The Audio File: Hannahpocalpse: Season 2

I’ve been working hard on new scripts for The Books of Thoth. However, I’m also trying to fulfill my outstanding review obligations. So, without anymore preamble, onto the main event. We’re taking a look at season two of Hannahpocalpse. 

It has been fifty years since we last left Hannah and Cali. They’re doing fairly well. They’ve turned the ruins of Golden Gate into a thriving community for the zombie horde Hannah now leads. Meanwhile, over in Junk Town, Hannah’s friend Mel has picked up some new companions as well. Specifically, a scrappy mechanic named Ashley, and a British robot named Billy. Ah, but all is not as calm as it seems. Rictor has become a zombie, and he commands a horde of his own. Rictor fully intends to march his horde on Golden Gate. So, will Hannah and company be able to weather the coming storm?

As you might have gathered, this season is primarily split between two plot lines. One following Hannah and Cali in Golden Gate; and one following Mel, Ashley, and Billy in Junk Town. We also occasionally get episodes following other characters, such as Rictor.

Let’s start with Hannah and Cali. Cali has been adjusting to life as a ghoul pretty well, and she’s even gained the ability to interact with the listener more. They’ve been having an annual movie night, but haven’t watched The Truman Show, probably because that one might hit a little too close to home. Hannah has come a long way since those first episodes. We actually get a flashback to the first season, along with Hannah’s commentary. It underscores how she’s grown far more confident and levelheaded. Granted, not being a prisoner in her own body definitely helps with that.

Now, a brief aside. I remember watching episode two of The Amazing Digital Circus. Absolutely fantastic series; you really should watch it, if you haven’t already. Anyway, the scene where Jax tells the fudge monster to eat Ragatha, and she yells at him. I remember thinking to myself “That scream. So neurotic and distinct. I know that one, but can it be?” I looked it up, and yes, Amanda Hufford, who plays Hannah in Hannahpocalpse, does indeed voice Ragatha in The Amazing Digital Circus. Amanda, if not exact having read my review of season 1, is at least aware of it thanks to Damian Szydlo. So, I have indirectly interacted with one of the cast of The Amazing Digital Circus, which is kind of neat.

Getting back on topic, let’s pivot to Junk Town. Mel briefly appeared in season one. She is Hannah’s friend who got turned into a ghoul. So, the seeds for this plot line had clearly been planted well in advance. Speaking of which, there’s a little prequel miniseries call Flamingo Down, which explains how Ashley and Billy got to Junk Town. Mel and Ashley develop feelings for each other over the corse of the season, but Mel is a bit wary of the age gap, not to mention species gap, between them.

Age gaps are a tricky thing to navigate. The biggest hurdle, and the reason so many people object, is due to potential power imbalances. The older partner will usually have more life experience and/or financial security, and that this will put the younger partner at the disadvantage when it comes to negotiations. However, it isn’t always that black and white. There can be various reasons the older partner missed out on major life milestones. For example, if you happen to be on the autism spectrum. Or perhaps you aren’t financially secure due to being between jobs, or having major medical expenses. Mel is chronologically older than Ashley, but much like Hannah, spent a good chunk of that time navigating the wasteland in various states of loneliness.

And, of course, we can’t forget about Billy. Back in my review of season one, I speculated that not all robots were mindless killing machines. Just like Hannah proved that not all zombies are bad. Well, lo and behold, my speculation proved to be correct. I’m definitely detecting some influences from C-3PO when it comes to Billy’s personality and characterization. And I’ve got no complaints. Some kids dressed up as Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker. I was the sort of kid who dressed up as C-3PO for Halloween. Admittedly, Bill lost his body, and has been turned into a hood ornament for Ashley’s truck. Still, his in fairly good spirits about the whole thing.

Okay, I’ve been putting it off, but how does this season compare to season one? Well, I felt the Golden Gate plot line was half of a really good season. And I felt the Junk Town plot was half of a really good season. However, I also felt that the sum was not greater than the parts. Now, it is true that Hannahpocalpse has been juggling multiple plot lines from the start. However, since Hannah and Cali’s plot paralleled each other in season 1, it didn’t feel quite so disjointed.

Now, in the interest of being fair, this might have had to do with how I listened to this season. I could more or less binge all the episodes of season one. Whereas with season two I listened to each episode when it come out. There are certain TV shows that make for better viewing when you can binge them on streaming or DVD. You can appreciate all the little details and foreshadowing. Or it just makes for better pacing. And I think that’s what it ultimately came down to. Listening to each episode as it came out gave season two of Hannahpocalpse some serious pacing issues.

And this isn’t a universal issue with serialized audio dramas. I’ve listened to several serialized shows as they dropped new episodes. 1865, Timestorm, Brave New Frontiersman, and Residents of Proserpina Park, just to name a few. In fact, when I could binge Residents of Proserpina Park, I actually had to pace myself. But with Hannahpocalpse, I wasn’t feeling a sense of “Oooh, I wonder what happens next?” but more along the lines of “Ahhh! Get to the point already! This is moving like molasses in an igloo.”

Also, while there were seeds for future seasons, the ending of season one felt like a pretty conclusive note. I wasn’t opposed to there being more seasons of Hannahpocalpse, but at the same time, it wasn’t exactly high on my list of shows I was hoping would come back. Which isn’t to say I didn’t like it. Just that I felt the story was at its natural end, and I was ready to head to my next port of call.

All of that having been said, the last few episodes were extremely well done in terms of pacing, writing, and acting. However, getting into the specific would be spoilers.

So, if you don’t want any of that, turn back now.

Last chance, you sure you wan’t to continue?

Okay, then here we go.

So, Rictor and his horde arrive at Golden Gate. He and Hannah face off, and we learn about his backstory. Specially, that he had an abusive father. It is clear that this doesn’t excuse all the terrible stuff he’s done, but it is understandable how Rictor was sent down that path in life. Ultimately, Hannah decides not to kill Rictor, but to use her powers to rehabilitate him, and give him a chance to redeem himself. It would have been satisfying to see him killed off once and for all. However, it would also go against the themes of the series. Being hopepunk means daring to believe that a better tomorrow is possible, even in the face of an uncertain future. It also means believing in the inherent goodness of people, and that everyone is worthy of redemption.

One of the big questions within the realm of law is whether justice should be retributive or rehabilitative. That is, should we focus on punishing criminals, or should we rehabilitate them, and make them into functioning members of society. Think of justice like a set of scales. When a crime is committed, the scales become unbalanced. You have two choices to bring the scales back into alignment. You can lower down the one who committed the crime, or you can raise up the victim of the crime.

Season two of Hannahpocalpse wasn’t quite as good as season one, but despite some pacing problems, it wasn’t without its charms. It still has that same hopepunk zombie apocalypse fun. From the looks of it, we are going to be getting a third season of Hannahpocalpse at some point. If that is the case, I’ll wait til the whole thing is out so that I can binge it. And if you’re going to give season two of Hannahpocalpse a listen, I advise binging if possible.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

The Audio File: Hannahpocalypse: Season 1

As many of you know, I try to work on my own projects when time allows for it. I find myself with a bit less time for that now that I’m gainfully employed at the Shreveport Aquarium. However, I always make time for those who ask me to review their audio dramas. Frankly, I feel a bit guilty when I’m not writing new reviews. I’m aware it isn’t my job to keep the reviews coming, but still. So, without further ado, let’s get right into it. We’re taking a look at Hannahpocalypse. 

Hannahpocalypse is set in the year 2182. It has been 150 years since the zombie apocalypse destroyed civilization as we knew it. Humanity tried to counter the zombies by building an army of robots. Unfortunately, the robots went rogue, caused a robot apocalypse, and just made things worse. But hey, at least they killed all the zombies. Well, most of them anyway. A few zombies have managed to survive. Hannah is one of these zombies. She basically has dissociative identity disorder. Her human personality is basically a prisoner in her own body. Her animalistic zombie personality is the one in the driver’s seat. Hannah has led a dull and lonely existence. The highlights of her day include chasing red balloons and eating live crows. However, Hannah’s finally found some new companions: us, the listeners! Somehow, Hannah is hosting a podcast about her unlife, and we’re along for the ride.

Hannah’s world is turned upside down when she meets Cali. Cali is a scout from Golden Gate, a city-state in what was once San Francisco. Cali recognizes the spark of sentience buried deep within Hannah. Could this be the key to better relations between zombies and humans? This unlikely duo is about to make their way across the wastelands of what was once the United States. It is a story of love, death, and robots. But, you know, not the Netflix kind.

I was approached to review Hannahpocalypse by series creator Damian Szydlo. He is also the creator of the audio drama Cybernautica. Damian had some very nice things to say about my audio drama reviews. He felt very tacky about asking me to review Hannahpocalypse, but I see no issue. People have all sorts of ways of asking me to review their audio dramas. It is also always great to hear that people enjoy the work that I do with these reviews.

Hannahpocalypse is a member of the Fable & Folly network. If you’ve been following my reviews, then you know what that means. Audio drama roll call! The other fine members of the Fable & Folly family include, but are not limited to, Human B-Gon, Alba Salix, We Fix Space Junk, Harlem Queen, The Carlötta Beautox Chronicles, Spaceships, and Who is Cam Candor?

Hmm, wait a minute. So, the backstory of Hannahpocalypse involves a robot apocalypse. It is mostly set in the United States, but we do see that Canada, along with the rest of the world, was impacted as well. We also have a supposedly non-sentient that turns out to be smarter than she appears to outsiders. Does this mean that Hannahpocalypse is secretly a prequel to Human B-Gon? Well, actually, no. The answer is no. However, Damian Szydlo and Drew Frohmann are both friends, and have respect for each other's work. Both of them are also Canadian. This was all just some random observations I made that weren’t meant to be taken seriously.

