The Human Instrumentality Podcast

A guided recap of excellent anime

About the show

The Human Instrumentality Podcast celebrates animated fiction from Japan - or, anime - that uses groundbreaking visual storytelling to tell unconventional and moving stories.

Season 2, now airing, tells the story of of beloved director Satoshi Kon, whose brief-but-brilliant oeuvre includes “Perfect Blue” and Paranoia Agent.” Kon’s psychedelic and psychological parade of images and characters celebrate the animated film tradition and critique the society that created it – and the fans that enable its existence. Hosts Ian Cory and Joseph Schafer cover Kon's entire career, from his humble beginnings as a background artist on "Akira" to his final cinematic dreamscape, "Paprika."

Season one, which finished in 2022, covered the animated television series "Neon Genesis Evangelion," unpacking its sometimes cryptic plot, and examining its unique place in pop culture history — it's so much more than a cartoon about teenagers and giant robots.

Follow the Human Instrumentality Podcast on Twitter at @AnotherEvaPod and on Instagram at @humaninstrumentalitypod

Our website is: www.instrumentalitypod.com

The Human Instrumentality Podcast on social media

Episodes

  • Gamera III: Revenge of Iris *Unlocked*

    July 5th, 2023  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 28 mins
    anime, gamera, ghost in the shell, godzilla, kaiju, neon genesis evangelion

    The Heisei Gamera trilogy reaches its grimdark conclusion with 1999’s 'Gamera III: Revenge of Iris,' the Book of Revelations to the New Testament that was 'Gamera II.' Expect plenty of morbid spectacles, but no happy endings.

  •

    Gamera II: Attack of Legion *Unlocked*

    June 28th, 2023  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 22 mins
    anime, gamera, ghost in the shell, godzilla, kaiju, neon genesis evangelion

    In 'Gamera II' the titanic turtle’s opponent is the creepy-crawly colony of space bugs, the Symbiotic Legion; a kaiju that brings the biblical barbarism from 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' front-and-center to the Gamera experience.

  •

    Gamera: Guardian of the Universe *Unlocked*

    June 21st, 2023  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 12 mins
    anime, gamera, ghost in the shell, godzilla, kaiju, neon genesis evangelion

    The trilogy of 90's Gamera films might be the best giant monster movies ever made, thanks in large part to staff members from "Neon Genesis Evangelion" and "Ghost in the Shell." Our Gamera miniseries begins with 1995’s "Gamera: Guardian of the Universe."

  •

    Memories: Magnetic Rose *Unlocked*

    June 14th, 2023  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 16 mins
    akira, anime, magnetic rose, memories, satoshi kon

    In an outtake from our Satoshi Kon series, we cover the sci-fi mystery "Magnetic Rose," one part of 'Akira' auteur Katsuhiro Otomo anthology film 'Memories,' which Kon wrote.

  • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders (Again) *Unlocked*

    June 7th, 2023  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 38 mins
    anime, jojo's bizarre adventure, stardust crusaders

    Recapping the third part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Stardust Crusaders, this time covering things Ian and Joseph had to ignore during the Satoshi Kon season.

  •

    An Update about our Patreon

    April 28th, 2023  |  Season 2  |  5 mins 16 secs
    anime, evangelion, jojos bizarre adventure, neon genesis evangelion, satoshi kon

    An update about the future of the Human Instrumentality Podcast including: ending our Patreon, unlocking some very fun bonus episodes, and some hints on Season 3.

  •

    Paprika

    November 16th, 2022  |  Season 2  |  2 hrs 3 mins
    anime, christopher nolan, inception, madhouse, paprika, satoshi kon

    In the sci fi crime thriller ‘Paprika,’ a dream detective races to save the world from a terrorist attack on the collective subconscious as the lines between fantasy and reality literally collapse. It’s Satoshi Kon’s final film, as well as maybe his most entertaining, and prompts Ian and Joseph to ponder the director’s entire career.

  • Paranoia Agent - Episode 12

    November 9th, 2022  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 49 mins
    anime, madhouse, paranoia agent, satoshi kon

    At last, ‘Paranoia Agent’ brings its disparate main characters together to confront their demons in “The Final Episode.” This week, Ian and Joseph unpack the emotional (and gooey!) climax to Kon’s supernatural detective drama.

