KoshienCast- A Sports Anime Fan Podcast

The Matts decide to wrap up their long year of sports anime with talking about the best and worst of sports anime of 2017. Except most of the good anime was in 2016, and no one wants a list citing Fastest Finger First as the best of the year.

The Matts bid farewell to the weekly format in this episode. They also have to come to grips with the fact that Big Wind-Up is finally over and that they somehow managed to survive Two Car every week.

The Matts have a special announcement regarding the future of the show to kick off the episode. You know what won't be in their future anymore? Welcome to the Ballroom. Two Car refuses to end though, so, you know.

A Welcome to the Ballroom-less week gives the Matts the chance to reflect on Christmas and remember a couple of Christmas themed anime episodes that exist. Two Car also allows them to reflect on the first episode and that it happened.

Parental dynamics comes into play in this week's episode of Big Wind-Up, but not before Welcome to the Ballroom reminds us why life maybe doesn't entirely suck while dancing. Also, Two Car.

The Matts finally have a deep dive into the only 2 subjects that matter: dairy products and Two Car (in that order). Just what is it about this show that has the Matts so completely fixated on it in lieu of genuinely interesting shows like March Comes in Like a Lion and Big Wind-Up?

The Matts find the case of confused identity of Two Car this emblematic of the series. Meanwhile Welcome to the Ballroom shakes things up to mixed and strange results.

Haberdashery has become the new hot topic of discussion on this exciting episode of KoshienCast? What's exciting about it? Welcome to the Ballroom was potentially interesting this week.

March Comes in Like a Lion drains both the Matts emotionally before Welcome to the Ballroom does so unintentionally. Also the Matts are horrified to discover how nothing can truly change in Two Car.

Some intense laundry discussion leads the Matts into an equally intense discussion on Rei's history on March Comes in Like a Lion and the weird vibes coming from Welcome to the Ballroom. Also sadly Two Car is featured.

The Matts are together again and ready to discuss a new week of sports and lawn care! March has a surprising turn of events, while Welcome to the Ballroom doesn't. Does Two Car even turn? Does that actually mean anything?

The Matts are fashionably late to review Fastest Finger First! Is it worth it to buzz in, or should you let the question pass by?

Matt's on his own this week as Matt has his own personal business. It'll be up to Matt to make sense of this week's Two Car and go over the premiere of season 2 of March Comes in Like a Lion! Also, he wishes he had some help going over Welcome to the Ballroom this week. What the heck, Vassily?

The Matts play catch up in this flavorful episode. They check in with what they missed in Welcome to the Ballroom, catch up to where they originally were in Big Wind-Up before starting season 2, and catch themselves up to whatever the heck happened in Two Car.

Dive is an anime that was exclusively released on Amazon's Anime Strike service. This episode of KoshienCast analyzes it. The Matts come to conclusions.

Finally, it's the advent of a new season and the Matts have a whole slew of new anime to watch! But before then, they reflect on their 1-year anniversary and kick it off with a question from someone that's not themselves! Huzzah!

The Matts are relieved to finally be done with the strangest show they've covered yet. It's so baffling that for the first time ever they call a draft partway through because they've run out of ways to express their bewilderment.

It's the final week of the summer season, and everything but Welcome to the Ballroom is wrapping up! Did Dive redeem itself? Did Clean Freak elevate itself to new heights? Was Fastest Finger First at least okay?

The Matts are totally together this week! They just choose to discuss series separately is all! One Matt covers Welcome to the Ballroom and Dive, the other on Fastest Finger First and Clean Freak! Who is who? Which is which? What is what?! What?

Fastest Finger First pulls its weight this week as Dive continues its plunge. Plus a lengthy discussion on the uncomfortable roles of women in both Welcome to the Ballroom and Clean Freak.

It's a rough week as Welcome to the Ballroom and Dive fail to impress. On the plus side, at least Clean Freak met expectations! Wait that's not good.

The Matts struggle to find meaning in this week's Clean Freak Aoyama-kun. Also notable is an uncomfortable discussion on the overly obsessive camera work of Welcome to the Ballroom. At least Big Wind-Up is there as their reliable palate cleanser.

