Ultra Podcast Z - A-to-J Connections

Ultra Podcast Z 192 (Happy New Year! w/ Snakz) ALA Panels & Recap, Travel, Holiday Matsuri, More!

1/28/2023

Live Broadcast:
January 25, 2023 6:00 PM PDT

Hosts:
Manuel
Snakz

Description:
Ultra Podcast Z had a bit of shakiness as there were cons, sickness, and all-around cancellations that caused our return to happen a lot later than we would have hoped. Also, once we were ready to return a last minute concert made it that we were going to have to host this episode on a Wednesday instead of a Tuesday, which would normally be our gaming stream... but those are still awaiting their return too. It's a very odd situation that only effects us and the tens of people that watch, but an odd situation nonetheless. Snakz joined here as our original idea was to discuss ALA, recent cons, and some upcoming concerts and events for the year. We definitely did the first one but maybe lost the plot for a bit before coming back to randomness and discussing cons and events later this year. We did talk a bit about concerts here and there but a lot of our storytime might be lost to people who aren't regular viewers as there are some bits that lack context if you're just dropping in randomly. Sorry about that but episodes after long breaks usually have an odd feel to them where everyone is trying to get back into the groove of things, and this one is no exception. Anyhow, there's still some fun to be had here, especially when people finally showed up in the chat about halfway in, so check it out and let's look forward to 2023! Will UPZ survive past episode 200? We shall see... As always, take care of yourselves and each other in these trying times and stay healthy and safe! If you want to watch Ultra Podcast Z live then check out our twitch channel: twitch.tv/atojplays We are live every Tuesday at 6 PM PST!

Ultra Podcast Z 190 (2022 Events w/ Tiffany) Post 2020 Events & Conventions, 2023 & Beyond, More!

12/10/2022

Live Broadcast:
December 6, 2022 6:00 PM PDT

Hosts:
Manuel
Tiffany

Description:
Ultra Podcast Z is back to some regular scheduling, and our end-of-year episodes. This is always a weird time for us as we have the anniversary, the holidays (which we tend to never have time to REALLY cover), and end-of-year/look forward to next year stuff to talk about. As we mentioned on the last episode where we had Snakz on, we had Tiffany on this one to look back at 2022 and to talk a bit about our anniversary. It was fun having her on as she hasn't been on streams since around 2020. The core of this episode was supposed to be discussing what it's like going to events and conventions in 2022, arguably the first full year where the "panini" is considered "over". All that is arguable, but the fact of it is that we are all definitely going to events and those events are quite different than they were pre-2020. We definitely had a lot to say about this, especially Tiffany who experienced performing at conventions in 2022 and even unfortunately got sick in the middle of the year, but we didn't cover the topic as fully as we probably could've. That's what you sometimes get with UPZ though right? There was a lot of randomness at the beginning and the end, but also to be expected, but it was a fun episode and we're in the holiday season so let's just continue with the regularity as it is. Next week we're going to cover some of the hot topics we didn't cover in the main body of episodes, which we also sorta teased at the end of this one, and for the first time in a long while, it looks like we're going to have episodes right up until Christmas before taking a break until after New Year's. Good times. As always, take care of yourselves and each other in these trying times and stay healthy and safe! If you want to watch Ultra Podcast Z live then check out our twitch channel: twitch.tv/atojplays We are live every Tuesday at 6 PM PST!

Ultra Podcast Z 180 (Mahjong Madness w/ Janette) Mahjong Soul, Riichi Mahjong, Anime Cons, More!