  •

    Paranoia Agent - Episodes 11 and 12

    November 2nd, 2022  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 57 mins
    anime, madhouse, paranoia agent, satoshi kon

    ‘Paranoia Agent’ winds up for a big finale with a pair of unlikely heroes standing up to Shonen Bat: first, a housewife with a terminal illness and a whole lot of backbone, and second, a disgraced detective who sees himself as a superhero. Ian and Joseph get unpack the existentialist philosophy and kinetic action mayhem in these episodes.

  • Paranoia Agent - Episodes 09 and 10 (Feat. Chingy Nea & Eric Thurm)

    October 26th, 2022  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 36 mins
    anime, madhouse, paranoia agent, satoshi kon

    'Paranoia Agent' goes hog wild when a murderer's row of Madhouse animators collaborate on an anthology episode. Then, Kon takes us into his own meta-verse with an anime episode about what it takes to make an anime episode. Eric Thurm returns with his 'Behind Anime Lines' collaborator Chingy Nea to make sense of this production madness.

  •

    Paranoia Agent - Episodes 07 and 08

    October 19th, 2022  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 30 mins
    anime, madhouse, paranoia agent, satoshi kon

    Paranoia Agent lives up to its name when one detective begins questioning his own perception of reality. Then the show reaches its darkly comic nadir with a controversial and often-censored episode about a suicide pact gone wrong. Ian and Joseph want you to know this episode has CWs up the wazoo for suicide and self-harm.

  •

    Paranoia Agent - Episodes 05 and 06 (Feat. Langdon Hickman)

    October 12th, 2022  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 59 mins
    anime, madhouse, paranoia agent, satoshi kon

    The Shonen Bat investigation gets goofy when its prime suspect turns out to be just as deluded as the Bat’s victims. But while the detectives spin their wheels, a typhoon threatens to wash away their best witness – and reveal the twisted secrets nearly everyone seems to be hiding. Ian and Joseph are joined by writer and podcaster Langdon Hickman, who only leads them further into Kon’s labyrinth of madness

  •

    Paranoia Agent - Episodes 03 and 04 (Feat. STEVEM)

    October 5th, 2022  |  Season 2  |  2 hrs 5 mins
    anime, madhouse, paranoia agent, satoshi kon

    'Paranoia Agent' kicks into high gear when a crooked cop and a young woman with disassociation identity disorder make Shonen Bat's list of victims. Ian and Joseph plunge deeper into the show's ever-increasing complexity with a little help from Animator and YouTuber STEVEM whose video 'The SATOSHI KON PROBLEM' was a key resource for this season.

  • Paranoia Agent - Episodes 01 and 02 (Feat. Andrew Osmond)

    September 28th, 2022  |  Season 2  |  2 hrs 12 mins
    anime, paranoia agent, satoshi kon

    Joseph and Ian discuss the first two episodes of Satoshi Kon’s television series, ‘Paranoia Agent.’ They are joined by Andrew Osmond, author of ‘Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist.’

    Recap - 0:00
    Introducing Andrew Osmund - 10:04
    Ep 01 Analysis - 28:10
    Ep 02 Analysis - 1:09:46

    If you can’t stop hitting rewind, support The Human Instrumentality Podcast on Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/humaninstrumentalitypod

    You can follow Joseph and Ian via the following infinite Dead Sea Scrolls (Social media platforms)
    Instagram: @humaninstrumentalitypod
    Twitter: @AnotherEvaPod

  •

    Tokyo Godfathers

    September 21st, 2022  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 21 mins
    anime, satoshi kon, tokyo godfathers

    Satoshi Kon's idea of a Christmas movie starts with three homeless people who find a baby in the trash and ends with a wacky car chase. Along the way, 'Toyko Godfathers' involves a mob wedding, a drag bar, and various pathological lies. That it works at all is a Christmas Miracle, that Ian and Joseph celebrate.

  • Millennium Actress

    September 14th, 2022  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 34 mins
    animation, anime, millennium actress, movie, movie history, paranoia agent, perfect blue, satoshi kon

    In 'Millennium Actress,' a starlet on her death bed recalls her lifelong chase to catch up with the love of her life. From his simple premise, Satoshi Kon crafts a kaleidoscopic love letter to Japanese cinema. Ian and Joseph break down the cornucopia of references and easter eggs ticket into Satoshi Kon's too-overlooked second film - not to mention its absolutely killer soundtrack.