Bad Bard Productions Podcasts

Digimon Adventures is back in the cinemas for another hit of nostalgia as 02’s Digi Destined confront a dark story set after the events of Last Evolution Kizuna. While drenched in the history of Digimon, it also tells a very different story for the series, with less action and more introspection as the anime franchise approaches its 25th anniversar…

It’s been in development for almost a decade and FINALLY Pluto has landed on Netflix! Based on one of Astro Boy’s most iconic story arcs, The Greatest Robot on Earth, the story was rewritten in the 2000’s as a mystery series, giving the franchise a more mature approach to it’s storytelling and themes. So should you watch it? Well let’s not beat aro…

Guess what - it's a Kawaii-Fi Extra this time around celebrating the phenomenal Millenium Actress film landing on RetroCrush! If you've not seen this incredible movie, now is the perfect time to load it up and experience a journey through Japans golden age of cinema, with a journey through the eyes of two of it's stars rolled into one! This is not …

It's late October and that means one thing - It's time for our annual Halloween episode! This time around we live streamed from our brand new studio, so the audio has some imperfections - please bear with us as we get it right for future streams! As always, our Patreon members have chosen our topic for the episode.... and its Succubus in Anime... H…

The team is back from holiday and ready to roll, and it’s about time! The Autumn anime season is well and truly here, with one show already airing seven episodes! There’s plenty of thoughts and picks for this season already, but it wouldn’t be complete with a look back on the previous season first! This, plus the latest anime news and a healthy dos…

As is tradition when the team are away for the week of a recording, we bring to you a special mini episode! This time, Kyle and Kenny take a look at the wonderful and Very Chill™ world that is the Yuru Camp aka Laid Back Camp Movie! Will there be any drama or consequences? Probably not! But that's why we love this slice of life camping franchise! V…

Netflix's Live Action One Piece series is finally here and... wait.. it's actually GOOD??? Surely you're having us on! That's right - Netflix's Live action adaptation of the incredibly popular One Piece manga and anime is not only watchable, but actually enjoyable! But let's be honest - there's always room for improvement when it comes to live acti…

WE’RE BACK! This episode, we dive into an under-appreciated Studio Ghibli film that started its production run as something incredibly different! The Cat Returns may not be the first film to jump to mind when you think of big Ghibli productions, and it had an unusual start to its existence – as a spin off project commissioned after Whisper of the H…

We’re back! The move is complete and our new home: Kawaii-Fi Studio 5 is up and running, but not quite ready for its close up yet! Who else isn’t ready for a close up? Hollywood’s take on Saint Seiya – a beloved manga franchise which headed to the live-action big screen in early 2023! If you didn’t get the memo on it, you’re not alone! Neither did …

The 2023 Summer Anime season is finally here and there's plenty to talk about as always - but we have a Big Old Asterix hanging over this episode! We originally recorded a whole episode with Keiralee a week before this, and something went wrong with our recording of just Aaron's mic! Without it, the episode made little sense so we opted to re-recor…

In the final years of the 1990's, the world was introduced to two seemingly similar Japanese franchises - Pokemon and Digimon. From the outside they seemed very similar - both featuring young protagonists using monsters for battle, but their origins and implementation were incredibly different! 25 years on from its humble digivice toy origin, Digim…

This episode, we’re finally diving into one of the most hyped up animes of the past year – Chainsaw Man! Love it or hate it, this series is an important part of the evolution of the Shounen manga scene, alongside Jujutsu Kaisen and Hell’s Paradise, introducing a darker tone to the genre. So is it all it’s hyped up to be? And why are Tifa and Kyle c…

The Pokemon animated series has been running since 1997 and with it we've seen the trials and challenges it's leading character Ash (Satoshi) and his faithful companion Pikachu. But in 2023, the journey of Pokemon's leading character is finally coming to an end, with two new youngsters taking the reigns in the new series. So this time, we're lookin…

