Anime Sleepy Time is probably the strangest thing I’ve ever produced. It’s meant to function more like a sleep aide than an anime podcast. This episode consists of 30-minutes of me talking softly over calm music. My script came up a bit short, so I let the music play out at the end.
The music is an original arrangement made up of sections of the following songs:
- Chakra by Mark Himley
- Abstract Heart by Shimmer
- Our Memories by AEROPLANES
- Cumulonimbus by Hale
- Fairy Party by GLASWING
Transcript
Welcome to Anime Sleepy Time. The anime podcast that you’re not supposed to finish. You’ve had a long day, and you have a lot on your mind. But for the next 30 minutes, you’re going to forget about all of it. You’re going to relax and focus on the sound of my voice and focus on the gentle music as it carries your thoughts away and guides you to sleep. Let my voice wrap around you like a warm hug or a weighted blanket.
Each episode of Anime Sleepy Time will have a similar format and the same music. This is so you can begin to associate these sounds with bedtime. It may not work the first night. It may not work the second night. But after a few sessions, you may find that you begin to fall asleep around the same time. You might not even make it to the end of the news segment. If you need more than 30 minutes, you can make a playlist so you can listen to this as many times as you need.
Tonight on Anime Sleepy Time, we will look at some highlights of the news from August 9 to August 22. After the news, there will be a review of the anime series Hi Score Girl.
But before we discuss the news, we’re going to do a breathing exercise together called 4-7-8.
You start by emptying your lungs.
Then you breathe in through our nose for 4 seconds.
Hold this breath for 7 seconds.
Then breathe out slowly through your mouth while making a whooshing sound for eight seconds.
Let’s try it.
Breathe 2 3 4
Hold 2 3 4 5 6 7
Out 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Again.
One more time.
Alright, now you’re ready.
NEWS
All news is summarized from articles first published on Anime News Network unless otherwise noted. Links to the original articles can be found in the show notes for this episode.
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of Tite Kubo’s Bleach, Viz Media has published a brand-new chapter of the hit shonen action series. The 76-page one-shot is titled News Breathes From Hell and was made available to read for free on the Viz website and mobile app on Monday, August 9, 2021. This is the first new chapter since Bleach concluded in August of 2016. Bleach also has a new anime coming soon that will adapt the manga’s final arc, The Thousand-Year Blood War. However, as of today, we are still awaiting a release date. [Source]
Otakon 2021 staff revealed that despite short notice and the challenges of holding a major anime convention during a pandemic, attendance had only dropped slightly compared to their last in-person event in 2019. Otakon 2021 hosted a total of 25,543 attendees. It was held in Washington DC from August 6-8 in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. [Source]
Sentai Filmworks announced several titles for release at their Sentai At Home event on August 20. Those titles include Drifting Dragons, IRODUKU: The World in Colors, Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun, Girls und Panzer das Finale Part 2 and Part 3, Shikizakura, Waccha PriMagi, Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Great Mankai Chapter, and Kakegurui. [Source]
Sentai also announced that they acquired the home video and digital distribution rights for Lupin III: Part 6, which has caused fans to speculate about the future of the English dub cast. For nearly a decade, Lupin III releases in the US have been handled almost exclusively by Discotek Media, with the one exception being the CGI feature film, Lupin III: The First, which GKIDS released.
News of the acquisition is especially odd because Sentai Filmworks, and ADV Films before them, have never shown interest in the franchise until now. Lupin III fans have pointed out that TMS Entertainment produced the English dubs for the recent Lupin III releases, so it’s likely that the dub cast will remain the same. In a perfect world, Sentai will work with Discotek, or at the very least, hire Brady Hartel directly to ensure that the packaging for their release is consistent. [Source]
Three anime sequels series have been given release dates. The second cour of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation will debut on October 3, 2021. The third season of World Trigger will premiere on October 9. The second part of Attack on Titan The Final Season will air in January. An exact date has yet to be announced. Previous episodes of Mushoku Tensei and Attack on Titan are available in English and Japanese on Funimation. World Trigger is available in Crunchyroll and VRV. Season 1 is available dubbed and subbed. Season 2 is currently only available subtitled. [Source 1, 2, 3]
Astro Boy producer Fred Ladd has passed away at the age of 94. In addition to Astro Boy, Ladd introduced anime to an American audience in the 1960s with shows like Gigantor and Kimba the White Lion. Ladd also worked as a creative consultant for the 1990s DiC dub of Sailor Moon. Ladd’s version of Astro Boy was the first anime series to air on American television. [Source]
