<![CDATA[A-to-J Connections - Ultra Podcast Z]]>Wed, 07 May 2025 23:36:03 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[We Yearn For The Switch 2 | Ultra Podcast Z 267 (Switch 2 & A Minecraft Movie)]]>Tue, 22 Apr 2025 08:10:43 GMThttp://a-to-jconnections.com/ultra-podcast-z/we-yearn-for-the-switch-2-ultra-podcast-z-267-switch-2-a-minecraft-movie
Live Broadcast:
April 15, 2025 6:00 PM PDT

Hosts:
Manuel
Photaku

Description:
After a brief break, we're finally back talking the Switch 2 reveal direct, the pricing of games, the state of the U.S. in general and the Minecraft movie. It takes some interesting turns.
LegalEagle video on the court situation: https://youtu.be/75WcxrewCxw

00:00:00 - Start
00:00:05 - We Are Live!
00:02:00 - Switch 2 Talk Starts
00:10:25 - Game Prices: Then vs Today
00:18:19 - Digital Prices
00:20:45 - Tariffs + The State of the U.S. In General
00:25:23 - Games That Should Be Bundled In
00:28:17 - How Tariffs Will Affect Pricing
00:32:16 - A Minecraft Movie and Audience Participation
00:43:10 - Retail Hell
00:50:46 - #UrsulaWasRight
00:56:00 - Switch 2 Games
01:05:05 - Kirby Air Riders
01:09:33 - The Zelda App Experience
01:12:13 - It's Not What It Looks Like, We Swear
01:17:23 - Wrapping Up
01:19:41 - See You Next Week
]]><![CDATA[J.D. Made April Fools Out of Us | Ultra Podcast Z 266 (Anime Connect: Manuel vs Andrew vs Josh)]]>Wed, 09 Apr 2025 04:31:28 GMThttp://a-to-jconnections.com/ultra-podcast-z/jd-made-april-fools-out-of-us-ultra-podcast-z-266-anime-connect-manuel-vs-andrew-vs-josh
Live Broadcast:
April 1, 2025 6:15 PM PDT

Hosts:
J.D.
Manuel
Photaku
Andrew

Description:
What better way to celebrate April Fool's Day than to have J.D. host another quiz show and make complete fools out of the contestants?  This time, three players: Manuel, Andrew and Josh compete to find out who was the least foolish of all the fools in the latest round of Anime Connect.
00:00:00 - Start
00:00:05 - We Are Live!
00:01:11 - Player Intros
00:02:35 - Game Rules
00:03:04 - Round 1 - Connections
00:03:19 - Round 1 - Question 1
00:05:02 - Round 1 - Question 2
00:09:57 - Round 1 - Question 3
00:12:50 - Round 1 - Question 4
00:18:00 - Round 1 - Question 5
00:20:43 - Round 1 - Question 6 (Pictures)
00:29:46 - Round 2 - Sequences
00:30:08 - Round 2 - Question 1
00:35:30 - Round 2 - Question 2
00:38:14 - Round 2 - Question 3
00:41:46 - Round 2 - Question 4 (Picture)
00:44:41 - Round 2 - Question 4
00:48:39 - Round 2 - Question 6
00:52:33 - Final Round - Missing Vowels
00:54:22 - Lions
00:56:27 - Tigers
00:59:57 - Bears
01:02:04 - Oh, Mai!
01:04:13 - Game Ends
01:06:27 - Wrapping Up
01:08:34 - Thoughts on the Switch 1 Direct
01:10:20 - See You Next Time
]]><![CDATA[J.D.'s Back From Japan & Has Stories to Tell! | Ultra Podcast Z 265 (J.D.'s Japan Trip 2025)]]>Mon, 17 Mar 2025 07:00:00 GMThttp://a-to-jconnections.com/ultra-podcast-z/jds-back-from-japan-has-stories-to-tell-ultra-podcast-z-265-jds-japan-trip-2025
Live Broadcast:
March 11, 2025 6:00 PM PDT

