Key Frames

Epizodai

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  155 - Mr. Beastisms 07.07.2026 1val 7min

  Episode 155 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. Here at Key Frames we're always pushing the boundaries of the possible and, even though we're making an effort to cut down on our runtime and to tighten up our topics, we're still hitting never-before-seen milestones like all the best internet creators. For instance, did you know that, not counting last episode and the solo one from December, this is our shortest non-Inbetween episode in half a decade? Did you know that it's also our shortest end-of-season discussion ever... probably? We can't be bothered to check that second claim but it's almost certainly true. What's more, Ben, Andy, and Duncan hit all-time highs in the duration of their discussions of Botan Kamiina Fully Blossoms When Drunk, Hundred Scenes of Awajima, and Akane-banashi? Not Witch Hat Atelier though, I wonder why... Anyway, big things are always happening here, even when they're small, so stay tuned for more technically unprecedented anime content! The post 155 - Mr. Beastisms first appeared on Key Frames.
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  154 - Haut Gout 09.06.2026 1val 2min

  Episode 154 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. Another episode, another discussion about Western fantasy's many forms in anime and manga. This time, at least, we're not retreading our decade-old discussion of Record of Lodoss War (though maybe we should...) nor are we glazing contemporary faves like Frieren: Beyond Journey's End and Delicious in Dungeon. Instead, our conversation keeps returning to a relative obscurity, the Heroic Legend of Arslan OVAs from the early nineties. They're not particularly good, in an absolute sense, but they raise some excellent questions on the ever-fading line between historical fiction on the one hand and neomedieval fantasy on the other, as well as providing for a uniquely fruitful source of people and places to look up on Wikipedia! Then, after being such good boys for staying mostly on topic, Ben and Duncan can't help but ramble a bit about alcohol, trauma, and of course yuri. Enjoy The post 154 - Haut Gout first appeared on Key Frames.
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  153 - Akane Bang-I-Shoot 05.05.2026 1val 55min

  Episode 153 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. Sunday rolled around and Ben was nowhere to be found, though it was almost time to record the episode on the end of the last season and beginning of the next. Andy messaged him, saying, "Don't you want to talk about Akane-banashi, the hot new anime about rakugo?" But Ben just said, "Sorry, I've got a cast," which was a strange thing to say, because he and Andy are on the same podcast. Duncan tried next, asking Ben, "Don't you want to hear my thoughts on Shiboyugi, an underrated psychological thriller?" But Ben just said, "Sorry, I've got a cast." A very, very strange thing to say! Jeff made a final attempt, drawing on their shared love of intellectually obscure and intricate shows. "Have you heard about Even a Replica Can Fall in Love? I think I'm going to focus on it in our discussion." And Ben said, "That sounds really interesting! I might pick it up later on, but right now I've got a cast." Strange, strange, strange... Anyway, the recording came and went without Ben in attendance, so his three cohosts resolved to check in on him afterward. "Why weren't you there, Ben? You knew we had a cast, you said so yourself. Didn't you want to dump all over Trigun Stargaze, at the very least?" And Ben said, "I wish I could have, but I fell down the stairs Saturday night and I've been in traction ever since. I told you all, I've got a cast!" Thank you for your continued appreciation. The post 153 - Akane Bang-I-Shoot first appeared on Key Frames.
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  Inbetween 37 - RET∀RN (Turn A Gundam 1-26) 07.04.2026 1val 37min

  Episode 37 of Key Frames: Inbetweens, a mini-podcast about anime. The bet between Andy and Duncan over what Ben's favorite anime is (currently) has been resolved, yet somehow the lattermost feels like the winner here, because now everyone has to watch Turn A Gundam. Well, "everyone" in this case means Duncan and Jeff, but Ben will take what he can get! Why does this anime appeal so much to someone who claims he's not a Mobile Suit Gundam fan or even really a mecha fan? How did Yoshiyuki Tomino and his writing team avoid the pitfalls typical to multi-cour giant robot shows? Why exactly does Turn A feel so unusually modern and relevant? You'll find out all of this and more, just play the episode! The post Inbetween 37 - RET∀RN (Turn A Gundam 1-26) first appeared on Key Frames.
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  152 - Ruri on the Rocks 04.03.2026 1val 44min

