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At last, The Human Instrumentality Podcast’s coverage of the Heisei Gamera trilogy comes to its oh-so-edgy conclusion with 1999’s Gamera III: Revenge of Iris. In this film, director Shusuke Kaneko returns to his horror film roots for one of the darkest kaiju films in existence. This time the titular terrapin (now fully in his grimdark phase) meets his match in the vampiric Iris — the kaiju with a psychic link to Ayana Hirasaka, a troubled teen whose parents he squashed in the first film. If Gamera II was the giant monster New Testament, then Gamera III is the genre’s Book of Revelation, so expect plenty of morbid spectacles, but no happy endings. While discussing the film, Ian and Joseph gleefully unpack Ayana’s story and the intimate small-town setting that is the ironic focus of the unusually apocalyptic film. Of course, talking about Ayana means discussing the tentacle-filled innuendo that is her kaiju counterpart — then again, the hentai-ness of it all does add something to this already unique film. Listeners who’ve been waiting for a live-action Evangelion take note: this might be as close as we ever get.

The second film in the Heisei Gamera trilogy reunites director Shusuke Kaneko, SFX specialist Shinji Higuchi, and writer Kazunori Ito for an ambitious alien invasion film. This time, the titanic turtle’s opponent is the creepy-crawly colony of space bugs, the Symbiotic Legion; a kaiju that brings the biblical barbarism from Neon Genesis Evangelion front-and-center to the Gamera experience. Legion’s got Ian asking, “What’s up with bugs in the ‘90s?” He and Joseph go on an exciting excursion through the canon of great pre-millennium insect critters – the Zerg from Starcraft, the Arachnids from Paul Verhoeven’s now-beloved but then-derided Starship Troopers, and so on. Later, Joseph drops another cortex-crushing take on the psychological subtext to Gamera’s triumphant return to the screen. All that plus a solid discussion of post-apocalypses in film and video games and why we could use fewer of them. Notes: ‘Video Games Are Giving Up On The Idea that We Can Save The World’ by Michael Lee, via Kotaku

Human Instrumentality Podcast listeners are probably familiar with Godzilla, King of the Monsters, the massive atomic dinosaur that remains Japan’s foremost Kaiju (giant monster) ambassador to the rest of the world. They may be less familiar with his lesser-known commercial rival, a flying, fire-breathing turtle (seriously) named Gamera, who once upon a time had a little cameo on Mad Men. Gamera sounds silly on paper, but the titanic terrapin’s trilogy of 90’s films might be the best giant monster movies ever made, thanks in large part to staff members from Neon Genesis Evangelion and Ghost in the Shell. Know this: there is no Shin Godzilla without 1995’s Gamera: Guardian of the Universe. Joseph takes Ian on a tour through Gamera’s truly bizarre history before both hosts begin their survey of his Heisei trilogy. Along the way, they discuss under-appreciated horror auteur turned wunderkind director Shusuke Kaneko, who mined the vein of 90s anime-cool to give the goofiest monster you could imagine both serious edge, and still-biting environmentalist themes.

This unlocked bonus episode is a conceptual outtake from our second season. After we agreed to focus on Satoshi Kon's filmography for season two we then had to draw lines about exactly what qualified for that discussion. We settled on covering just the projects that Kon directed at the expense of the projects that he merely wrote. The last item that we cut was "Magnetic Rose", a short film written by Kon and directed by Koji Morimoto included in the anthology film Memories. Now ubiquitous on streaming services, Memories was concieved by Katsuhiro Otomo as the follow-up to his ubiquitous debut, Akira. This episode only covers "Magnetic Rose," the first and most well-regarded of its three segments. "Magnetic Rose" features some elements that would appear in Kon's directorial work, but it is also clearly distinct from the rest of his filmography for reasons that we enumerate in the episode. We also talk about "Solaris", "Alien", the A24 grief movie phenomenon, the pros and cons of anthologies, and more!

As promised, here is the now unlocked first bonus episode of our podcast. Building on our conversation earlier in Season 2 about Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and Shonen Anime in general, we decided to cover all of the parts of Stardust Crusaders that we didn't get to touch on in that episode. So if you were anxious to hear us talk about your favorite JoBro or a particular stand battle, now's your chance. At one point Ian starts talking about Moby Dick for a while too. These unlocked bonus episodes are looser and less scripted than our "in season" episodes. We're not going to bother with re-caps at the start of episodes and our research is going to be more off the cuff. We hope that this more laid back approach will show you another side of our friendship and that you'll find the conversations no less stimulating for lack of presentational flair.