Anyway, let’s get into my actual for real observations and thoughts on Hannahpocalypse. The series is billed as being hopepunk. Hopepunk, from what I understand, is fiction that strives to depict a better tomorrow, and a more hopeful future. It isn’t averse to conflict, or even bad things like climate change. However, rather than a future ravaged by climate change, hopepunk chooses to show humans works together to fight against things like climate change. The general philosophy of hopepunk is that sometimes things go bad, but we can work together to fix them.

Now, all of that being said, terms like zombie apocalypse and robot apocalypse are not typically included in the same sentence as the word hopepunk. And yet, despite these seemingly disparate elements, Hannahpocalypse does indeed live up to its descriptor of hopepunk. To explain why, let’s first meet our leading ladies.

Hannah has been a prisoner in her own zombified body for the last 150 years. Despite this, she’s in surprisingly good spirits. Well, at first glance anyway. As the series goes on it becomes increasingly clear that Hannah has gone a tad nutty over the years. To be fair, it would be weird if she wasn’t at least a little insane after all she’s gone through. Though, this does raise an obvious question, how exactly is it that Hannah is hosting a podcast if she can’t control her own body. For that matter, what’s she broadcasting on? The audio drama itself tells us not to think too hard about it. We have several characters, besides Hannah and Cali, who break the fourth wall. This includes those who logically shouldn’t know about Hannah’s podcast or Cali’s status reports. Of course, if we go back to Hannah being slightly crazy, then maybe all those instances are figments of Hannah’s imagination. Of course, in the immortal words of Albus Dumbledore, maybe it is all in her head, but why should that make it any less real?

Hannah is also a lesbian. She had bad luck finding a stable relationship, and turning into a flesh-eating zombie certainly didn’t help. Plus she did eat that pride parade when she first turned. But hey, she’s LGBTQ, and wasn’t in control of her body. So, uh, pretty sure it technically wasn’t homophobic to eat all those people. Anyway, it may have taken 150 years, during which time she kind of went bonkers, but at least Hannah found Cali eventually. And perhaps she’ll even find one of her old friends. Hannah’s friend Mel also got bit, but she turned into a mutant. That means she partially zombified, but retained her human mind. Unlike Hannah, mutants like Mel retain control of their bodies.

One of the things that makes Hannah such an endearing character is the phenomenal performance by her voice…actor? Amanda Hufford uses they/them pronouns, so I’m not sure if voice actor is the correct term. Whatever the case might be, Amanda just did such an amazing job making Hannah sound like a total sweetheart. Their performance reminds me of Amy Adams during the early days of her career in movies such as Catch Me If You Can, Enchanted, and Junebug. Amanda also adds several other layers to Hannah. We get to see Hannah’s endearingly dorky side, such as when Hannah worries about swearing in the podcast, even though nobody can hear her. However, we also get those hints of desperation within Hannah’s voice. You can hear this even when Hannah is clearly trying to put a metaphorical smile on. She’s obviously been screaming her head off mentally for quite some time. She still has a mouth, yet she cannot scream, no matter how hard she tries.

We, of course, have to talk about the other half of our two leading ladies. Cali has grown up in Golden Gate. The city-state prides itself on restoring the best of Old America. In reality, however, Golden Gate has a very warped view of what pre-apocalypse America was like. It is clearly based around rose-tinted nostalgia for a past that never truly existed in the first place. Golden Gate is clearly the right-wing view of America. Hmm, so we’ve got a post-apocalyptic setting, killer robots, mutants, and a moral about the dangers of being blinded by nostalgia. I’m definitely getting some Fallout vibes from Hannahpocalypse.

I bring all of this up because Cali does not fit the mold of Golden Gate. Cali is a lesbian, and Golden Gate is not a particularly LGBTQ friendly place, to put it lightly. So, being a scout was one of the few times she got to truly get herself. Cali is jaded, cynical, and rough around the edges. Despite this, she can be just as much of a dork as Hannah is. Cali gets very excited when she finds a stash of Tank Girl comics from the 1980s. It is a little odd that Cali would be a fan of pop culture from nearly 200 years in the past. On the other hand, it has been firmly established that Cali is definitely a nonconformist.

Abigail Turner gives a multifaceted performance for Cali. It perfectly compliments Amanda Hufford’s performance as Hannah. Cali starts off gruff, tough-as-nails, and gives the impression that she’ll do anything to survive. Then the cracks begin to form, and we start to see a softer side to Cali. The first, besides the comics, is when she sees the faint glimmer of humanity still within Hannah. Cali was taught to fear and hate zombies, and it would have been easy to snuff Hannah out. However, Cali chose to take a gamble on Hannah, and choose kindness over cruelty. Yet this wasn’t a choice born purely out of altruism. Further cracks form, and we get to see just how lonely Cali has become over the years. A good chunk of that bravado and prickliness is just a mask she wears to hide the sadness she carries. Perhaps on some level, Cali chose to spare Hannah because she wanted to believe she’d found someone she could truly be herself with. Granted, her faith was certainly not misplaced. The scene where Cali finally breaks down and admits how lonely she feels is particularly well performed.

