Ghost Divers

Episode Notes Hello and welcome to Ghost Divers, an anime podcast with Connor and Niamh. In this introduction to the podcast, we go over the general format and idea for the show, and we also take a moment to talk a little bit about ourselves and what we hope we can offer! Special thanks to theimpliedbear for the use of their song "First" off of their album With Us?. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod[at]gmail and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod @foxmomnia @rabbleais Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co

Happy New Year! It’s our first annual New Year’s Special and we hope you enjoy it. If you will permit us, we start with a bit of self-indulgence as we look back at the first year of the podcast, including us ranking our favorite series we’re covered on the show. If you will not permit us, you can jump to 1:29:30 where we start our discussion of Halldór Laxness’s Independent People. We start with a fairly lengthy section of Niamh providing historical context around the novel before getting into our conversation around the themes of the novel. We then finish with some emails from fans! You can check out our notes from Independent People here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zIDcah4_tid-1GnNNPsle08DzYMovtAixqTiLWQclGY You can write into future Question Buckets at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Niamh: @FoxmomNia Connor: @rabbleais Garfield Read Aloud: @GarfReadAloud Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Ghost Divers: exportaud.io/ghostdivers Ornate Stairwells: exportaud.io/ornate stairwells Works Cited in this Discussion A History of Icelandic Literature edited by Daisy Neijmann “Halldór Laxness and the CIA” by Chat Lemoine "Do not praise that piece of shit Bjartur: Independent People, reviewed" by Sam Knight Content Warnings for this Discussion Slavery / indentured servitude Violence, death, and child death Sexism Cycles of abuse Brief mention of sexual abuse and rape Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co

Niamh decided to have on friend of the pod Em Marko to talk a little about the NANA manga, since we both recently read through all of it! I'm also considering the first of what might be an ongoing series of bonus episodes where we talk a little about a manga series related to a show we've either done on the podcast or plan to do in the future! Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Niamh: @FoxmomNia Em: @em_being Niamh’s mediamh pile: @mediamh_pile Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Ghost Divers: exportaud.io/ghostdivers Ornate Stairwells: exportaud.io/ornatestairwells Abnormal Mapping Network: abnormalmapping.com Your Uncle's Beach House: www.abnormalmapping.com/beachhouse Content Warnings for this Discussion Abusive relationships Compulsory heterosexuality Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co

Continuing the Yazawa Ai train, Niamh once again calls in friend-of-the-pod (and kinda just the co-host of this sporadic new manga talk show) Em Marko to talk about Paradise Kiss! You can write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter: The Show: @ghostdiverspod Niamh: @FoxmomNia Em: @em_being Niamh’s mediamh pile: @mediamh_pile Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Ghost Divers: exportaud.io/ghostdivers Ornate Stairwells: exportaud.io/ornatestairwells Abnormal Mapping Network: abnormalmapping.com Your Uncle's Beach House: www.abnormalmapping.com/beachhouse Content Warnings for this Discussion Abusive relationships (briefly) Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co

Happy New Year! We've made it another full year of the show! As with last year's special, we start with a self-indulgent look back at the past year of the podcast and rank everything we've watched. We also run tournaments for the OPs and EDs! We then have our special discussion for the year. That's right, Niamh conned Connor into reading the entirety of NANA! We start talking about the manga at around 1:25:11 and do our best to provide a thorough synopsis before digging into the story's themes and ideas about love embodied by the cast's many different relationships. Also Niamh might con Connor into something else in the process... As a note, this section is really spoiler heavy. I think even with all the big twists and plot points spoiled for you, the manga is still a fantastic and moving read (I in fact know this is true, because I knew many of the manga's biggest spoilers before I actually read through it in earnest myself). That said, I know many people really balk at spoilers, and so if that's you, please please please do yourself the service of reading NANA sooner rather than later and then coming back to this episode at the end. If you have any emails to send us about NANA or any of the anime we've covered or will cover, you can write into future Question Buckets at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Cohost! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Niamh: @FoxmomNia (twitter) or @foxmomnia (cohost) Niamh’s mediamh pile: @mediamh_pile Connor: @rabbleais (twitter) or @rabbleais (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Ghost Divers: exportaud.io/ghostdivers Pondering Pootan: exportaud.io/pootan Ornate Stairwells: exportaud.io/ornatestairwells Around the Long Fire: abnormalmapping.com/longfire Free promo for Ina’s podcast, It’s All Stover: @stovercast (twitter) Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule! Content Warnings for this Discussion Rape Grooming, child abuse, and pedophilia Emotional abuse and abusive relationships Descriptions of trauma responses and panic attacks Internalize homophobia and compulsory heterosexuality Sexism and misogyny Cheating Self-harm Alcohol use Drug abuse and addiction Car accident and death Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co

