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Episode 20: JOURNEY TO JAPAN 

by Danny Bivens, James Charlton, Daan Koopman, Ty Shughart, Matt Walker, and Minoru Yamaizumi - January 27, 2013, 8:16 pm EST
Total comments: 19

Have you ever wanted to journey to the Land of the Rising Sun? The guys talk about that and more in this month's episode!

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The new year has begun and that can only mean one thing: Brand new episodes from the Famicast crew for you to listen to. Minoru is back this month, which means the crew is jam packed once more, with four people maintaining the fort known as the Pod.

Ty opens New Business with more talk about UFO catchers and the really crazy prizes he won in all of those. He also went to Comiket, which is this fun convention in his area and he goes in-depth about the stuff he has seen there. Finally, we wraps up with some Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Why? Because fighting games. Minoru steps in the fray after Ty has said swag just a couple times more and talks to us about his experiences with ZombiU. Was it a fun experience for him or is he on other side of the spectrum? On his trusty 3D handheld though, he has been playing 3D Space Harrier, which is simply one of the best versions of the game. Together with Daan, they gush over the game like there is no tomorrow and find room to make Danny feel impressed.

Speaking of Daan, he is next as been playing some weird stuff here and there. He talks about the recent releases of Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge and SiNG Party, which were released on his side of the world. He explains why the Japanese action game is fun, and why the western developed singing game makes him scratch his head. He also goes on another Arc System Works quest and plays their newest eShop releases: Blayzbloo and Kunio-Kun. Danny follows up the other D with some Xenoblade, as he discovers the full depth of the title. While Ty and Daan have given their short impressions of The Walking Dead in a previous episode, Danny talks a little bit about it on its own. It must be noted though that he played the iOS version, which is possibly the best way to play the game.

This month's Life in Japan segment tackles a topic that might be on some of your minds - coming to Japan. Matt Walker and James Charlton join Danny and Ty for the segment and talk about how they ended up coming to and living in the Land of the Rising Sun. These personal stories are by no means the definitive way to come to the country, but are definitely some avenues that interested parties can look into if they are serious about coming to Japan. 

In the news, some more 3DS retail games came to Japan to populate the Nintendo eShop even more. We also talk about Professor Layton games and chocolates, which are some of the best things ever. All of this and more, on the first Famicast of 2013! Famicast a go-go, baby!

Links for the episode:
3D Space Harrier M2 Interview (Japanese)
A Game Developer's Take on Japan: The Myths and the Reality
Japanmanship: The Ultimate Guide to Working in Video Game Development in Japan
New Super Mario Bros. U –  Synchronized Platforming

Be sure to send any and all questions Japan related to famicast@nintendoworldreport.com or post on the "Questions for the NWR Japan Crew Thread." Ty has taken up residence there and will assault you with catnip.

This podcast was edited by Danny Bivens.

Music for this episode of The Famicast is used with permission from 8 Bit Weapon. You can purchase their music and shirts from their website 8bitweapon.com

Additional music for this episode of The Famicast is copyrighted to Nintendo, and is included under fair use protection.

Talkback

S-U-P-E-RTy Shughart, Staff AlumnusJanuary 28, 2013

You should listen to this if you want to go to Japan!

Ty is right. He can also give you catdrugs...because that's his given name...


As for the music tracks for the episode, I thought I would get on the ball while I'm thinking about it!


Radio Trvia: Famicast Edition
Listen to the episode first and then check back to see how many you guessed right! We have some pretty cool tracks in the episode this week, so be sure to listen to them and see if any of them are familiar to you! Good luck!




1 - Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 OST - Character Select Screen
2 - Space Harrier - Main Theme
3 - Ninja Gaiden Theme (Afrobeat remix)
4 - Donkey Kong Country - King K. Rool aka Gang Plank Galleon (by bboynoe)
5 - Still Tippin' - Mike Jones
6 -  Star Fox Corneria Guitar Remix (by bboynoe)
7 - Gerudo Valley Orhcestrated (Ocarina of Time)
8 - Owari no Junbi - GaGaGa SP

AnGerJanuary 28, 2013

Ah, weeaboos. The infamous pseudo-japanophiles that give everyone who is even remotely interested in anything Japanese a very bad name. In fact the bad name they give those people is so bad that persons like me or some of my acquaintances that are also interested in manga/anime/video games/japanese music/whatever comes to your mind decided to put our fandom in the closet and only get it out for our own pleasure because we don't want to be grouped with these deluded, hormone-filled lunatics that restrict their view of Japan to anything that comes from pop culture. Also JAPAN IS TEH BEST because it has manga.