One of the main themes of Hannahpocalypse is about how we deal with trauma. Hannah experienced one of the worst things that can happen to someone. However, she only regains control of her life when she stops try to fight against the zombie half of herself. One way of dealing with trauma is to accept what has happened to you and learn to live with it. Like it or not, what happened has happened, and will always be part of you to some degree. However, that acceptance doesn’t mean you have to be a victim for the rest of your life. Hannah is able to regain her agency, both physically and metaphorically, once she truly accepts that she is a zombie. She isn’t just a victim, she’s a survivor, and there is power in being a survivor.

The other major theme, as we’ve already touched upon, is the importance of choosing compassion over cruelty. There’s also a message about the dangers of confusing pessimism with realism or pragmatism. It is never outright stated, but it is implied that Golden Gate suppresses homosexuals in the name of repopulating humanity. There’s a kind of logic to this, but it also requires sacrificing individual liberties and happiness in the name of the “Greater Good.” But that begs an obvious question: who gets to define what the Greater Good is? The leaders of Golden Gate talk big game about the lofty ideals of Old America. However, it is pretty clear that their true vested interest is keeping themselves in positions of power.

To build a world on compassion requires taking risk and gambles. Cali gambled on Hannah still having humanity within her. She also gambled that this might lead to better relations between humans and zombies. I won’t give away the ending. However, I will say that sometimes risks are worth it. There can still be hope for a better tomorrow even when you live in a post-apocalypse world full of zombies and robots. Hannahpocalypse, despite its oddball premise, managed to live up to its hopepunk descriptor.

Now, that being said, I do have a few minor points of critique. As we have noted, Hannahpocalypse deals with several philosophical themes. For most of the series, these are woven into the story organically, and it never feels like I’m being beaten over the head. Episode fifteen, however, was an unfortunate exception to this. It had the characters spend several minutes lecturing the listener about what a terrible place Old America was. They go on and on about the rampant inequality and prejudice that filled America in those days. However, we already cover all of those point, so it came across as incredibly redundant. It also came across as heavy-handed and needlessly preachy. I felt like I was listening to a sermon rather than an audio drama. Thankfully, episode sixteen was a welcome return to form. It was also an incredible finale overall, but getting more specific would be spoilers.

This next one isn’t a complaint, but more an observation. Hannahpocalypse is set in the United States, and deals with American culture, but series creator Damian Szydlo is Canadian. Now, that isn’t to say that Canadians aren’t allowed to comment on America. However, I found it a little odd that Damian decided not to set the story in his home country. Maybe the theme he wanted to deal with worked better in an American context. I admit I’m not too familiar with Canadian post-apocalypse fiction. Here in the United States, we tend to assume that Canada gets eaten whenever the apocalypse happens. 

Damian had said that, in his view, America won the Culture War a long time ago. To give on example, in many countries, people will watch both local television shows and movies, but also American movies and television series. Canada, for instance, requires its television stations to air a certain amount of Canadian content in an effort to combat the torrential flood of American media. As such, if America falls, the rest of the world falls with it. So, he had the zombie outbreak begin in America. He also claims he didn’t think of Golden Gate as being particularly right-wing. I guess that’s where our cultural differences come into play. In America, it tends to be the political right that invokes nostalgia for the past, and the need to return to this so-called golden age. The political left, by contrast, tends to emphasize the negative qualities of the past, such as the rampant inequality and bigotry, and how we need to let go of the past. 

Hmm, here’s another random thought I had. Hannahpocalypse sounds like the phrase “an apocalypse.” And the word apocalypse contains the suffix -caly, which is like the name Cali. Could it be that Hannah and Cali’s names were puns all along? Accord to Damian, this was just coincidence. However, he did find my observation amusing. 

Season one has wrapped up most of the loose-ends fairly neatly. However, Hannah and Cali’s story isn’t over yet. Season two is already being planned. There are certainly several directions for the story to go. For example, we discovered that not all zombies are mindless killing machines. Does the same hold true for robots? It does appear we will get answers to that particular question in season two. I know that I can’t wait to find out which path the story takes.

Well, there you have it. Hannahpocalypse managed to genuinely surprise me. It billed itself as a post-apocalypse zombie hopepunk audio drama. Despite these seemingly disparate elements, it managed to find hope for a better tomorrow within the wastelands of what was once North America. And it did so quite well at that. Give it a listen, and perhaps it will surprise you as well.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

The Audio File: The Two Princes

I've said this before, but if I hear a podcast recommended enough, sooner or later I'll take a look at it to see what all the fuss is about. Sometimes I find the shows to be severely overhyped. Other times, however, I discover that the show in question is indeed worthy of all of the praise. The show we'll be taking a look at today falls into that second category. We're taking a look at The Two Princes.

