Fly: A Queer Haikyuu Podcast
We look at Haikyuu through an intersectional, queer lens.
Fly: A Queer Haikyuu Podcast
Season Break Bonus Episode feat. a special guest! part 2
Warning: this episode contains spoilers throughout!
"Do they ever have a little smooth? A smooch under the net?"
This week things are a little different. rainbow was away, so a special guest joined em to talk about the first episode of Haikyuu, Shonen anime as a genre, and more!
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Thanks for listening!!
em
00:10
Hello everybody and welcome to Fly a Queer Haikyuu podcast. I'm your host, em, and I know you're like what the hell? Because Rainbow's always the one that opens this show. But she gone, she long gone.
00:27
You guys have already listened to the season break, where Rainbow and our friend Konnor slash SJ was on, and now it is Rainbow's turn to be out of town, and it's me and my dear friend Alex, aka the haughty girl.
alex
Hi everybody
em
alex flew in just to keep me company while my wife was away
alex
and I'm having so much fun.
em
She got in literally, so rainbow left at like 5 am and then I picked alex up from the airport at 11 30. I have only been alone for a few hours
alex
and she did great. Everybody, she really kept the board together.
01:00
So today we're gonna do something a little different. We are going to watch the first episode of Haikyuu together. Alex has never seen the show. Alex, have you ever watched any anime before?
alex
I was born in the 90s. She knows Pokemon. [Okay] gosh, that's it. That's the extent of it. To be honest. [I love it.] I have lots of friends who love it, so I'm excited to get a little, a little taste of what? What big deal is?
em
It's a real big deal,
alex
It’s a real big deal.
em
01:29
Rainbow and Konnor got into a really great discussion about queer media and shipping and well, we'll do our best, we'll try.
alex
I'm a cis gendered, straight woman.
em
Yeah, I'm having a straight on the show. but she's an ally.
alex
I am. I am an ally big sister. I have a sister-in-law you could say that I'm a big ally,
em
surrounded by lesbians. She's familiar.
alex
Yeah, I'm the minority.
em
Okay, so we're just gonna fucking jump into it.
em
01:54
So this is the first episode of haikyuu. I've told alex a little bit about the premise, so she's got some idea and we're just gonna watch and react and then we'll have a little post-episode discussion. Here we go the end and the beginning say that again,
alex
it's so serious.
em
Haikyuu takes volleyball very seriously
alex
so serious. That was scary.
em
We literally were 27 seconds in and he's doing his tall, tall wall monologue and we got the hands over the net. It's very intense right off the bat.
alex
There's bars on the window,
em
the gym yeah, you can't get out. And we are where. I hope it's okay that we're watching it in the original Japanese.
alex
That's fine. That's fine, I can read.
em
So Rainbow and I have a whole thing where she watches the English dubbed version and I watch the subbed version. So we because there's there's differences too the dub will, like, change things.
02:45
I am a notorious dub hater, but a lot of people love it. They think it's funny.
alex
I feel like it ruins it. I've seen the dubbed ones and I prefer just watching it how it's intended,
em
okay good, yeah, that's how I feel too. I feel you get the actual, like what it's supposed to be. [Yeah] I actually tried to find the. It was very hard to find the Pokemon in the original sub, but I found it and their names are different in it. Did you know? They're not Ash and whatever? It's totally different names.
03:10
Oh, this is very classic anime intro You'll get to see, like all of the. You're not going to see a lot of these people because we're just in the intro episode, but this is our team, a lot of people involved in this.
alex
The smell of what?
em
Okay, this? The smell of air, salome, pos, which is, I think, another brand for um, like that spray on muscle relief stuff, what's like the other one, that icy hot. It's like icy hot.
alex
Oh, so he's real into icy hot muscles volleyball,
em
exactly. Okay, this is why we call this a queer podcast because and volleyball is known to be a gay ass sport, like a lot of gay people yeah, it's a good thing really, but yeah, no, he that's just like you know. He's so excited just for the smell of the gym and the sport, the sweat,
alex
he is the boys. So he just started high school here, or he just joined the volleyball team. In my brain, volleyball is like you play it in school and then then you move on.
em
For most people, yes, yeah, so that the first clip he's just a little kid and then it says three years later, so now he's at the end of, like middle school, junior high. We're not at high school yet, okay. So they're like middle school kids and they'll show you. But he basically scrapped like those two in the background are his friends. And then there's some like first years. So he like scrapped together a team just so he could play in some sort of tournament at the end of his middle school year. So we still have high school to go and this is,
alex
this isn't a school league, it's recreational,
em
this is it's schools, schools. So they're representing their middle school right now.