8/12/2022

Live Broadcast:
August 9, 2022 6:00 PM PDT

Hosts:
Manuel
Janette

Description:
Ultra Podcast Z took a week off for random nonsense and came back with a special episode that was supposed to feature Pleiades hosting and Janette on as a guest. As you can probably see from the finished product, only half of that equation came to pass. Thankfully JD was still available to host and this somewhat last minute episode went forward. We were originally going to do a trifecta of con discussion as the three hosts had all been to recent conventions in different parts of the country, but that wasn't to be so most of this show was about mahjong. What started as a thought about how Manuel had got a new mahjong set for his birthday turned into a discussion about the differences between Chinese, Japanese, and American Mahjong, and lots more. What was definitely decided was that we have a lot of strong views on mahjong and probably will be going forward with our mahjong gaming nights that we've been toying around with for the past couple months. When we do, will it be riichi though? Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions on easy ways to play Chinese mahjong online, please let us know in the comments below as that is something we are very interested in. Oh, and we talked a BIT about other stuff, but you can all just consider this the "Mahjong Episode". As always, take care of yourselves and each other in these trying times and stay healthy and safe! If you want to watch Ultra Podcast Z live then check out our twitch channel: twitch.tv/atojplays We are live every Tuesday at 6 PM PST!

Ultra Podcast Z 179 (SDCC News w/ Badman) The Rings of Power, MCU Phase 6, Eighth Anniversary, More!

7/29/2022

Live Broadcast:
July 26, 2022 6:00 PM PDT

Hosts:
Manuel
Badman

Description:
Ultra Podcast Z returns from its recent one week break (where we actually had NO streams) and we were joined by Badman again as Nyaru sat this one out for reasons we teased live but we definitely aren't going to get into in-depth. We were supposed to talk all sorts of news and stuff that came out at SDCC and this basically became a "Rings of Power" and MCU discussion as that is what we spent most of the show talking about. We talked about recent stuff we've watched on streaming, and briefly covered A-to-J's eighth anniversary towards the end, but that was the big (accidental) focus of the show. It was fun stopping everything to check how long it took Frodo to get to Mount Doom and to rant almost non-stop about how MCU is missing opportunities left and right to bring Warlock into things, but maybe we're in a minority there. This was a bit of a hastily put together show as it was originally going to be ALL anniversary talk with Nyaru and guest, so maybe we'll just have to save that episode for November when we have our REAL anniversary. Yeah, we have two anniversaries because nothing at A-to-J can ever be simple. As always, take care of yourselves and each other in these trying times and stay healthy and safe! If you want to watch Ultra Podcast Z live then check out our twitch channel: twitch.tv/atojplays We are live every Tuesday at 6 PM PST!

Ultra Podcast Z 178 (Anime Expo Recap) AX 2022, Summer Conventions, Elon Musk, Ken Akamatsu, More!

7/15/2022

Live Broadcast:
July 12, 2022 6:00 PM PDT

Hosts:
Manuel
Badman

Description:
Ultra Podcast Z returns from its AX break with an episode that doesn't feature Nyaru as she unfortunately got the big C over at AX and has been taking it easy following the con. Warren joined and we all recapped the con a bit with some news and nonsense sprinkled in. The opening segment took a bit longer than we intended as we ended up talking a lot about shows we've been watching recently from Stranger Things 4, Marco Polo, The Boys, and Man In The High Castle just to name a few. We then talked a LOT about AX without really covering stuff that HAPPENED at AX. Weird when you think about it, but we are also a lot about the hanging out, the partying, and just experiences overall. Will you be going to AX Ontario and other summer conventions since everything seems in full swing again? Let us know below! We then moved on and talked about some other news topics briefly, like Elon Musk's Twitter deal falling through, the Shinzo Abe incident, and Kem Akamatsu (of Love Hina fame) now becoming a politician? There was a lot there even if we didn't give everything as much time as we probably should have. We're just warming up to a regular stream schedule though as we've had about six weeks of messiness so just keep an eye on us until next week! As always, take care of yourselves and each other in these trying times and stay healthy and safe! If you want to watch Ultra Podcast Z live then check out our twitch channel: twitch.tv/atojplays We are live every Tuesday at 6 PM PST!

Ultra Podcast Z 177 (Anime Expo Pre-Roll) Reunion Recap, Anime Expo Prep & Convention Plans, More!