Hello fellow divers! We are planning to record the New Year's Special on December 9, 2023, so that is also the deadline for emails! If you have any questions for us about the show in general, our past year of ghost diving, or Barry Lyndon, please send them to ghostdiverspod@gmail.com! If you want to submit your predictions for the OP and ED brackets, go to challonge.com/diveyop2024 and challonge.com/diveyed2024. Also enjoy this episode of our other show, Pondering Pootan with Ajishio Taro & Hachimitsu Boy a week early as our special holiday gift to you! Chapter Seventy-Four: Train in Vain Thanksgiving dinner Unusual dishes served But less than you'd think Support the network at exportaud.io! Our schedule: exportaud.io/pootanschedule Pondering Pootan RSS: exportaud.io/pootan Ghost Divers RSS: exportaud.io/ghostdivers The Show: @PonderPootan (twitter) or @pootan (cohost) Niamh: @FoxmomNia (twitter) and @foxmomnia (cohost) Connor: @rabbleais (twitter) and @rabbleais (cohost) OP: “Ningen nante” by Yoshida Takuro ED: “Train in Vain” by the Clash

Happy New Year! Will you feel a little better about our little prank if I tell you that not only are we doing Barry Lyndon on Stairwells next week but ALSO Niamh finished recording this episode, went to bed, and then woke up to a day of nothing but fever dreams and sweating through faer sheets? Trust us, it's better this way. Barry Lyndon deserves better than being the afterthought at the end of one of these specials. 0:34:02 Show rankings 1:35:08 OP bracket 1:52:19 ED bracket 2:13:58 Cromartie High — The Movie discussion 2:53:22 Questions 3:29:22 Plugs & outro 3:36:29 Post-ED segment Write into future episodes at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod (twitter) or @ghostdivers (cohost) Niamh: @FoxmomNia (twitter) or @foxmomnia (cohost) Connor: @rabbleais (twitter) or @rabbleais (cohost) Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Ghost Divers: exportaud.io/ghostdivers Pondering Pootan: exportaud.io/pootan Ornate Stairwells: exportaud.io/ornatestairwells Around the Long Fire: abnormalmapping.com/longfire Check out our official schedule at exportaud.io/divingschedule!

Episode Notes "It is a time when, even if nets were to guide all consciousness that had been converted to photons and electrons toward coalescing, standalone individuals have not yet been converted into data to the extent that they can form unique components of a larger complex." Dive into Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex! Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod[at]gmail and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod @foxmomnia @rabbleais Release Schedule [S1E1] Intro: November 27, 2020 [S1E2] Eps. 1–6: December 11, 2020 [S1E3] Eps. 7–13: December 25, 2020 [S1E4] Eps. 14–19: January 8, 2021 [S1E5] Eps. 20-26: January 22, 2021 [S1E6] Question Bucket: February 5, 2021 Works Cited “Ghost in the Shell: the Major’s Body (3)” by Claire Napier (full series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) “The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility” by Walter Benjamin “Beyond the Image in Benjamin and Bazin: The Aura of the Event” by Monica Dall’Asta, published in Opening Bazin: Postwar Film Theory and Its Afterlife “Entomology of the Pinup Girl” from What is Cinema?, vol. 2 by André Bazin “The Ontology of the Photographic Image” from What is Cinema?, vol. 1 by André Bazin The Ghost in the Machine by Arthur Koestler Kino-Eye by Dziga Vertov The Political Unconscious by Fredric Jameson Content Warnings for the Anime Gore / Head Trauma Violence / State Violence Suicide (esp. Eps. 3 & 22) Torture / Violence Against Women / Snuff Films / Terrorism (esp. Ep. 10) Sexual Harassment / Abuse / Rape in a Medical Context (esp. Ep. 22) Dyadism / Sexism Sexuality / Partial Nudity Cloning Ableism (esp. Ep. 11) Rapid Flashing / Loud Noises / Rapid Gunfire Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co