Once upon a time, in a land far, far way, the King of the West and the King of the East faced each other in battle. Both kings wanted their kingdom to dominate the other, but their fighting caused a magical forest to sprout. Ah, but this wasn't one of those happy magical forests. It was a fearsome dangerous place that threatened to consume both the Kingdom of the West and the Kingdom of the East. All hope rests on their two sons. When two princes enter the Hallow of the Two Kings, upon reaching their eighteenth year, one kingdom shall rise, and the curse shall be broken.

Rupert, the Prince of the West, has led a fairly sheltered life. His mother, Queen Lavinia, has filled his life with parties and balls, and his trying her best to get Rupert married off. Rupert, for his part, prefers curling up with the good book, and cares not for the maidens he mother constantly tries to set him up with. Rupert decides that he must venture into the enchanted forest and break the curse. Along the way he meets Amir, Prince of the East, and a skilled fighter and statesman. There's plenty of adventure, comedy, and entertaining times as the two princes race to fulfill their destiny. Along the way, they were discover feeling for each other they never thought possible.

What can I say? I absolutely adore this audio drama. The humor reminds me a bit of the Shrek movies. And I mean that as a compliment. I love all of the Shrek movies and specials. A lot of people do so ironically, but I unironically love them. The Two Princes occasionally pokes fun, in an affectionate way, at various fantasy tropes, and liberally indulges in anachronisms. For example, you have characters who say things like "LOL" and "OMG" despite the setting being vaguely Medieval European. And there's one point where Rupert talks about how he thinks Sam and Diane should get together. It sounds like an anachronistic reference to Cheers, but then it turns out Sam and Diane are servants who work in the castle.

The characters will also often swear in the name various figures from Arthurian Legend, despite living in a separate fantasy world. There's also a point when Rupert nearly get eaten by a carnivorous plant that disguises herself of Flora, the Roman goddess of plants. Well, she never calls herself a Roman goddess, but she does call herself a goddess.

Also, I just love the voice acting. Yes, it is all very well performed, but there's another reason I love it: the accents. I know I'm going to get flack for this, but personally, I get tired of everyone on fantasy having British accents. Give me some American accents! Thankfully, The Two Princes give me my much longed-for American accents. Oh, there are a couple characters with British accents, but they are minor characters. All the major characters have American accents, and I love The Two Princes for that, among many other reasons.

However, also much like Shrek, The Two Princes more often than not plays the various fantasy tropes perfectly straight, and wholeheartedly embraces them. In fact, The Two Princes is very much a Heroic Fantasy story, but with lots of jokes and character development. Well, that and the interracial gay romance, but we'll talk more about that in a minute.

For now, we need to discuss what exactly Heroic Fantasy is. Heroic Fantasy is the middle ground between High Fantasy and Low Fantasy. There's less focus on geopolitics of different nations, and the setting is mostly there for the heroes to have adventures and quests in. It's also more hopeful and optimistic than Low Fantasy, and the heroes are genuinely heroic. The problems, while serious, tend to be more localized, rather than the potentially world destroying kind you see in High Fantasy. So less Lord of the Rings, and more Dungeons & Dragons, or perhaps Conan the Barbarian. Very closely related to the Sword & Sorcery genre, though that takes a somewhat darker approach.

Our two leads are a study in contrast. Rupert has been sheltered for most of his life, so he isn't much of a fighter. He usually tries to solve his problems with his wits and cunning, but his lack of real-world experience often proves to be a stumbling block. Still, he has his moments. For example, when he and Amir are attacked by a band of traveling thespians, Rupert, with Amir's help, comes up with a plan to disarm the performers. They do so by pretending to be aspiring actors who are looking for constructive criticism of their play, which requires them to use all the weapons the actors have.

By contrast, Amir has been trained to be a prince practically since birth. He's skilled with the sword, but also knows the art of diplomacy and state crafting. He's noble and has a strong sense of honor and duty. He's also kind to the low classes. For much of the first season, Rupert hides his identity from Amir, pretending to be a thief named Fitzroy. After getting of his initial disgust at "Fitzroy's" choice of career, Amir is shown to treat him with genuine respect, and comes to enjoy Rupert's company.

The feeling is very much mutual. As I have previously mentioned, a big selling point of The Two Princes is that it features Rupert and Amir developing an interracial gay romance. Rupert is white, and Amir...well, it isn't quite clear what race he is. The official series art clearly depicts Amir as non-white, but he could be black, or Indian, maybe Middle Eastern, maybe even some combo thereof. The Kingdom of the East seems to have the same vaguely Medieval European, with some elements of modern-day America, culture as the Kingdom of the West, with perhaps a dash of Middle Eastern for flavor. All that aside, I thought Rupert and Amir's romance was well-written and very cute.

