zuuuuu: yeah
J Scoots: And yeah, The Bears, We Bare Bears was kind of my go -to show for comfort for a while, but I fell off somewhere around season three, but ah I'm looking forward to to checking it back out because it's another just wholesome and delightful show that makes me feel good.
zuuuuu: Yeah. Okay.
zuuuuu: do you remember Do you remember when we had to pair our My Hero episodes with Spy Family episodes?
J Scoots: Yeah. Yeah. I remember that.
zuuuuu: That's kind of what it feels like. It's like, okay, heartbreak, who's going to die? Who got this? Oh, speaking of, did you ever watch?
J Scoots: I love the
zuuuuu: Cause I can't remember if we cast it about it or not. Did you ever watch Code White?
J Scoots: movie.
zuuuuu: Yeah.
J Scoots: I was going to bring it up too. No, I'm kicking myself right now for not having seen it. I have to.
zuuuuu: i I went to the theater for that one, and it was great.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: It was hilarious. It was an attack. there was But there was one scene in incredible in in particular where my chest like caved in from laughing so hard.
J Scoots: Oh, oh, I thought it was going the other way.
zuuuuu: I just wasn't ready for it. No, it was it was just that was like peak on ya. I've never seen it that ridiculous before I could not control myself I was crying insanely from laughter just because my chest hurts so bad That was that was such a great theater experience I Would love to chat with you about that as soon as you get a moment to watch it
J Scoots: Wow. Oh man. Yeah, I'm sad. I missed it and I can't wait to to catch it. I can't remember.
J Scoots: Yeah, I remember seeing that there were showtimes available, but I can't remember what the conflict was for me at that time. Oh well. I think I might've been in the middle of ah Mad Max coverage on Benjers Assemble or something like that.
zuuuuu: Uh, okay.
J Scoots: And it was like, okay, yeah.
zuuuuu: Gotcha.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: Yeah, I can't really think of anything else in the... Like, something popped into my head in there, I forgot. But I think that's it for the Anime Realm. For me.
J Scoots: Okay.
zuuuuu: Um, did we ever finish talking about Invincible?
J Scoots: Well, we mentioned,
J Scoots: Yeah, yeah, we we we did our ah review of that season.
zuuuuu: Okay, that was the last thing we talked about.
J Scoots: and ah We fell off on the bad batch.
zuuuuu: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
J Scoots: So if we want to hone in on Disney Plus for a second, we could ah we could do that.
zuuuuu: Yeah. Do a Disney Plus recap.
J Scoots: and Yeah, I think the the big thing for me was X -Men 97. I wish we could have like...
zuuuuu: That's only when both of us have seen.
J Scoots: Well, in hindsight, we definitely should have done some coverage on that, but you know,
zuuuuu: That was definitely me just dropping the ball and not having enough time.
J Scoots: i
zuuuuu: um We definitely got a lot of people asking about it.
J Scoots: That's OK.
J Scoots: Well, we did have a fellow show on the network, the flagship show on the network, the Marvel Cinematic Universe podcast, the MCU cast. They did some pretty good coverage on ah on it. So I think it was a combination of like them dominating the space and us being busy that I was like, OK, all right, we'll sit this one out, I guess.
zuuuuu: Ooh, they cheated.
zuuuuu: really cheated yeah
J Scoots: But i was it was so, so good. It was like, you were talking about like having, you know, that week period where you had like shows that were like, you know, appointment watching for you.
zuuuuu: okay so
J Scoots: It was a Shogun and X -Men 97. There was like a two, three week period where I was looking forward to watching both of those so much.
zuuuuu: okay
zuuuuu: joe
J Scoots: And it was like, I, yeah they were both on just the highest level for me. I was looking forward to both so much Shogun and X -Men 97.
zuuuuu: yeah
zuuuuu: okay so
zuuuuu: I'm gonna get a little a little spoilery here with X -Men 97, warning to the listeners if you haven't seen it yet.
J Scoots: Uh, yeah, it came out like three months ago.
zuuuuu: Okay. So X -Men 97, I wasn't watching it weekly, initially. um But like one of my students at Filipino Martial Arts was like, dude, did you start watching? Dude, did you start watching? It was like four episodes in was probably when I started watching.