Episode Notes Connor and Niamh discuss episodes 1 through 6 of the first season of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. We get into some of the core themes of the show, including the dyadic separation of mind and body, the development of AI sapience, gender and the trans resonance of Major Kusanagi, the dystopia underlying the sheen of GitS:SAC's Japan, a peak at the bleakness of the series overall, its thoughts about the possibility for revolution suggested in the world of the show, and an introduction to Niamh’s film theory bullshit. We also forget to do literally any sort of episode recaps, but as apology, Niamh left in all the times faer cats tried to join the podcast from outside faer closet door. So you’re welcome for that, I guess. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod[at]gmail and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod @foxmomnia @rabbleais Works Cited in this Discussion “Ghost in the Shell: the Major’s Body (3)” by Claire Napier (full series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) “The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility” by Walter Benjamin “Beyond the Image in Benjamin and Bazin: The Aura of the Event” by Monica Dall’Asta, published in Opening Bazin: Postwar Film Theory and Its Afterlife Content Warnings for this Discussion Police Brutality Head Trauma Dyadism Suicide (esp. 00:35:11-37:50) Sexuality Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co

Episode Notes This week, we get deep into episodes 7 through 13 of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. We try a little harder this time at doing some recaps but Niamh gets distracted getting right into faer bullshit from the beginning. Connor makes his case for episode 10, but if you are trying to avoid this one, which has some of the roughest content of the series, just know we discuss it from approximately 1:24:54 to 1:32:27. We talk about the sexualization of Major Kusanagi, the aura of the ghost in the age of its technological reproducibility, how the reproduced object can be reconstructed to produce a new aura with a purpose that can be revelatory just as easily as it can be fascistic, reality and unreality, the societal view of binary gender as “Default Male” and “Other”, choosing to be queer and trans, capitalism’s ability to co-opt that which opposes it, cycles of nationalized violence, the development of AI sapience and individuality, escapism and utopia, and our first big reminder in a few episodes that Section 9 is just a bunch of shitty cops. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod[at]gmail and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod @foxmomnia @rabbleais Works Cited in this Discussion “Entomology of the Pinup Girl” from What is Cinema?, vol. 2 by André Bazin “The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility” by Walter Benjamin “Beyond the Image in Benjamin and Bazin: The Aura of the Event” by Monica Dall’Asta, published in Opening Bazin: Postwar Film Theory and Its Afterlife “The Ontology of the Photographic Image” from What is Cinema?, vol. 1 by André Bazin “Ghost in the Shell: the Major’s Body (3)” by Claire Napier (full series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) Content Warnings for this Discussion Sexuality Reference to Alcohol Gore / Organ Transplants / Organ Theft Dyadism / Sexism Violence Against Women / Torture / Snuff Films / Terrorism (esp. 1:24:54 to 1:32:27) Ableism in an Institutional Context Cloning Police Violence Brief Mentions of Suicide Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co

