Interview: RealBreakingNate @ Wizard World Madison 2018

At Wizard World Madison 2018, I had an opportunity to interview RealBreakingNate, a well-known Pokemon YouTuber. We talk about how he got started doing videos, and some of the panels he ran at the convention:

A press pass was provided for this event.

Musician Interview: Charity Goodin ("The Power Of Us" co-performer)

Charity Goodin

The following in an interview with Charity Goodin, co-performer of “The Power Of Us”, the ending theme of the recently released Pokémon movie of the same name.

Where are you from, and how did you get into doing music?

I’m originally from Maryland-just outside of Washington D.C..

Growing up, our home was filled with music. My mother took my sister and me to church to join the choir at five years old. Even at that young age, I enjoyed being able to create the perfect sound I wanted for the lyrics and songs I was singing. I started playing clubs long before I was old enough to be a customer. It was a bit odd at times-when I was in a rock band, I would sit in the car before we went on stage, sing, and then go sit in the car so as not to draw too much attention to myself. Other memorable performances include fronting a Yugoslavian Tamburitza Orchestra (singing in Serbo-Croatian), working with swing and big bands, singing in church choirs in various parts of the country, and now there’s a great group of jazz musicians I perform with called Del Sol. It was through our jazz gigs that I met Ed Goldfarb, the composer and songwriter for Pokémon.

What was your experience with Pokémon before working on "The Power Of Us"?

Most of what I knew came from my son, who was born in 1991. He and his friends would speak in the Pokémon voices and sing the theme songs. That’s really about it.

How did you wind up singing on it? 

Ed and I performed some jazz gigs together, and he asked if I’d like to do some holiday recordings for a CD he wrote and produced. Later, he asked me to sing for a Pokémon demo he was working on, which became the S21 theme song, “Under the Alolan Moon”.

I was thrilled to work with Ed. He is an amazing composer. The harmonies, the complex structures of the pieces are a bit deceptive to the listener. They are so easy to get into your head that you don’t realize the brilliant work that took place.

What was the recording process like?

The recording was detailed and meticulous, and for me, fun. I sang all the parts of the harmony, quite a few times to get the desired effect of a choir. Ed was masterful at getting what he wanted for the vocal sound from me. I think the end result is great.

Is there a particular part of the song you wanted to call out?

I love those harmonies and the hook of the song. The lyrics are very uplifting and positive.

What other musical work have you done recently?

Right now I am getting ready for a couple of Holiday shows. One at the Deerfield Winery Caves in Sonoma and I’m one of the featured soloists for the Santa Rosa Symphony Holiday Pops concert. Amongst other classic holiday songs, I’ll finally be performing “Let It Go” from Disney’s Frozen. I say “finally” because since the movie came out, every time I performed at a wedding or event where children were present, they would ask if I’d sing that song. It was very sweet, but a jazz quartet doesn’t usually have that in the repertoire. Aside from that, I’ve been in a writing/recording collaboration with Rob Fordyce (the bassist from my jazz group), and Jimmy Hobson (a recording engineer at Marinwest Studios).

What's your website, and where can you be found on social media?

My website is charitygoodin.com, and you can also find me on Facebook.

Poke Press Digest Podcast: Episode 22-Erica Schroeder/Victini Movie(s) Music

For the first segment (0:55-7:16), I interview Erica Schroeder, a long-time voice actor for the Pokemon dub. We talk about how she got into the anime, her work as the singing voice of Meloetta, and her roles in the recently released movie "Pokemon: The Power of Us".

The second segment (7:23-56:25) covers the music of the 14th Pokemon movies-and no, that isn't a mistake. Anne from Pikapi Podcast helps me sort out the extra-large amount of material we had to cover this time around. Listen to find out if two songs from Every Little Thing or the two versions of "Follow Your Star" come out on top.



Links:

Segment 1:
Erica's Website
Wizard World* Website

*A press pass was provided for this event.

Segment 2:
Pikapi Podcast
Alex Nackman Interview
Kathryn Raio Interview

Interview: Voice Actor Erica Schroeder

Erica Schroeder has voiced many characters throughout the Pokemon anime, ranging from Nurse Joy to Meloetta-and many more. I was fortunate enough to be able to interview her at the recent Wizard World Comic Con event in Madison. We discuss how she got into voice acting, how she started working on Pokemon, and what characters she voiced in the recently released movie "The Power of Us":

Discussion: The Music of "Pokemon the Movie Black/White" (Part 1)

In an unusual move, there are actually two 14th Pokemon movies, each with a different ending theme, as well as score. Listen as Anne from Pikapi Podcast and I discuss the Japanese and English end themes of these films, and other musical aspects. Does"The Sky/The Voice" top two versions of "Follow Your Star"? Here's the first part:

If you need something to tide you over a bit longer, here's a recap of last weekend's Wizard World event in Madison:

The livestream includes me unpacking a Pokemon-themed mystery box, so be sure to check it out!

"Pokemon: The Power of Us" Summary & Review

Here's a recap of my experience seeing "Pokemon: The Power of Us" last weekend, as well as some channel news:

As noted in the video, I'll be attending the upcoming Pokemon Regionals in Anaheim, CA. You can find out more information about that event at their website.

Got any opinions on the music of the Keldeo movie?

Not long from now, Anne from Pikapi Podcast and I will be sitting down to discuss the music of the 15th Pokemon movie, "Kyurem Vs. the Sword of Justice ", otherwise known as the Keldeo movie. We'll be comparing "Memories" by Rola and "It's All Inside Of You" by Jess Turner, the Japanese and English ending themes (respectively) of the movie. We'll also be discussing the score and other musical elements:

If you have an opinions, feel free to share them with a comment on this post!

Psy, Yai, Yai (Parody of "Bye, Bye, Bye" by N'Sync)

The (arguably) best comic relief Pokemon gets his own song in this latest parody, which takes 2000's "Bye, Bye, Bye" and flips it on its head (perhaps Psyduck can relate) to deliver a moving story:

Notes:

So, background on this one. I originally wrote this in 2008-I’m not sure what prompted it specifically. I heard the original back in 2000, of course (imagine if Weird Al had done something like this for Pokémon 2000!). Obviously the idea was to capture the mixed feelings Misty had for her Psyduck in the lyrics, covering the inconvenience/embarrassment side but transitioning to a more positive tone by the end as she actively defends Psyduck. Of course, this turns the original song on its head, which is something I enjoy doing in my parodies.

I picked to have this recorded now mainly to time up with the release of “Let’s Go”. It was a bit more challenging than previous times because I hired different people to do the instruments and the vocals, giving me my first real experience mixing a music track, which I think turned out relatively well.

One interesting production tidbit-the Psyduck sounds were originally intended to sound as close as possible to the echoing “byes” in the original, but what we wound up with actually sounds more interesting to me as it sounds as if Psyduck doesn’t understand what he should be doing in what is ostensibly his own song. It also keeps the song a bit fresher throughout.

Links:
SHARI
Tom Bedlam

Poke Press Digest Podcast: Episode 21-"How to End a Pokemon Movie (Musically)" (Anime Banzai 2018)

For this single segment episode, we have a panel that was recorded at last month's Anime Banzai in Utah. Listen as Anne from Pikapi Podcast and I share what we've learned from discussing Pokémon music, followed by a few questions from the audience:



Links:

Pikapi Podcast
Anime Banzai
Recap Video

How to End a Pokemon (Musically) (Part 1)

At this year's Anime Banzai in Utah, Anne and I held a panel talking about what we learned so far discussing the ending themes of the Pokemon movies. In this first part, Anne and I share our backgrounds and how and why the discussion series got started:

Anime Banzai 2018 Recap

Here's A recap of last weekend's Anime Banzai in Layton, UT, just north of Salt Lake City. I hosted a panel, and took part in a number of other activities during the event, including Sunday's Pokemon Go Community Day:

Poke Press Digest Podcast: Episode 20-European Pokemon Music/More Shorts

This installment has two segments. First (0:46-38:39), Anne from Pikapi Podcast and I discuss a variety of Pokémon music that originated in Europe. Our choices include songs from the German version of the second movie and openings of the Italian dub.