J Scoots: Okay.
zuuuuu: And when I started watching, I was like, holy crap, I've been missing out. This is great. I understand the hype. This is such an incredible job that Disney's doing with their animated stuff right now. And then I got really annoyed by the show, man, because it was.
J Scoots: Uh -oh, what happened?
zuuuuu: You think this person's dead, they're back. You think this person loses their power, they're back. You think this person's super injured, they're back.
J Scoots: Well, that's comics, man. That's comics.
zuuuuu: its It is, but like, it had such a strong start that because it happened so much within 10 episodes, It it like lost the weight of like me wanting to care about certain people. It's just kind of like, oh wow, that person's hurt. Is he actually hurt right now? like it It gave me that in such a strong...
J Scoots: Okay.
zuuuuu: like it and It's one of those things where it's like if they banded out or... I don't know like it just it happened too frequently and too short of amount of time for me to like that it actually affected my watching and stuff like that doesn't bother me easy so I was very disappointed that it bothered me on this because I was so happy with how it started.
J Scoots: Okay.
J Scoots: I hear you and I think I know where you're coming from in a couple of instances. So like, I think the one character that kind of didn't work and it was kind of like, you know, the death fake out. I, I never really believed from it for an instance was a professor X.
zuuuuu: Yeah,
J Scoots: And I just felt like kind of the handling of his character all around was one of the weaker aspects of the show. But, um,
zuuuuu: is it not like his ah story?
J Scoots: Yeah, I didn't mind the magneto fake out. I thought that one was, you know, decent enough.
zuuuuu: I love Magneto's character in this.
J Scoots: Um, they committed to gambit as far as we know so far. So I thought that was a pretty big swing for the fences.
zuuuuu: Yeah.
J Scoots: And then I think Madeline p prior, I think she was confirmed to have, uh, died in the, uh, genocia sentinel attack as well.
zuuuuu: Okay.
J Scoots: So again, it's comics. So there's probably a very strong likelihood that they're all going to come back anyway, but then, um,
zuuuuu: Yeah.
zuuuuu: Storm was another one. She was like, she lost her powers, but it was just such a like weird build up to get it back.
J Scoots: Uh The the build up to get it back I do feel was rushed but I think the pathos around her to losing the powers and like her Being portrayed as such a strong and omega level Character like I really did feel it when she lost her powers like that was that was yeah.
zuuuuu: Like I wasn't a fan of that side story. I was.
zuuuuu: Yeah.
zuuuuu: Yeah, that hurt, that hurt.
J Scoots: Yeah, I really did Um, but then are the other one you, I think you were alluding to like this person's hurt, but are they really hurt was, I think you're alluding to like the freeze frame where Wolverine had the anti adamantium pulled from his skeleton towards the end.
zuuuuu: So, I actually can't remember what I'm referring to if the person's hurt, but that one was because I was familiar with the comic of it, like I actually had the shock factor.
J Scoots: Okay.
J Scoots: Mm -hmm.
zuuuuu: So I did have the, oh crap, like they actually went there and it was an after fact of like, is he actually hurt? But that that didn't mess with me in the moment. That one was like, they displayed that well enough that it was an afterthought of like, okay, how hurt is he?
J Scoots: Okay.
J Scoots: Okay.
zuuuuu: Is he going to get it back? I'm not, no complaints there. They did, they did a great job with the depiction of that.
J Scoots: Okay. gotcha Sure. Sure. Sure.
zuuuuu: But just throughout the show, I'm just kind of like, come on, guys.
J Scoots: Uh, I'm.
zuuuuu: um But before I forget, you mentioned Janosha.
J Scoots: Uh -huh.
zuuuuu: I was so, I was giddy. I was so giddy because I have been asking for Marvel Cinematic Universe to do this in every freaking movie where you have the watcher come up in the sky, like just casually in the background.
J Scoots: Okay. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
zuuuuu: So when it came, I literally went like, oh, man, that's cool.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: It's the watcher. And then as I went out, I was like, oh, no, what's about to happen?
J Scoots: Yeah, right?
zuuuuu: I was I went from excitement to fear like that.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: I was like something bad, something really bad is about it.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: And that was such it was such a depressing episode, but it was such a good episode.