Episode Notes We decide that this is just going to be podcast with some long ass episodes and really dig into episodes 14 through 19 of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Before we even get into the episodes, we already have a lot to say about the series and how it relates to the current political reality of when we recorded this episode—which was the day news outlets declared Biden the winner of the 2020 American Presidential election. Okay, look, I cut out a lot of our election discussion, so just like… know it could’ve been worse, okay? Anyway, after front-loading this conversation with some political talk, we used it to jump into Major Kusanagi’s need for Section 9 to maintain her body, the capitalist view of the economy as a game you can win, Section 9’s complicity in upholding the injustice of capitalism, the Tachikomas awakening to class consciousness, Batou’s relationship to gender (Gender: It’s Not Just For The Major) and toxic masculinity, the patriarchal hegemony on the gendered expression of emotions, Aramaki’s relationship with the Major, Japanese nationalism and nationalist violence, cycles of revenge and the inscription of revenge narratives into a national identity, the potential value and danger of the merging of consciousnesses and creation of new identities, and the tension between efficacy and righteousness in Section 9’s fulfilling of their role as government agents. Also, apologies for some of the weird audio on this one. It turns out Discord was really laggy (and variably so) for us and Niamh’s mic volume got fucked up at one point. Fae had a hell of time trying to get things sounding okay. ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚ Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod[at]gmail and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod @foxmomnia @rabbleais Works Cited in this Discussion “Ghost in the Shell: the Major’s Body (3)” by Claire Napier (full series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) “The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility” by Walter Benjamin “Beyond the Image in Benjamin and Bazin: The Aura of the Event” by Monica Dall’Asta, published in Opening Bazin: Postwar Film Theory and Its Afterlife “Entomology of the Pinup Girl” from What is Cinema?, vol. 2 by André Bazin “The Ontology of the Photographic Image” from What is Cinema?, vol. 1 by André Bazin Content Warnings for this Discussion Racism Classism Deformation and Weaponization of the Body Alcohol Ableism War Crimes Nationalist Violence Kidnapping & Organ Harvesting Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co

Episode Notes It’s time to finish out our episode discussions with our breakdown of episodes 20 through 26. We get right into this with high energy because we recorded [S0E1] Welcome to Ghost Divers immediately prior to this recording, so Niamh is already fully on one. Thankfully Connor is here to rein fem in. We start the discussion by trying to put a bow on Niamh’s theory bullshit with Benjamin and Bazin while Connor gets on his own theory bullshit train with Koestler’s The Ghost in the Machine. Throughout the episode, we cover the tension between individual and society, Aoi the individual as distinct from the Laughing Man, Aoi’s reverence to the original and the truth, the Major’s rage as she fights for her body and her need for control, demedicalization and bodily autonomy as part of trans liberationism, the value of the individual vs. the value of the team, the theoretical origins of the ghost in the shell, the similarities and distinctions between Aoi and the Major, the culpability of individuals in institutions and the need for individuals to break with the institutional imperative in order to create change, the tension between individualism and collectivism, the conversations between Batou and the Major relating to her body and why she chose it, the final act of self sacrifice by the Tachikomas, Batou’s own struggles with gender and oppressive systems, and ultimate finish by teasing out some of the quotes provided by the Major and Aoi in the show’s own version of a Works Cited. Also sorry, we had a few audio issues again but Niamh thinks fae figured out the main issues so it should be better going forward. Lastly, don't forget that we will be recording the Question Bucket soon. The deadline to write into our Question Bucket for this series is January 30, 2020. You can write into ghostdiverspod[at]gmail and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod @foxmomnia @rabbleais Works Cited in this Discussion “The Ontology of the Photographic Image” from What is Cinema?, vol. 1 by André Bazin “Beyond the Image in Benjamin and Bazin: The Aura of the Event” by Monica Dall’Asta, published in Opening Bazin: Postwar Film Theory and Its Afterlife “The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility” by Walter Benjamin The Ghost in the Machine by Arthur Koestler Kino-Eye by Dziga Vertov The Political Unconscious by Fredric Jameson Content Warnings for this Discussion Sexism Intense Violence / Gore / Head Trauma / Suffocation Drugs Sexual Harassment / Abuse / Rape in a Medical Context (40:36-41:38) Threats to Autonomy Transphobia / Having Conversation With Cis People As A Trans Person Self Sacrifice Alcohol Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co