04:36
Okay, and their little lime green uniforms
alex
is she, is, that is his friend white. Is that a white girl?
em
So they're all japanese.
alex
Okay, she looks like a white girl
em
So they're boys,
alex
got it.
em
But no, that's a, that's a thing,
alex
He has a ponytail, right? No, it must just be the way. It's paused right now.
em
Yeah, I think so.
alex
Okay, okay, okay,
em
I know you're looking at this white ginger boy and you're saying that's a japanese boy. A lot of them are white, passing looking.
05:03
We just saw kageyama for the first time. Ladies and gentlemen,
em
they're not in junior high, they sure are.
alex
So Kitagawa Daiji, it's all junior high. So they were towering over those little boys.
em
I know it's like ridiculous. So the idea. So volleyball is a height sport. It attracts tall players and I think that is just. And Hinata Shoyo is a shorty, that's one of his things that he has to overcome and because his friends and a few first years are helping, they just look like a bunch of little kids Meanwhile they're the same age, but they're all tall, professional little boys.
alex
They're the best of the best.
em
They're the best of the young boys
alex
Period.
em
05:43
Yep, imagine having this confidence.
alex
You could have just gone to the bathroom, you didn't have to do all that.
em
No, he's gotta talk shit and then shit his pants.
alex
Right,
em
let's pause there, let's pause. So hinata and kageyama have had their first little showdown. Yeah, what do we think?
06:02
First impression
alex
he handsome, kageyama's handsome, the big, tall one. Yeah, he's very handsome, I get it. I get it, he's the king. He's the king.
em
He's very intense
alex
he is.
em
06:13
What I like about this, too, is like Kageyama is not cocky whatsoever. He tells the second years like you can't shit on him. You're not even on the bench.
alex
Yeah, he was respectful and nice, but was also like you're not going to be all that good, very mixed signal.
em
You're shitting your pants.
alex
Yeah, he still hasn't gone to the bathroom. That's what's confusing me the most. Like, look at him, he's taken off. You didn't go to the bathroom yet.
em
His nerves have gone away. Now he's focused on beating Kageyama.
alex
That big kageyama, that big tall boy just sucked him right up. There's nothing left.
em
Exactly, I'm gonna make a kagehina shipper out of you yet. All right, now let's start this game.
06:49
Say that again.
alex
Is senpai just girl?
em
Oh, okay. Yes, I have to talk to you about the japanese term. So senpai means upperclassmen, okay, so they'll refer to anyone older than them as senpai,
alex
boy or girl?
em
boy or girl,
alex
okay,
em
and the kohai is the opposite, it's underclassmen. I don't think you'll hear that in this episode.
07:05
I want to point out um, in japan they typically go by last name, so his name goes hinata, shoyo. Hinata is his family name, shoyo is his like first name, his given name. Oh, but in japan, politely, they'll just usually use your family name. It, I feel like it reflects, because in japanese and Eastern culture it's all about collectivism, it's all about the community comes first, and even in the introductions they'll say their school and then their family name.
alex
It's all about what they're representing.
em
07:36
Yeah, and so now you'll hear his teammates call him Sho-Chan, and Chan is an addition to an end of a name. It's like a cutesy thing, like a nickname and like kids and girls will do that. Okay, so his name is Shoyo, Sho-chan. Okay, stuff like that.
alex
The only time you ever see that in Western culture is men being men, you know, like calling each other by their last name. [Yes, yeah, yeah] especially during sports.
em
08:01
Okay, also, imagine having this much passion for anything.
alex
Don't even get me started. It's making me realize like, yeah, I don't do much.
em
Dude, I will say Shonen. So this is called Shonen anime. Shonen means young boy, so it's like content that's created for teenage boys. Here I am a 30-year-old woman, but that's besides the boy, yep, and it's a lot of that.
08:23
It's like a main character who is very gung-ho about a goal and it's very inspiring. Honestly, anime gets me in the gym more than anything else. Yeah, yeah, I was watching Attack on Titan, which is another very popular battle-type anime. I'm like I want to be strong, I'm going to get in the gym,
alex
I'm going to work out, I’m going to be like him,
em
yeah, but so, yeah.
