Purely Academic with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman

November has arrived, and with it comes both a bevy of video games to review, and a bunch of sad/frustrating news to wade through. We begin today’s show paying tribute to the late Walter Koenig and Sir Patrick Stewart, two Star Trek luminaries – and great actors/people far beyond that franchise – who passed away this week. We then get into the latest earthquake in the world of video game news, as EA last month shuttered BioWare, one of the most beloved and influential game studios of all time, and creators of Mass Effect, Baldur’s Gate, Knights of the Old Republic, and much more. It’s maybe the most devastating blow to the industry in a year chock full of them. In the show’s second half, we review some recent games – including Sean’s takes on Control Resonant and Call of Duty Modern 4Fare, and Jonathan’s final thoughts on Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave – before diving into an extremely silly Monthly Ten in which Sean gives the worst ideas he could think of for the next era of Doctor Who.Enjoy!Time Chart:Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:04:47In Memoriam: 0:04:47 – 0:13:00News, including BioWare Closure: 0:13:00 – 1:27:15Ultraman: 1:27:15 – 1:38:09Kubrick Criterion Box: 1:38:09 – 1:52:03Control Resonant: 1:52:03 – 2:17:23Fire Emblem Fortune’s Weave: 2:17:23 – 2:44:14Modern 4fare: 2:44:14 – 3:08:01The Monthly Ten: 3:08:01 – 3:26:01 Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.comSubscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://www.japanimation-station.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vKSubscribe to our YouTube channels! Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcastSupport the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuffOriginal Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

For our October episode, we’ve got a giant News section, including more awful news from the world of video games, despair over the Paramount/Warner Bros. merger, and some potentially hopeful news about the future of Doctor Who. Then we have 3 recent video games to review: Onimusha: Way of the Sword, which we gave first impressions on last month; Jonathan’s take on Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, which he’s only played a paltry 90 hours of as of this recording, and Sean’s thoughts on Star Wars: Zero Company, the Xcom-style tactics game in a galaxy far, far away. And finally, for The Monthly Ten, Jonathan is sharing 10 ideas for holiday gimmick horror movies, and they are, indeed, very silly.Enjoy! Time Chart:Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:14:42News: 0:14:42 – 1:47:30Onimusha: 1:47:30 – 2:18:00Fire Emblem: 2:18:00 – 2:42:10Star Wars Zero Company: 2:42:10 – 3:08:58The Monthly Ten: 3:08:58 – 3:28:32Read Jonathan's Criterion Collection essay on Neon Genesis Evangelion at https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/9281-the-inner-worlds-of-neon-genesis-evangelion  Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.comSubscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://www.japanimation-station.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vKSubscribe to our YouTube channels! Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcastSupport the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuffOriginal Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

It’s a jam packed video game-focused episode for September, as we review Capcom’s third straight home run of the year in Onimusha: Way of the Sword, give thoughts on the beta weekends for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, discuss the latest stupidity from Sony and Microsoft, and give our reactions to the full half-hour gameplay reveal of Grand Theft Auto VI, which is shaping up to be something special. Sean also talks about his ongoing Ultraman adventures with the series Ultraman Ginga, Jonathan continues regaling us with stories of his Street Fighter 6 obsession, and for The Monthly Ten segment, Sean envisions ten possible hyperfixations that might befall Jonathan in the future, from least to most personally ruinous.Enjoy!Time Chart:Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:21:05GTA VI Reveal: 0:21:05 – 0:35:26Gaming News: 0:35:26 – 1:03:58Modern Warfare 4 Beta: 1:03:58 – 1:24:09Onimusha Way of the Sword: 1:24:09 – 1:59:36Ultraman Ginga: 1:59:36 – 2:13:10Street Fighter: 2:13:10 – 2:23:05The Monthly Ten: 2:23:05 – 2:57:13 Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.comSubscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://www.japanimation-station.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vKSubscribe to our YouTube channels! Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcastSupport the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuffOriginal Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

We’re back for a loose, fun ‘Monthly Stuff’ episode diving deep into what we’ve been up to over the summer break. Sean talks about the latest Ultraman series he’s been watching, the new 7.0 update to Genshin Impact, and his continuing adventures with Super Robot Wars, while Jonathan talks about his life-consuming obsession with Street Fighter 6, his journey through the James Bond movies, and his thoughts on the new Halo: Campaign Evolved remake. We also cover some recent news from Marvel Studios and discuss the string of wild successes various films have enjoyed at the box-office this year, as cinema fully rebounds from its post-COVID slump. And finally, we treat you to the darkest Monthly Ten segment we have ever done, as Jonathan counts down 10 variant future for the video game industry, most of which also implicate humanity in various states of decimation.  Enjoy? Time Chart:  Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:08:40  Movie News: 0:08:40 – 1:08:45  Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle: 1:08:45 – 1:25:34 James Bond: 1:25:34 – 1:37:58  Genshin Impact: 1:37:58 – 1:56:25  Street Fighter: 1:56:25 – 2:13:35 Super Robot Wars V: 2:13:35 – 2:36:45  Halo Campaign Evolved: 2:36:45 – 3:00:54 The Monthly Ten: 3:00:54 – 3:25:40  Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.comSubscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://www.japanimation-station.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vKSubscribe to our YouTube channels! Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcastSupport the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuffOriginal Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

Christopher Nolan is dominating theaters once again with his adaptation of The Odyssey starring Matt Damon, so we’re taking the opportunity to not just talk about the new movie – which is excellent, though our hosts slightly disagree on how much – but the original poem by Homer. Well, not exactly the original, since neither of us read Ancient Greek – but we took a look at the 2017 translation by Emily Wilson for this episode (which partially inspired Nolan’s film), and talk about a few other translations we’ve read over the years, as we appreciate a work that’s endured for millennia for good reason. If you like the ‘academic’ in Purely Academic, this is the episode for you.   Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.comSubscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://www.japanimation-station.com Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vKSubscribe to our YouTube channels! Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcastSupport the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuffOriginal Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman