I can’t believe the amount of sound-bites, songs, and other audio effects put into this podcast. It is clearly highly produced and professional. Of all the podcasts I follow, this might be the slickest production. Major props to Mike and the Otaku USA group for their hard work on this podcast.
Mike Dent clearly doesn’t care for the recent trend of 3D films released into theaters. His deadpan reading and assessment of the announcement that Battle Royale, the cult-classic Japanese film about a group of students set loose and forced to kill each other for survival, is being retro-fitted for 3D is unflinchingly hilarious and honest. Other news bits include information about real-life ninjas saving people from crime, and what Mike refers to as Bandai’s latest “wallet-trap.”
Mike spends a significant amount of time focusing on the recent chart-topping Japanese pop hits. Japanese pop is a mysterious beast to me, so his insight and news updates are appreciated to a newbie like me. Mike finishes the podcast with his watch-list for the week, which includes such recommended Japanese oddities as Katamari Damacy vs. Sim City, a new Gundam-themed phone, a “bad-ass”-looking rubber-band gun, and finally, the TV trailer for the live-action Gantz.
Mike Dent’s work on R5 Central is professional and respectable, and that continues with his work on Friday ACE. This is a concise podcast featuring news that might be difficult to track down or get in one place otherwise. This is a worthy podcast to follow on iTunes for anyone craving the latest information on pop culture in Japan.
“The Heroman opening theme ‘Roulette’ came out this week, and I find it to be one of the most atrocious openings I’ve ever been forced to subject myself to. Therefore I will be damned if it makes it anywhere on the ranking!” –Mike Dent, host of Friday ACE
