Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball franchise is one of the most beloved in the world. Three great shows, a lot of video games of varying quality but with a huge fanbase all the same, and... then a black sheep. Even in a series where the missteps are treasured, there is one thing the community rejects: Dragon Ball GT. Aired immediately after the end of Z,…

Were you having trouble sleeping? Do you need to hear two idiots get confused by numbers for, oh, around two and a half hours? I have such good news for you. It's gonna be great. Join the Bottle Crow Discord to check out our live posted show notes as well as chat with us and other listeners! We’re on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher! You can subsc…

The unknown journey ends, and reveals that there wasn't much mystery there at all, really. Jen, Kyrie, and Six slump in their chairs and marvel at how hard this game has flopped, and to what degree it's poisoned what came before, for them. Is Rufus the hero of this game? Do you ever see a dog and decide it must mean you're in a different dimension?…

For a certain subset of our audience, I should probably apologize for the amount of Dota talk this ep. It's... uncouth. We're supposed to be post-Dota, like post-modern but cooler. Well, I am. Nick is still in denial. I just try denial on sometimes, like a nice dress you can only bust out for special occasions. Join the Bottle Crow Discord to check…

The penultimate episode is here, and things just keep turning for the worse for our hosts. We deal with some very contrived plots, ponder over the nature of meta-narratives and it's failings, and gripe about the side missions. It's almost over, so it can't get much worse... right? A huge thank you to Jackson (@headfallsoff) for helping us with a ch…

After a slight upturn in quality at Gongaga, Chapter 10 breaks everyone's spirits as the gang makes their way into Cosmo Canyon. It also happens to be the most racist chapter in the whole game! Fun!! A huge thank you to Jackson (@headfallsoff) for helping us with a chapter breakdown for this series, and giving us clear stopping points!…

We tackle only one chapter in this episode, but boy is it a DOOZY. We travel to Gongaga, encounter too many bosses, and Tifa finds herself in the belly of the whale. Not like metaphorically like in the Hero's Journey, like a big damn whale monster. This chapter is weird. A huge thank you to Jackson (@headfallsoff) for helping us with a chapter brea…

After EIGHT YEARS, the Hatcast returns! I mean honestly, with such a wealth of quality hats, how could we do otherwise. Bizarrely, impossibly, it seems like Dota is back. Leave it to me to say that not because of a good patch or new hero, but because of cosmetics. Listen, you know what I'm like. Don't pretend to be surprised. Join the Bottle Crow D…

Our podcasters finally arrive in chapter 6. Jen and Six call for some time off for some fun in the sun. Kyrie disapproves, but is outvoted. A lot of minigames later, a boss fight happens. Chapter 7 happens. Our podcasters arrive in chapter 8. Jen and Six call for some time fun in the Gold Saucer. Kyrie disapproves, but is outvoted. A lot of minigam…

After defeating a giant snake, the gang finds themselves deep in some mines, spilling out into the Junon area. We face off with some Turks, explore the world, and get into one big confusing parade. This game is certainly making... choices. A huge thank you to Jackson (@headfallsoff) for helping us with a chapter breakdown for this series, and givin…

It's just... I mean, I guess 300 is a lot. It's a big number. But even SO I am surprised Giratina made the top 300. Is just every legendary in there? Probably, huh? Even though a lot of legendaries are just trash? Like, the Weather Trio from Unova: garbage. The stupid Lake Guardians from Diamond and Pearl? St... stupid. I already said that I guess.…

Six and Kyrie are back to settle it. One number was never enough, so we have come back to scour the Dragonball Xenoverse 2 cast to try and stump the mighty dragon Shenron. Things get a little silly. Recorded in honor of Akira Toriyama's 69th birthday.By Scanline Media

One of the most eagerly anticipated releases of the year, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth cast a long shadow over the release schedule. Not only that, but our coverage plans, too: with press getting early copies, dropping reviews day-and-date with the launch, what merit was there to us crunching and rushing to release a podcast about it a week later (and…

Six took some time to go to the movies! Attending the LA Premiere, Six was able to see the US release of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom! Kyrie and Six hash it out about what is, all told, a pretty strange and fascinating movie. We talk about cool robots, bad wars, and the experience of attending the premiere. This was supported by our patrons over…

Take a breath, y'all! Dragon's Dogma 2 released a few hours ago, so we're good! No more big video game releases for 2024, we can all go home! And hey, while you're at home, chillin, why don't you listen to what we've been up to? Kyrie has been digging Vanillaware's latest, the strategy RPG Unicorn Overlord. Jen has answered the siren call of presti…

I'll try to get y'all the Riki Mahjong 2 rules for next episode. I doubt there's anyone chomping at the bit to get them, who really cares, but I have my pride to think of. Probably. That's what people say in these situations, isn't it? To be honest, I don't actually have my pride. But you probably knew that by now. Join the Bottle Crow Discord to c…

If you choose to walk away now, no one will blame you. There will always be more episodes. But if you stay here, and if you listen, you know what you're getting into. It's us listening to and talking over a bizarre Taco Bell press conference/event thing. You were warned. Join the Bottle Crow Discord to check out our live posted show notes as well a…