08:43
So guys were watching the flashback parts where Shoyo is like in middle school and he's only really got himself, but that doesn't deter him.
alex
If a teacher told me like, oh, there's just no club for that, I'd go OK, thank you sir, and I'd head out, I'd give it up, throw the towel in,
em
I'd be on the soccer team.
alex
Yeah, I proud of him.
em
Let's pause for a moment. That was intense.
alex
Can't win them all. Can't win them all. Can't win them all.
em
Definitely wasn't gonna win that one.
09:12
No, not that one, but kageyama and hinata understand the same premise.
alex
And he can fly. He's a flying boy.
em
So, funnily enough, there was a prototype of this manga and the first idea was that Hinata had like almost otherworldly jumping powers. So it starts off with them in high school and Kageyama is looking for people to join and he sees Hinata like late for class and he jumps up to the second floor
alex
so he's really jumping,
em
yeah, they like it's almost like a magical level and kageyama, it's still just as romantic of a pilot because he's like you join my team and they like look at each other and stuff. So now hinata does have natural athleticism, but it's like in the realm of humanness.
alex
Yeah, it's giving superpower, not superpower, but like this is his gift. Yes, exactly this is his gift.
em
I love this big butch lesbian.
alex
10:15
No, there's no running in volleyball.
em
Well, you have to have. Honestly, though, it takes a lot of energy to play a game, it does, and it's a lot of jumping more than anything. But, like with any sport, you do have to just work on, like, your cardio and strength at all times, and that's why I did not last long in high school sports.
alex
10:37
I went to track tryouts one day. I thought I was going to be a thrower and the coach said everybody run around the track one time just to warm up for practice, and tryouts Walked home. I said run a lap, warm up Track and field. You want me to run? I thought I was just going to throw something.
em
You wanted to be fucking Trunchbull from Matilda.
alex
Yes, and I said a lap, I got to get out of here, I'm in the wrong field. But, yes, and I said a lap, I got to get out of here, I'm in the wrong field. But then I told my mom I joined track. What a nightmare I didn't join track.
em
11:09
How long did you keep that lie up for?
alex
You know, a couple weeks I had a boyfriend at the time. I used to hang out with him and stood behind the bleachers.
em
Alex was a huge slut. Back in the day
alex
I was spreading them left and right.
em
Oh, my god. Okay, we're almost done.
11:29
So, hinata, is he's training for high school. He's gonna beat that king. Well, are you hooked or are you hooked?
alex
Drama on the bayou, drama on the bayou. What is he doing there?
em
So I guess we'll just I'll tell you, um, uh, so kageyama, you saw how he was not getting along with his players and he was like yelling at them to go faster. So what ends up happening is they never make it to nationals because his team like turns their back on him so like he'll set and they don't go for it and he gets benched and the whole thing is like hinata's got raw skill but no team and kageyama's got all the training but no sense of teamwork. So they're gonna have to find they're missing piece in each other.
alex
They're gonna be on the same team.
em
12:06
So he would normally go to a high school called seijo where, like, most of the people from his school go, but he didn't want to like go be with everyone who hates him, and there's also a whole. He has a senpai who's like an amazing setter and he becomes one of the big antagonists in this show. Um, and they have like this setter rivalry. So he didn't want to go there. He wanted to go to karasuno, because karasuno used to be a great team, um, and they had a coach that was very like strict and stuff, and kageyama wanted that. Yeah, but that coach retired because he's an old man and now karasuno was like at a low point. Their coach is like a teacher that doesn't care, um, or it was. Now they have a better teacher, but they're very much like now they're the wingless crows, they're like the fallen. Okay. Okay, but with a few plucky first years they might just make it to nationals.
alex
They might Do they ever?
em
Yeah, they make it to nationals.
alex
12:56
How much of this show is going on?
em
So the manga is done, okay and okay. So we have a spoiler zone, ladies and gentlemen, and everything in between. You know what I'm talking about. We save it for the end. I'm going to go ahead, we're going to get a little spoilery guys, we're going to get into the manga ending. So for those, just be aware, and I'll try and say spoiler before I give away anything too much. So the manga goes all the way to the end. The show is up to. They're at nationals. So the manga goes all the way to the end. The show is up to. They're at nationals, okay.