The second segment (38:47-44:15) is a pair of short pieces-one where I compare the music of Octopath Traveler to Shinji Miyazaki’s work on the Pokémon Anime, and another where I announce an appearance at the upcoming Anime Banzai in Utah.


Links:

Segment 1:
Pikapi Podcast

Segment 2:
Anime Banzai

Discussion: European Pokemon Music (Part 1)

In a break between the fourth and fifth generations of Pokemon movies, Anne and I held a discussion of European Pokemon music. In this first segment, we discuss "Du Bist Nicht Allein", and the movie version of "Pokemon Welt", both from the German version of the second Pokemon movie:

September 2018 League Cup: Madison, WI

William Pierce

The following is an interview with William Pierce, who finished in the top eight of a recent League Cup in Madison, WI using a Vikavolt/Tapu Bulu deck.

Where are you from, and how did you get into the Pokémon TCG?

I’m originally from Dubuque, Iowa and have been collecting as long as the TCG has been around. I knew how to play because of the Game Boy Color game and the terrible PC game, but I did not know of a community who played where I lived, so I collected on and off for about twelve years. When Black and White came out, I began playing on PTCGO casually, but didn’t attend my first league until XY-BREAKthrough in 2015. After that, I continued to play casually and collect until Sun/Moon, when I began building more meta decks. I attended my first League Cup about a year later in January 2018 and have been to several cups and regionals since.

What's the basic strategy of Vikavolt/Tapu Bulu, and why did you choose it for this tournament?

The main idea is to use Vikavolt’s ability, Strong Charge, along with a manual energy attachment to power up Tapu Bulu’s Nature’s Judgment, which does 120 Damage + 60 more if you choose to discard all energy attached. That level of damage puts most commonly played Pokémon within one or two-shot range.

As for why I chose the deck, since it was so soon after rotation, I had no idea what to expect or even how to build without some of the key supporters that had rotated. Vikavolt/Tapu Bulu is a deck I am very familiar with, so it felt safe. Also, I feel it is one of the fastest decks in the current format due to its ability to hit for 210 damage on the second turn of the game. The main decks I was expecting at the event were Zoroark-GX, which has a terrible time against Tapu Bulu, and Rayquaza, which I had thoroughly tested against and was confident I could beat.

What are some other important cards in the deck?

The most important card in the deck for this tournament (aside from Vikavolt) turned out to be Tapu Koko. There was an unexpected amount of Buzzwole/Shrine decks, which kept me from benching too many GX Pokémon due to the buildup of damage from Shrine of Punishment. This forced me to use Tapu Koko, Oranguru, Vikavolt and even Dedenne to trade prizes evenly.

What worked well for the deck?

With Tapu Bulu’s ability to heal itself using its GX attack, if you can keep it out of one-shot range, it can take three prizes before going down. I realized that early in the tournament and made sure to play cautiously until both players were down to three prizes, at which point I could overwhelm my opponent with Tapu Bulu.

More broadly, I attribute much of my success in this tournament to my familiarity with Garbodor and Weavile and my ability to manage my Items and abilities accordingly.

What didn't work so well, and what might you change if you used this deck again?

The main thing I plan on changing with this deck is to add more dedicated one-prize attackers, such as Dhelmise. What ended up losing me the match in top eight was starting with Bulu and failing to set up before it took too much damage from Shrine of Punishment, giving my opponent a strong lead on prizes.

What are you anticipating in this new tournament season?

I am looking forward to the rest of the season because I really enjoy this format. It punishes players harshly for playing too aggressively and encourages players to weigh the pros and cons of every play. 

I'm headed to Anime Banzai in Utah!

