Posted in Anime Diet Radio, Podcasts

Anime Diet Radio Episode 31 – Project Dietko

   February 4, 2009  6 Comments on Anime Diet Radio Episode 31 – Project Dietko

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Many of you out there would love, I’m sure, to be this guy right now. This is Aiko, a Japanese-speaking android created by Le Truong, who has gotten one step closer to achieving the dream of otakus everywhere–and this is the subject of one of the news items in this 31st episode of Anime Diet Radio! We also talk about the Naked Man festival in Japan, answer some mail, and talk about what has changed in anime since 2006 for our Roundtable discussion.

Show Agenda

  • (00:00–04:16) Intro
  • (04:17–12:09) News 1: Naked Man Festival
  • (12:10–22:29) News 2: Project Aiko
  • (22:30–27:03) Mailbag
  • (27:04–48:06) Roundtable: Changes in Anime
  • (48:07–end) Conclusion

Show Notes

  • –OP: “silky heart” by Yui Horie (new OP to Toradora!
  • –ED: “Orange” by Rie Kugimiya, Eri Kitamura, and Yui Horie (new ED to Toradora!)
  • –If you want to see video of the Naked Man Festival, look here (1). A news story at WeirdAsiaNews is here with even more videos (2).
  • –A Fox News story, with many pictures, is available about Project Aiko here (3). See also the official website (4).

Website References

  • (1) http://youtube.com/watch?v=vomojcrhYRQ
  • (2) http://www.weirdasianews.com/2008/11/23/naked-man-festival/
  • (3) http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,465844,00.html
  • (4) http://projectaiko.com

Author: gendomike

Michael lives in the Los Angeles area, and has been into anime since he saw Neon Genesis Evangelion in 1999. Some of his favorite shows include Full Metal Alchemist, Honey and Clover, and Welcome to the NHK!. Since 2003 he has gone to at least one anime convention every year. A public radio junkie, which naturally led to podcasting, he now holds a seminary degree and is looking to become Dr. Rev. Otaku Bible Man any day now. Michael can be reached at mike.huang@animediet.net. You can also find his Twitter account at @gendomike.
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6 thoughts on “Anime Diet Radio Episode 31 – Project Dietko”

  1. Great job with the podcast as always, but in response to your comments on the latest trends in anime, I think there’s one thing that we should all remember: every genre/cliche of anime will have it’s ups and downs.

    It’s common for anime fans in the current generation, especially those who grew up with Evangelion and the like, to complain about the increase of otaku-pandering shows. It’s true that many of them serve little purpose other than to fulfil fantasies, like Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu or Kannagi. However, wouldn’t all genres fall victim to the curse of mediocre anime? Gundam and Macross may have become legends in the anime world, but there were probably more than a few crappy mecha series from then ’til now. The same can be said about the psychological genre: Perfect Blue may have been excellent, but not every anime that aimed to mess with your mind turned out good.

    The same can be said about the fourth-wall-breaking otaku-targetted shows of the current generation. Some may be subpar in terms of plot, but that isn’t to say that they’re all bad: gems like ef and Kanon do a great job of working with and manipulating cliches in a way that doesn’t make them feel blatantly targetted. Opinions will always be subjective, of course, but as a person raised in the Post-Haruhi Era, I’ve come to adore the stories that tug at your heartstrings or engage in a little satire, and it would be foolish to place shows like Welcome to the NHK in the category of escapism just because it admits to being otaku-targetted.

    (And yes, I know you didn’t explicitly state that you had anything against the current generation, but I thought the point should be made anyhow. I’m sure we’ve all questioned at some point whether moe is killing the industry, but to be frank, I don’t think moe will kill it any faster than super robots and golden-haired martial artists will).

  2. ETERNAL: well, like all fads I suspect the current one will pass eventually. Already, we are seeing less wimpy harem leads for instance.

    Also, I definitely did not mean to class Welcome to the NHK! within the bad class of otaku-pandering shows. I think I mentioned it as a show that features an otaku as a character; it strikes me as being kind of the mental opposite of Genshiken. But it doesn’t pander at all; in fact it’s harshly critical. And I adore Welcome to the NHK. It was my favorite show of 2006 next to the second season of Honey and Clover. In fact, I started this blog in part so I could review the show…it’s the first review I ever posted. It hit me about as hard emotionally as Evangelion did at the dawn of my fandom.

  3. Wow, lower than usual download rate. I probably pissed a lot of females off, eh? But think Madarame in Genshiken!

  4. I! WANT! A! AIKO!!! Really though, she looks soooo awsome!! she would be fun to play with and have at partys! but I must ask: would she slap me if I grabed her chest? oh! and in the vid she was in a weelchair does that mean she can’t walk? It’s probly super expensive though but I dont care! I’m getting one damn it!! And I would name it Kimiko! Assuming I can name it.

    Another thing I wanted to say for the LONGEST time is that you guys are awsome and funny and you always find some way to cheer me up when I’m sad and I thankyou for that.

    Lots of love for you all,

                                                                              -Kitsunegirl28

  5. rayyhum777: see below for one female who isn’t pissed. 🙂

    Kitsunegirl28: you are very kind. Thank you so much. It’s the least we can do and we always hope we can do more. We love you too. 🙂

  6. I actually had a close encounter with Aika at the New York Anime Festival.  She was sitting on a stool (even wearing Persocom ears).  Unfortunately, her computer hardware burned out and most of her functions were rendered inoperative (which is par with most of my interactions with real women).  She could still wave to me and even said hi.  And when I moved to touch the camera lens beneath her neck, she covered up and said “Don’t do that” but that waas pretty much all she could do.

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