13:25
So, like this first season is like the team getting together and then they lose against Seijo. The second season, they win against Seijo and then the third season they went against like the best team in their area who's really, really hard, and there's a whole season dedicated to that one game. And then they're at nationals. And then at nationals, hinata gets a fever and has to like leave the game and cross and loses and they don't make it like to the finals, but like that's a big lesson for hinata in like self maintenance and, like haikyuu, has a lot of really great lessons about like day-to-day routines and like working on skills a little at a time and like he learns to like meditate and eat well and like and rest, because his whole he's so like he just wants to keep and eat well and like and rest because his whole he's so like he just wants to keep going and toss and go and go and then he burns out. So then after high school, kageyama immediately goes to a professional team, but hinata has a lot to work on still. So he goes to Brazil and trains on the beach for two years, comes back on a team, plays against Kageyama, beats him oh, okay, oh, spoiler alert Spoiler.
14:30
And then at the very end of the manga, they're at the Olympics together. The Olympics, they go to the Olympics together. Yeah, they do. And then, like the very last page is them in their 20s playing against each other at like really international level.
alex
So they get real good, they get real good.
em
And he fulfills this promise of like I'm gonna beat you one day and we're gonna.
14:46
Later on in the show, Kageyama is like will you make it all the way to the world stage with me. It's very. It's giving marriage proposal.
alex
Well, yeah, do they ever? Do they ever have a little smooch?
em
They never have a little smooch.
alex
A little smooch under the net.
em
nothing. There's girl. There's fan art yeah, I bet, but it's such a compelling relationship and if you do ever want to watch more, we absolutely can, but like it never. There's.
15:10
No, the only ship that actually becomes canon in the show is you saw that girl talking to the three boys about the list of people joining, and that one guy was like kyoko-san, you're so beautiful, I love it when she ignores me. They become married.
alex
They, they leaned into that, they lean into, they lean into that, and I don't love it.
em
Um, yeah, the thing with like there's a lot of these shonen animes where they have this like intense rivalry between two boys and it's very like, it's very soulmate coded. You can say it's romantic or platonic, but it's very much like. They're like yin and yang, okay, and there's a lot of animes like that and there's like discussion over do they are the people creating it, making it like low-key gay and they know, but they just kids. Like in japan, gay marriage isn't legal, um, it's still pretty taboo over there, okay. So it's like, are they just like wink, winking at
alex
Is this how they're getting it out, yeah?
em
Or are you so homophobic that you're like, no, they're just brothers?
16:07
History will say they were friends, even though it's very obvious that there's something more.
em
That's so interesting because, like I feel like anime, the exposure I've had to anime there there's always some kind of gay underlining, innuendo series that I pick up on and maybe it's not supposed to be there. Maybe that's just like a me thing, like you're saying, this is for children, but like there were clear like tensions, yes, between these two characters, and that was the pilot I would have to imagine it only increases from here
em
and that's what I remember. So Rainbow's whole story is her friend showed her the show and she was like, well, they get together, right. And she was like no, not actually. And then she didn't watch it for a while because she was so mad about it.
alex
That's surprising.
em
Yes, they just and, yeah, I really feel like it's censorship in Japan that keeps it from going all the way the show.
16:55
Have you ever heard of Naruto?
alex
Just because I know you're a fan of it,
em
yeah, so that is like the blueprint that came out in like late 90s, early 2000s, and there's a big rival for you between a light-haired boy and a dark-haired boy. It's always like a dark-haired brooding boy and then like the sunshine one,
alex
yes, and that's very typically not I don't want to sit here and say that's very typically, but that's like the male female personas that like they're trying to like oh, here's the big, not big, but like here's the tougher shell to crack. And here's the really sweet, yes, fluffy little, yes, sweet one.
em
And there are so many pairings like that. There are so many like best, like childhood friends and rival ones, and like they all could so easily be dating. And it's really interesting.