  Episode 152 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. It's the winter anime season once again, so Ben, Duncan, and Jeff drink deeply of anime good and bad. There's the austere, mature palate of Scotch whiskey in the drama of Journal with Witch, but maybe Golden Kamuy's straightforward, crowd-pleasing breadiness, so much like a macro lager, is more your style. Careful about the latter, though: it might have a bitter finish. And don't confuse the bright zip of You and I Are Polar Opposite's gin-gin mule with the bubbly sweetness of Trigun Stargaze, another drink that might not leave you with a satisfying finish. Regardless, the point of booze is to have fun with friends, so be sure to share your faves of the season just as we did ours! The post 152 - Ruri on the Rocks first appeared on Key Frames.
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  151 - The Real Long List 04.02.2026 1val 38min

  Episode 151 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. Isn't making lists fun? Ben, Andy, and Duncan make one for their favorite anime of 2025. Then Ben gives out some awards, Duncan aggregates his lists into an even bigger list, and Andy makes a list of favorite manga. We're on a roll! Here, I'm going to make a list of our best episode titles from 2025, just because I can: 1. "Is It Wrong to Pick Up Beavers in the Hundreds?" 2. "Gremlinergy" 3. "I Got That Sword in Me" 4. "Airplane Legs" 5."Ataru at the Hauge" Not bad, right? Check out the episode for more of our natural ranking ability (not rating, mind you)! The post 151 - The Real Long List first appeared on Key Frames.
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  150 - Why Not Just Not Do Magic? 13.01.2026 1val 16min

  Episode 150 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. Doesn't it feel like we're in some kind of time warp? Like, I listened to the episodes we made before and after the holidays last year, and in them Ben's recovering from a bruiser of a cold, Duncan's having computer trouble, and Andy's in the thick of moving. Has anything changed, even a little? Is this thing on? Come to think of it, the coming season of anime is all sequels of shows that aired a year or two ago... Well, the only way out is through, so throughout this pod we discuss what we liked about, were inspired by, and wanted to be different in the various anime of the fall 2025 season. Check it out! The post 150 - Why Not Just Not Do Magic? first appeared on Key Frames.
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  149 - Anime Free Radio 02.12.2025 30min

  Episode 149 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. And then there was one! How much of his time teaching college classes is Ben still able to draw upon, after all these years? Sitting down at a mic alone, in front of an audience of indeterminate size and enthusiasm, certainly brings back memories. Still, this isn't a lecture at university, much as he tries to make it one. It's something rawer, less considered, more profane... closer to pirate radio than a discussion of communal arbitration practices in thirteenth-century Italy. But don't worry, there's still talk of ancient history, of course—the most recent show that gets brought up, Night Raid 1931, came out in 2010, and Slayers Try and Turn A Gundam aren't even from this century! Anyway, join us for this experiment in solo podcasting, and we'll see you next in 2026. The post 149 - Anime Free Radio first appeared on Key Frames.
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  148 - Ataru at the Hague 04.11.2025 1val 58min

  Episode 148 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. It's just Ben and Duncan holding down the fort this time, chatting on the ramparts as the horde of shows from the fall 2025 anime season approach. Just the two of us might not seem like enough for this fight, but fear not! Duncan has watched enough of them to count for ten podcast hosts, and Ben... Well, Ben's doing his Ben thing, as usual. Tune in to hear them discuss whether the third season of Spy x Family is bad or just disappointing, if a noblewoman rebelling against the constraints of high society is enough to make an isekai feel fresh, and how Duncan could fall off of Digimon Beatbreak within the space of a single episode! The post 148 - Ataru at the Hague first appeared on Key Frames.
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  147 - Jeff's Not Dead 09.10.2025 2val 20min

  Episode 147 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. Ten years and one month isn't really an anniversary that people celebrate, so it's back to the grindstone for our intrepid hosts! After all, the summer 2025 anime season needs recounting. Would you be surprised to hear that Ben's opinion of several different series improved after seeing second seasons with stronger writing? Would it thrill you to witness Duncan and Jon in substantive agreement on the majority of shows they both watched? We've all been besieged by Major Life Events, hence the important PSA in the episode title, but nothing can keep us away from anime, especially not after such a flush season. Listen to get the full list of hits! The post 147 - Jeff's Not Dead first appeared on Key Frames.
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  146 - I Got That Sword in Me 09.09.2025 2val 37min