Next month, I'll be headed to Utah to attend Anime Banzai 2018. Additionally, Anne from Pikapi Podcast and will be hosting a panel covering the end themes of the Pokemon movies:

Anime Banzai Website

Geek.Kon 2018 Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Tournament Winner

Jared Van Wormer

The following is an interview with Jared Van Wormer, winner of a Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournament at this year’s Geek.Kon.

Where are you from, and how did you get into competitive Smash?

I’m from Wisconsin and first started playing competitively when Smash 4 came out, though I’ve been playing Smash since I was 11 years old, starting with Smash 64. In fact, I’ve bought every Nintendo system specifically for Smash.

Which character did you use the most in this tournament? Why?

I mostly used Peach in the tournament because she is my main. I know she’s hard to master and even I can’t utilize her to the max, but she’s also rewarding to play as. Many people at this tournament complemented my Peach, and since many people almost never see her or don’t see her played at the level I’m at, it feels good.

During the finals, you switched characters several times. What prompted that?

When I was on stream, I first played Captain Falcon because I was against my roommate and we always start our games with a Captain Falcon mirror match. We also always taunt first because we like to think we are classy. In the finals, I don’t really know why I switched around. I played Marth, which is secondary of mine and ised Jigglypuff-I guess to get some extra hype, as I thought beating a good Cloud with Jigglypuff would be pretty awesome to do on stream.

What are your thoughts on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate?

I am incredibly excited for Super Smash Bros Ultimate and expect to play it a lot! I am pretty much interested in everything new they have shown and can’t wait to see what else they have in store. I’m rooting for Lloyd Irving from Tales of Symphonia to become a playable character, as he would be my new main for sure.

You cosplayed as Weiss from RWBY for this year's event. Why did you choose that character?

I really love Weiss from RWBY, so I decided to cosplay as a “gender bender” version of Weiss. I love her weapon, fighting style and her Semblance ability. She’s the character we see grow the most (in my eyes anyway), and she is one that most hate from early on since she acts so spoiled. At the same time, she’s fun, and I got to meet Kara Eberle, Weiss’ voice actor last year, who was really nice and you could tell that Kara and Weiss had a lot of similar characteristics.

What else did you do at this year's Geek.Kon?

I bought a few things in the vendor hall, went to panel, but mostly came for the Smash 4 tournament. In fact, I frequently come to Geek.Kon just for Smash tournaments.

Does Octopath Traveler have "better Shinji Miyazaki Music"?

I recently completed the main stories of Octopath Traveler, and noticed a loose similarity to some other music I'm quite familiar with. Is there some connection between the music of this game and Shinji Miyazaki's work on the Pokemon anime?

Poke Press Digest Podcast: Episode 19-Zoroark Movie Music

In this single-segment episode, Anne from Pikapi Podcast drops by to help cover the music of the 13th Pokémon movie, "Zoroark: Master of Illusions". Sukima Switch and Erin Bowman go head-to-head this time around, though there may be another entrant that comes in later. Also, it seems Anne had a somewhat different opinion of the movie than I did, so stay tuned after the outro:



Links:
Pikapi Podcast
Erin Bowman Interview

Pokemon Worlds/Geek.Kon 2018 Recap

I couldn't make it out to Nashville this weekend, but I still have some thoughts on the 2018 Pokemon World Championships. We also discuss what I did at this weekend's Geek.Kon in Madison, WI. Geek.kon is an annual convention focused on anime, gaming, and other similar topics:

Unboxing music from the 21st Pokemon movie

The latest Pokemon movie released in Japan last month, and with it came two music releases, one of the score, and one of the ending theme. We recently had an opportunity to open both to see what comes with them:

Discussion: The music of "Zoroark: Master of Illusions" (Part 1)

Anne from Pikapi Podcast drops by once again, this time to help me discuss the music of the 13th Pokemon movie, "Zoroark: Master of Illusions". This movie's end credits feature Sukima Switch's "Ice Cream Syndrome" on the Japanese side, and Erin Bowman's "I Believe In You" in the English version. While tonally similar, they definitely approach the movie's subject matter from different angles:

Unboxing The "Johto Legends" 2 LP Set

It took a while, but the 2 LP set of the "Johto Legends" collection from Braxton Burks has finally come in. Watch and find out what items come in this Materia Collective-distributed package:

Pokemon North American International Championship 2018: Pokkén Tournament DX Masters Winner Interview

Jacob Waller

The following is an interview with Jacob “ThankSwalot” Waller, winner of the Pokkén Tournament DX competition in the Masters division at this year’s Pokémon North American International Championships in Columbus, Ohio.

