Episode 103 - Why Isn't K-Pop Demon Hunters Canadian?

K-Pop Demon Hunters, Netflix's most successful movie ever and the seismic cultural force of the summer, was made almost entirely by Canadian creative staff. So why isn't it a Canadian movie? Most of us probably understand that it's because it was made by American producers with American money. However, outside of some media puff pieces about the Canadian creator and co-director Maggie Kang, there isn't a lot of discussion about why we aren't doing anything to move away from being a thankless land of oursourcing. Luckily, Wildbrain animation staffer Kristian Lobb agreed with me that cartoons can be the ultimate "Nation Building project" and the two of us talk about how we could benefit from all of that pop culture soft power if we just only we moved the pieces around a little bit.

Zannen, Canada · Ep.103- Why Isn't K-Pop Demon Hunters Canadian

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Kristian's Website: https://chromera.art/

Bluesky: @jbetteridge.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zannencanada/
E-mail: zannencanada@gmail.com

Theme song by Karl Olson. Check out Packet Flood, the album all of this show's music is taken from, on his Bandcamp.

Episode 102 - Tokens for Shouta Aoi

 

There were simply too may conventions going on in August, but we tried our best to keep our bases covered! Chris gives us the lowdown on his last minute trip to Animethon in Edmonton, while Pierre and myself talk about our fun (but very hot!) weekend at Otakuthon in Montreal!

Zannen, Canada · Ep.102 - Tokens for Shouta Aoi

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Chris's Bluesky: @kurotsuki.bsky.social

The Nadeshiko Club Homepage: https://www.facebook.com/nadeshikoclubquebe

Bluesky: @jbetteridge.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zannencanada/
E-mail: zannencanada@gmail.com

Theme song by Karl Olson. Check out Packet Flood, the album all of this show's music is taken from, on his Bandcamp.

Episode 101 - God's in His Heaven, All's Right with the World

 

I've likely committed some kind of crime by going an entire decade without devoting an episode to Isao Takahata's 1979 Anne of Green Gables anime series, but here it is at long last. One of the greatest literary adaptations of all time, and maybe one the greatest television shows of all time. Dave Merrill and Patricia Gosselin chat with me about the legacy of Lucy Maude Montgomery's work, the idolatry of Anne Shirley in Japan, the anime's broadcast in French-speaking Canada and why its only English dub was produced in South Africa.

Zannen, Canada · Ep.101- God's in His Heaven All's Right with the World

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Dave's Bluesky: @terebifunhouse

Dave's Website: Mister Kitty Dot Net

Dave's article on Anne of Green Gables: With An "E"

The Nadeshiko Club Homepage: https://www.facebook.com/nadeshikoclubquebe

Bluesky: @jbetteridge.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zannencanada/
E-mail: zannencanada@gmail.com

Theme song by Karl Olson. Check out Packet Flood, the album all of this show's music is taken from, on his Bandcamp.

Episode 100 - Inuyasha Finalus Actum

 

The Zannen, Canada podcast has now been around for 10 years and I'm determined to not make a big deal about it! Sarah/Kittea joins me for the first time in some years to help me work through the headspace that results from dealing with trade wars and challenges to sovereignty day in and day out, and what this means for anime fans! We also chat about Inuyasha: The Final Act which is now available for on-demand streaming in this country for the first time EVER.

Zannen, Canada · Ep.100 - Inuyasha Finalis Actum

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Sarah's Bluesky: @kittea.bsky.social

Bluesky: @jbetteridge.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zannencanada/
E-mail: zannencanada@gmail.com

Theme song by Karl Olson. Check out Packet Flood, the album all of this show's music is taken from, on his Bandcamp.

Ten Years of Zannen, Canada

It is with at least a little embarrassment that I must announce that I have now been doing this podcast for ten years. The first episode of the Zannen, Canada podcast was posted on March 18, 2015. It was the result of a few small creative decisions I agonized over for way too long, driven by a simple need to have some kind of outlet to air my pent-up anime-related grievances that seemed so very important when I was getting the show started up. After all, things had gone to hell since I ended the Zannen, Canada blog a few years prior, and the people needed a voice. 

