In recent months, we’ve been able to read and discuss a number of interviews from Japanese publications, in large part due to a tremendous amount of translation work by funnytoss and Capable-Paramedic from the Discord/reddit community. In this episode, we talk with Steven (funnytoss) about the process of translation, his path to this point, and the challenges and decisions involved in translating Japanese interviews for a Japanese audience to English for a western audience. Join us!

BABYMETAL surprised us by releasing vinyl editions of pretty much all of the live shows they’ve sold to date, including a special box set that was limited to 100 copies and which—despite the lack of warning and premium price—sold out right away. We talk about these, other news, and then turn to discuss the interview with Kobametal in Hedoban 24 and some related articles as well. Join us!

In January 2021, Hedoban (volume 28) published interviews with Su-metal and with Moametal, newly accessible to us through recently produced translations. We selected a few notable moments to discuss. Join us!

After a few thoughts about BABYMETAL’s recent offering of a golden vinyl and NFT bundle, we turn to the main topic of the episode: several recently-translated interviews with Kobametal. We discuss Kobametal’s recollections of last-minute adjustments to show visuals, arguments in favor of uniforms, indifference to whether music on the album can be played by humans, confusing thoughts about ramen, and more. Join us!

The last of the ten shows at Budokan have happened, so we talk through the set list, the livestream announcement afterwards, the merch, the future. Join us!

Fox Day arrived, bringing with it… a cryptic tweet and nothing further. Certainly no metal detectors or beach umbrellas. We decide to pin our hopes on Budokan X instead, and spend most of the time talking about interviews with Mikiko, Su-metal, and Moametal, recently translated from PMC volume 18. Join us!

Not much news, so we talk at great length about an implausible interpretation of the design on the The One shirt, we learn the story behind Maggie’s Metal Name, and honestly who can even remember what else we talked about. We do remember that it was fun! Join us!

A tidal wave of news on this Fox Day, and it came early. The One 2021 now starts 5 days earlier than originally announced, and we’ve got some initial thoughts on the surprisingly substantial Fox Day announcements. Join us!

In this episode, Maggie joins as the newest regular podcast panelist to discuss the developments in the middle set of Budokan shows. We talk about the surprise appearances of older songs in these shows, and talk with Maggie about her history within the BABYMETAL fandom. Join us!

In this episode we talk with novelist, Shakespeare scholar, and (more recently) creator of in-depth YouTube commentaries on the lyrics of BABYMETAL, A.J. Hartley. Our conversation touches on his experiences in Japan, his motivations for creating the videos, his thoughts on BABYMETAL’s development and future directions, and much, much more. This episode also marks Callie’s last as a regular… but we expect not the last episode she’ll be on! Join us!