17:40
Online there's a lot of homophobia because there's the reason we made this podcast is because we knew for a fact there were a lot of people who felt that way. Like that we do that. It's definitely gay undertones and there's and like, take the take the romance, whatever the sexual stuff out of it. There are really beautiful relationships in the show, but then you'll have the other side of, like the fandom. That's like why are you making it gay? Uh, because I saw gay, so I said gay,
alex
right, and that's that is feeling like just the homophobic censoring. Yes, like, don't make. Don't make me feel like the problem because I'm picking up on something that's there. Yeah, oh, I hope I get it in this time. It's a ball that goes over the net. What are you even talking about? What are you talking? It's not golf.
em
18:24
There is also, when we get a little, because, like the first beginning of the season, we're meeting all the team members yeah, so there is a. There's these two. There's a second year and a third year that are not in it at first because they got in a fight. Because the third year they went up against the team and lost and they were really frustrated. So the third year was like I can't even call myself a good spiker, I should just not even be on this team. And the second year they got in a whole fight about it and then he refused to come back on the team until the third year joined.
18:56
It's giving exes to lovers
alex
yes, exactly, but through a sport and not there. You know, yeah, it's just,
alex
it's under the covers.
em
It's under the covers, so we write fan fiction to cope. So what'd you think? Were you into it? I liked it.
alex
It's a good show.
19:15
Not to sound like a typical person who's never seen anime Reminds me of Pokemon. The shoes not to sound like a typical person who's never seen anime reminds me of pokemon. That the shoes,
em
well, and they have you ever watched like um spirited away or
alex
love spirited away and um, princess mononoke, yes,
em
yeah. So ghibli films yes, this gives me ghibli vibes, like the animation and the art thing.
alex
I almost feel weird saying that because, like, does that make me like, just so, like tunnel vision, like, oh, this is, this is all, like seems the same and this all looks the same, but like
em
it's all pokemon.
alex
I feel, yeah, yeah, I feel bad saying that like this is its own unique thing.
em
19:53
There are different styled animes. I do, I, definitely I, and I see the pokemon comparison too a little bit. Yeah, what like with the art style and stuff, very much so. So some things look similar and then other types of anime styles do look different. But I mean, I think making those connections when you have such a limited experience with the genre is okay, good, I'll let it go, I'll let it fly. I mean I'm no big expert either.
20:15
I got into anime over the pandemic on TikTok, yeah, and I only really have like five to seven maybe good animes that I'm really aware of. That a lot of like anime pros would roll their eyes out if I, if I told them my list of animes
alex
do you read them?
em
I read, I've read Haikyuu um and I I have read some. I read Attack on Titan, I read Chainsaw man, and that's fine, or like my Hero and stuff. But usually I'll just watch it first Because, like, especially with action, it's much easier Like I read it and I'm like, oh, I can kind of see, I'd rather just watch it play out.
alex
20:51
Sometimes, when I watch an anime like this or like Pokemon not so much a movie but a show like this it feels very much like, like the. The actual animation of it is a comic strip, just with minimal movement, almost like that scene where he's jumping and flying across the whole court. There's no movement, it just plays a cool sound while he's up in the air and the lines are behind him. Like it. Anime to me is always. It always seems when I'm watching it like it's meant to be read, yeah, and now it's being adapted into a show. It's not as like flowy, is that the word I'm looking for?
em
Yeah, I think so, and this show really does do like panel to panel recreation, right, right. So it makes sense that you get that vibe.
alex
Yeah, I know people that are in anime that read it way more than watch it. So I've always wondered if you read it a ton or if you are more of just watching it.
em
Well, I'm glad you liked it. I did like it, let's see.
21:44
So I was going to say feelings on characters. I know we really only met the two main ones.
alex
Yeah, they sprinkled in others, like I like his friends. Yeah, but do they go away after this episode?
em
Essentially they go to a different school. We do see them when they go against the really hard team in the finals before nationals. They show up and they seem kind of surprised because Hinata doesn't seem to share a lot about himself to them and they're like surprised that he's there with the great king. They're like, oh, are you okay, he's a meanie and by that point they're a really good like team. So he's like just watch um. And they do show up again. Uh, I think at the very end during the olympics, that they are supporters of him for sure, but no, we really don't see them again.
alex
22:27
Do they ever get into? Because they were just, they were so supportive and nice and he was so nice to them. I mean they sucked, but he was like good job, keep it up, keep trying. I mean, do they, do they ever get into like how he got that many people together to do this club? They kind of just went from, sorry, there's, there's no club, you can play with these ladies if you want to, like he has a group of people.