It’s our first episode back after the massive weekend of Hoshicon Perth and only Kyle and Tifa appear to have survived! We’re talking about Mokoto Shinkai’s incredible new film Suzume, which we feel lives up to the hype! This along with some great shows from this anime season and some interesting news out of the Live Action One Piece at Netflix! Pl…

It’s our 100th Episode! This was streamed live on our YouTube channel on April 23rd – and the plan had been to get this online the day after… but it ended up running for THREE HOURS. Join us as we dig through the current Top 100 MyAnimeList films and series – as of April 23rd! Also, apologies for the delay in uploading – our 100th episode was the w…

In this mini episode before we hit the 'Big Hundo', Kyle and Emma take a look at the Live Action adaptation of The Promised Neverland! Were the child actors any good? Should they have spent more on wigs? And how good is Naomi Watanabe as Krone? (Hint: Pretty darn good actually!) Join us for this mini episode to offset the 2-and-a-bit hour epic that…

Where on earth have the past 3 months gone? A new Anime season is on our doorstep, and it's another packed quarter full of fan-favourite sequels and some truly unique new entries! So what are our picks? And how can you keep on top of what's coming out? All this plus the latest anime news and our picks from last season too! LINKS: LiveChart: https:/…

We’re celebrating the life and works of the incredible Leiji Matsumoto, who passed away last month. Matsumoto was famous for space operas such as Space Battleship Yamato, Captain Harlock, Galaxy Express 999 and INTERSTELLA 5555, and was part of a cohort of very early mangaka’s who helped shape the industry we have today. VIDEOS! Kawaii-Fi YouTube: …

The Kaguya-Sama: Love is war film “The First Kiss that Never Ends” is out in international cinemas and we caught it at… 3:30 PM – because that was the only time our cinemas had it for some strange reason! So is this continuation of the story worth the trip to the cinema? Or does it suffer from the same issues other recent film outings have faced (S…

This episode contains references that may not be suitable for those under 15 years of age. It's that time again: Valentine's Day is upon us, and the team is feeling the need to talk about something outside of our family-friendly programming once more! In the spotlight for this year's valentines episode is BL aka Boy Love series. BL series have take…

The Reincarnated as a Slime Movie - Scarlet Bond - is in cinemas at the moment, featuring a new story by series creator Fuse. So is it worth seeing on the big screen and does it add anything of value to the successful isekai series story? Join Kenny, Kyle and Tifa for a look into Rimuru's first big screen outing - along with latest news including a…

It's a new Anime Season and there's so much to look forward to! The 2023 Winter Season is jam-packed full of great shows and we really struggled to only pick 2 each! This is the second of 3 weekly releases to kick off the new year, with another on January 30th to talk about the Reincarnated as a Slime Movie! This episode we chat about: - Buddy Dadd…

What a year 2022 was for anime! And with a block buster 2023 Winter season landing in our laps, we realised we had to look back before we go forward! Join the team for a look back at the year in anime of 2022 and what our picks were! VIDEOS! Kawaii-Fi YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/KawaiiFi Tifa's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thetkennedy SUPP…

We're breaking with tradition to start anew - and our 2022 wrap will be part of the first episode in the new year! So to cap off what ended up being a chaotic year for the team, we sat down for a bit of a different episode - as Tifa and Aaron tried to explain to Kenny and Kyle what JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is all about! VIDEOS! Kawaii-Fi YouTube: h…

Wait, another NARUTO anniversary? Didn't we just have one of those a few years ago? Yes! But this is for the 20th anniversary of the anime and let's be honest - outside of Japan Naruto really gained traction and popularity once it started airing on TV! So how does it stack up after 20 years? Do we still love it? Or are we now seeing it in a differe…

We’re back in the studio with Kyle this week, now that both he and Emma are recovered from COVID! And this time we head down the rabbit hole that is One Piece to talk about its latest cinema outing – One Piece Film Red! The film has done remarkably well at the box office and with critics, but does it live up to the hype? Plus – What we’re watching,…

