This podcast is named after the Rolls-Royce Ghost Diver.
We start out with Niamh reading through this nice little document fae created before diving into the discussion of the episodes. We touch on topics including the comedic tone of the early episodes and its use of JRPG tropes; how the girls are gay; the triangulation of Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu onto class distinctions, forms of femininity, and also the three hosts of this very podcast; Hikaru’s need for unconditional love, Umi’s fraught relationship with her parents, and Fuu’s struggle with self-hatred; the nature of Cephiro as a world of will and how it relates to themes of wish fulfillment and destiny in magical girl anime; the transition of girlhood to womanhood as a core theme of Rayearth; stories about getting high; the construction of types of masculinity in Rayearth; images of motherhood; and the core conflicts being set up for the three girls.
Write into our Question Bucket at [email protected] and follow us on Twitter!
The Show: @ghostdiverspod
Niamh: @FoxmomNia
Connor: @rabbleais
Autumn: @Autumnal_Coffee
Garfield Read Aloud: @GarfReadAloud
Export Audio Network: exportaud.io
Ghost Divers: exportaud.io/ghostdivers
Ornate Stairwells: exportaud.io/ornate stairwells
Niamh’s Ultimate Combination AMV
Mind control / possession
Discussion of drug and alcohol use
Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co
Connor, Niamh, and Honorary Third Ghost Diver Autumn are back again to discuss the second half of the first season of Magic Knight Rayearth. It’s a mech show now?
We get into the gradual tonal shift as the series progresses and grows darker; the color coding of characters around red, blue, green, white, and purple/black; Caldina’s character as another mode of femininity and as a person swayed by the love of the Magic Knights; Hikaru and blood and its thematic resonance for the show as a whole; the recurring themes around free will, possession, and mind control; the themes of love and the limits of love to protect you from harm; the queer-coding of Inouva; Connor’s attempt to stop being so mean to Niamh’s beloved dumb bishie, Ferio; the metaphorical usage of the Pillar system of Cephiro to talk about gendered expectations in patriarchal cisheteronormativity; and the tragedy of Princess Emeraude and Lord Zagato and how it ties together all the themes so far and also leaves open the door for far, far more in need of exploration in season 2.
Join us next time, for the first ten episodes of season 2 of Magic Knight Rayearth, episodes 21–30!
As a note, the post-ED backmatter for this podcast episode includes some Madoka Magica spoilers.
Anyway, here’s the Rayearth car names document for season 1 if you need it again.
Write into our Question Bucket at [email protected] and follow us on Twitter!
The Show: @ghostdiverspod
Niamh: @FoxmomNia
Connor: @rabbleais
Autumn: @Autumnal_Coffee
Garfield Read Aloud: @GarfReadAloud
Export Audio Network: exportaud.io
Ghost Divers: exportaud.io/ghostdivers
Ornate Stairwells: exportaud.io/ornate stairwells
Sexualization of women
Mind control / Possession
Illusions / Unreality
Mention of violence against a child
Blood
Queerphobia
Suicide
Abusive relationships
Discussion of beer and vomit in the post-ED section
Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co
Niamh keeps saying fae’s Nova and we’ve all just been waiting for this stupid brat to finally show up. We’re discussing episodes 21–30 of Magic Knight Rayearth!
We start the conversation with Niamh reading through this document fae made on the origins of the new character’s names for season two, then dive into topics such as the uneasiness around the way the girls immediately take on the role of magic knights again; how Rayearth is finally really a mech show; the problem of straightness vs. queerness in season two and Hikaru as a polyamorous character; the pacing of season two; how the series is further developing the themes of the show around patriarchal systems and the inability of people to conceive of themselves outside of the systems in which they live; how the show is setting up themes of relationships, jealousy, guilt, and the impositions of heteronormative culture; and finally some stuff around Hikaru, Nova, and the Pillar System that has been signaled pretty heavily in these first 10 episdes but maybe some viewers would miss. Sorry if that last bit kind of feels like spoilers,episodes but it’s all in there and we ended up thinking it’s better if we can just acknowledge that these things are happening so we can talk about them more!
Anyway, write into our Question Bucket at [email protected] and follow us on Twitter!
The Show: @ghostdiverspod
Niamh: @FoxmomNia
Connor: @rabbleais
Autumn: @Autumnal_Coffee
Garfield Read Aloud: @GarfReadAloud
Export Audio Network: exportaud.io
Ghost Divers: exportaud.io/ghostdivers
Ornate Stairwells: exportaud.io/ornate stairwells
Possession & brainwashing
Abusive relationships
Blood
Sexuality
Beer & cocktail talk
Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co
We run a tight ship over here at Ghost, Divers, and Associates LLC. Nobody forgets to open the Google doc. No one accidentally uses their webcam’s mic to record half the episode. And definitely there is no bratty antagonizing of one of the hosts for misremembering a scene from the anime by another one of the hosts. We just focus right in on discussing episodes 31-39 of Magic Knight Rayearth.
