Ultra Podcast Z 104 (Idol Misrepresentation w/ Molly) | ANN Survey, Idols @ Cons, Produce 101, More!8/6/2020 Live Broadcast:
August 5, 2020 6:00 PM PDT Hosts: Manuel Konaru Molly Description: Ultra Podcast Z changed it's day again a bit as Konaru was once again on the move, but we went live with Episode 104 which is the first truly outlined episode since the furry one! Molly joined us this week and we were all a little bit tired, but were able to bring out the energy when we needed it. With that in mind, it's worth noting that this is the most non-visual episode we've probably ever done so it is pretty much truly a "podcast" at this point and might be best enjoyed leaving in a window on its own and just listening to it. As for the topics though, after our usual intro nonsense, we dove into the the topic of how idols, and the idol fandom, are largely misrepresented by outsiders. "Outsiders" in this case is pretty much any non-fan such as mainstream media, nerd media, and even conventions. This was all spurred on by a rather ridiculous survey that was put out by Anime News Network and we discussed that as well. After our deep dives into that (along with a lot of storytime along the way) we moved briefly into our bonus topic which is what the "Produce 101" shows have done for non-KPop groups, in this case namely "IZ*ONE" (Produce48) and "Rocket Girls" (Produce 101 China). A fun episode with only a bit of visuals to go along with things be sure to check it out and hopefully we offer more in the way of video next week! As always, take care of yourselves and each other in these trying times and stay healthy and safe! If you want to watch Ultra Podcast Z live then check out our twitch channel: twitch.tv/atojplays We are live every Tuesday at 6 PM PST! Ultra Podcast Z 103 (Summer Nonsense w/ Callie) | Updates, Memories, Summer Camp, Randomness, More!7/29/2020 Live Broadcast:
July 29, 2020 7:00 PM PDT Hosts: Manuel Konaru Callie Description: Ultra Podcast Z soldiers on with a very chill, very random Episode 103! Callie joined us last minute for this one and we were originally going to talk some recent news stories and "Summer" stuff. A very loose prompt that we only partially managed to do as we had the most chill episode ever. It was discussed how we have lost some of our live viewers on our UPZ streams (possibly) due to a lot of skipped episodes and schedule changes. That said, we still strive to give a good show as we can and after a really short intro, and a mini talk on BNK48, we did talk a lot about Summer and how our schools handled it, what we did during the summer, and all sorts of nonsense on Summer Camps, Girl Scouts, Royal Rangers, and lots more! More randomness rounded out the show and a barely-there Konaru (still getting ready for her VTuber debut) tossed in her two cents to deliver an episode that, while it's not the usual high energy type fare we pull, can still be quite entertaining. Also, check out yet more Quarantine Blues-esque topics even though we're technically retiring that series of podcasts! Keep in mind that the topics list for this episode are particularly loose, so it might be best to just skim through/watch the entire thing. As always, take care of yourselves and each other in these trying times and stay healthy and safe! If you want to watch Ultra Podcast Z live then check out our twitch channel: twitch.tv/atojplays We are live every Tuesday at 6 PM PST! Live Broadcast:
July 22, 2020 7:00 PM PDT Hosts: Manuel Konaru Jasmine Description: Ultra Podcast Z returns after a short accidental break with episode 102! Weeks of delays as we tried to get this Jasmine co-hosted episode off the ground made it so that it actually took place on A-to-J's sixth anniversary! We didn't really mention it all too much as the July anniversary is more of a "soft" anniversary (we celebrate another in November when the site itself launched) but it's worth a mention. Jasmine joins us again, though planned and not last minute, and she discussed a lot of her recent activities such as her entering MiSS ID, her experiences in the (ongoing) WACK auditions, and even a bit on her new, upcoming fashion line. Elsewhere Konaru went into a bit of detail about where she's been (having taken a break from streaming on her end) and her plans to become a VTuber. From there we discussed a bit of idol groups before just devolving into a lot of nonsense regarding travel with an emphasis on South Korea and Japan, including things you shouldn't/can't look up online while in South Korea and how you can kill time going in circles on the Yamanote Line in Tokyo! There was a lot of randomness here but also a lot of fun and we can't wait to get back into the UPZ groove! As always, take care of yourselves and each other in these trying times and stay healthy and safe! If you want to watch Ultra Podcast Z live then check out our twitch channel: twitch.tv/atojplays We are live every Tuesday at 6 PM PST! Ultra Podcast Z 101 (Odottemita & Zhaiwu) | DANCEROID, CUCA, RE-M!X, Kaya, Ririri, Penta, More!7/1/2020 Live Broadcast:
June 30, 2020 7:30 PM PDT Hosts: Manuel Konaru Description: Ultra Podcast Z crosses the hundred episode threshold with Episode 101! Riffing off a topic Manuel covered in the recent Drink Talk Learn stream, it was decided that we'd discuss odottemita (dance covers) and how we got into the fandom (as well as performing for Konaru) and some of our favorites. It's worth mentioning that the live stream was VERY late due to a lot of nonsense and not a lot of our viewers turned up for the live version as they probably assumed that we had cancelled with no word, but this turned out to be a very fun show! After discussing how we discovered odottemita we went into some of our favorite odorites and videos. Discussing CUCA (now Sakaki Miyu of STU48) was VERY nostalgic and we had a lot of memories of following her over the years. Owing to the recent DTL the topic of "zhaiwu" (the Chinese dance cover scene) was discussed as well and we looked into Re-M!X, Xisi, and Kaya. Lots of other favorites were discussed and we could've honestly gone on for hours watching more videos and discussing other amazing odorites. It's safe to say that this is a topic that we'll probably come back to sometime in the future. Hopefully when we do, it'll feature a guest co-host and we won't sleep through the call time! Let us know what you think and feel free to share some of your favorite odottemita videos in the comments below! As always, take care of yourselves and each other in these trying times and stay healthy and safe! If you want to watch Ultra Podcast Z live then check out our twitch channel: twitch.tv/atojplays We are live every Tuesday at 6 PM PST! Ultra Podcast Z 100 (Furry Fandom w/ Kayla) | Furries, Fursonas, Fursuits, Furry Conventions, More!6/24/2020 Live Broadcast:
June 23, 2020 6:00 PM PDT Hosts: Manuel Konaru Kayla Kitsune Description: Ultra Podcast Z has FINALLY hit 100 episodes and as we have been promising for months now, it's an episode on the furry fandom! We had a very long run getting this one together and a hell of a time finding a co-host for it. Originally intended to feature Ren, Max, or both, we ended up lucking out after being referred to Kayla Kitsune and it turned out to be a very good mix as far as co-hosts go! While we didn't take as in-depth a dive into the history of the furry fandom as we originally intended (which is fine as the "Down The Rabbit Hole" video below does a better job than we ever could in our show anyway) but we covered a lot of facets of the fandom, such as art, fursuits, fursonas, and furry conventions. We even covered some odd topics here like the prevalence of NSFW artwork in the furry sphere and things like "yiffing", "crinklers", and Rainfurrest! We even touched upon the mixture of the Sonic OC fandom with the furry fandom and the rise of Beastars kind of becoming a new gateway for furries today. A fun show all around and we're excited to have finally tackled it! Be sure to let us know your experiences with the furry fandom and any aspects of the fandom we might want to tackle in the eventual second episode of this topic. (Which will happen LONG before another 100 episodes pass!) Anyhow, here's to another 100 episodes with all sorts of similarly fun topics! As always, take care of yourselves and each other in these trying times and stay healthy and safe! If you want to watch Ultra Podcast Z live then check out our twitch channel: twitch.tv/atojplays We are live every Tuesday at 6 PM PST! Ultra Podcast Z 99.75 (Hello! Project Tier List) | Past, Present & Favorite Groups, Podcast Plans6/17/2020 Live Broadcast:
June 16, 2020 6:00 PM PDT Hosts: Manuel Konaru Description: Ultra Podcast Z took two weeks off and we're back with a rather short, though fun, tier list where we rank nearly all the Hello! Project groups/soloists according to our likes and dislikes. This idea was born out of the most recent Drink Talk Learn stream where Hina listed her favorites and it was thought that this would make a nice stop-gap show until our scheduled 100 podcast (the long-discussed "furry" episode) and because of this we kinda hit the list and left rather early so this show is a nice quick and painless look into our favorites within Hello! Project if you're so inclined! Also, it's worth noting that, due to the fact that we're somewhat superfans, we decided to eliminate the "D" and "F" tiers and replace them with "SS" and "SSS". This means that the lowest any group could be placed was "C" and so on. A little different and while this list might've been a little more interesting with one or two other hosts giving their opinions, we were proud of it and hope you enjoy it too. Let us know what changes you'd make and if you're a fan of any of the groups we talked about! There's not much else to say as we didn't really linger too much on this one and discuss many things that weren't related to the tier list or our upcoming shows so just bear with this somewhat actual "half" episode. As always, take care of yourselves and each other in these trying times and stay healthy and safe! If you want to watch Ultra Podcast Z live then check out our twitch channel: twitch.tv/atojplays We are live every Tuesday at 6 PM PST! Ultra Podcast Z 99.5 (Randomness w/ Callie & Molly) | Fanime, Storytime, Conspiracy Theories, More!5/29/2020 Live Broadcast:
May 26, 2020 6:00 PM PDT Hosts: Manuel Konaru Callie Molly Description: Ultra Podcast Z is still in quarantine and we're coming off our recent Drink Talk Learn stream with the TRUE Episode 99.5! This was originally to be a FanimeCon appreciation podcast as we are huge fans of that particular convention and it was one of many that was forced to cancel its 2020 show, but the podcast turned into something more. We were a little unable to focus on telling a cohesive and linear story here about our first FanimeCons and our favorite FanimeCon memories, but the stories were there and we discussed a lot regarding Fanimaid and other relative nonsense like the issues that maid cafe causes to A-to-J panels at Fanime. In between this though we talked a LOT about food (the origin of "ketchup" anyone?) and some of our earliest drug and alcohol experiences. We did tie some of them into anime conventions, but yeah, there was a lot of randomness in this one. That isn't all of it though as we were considering wrapping up the show and then we accidentally dived into the world of conspiracy theories AGAIN but with a lot more manic energy this time around. Honestly, that crazy abrupt ending is almost worth watching on its own... Oh yeah, RIP FanimeCon 2020 and we'll definitely be back in 2021! As always, take care of yourselves and each other in these trying times and stay healthy and safe! If you want to watch Ultra Podcast Z live then check out our twitch channel: twitch.tv/atojplays We are live every Tuesday at 6 PM PST! Ultra Podcast Z 99 (Celebrating 100+ Episodes w/ Tiffany & Callie) | Storytime, Unseen Clips, More!5/20/2020 Live Broadcast:
May 19, 2020 6:00 PM PDT Hosts: Manuel Konaru Tiffany Callie Description: Ultra Podcast Z is still in quarantine and we're hitting one of our biggest milestones ever! We're at over 100 episodes (thanks to many "half" episodes) and we're taking a special look back at over two years of UPZ! First off we have Tiffany returning as guest co-host and we have Callie returning again. Tiffany being a regular in the early UPZ days and Callie being a regular over the past year. The latter being our most repeated co-host ever! Anyhow, we discussed the history of the show, from its beginnings in the "A-to-J Talks" days to the formation of the new podcast, to that format stalling quickly before finally finding its early footing. Those early days were a big boom to the show and while we've continued for years through that we also took a look at our dedication to the show even though our reach and audience has always stayed relatively small. Lots of funny clips were shown as we looked back on some early episodes and also showed off some clips that have never been seen publicly. Lots of reminiscing and a look back at some of our long list of past hosts was culminated by us describing our favorite podcast moments. Most of the hosts were unable to recall many (or much regarding their UPZ appearances) but we found some for everyone after a bit of discussion! Anyhow, this episode was a little all over the place and not ideal, but we are not in ideal times and it is what it is. However, we thank EVERYONE who has watched and supported us over the past years and 100+ episodes and we hope to keep this up for 100 more! Let us know if you have any favorite (or even not-so-favorite!) podcast moments! As always, take care of yourselves and each other in these trying times and stay healthy and safe! If you want to watch Ultra Podcast Z live then check out our twitch channel: twitch.tv/atojplays We are live every Tuesday at 6 PM PST! Live Broadcast:
May 16, 2020 6:00 PM PDT Hosts: Manuel Mista Badguy Description: Ultra Podcast Z is still in quarantine and all our convention plans for 2020 are done. One of the biggest cons for us every year is FanimeCon in San Jose and in place of us hosting panels at that con, we decided that we'd put together some special podcast episodes where we sort of tackle our podcast topics in a slightly different format. The second one in the lineup is our panel on Japanese Metal in the 80s. We covered all sorts of topics and basically expanded the version of the panel we did most recently at Anime Los Angeles. What's funny is that we had some concerns before starting as to whether we'd be able to fill the time for the podcast but we went on FOR THREE HOURS! We also went ahead and threw caution to the wind and played music/videos of the bands we talked about so this one is probably going to get all sorts of claims on it! Anyhow, Mista Badguy is here and is the standard host for this panel when it's done at conventions and we had a LOT to say here. Even though we tried our best to be informative and as inclusive as possible, there is obviously a lot that we weren't able to cover but please let us know some other bands we should check out/add/etc in future versions! We also had a few minor mistakes in facts here and there (almost entirely on Manuel's part) but we were live and working off the cuff so to speak so we apologize for any of those, though none were particularly egregious. Watch and let us know what some of your favorite Japanese Metal bands are and also let us know what you think of this sort of format as we are considering using it in the future even without the excuse of cancelled conventions. As always, take care of yourselves and each other in these trying times and stay healthy and safe! If you want to watch Ultra Podcast Z live then check out our twitch channel: twitch.tv/atojplays We are live every Tuesday at 6 PM PST! (Notes: We had some audio issues live and we tried to fix them for this version but please be aware that not all instances may be fixed. Also, there was a drop in the podcast, hence that weird fade in/out. Lastly, we didn't update the lower right description very well, but if you follow the lower left box you should be able to see the topic we were on! Thanks again!) Ultra Podcast Z 98 (Quarantine Blues 6 w/ Callie) | Storytime, Conspiracies, Balloon Animals, More!5/13/2020 Live Broadcast:
May 12, 2020 6:00 PM PDT Hosts: Manuel Konaru Callie Description: Ultra Podcast Z is still in quarantine and this particular episode was mentioned as being the hopeful sixth and last episode of the "Quarantine Blues" series of podcasts. Basically random shows where we let spill the nonsense that we've occupied ourselves with during this safer-at-home period. Originally set to end on May 15th, the order has been extended in LA indefinitely so while we did the episode as planned, there is no end in immediate sight. Also worth noting that Manuel had really bad allergies before this podcast and almost cancelled and Callie was added literally minutes before we went live. (Hence her early reluctance to join in on our topics) The opening starts slow as Konaru plays a lot of ACNH and only really picks up after Callie starts making balloon animals. Including a very impressive penis hat. Afterwards we started a very weird set of storyimes that honestly needs to be listened to to be believed. We REALLY went for some weird topics. After more randomness we decided to ALL play some ACNH before we wrapped up so there is an awkward 15 minutes or so where we're all playing a video game no one can else can see lol. What followed was VERY weird though as we actually jumped into the topic we had originally said was going to be our main one for the night, conspiracy theories. Even though we hit the topic in a fast and messy way, we did manage to get all our points out and if anyone stuck around until the end of this one, then you deserved that reward. Anyhow, thanks for watching and keep an eye on our path to our 100th episode! As always, take care of yourselves and each other in these trying times and stay healthy and safe! If you want to watch Ultra Podcast Z live then check out our twitch channel: twitch.tv/atojplays We are live every Tuesday at 6 PM PST! |
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