Also, Rupert and Amir have a pet dragon named Porridge. They found him as an egg when they were exploring a cave, and he imprinted on them when he hatched. Rupert has always had a great love of dragons, especially since they were believed to be extinct. Of course, it turns out account of the extinction of dragons were greatly exaggerated. And no, I don't mean just because of Porridge.

In other secondary characters, I loved Sir Joan. She wants to be a knight like her father and grandfather, but her father and the other knights disapproves because she's a girl. Still, she proves herself, and Rupert and Amir's mothers task her with helping them find their sons. She also transforms Rupert's former suitors into an army of badass warriors. I really liked Sir Joan, and I wish she'd gotten more screentime. It might have been nice to have her join Rupert and Amir. Now, I can understand that this might have interfered with the development of their relationship. Oh well, maybe in a future season.

Okay, from this point forward we are going to talk about season two. I should also point out that season two is exclusively available on Spotify. As such, we're going talk about the ending for season one of The Two Princes. So, if you don't want any spoilers, now would probably be a good time to get off the train.

Last chance, you sure you want to continue?

Well, okay, if everyone who wants off is gone, let's begin.

Rupert and Amir make it the Hallow of the Two Kings. Their fathers are still there, but have been twisted into a pair of evil trees. This explains where the mysterious whispers Rupert has been hearing came from.

So, Rupert and Amir prepare to do battle, but then Rupert confesses his feeling for Amir. Before long, Amir does the same, and the next thing you know they're kissing. Not long after that the curse is broken, and the forest disappears. Surprise! The prophecy went that one kingdom would rise, because the two kingdoms will be united when Rupert and Amir marry each other. I must admit, I really like how the curse was broken, and the twist of the prophecy. The ending is really heartwarming, and our two princes certainly earned their happily ever after.

So, with an excellent first season under its belt, how does The Two Princes handle season two? Quite well, actually. In fact, I'd say it just keeps getting better.

Season two begins with Rupert and Amir preparing for their wedding. They've decided to build their castle between the two kingdoms, right where the Hallow of the Two Kings used to be. Unfortunately, Malkia, the former sorceress queen of the Midlands, has come to reclaim her kingdom. Rupert and Amir manage to save the kingdom, but at the cost of Amir getting amnesia. Worse, Malkia is going to return with an army of ghosts to take the kingdom by force. Thankfully, our two princes receive help from a good sorceress, who send the, on a quest to get ingredients from a potion to restore Amir's memories and defeat Malkia.

This season sees Rupert and Amir switch roles. Rupert has to be the proactive one who faces-off against the various threats. Amir, by contrast, has become scared of his own shadow, is easily distracted, and wants to be called Chad. It allows Rupert to grow as a character, while providing moments of comedy with Amir. There are also moments where Rupert questions if it is moral for him to restore Amir's memories. The is presented as a moral dilemma, but I call bullshit. Yes, amnesiac Amir will be gone with Rupert restores his memories, but old Amir will be gone if he doesn't. Why does amnesiac Amir, or Chad as he calls himself, have any more of a right to exist just because he's the one in the driver's seat? Doesn't old Amir get a say? It comes across as a weak attempt at drama, and a forced conflict.

Also, at the beginning of the season we learn that the royal baker refuses to make a cake for Rupert and Amir's wedding. And the royal florist also refuses to take part in the wedding. This is clearly mean to be a comment on the gay wedding cake debate, but it falls flat because The Two Princes is not set in our world. Rupert and Amir are, I assume, absolute monarchs. Couldn't they just throw the baker and florist in the dungeon, or threaten to have them beheaded, for refusing to make stuff for the wedding? Granted, both princes are wary about abusing their power because of their fathers, but still.

Thankfully, the moral dilemma doesn't play as big of a role in the plot as I might have made it seem. The quest itself is a lot of fun. One of the ingredients is unicorn horn, so Rupert and Amir travel to a menagerie in the hinterlands. Unfortunately, Rupert discovers that the menagerie was forced to eat its animals because the enchanted forest limited their food supply. And wouldn't you know it, that was the last unicorn in the world. Wow, Rupert and Amir really need to make a magical version of the Environmental Protection Agency. That would be pretty tragic, but what pushed it into comedy was that we're told the unicorn tasted like chicken.

The second item is the song of a siren. The siren they meet, named Lorelei, turns out to be surprisingly nice, and I hope she reappears in future seasons. She tries to seduce Rupert with her song, but it fails because he's gay. Amusingly, it turns out Rupert is the third gay person Lorelei has encountered. I must say that the third ingredient, hydra venom, was very well done. Each of the heads ask Rupert a different riddle, and it was a good opportunity to showcase Rupert's strength as a character.

Also, Sir Joan is back. She spends most of the seasons taking care of things so Rupert and Amir can go on their quest, but she's back all the same. She also has a girlfriend...sort of. Lady Cecily was head-over-heel for Rupert in the first seasons, but now she's got the hots for Sir Joan. This means the series has at least one confirmed bisexual character. For her part, Sir Joan isn't sure what to think of Lady Cecily, but there are hints that she'll come around to her eventually. Lady Cecily was my favorite of Rupert's hopeless suitors, mainly because she was the only one with a clearly defined personality, but still.