Where are you from, and how did you get into Pokémon?

I’m from Oak Forest, Illinois. I have played Pokémon since I was around six, with my first game being Emerald. Ever since then I’ve been a huge fan, getting every main game in the series and a ton of the spin-off games.

How did you get into competitive Pokkén?

I used to play VGC, but as the years went by, I lost interest due to how the metagame wasn’t as diverse anymore. I feel that nowadays, it revolves around finding a “perfect” team that everybody uses, such as CHALK. I liked watching the people who could do well with unique teams, but I started playing badly when I attempted to do the same. Then, Pokkén Tournament was announced. I hadn’t played any fighting games before besides Smash Bros., but I was still interested in maybe switching from VGC to this. What convinced me to buy the game and play it competitively though, was when Sceptile was announced to be playable.

Speaking of which, you mostly played as Sceptile-what attracted you to that character?

Sceptile has always been my favorite Pokémon. It was my first Pokémon, so I’ve always had a special connection with it. No matter what, I was determined to get good with the character, and luckily, it was a cool “ninja” with a moveset that I liked and enjoyed playing with. What got me interested in it the most though was his mobility. I like playing mind games with my opponents, and Sceptile has a ton of cancelable moves and movement options to make that work out fantastically. My favorite move in the main games is Leaf Blade (largely because it was Sceptile’s signature move), so seeing it do it also made me fanboy out a bit.

Which other characters do you use?

While it might not be the strongest character in the game, I’m well known for having a good Empoleon. Like Sceptile, it has a lot of movement options due to it sliding across the stage. Also, Empoleon was my starter of choice in Diamond, which I played just as much as Emerald when I was young. I’ve realized I can only play my absolute best when the character I play as is one of my favorite Pokémon and has a moveset I enjoy, and Empoleon fit both of those. Machamp also fits that description, and it does well against Aegislash, a character I’ve lost to a lot. I've only picked Machamp up recently, but I still think I’m pretty decent with it.

What was your strategy during the finals?

I knew for a fact Rokso was going to go with Gengar during game one. He was probably thinking I’d use Empoleon, similar to what we did at NEC 18, but I was “in it to win it” so I stuck to my best character. For his Gengar, I wanted to rush in to beat it as fast as I can, but that can be hard since Gengar is a tricky character. My traps (Leech Seed, Bullet Seed, etc.) definitely helped me make Rokso land where I wanted to and corner him, netting me the first game. After that, he switched to Garchomp, and for that character, I mixed up rushing in on him with making him come to me, setting traps depending on the situation. I had to get into his head much more here because Garchomp can basically erase half my health with one combo if I guessed wrong.

Are you worried that the upcoming "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" will take attention away from Pokkén?

Not at all. With Smash being on the Switch now, that just means we will have more consoles to work with (Pokkén always required two Switch units to work at its best), so I welcome Smash entirely. However, I am worried because sometimes the Smash community can be harsh on any Nintendo fighting game that isn’t Smash itself. I don’t get why-most of them probably haven’t tried the game, but I’m not about to bad mouth them. I just think it’s unnecessary to insult a game that won’t be affecting your competitive scene in the slightest.

What would you like to see next from Pokkén?

I’d like to see even more fighters and supports obviously. We don’t have a Normal or Rock-type fighter Pokémon, and I always say for those types I’d like Lopunny and Rhyperior. It’d also be cool to have another surprise pick, kind of like Chandelure. I like the game the way it is, so besides balance patches, I just want to see more characters.