Today, we have an update on the future of the podcast. Some of you have already subscribed to our Patreon in the past few months. If you have, thank you. However, Ian and Joseph’s obligations outside of the podcast have increased since it launched require their full attention right now. For that reason, we’re going to close our Patreon down at the end of this month. The Patreon episodes which we’ve recorded are going to be uploaded to our main feed, including the follow-up to our episode on JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, and a trio of episodes on the Gamera film trilogy from the 90’s. Our third season is in the early stages of development — tune in for a hint at our subject. Thanks! Ian & Joseph

In the sci fi crime thriller Paprika, a dream detective races to save the world from a terrorist attack on the collective subconscious as the lines between fantasy and reality literally collapse. It’s both populist and psychedelic, a direct continuation of the themes Satoshi Kon explored in Perfect Blue, as well as his most coherent bid for mainstream success. It’s also Satoshi Kon’s final film, and that it’s so entertaining only makes Ian and Joseph even more frustrated as they imagine a world where Kon’s career continued. Along the way, Ian and Joseph talk about the film’s unnerving parallels with Christopher Nolan’s Inception, make peace with Kon’s body image issues, and more. Recap: 00:00 Analysis: 07:02 Links: A 5-Star Review of 'Paranoia Agent' by Alyssa Heflin

At last, Paranoia Agent brings its disparate main characters together to confront their demons in “The Final Episode.” This one has it all: Kaiju fights, meditations on death, menstrual cramps and literal mountains of slime. Satoshi Kon began work on the series finale right after he orchestrated the beginning, and against all odds sticks the landing. This week, Ian and Joseph unpack the emotional (and gooey!) climax to Kon’s supernatural detective drama. Along the way they discuss how often anime falters at the end, not to mention how the end of every supernatural series including Paranoia Agent seems to become The End of Evangelion. At the finale, we distil how Kon’s unique sensibilities helped him succeed on his first and only television series when so many other show runners fail. Recap: 00:00 Analysis: 07:09

Paranoia Agent winds up for a big finale with a pair of unlikely heroes standing up to Shonen Bat. In “No Entry,” a housewife with a terminal illness and a whole lot of backbone stands up to the Bat while Detective Ikari tries and fails to adapt to modern life without a badge. Joseph and Ian get existential with the overt references to Jean-Paul Sartre's celbrated play No Exit in this episode. Then, in “Radarman,” a disgraced detective Maniwa sees himself as a superhero while the rest of the world sees him as a social outcast – but though he’s losing his mind he’s finally close to finding the origins of Shonen Bat and Maromi. Joseph and Ian delight in finally getting to the meat of the plot in this essential episode, not to mention some kinetic action sequences. Recap: 00:00 Analysis: 07:14

These are the two strangest episodes of Paranoia Agent (and considering what’s already happened, that’s saying something). In “ETC,” a gaggle of gossiping neighbors trades tall tales about Shonen Bat. Satoshi Kon assembled a murderer’s row of Madhouse employees (including the legendary Rintaro!) to animate the individual segments of this micro-anthology. Then, in “Mellow Maromi,” the series enters its own meta-verse, with an episode depicting a team of overworked people trying to make a single episode of an anime. According to our research, Kon originally wanted this to be a live-action episode about the making of _Paranoia Agent _itself. Joseph and Ian are joined by returning guest Eric Thurm and his colleague Chingy Nea. Together, the two also covered all of Paranoia Agent in their ‘Behind Anime Lines’ column on Fanbyte. Read their coverage on ‘Behind Anime Lines’ here: https://www.fanbyte.com/tag/behind-anime-lines/ Recap: 00:00 Analysis: 07:14

Paranoia Agent lives up to its name in “MHz,” when Maniwa begins questioning his own perception of reality. While the detective sinks into obsession with analog radios, the hosts talk about mental illness, social isolation, and parallels to ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers.’ Yes, there’s ‘mega-hurts’ puns. Then, it’s time for the most infamous episode of the show, the controversial and often-censored “Happy Family Planning.” If you know one thing about Paranoia Agent, it’s probably this jet-black comedy about a suicide pact, and its notorious bungee-cable scene. Ian and Joseph speak candidly about their mixed reactions to this tremendously upsetting episode. It’s an inescapable piece of Satoshi Kon’s legacy and the most singular episode of Paranoia Agent, but does it misrepresent or overshadow the rest of the series? Answers and more questions await in the episode. CW: Suicide, Self-harm Summary: 00:00 Analysis: 07:11

The Shonen Bat investigation gets goofy in “The Holy Warrior” when its prime suspect turns out to be just as deluded as the Bat’s victims. Detectives Maniwa and Ikari find themselves at odds, not to mention adrift in a fantasy world, when they investigate a juvenile delinquent that can’t tell the difference between video games and real life. Then, snap back to reality, ‘Paranoia Agent’ takes its darkest turn yet in one of its best episodes: “Fear of a Direct Hit.” While the detectives spin their wheels, a typhoon threatens to wash away their best witness – and reveal twisted secrets that Hirukawa and Sagi are still trying to hide. CW: Child abuse. Ian and Joseph are joined by writer and podcaster Langdon Hickman (Death//Sentence, Treblezine, and more outlets than you can shake a stick at), who only leads them further into Kon’s labyrinth of madness. Hickman’s literary background and singular sense of humor help shine a light into the darker corners of Kon’s televised mystery.