So, we've had two great seasons, but can The Two Princes pull off an amazing third season? Oh yes, it managed to bowl a turkey. Season three goes above and beyond its already amazing predecessors.

Season three sees Rupert and Amir's long-awaited wedding finally take place. The entire Kingdom of the Heartland is filled with joy as the big day fast approaches. Ah, but things rarely stay peaceful for Rupert and Amir. There are reports of a dark force growing in the hinterlands. Might this have something to do with the mysterious Prince Darling? Will true love be able to triumph over all adversity?

Like I said, this season goes even further in terms of quality than its already excellent predecessors. Also, this time round the season is a musical. All of the songs are excellent, and it certainly helps that most of the cast members have singing experience. Amusingly, it appears that everyone really is bursting into song and dance in-universe. At one point, members of the royal guard are late to a meeting because they got caught up in a dance number. I was also amused when the narrator recap at the begging of the episodes at one point said "Oh, why I am repeating all of this? You're probably binging this podcast." Yeah, that's more or less what I did this season. The Two Princes knows me well.

I suspected that Prince Darling was going to be behind the coming of The Despair, and I was even somewhat correct about why. He was blessed by the queen of the fairies to bring joy, happiness, and parties wherever he goes. Unfortunately, due to the balance between good and evil, Darling also brings The Despair wherever he goes. As the name suggest, it is the living embodiment of despair, and consumes all in its wake. Though, I will admit I was wrong about Darling's character. I assumed he was evil, but it turns out he takes no joy in bring The Despair. He was more or less exactly what he appeared to be.

One minor critique is that I wish Rupert's relationship with Lord Chamberlain had been developed. Lord Chamberlain is one of oldest servants of the palace, and figured out that Rupert was gay ever before Rupert himself knew. This is because Lord Chamberlain is also gay, but he had to hide his sexuality because, for most of his life, the kingdom wasn't a very accepting place for homosexuals. But Rupert and Amir's marriage has brought him tears of joy, because it shows that the kingdom will become a kinder and more tolerant place, where future generations of gay people will be able to live happy and openly. He also says that he has always been very close to Rupert, and considers him the son he never had. In turn, Rupert considers Lord Chamberlain to be a surrogate father. All well and good, but I think it would be a bit more meaningful if their relationship had a bit more development. And I thought it was nice that Lord Chamberlain got a love interest in the end.

I thought that the way Rupert defeated The Despair was very well done. He remembers all the people in his life who love him. He remembers his romantic love for Amir, his familial love for Lord Chamberlain, and the platonic love of all the subjects of his kingdom. The Despair might have consumed everything, but as long as Rupert remembered the love in his life, he would never be truly alone. Or to put it another way, remembering all of that love meant he never gave into despair. The actual confrontation with The Despair actually doesn't last all that long, but that just meant the final episode could devote more time to everyone's happy endings.

Sir Joan is back, and she has to deal with her disapproving father. Thankfully, Lady Cecily put him on his place with a rousing music number about how he needs to get with the times. That was especially nice because Lady Cecily broke up with Sir Joan at the start of the season, and started dating Sir Percy. But hey, we all knew that was never gonna last. Especially after, to the surprise of no at all, Sir Percy discovered that he likes boys.

This season also answered a question I'd been wondering for a while now. Rupert and Amir getting married is all well and good, but aren't they going to be concerned about needing a royal heir eventually? Well, as I somewhat suspected, it turns out that adoption was always an option for them. That's good, as it will prevent the kingdom from suffering any nasty succession crisis and/or civil war once they have gone to receive their great reward.

Things won't always be easy for Rupert and Amir, especially with their track record of luck. Still, just because there might be tough times ahead doesn't mean they won't be able to make it if they preserver and focus on the positives. This isn't their happily ever after, it's the happy beginning of a lifetime of more adventures. Rupert and Amir still have plenty of places to go and things to discover, and they'll do so together and happy.

Of course, you could also interpret the finishing musical number in a metafictional sense. The creators of The Two Princes are in talks with HBO Max to adapt the podcast into an animated series. I've also heard rumors that season three will be the final season of the podcast. That would make sense if the animated series has been given the green light. The producers, and I would hope all the actors for the podcast, would want to give the animated series their undivided attention. If this is true, it will be sad to see the podcast come to and end. Of course, all good things must come to an end, and all that. And hey, at least the podcast will live on in the animated series.

It would certainly be a pretty big thing if the animated series happens. I hope they use the same art style as the title cards. It might be fun to actually get to see the characters, and I hope they keep the original voice cast. But this is all a topic for another day. For now, I think it's time to wrap this review up.