Can Clean Freak continue to get any more pointless? The answer may shock you! In fact, it's a slow week all around with Dive and Fastest Finger First seemingly stalling for an ending, but at least Welcome to the Ballroom might have a bit more going on?

It's a mish-mash of opinions this week, as the Matts can't seem to find any common ground anywhere! One Matt liked Welcome to the Ballroom, the other couldn't step to its beat. One Matt fell for Dive, the other thought it flopped. Heck, one Matt even was sort of okay with Clean Freak this week, an event neither ever thought was possible!

It's a heart breaking week, with romantic complications in both Dive and Clean Freak. One uses this effectively, one (shockingly) does not. Of course, one could argue that Fastest Finger First has the most compelling pairing of them all with Koshiyama/Quiz Bowl, but that remains to be seen.

It's a wild week on this bizarre episode of KoshienCast! Surprise guests, audio cutouts, double episodes of Welcome to the Ballroom, and one Matt bravely facing the odds on his own to finally make sense of said series! There is a roughly 18 second cut at around 13:57 during Matt's explanation of certain characters in Fastest Finger First. Thankfully the other Matt mostly reiterates his points anyway.

Well the Matts certainly didn't know what they were getting into when they started Encouragement of Climb. Did it turn out to be the cynical cash grab they thought it would be? Or was what they found more... encouraging?

It's a wild week, as yet again the series they wrote off as being a Free clone turns out better than expected. Meanwhile the series they expected to be the smash hit of the season heads in very strange directions. At least Clean Freak!! Aoyama-kun is pretty consistent!

The Question of the Week leads the Matts into a draft of their picks for the best and worst of what they've watched! After that, it's some awkward discussions on Welcome to the Ballroom, some heated debate on Clean Freak, and why Big Wind-Up has somehow stayed their pick of the season despite its airing a decade ago.

Hey, it's the sequel series to Yowamushi Pedal, the smash hit shounen battle series of 2013! A new adventure awaits the boys of Sohoku and Hakone, and the Matts are ready with the hottest of takes. How does it hold up to its predecessor? Only one way to find out! You know, barring sitting down and watching it. Bonus: Matt K's review for the series http://blog.honeyfeed.fm/yowamushi-pedal-new-generation-review/

It's a brand new season with a brand new set of shows! Does Welcome to the Ballroom live up to the hype? Does Clean Freak! Aoyama-kun inspire any confidence in its future? Will Big Wind-Up remain the best thing the Matts are currently watching?

It's been several months, but it's finally over! The Matts find catharsis in discussing the show that has followed them for the entirety of their KoshienCast careers. They also try out a new segment: the character draft! Listen as they pick who they'd want on their team if their strength was based on how interesting a character they are (read: they rank their favorite characters).

The Matts wrap up the Spring Season with the finales to Yowamushi Pedal and Tiger Mask! One of those ends up shockingly poor, while the other is shockingly good! Which one is it? You'll have to listen to find out!

The Matts are free from the confines of Tiger Mask and are ready to jump into the summer season, which looks to be the most promising yet! Lots of unique and interesting shows this season with all sorts of unique hooks! But more importantly, the Matts introduce a new segment to the show: question of the week! If you have any questions for the Matts, shoot them an e-mail to: koshiencast@gmail.com

Things appear to be wrapping up in Tiger Mask, except they aren't. Things appear to be happening in Yowamushi Pedal, but they aren't. What things are real? We dunno, except for one pure truth that has held steadfast for generations. Big Wind-Up is good.

Welcome to our 38th episode spectacular! Wait, it's episode 37? Well, Matt may have misled us in the opening... but that's beside the point! It's still the 50th upload! We're nearing the end of the Spring season, so the Matts begin wrapping up discussion on Tiger Mask and Yowamushi Pedal. But, sadly, Encouragement of Climb may be a rare letdown.

The Matts are happy to be back to a normal schedule where they don't have to worry about any weird scheduling only for a surprise half way through the episode! But hey, at least both had positive things to say about Yowamushi Pedal and Tiger Mask for once!