We start our discussion with some of the character design elements and uhhh none of us had read the Rayearth 2 manga at this point so we say some wrong things about which characters appeared in the manga as well. We then dive into a lengthy discussion of the series’ bathhouse episode (it’s actually pretty interesting!) and how it relates to queerness and the impositions of straightness in Magic Knight Rayearth; the way Lantis problematizes Hikaru’s relationships with other characters she loves; queerbaiting; what’s going on with Presea and this short motherfucker Clef; the difference in the structure of these episodes compared to earlier in the series; Eagle and Geo and how Eagle clearly isn’t over his ex; the weird extended queerphobic joke around the Djinn Raccoon and Rasheen; the Clemi ship and the possibility that Clef is Umi’s beard; Umi & Chizeta; Fuu & Fahren; and Hikaru & Nova.
Also, here’s the Rayearth car names document for season 2 if you need it again.
Write into our Question Bucket at [email protected] and follow us on Twitter!
The Show: @ghostdiverspod
Niamh: @FoxmomNia
Connor: @rabbleais
Autumn: @Autumnal_Coffee
Garfield Read Aloud: @GarfReadAloud
Export Audio Network: exportaud.io
Ghost Divers: exportaud.io/ghostdivers
Ornate Stairwells: exportaud.io/ornate stairwells
"Deviant Male Identities in Japanese RPGs: Heterosexual Heroes, Gay Villains" by Juan F. Belmonte, presented at the 2016 Different Games Conference
Ethnic stereotypes
Sexuality and discussions around women’s bodies
Queerphobia
Self-hatred, self-harm, and suicidality
Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co
We are finishing out our discussion of Magic Knight Rayearth Season 2! These are some of Niamh’s favorite episodes of anime ever! Connor and Autumn think they are just good but it’s fine.
In between recording the last episode and this one, Niamh read all of the manga, and so we start with a little discussion about how the manga and anime differ. We also talk about the pacing of season 2 and how it might relate to the unwillingness of the Magic Knights to fight after the tragedy of season 1; why the show can’t really develop Hikaru x Lantis because what it’s more interested in is Hikaru having to confront her need for love from others so that she can ignore her own self-hatred; how Hikaru and Eagle just talking through the problem is actually a sign that both characters are at a place where they can talk openly and in opposition to the Pillar System; an actual discussion of the Asmi ship and why we keep mocking Connor about this; the historical ubiquity of straight readings of old anime and how canonically Hikaru wants to marry her entire polycule (it’s in the fucking manga); Niamh’s updates to the Rayearth car names document for season 2 and also this ad for the car that fake Presea is named after; Hikaru x Nova and how it ties in with the end of season 1; a brief history of modern concepts of sexuality and Niamh finally reading from Cruising Utopia; Cephiro as a “stage” for the imagining of a new queer polyamorous utopia for Hikaru; and “queerbaiting” old anime like Rayearth as a “stage” for the imagining of queer possibilities.
Also, don't forget that we will be recording the Question Bucket soon. The deadline to write into our Question Bucket for this series is Sunday, October 10, 2021. You can write into ghostdiverspod@gmail and follow us on Twitter!
The Show: @ghostdiverspod
Niamh: @FoxmomNia
Connor: @rabbleais
Autumn: @Autumnal_Coffee
Garfield Read Aloud: @GarfReadAloud
Export Audio Network: exportaud.io
Ghost Divers: exportaud.io/ghostdivers
Ornate Stairwells: exportaud.io/ornate stairwells
The NeoRayearth.net Fan Rants page that Niamh mocks
Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity by José Esteban Muñoz (esp. chapter 6 "Stages: Queers, Punk, and the Utopian Performative")
Mental health issues, self-hatred, and suicidality Homophobia / queerphobia Cigarettes Sex Alcohol Drugs
Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co
Connor and Niamh are joined partway through by Autumn for the Question Bucket and we are basically just hanging out and having fun.
We start out with some updates! The Intro episodes for our next series is no long going to drop on the same day as Question Buckets just to give us all a little more time and breathing room. But if you’re sad about the potential loss of content, don’t worry, we also announce the first of what will be our annual New Year’s Day Special! Every January 1st, we’re going to release a bonus episode about whatever we want, and our very first one will be talking about the Icelandic literary classic Independent People by Halldór Laxness! If you want to read the book and write in, we’ll announce the actual recording date when we know it but it’ll be no earlier than mid-December.
Anyway, sorry that this is a mukbang podcast now but we’re reviewing some beer and food on this. We talk a little about the manga and then Niamh just yells for a while about the OVA and how bad it is before getting into the actual questions, including what car we would be named after if we were Rayearth characters and what our color and element would be, which Rayearth character kiss the homies goodnight and tuck the homies in goodnight, what fast food restaurants the Rayearth characters love, and the favorite vtubers of the three Magic Knights.
We then talk a little about Brandi Carlile’s new album In These Silent Days, which is maybe the most serious part of this otherwise goofy episode. We also take some shots at the new Kacey Musgraves album, sorry if you like it.
You can write into future Question Buckets at [email protected] and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!
The Show: @ghostdiverspod
Niamh: @FoxmomNia
Connor: @rabbleais
Autumn: @Autumnal_Coffee
Garfield Read Aloud: @GarfReadAloud
Export Audio Network: exportaud.io
Ghost Divers: exportaud.io/ghostdivers
Ornate Stairwells: exportaud.io/ornate stairwells
Alcohol, tobacco, and drug usage
Blood and nudity and other edgy 90s OVA stuff
Suicide (briefly)
Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co
