The Weekly Stuff Podcast #404 – Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans Season 1 Review & Discussion

It’s time for another episode of The Weekly Stuff Podcast with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman, a weekly audio show that explores the worlds of film, television, and video games. You can subscribe for free in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

We’ve finally arrived at the most recent mainline Gundam TV series on our Weekly Suit Gundam journey! But before diving into that, we also give thoughts on Halo Infinite’s multiplayer launch, Jonathan’s early impressions of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond, and more news about the unfathomably awful environment that is Activision Blizzard. Then it’s on to 2015’s Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans. Tackling the theme of child soldiers more directly than Gundam ever had before, Iron-Blooded Orphans is one of Gundam’s darkest and most violent hours, but also one of its richest and most rewarding, a unique blend of daily life coming-of-age storytelling with hard-edged military fiction that leaves a huge impact. Season 1, which we’re discussing today, follows the formation of the child-mercenary group Tekkadan – the eponymous Orphans with Iron in their Blood – and their journey to bring Martian independence activist Kudelia Aina Bernstein to Earth. It’s a stupendous season of television with tons to talk about, and a pleasure to finally reach and discuss.

Time Chart:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:04:02

Jonathan talks Forza and Pokemon: 0:04:02 – 0:16:39

Halo Infinite: 0:16:39 – 0:38:30

Activision Sucks: 0:38:30 – 0:49:00

Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans: 0:49:00 – 3:47:27

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The Weekly Stuff with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman is a weekly audio podcast, and if you subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts, episodes will be delivered automatically and for free as soon as they are released. Visit www.weeklystuffpodcast.com for a complete archive of streaming and downloadable episodes. 

Weekly Suit Gundam #41 – Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans Season 1 Review & Discussion

It’s time for Weekly Suit Gundam, a show exploring the world of Mobile Suit Gundam from The Weekly Stuff Podcast with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman. You can subscribe for free in iTunes by following this link.

We finally arrive at the most recent mainline Gundam TV series – 2015’s global smash hit Iron-Blooded Orphans, created by the “Super Peace Busters” team of director Tatsuyuki Nagai and writer Mari Okada. Tackling the theme of child soldiers more directly than Gundam ever had before, Iron-Blooded Orphans is one of Gundam’s darkest and most violent hours, but also one of its richest and most rewarding, a unique blend of daily life coming-of-age storytelling with hard-edged military fiction that leaves a huge impact. Season 1, which we’re discussing today, follows the formation of the child-mercenary group Tekkadan – the eponymous Orphans with Iron in their Blood – and their journey to bring Martian independence activist Kudelia Aina Bernstein to Earth. It’s a stupendous season of television with tons to talk about, and a pleasure to finally reach and discuss on Weekly Suit Gundam.

Enjoy, and come back in two weeks for our review of Iron-Blooded Orphans Season 2!

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Follow Jonathan Lack on Twitter!

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The Weekly Stuff with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman is a weekly audio podcast, and if you subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts, episodes will be delivered automatically and for free as soon as they are released. Visit www.weeklystuffpodcast.com for a complete archive of streaming and downloadable episodes. 

The Weekly Stuff Podcast #403 – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 20th Anniversary Retrospective

It’s time for another episode of The Weekly Stuff Podcast with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman, a weekly audio show that explores the worlds of film, television, and video games. You can subscribe for free in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Today’s episode is dedicated to Trans Awareness Week and Mermaids UK, a group supporting transgender, non-binary, and gender diverse children and their families. We are running a fundraiser to benefit the group and encourage listeners to contribute. Please click here to donate.

Today – November 16^th, 2021 – is 20 years to the day since Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone arrived in American theaters, the first film adaptation of (noted bigot) J.K. Rowling’s worldwide sensation. Jonathan was a die-hard Harry Potter fan growing up, while Sean was a dedicated anti-Potter grump – but neither of us could escape the specter of this franchise even if we wanted to. For the 20^th anniversary, we take a look back at this first film in particular – what it gets right in making this world feel special, and what it gets wrong in sticking too slavishly to source material that isn’t particularly cinematic. We talk the actors, the sets, John Williams’ music, and so much more – and reflect on how we see the film and Harry Potter’s legacy differently 20 years later. Before the Potter talk, though, you’ll also hear Jonathan’s thoughts on the outstanding Forza Horizon 5 for Xbox Series S/X, and Jonathan challenges Sean in a game to recap this week’s bottom-of-the-IP-barrel-scraping Disney+ news.

