Best Jonathan Lack And Sean Chapman Podcasts (2025)

1
S5E10 - DIRTY PAIR Review: The Outrageous Original 1985 Series by Sunrise 3:57:14

15h ago3:57:14

3:57:14

Our Grand Tour takes us back to outer space for the irreverent sci-fi comedy classic Dirty Pair! Produced by the amazing talent at Sunrise and inspired by the light novels by Takachiho Haruka, Dirty Pair chronicles the adventures of Kei and Yuri, two 19-year-old ‘trouble consultants’ for the WWWA, who travel the galaxy solving problems, sometimes s…

1
S5E9 - GUNBUSTER: AIM FOR THE TOP! Review: The Classic 1988 Anime OVA by Gainax 2:15:48

8d ago2:15:48

2:15:48

Before Anno Hideaki and the team at Studio Gainax changed the course of anime history with Neon Genesis Evangelion, they produced Gunbuster, aka Aim for the Top!, a 6-episode OVA with some of the era’s most spectacular animation, and an overwhelming amount of personality. A mash-up of sports shows, mecha anime, high-concept sci-fi, and American 80s…

1
Xbox Price Hikes, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Outlandish Nintendo Switch 2 Accessories & More! | The Monthly Stuff May 2025 3:00:59

10d ago3:00:59

3:00:59

Purely Academic has a new format starting this month, where we’ll be releasing two episodes a month: One focused on a specific topic, and the other featuring all the other up-to-date variety of News, ‘Show n’ Tell,’ the Monthly Ten, and more! The latter, which we’re nostalgically calling ‘The Monthly Stuff,’ is what you’re listening to today, and i…

1
S5E8 - AZUMANGA DAIOH: THE ANIMATION Review: The Slice-of-Life 2002 Anime by J.C. Staff 3:02:14

15d ago3:02:14

3:02:14

Our Grand Tour now takes us to the turn of the century, and the dawn of modern comedy anime, with the classic series Azumanga Daioh: The Animation! Based on the celebrated four-panel manga by Azuma Kiyohiko, which has proven itself one of the most influential series to the last 25 years of comedy manga, the TV series is a landmark in its own right,…

1
S5E7 - YU-GI-OH! ‘Season Zero’ Review: The Forgotten 1998 Anime by Toei Animation 3:33:55

22d ago3:33:55

3:33:55

Takahashi Kazuki’s Yu-Gi-Oh! is a worldwide phenomenon that needs no introduction, since the anime has been airing in one incarnation or another every week for the past 25 years, and the card game is still going strong. But this week, our Grand Tour takes us to the most mysterious corner of the Yu-Gi-Oh! kingdom, and one many listeners probably hav…

1
April 2025 Pt. 4 – The Great Gatsby 100th Anniversary Celebration Spectacular 2:51:56

24d ago2:51:56

2:51:56

This month, we’re trying something new by releasing the individual segments once a week, to spread the mountain of content we recorded out over the whole month. And that continues with this month’s main topic, where our resident English teacher, Sean Chapman, assigned us a very important reading: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the Great Am…

1
April 2025 Pt. 3 – The Top 10 Most Unlikely Gundam Creative Collaborations 19:34

24d ago19:34

19:34

This month, we’re trying something new by releasing the individual segments once a week, to spread the mountain of content we recorded out over the whole month. And that concludes with the month’s last segment, but certainly not its least: The Monthly Ten, the part of the show where Sean and Jonathan challenge each other to make increasingly ridicu…

1
S5E6 - WELCOME TO THE NHK Review: The Paranoid 2006 Anime by Gonzo 3:45:11

29d ago3:45:11

3:45:11

This week, our Grand Tour takes us to one of the most unique series we’ve ever covered: Gonzo’s 26-episode cult classic Welcome to the N.H.K.! Based on the 2002 novel by Takimoto Tatsuhiko, this 2006 series explores Japan’s hikkikomori (social withdrawal) phenomenon, modern Otaku culture, internet-era suicide pacts, and many more contemporary issue…