It all comes down to this: Best Game. Game of the Year. Call it what you like. We play a lot of games, and every year we make ourselves pick an overall winner. And people keep telling me 2023 was an incredible year for games, so surely this is gonna be a really hard list to cut down! The Nominees Are:The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the KingdomParanor…

When Scanline Media started, we wanted to focus on games. But over the years, from doing weekly anime podcasts and where our general interests as a site went, anime and manga became so much of our coverage. Here are the anime and manga that stood out to us as some of the best of the year. The Nominees Are:GunbusterTenchi UniverseTrigunRecord of Lod…

In our longest category, we decided to let 2023 sing it's heart out. These tracks, be them anime OP or standalone songs, struck a chord with us. The Nominees Are:Iron Lotus (Library of Ruina)Anger's Remorse (Alan Wake II)Yoton Yo (Alan Wake II)Dark Ocean Summoning (Alan Wake II)This Road (Alan Wake II)Herald of Darkness (Alan Wake II)Togenkyo Alien…

Instrumental tracks have often gotten the short end of the stick in our Gimmick Awards, and it's high time we changed that. These tracks backed some unforgettable moments or created an unmistakable atmosphere in 2023, and the following stood out to us. The Nominees Are:H.T. (Trigun)It's Pizza Time! (Pizza Tower)Theme of Kai (Gravity Circuit)Mystery…

Every year, we fight over fighting games. We're enthusiastic about the genre (that's an understatement) and it's a delight to see the new ideas and spins on characters that surface as new games and DLC release. Sometimes, it's the little things that make all the difference: a few tweaks to a classic character to reinvent them. Sometimes it's an ent…

Most fictional writing runs on characters, and it is to these characters that fandoms attach themselves. It's these personalities, and often their visual designs as well, that people find so magnetic. Well, we're not looking for the most magnetic person here: some of these folks are not exactly easy to stan! That's fine. We're here for broken peopl…

Honestly the rumored PSP3 is a bad idea because it'll be more like a Vita 2. And hey. The Vita was fine. I liked my Vita decently well. But the Vita's approach was to basically try to be a home to ports, mostly, and that territory is locked down by the Switch and the Steam Deck now. We don't need that! Now, the PSP had a lot of exclusives, which is…

I am open to other perspectives, but a lot of the love of games to me is down to how it feels to hit a button. When the jump feels bad, the game is bad. When the jump feels good, the game is good. That's oversimplifying, intentionally. But so many games ARE just a collection of button presses, and how good they feel to hit. Platformers, action game…

While we have catagories for entire games and shows, it's important to hightlight the moments too. Sometimes the entire work isn't a winner, but that's what can make a moment more remarkable. These moments from games, shows, and real life stood out in 2023. The Nominees Are:"We Sing" (Alan Wake II)The volume slider/"Always remember me" (Paranormasi…

I don't mean to shock anyone, but I, Six, am a bit of a jaded exhausted 30-something. Depending on who you are, you might consider that a redundant descriptor. Regardless, a lot of my experience these days is seeing a game or anime release, and knowing pretty quickly whether or not I will care. And, frankly, usually being right! Not that this is an…

2023 was... listen. We're here to celebrate. To have fun. But it wasn't a great year, all in all. There was a lot of dark shit. And when talking about it, even in a fun "year end podcast" situation, it's easy to get grim and depressed about everything. It's not that that's wrong. It's worth dwelling on the world's ills. But the Gimmick Awards aren'…

No notes for you this time. Nick has a surprise for you. Get in here. Join the Bottle Crow Discord to check out our live posted show notes as well as chat with us and other listeners! We’re on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher! You can subscribe on those, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota friends about us…

Ok. So we know what characters we're looking for from the gacha. We know what characters we can't get from the gacha. And we know about some truly spectacular dresses, though that's not particularly helpful. There's nothing left but to roll the gacha. Again. And again. And again. ...Hey Kyrie did we want to set like a MAX, or- This is the latest in…

Granblue Fantasy hits its tenth anniversary this year. For the mega-popular gacha game, what better celebration than a bunch of other products to hook in those who aren't into the gacha? This has inspired Granblue the Animation, the action RPG Granblue Fantasy: Relink, and yes, Granblue Fantasy Versus, and its sequel Rising. As you might expect, th…

It's time to Go back to basics. STOP MAKING CONTROL GROUPS. Years of triple nexus yet no REAL-WORLD use found for MACRO. Wanted to destroy a base? We had a tool for that: it was called ATTACK MOVE. "Yes please give me 4 pool so I can 8 morph" -Statements dreamed up by the utterly Deranged "Hello I would like to rush apple" They have played us for a…

In these "show notes", the podcaster, attempting to "tease" elements of the podcast, or to tell some self-indulgent "jokes", offers some out of context references to the recording itself, which, itself questionably funny, only becomes more question vis a vis this separation. Perhaps they think this attempt at comedy suffices to supplement their clu…

Looking into it, I've discovered that "chanmery" used to be called "champagne" but as ever, that region of France was like "no you freakin' don't" and they had to change the name. To be honest I wanna get more. That stuff was good! Anyway I'm going to work now, so these show notes kinda suck. It is what it is. Join the Bottle Crow Discord to check …