The first big race concludes in Yowamushi Pedal, and the Matts have a little theory on how the rest of the next couple of seasons will progress! Other than that, Matt does a fine solo job on Tiger Mask as Matt heads off for fun in the sun in the exotic land of Ohio for ColossalCon! Maybe he'll learn some tips on taking it easy from Minami Kamakura?

The Matts throw a wench into things by discussing Tiger Mask last! Will that help temper their expectations of the show (hint: no)? But, hey, Yowamushi Pedal manages to impress this week with something they've wanted to see for a long time!

The Matts are horrified to discover that Minami Kamakura refuses to end! Will the final episode bring the series redemption? Also, sadly Matt couldn't stick around long enough to watch Tiger Mask, so Matt is going to have to cover it on his own. Enjoy! He does a great job on his own (-Matt)!

Well Yowapeda didn't go anywhere at all this week. Neither did Tiger Mask, to be honest. Actually, despite being enormously compelling, Big Wind-Up didn't even go anywhere either! Do the Matts only like Encouragement of Climb because it's the only show they watch that actually makes progress?... I mean, no, but even so they'd appreciate if you listen to them anyway.

Hey, whadya know? Matt's back! And he's none too please about having to be dragged away from Zelda and his wife in order to watch Tiger Mask. Matt also discovers a terrible secret about Encouragement of Climb that rocks the very foundation of KoshienCast's structure for this season (read: they're only covering 2 episodes rather than 3 now). But, hey, they'll always have Big Wind-Up, right? Also, apologies, Matt's audio apparently cut out a bit when they were recording right around the 48 minute mark. It was only a second or two of irretrievable audio, but it certainly quadrupled Matt's normal editing time trying to figure out what happened!

Matt has to take this episode on solo while Matt is off getting married or whatever, but hey, his loss, as he misses out on both Yowamushi Pedal and Tiger Mask this week! Did he make the right choice on skipping out on what will surely be the defining episodes of either series?! The answer is yes

How frustrating can Tiger Mask W get? Well, Matt will have to tackle that one solo as Matt's gone for that portion this week! On the plus side, he'll still be around to explain some vital baseball terminology for Big Wind-Up. First though, they'll need to spend some time discussing this week's doozy of a Yowamushi Pedal episode!

What even is Teekyu? The Matts get to the bottom of this mystery and investigate what has kept this trendsetter going for so long. What they discover may surprise you... or not. Whatever. Teekyu doesn't seem to care; why should you? Just don't think about it. Also reviewed are its two spinoff series, Takamiya Nasuno Desu and Usakame.

The Matts have to draw a line in the sand thanks to Yowamushi Pedal this week! One really enjoyed it, the other couldn't stand it. Who comes out the victor? Well... listen and see. Certainly no one came out better from watching Tiger Mask this week, anyway.

Anybody else out there like All-Out?... Anyone? Well, at least the Matts enjoyed it. Listen as they go in-depth with why the series is a great deconstruction of modern sports series and what may have hindered the series from being the success it could have been.

It's the beginning of a new season! The Matts are pleasantly surprised with just about everything this time, with Yowamushi Pedal introducing a new, intriguing conflict, Big Wind-Up holding up after all these years, and Encouragement of Climb being shockingly tolerable!

Well... Minami Kamakura is finally over after just one season, and the Matts couldn't be more relieved to get this out of the way. Will their review help them better appreciate the series? Can they finally come to terms with Sandy McDougal? Did the girls actually accomplish anything? And, the most important question of all: will they finally learn where to find a delicious chocolate parfait for a reasonable price in Kamakura?!

We say farewell to the Winter season and welcome in Spring! Except, er, it's not too much different, with both Yowamushi Pedal and Tiger Mask W being the only sports anime airing. To shake things up a bit, the Matts check out an old classic in Big Wind-Up as well as look into Encouragement of Climb, which has a new season starting up soon!

With only three shows this week, Matt and Matt have plenty of time to delve into pressing matters such as why Ryujin of All-Out is so cool and why Teshima of Yowamushi Pedal was almost a good captain. Also, the hype for Tiger Mask deflates as the identity of the former Yellow Devil comes out.