Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

Anime! Manga! Conventions! Fandom! Reviews! News! Editorials! Seasonal Preview Guides! Classics!

Join Kate and Alain as they discuss everything from what they just watched to what is going on in fandom.

The Speakeasy: The main podcast where we discuss what we’ve been watching, reading, and playing, plus occasional other topics.

About

KATE

Kate loves stories and seeks them out in many different forms: books, films, musical theater, television, games, but most especially comics and animation.

She may have a tendency to voice her opinion too loudly, change her mind, and even forget the things she has said. But her intentions are to lead people to good and great manga and anime.

You can get on her good side with a good mystery, dogs, and/or cool ladies of history.


Kate loves talking and writing about anime and manga with her bestie Alain. Over the years they have created countless posts, lists, podcasts, and convention panels in the hopes of spreading the word on great titles to the masses. Kate doesn’t remember who roped who into creating Reverse Thieves, but she is very glad it happened.

ALAIN

It all started with some fansub tapes from Chinatown. Before that, there was Voltron and Robotech but they were more of the seeds of later fandom than the first flowers to sprout from the soil. Memories of watching Ghost in the Shell and Ninja Scroll or playing Ranma ½: Hard Battle laid a foundation of a later fandom. Record of Lodoss War and Akira solidified the medium of anime as something to pay attention to. Shows were half watched in the dealer’s room of various sci-fi conventions. Random treasures were found in the local video store. The doorway to manga was opened by Xenon and Mai, the Psychic Girl but that door would merely be left ajar for over a decade.

Then came college. Discussions of SlayersJoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and The Vision of Escaflowne with dormmates. A weekend trip to see Princess Mononoke in one of the small art house theaters playing the movie. Watching Armageddon while waiting for RPG group to get together. Never joining the anime club but always considering it.

Next came the reunion with Ranma ½. The Internet made new discoveries simple and plentiful. The digital age grew small saplings into mighty oaks. The door had been thrown open as whole new genres, creators, and even paradigms no longer were hidden away in the shadows. Cowboy BebopCardcaptor Sakura, Here is Greenwood, and Beautiful Dreamer each revealed new roads to go down. Every new discovery led to three more.

Conventions showed the greater fandom to connect to. Friends were made, shows were shared, and the world of fandom continued to grow. A 100% authentic manga revolution opened many eyes. Bubbles were created and then popped.

Amidst it all, two friends decided that they wanted a voice. They started a blog. They started doing panels. Eventually, that led to a podcast. Research projects, interviews, collaborations, and more all came with their ever increasing scope.

So much time has passed but hopefully, there is even more yet to be done. As long as there are innovative show to watch there is still writing to be done.


Alain has been watching anime for longer than the median age of the average fan. He started watching anime as cartoons from Japan when he was in junior high school and has been a fan even since. This eventually led him to be a writer and podcaster for Reverse Thieves. He has been a panelist for dozens of conventions over the years and has material prepared for whoever needs him. While Type-Moon might be his specialty, he is well-versed in a wide variety of genres of anime and manga. Being a media omnivore, and a rather experienced one, usually gives him a unique and surprisingly upbeat perspective on the mediums of anime and manga.