Manga Mavericks @ Movies #51: "The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie" (w/Candi Milo!)
Welcome back to Manga Mavericks @ Movies! The show where we don’t just talk smack about movies, we celebrate them! What’s up, Mavericks? Lum and VLord are here to chew bubblegum and talk Looney Tunes, and we’re all out of gum! Luckily, we still have plenty to chew on, as we’re discussing the first ever fully original 2D animated Looney Tunes movie, The Day the Earth Blew Up! Originally slated for a streaming-only release on Max, and then put at risk of being written off by WBD altogether, the film was picked up for distribution by Ketchup Entertainment, who gave it a wide theatrical release in March, and have just put it out on home video, with a streaming release on Max planned for June 27th! We’re so glad Ketchup saved this film, because its gorgeous animation and art deserved to be seen on the biggest screen possible! We discuss how director Pete Browngardt’s delightful throwback to 1940s Bob Clampett-directed Looney Tunes shorts and 1950s sci-fi creature features is a fantastic culmination of his work on the Looney Tunes shorts over the past few years, bringing Daffy back to his wacky screwball characterization, and exploring a genuinely sweet brotherly relationship between Porky and Daffy as they team up to thwart an alien invader who seemingly plans to “blow up” the Earth using gum-chewing, bubble-blowing zombies! Before that, Lum interviews Candi Milo, a venerable VA who stars as this film’s version of Petunia Pig, reimagined as an eccentric flavor scientist who is as explosive an on-screen presence as the gum she creates! Candi shares how she approached her performance as Petunia, her favorite gags and moments with the character, how she played off of Eric Bauza’s performance as Porky and Daffy and created her own version of Porky’s stutter, alongside lots more highlights from the recording process and her experiences with the Looney Tunes franchise! So push the play button and pull the volume up and stick with us as we merrily go ‘round talking all about this looney powerhouse of a film until the merry-go-round breaks down! PODCAST BREAKDOWN:00:00 - Pre-Order Manga Mavericks Books! 00:37 - Intro 04:45 - Interview with Candi Milo, voice of Petunia Pig! 21:26 - The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie Discussion1:08:40 - Wrap-upEnjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on Instagram at @mangamavericks_official, and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at @VLordGTZ and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon and receive some awesome rewards like our Patreon-exclusive Bonus pods! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content! If there are any topics, series or mangaka you would like to see us talk about on the show, drop us a line in the comments below, or email us at mangamavericks@gmail.com! Thanks for listening!Music Featured:“Hooray for Hollywood” - Looney Tunes Six Flags Version“Overture” from Merrie Melodies “Hooray for Burbank” from Looney Tunes in Hollywood Bumper “Push the Lever, Pull the Crack/Powerhouse Theme” from The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie LINKS:Pre-Order our Manga Mavericks Books titles on our online store!Find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts!Support us on Patreon!Wanna Leave Us a Tip? LumRanmaYasha also has a Ko-fi!Want more movie thoughts? Follow Lum and VLord on Letterboxd! Read more of Lum’s reviews on All-Comic! Read VLord’s reviews on All-Comic! Buy The Day the Earth Blew Up on Blu-Ray and DVD now, and stream it on Max on June 27th 2025!
2025/5/28
1:10:43
EP. 244: 20th Century Boys
Gu~ta-lala Su~da-lala! On this episode of Manga Mavericks, Colton & Lum are joined by manga letterer and Urasawa super fan, Aidan Clarke, as well as host of both Duckface Diaries and Podcastmon Adventures, Wensleydale Cheddar, to discuss one of Naoki Urasawa's most beloved manga series with 20th Century Boys! A multifaceted, sprawling Stephen King-esque story about a group of kids born in the 60's whose wild and active imaginations are co-opted and brought to life decades later by a cult-like figure known as "The Friend" in order to take over the world, and its up to our now grown up heroes to stop them! Join our favorite Mavericks as they jump around as much the series does in discussing every facet that stood out to them from this amazing tale! From the now seemingly prophetic story of a world on a downward spiral, to the dangers of out of control nostalgia and fanaticism, and especially...the power of music! Enjoy!If you enjoy this episode, check out our bonus podcast discussion of the 20th Century Boys live action film trilogy available on our Patreon!PODCAST BREAKDOWN:00:00 - Intro03:39 - Our reaction to the reactions to Manga Mavericks Books13:57 - Patron Shout-out!15:10 - 20th Century Boys Discussion2:14:19 - Wrap-upEnjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on tumblr at mangamavericks.tumblr.com and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at @sniperking323 and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon and receive some awesome rewards like our Patreon-exclusive Bonus pods! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content!LINKS:Find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts!Support us on Patreon!Pre-Order for our books are open on our store!20th Century Boys is available from Viz Media!Follow Aidan & Wensleydale on Bluesky!Listen to both Duckface Diaries and Podcastmon Adventures!Check out the SSAA Podcast episode discussing the Pluto anime!Pope John Paul the 2nd Album
2025/5/12
2:28:37
Manga Mavericks On TV EP. 03: "Lazarus, Episodes 1-5"
Hey there folks in tv land! Don’t touch that dial, and don’t change the channel, you’re tuned into the right podcast station - welcome back to Manga Mavericks On TV!Manga Mavericks On TV is back after another 2 years to talk about another long-awaited return to the airwaves - Shinichiro Watanabe, whose latest series Lazarus finally premiered on [adult swim] in April after nearly two years of anticipation. Lazarus had a lot of pre-release buzz as not only Watanabe’s return to tv anime since Carol & Tuesday six years ago, but also for being a collaboration between him and multiple talented creators in the film and music industries, including John Wick director and stunt choreographer Chad Stahleski! But after the sour reception to [adult swim]’s unfortunately inconsistent Uzumaki anime, there’s been a lot of skepticism whether even someone of Watanabe’s reputation and pedigree can create a show so good that it earns back anime fans’ trust and goodwill. Five episodes in, has Lazarus resurrected [adult swim]’s credibility in creating good anime, or has interest in it been dying a slow death? Well, we actually got screeners for the first five episodes and recorded this podcast well in advance of the first episode’s premiere, so we don’t speak to the broader reception the show’s had so far. Instead, we discuss our thoughts on the series after the first five episodes, what stands out about it, whether it stands on its own or draws too many comparisons to Watanabe’s previous work, and if it’s lived up to the hype. So listen in to the show and learn what’s-a-”Hapna”-ing with Lazarus! Also, if you haven’t heard, WE’RE PUBLISHING MANGA! Through our new publishing division, Manga Mavericks Books, we plan to license and publish the work of indie mangaka in Japan, and are partnering with Red String Translations to help print and distribute their books overseas. All six books will be released in both print and digital format on July 16th 2025, and pre-orders are open now on our newly launched Manga Mavericks Books Store! For more information about our titles, check out our official press release and episode 243 of the Manga Mavericks podcast. Links are in the description of this episode, and can be found on mangamavericks.com. Go to store.mangamavericks.com to check out what we’ve got in store and preorder your Manga Mavericks books today! PODCAST BREAKDOWN:00:00 - We’re Publishing Manga! Pre-orders are open now for Manga Mavericks Books! 04:18 - Lazarus Episodes 1-5 Review1:01:57 - Wrap-UpEnjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on Instagram at @mangamavericks_official, and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at @VLordGTZ and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon and receive some awesome rewards like our Patreon-exclusive Bonus pods! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content! If there are any topics, series or mangaka you would like to see us talk about on the show, drop us a line in the comments below, or e-mail us at mangamavericks@gmail.com! Thanks for listening!Music Featured:The Beets - “Television”Excerpts from LazarusAfroskull - “Me and My TV”LINKS:Pre-Order our books on the Manga Mavericks Books Store Manga Mavericks Books Press ReleaseManga Mavericks Books Interview on Yatta-Tachi! Back Aneido’s Latest Kickstarter for The Soul-Selling Corporate Drone! Support us on Patreon! Read all our Lazarus coverage!NYCC 2024Anime Los Angeles 2025 PanelPress ReleaseLumRanmaYasha’s Review of Lazarus Episodes 1-5Listen to LumRanmaYasha discuss Lazarus with the Toonami Faithful Podcast! Episode 4Episode 5 Read more of LumRanmaYasha’s reviews on All-Comic! Check out LumRanmaYasha’s art at @siddartworks on Instagram! Watch Lazarus on [adult swim] and MAX!
2025/5/09
1:08:33
EP. 243: WE'RE PUBLISHING MANGA!
