Anime, Market Takeovers, and That One Piece Flag IRL — plus Mononoke’s wild new movie, TCG nostalgia, and why AI is coming for your anime.
Blu3 and TehWrongGuy kick off with weather talk, then blow our minds with anime’s market size: $64 billion by 2032, fueled by tech, VR, and—controversially—AI. One Piece outselling Batman is the perfect segue to how manga’s now shaping global culture (and even real-world protests in Indonesia).
The crew debates which “Big Three” anime hit the hardest, then wonder if series like Bleach and Naruto should’ve ended sooner. Card game memories spark a rant about old-school Yu-Gi-Oh! vs the current meta (“read a book to play a card!”). Blu3 wants to know who makes the new Top 3—Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia, and Kaiju No. 8 top the list, with Solo Leveling as a manhwa honorable mention.
Movie slot time: Mononoke: The Ashes of Rage (Netflix) stuns with psychedelic colors, kabuki-style scene changes, and classic medicine seller action. The plot’s a little loose but the visuals and soundtrack are fire, scoring a rock-solid 8–8.5 from both hosts. We geek out over the sword fight, that trippy transformation, and what the next film might bring.
AI news heats up: Sekiro’s rumored anime adaption might use AI for animation, prompting big worries for artists and the future of anime jobs. Can AI really “replace” hand-drawn magic—or is it just corporate greed in disguise? Meanwhile, faceless YouTube channels and auto-generated content are already making waves (and money).
Timestamps:
00:05 — Weather check, anime industry growth, and tech’s influence (AI, VR)
01:12 — One Piece outpaces Batman; manga takes on the world stage
05:14 — Which “Big Three” anime hit the hardest? (Going Merry, Naruto’s wedding, Bleach’s best fight)
13:26 — Bleach, Naruto, and the art of dragging out a good ending
19:30 — Card game nostalgia: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokémon, and the pain of lost 1st editions
30:12 — Who are the “new” Big Three? Demon Slayer, My Hero, Kaiju No. 8
46:30 — Movie review: Mononoke: The Ashes of Rage (Netflix); wild colors, great sword fight, 8.5/8 rating
53:34 — Why do Mononoke’s villains keep showing up? Move out already!
56:18 — Sekiro anime and the big AI debate: job loss or progress?
01:00:28 — VTubers, AI YouTube channels, and the future of “faceless” anime media
01:03:02 — Kaiju No. 8’s finale: great team-up, no milking the story
01:04:06 — Sign-off: more anime, more hot takes, and hit us up at animeignite.com!
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