GKIDS opened preorders for the Neon Geneis Evangelion the Ultimate Edition on August 19, 2021. The set features both dubs of the 26-episode television series, the films Death and Rebirth and End of Evangelion, and over 7 hours of special features and a 156-page book. The pre-orders were limited to 5000 units with a special discounted price of $274.99 until December 7, 2021, when the price would go up to $349.99. The Ultimate Edition sold out in around 8 hours. News of alternate editions will be revealed on August 30. This is the first time the series has been made available on Blu-ray in the US. [Source]
Young Animal magazine will publish a new chapter of the late Kentaro Miura’s dark fantasy manga Berserk on September 10, 2021. The chapter will be a part of a memorial issue of the periodical and will feature a full-color opening page. Chapter 364 is being listed as the “latest” chapter in the series. At this time, it’s unclear whether this chapter was completed before or after Miura’s death. Miura passed away on May 6, 2021, from an acute aortic dissection at 54. [Source]
The 2010 late-night anime series The Tatami Galaxy will be getting a sequel from animation studio Science SARU. Tatami Time Machine Blues will be based on Tomohiko Morimi’s follow-up novel of the same name, inspired by a stage play called Summer Time Machine Blues. Shingo Natsume, who directed One Punch Man and Sonny Boy, will be directing the sequel instead of Masaki Yuasa. Makoto Ueda, who wrote the stage play and the script for Tatami Galaxy, will return as the writer. Yusuke Nakamura, who did the artwork for the novel and character designs for the first series, will also reprise their role. [Source]
Discotek Media has revealed an October 26, 2021 release date for the following titles. Lupin III: Part 5. This release includes all 24 episodes with English and Japanese audio. Shaman King, which will include all 64 episodes of the edited English version that aired on TV. Hajime no Ippo Collection 3. This set features episodes 49-76, the Champion Road special, and the Mashiba vs. Kimura OVA. Episodes 49-75 will have English, Spanish, and Japanese audio tracks. Episode 76, Champion Road, and Mashiba vs. Kimura will be subtitled only. Sgt Frog Season 1. This first collection is comprised of episodes 1-51 with English and Japanese audio tracks. And finally, City Hunter Season 1, which includes the first 51 episodes subtitled in English. [Source]
Eleven Arts have announced a release date for Shirobako: The Movie. The film, which started screening in the US on August 10, will come to home video in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack on October 26, 2021. [Source]
The free video streaming app Redbox will be adding a 24-hour linear RetroCrush channel to their lineup. In addition, Redbox will also make select titles available on-demand. The channel will feature titles such as Demon City Shinjuku, Street Fighter II: The Animated Series, and Goku Midnight Eye. The Redbox app is available on most streaming devices including iOS and Android devices, as well as Roku and Xbox. [Source]
This next piece of news comes from ToonamiFaithful.com. The schedule for the late-night anime programming blocked changed on August 21, 2021. The current schedule is as follows:
- Fena: Pirate Princess at 12:00am
- My Hero Academia at 12:30am
- Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon at 1:00am
- Food Wars at 1:30am
- Black Clover at 2:00am
- Naruto Shippuden at 2:30am
- Attack on Titan at 3:00am
- And to complete the block is Dragon Ball Super at 3:30am
All times are in the Eastern timezone. [Source]
Toonami co-creator Jason DeMarco has expanded his role at Cartoon Network as Adult Swim’s Senior Vice President and Head of Anime and Action Series to become the Senior Vice President and Head of Anime and Action Series/Longform at Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios. According to a press release from Warner Bros., this expansion in roles will not affect Demarco’s work on Adult Swim and Toonami.
Demarco’s first project in this new role will be as the Lead Creative Executive on Kenji Kamiyama’s upcoming feature film, The Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim. Demarco is currently overseeing production on the Toonami Original anime series Fena: Pirate Princess, Uzumaki, and Blade Runner: Black Lotus. [Source 1, 2]
Funimation Global Group’s purchase of Crunchyroll from AT&T has been finalized. The two companies announced news of the acquisition in December of 2020. However, the sale was delayed until now while they awaited the results of an anti-trust review that the U.S. Justice Department was conducting. It is still too early to say what Funimation plans to do with the Crunchyroll brand; however, it has been confirmed that VRV was a part of the deal. This could mean a monthly VRV subscription that includes Funimation, Crunchyroll, and HIDIVE titles is on the horizon.
Considering that Funimation and Crunchyroll both host titles from other distributors such as Discotek Media, Nozomi Entertainment, and Viz Media on their platforms, this could mean that all of these distributors will exist on the same app, meaning anime fans will only have to subscribe to one service for the majority of anime released streaming in English. The final purchasing price was $1.175 billion dollars. [Source 1, 2, 3, 4]
REVIEW
“The curious case of why I couldn’t stop watching Hi Score Girl” can be read here.
OUTRO
Thank you for joining me on Anime Sleepy Time. Hopefully, you don’t hear this message. But if you are, that’s okay. You can listen to this as many times as you need.
A transcript of this episode, as well as links for all of the stories I talked about, will be waiting for you at GONZO.MOE when you wake up in the morning.
Until then, have a good night.