em
It was pretty fast because the two friends you kind of see him like begging them for his help, a lot for tosses and stuff. So they just eventually agreed and they do kind of just quickly say like oh, I got some first years okay, and that was it okay. He really did just scrape some people together for this specific game
alex
and their supporters throughout,
em
but they don't play as much moving forward.
alex
23:07
Yeah, okay, I liked them, I liked the two main characters. I, I feel bad, I'm not gonna get their names straight. They're show, show, show, yo, but he's the same same as the other name. They were calling him two completely different names. Yeah, so that's what's? So? His full name is
em
Well, if we were to say it in English, shouyo, hinata, shouyo, hinata, because his first name's Shouyo and his last name's Hinata, hinata, shouyo, but people will call him Hinata most of the time, and then people, because they're his childhood friends, they call him Shouyo Kageyama, who's the king of the court. His full name is Kageyama Tobio, tobio, kageyama, tobio, tobio it's a really Tobio, it's a very cutesy name and actually, because you know Kageyama right now, we've seen him just be scary and mean, yeah, but he's actually a huge dork, okay, and he's a very sweet sides to his personality.
23:57
Yep, he's my favorite I always go for, like the angry but skilled Deuteragonist which is like the second to the main character.
alex
Okay, there's more to unpack with him. It seems
em
Very much so Spoilers, but he is. It's kind of fucked up because he's so angry and there's a reason for it. He was raised by his grandfather who was a volleyball coach and was his like, really nourished his love for volleyball. He dies around this time and it's actually really beautiful at the end. So when they're playing, when hinata and kageyama are playing that first game together as professionals against each other, they flash back and we don't find out about kageyama's backstory until the very end. It's such a reveal and it explains so much of why he's so angry and stuff. Yeah, so shut in.
24:44
Yes, because he lost this guiding light of volleyball and then he just he is. He's very socially awkward and Hinata really helps teach him how to like connect with people it's really beautiful
alex
and be more than just the king on the court.
em
More than just the king on the court yes, yes, and Hinata is really beautiful. He really helps him embrace, like no, it's okay, because he hates that nickname, because his team went against him and everything, but he's like I never saw the problem with that. It's a cool nickname and he gets Kageyama to try and balance like being strong in his like no, we should do it this way, but not being an asshole about it Like finding that balance.
alex
25:16
Speaking of being strong, I didn't love that. That was his two cents at the end. This is a, this is a little. There's a little boy who's clearly very talented and has so much passion and drive for what he's doing. Well, maybe if you were strong, you'd beat me, get out of here. Maybe if he had some more experience, if he had some better team players, he is strong. He didn't have to go bike up the mountain. He's okay. Yes, and well, that I appreciate it. I respect like what the that part of the show was. But like be strong, you be strong,
em
get stronger. Well, that's a big theme in haikyuu.
25:46
That's not really like in your face, but it's there where, like, kageyama had opportunities where hinata did not. And he doesn't know this yet. You know, he thought, oh, you're just, you were just fucking around for three years. He assumed that, but he'll, he'll learn. Like Hinata will tell him, like I didn't have any team or whatever, um, and that's, that's the thing with kageyama.
26:03
And he, Kageyama, is more of an asshole in the dub and I feel like that's why he gets mischaracterized. He just has a really hard time with, like, I think he's very autistic, coded, because, you'll see, he thinks to himself, oh, he's brilliant, he's got it all, but then he'll just say, like something assholey, like it just doesn't come out right. Yeah, he doesn't know how to love. He just, yeah,
alex
he's got to learn how to love, but it's not gay, it's not gay. But they're not gay.
em
No, they're straight, they're two buddies, just two buddies. Why are you making it freaking gay?
alex
Yeah, what are you gay?
em
Okay? Well, I also had a question about predictions, but I pretty much told you everything that's gonna happen. Sure, oh, I was.
26:35
So I was saying during that final game where they flashback to the grandpa and Kageyama's backstory. He says to Kageyama so when Kageyama was little, he starts holding back because he's so much better than the other teams and he wants to play for longer. So he holds back. And his grandpa's like that's okay, but you know, if you get stronger, you'll meet people who are also strong, who will challenge you. And he's like, if you get really good, you'll meet someone even better. And then it cuts back to hinata. Like, looking at him through the net and they're like smiling at each other. They're not husbands.
alex
You're gonna tell me there's nothing to that. Like, come on, grandpapa told him that he would love after him. And there it was. Yeah, someone better than him, someone who completes him,
em
literally, yes, hinata. So Kageyama is so intense, but hinata is even more so, yeah, and so he pushes him in a way that no one else can.
alex
Yeah, they balance each other, but as friends, just as friends,
em
just friends, though friends, um, let's see, oh, okay, so my one last oh, I said so.