J Scoots: Yeah, that's that's really exciting for the future of the potential connection with you know this animated universe, with like you know we talk about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but still like that post -credit scene in the Marvels.
zuuuuu: Mm hmm.
J Scoots: Looks like it very much could be, you know, the animated you universe or a a very faithful adaptation of it. And then just knowing that that's connected to what if as well.
zuuuuu: and Yeah.
J Scoots: Yeah, that's exciting. I'll be honest, I did not catch the watcher on my first viewing, but I love that they included it, so.
zuuuuu: I literally jumped out of my... I had the DiCaprio meme of...
J Scoots: Yeah, uh, before we move on, i a couple of other things that stood out to me that just like why I enjoyed the series so much is like, I think about, you know, the inner conflict within the X -Men themselves, like rogue, having her actually defect over to Magneto's side there at the end, or even like Sunspot, like his relationship with Jubilee, like that.
zuuuuu: Mm hmm.
J Scoots: betrayal and conflict, like felt really, really good and really palpable.
zuuuuu: That was really yeah that was well done.
J Scoots: But then I've always been a sucker for Nightcrawler ever since X2 seeing that in theaters as a 13 year old, him going through the White House.
zuuuuu: Yeah.
J Scoots: I've always loved Nightcrawler. And this just confirmed my love for Nightcrawler as my favorite X -Men getting to see him swashbuckle. Oh, I loved it so much.
zuuuuu: Yeah, he was he was so incredibly done.
J Scoots: Yeah.
J Scoots: All right. Well, that'll probably conclude our thoughts on X -Men 97. So what else?
zuuuuu: Yeah.
zuuuuu: um Bad Batch is done done now.
J Scoots: Yes.
zuuuuu: Same. i'm I'm kind of relieved it's done because it was just a recurring thing of you have
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: four solid episodes that are incredible top tier Star Wars that I absolutely love but the filler that's around it I just cannot get over it's just like ah some of these side stories you just do not care but I I'm forgetting the professor's name or the scientist's name but I yeah love the villain that voice is just incredible well I think he was one of the villains in X -Men 97 too
J Scoots: Hemlock or something like that.
J Scoots: oh Oh, you're, I had the same thought. The voice was so similar. I was like, that sounds like Jimmy Simp, Simpkins. Um, what was the character's name? I know who you're talking about. I can't pull the name, but he was like the human sentinel hybrid.
zuuuuu: Yeah, the one that messed with cable.
J Scoots: That was kind of, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, he ended up being voiced by, um, a different guy, Theo. I'm not going to be able to pull it, but yeah,
zuuuuu: Can only imagine where he got his inspiration from, because that was like identical. I thought he literally went from Bad Batch just over to the X -Men studio.
J Scoots: I, I, I, ah I assumed the same thing until I looked up the voice credit. I was like, Oh, that's Jimmy Simkins. And when I saw it wasn't, I was like, Oh, whoa.
zuuuuu: Oh, interesting.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: But yeah, great villain, great story, but again, it was just like you you had these couple of great episodes and everything else was just like mid.
J Scoots: Yeah.
J Scoots: Yeah, I think I agree with a lot of your sentiments. And I think where I ended up kind of landing on the bad batches. So, and spoilers here, but I'm okay when you kill off a character that I like or even love if it's effective storytelling.
zuuuuu: Mm -hmm.
J Scoots: But what I found with the bad batch is like, i I really only cared about Tech, Crosshair, and Omega, ultimately. i didn't really Echo had his moments here and there, but honestly, I didn't really care about the other members of the batch all that much. So once you took Tech off the board, and we're only getting limited time with crosshair and Omega now. I did have the season spoiled for me. So, ah you know, just knowing that I didn't need tech to come back per se, but getting the confirmation that he is actually dead and never came back in season three in any way major way was ultimately disappointing for me.
zuuuuu: Okay.
zuuuuu: Okay, which
zuuuuu: they they had like one of the characters like seem like I was just like waiting for them to unveil that it was like him ah I was just like oh shit it that actually wasn't that that's that's that's an understandable um sentiment because I feel like I cared more about echo in clone wars
J Scoots: All right.
J Scoots: Yeah. Sure.
zuuuuu: because we saw the process of him getting kidnapped and Rex trying to find him and how terrible it was for him to go through the process. that is So his big story like happened before Bad Batch Ever happened.