Living in the cruel, terrible times that have emerged since then has made it a bit hard to return to a headspace where anime being geoblocked on Hulu carried any kind of urgency, and even in simpler times there wasn't a massive audience that wanted to hear me complain about it every month in a podcast. Thankfully, I was able to pivot my focus towards finding a narrative around anime and its fandom in Canada, which I have found to be much more substantial and rewarding. Finding cultural cohesion and pride around something like carries a fair bit more weight, especially at this particular moment in history, and it's probably the reason that so many of you have stuck around over the years, so thank you for that!

I don't have anything recorded for today, but I am aiming to have an episode out before the end of the month. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight one of the touchstones of my show: my interview with the late John Rooney, recorded all the way back in 2016. John was a true legend of Canadian broadcasting. He not only served as the Director of Programming at YTV from 2005 to 2009 while helping shape the Bionix block, but also worked with virtually every English language youth television company either as a programming lead or consultant and was a prominent advocate for 2SLGBTQ+ representation in youth media and production. If you ever watched He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special on YTV during oddly prominent timeslots, you can probably thank him for that too. John sadly passed away at the end of 2020 due to complications from a stroke. Looking back on this interview, I really had no idea how much of an honour it really was to have him on and I don't even come close to asking the types of questions I should have. Nevertheless, you can find that classic episode here:

Zannen, Canada · Ep.19 - The Full Gamut

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Bluesky: @jbetteridge.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zannencanada/
E-mail: zannencanada@gmail.com

Theme song by Karl Olson. Check out Packet Flood, the album all of this show's music is taken from, on his Bandcamp.

Episode 99 - The Nadeshiko Club and Quebec's Lost Anime Generation

We may be facing tumultuous times as a nation, but this has only helped make the bond between Anglophone and Francophone anime fans stronger than ever! Patricia Gosselin is co-founder of the Nadeshiko Club, a group of esteemed scholars and panelists who have worked hard to elevate the culture of French-Canadian anime fandom and conventions. She joins me to talk about the background of the club, the lost decade that emerged after anime disappeared from Quebec television in the 1990s and the history of Quebec dubbing reaching back to JA Lapointe in the 1960s.

Zannen, Canada · Ep.99- The Nadeshiko Club and Quebec's Lost Anime Generation

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The Nadeshiko Club Homepage: https://www.facebook.com/nadeshikoclubquebec

Bluesky: @jbetteridge.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zannencanada/
E-mail: zannencanada@gmail.com

Theme song by Karl Olson. Check out Packet Flood, the album all of this show's music is taken from, on his Bandcamp.

Episode 98 - Hervé Bédard, the Architect Behind Cybersix

After the last episode exploring Cybersix, I felt that we still needed to dig deeper into the story behind the incredible Japanese-Canadian co-production. There was one major perspective missing, and I was very fortunate to not only get in contact with him, but have him agree to come on the podcast: Hervé Bédard, executive producer of Cybersix and founder of Network of Animation! Zee the Raccoon and Brady Hartel once again join me, although we spend most of this interview completely spellbound at the perspective Bédard had to offer, not only on the production of Cybersix, but on his incredible personal history in the animation industry, as well as the relationship between art and society.

Zannen, Canada · Ep.98- Hervé Bédard The Architect Behind Cybersix

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Brady's Bluesky: @ashuraou.bsky.social

Brady's Twitter: @bradyhartel

Zee's Bluesky: @zeekayart.bsky.social

Zee's Twitter: @zeekayart

Bluesky: @jbetteridge.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zannencanada/
E-mail: zannencanada@gmail.com

Theme song by Karl Olson. Check out Packet Flood, the album all of this show's music is taken from, on his Bandcamp.