1
April 2025 Pt. 2 – Pirate Yakuza, Daredevil, and Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water 53:20

1M ago53:20

53:20

This month, we’re trying something new by releasing the individual segments once a week, to spread the mountain of content we recorded out over the whole month. And that continues with this week’s ‘Show n’ Tell’ segment, in which Sean and Jonathan discuss what they’ve been watching and playing over the last month. Sean talks about the new Like a Dr…

1
S5E5 - The ANIMERAMA Trilogy: A Thousand & One Nights, Cleopatra, and Belladonna of Sadness Reviews 3:26:21

1M ago3:26:21

3:26:21

Our Grand Tour reaches one of its strangest destinations this week as we complete our trilogy of Tezuka Osamu-themed episodes with a look at the Animerama Trilogy, a collection of three experimental animated films for adults created by Mushi Productions between 1969 and 1973. Coinciding with the Japanese New Wave movement and the rise of ‘Pink Film…

1
April 2025 Pt. 1 – Nintendo Switch 2 Unveiling Analysis: Price, Performance, and Uncertainty 2:09:03

1M ago2:09:03

2:09:03

This month, we’re trying something new by releasing the individual segments once a week, to spread the mountain of content we recorded out over the whole month. And that begins with a super-sized news segment, in which we break down Nintendo’s official unveiling of the Nintendo Switch 2, an announcement met with simultaneous excitement, controversy…

1
S5E4 - MAPPA's DORORO Review – The 2019 Modern Anime Remake 3:07:11

1M ago3:07:11

3:07:11

Fifty years after the original Dororo aired on TV, MAPPA brought Tezuka Osamu’s Dororo roaring into the 21st century with a radically different take – and it’s the next stop on our exciting Grand Tour! With a reimagined conception of Hyakkimaru, expanded roles for characters like Daigo Kagemitsu and Tahomaru, and a striking modern animation style, …

1
S5E3 - Tezuka Osamu’s DORORO Review: The 1969 Original Mushi Pro Anime 3:33:53

2M ago3:33:53

3:33:53

Our Grand Tour now takes us back to the first decade of anime, and to the work of the ‘God of Manga’ himself, the one and only Tezuka Osamu! The creator of series like Mighty Atom, Black Jack, and Princess Knight, Tezuka’s Mushi Productions pioneered TV anime as we know it today, and Dororo is one of the towering achievements of their 1960s output.…

1
S5E2 - DRAGON BALL GT Review Part 2: Super 17 & Shadow Dragon Sagas (Eps. 41-64) 2:54:33

2M ago2:54:33

2:54:33

Our Grand Tour continues with the second half of Dragon Ball GT, which marked the end of the 18-year ‘Toriyama Block’ on Fuji TV, and the end of new Dragon Ball stories on TV until Dragon Ball Super nearly 20 years later. The first few episodes here cover the ‘Super Android 17’ Arc, which is probably the very worst bit of Dragon Ball ever created, …

1
S5E1 - DRAGON BALL GT Review Part 1: Black Star Dragon Ball & Baby Sagas (Eps. 1-40) 3:54:20

2M ago3:54:20

3:54:20

Our new season begins with a blast from the past, as we return to the 90s for an in-depth look at Dragon Ball GT, the 64-episode, anime-only extension of Toriyama Akira’s classic series. While GT has always proven divisive among Dragon Ball fans, Sean and Jonathan have never made it all the way through – and doing so turns out to be a bit of a chal…

1
March 2025 – Listener Mail Extravaganza! Plus Dynasty Warriors, Shows That Should Copy Dragon Ball, & more! 4:03:03

2M ago4:03:03

4:03:03

For March, we’ve put together a really fun grab-bag of an episode, including a topic segment where we answer a big pile of listener mail from our amazing audience members! Sean and I respond to your questions about our favorite directors, how we analyze art when preparing for podcasts, what we would program if we owned our own movie theater, and mu…

1
Weekly Suit Gundam #63 – Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- Review & Analysis 1:38:30

3M ago1:38:30

1:38:30

Gundam is back, which means Weekly Suit Gundam returns once more, thanks to this weekend’s release of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- in American theaters. The film, which collects the first few episodes of the upcoming GQuuuuuuX TV series, is the result of an exciting, long-awaited collaboration behind the Otaku madmen at Studio Khara, in…