J Scoots: Sure.
zuuuuu: um And last season, I felt like my favorite episodes were the crosshair episodes.
J Scoots: Yeah.
J Scoots: Absolutely.
zuuuuu: And we got more of him this season, which just feels like that's why I was engaged more this season. Um, but season three didn't make me go, Oh, it's, it's Star Wars days. Bad batch days. Like I got to watch right now. It was just kind of like, I'll watch it at some point this week. I was more lax with it.
J Scoots: Oh,
zuuuuu: Um, overall. enjoyable series that had really, really great moments. um The Cad Bane episode, the end of season one.
J Scoots: yeah.
J Scoots: oh yeah
zuuuuu: um lots Lots of strong stuff, but they just they just could not keep their tempo and rhythm. So like, i' I'll always I'll always love those highlight stuff.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: But overall, it's like, it sucks knowing that like, there's more stuff that could that how much potential the series really did have.
J Scoots: Yeah. And I'm not going to be one of those like toxic Star Wars fans or anything like that, but it does seem like that's kind of like par for the course for Star Wars right now.
zuuuuu: Sure.
J Scoots: Even like the acolyte.
zuuuuu: Yeah.
J Scoots: I enjoyed the acolyte. I thought the acolyte had a lot of value, but there was, there were flaws.
zuuuuu: was There it was One thing I want to share with the Acolyte real quick.
J Scoots: there was There was, there were flaws in the execution for sure, for sure. So, yeah.
J Scoots: Okay.
zuuuuu: So one of my instructors was off at a InnoSanto camp.
J Scoots: Okay.
zuuuuu: And when she came back, there was this new technique, this new combo that I had never learned before.
J Scoots: Mm -hmm.
zuuuuu: ah So it was part of the lesson plan for a while and we were working on it for a little bit and I was like, this is really cool. um Diana and Asanto is still a part of, she like still works with Star Wars.
J Scoots: Oh, cool.
zuuuuu: um So in that opening fight sequence, I was watching a lot of the empty hand stuff and they did the the technique that we had been drilling for like two, three months.
J Scoots: Oh, that's super cool.
zuuuuu: So I brought that up to my instructor and she was like, yeah, why do you think we were working on it so much? Because it was actually like incorporated into the choreography. I was like, that's so cool.
J Scoots: That's great. That's awesome. That's super cool.
zuuuuu: I saw like one key to finding emotion. I was just like, wait a minute.
J Scoots: Well, yeah, say what you will about that series, but the the fight choreography was amazing.
zuuuuu: This it just makes me like so much more prideful of like what I train. The fact that I've been doing it nine years this month, it's like I'm actually seeing it in one of my favorite series.
J Scoots: Wow.
zuuuuu: like i get to see I get to see what I train three times a week in Star Wars a couple times a year.
J Scoots: Hmm.
zuuuuu: It's it's so cool to say.
J Scoots: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.
zuuuuu: I haven't seen Tales of the Empire, which is funny because I was really excited for that.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: it's
J Scoots: Have you seen the, have you seen the highest grossing animated film of all time inside out too?
zuuuuu: time
zuuuuu: Yeah, that was great.
J Scoots: Yeah. Yeah.
zuuuuu: um I feel like it was a cookie cutter of one.
J Scoots: Okay.
zuuuuu: But if it's not broke, don't fix it. So I felt like there was the templating was very similar, but I still enjoyed it.
J Scoots: I can see that.
zuuuuu: um I'm a hockey fan, so all the hockey stuff was a lot of fun for me to watch.
J Scoots: Yeah.
J Scoots: Right.
zuuuuu: I thought anger would have more of a say in the actions of that. um The anxiety stuff was fun.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: I was worried it was going to be a little too real, but like it was just it was a relatable type of real, not like a way to call me out.
J Scoots: Sure.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: type of reel.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: My favorite line being I guess as we get older there's not as much time just for joy like that hit reel.
J Scoots: Mm.
zuuuuu: It was just like beautifully done it was like this just like oh man ah that's just that's just Pixar for ya.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: They always find something to just make you feel that way.