This time, it's a bit of a different episode as the team meet up in the digital world... No, not the DigiWorld - it was just Discord! After a bout with the plague, we figured keeping it safe was wise! This episode we talk about Tiger and Bunny, over-powered Bear suits and having Chainsaws for hands! EPISODE SEGMENTS 00:00:00 – Show Opener 00:02:54 …

It’s October and that can mean only one thing – It’s time for our annual Halloween episode! The choice was put to our Patreons to vote on this year’s theme, and they’ve chosen Witches in Anime! So what was the first anime to feature a witch? And what influence has this character type had on other genres in anime? Tune in to find out, along with all…

Cyberpunk Edgerunners is in the wild and it’s one pulpy ride through the world of Night City! Sure, it makes you want to revisit Cyberpunk 2077 – which is the anime’s purpose – but as a stand-alone series, is it any good? There’s a lot to unpack with this series and we’ve all got our own takes on it, plus a few choices words for the new anime seaso…

WE’RE BACK! It’s been a wild couple of months with moving house, travel and work for the team, but we’re finally set back up and that means we’re back to our regular fortnightly episodes! And it’s just in time cause a new anime season is upon us – and it’s a HUGE one. There’s so much to watch and look forward to, with new and old animes providing s…

Well the move got pushed back a little bit so, we grabbed out the microphones from storage and recorded a Kawaii-Fi Extra! In the spotlight is the latest Dragonball feature film - Dragonball Super: Super Hero. It's been given a lot of grief since it's first trailer came out looking VERY CGI orientated, but - much to our surprise - this film lives u…

It’s been 20 years since .Hack//Sign first aired on Japanese TV, eventually becoming a popular multi-platform franchise which laid the ground work for many successful future Animes! From Sword Art Online to Log Horizon to Overlord – .Hack is an origin point for the popular “Trapped in an MMO” trope that we’ve seen repeatedly for the past decade. So…

On this uplifting and heart-warming episode of Kawaii-Fi, we watch a film we’ve been putting off for a while – I Want To Eat Your Pancreas. This plus the return of the wonderful Kieralee, Vending Machines in Dungeons and “Sushi made by Westeners” on this episode! NOTE: This 2018 film brought up a lot of interesting conversations around trauma, mort…

It’s the 25th Anniversary of Princess Mononoke, and we went to an Anniversary screening! So how does it hold up after 25 years? This plus Shiba Inu's, Bullet Trains, a slew of Anime Movie News, and a load of laughs! VIDEOS! Is Princess Mononoke still good? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MiF7obO5z4 Kawaii-Fi YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/Kawaii…

This episode – it’s a new anime season and, to be blunt, it’s not looking very massive. But this is kind of a good thing because last season was HECTIC and we could use some time to finish off our half-watched lists! So what are we checking out? Are all these isekai’s worth a try? And why is the Terminator involved? Join us to find out! Our Picks: …

This episode, we’re going back to early “naughtys” to look at the Ōtomo Katsuhiro’s first feature film after Akira – Steamboy! How has this film held up in over the past 18 years? And is it still entertaining? This plus a classic anime series makes a return, pumpkin spiced lattes and card games on unicycles in this episode! EPISODE SEGMENTS 00:00:0…

This episode, the Spring anime season is almost over and there’s something returning next season after a very long hiatus! The Devil is a Part Timer is finally getting its second season next month - 9 years after season 1 finished it’s run! So, is it worth catching up on this series before season 2 drops? Plus the latest Anime News, bad jokes and w…

It’s been 3 years since Promare hit cinemas in Japan, exciting fans the world over with it’s bombastic colours and heart filled story. And as the film celebrates this milestone, along with breaking 1 million ticket sales, it’s returned to cinemas in Japan to celebrate – hopefully meaning an international rerun could be on the cards! But a lot has h…

