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The first nine minutes of episode 6 of the podcast Otaku, No Video. Check out: http://brentnewhall.com/otaku_no_video/ to hear the entire thing in higher quality, our other episodes and don't forget to check out the forum! We discuss Studio Ghibli's diversification of directors, the debacle of Youka Nitta's tracing of existing photographs (not worth quitting manga over, we agree), Viz reviewing aspiring artists' portfolios at the next Comic-Con (and the oddity of Viz doing this, considering their primarily Shonen Jump stable), the difficulty of translating Japanese to English, our preferences for translation of attack names and such, the unfortunate online petition asking that Final Fantasy XIII not be released on the X-Box 360, and the current video game console market (including the PS3's problems). Plus, our thoughts on Gundam 00, and Brent's reaction to the first episode of Touch.

The first nine minutes of episode 5 of the podcast Otaku, No Video. Check out: http://brentnewhall.com/otaku_no_video/ to hear the entire thing in higher quality, our other episodes and don't forget to check out the forum! We talk about the importance of standard conventions in anime and and manga (especially shonen titles), the impact of 1.5 year prison terms on Japanese anime file sharers (probably none in the long term), Bandai's decision to release Blu-Ray anime discs simultaneously in Japan and America (yaaay!), and the apparent close participation of Japanese folks with American companies. Plus reviews of Batman: Gotham Knight, Elfen Lied, and Speed Grapher.

The first nine minutes of episode 4 of the podcast Otaku, No Video. Check out: http://brentnewhall.com/otaku_no_video/ to hear the entire thing in higher quality, our other episodes and don't forget to check out the forum! We describe how we each got into anime, the fact that 6 of the top 10 best-selling Blu-Ray discs in Japan are anime, Gundam 00 on the Sci-Fi Channel (and the SFC's general lack of advertising of anime), and talk about Afro Samurai and the trailer for Ponyo on a Cliff.

The first nine minutes of episode 3 of the podcast Otaku, No Video. Check out: http://brentnewhall.com/otaku_no_video/ to hear the entire thing in higher quality, our other episodes and don't forget to check out the forum! We discuss whether Hayao Miyazaki's lost his touch, the fragmentation of the anime market, Crazy Leiji Matsumoto's distribution of a manga on the Wii, an interview with "Ota-King" Okada and the loss of an otaku "core literature," Japan's delay in revising its child pornography laws, and the influence of anime on American animation. Plus, Nick's thoughts on Piano no Mori and Grave of the Fireflies, and Brent's thoughts on GoLion and Osamu Tezuka's Buddha manga. Whew!

irst nine minutes of episode 2 of the podcast Otaku, No Video. Check out: http://brentnewhall.com/otaku_no_video/ to hear the entire thing in higher quality, our other episodes and don't forget to check out the forum! All three of us talk about the collapse of the Bandai Visual model, whether it matters how quickly anime is brought to the U.S., censorship (particularly relating to Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and Kodomo no Jikan), and violence in anime. Plus, our thoughts on Escaflowne, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Kite, and Mezzo TV. Our apologies for the audio quality; we plan to fix it for next episode.

The first nine minutes of episode 1 of the podcast Otaku, No Video. Check out: http://brentnewhall.com/otaku_no_video/ to hear the entire thing as well as our other episodes and don't forget to check out the forum! A long conversation about various topics, including fanservice, the influence of dating sims, originality, mecha, the use of conventions these days, improving fandom, Crunchyroll, quality of DVD releases, adaptations, and providing release/purchasing numbers. Just Nick and Brent this time.