TJ SpykeJanuary 28, 2013

Manga is the the term for Japanese comis. Hell, the word "manga" itself refers to comics and cartooning.

AnGerJanuary 28, 2013

Quote from: TJ

Manga is the the term for Japanese comis. Hell, the word "manga" itself refers to comics and cartooning.

As does "anime" for any kind of movie or TV show that is animated.

TJ SpykeJanuary 28, 2013

No it doesn't, anime is a specific genre of animation (like JRPGs are just a genre of RPG). Manga is just the Japanese term for comics.

Fatty The HuttJanuary 28, 2013

I remember this old video store I used to go to had a section called "Japanimation". After about 3 years they changed it to "Anime". That would have been in about 96 or 97. I went there to rent VHS! It's where I first got a hold of Akira  ;D

JasonMaiviaJanuary 29, 2013

This episode didn't show up in my RSS feed reader for some reason.  :confused;

AnGerJanuary 29, 2013

Quote from: TJ

No it doesn't, anime is a specific genre of animation (like JRPGs are just a genre of RPG). Manga is just the Japanese term for comics.

Er... no. "Anime" is short for "animeeshyon" (アニメーション)  which is the Japanese spelling of "animation" and according to online dictionary jisho.org translates to:

Quote:

1: animation;
2: animated film; animated cartoon

or in the case of "anime":

Quote:

1: animated film; animated cartoon; anime (when referring to Japanese cartoons)

So, just like "manga" it is a general term for anything that we label "animation" or "cartoon" in Japan itself, but becomes a term that specifically refers to the country of origin when being used outside of Japan. Oh, and I found this for the sake of amusement.
and self-deprecation since I use a Japanese honorific in my Twitter handle

Do_WhatJanuary 29, 2013

This episode is great. I actually should be headed to Japan through my school in 2014 and I'm trying to soak up as much information as I possibly can before I head out.

Quote from: JasonMaivia

This episode didn't show up in my RSS feed reader for some reason.  :confused;

This may be because RFN 323 was posted on the same day, if you're using iTunes and have it set to download only the latest episode in the feed.

ejamerJanuary 29, 2013

Quote from: Pandareus

Quote from: JasonMaivia

This episode didn't show up in my RSS feed reader for some reason.  :confused;

This may be because RFN 323 was posted on the same day, if you're using iTunes and have it set to download only the latest episode in the feed.

Didn't show up in my feed either. I'm not using iTunes, and it's not an issue of simply not downloading - the episode doesn't show up at all. (No biggie. I'll just grab the file manually.)

TJ SpykeJanuary 29, 2013

It downloaded to my iTunes just like it always does.

Do_WhatJanuary 29, 2013

It showed up as normal in my feed. I use pocketcast on android and everything worked fine.

ResettisCousinJanuary 30, 2013

It seems like the issue is that, unlike prior episodes, this one is not being cross-posted in the RFN feed and is only in the Famicast feed. I've previously only listened through the RFN MP3 feed but see there is also a separate Famicast dedicated feed.

TJ SpykeJanuary 30, 2013

Quote from: ResettisCousin

It seems like the issue is that, unlike prior episodes, this one is not being cross-posted in the RFN feed and is only in the Famicast feed. I've previously only listened through the RFN MP3 feed but see there is also a separate Famicast dedicated feed.

I don't use the RSS feeds, but on iTunes RFN and Famicast are on the same feed.

I've figured it out: the M4A (iTunes) feed had been updated, but not the MP3 one. Should be fixed now!

JasonMaiviaJanuary 31, 2013

Quote from: Pandareus

I've figured it out: the M4A (iTunes) feed had been updated, but not the MP3 one. Should be fixed now!

I see it now!
Thank you so very much, sir! 

azekeFebruary 02, 2013

So, here i am finishing GBA DKC1 on DS Lite and listening to this podcast and riiight after i finished the game and beat K. Rool and watched the ending, podcast intermission between segments plays some rock version of DKC1 ending theme.

Also on Neo Aquarium, i watched LGR playing this game a while back, it looked completely bonkers.

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