Episode Notes Hello and welcome to this very focused and concise Question Bucket episode. We only got two emails, so we definitely didn’t somehow record for four hours straight in a delirious frenzy of topics. Anyway, we start with an attempt to encapsulate our read on Major Kusanagi and how it relates to our political worldview, bringing in and diverging toward other topics like Iceland’s Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness, the way public policies funnel those suffering from poverty into the military, the anarchist utopianism of Zhuangzi, reparative justice, Major Kusanagi’s ideological attachment to Section 9 and the power it provides her, and finally an answer to a question about micro machines. We then answer a question about foundational media for us (Chrono Cross and Icelandic music for Niamh, Prince and James Joyce’s Ulysses for Connor) before diving headfirst into the “non-anime” topics we brought. Niamh is talking about Persona 3 Portable and how its portrayal of self-harm, savior complexes, and kink are deeply hurtful and honestly just fucked. As Niamh says in the cold opening disclaimer for this episode, this part of our discussion in particular gets pretty heavy, so please be careful around the Content Warnings for this episode if you may be triggered or affected by discussions of things like self-harm, abusive relationships, biting and blood kinks, etc. Connor tries as best he can to follow that up with a look back at The Knife’s Shaking the Habitual and its position as an abrasive album that engages with the music that came before it and also might point towards some of the queer music that came after. We finish out answering a question about how to survive grad school, and how maybe our perspective on grad school is uniquely bleak because of the particular cruelty of the program we both attended. Sorry for being a downer. Works Cited in this Discussion “If you want to understand me better as a person, play Chrono Cross” by our very own Niamh “A Better Lover” also by our very own Niamh, published by ZEAL Content Warnings for this Discussion Brief Mentions of Online Harassment Discussion of Abusers in Queer Communities and Breaking Cycles of Abuse In-Depth Discussion of Self-Harm, Trauma, Abuse, and Savior Complexes (2:12:44 to 2:23:20) In-Depth Discussion of Kink, Teeth, Biting, Bloodplay, Painplay, the Erotics of Negotiation, and Consent (2:23:20 to 2:42:46) Discussion of the Pressures of Grad School Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co

Episode Notes Dear Listeners Booting Up This Episode On Their Podcast App of Choice: The guys that appear in this anime are delinquents. So, please do not, under any circumstances, imitate what you see in this anime. Dive into Sakigake!! Cromartie High School! Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod[at]gmail and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod @foxmomnia @rabbleais Release Schedule [S2E1] Intro: February 5, 2021 [S2E2] Eps. 1–13: February 19, 2021 [S2E3] Eps. 14–26: March 5, 2021 [S2E4] Question Bucket: March 19, 2021 Works Cited Gabriel Gundaker talking about the Coinstar not working “The Yakuza Film: An Introduction” by Keiko Iwai McDonald, published in Reframing Japanese Cinema: Authorship, Genre, History “On Ninkyo” by Sato Tadao, Shisō no kagaku Content Warnings for the Anime Ableist and Sexist Language (Note: The dub is worse in this regard, including use of the f-slur) Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co