Poke Press Digest Podcast: Episode 18-Simon Loveridge/Arceus Movie Music

In the first segment (0:51-14:24), I interview Simon Loveridge, a UK musician who recently published a metal cover of the S.S. Anne theme from Pokémon Red & Blue. We also discuss his other musical work, and oddly, a bit of Guitar Hero.

For the second segment (14:32-53:55), Anne from Pikapi Podcast drops by to talk about the music from the 12th Pokémon movie, "Arceus and the Jewel of Life", where Shoko Nakagawa's "Antenna Of The Heart" goes up against Chris "Breeze" Barczynski's "If We Only Learn". After that, we talk about the opening themes and score of the film.


Links:

Segment 1:
S.S. Anne Cover
Goldeneye Frigate Cover
Super Mario Galaxy Gusty Garden Galaxy Cover

Segment 2:
Pikapi Podcast
Chris "Breeze" Barczynski Interview
Chris "Breeze" Barczynski Website

Pokémon Midwest Regionals 2018: Masters VGC Winner

Paul Chua

The following is an interview with Paul Chua, winner of the Masters Division of the video game competition at the 2018 Midwest Regional in Madison, WI.

Where are you from, and how did you get into Pokémon?

I am from Union, New Jersey. I got into Pokémon after I saw a commercial for Diamond and Pearl-the games looked really cool and I got them on release day. I started doing VGC in 2010, when I read an advertisement about the events and the closest one was less than an hour away. I went there and made it to the third round. From that point on, I decided to keep playing VGC because of how fun it was to play against other people.

What was the team you used for this event?

-Kangaskhan
-Landorus (Therian)
-Tapu Fini
-Cresselia
-Kartana
-Heatran

Was there an overall strategy for the team?

No, it was just meant to take hits and do damage with some of the strongest Pokémon available. It was all about just using the best Pokémon given the opponent’s team and play style.

What worked well for the team in the tournament?

I think Kangaskhan worked really well. Mine was relatively bulky which allowed it to take strong attacks such as Hydro Vortex from Ludicolo (even in the rain) or Overheat from Charizard-Y. Another aspect that worked well was my Cresselia having Hidden Power Fire. I put it on there as a way to handle Kartana more easily, which had given my team a lot of issues in the past.

How did the finals play out?

Game one I felt could have gone either way, however him attacking my Kangaskhan near the end with his Kartana allowed me to make a comeback and barely take it. In game two, I tried to cover all of his switches he could make and brought my Landorus this time as a way to reduce the power of his Kartana.

Any changes might you make to this team if you used it again?

I felt like teams that had Gothitelle and Mawile did really well against, as the ability to have more board control by stopping me from switching made it really hard to take knockouts. Putting Taunt on Heatran or using a ghost-type might help there.

What are your plans for the rest of the season?

I plan on going to North American Internationals and maybe a few Midseason Showdowns before that. I qualified for Worlds too, so I’m definitely going there.

Poke Press Digest Podcast: Episode 17-The Music of "Pokemon: I Choose You!"

In this single-segment episode, Anne from Pikapi Podcast and I talk about the music from the 20th Pokémon movie, "I Choose You". Our discussion covers the ending themes, openings, and the score. As usual, we also read a few listener comments.


Links:

Pikapi Podcast
Pokemon Movie Music Collection
"Future" by Beverly
The Soundtrack Show

Discussion: The music of "Pokemon: I Choose You!" (Part 1)

Anne from Pikapi Podcast and I jump forward to the 20th Pokemon movie and discuss its music. In particular, we compare "Let's Walk Together" by Asuca Hayashi and "I Choose You" by Haven Paschall, the end themes of the Japanese and US versions of the movie (respectively). These songs have some similarities, but also some distinct differences:

Unboxing the "Future Connection" CD/DVD combo single

The latest Pokemon single, "Future Connection" recently came out in Japan. The single isn't as elaborate as "Alola", but still contains some goodies worth looking at:

Is music commentary not accessible enough?