1
February 2025 - Citizen Kane, Dynasty Warrior Origins, and the Weirdest Anime ‘Ships 3:26:04

3M ago3:26:04

3:26:04

It’s February, the month of love, and we’re celebrating it in style, first by talking about one of our most beloved (and oft-referenced) movies, Orson Welles’ 1941 masterpiece Citizen Kane, and then by having Sean count down the Top 10 Weirdest Anime ‘Ships he could think of, complete with original fan-fic excerpts for each and every one. We also p…

1
Bonus - THE COLORS WITHIN (Kimi no Iro) Film Review 2:19:20

4M ago2:19:20

2:19:20

The latest film from Kyoto Animation veteran Yamada Naoko – known for K-On!, A Silent Voice, and Tamako Market – arrived in American theaters courtesy GKids this weekend, and both Sean and Jonathan made trips to the theater to check it out. Now working with Science SARU, Yamada’s voice is as singular as ever, and while The Colors Within returns to …

1
January 2025 - The Top 10 Video Games of 2024 4:43:44

4M ago4:43:44

4:43:44

For our first episode of 2025, we take a look back at the very best in video games from 2024, with Sean and Jonathan both presenting their picks for the 10 greatest video games of the year, a diverse collection of titles including several games we’ve never discussed on the show before! In our Show n’ Tell segment, Jonathan talks about his adventure…

1
BONUS - The Top 10 Films of 2024 with Jonathan Lack 56:56

5M ago56:56

56:56

In this special bonus episode, Jonathan Lack counts down the Top 10 Films of 2024! You can read the text of this episode, and see links to full reviews of every film discussed, at https://www.jonathanlack.com/p/the-top-10-films-of-2024 Time Chart: Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:02:38 Honorable Mentions: 0:02:38 – 0:10:54 #10: 0:10:54 – 0:16:12 #9: 0:16:12 – 0:…

1
December 2024 – Reviewing Metaphor ReFantazio and Learning the True Meaning of Christmas 4:00:23

5M ago4:00:23

4:00:23

For our December episode, we go deep with Atlus’ outstanding new JRPG, Metaphor: ReFantazio. Like Persona 5, the team’s previous game, this is a work deeply involved in the political and existential questions of our present time, and gives us a lot to chew on as we break down what is easily one of 2024’s best games. In our Show n’ Tell segment, Sea…

1
November 2024 – Gamera Heisei Trilogy, Metaphor ReFantazio Impressions, and Sean’s Best Birthday Gifts 6:04:20

6M ago6:04:20

6:04:20

It’s our busiest episode yet, with a giant six-hour extravaganza to get you through the month of November. Our main topic concerns the Gamera Heisei trilogy from the 1990s; directed by Kaneko Shusuke with special effects by Higuchi Shinji, these movies are towering classics of the Kaiju genre, and secretly some of the greatest superhero films ever …

1
October 2024 - Halloween Trilogy, Astro Bot, PS5 Pro, Nihilistic Anime & More! 4:16:55

7M ago4:16:55

4:16:55

For the October installment of Purely Academic, Jonathan and Sean embrace the spooky season by talking Halloween – specifically, the recent Halloween reboot/sequel trilogy directed by David Gordon Green and starring Jamie Lee Curtis, with the hosts debating whether these films are muddled messes or interesting revisionist takes on the slasher genre…

1
S2.5E5 - Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 4: Hashira Training Arc Review 2:20:09

8M ago2:20:09

2:20:09

The fourth and potentially final TV season of the hit anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba aired its fourth season this summer, adapting and expanding on the “Hashira Training Arc” of Koyoharu Gotouge’s manga. We weren’t able to review this season right when it finished due to work on our massive Kyoto Animation project, but now that we’re between …