Scott Pilgrim, huh? I dunno what anyone sees in this guy. Regardless this new Netflix anime follows a new story in the Scott Pilgrim series, commenting on the series impact on culture, reflections on the characters, and a lot of video game and anime references. We bring on Jackie of Ultimate Despair Reprise to gush about this new anime. Spoilers ah…

As the holiday season ramps up, we here at Scanline are prepared for a yearly ritual: playing all the games that we feel like we should have an opinion on before we record the Gimmick Awards, our yearly Game of the Year (and more than game) awards. That makes this the last stop of us just chatting normal games before we dizzy ourselves with our obl…

The Nintendo 64, PlayStation 1, and Saturn were a pivotal moments for video games. 3D video games had arrived in full force, and the industry has never turned back. But Jennifer, Kyrie, and Six turned back the clock to dive into nearly 50 games that defined the generation, and we decided to sort the best of the best.…

I THINk what we want is Star Wars Galaxies Restoration. Cuz I think it's like, we want the Combat Update but not the New Game Experience? I think that's the story. SWG Legends is more popular but it's post NGE, and like, I guess if that's what you want that's fine. But I'm here for a world where Jedi are rare, but dancers are not. Which I guess is …

Fighting game tournaments are great, and a LOT of work to run. Shoutouts to the tournament organizers, the streamers, the casters, and more that make these tournaments run. But think about this for a moment: if a King of Fighters XV tournament is hard to run, how difficult is it in-universe to get these lunatics with magic powers and demonic posses…

THIS is more what I expected. Raging over computer parts, confused over the Compendium, and the most frustrating Fanfiction Corner yet. Come to think of it, are normal pieces of fiction just fanfiction of life? You don't have to be a fan of something to write fanfiction, I know that firsthand. Much to think about. Join the Bottle Crow Discord to ch…

This is, somehow, just a pretty normal podcast of two friends talking about hanging out together. I don't know how we managed it? Except that it wasn't on purpose, because if we'd tried to do it deliberately, we would have failed. Perhaps we should just call it Disney Magic. Join the Bottle Crow Discord to check out our live posted show notes as we…

If this show was actually popular I'd be fighting with people in DMs for months because of my Dragon Ball comments. LISTEN I KNOW THE "AWAKENED BY RAGE" THING IS REAL IT'S JUST NOT USEFUL IN THIS CONVERSATION. I do know Super Saiyan 2.5, I do know Legendary Super Saiyan and Legendary Super Saiyan 2. We were in the weeds enough that I decided to ski…

I'm telling you gang, the initial break on that candy bar? Coulda stopped a BULLET. After that we good but DANG. Anyway I gotta get back to Oblivion posting. I miss that goofy game. You ever notice I don't swear in these show notes? It's a challenge. It's like common courtesy for podcast notes but MAN it gets in the way sometimes. Join the Bottle C…

Around here, Bethesda's games are pretty divisive. We can all agree they're deeply flawed games, but to what extent their unique charms prevail against those weaknesses varies person to person. Jen still holds some affection for Skyrim, Six can't stand it, and neither have anything but disdain for Fallout 4. So what's the vibe with Starfield, their…

This podcast has a Communication Score of under six thousand. Do NOT let Bottle Crow Reborn coach. You should also not let Bottle Crow drive, buy alcohol, or onto any rollercoasters. It's short. The safety harness WOULD NOT REACH. Trust me on this one. Join the Bottle Crow Discord to check out our live posted show notes as well as chat with us and …

I didn't want to just do patch notes. So please enjoy an hour and a half of patches plus our usual food and drink, Carmilla reading, and despairing over what's become of Jacky Mao. How far you've fallen. Join the Bottle Crow Discord to check out our live posted show notes as well as chat with us and other listeners! We’re on iTunes, Google Play, an…

SingSingSing might have to retire after this one. One of those good retirements where your job tells you you're retiring, and you're like "oh thanks but actually I-" and they cut you off like "CONGRATS ON YOUR RETIREMENT" while shoving a watch into your hands, and you out the door. But hey. At least there's pizza. Join the Bottle Crow Discord to ch…

Life moves pretty fast. Despite that, we all found times for a few games that we weren't playing for other podcasts this month, and time enough to sit down to talk about them. This year has seen Jen finally coming to appreciate baseball, and by extension baseball video games in MLB The Show 23. Kyrie has fallen for familiar comforts under friendly …

They really did get our trust back only to throw it away, huh? After a messy first cours, G-Witch came back strong with the first three episodes of cours 2, and our early check-in was quite positive. It continued strong for a while, but of course, the same production troubles were bubbling beneath the surface, and that strong start began to collaps…

The time has come to pay the 7Up Piper. We promised y'all 7Up recipes, and we are here to deliver. Whether you want us to or not. We've got cheeeeese trivia, we've got experience points in a bottle, we've got surprisingly high quality champagne. Grab a MimosUp and kick back. When you're here, you're family. Join the Bottle Crow Discord to check out…