Enjoy! And please consider donating to Mermaids UK to support trans youth if your are able.

Plain text link for our fundraiser: https://tiltify.com/@jonathanlack/weeklystuffpodcast

Time Chart:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:11:05

Forza Horizon 5: 0:11:05 – 0:29:08

Disney+ News: 0:29:08 – 1:02:15

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: 1:02:15 – 3:23:39

Harry Potter Memories: 3:23:39 – 3:40:38

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The Weekly Stuff with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman is a weekly audio podcast, and if you subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts, episodes will be delivered automatically and for free as soon as they are released. Visit www.weeklystuffpodcast.com for a complete archive of streaming and downloadable episodes.

The Weekly Stuff Podcast #402 – Revisiting THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS (2003)

It’s time for another episode of The Weekly Stuff Podcast with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman, a weekly audio show that explores the worlds of film, television, and video games. You can subscribe for free in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

We finish our journey through the original Matrix trilogy this week with 2003’s The Matrix Revolutions, following up on our discussion of the original in episode #398 and The Matrix Reloaded in last week’s #401. We have some minor points of disagreement here, but largely share the view that The Matrix went out on a rousing high note, with a focused and propulsive final installment that puts big ideas front and center, and sees them through to an extremely powerful ending. It’s a great discussion, and before all that, you’ll also hear Jonathan review the (very very very bad) Marvel movie Eternals, Sean talk a bit more about Persona 5 Royal, and hear about a weird impulse buy Sean made from Japan.

Enjoy! And come back next week (on Tuesday, instead of our usual Monday) as we mark the 20^th anniversary of the film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on November 16^th!

Time Chart:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:03:29

Sean talks Persona 5 Royal: 0:03:29 – 0:09:15

Jonathan’s Giant Robots Film Club: 0:09:20 – 0:19:59

Eternals is bad: 0:19:59 – 0:37:53

Sean’s surprise impulse purchase: 0:37:53 – 0:44:57

The Matrix Revolutions: 0:44:57 – 3:25:29

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Subscribe to the WEEKLY SUIT GUNDAM Podcast!

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Follow Jonathan Lack on Twitter!

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The Weekly Stuff with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman is a weekly audio podcast, and if you subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts, episodes will be delivered automatically and for free as soon as they are released. Visit www.weeklystuffpodcast.com for a complete archive of streaming and downloadable episodes.

The Weekly Stuff Podcast #401 – Revisiting THE MATRIX RELOADED (2003)

It’s time for another episode of The Weekly Stuff Podcast with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman, a weekly audio show that explores the worlds of film, television, and video games. You can subscribe for free in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

In anticipation of this December’s Matrix Resurrections, we return to the world of The Matrix with 2003’s The Matrix Reloaded, following up on our discussion of the original film in episode #398. Jonathan is a passionate defender of the Matrix sequels, and Sean hasn’t seen them in many years, and while we don’t agree entirely on how much everything works in this ambitious second installment, we absolutely believe this is a dense, fascinating film full of big, compelling ideas that are very much worth discussing in depth – as we do here for a full three hours! From the bold statement of embodied humanity that is the Zion rave, to the outrageous French stylings of the Merovingian, to the longest freeway chase ever, to the Oracle and the Architect confronting Neo with the nature of ‘free will,’ The Matrix Reloaded gives us plenty to talk about, and with one movie still to go, makes this trip down Matrix memory lane very much worth the journey.

Come back next week as we finish the original Matrix trilogy with our look back at THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS!

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel! 

Subscribe to the WEEKLY SUIT GUNDAM Podcast!

Subscribe for free to 'The Weekly Stuff' in Apple Podcasts!

Follow Jonathan Lack on Twitter!

Follow Sean Chapman on Twitter!

The Weekly Stuff with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman is a weekly audio podcast, and if you subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts, episodes will be delivered automatically and for free as soon as they are released. Visit www.weeklystuffpodcast.com for a complete archive of streaming and downloadable episodes.