While watching a recent video about a lack of polished content in the speedrunning community, I came to realize that some of the same problems it described might apply to music as well. Namely, that there's not enough material that attempts to explain what makes it work without requiring significant musical training. Is there something we can do about that?

A trio of Mew-related videos

In honor of Mew finally being made available in Pokemon Go, I've dug up one of my old parodies and had it recorded by Tom Bedlam. The result is "Mew Sensation", a take on "New Sensation" by Australian rock group INXS:

If you'd like to know more about this song, you can take a look here:

If that's still not enough for you, I also recently unboxed "The Birth Of Mewtwo" radio drama CD from Japan:

Poke Press Digest Podcast: Episode 16-Kids' WB Bumpers/Sky Warrior Music

In the first segment (0:51-12:40), I talk to Brian Oliver, who produced bumpers for Kids' WB back in the day. Listen to find out what the process of creating these promos was like, and what he’s doing now.

Our second segment (12:49-50:16) is a discussion of the music of the 11th Pokémon movie, "Giratina and the Sky Warrior". Anne from Pikapi Podcast helps me match up Crystal Kay's "ONE" to Aaron Brotherton's "This Is A Beautiful World". As usual, we also give our take on the other music from the movie:


Links:

Segment 1:
Master Pokemon

Segment 2:
Pikapi Podcast

Discussion: The Music of "Giratina and the Sky Warrior" (Part 1)

The 11th Pokemon movie, "Giratina and the Sky Warrior" introduces us to the mythical Pokemon Shaymin. In this discussion, Anne from Pikapi Podcast and I discuss the music of the film, focusing  on "ONE" by Crystal Kay and "This Is A Beautiful World" by Aaron Brotherton. These two lyrical takes on the film offer somewhat different perspectives, which may be appropriate given one the characters. Find out more about each of these songs in the first part of our discussion:

Anime Milwaukee 2018: Super Smash Bros. Melee Tournament Winner

Isaiah Tipton

The following is an interview with Isaiah Tipton, winner of a Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament at Anime Milwaukee 2018.

Where are you from, and how did you get into competitive Smash?

I'm from Milwaukee, WI. I started playing competitively due to a tournament series here called “The Construct”. The organizers are a group called Event Horizon and they started hosting tournaments (which go on every week) about four years ago. A friend of mine went to their first event and invited me to their second, so I became a regular from then on.

Which character did you use the most in this tournament? Why?

My main is Marth and I use him because of his ability to lock down an opponent due to his long range.

You had to fight through the losers' bracket to make it to the finals. What happened in the match you lost in the main bracket?

During my first match against Flash Burn (the opponent I beat during the grand finals), we played a very close set and it came down to the last stock of the last game. He was able to edge me out by taking advantage of a stage transition.

In the second finals set, you switched from Falco to Marth. Why did you make that change?

In the first part of the finals, I chose Falco first because I wanted to get a gauge of how my opponent played while being locked down. Falco has a strong zoning tool in his lasers which can reveal how a player wants to approach a match, whether aggressive or defensive. That first set was very close, and since we had essentially exhausted each other's tricks with those particular characters, I switched to Marth to mix him up while I still had the information I gained from the first set on how he wanted to play Fox.

For the Switch, would you rather they port Smash 4 over, or build a new game from the ground up? Why?

I would rather they build a new game from the ground up. I’m not a fan of the mechanics of Smash 4 at all, so I'd like to see something different, though I don't expect them to cater to the competitive audience because it would be a bad move to do so business-wise. Also, I find that ports are usually cop outs to developing great new games.

What else did you do at this year's Anime Milwaukee?

I also cosplayed (as Khal Drogo from Game of Thrones) for most of the weekend and attended multiple events like the rave on Friday and the karaoke on Saturday. Other than that, I just enjoyed being in the atmosphere and hanging out with friends.

Interview: Brian Oliver (Director of Animation-Kids' WB)

I recently had an opportunity to interview Brian Oliver, who was the director of animation at Kids' WB back in the late 90's and early 2000's. Brian fills us in on many of the details of how the bumpers and promos were made for the network, as well as many of the people he had the opportunity to work with. We also cover "Master Pokemon", a music video that involved a large amount of production work on Brian's part:

What prompted John Cerabino to cosplay as Gary Oak?