6/30/2022

Live Broadcast:
June 28, 2022 6:00 PM PDT

Hosts:
Manuel
Nyaru

Description:
Ultra Podcast Z returns with its original cast just in time for a pre-AX episode! Nyaru and Manuel are both back and talked about what they're looking forward to at Anime Expo since it is days away, as of this episode's YouTube posting everyone should already be on site! Nyaru had a lot of event plans while Manuel was just looking forward to the parties, but is any of that really surprising? There was a lot of discussion here, food plans, past AX recollections, and even dipping our toes a bit into an Anime Expo bingo thing (that didn't really pan out the way we intended). We normally don't do episodes this close to a big convention but seeing as we didn't have a lot of personal projects at AX that we had to prep for, and seeing as we had to cancel a bunch of "normal" episodes recently, we decided to go through with this one, so keep that in mind while we are all fairly tired. That said, it was a pretty on night and we are all excited in our own way for Anime Expo. If you're going to be going to AX this weekend then have fun and be sure to stay safe and hydrated! We'll see everyone in two weeks as we are already sure that the next episode will be skipped as it's so close to the end of AX, but we will be back! As always, take care of yourselves and each other in these trying times and stay healthy and safe! If you want to watch Ultra Podcast Z live then check out our twitch channel: twitch.tv/atojplays We are live every Tuesday at 6 PM PST!

Ultra Podcast Z 176 (Running A Con w/ Donald) Gaming & Anime News, Tora-Con Info & Stories, More!

6/24/2022

Live Broadcast:
June 21, 2022 6:00 PM PDT

Hosts:
JD
Donald

Description:
Ultra Podcast Z had another weird week. The end of the no-host period is wrapping up now, but it's been interesting to see how UPZ can continue on. This week JD actually contacted a friend of his, Donald, the chair of Tora-Con, to be his co-host. Tora-Con is a local anime convention held at the Rochester Institute of Technology (link below) in Rochester, New York and, while that was a the main topic here, there was a lot covered. It's definitely interesting to get someone behind the scenes when it comes to running a convention as we've (surprisingly) have not really tried this kind of topic before even though we all have more than our share of convention runner friends. Besides Tora-Con talk there was news, anime, and video game talk all throughout and there was a lot of storytime and event talk when it came to Tora-Con itself. It's a little weird watching UPZ with such a different cast but it's been an unique ride that's for sure! Anyhow, be sure to check out this episode, check out Tora-Con if you can, and keep watching UPZ! Maybe we'll have Donald on again in the future as both him and Photaku, not to mention JD himself, did a good job making up for some unforeseen circumstances. Next week both Manuel and Nyaru should be back talking about some pre-Anime Expo stuff so let's see if things jump back to normal after that! As always, take care of yourselves and each other in these trying times and stay healthy and safe! If you want to watch Ultra Podcast Z live then check out our twitch channel: twitch.tv/atojplays We are live every Tuesday at 6 PM PST!

Ultra Podcast Z 175 (No Manuel, No Cry w/ Photaku) Video Game Updates, Netflix, Conventions, More!

6/16/2022

Live Broadcast:
June 14, 2022 6:00 PM PDT

Hosts:
JD
Photaku

Description:
Ultra Podcast Z had a really weird week. Manuel was indisposed because of a lot of personal irl nonsense and Nyaru was going to take the week off. Normally, either of these things (especially Manuel not being able to make it), would mean that the episode would be cancelled but JD, our mod who has been on every episode for about year now as our mod, decided that he could get a show together on his own and got Photaku, who himself has replaced Nyaru many times recently, to join him as co-host. We had some ideas of what we were going to talk about this summer but JD decided to focus on a more topical idea: E3 game news since there won't be any sort of E3 this year at all. There was a lot of game talk, a lot of random talk and then things moved to Netflix news and the old standby: anime conventions. More talk about updates and a lot about JD's recent trip to Anime Boston closed what was a very unique show. It's unknown if this kinda format will ever happen again, but it's interesting that the show can indeed go on without either of its hosts. Also, if you look at the chat, Manuel was in the show a lot actually but only in spirit! Anyway, hopefully next week will see Manuel and Nyaru return, and if not, we know that the should CAN still go on! As always, take care of yourselves and each other in these trying times and stay healthy and safe! If you want to watch Ultra Podcast Z live then check out our twitch channel: twitch.tv/atojplays We are live every Tuesday at 6 PM PST!