  Episode 146 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. Did you know it's been ten years, give or take, since we started this podcast? Ten years! So much has changed in anime, in our society, in ourselves... Anyway, we decided that the best way to celebrate (or at least reckon with it all) was to focus on one of the rarer joys of anime, which is watching with friends. Ben finally got Jon to sit through X/1999, perennial spotlight pitch and previous subject of a tween, while Andy and Duncan did a double feature of Princess Mononoke and Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Beginning of a New Era. Are these all movies we've talked to death already? Yes. Are they worth talking about even more with the spice of in-person viewing added? Yes! So settle in for a double feature of our podcast, and don't stop playback when Ben and Jon sign off, because we've got so much more to offer. Here's to ten more years! The post 146 - I Got That Sword in Me first appeared on Key Frames.
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  145- Stuck in a Hole 05.08.2025 1val 49min

  Episode 145 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. You know how it is. You're resting on your day off, thinking vaguely about whether you should pop on a movie or call up a friend to grab a drink, but then a notification pings on your phone. It's the podcast, and they need you to talk about the summer 2025 anime season! Though you're completely alone in your dingy apartment, you nonetheless find yourself groaning audibly. Summer 2025? The new season, with all the sequels? Well, except for a few anime originals like Turkey! -Time to Strike- and Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show... Still, what exactly are you going to do, argue about CITY the Animation being overproduced with Ben and Jon? Defend the apparent sadism of Takopi's Original Sin like Andy and Duncan? It all just feels so pointless. Besides, you weren't even supposed to be here today! The post 145- Stuck in a Hole first appeared on Key Frames.
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  144 - Jon Honks Like a Goose at 38:47 08.07.2025 1val 59min

  Episode 144 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. The thing about podcasting is that you get very, very accustomed to listening to yourself speak in a way that I don't think the average individual ever does. For most people, hearing their own voice coming back to them elicits feelings of confusion and dislocation—think of the instant chaos that a feedback echo on a Zoom call causes—but for me, at this point, it has almost become a conversation with myself across time. I remember when I first started listening back to our earliest episodes, having forgotten most of what we talked about long ago, and found myself making the same observations, the same emendations, even the same jokes, usually milliseconds before the recorded me did the same. Do I just have that consistent of a sense of self? Or am I merely too boring to change, even after so many years and dozens more anime watched in that time? Anyway, Ben, Duncan, and Jon talk about spring 2025 anime and Jon makes a remarkably anatid noise while Duncan's dumping all over Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX. Enjoy! The post 144 - Jon Honks Like a Goose at 38:47 first appeared on Key Frames.
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  143 - Airplane Legs 10.06.2025 1val 39min

  Episode 143 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. You know, I think I'm tired of us being so timely with our episode topics. It was bad enough to be talking about the personal and postmodern apocalypses of Inio Asano immediately after the election, but now I have to come up with a lighthearted blurb about our discussion of anime's obsession with military hardware and the aesthetics of making war while watching the winner of that election send up what amounts to a trial balloon for the imposition of martial law. It's a bummer! But not the same kind of bummer as watching Strike Witches in 2025, I suppose. Anyway, tune in to hear Ben, Duncan, and Jon talk about all sorts of guns and tanks and planes and uniforms! Also, Ben finally finished Xam'd and Jon sticks up for Witch Watch. The post 143 - Airplane Legs first appeared on Key Frames.
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  142 - The Poisoned Chalice 06.05.2025 2val 2min

  Episode 142 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. Watching Medalist this season and pondering the bluntness of its title made me realize that we don't give out enough recognition and awards for the accomplishments that make up our day-to-day life. Ben finally finished Mobile Suit Gundam: 08th MS Team? Bronze medal. Duncan found something philosophically moving in Orb: On the Movements of the Earth? Silver medal. Andy only saw the Hypnosis Mic -Division Rap Battle- movie in theaters once, instead of four times like his wife? Gold medal. Jon completes a hat trick of podcast appearances and keeping up with Fire Force? Platinum medal. Are those a thing? Video games taught me that platinum medals are a thing. Anyway, give the episode a listen and you can be a winner, too! We'll mail you a ribbon or something. The post 142 - The Poisoned Chalice first appeared on Key Frames.
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  141 - A Stranger Called Japan 08.04.2025 53min