At this year's Anime Milwaukee, I had a chance to talk to John Cerabino, also known as "Moderately Okay Cosplay". As turns out, one of his many cosplay outfits was Gary Oak. I asked him why he chose that character, and what went into the costume:

On a side note, we're also looking for comments on the music of the twentieth Pokemon Movie, "I Choose You!". Here's some info on that:

Poke Press Digest Podcast: Episode 15-The Music of "The Rise of Darkrai"/Ultra Prism Prerelease

In the first part of this episode (0:55-1:02:19), Anne from Pikapi Podcast and I share our thoughts on the music of the tenth Pokémon movie, The Rise of Darkrai. In an unusual twist, this film features English songs in both the US and Japanese versions. Listen to our discussion to find out whether Sarah Brightman’s “I Will Be With You” or Kirsten Price’s “I’ll Always Remember You” comes out on top.

The second segment (1:02:28-1:05:13) is a player interview from a recent Pokémon TCG League Challenge and Prerelease. We talk about what deck the player used, and some of the cards from the recently released Ultra Prism set.



Links:

Segment 1:
Pikapi Podcast

Discussion: "The Rise of Darkrai" Ending Themes (Part 1)

The Japanese and English ending themes of the tenth Pokemon movie, "The Rise of Darkrai" go head-to-head in this comparison, featuring Anne from Pikapi Podcast. Sarah Brightman's "I Will Be With You (Where The Lost Ones Go)" and Kirsten Price's "I'll Always Remember You" took rather different routes to become associated with this film, but Anne and I do our best to compare them:

Why you won't be seeing a remastered Kirsten Price interview here (for now) + new digest episode

I've wanted to fix up this early interview for a long time, but unfortunately there are some technical obstacles in the way:

On the bright side, if you've missed any of our recent content, here's a new episode of the digest podcast:

In our first segment (0:47-43:15), Anne from Pikapi Podcast drops by to help discuss some underrated Pokémon songs. In addition to sharing our own picks, we also read some viewer submissions.

Our second segment (43:24-53:14) is a series of short pieces where I talk about various aspects of the Pokémon franchise. You’ll hear me discuss what might be in a future Pokémon Pinball, compare Mario Odyssey to PokePark, and critique some anime characters.

Links:

Segment 1:
Pikapi Podcast
Master Pokemon

Did Drew and Harley turn males off from contests?

May's male contest rivals might have been interesting characters, but perhaps Drew and Harley had some unintended effects on viewers' perceptions of the events:

Superficial Similarities: Mario Odyssey vs. PokePark

Super Mario Odyssey isn't the same as the PokePark games, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun figuring out what they have in common. This is Superficial Similarities, a series where we compare Pokemon and non-Pokemon content to see what parallels we can draw:

Upcoming Discusson: The music of "Giratina and the Sky Warrior"

In a few weeks, Anne from Pikapi Podcast and I will be recording a discussion about the music of Pokemon movie 11, "Giratina and the Sky Warrior". We'll primarily be comparing Crystal Kay's "One" against Arron Brotherton's "This Is A Beautiful World", but anything about the music of the movie is fair game, and we really want your comments:

Discussion: Underrated Pokemon Songs

Anne from Pikapi Podcast helps me discuss several Pokemon songs we feel haven't gotten the attention they deserve. In this first part, we go over:

-Because Everyone Was There (from Revelation Lugia)
-We're A Miracle (from Pokemon: The First Movie)
-Never Too Far From Home (from Totally Pokemon)
-Master Pokemon (Shown before Pokemon 4Ever and on Kids' WB)

Listen and find out what we have to say about these less-famous Pokemon songs:

Our discussion of underrated Pokemon music continues with "Because There Is The Sky" and the Italian Pokemon Chronicles theme. We also go over a few great viewer comments:

Also, what would our discussion be without a side conversation?