Anime 3000 presents The Speakeasy Podcast:
Drink #013: Gin and Tonic, The Ebb and Flow of American Taste
The anime version of Bartender mentions that the most popular cocktail among men is the simple and timeless classic: Gin and Tonic. In many ways the American taste in anime has that same simple immutable nature. We look at the origins of American taste, how they have grown and changed, and how they compare to the Japanese and their preferences. Also Hisui goes on a rant about people’s viewing habits like an aggressive self-help book.
We are also starting a mail bag segment so feel free to send in your question and comments so we can discuss them on the next podcast!
(Listen) (Show Notes)
And now your helpful bartenders at The Speakeasy present your drink:
Gin and Tonic
5 oz tonic water
1 lime wedge
Reverse Thieves 
This isn’t the most positive of comments, but it’s pertinent feedback:
While I’ve liked the few episodes I’ve listened to in the past, and the discussion of personal taste in this episode is interesting, the other half of this episode — the content that focuses on decades past, both in Japan and America — is disappointing. There’s a lot of guesswork at play here, and you should have done your homework by looking at fansites and other online (or even print) resources that chronicle the information, frequently in rich detail… or at the very least look quickly at Wikipedia. Some examples:
– The bubble burst: otaku goods like anime & manga were the only things that really survived the bubble burst, and most of the stuff coming out in the ’90s was actually positive, emotionally speaking.
– Dates of Evangelion — solvable with a simple Google search.
– Trends in America in early fandom — eg., you could have easily looked up the Cartoon Fantasy Organization (or other clubs) and seen what they were watching at the time (in fact, mentioning the CFO would have been awesome too).
Recommendation for future episodes: keep open a couple web browsers while you’re discussing so you don’t have to guess and make up information. Or at least outline your topics and make sure you’ve found what’s already been written about them.
Good luck!
Thanks for the feedback, we are always working to improve.
I would like to defend myself here, if only a little, because I have no intention of constantly looking up minor facts during a podcast. This podcast is not academic in nature but truly a conversation between two people. I don’t need or plan to be right or know everything all the time, that is what generates a discussion. This is about MY experience, what I know, and what I feel.
So we are still trying to strike a balance between being natural and merely repeating the experience of others.
I do use an outline. And I do agree that we should have done some further investigation for the beginning beforehand, and actually felt that even before you mentioned it. Thanks again for the feedback.
-Narutaki