Well, I think that's everything of note without spoiling the ending of season two. So, there you have it. The Two Princes is a fun, funny, entertaining heroic fantasy audio drama with a well-written gay romance. Be sure to listen today, you'll be glad that you did. Remember, seasons two and three are exclusively available on Spotify.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

Manga Review: Rosario+Vampire by Akihisa Ikeda

I thought I might review one of my favorite manga.  You've heard me talk about it before, and so you probably know I love it, but I say it's still worth doing a post about.  The manga I'm talk about is of course Rosario+Vampire by Akihisa Ikeda.

The first series, ten volumes in total, follows Tsukune Anno, a boy who's absolutely average in absolutely every way.  He's been having trouble getting into a good high school, but fortunately he's just received an offer from Yokai Academy.  Upon arrival Tsukune meet the beautiful vampire Moka Akashiya, and promptly learns that Yokai Academy is an all monster school.  Fortunately, they are all practicing disgusting themselves as humans.  Along the way he also befriends a succubus name Kurumu, a yuki-on a named Mizore, a werewolf named Gin, and two witches named Yukari and Ruby.  It starts of as a lighthearted romantic comedy/harem series, but as it progresses it gets increasingly action packed and more dramatic as Tsukune and the gang take on ever strong enemies.  

Now, there are probably some of you who only know Rosario+Vampire via its anime adaptation.  Before we go any further take everything you know about that series and toss it away.  Unlike the anime adaptation, the original manga actually have things like plot, character development and it uses its fan service much more tastefully and sparingly.  Yeah, overall the anime doesn't really have too much in common with the manga besides a few tertiary connections and roughly the same premise.  Just figured we'd get that out of the way first and foremost.

This was one of the very first mangas I ever read, the very first being DeathNote, and is still easily my favorite.  From the first few volumes I was completely draw into the plot.  I was still getting use to the black and white aspect of manga, having grown up with full color American comics, and I think it really worked out pretty well in this case.  With many of the characters being monsters the black and white coloring brought to mind the old Universal Horror movies; i.e. Frankenstein, Dracula, Creature From the Black Lagoon, ect.  I'm more used to manga coloring now, but this was a great way to ease into it; similar to how in DeathNote it made me think of noir films.  And speaking of the art I think that Ikeda did a pretty great job drawing the manga as well as writing it.    

Of course, a manga is only as good as its characters, and this manga has some pretty great characters.  What I find most interesting about Tsukune is, despite being the primary viewpoint character and male lead, he fills the role of The Chick and The Heart.  He's the least powered member of the team while the girls are the primary fighters; which is an interesting twist on the style.  Moka is actually two characters for the price of one; we've got sweet and cutsie Outer Moka, and dark and deadly Inner Moka.  It seems to be some kind of split personality thing, and I'm wondering if they're going to fuse together at some point in the future.  Well, guess I'll have to find out in Rosario+Vampire Season II.  There's also Kurumu, a former mean girl sucubis who becomes a loyal friend.  You gotta love her, and not just beacuse of those knockers of hers.  

Then we've got Mizore, who holds the distinction of teaching me about what yuki-onna are.  She's also adorably shy and kind of looks like a friend of mine.  Whenever I read Mizore's line's I always heard that friend's voice.  And finally we've got Yukari and Gin, both kind of perverted, but both also fun and adorable in their own ways.  Along the way the gang combats a wide variety of monsters, both teachers and students, ranging from kraken, to slugs, to mermaids and even Medusa.  

If the series has a weakness it's an unintentional one.  As the series progresses one of the biggest antagonists are the monstrals, a group of mixed species monsters.  I'm sure, well hopefully sure, that Ikeda didn't intended it but the message came across as "mixed race people are evil."  Of course, considering whoever Tsukune ends up with, and by whoever I of course mean Moka, will be a diffrent species than him it give credence to my theory that it was unintentional.  

As for intentional messages, if there's one strong theme throughout the series it's the power of friendship and healing from past damage.  One villain who is rather similar to Tsukune remarks that if he'd friends as good as Tsukune's when he was at Yokai Academy then maybe he would have gone into villainy.  Many of the girls have tragic or otherwise unhappy pasts, but through their friendships they manage to over come that and become better people.  At the same time Tsukune grows from a boy without any aspirations in life to a young man serving as a mediator between humans and monsters.  

The series starts of in monster of the week, or monster of the chapter as it were, format but before long there is an overarching plot.  Specifically a plot about monsters and humans making peace.  Like I said before, the series starts of lighthearted but get gradually more serious as time goes on.  There's definitely serious themes and such even in the early parts, but about when Mizore shows up is when the tone really starts to change.  I haven't gotten around to reading Rosario+Vampire Season II yet, but this tend does continue from what I've seen.  In fact, by Season II the manga gets into deconstruction territory for harem tropes and the like.  As great as the first series is I can't wait to sink my teeth into Season II.   

It was one of the first manga I ever read.  It is one of my favorite manga.  It is Rosario+Vampire by Akihisa Ikeda.  Check it out today, and be prepared to fall in much in love with it as I have.