27:35
Would you be interested in continuing watching this? Absolutely, oh, I would. I would, no,
alex
what do you watch it on?
em
So, it's on. It's on netflix. Oh, okay, it's also on crunchyroll, but that's like that's an anime streaming service, but you should. You have netflix so you can watch on netflix.
alex
I would watch it again,
em
girl, we can keep. Well, we got four days ahead of us. We got four days.
alex
I know we got to get through dance moms too, but we can put this on.
em
Oh my god, yeah, guys.
27:58
So every time that alex and I get together me and the haughty girl we usually like pick something to just binge watch, and it was love on the spectrum at one point. What are the other ones we've watched?
alex
Oh gosh, the other season of love,
em
literally just all the other versions of love on the spectrum. So last night we settled first on dance moms, which is horrific.
alex
Yep, yep, um.
28:21
I'm really into kathy and vivianne, if any of you guys are fans. When you started telling me about grandpa in in this show, I went kathy, kathy, oh my god. Thousand pound sisters we've been. We've been tinkering with too. The nice thing is, we don't. We don't plan what we're gonna binge. No, we get on the couch, we see the whites of each other's eyes and then we decide in the moment. So add this to the list. I enjoyed this, hell yes.
em
28:44
So then my last question, because you know you're a pretty neurotypical, straight person
alex
I try to be. Sometimes I look at pictures of myself as a child and I'm like am I neurotypical? Sometimes things come out of my mouth I'm like, am I neurotypical? Sometimes things come out of my mouth, I'm like, maybe I shouldn't have, maybe, maybe that wasn't the one to say. But, yeah, yes, correct, I'm neurotypical, cisgendered, straight, white. All the things that really you don't want to be these days Lock me up. I couldn't be more, it's not?
29:13
I don't have a good posse following me of of my folk.
em
Um, so, like, has there ever been a show or a ship that really grabbed you? Or there are ever like tv characters that you're like, oh, I really want them to be together, or any like has there any? Has there ever been a show that you've gotten like super nerdy into?
alex
Let me think for a second
em
yeah, have a think, because I'll watch a show and I'm like I have to google things about this. I have to look at art and what people have said about it.
alex
There's really only one show, and and I do it for movies too like I'm a, I'm a watch a movie 18 times in one week, kind of gal, yeah. So some movies do that to me. There's one show that just comes to mind, and it's the only thing that comes to mind, so I guess I gotta talk about it. This is gonna be like girl, that there's a show on netflix. It's not anime, it's just living people, living real people. Um, the end of the, the end of the fucking world, effing world on netflix.
30:11
Have you ever seen it? Heard of it? It's only two seasons, yeah, and like that's it. But like this show, I keep going back to it. I probably saw it for the first time when I was I'm 28 right now and I probably saw it for the first time when I was like 21 or 22 years old. That might be a little off. I'm not sure how old it is.
30:30
I do know the show with the kids. I obsess about it. I obsess. I think it's so well written, it's so good. I think the main female character is is relatable in a lot, in a lot of ways. I'm not mentally ill, but I think she, I think any girl who's been through some things, can feel the way she feels in that show and that is one show that in my adult years I keep coming back to. I watch it through completely again. Only two seasons, two, three times a year probably, and and I love it.
em
So I love about.
31:03
I mean, this is why I went to school for tv and film and try to make it a passion of mine, because you'll just come across a story that really sticks with you. Yeah, for whatever reason, whether you relate to a character or just whatever it speaks to you, and it's just like a healthy coping mechanism for me. I have found, and it really helps with, like creative output, like I love to write, but I really only like to write when I think two characters should kiss each other.
alex
Yeah, and maybe that maybe I've. This has got me thinking.
31:29
Now, I've grown up with Western culture so much crammed down my throat that maybe am I just always looking for the romance in something? Does somebody have to be kissing or taking their clothes off for it to like make sense to me? But I love the love story in that show. It seems raw, you know, and it's not perfect. It is not.