Hosts:
J.D.
Manuel

Description:
J.D.'s back and UPZ's come back with him. He goes over all the details of his Japan trip from the last two weeks with Manuel. Here exciting(?) stories about losing his wallet, learning to navigate the train system and nearly getting attacked by a bear.
00:00:00 - Start
00:00:05 - We Are Live!
00:02:27 - J.D. Went to Japan
00:04:55 - Weird TTRPG Tangent
00:07:22 - J.D.'s Trip to Japan
00:08:05 - The Flight There
00:09:52 - Arriving in Japan - Business Hotels, Asakusa and Donkis
00:14:50 - Odaiba Adventures
00:17:17 - Shibuya - Is this Lost?
00:19:49 - Tokyo Skytree at Sunset
00:22:52 - Shinjuku and Akihabara
00:27:38 - Kanazawa - Lessons in Train Travel
00:30:40 - Getting Around with Minimum WiFi
00:38:35 - Takayama - Onsen, Museums and Burgers
00:44:17 - Conbini Comparison
00:44:40 - Osaka / Kyoto / Nara
00:49:49 - Osaka Castle and Nara Park
00:53:11 - Nara Park
00:55:15 - Hakone
00:59:14 - Tokyo Part 2
01:04:26 - Some of the Other Photos J.D. Mentioned
01:11:17 - Wrapping Up
01:22:58 - See You Next Week
]]><![CDATA[Talking Real & Fake Relationships via Reddit | Ultra Podcast Z 264 (Valentine's Day 2025 Special)]]>Mon, 17 Feb 2025 08:00:00 GMThttp://a-to-jconnections.com/ultra-podcast-z/talking-real-fake-relationships-via-reddit-ultra-podcast-z-264-valentines-day-2025-special
Live Broadcast:
February 11, 2025 6:00 PM PDT

Hosts:
J.D.
Photaku

Description:
With Manuel out, J.D. and Josh take some time this Valentine's week to talk give some relationship advice and talk about the weirdly loose definition of "romance" anime MyAnimeList seems to have.
"Eepy" Clip J.D. Mentioned - https://youtube.com/shorts/olQPEFwdJl8?feature=share

00:00:00 - Start
00:00:05 - We Are Live!
00:01:26 - Reddit Story #1 - Road Rage
00:05:10 - Reddit Story #2 - Marathon (Wo)man
00:12:07 - Reddit Story #3 - She's (Not) The One
00:21:37 - Reddit Story #4 - Dead Bead
00:32:09 - Reddit Story #5 - My Wife is a Gay Witch
00:41:33 - Reddit Story #6 - Jealous Friend
00:49:15 - The Highest Rated "Romance" Anime on MAL
00:49:36 - #1 - Kaguya-sama
00:52:53 - #2 - Fruits Basket
00:55:43 - #3 - Clannad: After Story
00:58:38 - #4 - The Dangers in My Heart
01:04:14 - #5 - Monogatari
01:04:55 - Rapidfiring the Rest of the Top 30
01:13:08 - Super Speed Time
01:19:28 - Wrapping Up
01:23:07 - See You Next Time
]]><![CDATA[Having A Marvelous Time | Ultra Podcast Z 263 (Fantastic Four, Marvel, & The MCU)]]>Wed, 12 Feb 2025 20:40:39 GMThttp://a-to-jconnections.com/ultra-podcast-z/having-a-marvelous-time-ultra-podcast-z-263-fantastic-four-marvel-the-mcu
Live Broadcast:
February 4, 2025 6:00 PM PDT

Hosts:
Manuel
Photaku

Description:
Manuel and Josh are back and talking all things Marvel including the new trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Thunderbolts* and Captain America Brave New World. They also realize how weird comics can be and talk a bit about the Distinguished Competition.
00:00:00 - Start
00:00:04 - Excelsior!
00:01:11 - A Brief Tangent on the Distinguished Competition
00:03:08 - Fantastic Four: First Steps Trailer + Comics Talk
00:10:54 - Skrulls and Secret Invasion
00:15:16 - Fantastic Four Trailer Thoughts
00:22:30 - Captain America: Brave New World
00:32:16 - Thunderbolts*
00:34:39 - Phases Don't Mean Much Anymore
00:41:08 - Comic Book Movie Limbo
00:43:04 - The Broad Strokes of Canon
00:45:52 - Comics Are Impossible to Get Into
00:53:43 - The New DOOM!
00:56:06 - The Future of Spider-Man
01:01:04 - What Is This? A Crossover Episode?
01:05:51 - "Final" Thoughts + Sonic (For Some Reason)
01:16:09 - Wrapping Up
01:20:52 - See You Next Week
]]><![CDATA[We Are NOT Prepared For This Episode | Ultra Podcast Z 262 (Switch 2, Lunar New Year, & AX Hotels)]]>Mon, 03 Feb 2025 09:50:51 GMThttp://a-to-jconnections.com/ultra-podcast-z/we-are-not-prepared-for-this-episode-ultra-podcast-z-262-switch-2-lunar-new-year-ax-hotels
Live Broadcast:
January 28, 2025 6:00 PM PDT