J Scoots: Yeah, yeah, I really enjoyed it. I don't know if it's quite as strong as the as the first one, but I do find just the main character of Yeah, yeah, i I find the main character of Riley so relatable because in the first movie she moves I moved around a lot as a kid and in the second movie She's like facing going to a different high school than her her friends and I had that exact same
zuuuuu: Sure. The bar was high.
zuuuuu: and Yeah.
J Scoots: experience as well so I was like wow it's just like whoever's writing these things like very very similar experiences to me but um if I had any criticism in hindsight I think some of the like new emotions were kind of um I mean there were a lot of emotions to deal with but anxiety was definitely given the limelight I'm thinking like envy didn't feel like she had all that much to do on we really didn't do too much the nostalgia recurring joke was was pretty good
zuuuuu: Mm hmm.
zuuuuu: That was great. Not yet, too soon. I loved that.
J Scoots: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was a good time though.
zuuuuu: yeah this but Disney's been putting out some good stuff.
J Scoots: Yeah. ah Yeah. for Sure.
zuuuuu: oh
J Scoots: All right. Well, we decided before we started recording, we were probably going to try and keep it to about an hour.
zuuuuu: Yep, here's 59.
J Scoots: So we're, we're getting right there. So yeah, I'll, uh, open up the floor. If you've got anything else you want to bring up before we, we get on out of here.
zuuuuu: Yeah, so um as I mentioned, there's a couple of anime that would definitely love to do a season recap for My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, and Kaiju No. 8 to name a few. um We'll definitely be doing a Batman Cape Crusader episode as soon as we're both done with um season one of that.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: And yeah, check out multiverse news, check out three to three with Reed Murphy.
J Scoots: Well.
zuuuuu: Both of us are going to be very frequent on those shows. Please continue to reach out. Like I said, that like melted my heart with joy, the fact that you guys missed us and reached out to us. So emails, DMS, you can add us on Stranded Panda chat. If you're not a part of it and you're on Facebook, then feel free to join us. And, um you know, and we can engage some conversation there.
J Scoots: Yeah.
zuuuuu: oh Yeah, I think that's really it for me.
J Scoots: Yeah. Well, at the mention of DC again with Batman, the caped crusader, why is that so tough for me?
zuuuuu: Oh.
J Scoots: Batman, the caped crusader. I did want to bring up, uh, I have not seen the entire season, but I have been watching my adventures with Superman season two, which I have been enjoying.
zuuuuu: Yeah, I need to catch up on that.
J Scoots: I know we got a third season announced, so definitely want to ah revisit that one.
zuuuuu: Yay!
J Scoots: But then, uh, I have seen the first episode of kite man. Hell yeah. I, will and I, and I enjoyed it.
zuuuuu: Okay.
J Scoots: I enjoyed it. So, um, yeah, I look forward to check.
zuuuuu: Okay.
J Scoots: That's going to be one of those ones. That's not like priority viewing. It's going to be a little more fun and just kick, just kick back and unwind.
zuuuuu: yeah if we both happen to watch it.
J Scoots: But yeah, I really enjoyed the first episode. It seems like it's totally in keeping with the, uh, the tone of Harley Quinn. So yeah.
zuuuuu: Are they doing weekly release for that or?
J Scoots: I think so, yeah, I think so.
zuuuuu: Okay.
J Scoots: Yeah, I think that's by and large Max's approach.
zuuuuu: cool
J Scoots: It seems like, yeah. All right, well, ah yeah, I think you hit it for me. Check out Multiverse News. um If you know you had friends that were listeners as well, maybe they fell off during our hiatus.
zuuuuu: Go
J Scoots: If you want to you know give them a nudge and say, hey, the animation podcast is back, we'd love it.
zuuuuu: As John Wick says you're asking if I'm back I'm thinking yeah, I'm
zuuuuu: back Man
J Scoots: I'm going to need a podcast.
J Scoots: Someone get this man a podcast.
zuuuuu: I would sort of binge all four of those so good You have enough you have an outro
J Scoots: Great movies. Yeah. All right.
J Scoots: Later. Oh yeah. It's been so long. What was my outro?
zuuuuu: It took a while f for us to remember the intro, too.
J Scoots: Uh,
zuuuuu: Be sure to.
J Scoots: Keep tuning in, that's T -O -O -N -I -N.
zuuuuu: To. And as always, stay well.
