Popzara Podcast

Article: Muybridge (2025)

Unless you’re a student of photography or heavily interested in animation, chances are your only exposure to the name Eadweard Muybridge in recent pop-culture has been the brief mentions he gets in Jordan Peele’s 2022 release Nope, where Keke Palmer's character describes a two-second clip of a galloping horse being shown as the first example of a ‘motion picture’. It’s actually from a later effort, "Plate Number 626", in which the horse, Annie, is named while the jockey riding her is not.

Article: Rendering Ranger: R2 [Rewind]

There are two ways to talk about Rendering Ranger: R2, a hybrid run ‘n gun platformer and shmup (shoot ‘em up) from German developers Rainbow Arts released only for the Japanese Super Famicom back in 1995. The first would be to discuss the game on its merits, specifically how Rainbow Arts attempted to push Nintendo’s 16-bit hardware further than most in a time when the switch to newer 32-bit consoles was well underway.

Article: Mickey 17 (2025)

In the day and age where sci-fi introspections on working class exploitation like Severance are all the rage, Bong Joon Ho (Parasite, Snowpiercer) seems primed to deliver his own eccentric critique of capitalistic exploitation that would fit snugly into his previous lexicon, only this time with his biggest budget ever. It’s unfortunate that Mickey 17 is a surprising misstep in an otherwise stellar record of insightful and timely works.

Article: Snow White (2025)

Since its groundbreaking debut in 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has stood as the cornerstone of Disney’s animation legacy, setting the gold standard for fairy tale adaptations. As the first full-length animated feature, it not only changed the industry but also captivated generations with its timeless story and unforgettable characters.

Article: Assassin’s Creed: Shadows

Fans of the site won't be surprised to hear that I'm something of a Japanophile. I've visited the Land of the Rising Sun before, will be heading that way again soon, and am not sure I'm ever going to get over my love affair with the Far East.

Article: Black Bag (2025)

Deception is a core theme of spy films, where the tension between truth and lies drives the narrative. Steven Soderbergh's Black Bag takes this concept and places it within the more intimate confines of marriage.

Article: Split Fiction

It's not easy to make it as a writer! You've got to play video games all the time, write what you think about them, eat delicious snacks while you do it..

Article: Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii

Yarrr! It's a pirate's life for me, matey! Hop aboard the good ship Popzara and let's go on a journey full of scurvy, sea lice and vermin! Wow, when I put it that way, the pirate's life actually doesn't seem for me at all. Scurvy's awful, I really don't like bugs, seasickness is a thing and it's pretty gross.

Article: The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (2025)

As popular as the Looney Tunes franchise is, it’s hard to believe there’s never been a theatrical film release of it that’s solely animated (sorry but Space Jam, it’s sequel, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action don’t count). Thankfully we have the first with The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie that blends classic slapstick comedy with some modern twists that’ll have you laughing to the moon and back.

Article: Night of the Zoopocalypse (2025)

I’m always down for checking out family friendly films, especially those featuring animals going on crazy misadventures like the recent Paddington in Peru I reviewed. When I first learned about Night of the Zoopocalypse last year, it grabbed my attention right away when the creators said it was like Madagascar meets The Walking Dead.

Article: Monster Hunter: Wilds

If you're looking to shake up your life with an exhilarating experience, it's hard to beat a little bit of travel! The world's a big place and there's no shortage of amazing things to see and do out there. If the real world isn't enough for you, the world of gaming has plenty to offer as well! Capcom's Monster Hunter games really drive this home with their variety of settings, each packed with totally docile and not-at-all-murderous wildlife, and the majestic Eastlands of Monster Hunter: Wilds are no exception.

Article: Genso Manège

When it comes to visual novels, there are few publishers I trust more than PQube. While they definitely have their misses (looking at you, Celestia: Chain of Fate) they’ve put out some great titles like Bustafellows and Arcade Spirits.

Article: The Liminal Zone, Vol. 2 (2025)

As noted in my review for the volume one of The Liminal Zone, first published in English back in 2022, fans of Junji Ito can expect two types of collections these days: freshly translated work from his seemingly bottomless well of content, and brand-new stories. It was firmly in the latter camp, created exclusively for the LINE manga app (which is way more popular than you’d think).

Article: Ninja Five-O

The strange journey of Hudson Soft’s Ninja Five-O (or Ninja Cop, as it’s known in some areas) from obscurity to cult status is a strange one, but it makes sense when you look at the game in content. Originally released in 2003 for the Gameboy Advance, it was a game that already looked, sounded, and played like an ancient throwback even at the time.

Article: Macross -Shooting Insight-

One of the nice things about living in the modern age, at least if you're a video game fan, is that practically everything gets localized. Anything that isn't localized probably gets a fan translation.