Hosts:
Manuel
Photaku

Description:
We went into this episode with no idea what we were going to talk about and it actually turned out all right. We ended up talking about the Switch 2, the Lunar New Year and the scramble to get a hotel for Anime Expo.
00:00:00 - Start
00:00:05 - We Are Live
00:02:07 - Our Actual Intro
00:02:40 - We're Just Making It Up Tonight
00:04:30 - Bait and Switch 2: The Price of Eggs
00:10:03 - Switch 2 Announced
00:14:47 - We Can't Count: Mario Kart Edition
00:18:02 - Learning Internet Safety
00:19:56 - Switch 2 Part 2
00:23:07 - Resellers are the Worst
00:26:48 - Lunar New Year
00:31:03 - Butter and Butter Substitutes
00:42:15 - Food Restrictions and A Mother-Effing JoJo Reference
00:49:25 - Finishing Up Lunar New Year
00:51:10 - The Twilight Zone Movie
00:55:47 - Scary Things from Childhood
00:56:41 - How Twilight Zone (Apparently) Inpsired an Entire Genre
01:02:18 - The Anime Expo Hotel Scramble
01:08:15 - Wrapping Up
01:14:21 - See You Next Week
]]><![CDATA[Are We Getting Too Old For Cons? | Ultra Podcast Z 261 (Anime Los Angeles 2025 Recap)]]>Mon, 27 Jan 2025 08:00:00 GMThttp://a-to-jconnections.com/ultra-podcast-z/are-we-getting-too-old-for-cons-ultra-podcast-z-261-anime-los-angeles-2025-recap
Live Broadcast:
January 21, 2025 6:00 PM PDT

Hosts:
Manuel
Photaku

Description:
We're finally back from Anime Los Angeles 2025. We talk about some of the best and weirdest things that happened at this and other cons and what we're looking forward to in 2025.
00:00:00 - Start
00:00:05 - Welcome to 2025!
00:02:51 - Manuel's Male Living Space
00:04:09 - ALA 2025
00:07:42 - The Jan 2025 Fires and ALA
00:10:53 - ALA 2025 Hotel Experience
00:19:04 - The Fridge Story
00:21:44 - More Con Hotel Stories
00:27:14 - Did We Even Attend the Con?
00:29:49 - A-to-J's Panels at ALA 2025
00:33:49 - The Panels J.D. Attended (Day 1)
00:37:56 - Josh Saved A-to-J's ALA
00:43:49 - Big Projects We Want to Work On
00:48:21 - The Panels J.D. Attended (Days 2 - 4)
00:58:30 - The Rest of ALA
01:05:07 - Our Goals for 2025
01:11:10 - Wrapping Up
01:13:27 - See You Next Week
]]><![CDATA[The Last Christmas Song Tier List You'll Ever Need | Ultra Podcast Z 260 (w/ @PhotakuNetwork)]]>Tue, 17 Dec 2024 08:00:00 GMThttp://a-to-jconnections.com/ultra-podcast-z/the-last-christmas-song-tier-list-youll-ever-need-ultra-podcast-z-260-w-photakunetwork
Live Broadcast:
December 10, 2024 6:00 PM PDT

Hosts:
Manuel
Photaku

Description:
We're back and talking Christmas music with our definitive tier list of songs at least until Manuel decides to do this again next year.
00:00:00 - Start
00:00:04 - We Are Live!
00:02:51 - Last Christmas
00:03:53 - O Holy Night
00:06:10 - 12 Days of Christmas
00:07:43 - Feliz Navidad
00:08:50 - I Saw Three Ships
00:10:08 - Santa Baby
00:12:46 - Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
00:14:08 - Baby, It's Cold Outside
00:16:32 - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
00:18:12 - Merry Christmas Happy Holidays
00:20:38 - The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)
00:22:30 - Do They Know It's Christmas?
00:24:09 - You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch
00:27:41 - Please Come Home for Christmas
00:29:07 - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
00:30:28 - Jingle Bell Rock
00:32:04 - All I Want For Christmas Is You
00:33:46 - Frosty the Snowman
00:35:41 - Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
00:37:36 - Santa Claus is Coming to Town
00:39:20 - Wonderful Christmastime
00:41:27 - Let It Snow
00:42:33 - Run Rudolph Run
00:44:06 - O Come, All Ye Faithful
00:46:25 - Deck the Halls
00:48:11 - Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
00:50:49 - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
00:52:22 - Silver Bells
00:53:29 - Little St. Nick
00:54:27 - We Wish You A Merry Christmas
00:55:36 - Rapid Fire
01:07:30 - Non-Christmas "Christmas" Songs
01:10:30 - Missing Songs
01:14:18 - Wrapping Up
01:16:41 - Happy Holidays!
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