Episode Notes Connor and Niamh can’t remember the name of a song that’s stuck in their heads, so they try to distract themselves by discussing episodes 1 through 13 of the first season of Sakigake!! Cromartie High School. We start out with the first and really only bit of theory bullshit by talking about the yakuza and yankii genre convention of the giri-ninjo conflict and how it relates to the comedy of Cro High, which we then use to launch into how much Cro High actually operates as a genre parody vs. absurdism, Kamiyama as a protagonist, the process of adaptation from manga to anime, the character of Yamaguchi as the comedian who tries to metatextually analyze the comedy of the show in which he himself is a character, the all-encompassing scope of the comedy of the show, the show within a show that is Pootan, the way Cro High continues to develop expectations in order to subvert them, and more. Niamh also has an (at this point no longer secret) announcement that faer comedy video art series Today’s Garfield Read Aloud has returned as a Twitter account, @GarfReadAloud. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod[at]gmail and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod @FoxmomNia @rabbleais @GarfReadAloud Works Cited in this Discussion “The Yakuza Film: An Introduction” by Keiko Iwai McDonald, published in Reframing Japanese Cinema: Authorship, Genre, History “On Ninkyo” by Sato Tadao, published in the journal Shisō no kagaku (Science of Thought) Content Warnings for this Discussion Mention of Alcohol (After the outro when Niamh and Connor are joking around) Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co

Episode Notes Niamh and Niamh’s Cohost discuss episodes 14 through 26 of the first season of Sakigake!! Cromartie High School. We take a slightly more synopsis-laden approach this time to try to ground ourselves in the rapidly escalating and (d)evolving world of Cro High, bounding off of topics like Cro High’s use of manzai forms, the literalization of the punchline, the stretching and decontextualization of recurring jokes, Yamaguchi’s failure to fully understand the humor of the show in which he is a character, and our conclusion that the show is ultimately mocking us personally as a podcast that is trying to analyze it. Niamh also thinks fae's really fuckin funny with the editing on this one. Also, don't forget that we will be recording the Question Bucket soon. The deadline to write into our Question Bucket for this series is March 13. You can write into ghostdiverspod[at]gmail and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod @foxmomnia @rabbleais @GarfReadAloud Content Warnings for this Discussion Brief Discussion of Shock Violence (Regarding Adult Swim) Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co

Episode Notes In what is most certainly the rowdiest, most chaotic episode yet, the Ghost Divers are joined by special guest and person who is hosting this podcast on their network in the first place so how is Niamh ever going to say no to them, Autumn Blake! But before Autumn hops on the call, Niamh and Connor start out with just the regular amount of rowdiness and chaos and get right into the Cro High questions. We start out talking about some of our favorite bits from the show, get waylaid by Niamh’s laundry tips, and then dive into the gender happening in Cro High, vibes you get as a trans person about whether or not a creator would hate you, Takashi Miike’s Dead or Alive trilogy, Cro High’s potential debt to Utena, our favorite cuss word, finding a shared sense of humor with others, etc. Then Autumn joins for our discussion of Final Fantasy 8 and things immediately escalate into a rollicking discussion touching on NORG, which Gundam characters would kiss the homies goodnight, which FF8 characters would kiss the homies goodnight, which Eva characters would kiss the homies goodnight, Niamh’s FF7 OTP, the era of PS1 JRPGs and why they could be weirder back then, how you used to be able to just make bad games and movies, memories of watching friends play Final Fantasy games, the overwhelming adolescence of FF8, more of Niamh’s OTPs, the merciless systems of FF8, breaking JRPGs, the era of guidebooks, etc. We eventually move on to talking about Gaylord Phoenix, 100 Crushes, and queer alt comics in general, especially around themes like the inadequacy of language to talk about queerness and different approaches to trying to talk about this inadequacy anyway, revisiting queer books from the year you came out, Connor’s ongoing role as Niamh’s token cis straight white dude friend, the value of libraries, how to try to get into queer comics, etc. Anyway, go buy the unofficial official shirt of Ghost Divers: https://shop.grapevine.is/products/milf-short-sleeve-unisex-t-shirt You can write into future Question Buckets at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Niamh: @FoxmomNia Connor: @rabbleais Autumn: @Autumnal_Coffee Garfield Read Aloud: @GarfReadAloud Works Cited in this Discussion I don’t read theory not even Marx I have never even heard of Hegelian dialectics. Content Warnings for this Discussion Brief mentions of self-harm Mention of bedbugs Discussions vaguely around transphobia Just lots and lots of swearing in this one Including Niamh saying the f-slur a bunch because fae reclaims it Sexual references Mention of bodies being destroyed Alcohol Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co