1
Weekly Suit Gundam #62 – Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM Movie Review & Analysis 2:24:07

8M ago2:24:07

2:24:07

Weekly Suit Gundam makes its triumphant return to review the long-awaited Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM, the film sequel to the first Gundam anime of the 21st century: Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny. We are big fans of the original SEED on this podcast, and were driven slightly insane by Destiny, so seeing director Mitsuo Fukuda and the orig…

1
September 2024 - Series Premiere! Introducing Ourselves and the New Podcast! 3:04:54

9M ago3:04:54

3:04:54

For the first episode of this new incarnation of the podcast, Jonathan and Sean introduce (or reintroduce) themselves to listeners by interviewing each other, with a mix of questions equal parts insightful and ridiculous. Then for our first ‘Show ‘n Tell’ segment, we discuss what we’ve been playing and watching recently, with Sean discussing HoYove…

1
S4E32 - Kyoto Animation Tier List and Reflecting on our Kyoto Vacation 2:09:16

9M ago2:09:16

2:09:16

It’s the final episode of our Kyoto Vacation season, an incredibly, unexpectedly long journey that’s lasted almost a full year! For this Season Finale, we thought we’d take stock of all the incredible anime we’ve seen from the incredible artists at Kyoto Animation. We make a Tier List of all the TV series and movies we watched this season, create a…

1
S4E31 - MISS KOBAYASHI’S DRAGON MAID Review (2017/2021 Kyoto Animation TV Series) 2:36:08

9M ago2:36:08

2:36:08

It’s the penultimate episode of our Kyoto Vacation season, and while we wait to board the plane back to America, we’ve got one last show to review: Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, which aired two seasons in 2017 and 2021. A delightfully silly and surprisingly sweet slice-of-life comedy an office worker and the extra-dimensional dragon who’s infatuate…

1
S4E30 - VIOLET EVERGARDEN: THE MOVIE Review (2020 Film) 3:31:39

9M ago3:31:39

3:31:39

The 7th and final part of our epic Kyoto Vacation is titled“Through Rain or Shine: The Life and Times of Violet Evergarden,” and in today’s episode we reach the end of that story with Violet Evergarden: The Movie. And what a movie it is. Here is a film that made at least one of our hosts ugly cry, and deeply affected both of us. An outstanding mast…

1
S4E29 - VIOLET EVERGARDEN GAIDEN: ETERNITY AND THE AUTO-MEMORY DOLL Review (2019 Film) 2:37:06

9M ago2:37:06

2:37:06

The 7th and final part of our epic Kyoto Vacation continues with the first Violet Evergarden film, Eternity and the Auto-Memory Doll! It is a ‘Gaiden’ side-story that plays like a longer, lusher episode of the TV series, where Violet comes into a client’s life and not only helps them write the perfect letter, but in so doing helps them make a major…

1
UPDATES! Fade to Lack Subscriptions & New Podcast Premiere Date! 20:23

10M ago20:23

20:23

The Weekly Stuff Podcast may be dead, but that doesn't mean we are! Sean and Jonathan are here for a quick update to remind you that we're working on the next incarnation of the show behind the scenes, and announcing its premiere in September! Jonathan also tells you all about the new subscriptions at his site, www.JonathanLack.com, where you can g…

1
S4E28 - VIOLET EVERGARDEN Review (2018 Kyoto Animation TV Series) 4:18:54

10M ago4:18:54

4:18:54

The 7th and final part of our epic Kyoto Vacation is titled“Through Rain or Shine: The Life and Times of Violet Evergarden,” which means we finally get to dive into an anime we’ve wanted to review for years: Violet Evergarden, the 2018 series based on the acclaimed novels by Akiko Takase. It is, as you’ve probably heard, a masterpiece, a departure …

1
S4E27 - SOUND! EUPHONIUM 3 Review (Season 3, 2024 Kyoto Animation TV Series) 2:46:15

10M ago2:46:15

2:46:15

Part 6 of our Kyoto Vacation comes to an end today with the third and final season of Sound! Euphonium, which also happens to be the most recent production from Kyoto Animation, having finished airing just a few weeks ago! This season (and the accompanying Ensemble Contest OVA) tells the story of Kumiko’s final year in High School and the Kitauji B…