31:48
If you watch that show, it is not this cookie cutter, this is what love is meant to be type thing, but that's more real, that's more authentic. It's amazing the things that will click and stick with you, whether it's shows, music, like any kind of media that you can consume and like.
em
People will get weird, like why does everything have to be about shipping or romance or love? I'm sorry you don't find love compelling, right, but I do
alex
Like I get it for Disney and that's about it, like okay, let's let go of this idea that a woman has to like fall in love and be with a man to like for sure, but like you can. You don't have to only like respect it, enjoy and talk about media. It can still be a love story. Yes, that's something.
32:28
If you haven't watched that all the way through, we should this week, you should at some point. Everyone listening, should. It's such a good show if you have Netflix.
em
Yeah, I definitely started it and I've seen a lot of clips on it, on uh tiktok and stuff. Like I like that quote where it's like I'm always in that room, I'm always in that room that that sudden chills down my spine, that fucks me up. And I've never even watched the show.
alex
It's so well written and every single episode you're like what just happened next? Are you kidding? There's no way it could get crazier than this. And then it does get crazier. And then that season ends and you're like what, what is season two even going to be? And it blows season one out of the water. Like I love when shows can do that, we should watch it. Okay, it's good, it's good, everybody watch it.
33:08
And then next podcast episode, next time I'm up in california we're doing that.
em
Yeah, seriously, uh, rainbow, and I have to figure out because we have a finite amount of content. We just started going over season three. Oh so you're getting down to it. Yeah, and she has a lot of different podcast ideas. I don't really know what we're gonna do next. Yeah, but I think we'd still stay in like the media, like talking about a show or something like that.
33:33
Oh my gosh, well, gosh, I mean, before we wrap this up,
alex
I think what's influenced me so much about the romance and the listeners won't be able to see what the heck I'm talking about. But if you turn around, that is what I've been staring at behind you the whole time and that's probably it's the, it's these plushies that she has of the two characters and the way she has them propped up in each other's arms. They look really romantic, don't they look like they're on the front of the titanic.
em
I was saying to rainbow literally the other day. I was like they look really romantic in that positioning. So you guys have seen a picture before.
34:02
So, actually, um, I got the hinata plushie for the first time. She visited me. Okay, that was my little gift for her. And then, when I visited her for the first time, she gave me kageyama.
alex
See, maybe, maybe that's influencing me on the romance level, because that's the cutest thing I've ever heard.
em
You're feeling our love. So now, and they used to hang up on a wall and then kiki kept bringing them down, so now they hang out back there, but I forgot that doesn't bother her, but hanging on a wall, what a fun kitty. Listen, she's been so good though. She's been outside sitting there like a loaf the whole time.
alex
She's doing great. She's popped up a few times staring at me through that screen. Oh my god, all right.
em
Well, jesus, my straight friend,
alex
this was fun. I'm so.
34:47
I like podcasting. I don't want to sound like every person ever, but we love pod. I need a podcast.
em
Listen, my, my dear friend, hottie girl here is one of the funniest people I know. Baby, we have a YouTube channel together. I'm not going to tell you all what it is, but we have a few videos up.
alex
If you want to dig and you want to find it, it's worth it.
em
35:05
We used to a little just like background. So we met 10, by the way, because I was thinking about this 10 years ago now Crazy. We used to work at a grocery deli together and then we lived together for a little bit. So we used to. We love doing like creative shit like this. So I would just film her like cooking food or when she got her first house, because, hello, she's a homeowner. She's a homeowner, a millennial homeowner. She does exist,
alex
although I bought it before 2020. It's the only way they exist these days.
em
35:34
What year were you born? Again
alex
1996.
em
Oh, okay, so I think you're actually just a Gen Z. You've begun the Gen Z years.
alex
I'm like on the cusp I remember looking it up and I'm like right on the cusp of one of the switches.
em
Guys, I'm sitting on a couch with a successful, beautiful woman.
alex
I went to school. I'm educated, I go to work five days a week. I pay into capitalism. We have one half hour, two half hour, cigarettes for lunch, and that is how I eat and how I keep roof overhead.
em
Well, thank you for joining me and watching this gay little anime. I'm so happy you enjoyed it.
alex
This was great. I really had a good time,
em
all right, guys? Well, don't worry, mama's coming home next week and we'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming, but until then, fly high, bye, bye.