Episode Notes “I’m gonna live! And I’ll marry Aina!” Dive into Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team! Follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod @foxmomnia @rabbleais @GarfReadAloud Release Schedule [S2E1] Intro: March 19, 2021 [S2E2] Eps. 1–6: April 2, 2021 [S2E3] Eps. 7–12 + Miller’s Report: April 16, 2021 [S2E4] Question Bucket: April 30, 2021 Works Cited We didn’t really cite any works for this series! Content Warnings for the Anime F-slur in the subs for episode 1 (dub says “pansies”) Sexualization of young girls Nudity and sexualization of women in general Sexism Issues around disability Implied intent to rape (episode 8) Violence and death Depiction of war crimes, including gas attack massacre (episode 7), missile strikes, etc. Abusive relationships Claustrophobia, machines of war as coffins Alcoholism Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co

Episode Notes Connor and Niamh break the Shinigami curse that killed their first attempt at recording this episode and successfully scribe a podcast episode using the new Record Press technology. We start off by talking about how really we’re just talking about Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team in order to let Connor rant about the first Mobile Suit Gundam and then get into what is probably the most we are probably ever going to do synopses on this podcast. Connor gives a lot of context from older Gundam and like… kinda spoilers I guess? We do get very out of scope quickly as we talk about Gundam broadly but eventually, Connor does rein us in to talk about how The 08th MS Team is specifically pulling on and immediately developing existing tropes in the franchise, our initial impressions on Shiro and Aina’s relationship and how it relates to Newtypes as a concept, Niamh’s rewrite where Shiro is replaced as the main character by Karen who is explicitly trans and dating Aina, the sexualization of Kiki (and young girls in general in anime and beyond), how combat is handled and depicted in The 08th MS Team and how it points to thematic readings of the instrumentalization of human bodies and lives, different types of mecha, if the series is actually doing anything meaningful with sexuality, the canon ages of different characters, the gender happening, and more! Niamh also had to try very hard to not just spoil things throughout this conversation. Write into our Question Bucket at ghostdiverspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod @FoxmomNia @rabbleais @GarfReadAloud Works Cited in this Discussion We didn’t really cite any works for this series! Content Warnings for this Discussion Discussion around the sexualization of young girls Brief discussion of sexual assault and abuse Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co

Episode Notes Connor and Niamh are under new direction (maybe this joke will land in the description?) but are back to discuss the final half of Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team. We start with a discussion of the show’s hot springs episode, how the change in director may have changed the handling of various aspects of the series, the relationship between Shiro and Aina, Aina’s attempts to assert herself against her abusive brother, the potential discrepancies between Shiro and Aina’s political positions and worldviews that never really get explored, how the series tests Shiro’s idealism, our feelings about our first look at ground soldiers on the Zeon side, the incredible new content of Miller’s Report, mechs, Niamh’s rewrite of The 08th MS Team, the failure of Shiro to enacted his pacifism in the face of his own death, how the Apsalus runs on Windows, how Aina and Shiro fail to break from their existing frameworks of understanding war as being fought and won by individuals, the two different endings of the series, how the series deals with new types, the bleak reality of the final episode, but also potentially the sliver of hope within it, and more. Also, don't forget that we will be recording the Question Bucket soon. The deadline to write into our Question Bucket for this series is April 24. You can write into ghostdiverspod@gmail and follow us on Twitter! @ghostdiverspod @foxmomnia @rabbleais @GarfReadAloud Works Cited in this Discussion We didn’t really cite any works for this series! Content Warnings for this Discussion Brief mention of a gas attack massacre Sexualization of female characters Abusive relationships Self-harm (especially in the post-ED section) Brief mention of rape Mechs as coffins Drugs & Alcohol Abusive Drug Administration & Alcoholism Murder & Poisoning Self-sacrifice Medical trauma Trauma around names Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co