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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

'Paranoia Agent' kicks into high gear with a pair of fan-favorite episodes. In "Double Lips," a young woman struggles with disassociation identity disorder whose two personalities couldn't be more different: one is a recently engaged academic, and the other is an enthusiastic sex worker. In "A Man's Path," a crooked cop with comic-fueled delusions of grandeur runs afoul of the mob. Each of their stories takes a dark turn when they find themselves on Shonen Bat's victim list. In this edition...

Like a dream within a dream, this week begins a podcast within the podcast – A full rundown of Satoshi Kon’s only television series, Paranoia Agent. It begins with a simple premise: a juvenile delinquent called Shonen Bat (‘Little Slugger’ if you’re feeling dubby) is assaulting pedestrians across Tokyo, and two detectives need to crack the case. But as always with Kon, all is not as it appears. Those who survive Shonen Bat’s attacks come out the other end oddly relieved – or maybe they...

Satoshi Kon's idea of a Christmas movie starts with three homeless people who find a baby in the trash and ends with a wacky car chase. Along the way, Toyko Godfathers involves a mob wedding, a drag bar, and various pathological lies. That it works at all is a Christmas Miracle, that Ian and Joseph celebrate. While dashing through the snow and ducking assassination attempts, this episode unpacks Kon's quirky family drama and its sometimes troubling representations of homeless,...

In Millennium Actress a starlet on her death bed recalls her lifelong chase to catch up with the love of her life. From this simple premise, Satoshi Kon crafts a kaleidoscopic love letter to Japanese cinema. His heroine, Chiyoko Fujiwara, is the perfect mirror to Mima from Perfect Blue - a hopeless romantic with an astounding career and indomitable spirit. Her journey through the golden age of the Japanese studio system (roughly early WWII to the turn of the century) blurs the line between...

Satoshi Kon's first movie, Perfect Blue is an intricate psychological thriller that earned him international acclaim. Released in 1997, the film catapulted Kon into the international spotlight — but also cast a shadow over the rest of his career. Kon himself once joked that his job was not "film director" but "Director of Perfect Blue." In this episode, Ian and Joseph unpack its revolutionary editing style and the uncanny series of events that led to its creation. Perfect Blue tells the...

Shonen is the most popular subgenre of anime. From One Piece to Naruto, a boy and his friends duking it out for the fate of humanity remains an inexhaustible well of popular storytelling. In this episode, The Human Instrumentality Podcast tracks the genre's meteoric rise in the 80s thanks to Dragonball. But that's just an appetizer. The real meal is a lengthy discussion of the singularly weird and wonderful shonen masterpiece that is JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Satoshi Kon's brief but...

The second season of The Human Instrumentality Podcast follows the career of whose brief-but-brilliant oeuvre is a parade of quirky and beguiling works, including Perfect Blue and Paranoia Agent. By turns dreamlike and nightmarish, Kon’s psychedelic and psychological parade of images and characters celebrate the animated film tradition and critique the society that created it – and the fans that enable its existence. But we’re not just going to talk about Kon, the filmmaker — we’re going to...

This is the second half of our conversation with the Requiem Metal podcast about the grindcore band Discordance Axis. In this half we dig into the way they incorporate images and concepts from Neon Genesis Evangelion. We also talk about Discordance Axis's spiritual successor Gridlink, who frequently referenced bullet video games, mecha anime, and the War on Terror in their work. Special thanks to Jon Chang for his interview, and to Jason Hudney and Mark Rudolph from Requiem. Requiem is...

Neon Genesis Evangelion is a key lyrical infleucne on critically acclaimed grindcore band Discordance Axis, especially thier final record The Inalienable Dreamless. Ian and Joseph deep dive through the band's discography (including their spiritual successors Gridlink) with the help of Requiem Metal Podcast. Special thanks to Jon Chang for his interview, and to Jason Hudney and Mark Rudolph from Requiem. Requiem is one of the most in-depth and thoroughly researched msuic history shows...

Nearly ten years in the making, Hideaki Anno's final entry in the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise is Evangelion: 3.0+ 1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, a prolonged exercise in extreme emotional catharsis. The Human Instrumentality Podcast ends its season on Eva by contrasting its Miyazaki-ish first half with its End of Evangelion-remixing climax. We go deep on the lasting occult and philosophical themes that keep drawing fans old and new into its heart-rending jaws. Other excursions include a long...

In 2016 Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi of Neon Genesis Evangelion won Picture and Directors of the Year at the Japan Academy Prize - Japan's equivalent of the Academy Awards - for Shin Godzilla (or Shin Gojira, Or Godzilla Resurgence, and so on). It's one of the best and most original films in the Godzilla series. It's also basically a big Eva episode. But is it right-wing propaganda? ...Kinda yes? Kyle Byrd and Matt Parmley of the (excellent) Kaiju Transmissions podcast take Ian and...

What happens when a monster of the week show becomes an apocalypse of the week film franchise? Ian and Joseph are joined by critic Justin Charity of The Ringer's 'Sound Only' podcast to discuss the third and possibly best Rebuild film, Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo. In this, the season One (Point) Five finale, the hosts launch an all-out assault on Mari while praising the film's bold rethinking of the core Neon Genesis Evangelion premise - Maybe Shinji should (not) get in the robot...