“From Podcast, to Press, and now… Print!” - @kiirobon You heard right - MANGA MAVERICKS IS PUBLISHING MANGA!!Manga Mavericks started as a podcast dedicated to exploring manga as both a medium and as an industry, and now, Manga Mavericks is becoming a publisher dedicated to spotlighting some of the best indie artists working in the medium and industry!We are officially announcing our new publishing division, Manga Mavericks Books! We plan to license and publish the work of indie mangaka in Japan, and are partnering with Red String Translations to help print and distribute their books overseas. We have our first set of books, three of our titles and three from Red String, set to come out in July 2025! You can already pre-order them now on our newly launched Manga Mavericks Books Store! We are so excited for you all to see all the great manga we’ve been working on, and even more big surprises on the way. But you may be wondering, how did we get into publishing, and why are we expanding from being a press outlet into a publisher? Well, who better to answer these questions than our own CEO, publisher, and licensing director - VLordGTZ, as well as the owner of Red String and our licensing director, Victoria Esnard! VLord explains the road to Manga Mavericks getting into publishing and what his plans and vision for the company are. In addition, Victoria shares how she got into manga localization and started up Red String translations, and how she and VLord decided to partner up for Manga Mavericks Books. Listen in to learn more about Manga Mavericks Books, our launch titles, and some of the exciting projects and plans we’ve got coming down the pipe! Thank you guys so much for joining us on this journey. Manga Mavericks would not be here without the support of listeners of our podcast and readers of our website have given us over the years. We are excited for you to join us as we turn the page and enter our next chapter - Manga Mavericks Books! PODCAST BREAKDOWN:00:26 - Announcing Manga Mavericks Books! 04:38 - Introducing Victoria and Red String Translations! 20:55 - The Manga Mavericks and Red String Translations partnership24:52 - The Japanese Indie Comic Market Scene vs. North American Comic Conventions 32:23 - What to Know About Manga Mavericks Books39:47 - How We Got Here, How Far We’ve Come47:27 - Manga Mavericks Books’ First 3 Licenses! BONDS by ZENZOALTERNATIVE[SELF LINER NOTE] by Chiaki YaguraZigoku’s Foreman by 9banta54:03 - Red String Translations Acquisitions!- Now No One Lurks Beneath the Snow by Aneido - The Murderer and Her Runaway Desire by Aneido - Senpai no Kohai by Hanakage Alt1:05:27 - Our Release Calendar for Summer 20251:07:23 - Pre-Orders are open now on the new Manga Mavericks Books Store! 1:08:27 - Contact Information for Retailers and Libraries1:11:50 - Upcoming Convention Appearances1:13:03 - Future Plans & Short-Term Goals1:20:58 - Where You Can Find Us & Wrap-Up! Enjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on Instagram at @mangamavericks_official, and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at @VLordGTZ and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon and receive some awesome rewards like our Patreon-exclusive Bonus pods! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content! If there are any topics, series or mangaka you would like to see us talk about on the show, let us know in the comments below, or e-mail us at mangamavericks@gmail.com! Thanks for listening!LINKS: Manga Mavericks Books Press ReleaseManga Mavericks Books Store Follow Red String Translations on Twitter (@RS_Honyaku) Support Aneido’s Latest Kickstarter for The Soul-Selling Corporate Drone! Find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts!Support us on Patreon!
2025/4/26
1:30:04
EP. 242: Ouran High School Host Club
The time to start is now! And we can show you how! Because we’re reopening the doors to music room 3 to revisit the Host Club we remember so fondly!That’s right, we’re finally discussing the classic parodic shojo romcom that we all kiss, kiss fell in love with back in the mid-2000s - Ouran High School Host Club! And we’re hosting our own club of Ouran fans to help us entertain all our lovely ladies, gentlemen, and non-binary listeners with their unique personalities and perspectives - music and animation academic Dr. Rose Bridges, author of a book on Yoko Kano’s Cowboy Bebop soundtrack and a contributor to ANN, animation and pop culture youtuber and cover artist Offbeat Kiki, and shojo anime and manga youtuber Shay Taree!Together, we discuss what originally attracted us to the series when we first discovered it, what it means to us, and how our relationship with it has changed over the years and upon revisiting it. We explore how the host club serves as a place in which gender, class, and sexuality is commodified and performed, as well as a sanctuary that allows its characters to express themselves creatively and authentically. We talk about how we related to Haruhi as representation for gender non-conforming and non-binary people and how that changes over the series, as well as how well the series’ queer representation and queer-coding holds up to a modern lens. Of course, we also gush about all of the sweet juicy romance and relationships, including how Haruhi and Tamaki bond over their absent mothers, how the twins support each other, the challenge of navigating relationships within friend groups, and being afraid to lose a relationship with someone by changing it. Finally, we compare the manga with the anime and discuss what was lost or cut in translation, and why we think Ouran still resonates and is beloved by so many people to this day.Tomorrow’s far away, so place your hope in today and listen to us discuss why we’ll always fall in love, again, with Ouran High School Host Club!PODCAST BREAKDOWN:00:00 - Intro04:14 - Ouran Discussion2:51:58 - Wrap-upEnjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on tumblr at mangamavericks.tumblr.com and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at @sniperking323 and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon and receive some awesome rewards like our Patreon-exclusive Bonus pods! Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and Apple Podcasts and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content!LINKS:Find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts!Support us on Patreon!Ouran High School Host Club available both physically and digitally from Viz Media!Follow Kiki on Twitter and Youtube! Watch Kiki’s Video on Ouran! Follow Shay on BluSky and Youtube! Watch Shay’s videos on Ouran! Follow Rose on BluSky! Listen to Rose’s Shojo & Tell episodes on Ouran! Read Rose’s article on Ouran as a “fujoshi comedy” for ANN! Follow Tyler on Twitter or BluSky for updates on Gotta Recap ‘Em All!
Manga Mavericks is a podcast hosted by Colton and LumRanmaYasha dedicated to covering and discussing manga not just as a medium, but also as an industry!
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