Doctor Who returned this week for its new season (Series 14, Season 1, or Season 40, depending on who you ask), the first full run starring Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th Doctor and Millie Gibson as companion Ruby Sunday. And the first two episodes were a ton of fun, particularly the formally off-the-wall “The Devil’s Chord,” which proves returning showrunner Russell T Davies is taking the show in a very different direction than anything we’ve seen before! But before that, we have to talk about the awful news from Xbox, where we learned Microsoft’s game division is closing two beloved studios: Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin. It continues a terrible trend from Xbox that keeps pushing the console maker in worse and worse directions, the culmination of a long series of frustrations we’ve been tracing for most of the lifespan of this podcast.

Enjoy!

Time Chart:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:06:58

Stuff: 0:06:58 – 0:24:18

Xbox News: 0:24:18 – 1:06:27

Doctor Who Reviews: 1:06:27 – 2:37:19

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our sister series about the wide, wacky world of anime: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation

Explore our archives and subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcasting platforms:

https://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content!

https://weeklystuff.substack.com

Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

Jonathan had a very exciting week as The Criterion Collection published an essay he wrote on Makoto Shinkai, thus checking off a major bucket list item, while Sean had an extremely boring week administering standardized tests to high schoolers and showing them the 2011 animated not-a-classic, Gnomeo & Juliet. We talk about both of those experiences, share some more thoughts on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and finally hear Jonathan gush about the 1997 Berserk anime, now on Blu-ray from Discotek, which we will definitely have to do an episode on in the future.

Enjoy!

Read Jonathan’s Criterion essay here - https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/8453-thoughts-transcending-time-and-distance-makoto-shinkai-s-voices-of-a-distant-star

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our sister series about the wide, wacky world of anime: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation

Explore our archives and subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcasting platforms:

https://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content!

https://weeklystuff.substack.com

Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

In one of the grab-baggiest grab bag episodes we’ve ever recorded, Sean reviews a bunch of anime including Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Solo Leveling, and The Dangers in My Heart, and talks about playing through all the DLC forDragon Ball Z: Kakarot; Jonathan gives his thoughts on Netflix’s outstanding new drama Ripley and talks about finally getting his hands on the premium Game Boy device, the Analogue Pocket; and finally, we both give our initial impressions of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Sean after playing the first few hours, Jonathan after playing the first 40 hours, but neither of us anywhere near completing this mammoth second chapter of the Remake project.

Enjoy!

Time Chart:

Into & Housekeeping: 0:00:00 – 0:06:02

Talkin’ Anime: 0:06:02 – 0:48:53

Talkin’ Ripley & Netflix: 0:48:53 – 1:11:17

Dragon Ball Z Kakarot DLC: 1:11:17 – 1:31:36

Analogue Pocket: 1:31:36 – 1:58:58

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: 1:58:58 – 2:57:00

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our sister series about the wide, wacky world of anime: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation

Explore our archives and subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcasting platforms:

https://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content!

https://weeklystuff.substack.com

Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

We’re back with a jam-packed episode covering lots of games, anime, and more! Sean and Jonathan have finally finished the massive 100-hour JRPGs both have been playing – Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and Persona 3 Reload – and give final reports on both of those. But we also discuss the leaked specs for Sony’s upcoming PS5 Pro, discuss the new Sand Land anime based on the manga by Akira Toriyama, hear travel stories from Jonathan about a recent trip to Boston, and get details from Sean on his latest Ultraman adventures!

Enjoy!

Time Chart:

Into & Housekeeping: 0:00:00 – 0:06:27

Stuff: 0:06:27 – 0:57:56

PS5 Pro News: 0:57:56 – 1:25:44

Persona 3 Reload: 1:25:44 – 1:58:16

Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth: 1:58:16 – 2:23:24

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our sister series about the wide, wacky world of anime: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation

Explore our archives and subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcasting platforms:

https://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content!

https://weeklystuff.substack.com

Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump, and illustrator of the Dragon Quest franchise, passed away this week at the age of 68. His influence on our lives, like those of millions around the world, has been incalculable, so we’re devoting today’s entire show to discussing his incredible body of work and the way it changed anime, manga, video games, and global popular culture. We discuss how we first discovered Dragon Ball, why he was such a peerless mangaka, read some of the statements that have poured in from other manga authors and Dragon Ball collaborators, and respond to some listener comments. And after that, we bring back a segment from 2022 in which Sean and Jonathan rank all the story arcs in the Dragon Ball franchise, giving us a chance to dive into and celebrate his most famous work.

Enjoy.

Time Chart:

Remembering Akira Toriyama: 0:00:00 – 2:12:07

Ranking Dragon Ball Story Arcs: 2:12:07 – 3:10:45

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our sister series about the wide, wacky world of anime: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation

Explore our archives and subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcasting platforms:

https://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content!

https://weeklystuff.substack.com

Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

After weeks of breathless speculation, Xbox unveiled some relatively minor details about the multiplatform future vision of the brand, which prompts us to have an in-depth conversation about where Xbox is going and why the current strategy feels at odds with their oft-stated long-term goals. We also discuss Marvel’s unveiling of their new Fantastic Four cast, Jonathan talks about watching Solo Leveling and playing Modern Warfare III, and we conclude with a check-in on the giant JRPGs we’re both playing, Persona 3 Reload and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. 

Enjoy! 

Time Chart:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:07:43

Stuff: 0:07:43 – 0:24:34

Fantastic Four News: 0:24:34 – 0:45:21

Xbox & Gaming News: 0:45:21 – 1:35:20

Persona: 1:35:20 – 1:46:32

Like a Dragon: 1:46:32 – 2:10:51

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our sister series about the wide, wacky world of anime: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Explore our archives and subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcasting platforms:

https://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content! 

https://weeklystuff.substack.com

Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

Superhero movies are quickly becoming a dead genre in Hollywood, as evidenced by this weekend’s coldly-unanticipated release of Madame Web, so we thought we’d bid the genre the farewell it deserves by recycling a segment from our 10th Anniversary Podcast in 2022, where we counted down each of our 10 favorite superhero movies of all time! Though this was recorded a year-and-a-half ago, almost nothing of note in the genre has come out since, so this still more or less reflects our general thoughts, and can serve as a nice auditory headstone over the grave of superhero cinema. These were the good ones, and we may never see their like again. 

Enjoy! 

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our sister series about the wide, wacky world of anime: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Explore our archives and subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcasting platforms:

https://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content! 

https://weeklystuff.substack.com

Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

Today’s episode is wall-to-wall packed with exciting stuff, as we give first impressions on Persona 3 Reload and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Jonathan explains why you should avoid Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Sean dips his toes in Palworld, and we discuss some anime we caught up on over winter break including Spy x Family and One Piece. We also dive into recent news including the catastrophic series of video game industry layoffs throughout January and, more happily, the announcement of the original Fate/stay night visual novel finally being localized in English later this year. 

Enjoy! 

Time Chart:

Intro/Housekeeping: 0:00:00 – 0:16:26

Talkin’ Anime: 0:16:26 – 0:52:41

Talkin’ Tolkien: 0:52:41 – 1:01:04

News: 1:01:04 – 1:30:11

Fate/Samurai Remnant: 1:30:11 – 1:41:19

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown: 1:41:19 – 1:58:01

Palworld: 1:58:01 – 2:05:11

Persona 3 Reload: 2:05:11 – 2:28:50

Like a Dragon: 2:28:50 – 3:05:35

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our sister series about the wide, wacky world of anime: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Explore our archives and subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcasting platforms:

https://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content! 

https://weeklystuff.substack.com

Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/