  Episode 141 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. You know, sometimes I love to type out the shows we've discussed in an episode of our podcast and just wonder at how very... Key Frames all of it is. Hard sci-fi from the early 2000s? Minor Ghibli? Anime about non-mainstream sports? Multiple Makoto Shinkai movies? Some obscurity with no good disc release? We've got it all, as Ben, Duncan, and Jon explore anime's relationship with travel and faraway places. As you might be able to see from what I've listed above, we end up covering a lot of ground, but then that's quite fitting, no? The post 141 - A Stranger Called Japan first appeared on Key Frames.
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  140 - Gremlinergy 04.03.2025 1val 57min

  Episode 140 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. One, two, three, go! Today the Key Frames gang is headbanging to all the anime out there about bands, inspired by the example of Girls Band Cry and BanG Dream! It's MyGo!!!!! among many, many other shows. Will they talk about how K-On! walked so that Bocchi the Rock could run? Will Andy and Jon hold the line against Duncan's insistence that BanG Dream! Ave Mujica deserves to exist? Will Ben pass away on air from his third bout of illness in barely two months? The only way to know is to be truly punk and to listen to our scrappy, messy takes! The post 140 - Gremlinergy first appeared on Key Frames.
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  139 - Is It Wrong to Pick Up Beavers in the Hundreds? 04.02.2025 1val 13min

  Episode 139 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. I admit, what we called this episode isn't exactly parsable if you aren't a fan of slapstick comedy Hundreds of Beavers and absurdly long titles in the fashion of light novels and light novel-derived adaptations, but trust us! It's funny enough that we had to cut more than a few bouts of gasping, tear-soaked laughter from the edit. Anyway, in the moments when Ben and Duncan aren't being genius of transmedia humor, they bid farewell to the anime of fall 2024 and welcome those of winter 2025. You'll never guess what they pick for the shows they're most interested in seeing play out! Somehow they're not the second season of Apothecary Diaries. The post 139 - Is It Wrong to Pick Up Beavers in the Hundreds? first appeared on Key Frames.
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  Inbetween 36 - The Biggest Baby (Monogatari Series: Off & Monster Season) 07.01.2025 1val 12min

  Episode 36 of Key Frames: Inbetweens, a mini-podcast about anime. Koyomi Araragi must just be the most insufferable person to have at your college, right? Like, you're sitting in Philosophy 101, going over different perspectives on theory of mind, and here's this dude who looks like he hasn't gotten a haircut in years wasting the professor's time with a rambling story about the time he became a vampire, a supernatural being living eternally in the moment, and how his perception of reality was forever and fundamentally altered by the experience. "Oh well," you think as you head to math next, "Philosophy courses are always going to have at least one douchebag who won't stop talking..." and then he's waiting for you there as well, already droning on about how his cryptography skills were crucial in defeating another vampire, apparently not even the one who bit him in the first place! How many vampires has this weirdo met in his eighteen years of life, exactly? All you can do is make a mental note of who seems to be part of his social circle (the mean-looking girl with the stationery fetish and the robotlike girl who fawns over him despite them just having met are who spring to mind) and hope that you'll be able to avoid all of them over the next four years. How hard could it be? It's not like he's the magnet for trouble he's desperate to make himself out to be. Anyway, Ben and Jeff resume their discussion of Nisio Isin's work in adaptation, after much delay, with Monogatari Series: Off & Monster Season. Enjoy! The post Inbetween 36 - The Biggest Baby (Monogatari Series: Off & Monster Season) first appeared on Key Frames.
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  138 - Our Nightmare Continues 03.12.2024 1val 35min

  Episode 138 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. Remember back in the 2010s, when anime only ever aired for a single cour, so there wasn't any of this nonsense about shows holding the top spots year after year? Well, at Key Frames, we're fully back on our bullshit, with many returning 2023 favorites topping our list of best anime of 2024, so you really need to listen in to know what's new out there. Don't worry, we cover some manga too, and Ben talks about Texhnolyze again. The post 138 - Our Nightmare Continues first appeared on Key Frames.