1
S4E26 - SOUND! EUPHONIUM THE MOVIE: OUR PROMISE – A BRAND NEW DAY Review 2:02:32

11M ago2:02:32

2:02:32

Part 6 of our Kyoto Vacation continues with the second Sound! Euphonium movie, and the one that directly follows on the events of the TV show to continue the story of Kumiko in her 2nd year at Kitauji. And it may be the most divisive episode of the season so far, as although Sean loved the film and found it a compelling exploration of Kumiko moving…

1
S4E25 - LIZ AND THE BLUE BIRD Review (2018 Kyoto Animation Film) 3:08:09

11M ago3:08:09

3:08:09

Part 6 of our Kyoto Vacation is titled ‘Yamada Naoko Strikes Back; or, I Have no Voice and I Must Sound! Euphonium,’ and in this week’s episode, both halves of that title meet, and then some. We are discussing the 2018 film Liz and the Blue Bird, a spin-off/side story to the main Sound! Euphonium narrative, focusing on the oboe and flute players Mi…

1
The Weekly Stuff #500 - Our Top 10 Favorite Anime Ending Themes & Doctor Who S14E7-8 Reviews 6:50:34

11M ago6:50:34

6:50:34

For our 500th episode, we’ve prepared one of the biggest and best podcasts we’ve ever made. Following up on episode 499, where we counted down our favorite anime opening themes, our main topic today is our Top 10 Favorite Anime Ending Themes, and this one is even more exciting, with endings from shows like Dragon Ball, Haruhi Suzumiya, multiple Gun…

1
S4E24 - SOUND! EUPHONIUM Season 2 Review (2016 Kyoto Animation TV Series) 3:05:21

11M ago3:05:21

3:05:21

Part 6 of our Kyoto Vacation continues with Sound! Euphonium 2, the aptly titled second season of Kyoto Animation’s beloved adaptation of Takeda Ayano’s novels. This batch of episodes picks up right where the first left off, with the students of the Kitauji High Concert Band working hard to make it to Nationals, but this time working through a lot …

1
S4E23 - SOUND! EUPHONIUM Season 1 Review (2015) 2:48:38

11M ago2:48:38

2:48:38

Part 6 of our Kyoto Vacation is titled ‘Yamada Naoko Strikes Back; or, I Have no Voice and I Must Sound! Euphonium.’ And from here on, we’re looking at the second half of that title, as we review Kyoto Animation’s beloved adaptation of Takeda Ayano’s Sound! Euphonium novels (co-directed, of course, by the one and only Yamada Naoko). In today’s epis…

1
The Weekly Stuff #499 - Our Top 10 Favorite Anime Opening Themes & Doctor Who S14E5-6 Reviews 5:16:27

11M ago5:16:27

5:16:27

This month, The Weekly Stuff Podcast is reaching its 500th episode, and we’re celebrating with two massive episodes counting down our Top 10 Favorite Anime Opening & Ending Themes. The former is the main topic of today’s show, as Sean and Jonathan share their respective 10 favorite Anime Openings, from obvious favorites like Dragon Ball Z andNeon G…

1
S4E22 - A SILENT VOICE (Koe no Katachi) 2016 Movie Review 3:26:11

11M ago3:26:11

3:26:11

Welcome back for Part 6 of our Kyoto Vacation, entitled ‘Yamada Naoko Strikes Back; or, I Have no Voice and I Must Sound! Euphonium.’ And while most of this part will deal with the second half of that title, today’s subject is all about the aforementioned Yamada Naoko, the Kyoto Animation wunderkind behind K-On! and Tamako Market, and the director …

1
The Weekly Stuff #498 - The Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Episode (& Doctor Who S14E3-4) 3:23:06

12M ago3:23:06

3:23:06

After many months and hundreds of hours of play, Sean and Jonathan have finally both finished Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the second installment in Square Enix’s remake trilogy, and … we didn’t really like it. So today, we’re going to tell you why, diving into a game that starts out promising but turns out to be a very flat, frequently frustrating, …