It's time to get controversial and talk about an anime that's manga is banned in Australia - despite only being rated PG! No Game No Life has been criticised for it's questionable themes and how it handles it's female cast, yet it's built a cult following that spans the gender spectrum! So why is this series held in such high regard? And will we ev…

This episode we’re taking to the skies with a Ghilbi classic – the Crimson Pig, the red champion of the Adriatic – Porco Rosso! We also touch on the Sonic 2 film, the upcoming project by the creator of Your Name and Weathering with you, and the latest anime news! EPISODE SEGMENTS 00:00:00 – Show Opener 00:02:15 – What We’re Watching 00:15:51 – Miya…

This episode – THE SPRING ANIME SEASON IS HERE and it’s flippin’ huge! There’s nowhere near enough time to cover everything – so alongside the team’s top ten picks, we’ve got a whole list of shows below to check out! EPISODE SEGMENTS 00:00:00 – Show Opener 00:00:55 – Opening Chat 00:03:18 – Season in Review 00:25:31 – Spring Season Preview 01:35:33…

With Kyle moving house, we've pushed this week's episode back to April 4th (1-week delay). It's all about the 2022 Spring Anime Season and there's so much to talk about! So in the meantime, here's an interview Kyle did last year with Voice Actress Tiffany Grant - the Voice of Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion! JOIN THE KAWAII-FI COMMUNITY Instagra…

In this episode, we’re heading back to the 80’s to what some have called “a forgotten franchise”. Patlabor is a classic mecha/SciFi franchise created by the minds behind Ghost in the Shell and .Hack among many other amazing projects – but is it still good today? Join us to find out! Along with what we’ve been watching and what’s going on in the ani…

This episode – Aaron is back and we’re talking about the wonderful series that is The Ancient Magus’ Bride! Plus EPISODE SEGMENTS 00:00:00 – Show Preview 00:00:58 – Opening Chat: 00:03:35 – What We’re Watching 00:20:00 – Back Catalogue: Ancient Magus’ Bride 00:37:46 – Anime Communique 01:07:53 – Show Outro EPISODE NOTES What We’re Watching: - Miss …

It's Valentines Day! So Kyle and Kenny sat down to talk about a wonderful short film created by Shinkai Makoto back in 2013 - The Garden Of Words! Watch Garden of Words here: Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/au/title/70291121 Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Garden-Words-Makoto-Shinkai/dp/B01MS4VEJU ---------------------------------------------------…

This episode it’s all about Belle! Except for the bits where it isn’t! We look at studio Chizu’s latest outing and try to compare it to what’s come before… but we keep getting side tracked! Also! The latest Anime News and What We’re Watching! EPISODE SEGMENTS 00:00:00 – Show Opener 00:00:58 – Opening Chat: 00:02:08 – What We’re Watching 00:21:14 – …

It’s that time again! Anime is on the menu and it’s a pretty decently size Winter season! We’ve picked 11 series to watch this season and have more than a few things to say on each! This episode was recorded remotely so please excuse the quality of the audio! EPISODE SEGMENTS 00:00:00 – Show Opener 00:00:37 – Opening Chat: 00:02:04 – What We’re Wat…

The 2021 Kawaii-Fi Anime awards finally here! We had to push back our recording sessions for this year’s awards due to restrictions from the pandemic! But with that sorted, it's now time to award those that have stood out in a strange year of anime and shame those who truly failed to consider what they were creating. Who will take home the Cabbage …

In this episode, we’re focusing on one of the most incredible writers in Japan – Okada Mari. If you’re an avid anime watcher, you’ve likely come across her work in some shape or form over the years – from Anohana and Toradora to Maquia and A Whisker Away. Okada has an incredible focus on the human connection in her work, and it’s part of the reason…

This episode…. it’s time to talk about THAT Cowboy Bebop Live action. Netflix’s adaptation is out in the wild – the team have watched it and we have some thoughts on it… In fact, it’s pretty well balanced! Join us as we dive into what it truly means to create an Adaptation, strong facial features and disappointing endings – plus the latest news and…