1
The Weekly Stuff #497 - Doctor Who Season Premiere & Xbox Studio Closures 2:37:18

1y ago2:37:18

2:37:18

Doctor Who returned this week for its new season (Series 14, Season 1, or Season 40, depending on who you ask), the first full run starring Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th Doctor and Millie Gibson as companion Ruby Sunday. And the first two episodes were a ton of fun, particularly the formally off-the-wall “The Devil’s Chord,” which proves returning showru…

1
S4E21 - LOVE, CHUUNIBYO & OTHER DELUSIONS! TAKE ON ME Movie Review 1:54:55

1y ago1:54:55

1:54:55

Part 5 of our Kyoto Vacation, “Kyoto Animation’s Splendid Isolation,” comes to a close with one last adventure with the characters of Love, Chuunibyo, and Other Delusions, in their 2018 movie, Take on Me! The film finds Rikka and Yuta off on a journey across Japan as they ‘elope’ after Rikka’s big sister Toka plans to move her to Italy for her fina…

1
The Weekly Stuff #496 - Jonathan’s Criterion Essay, Berserk, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth & More 1:06:37

1y ago1:06:37

1:06:37

Jonathan had a very exciting week as The Criterion Collection published an essay he wrote on Makoto Shinkai, thus checking off a major bucket list item, while Sean had an extremely boring week administering standardized tests to high schoolers and showing them the 2011 animated not-a-classic, Gnomeo & Juliet. We talk about both of those experiences…

1
S4E20 - MYRIAD COLORS PHANTOM WORLD Review (2016 Kyoto Animation TV Anime) 2:59:27

1y ago2:59:27

2:59:27

We are back for a particularly ‘colorful’ episode of Part 5 of our Kyoto Vacation, “Kyoto Animation’s Splendid Isolation,” with our review of 2016’s Myriad Colors Phantom World. While this series isn’t one of KyoAni’s ‘masterpiece’ shows, it might just be their most underrated. A madcap comedy packed with wall-to-wall creativity, vivid characters, …

1
S4E19 - LOVE, CHUUNIBYO & OTHER DELUSIONS! ~HEART THROB~ Review (Season 2, 2014) 2:47:03

1y ago2:47:03

2:47:03

We are back for Part 5 of our Kyoto Vacation, “Kyoto Animation’s Splendid Isolation,” and today we return to the wacky world of Love, Chuunibyo, and Other Delusions for its second season, Heart Throb! This second batch of episodes sees Rikka and Yuta struggling with what it means to be a couple when another chuunibyo friend from Yuta’s past enters …

1
The Weekly Stuff #495 - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Analogue Pocket, Ripley, and Anime Galore 2:57:00

1y ago2:57:00

2:57:00

In one of the grab-baggiest grab bag episodes we’ve ever recorded, Sean reviews a bunch of anime including Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Solo Leveling, and The Dangers in My Heart, and talks about playing through all the DLC forDragon Ball Z: Kakarot; Jonathan gives his thoughts on Netflix’s outstanding new drama Ripley and talks about finally get…

1
S4E18 - BEYOND THE BOUNDARY Review (2013 Kyoto Animation TV Anime + Movie) 2:24:36

1y ago2:24:36

2:24:36

We are back for Part 5 of our Kyoto Vacation, entitled “Kyoto Animation’s Splendid Isolation,” and today we’re discussing what might be the worst series the fine folks at KyoAni have ever made: 2013’s Beyond the Boundary, a show that is as beautifully animated as anything the studio has ever produced, but suffers from generic (and sometimes incoher…

1
S4E17 - TAMAKO MARKET (2013 TV Series) & TAMAKO LOVE STORY (2014 Movie) Review 3:08:57

1y ago3:08:57

3:08:57

We are back for Part 5 of our Kyoto Vacation, entitled “Kyoto Animation’s Splendid Isolation,” and today we’re discussing the next series made by the ladies behind K-ON!, 2013’s Tamako Market! An entirely original creation by Naoko Yamada and Reiko Yoshida, Tamako Market is a strange, singular, and sweet slice-of-life series about the daughter of a…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Jonathan Lack And Sean Chapman Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide