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Geek Therapy's anime and manga podcast.
Welcome to Otaku Ryuho on the Geek Therapy Network. Here at Geek Therapy, we believe that the best way to understand each other and ourselves is through the media we care about, and the media we focus on here is manga and anime. My name is Josué Cardona. And I'm joined by Rae Hoover.
Rae:Meowdy.
Josué:Hey, Rae.
Rae:Howdy. Sup?
Josué:So at the end of the last episode, we said we would talk about My Hero Academia. And we said a lot of things that we were going to talk about. And then we had an episode where we talked about it, and it went so off the rails, they were recording another one. And, it's relevant, that one, the lost episode, our first lost episode of Otaku Ryoho. I had a lot of revelations, a lot of lot of, like, realizations about about my feelings about the show.
Josué:And I think it was very helpful. But I think today, can touch on exactly what the original idea was.
Rae:Yeah. Yeah. Be a little bit more focused.
Josué:So actually, we just came off of TAGGS Mhmm. Which is the Therapeutic and Applied Geek and Gaming Summit, which is really cool. You did a presentation on One Piece.
Rae:Shocking.
Josué:And have you talked about one piece or technically, I've I'm the one who talked about one piece?
Rae:I don't have to reset the counter for this.
Josué:You don't have to reset the counter. And so we did a keynote for on Saturday, we tried something new. And we were it was all about the Geek Therapy Awards. I one of my picks for the Geek Therapy Awards for 2025 was My Hero Academia. So I'm just gonna read what I wrote because it's it's part of the reason why I wanted to talk about it today.
Josué:So My Hero Academia, television show anime, the final season. MHA is about a school of superheroes where we follow Deku on his journey to become one of the world's greatest heroes. Deku's greatest strength is his ability to inspire others to be heroes and go beyond what they believe they were capable of. This isn't the first show to do this, but I think it's one of the best and it's definitely the best shown in to do this in a very long time. The show is full of memorable characters and fun action.
Josué:I think its most relatable themes are dealing with the expectations. Well, dealing with expectations, like what it means to be a hero or what it means to be a villain, and generational trauma, particularly the the fifth season. These kids inherited a lot of problems they're facing, and we get to see how previous generation either helps or makes it worse. And I think those are themes that are present throughout the show. Right?
Josué:In in the way that so for those of you that don't know, we'll do just I'm just gonna go over the quick overview or kind of the main main themes in that Deku is our main character. He's our main hero. And he lives in a world where most people have an ability or a power called the quirk. And he does not, but he inherits one. And it's called all for not one for all.
Josué:His is one for all. And literally, there are generations of people who have had this power and it it grows as it comes through. And as the show progresses, he gets to not only tap into those powers as he as he like as he develops, but he also gets in touch with the spirit of the people who had those powers before him. And he's able to learn a lot from them, and in many ways also inherit some of their faults and what they're carrying with them. And and he might be the first person to kind of challenges those as well, which is which is very cool to see.
Josué:And all of this literally happens inside of him. Mhmm. So when when, like, I like talking about my hero academia and and all for one, one for all.
Rae:We're gonna keep doing that.
Josué:One for all. Like in an IFS lens, right, internal family systems, This idea of like, hey, you have different parts inside of you who are who want and need different things. Right? Yeah, I've talked a lot about that in the past. And I really like that.
Josué:But that's just one of the many cool things about the show. And so his main adversary is a villain called all for one, who is very selfish. But then instead of having this power that's passed on through generations and developed over time and and nurtured and grown to the point where, like, the one who has that power has been the greatest hero in the world. All for one, his ability that ability is to steal powers from other people and leave them quirkless. And his, yeah, his motives are very, very different.
Josué:But those are, like, very on the nose themes. Yeah. But the his reasons are also, like, he didn't like, he as he grew up, right, like, he wanted more and more and more and more. And one for all is about helping everyone else and then Mhmm. Growing on on those powers.
Josué:So, I mean, it does a lot of really great things. It has a lot of really great characters. And so that's why it was it was my one of my picks for for 2025. And, of course, it was the final season. Mhmm.
Josué:So really, what I wanted to talk about was not so much the show itself, which I'm sure we'll we'll get into. And we got into last week, last time we recorded. And which was good because I said I wanted to reflect on the show and I hadn't really really hadn't had not had a chance to sit down with someone who also knew the show well, and who who's also a mental health professional and saw things in in particular ways to really reflect on how the show made me feel and some of the themes that that came up for me. And just one of the realizations was how differently I see the show now many years later. But what I want to talk about today is saying goodbye to something like this, right?
Josué:Which for me, I don't remember. Let me let me look up when the anime premiered. Do you remember? Let me see. I'm looking it up.
Rae:I want to say
Josué:Take a guess. Let's see.
Rae:2017.
Josué:2017. The manga anime 2016? We're close.
Rae:Okay. Yeah. Because I I know the manga started in 2014.
Josué:Yes.
Rae:I will say. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yep.
Rae:And the anime was couple years after.
Josué:So the manga ran for ten years from 2014 to 2024. Mhmm. The anime started in 2016 ended in 2025. And so which is cool because the the manga fans got to say goodbye in 2024. Anime fans got to say goodbye a year later.
Josué:And it was it was a big deal. It was it was a very influential show. It was a beloved shonen. Mhmm. And, you know, for for me, I I I love the show, and I got to say goodbye.
Josué:And I don't remember the last time there was a show like this that was, like, this big and kind of had a send off. Right? Because there's like Dragon Ball Super stopped. Right? Like Dragon Ball Z ended years before I started watching it.
Josué:I think we talked about this in the first episode, possibly, or in some other conversation. By the time that Dragon Ball came to The US, and it was starting to come in English, right? That it was done. It had been done for a while.
Rae:Yeah.
Josué:When I was watching Z on on Funimation, not on Funimation on Toonami. Mhmm. GT had already was already done. Yeah. Like the sequel series.
Josué:And so there like, to me, like, that that was a huge a show a huge show that I was into. I didn't get to, like, say goodbye in in that way. Mhmm. And I wasn't as into anime communities or or or had friends who also watched anime to a point where I could, like, feel a collective loss of a show, like, knowing that the end was coming. And and so this is a big like, again, super just stopped at one arc.
Josué:And and for years, we've been like, is it is it coming back? And actually, just a few months ago, they finally announced, oh, yeah, we're gonna continue. And it's literally just picking up where the last episodes left off because the manga continued. The Dragon Ball Super manga continued. And, and so, like, it isn't an end.
Josué:And the only thing I can that to me comes close, I'm I'm sure maybe at some point somebody will bring up like, about all these other 20 ended in your lifetime? I'm like, oh, yeah. Attack on Titan was big for me, but it was one of those where I couldn't wait for the like, I I I I like that show so much that I couldn't wait for the anime to end. Mhmm. So I went and read the manga.
Josué:Oh. So I was like in a weird spot where the the manga had ended. So I I think I watched the anime. I was like, I can't wait anymore. I went to read the manga, but the manga was already done.
Josué:Right? So, like, I missed I missed that moment. Yeah. And then when the show came back, I was like, I don't wanna go through this right now. So I also missed when the anime ended.
Josué:Right? Like, wasn't really involved in it. I didn't have anybody else watching it with. Anyway, but with with my hero, it felt different. Somehow, it felt like, this show been around for years.
Josué:There's a there's a there's a clear ending. It was super emotional. And I was able to see have that experience online. Yeah. Have you had that with any show?
Rae:What? Like the actual ending and closing?
Josué:Mhmm.
Rae:Like, I've been
Josué:Closure. Yeah. Yeah. There's
Rae:definitely been shows that have ended, and I've like watched them in kind of real time. But they I don't know. Maybe the ending sucked. I'm I'm trying to remember. Maybe a couple Star Trek series or something like that, but that's about it.
Rae:For anime? No. I've like, I I had a similar experience as you. Like, yeah. Dragon Ball, we were watching that as as, like, kids in, like, middle school or junior high kids, and, like it had been out for decades in the rest of the world.
Rae:And Toonami just stopped airing some shows one day and like didn't actually finish them off. I still remember the day that they stopped airing Sailor Moon and like I remember the arc in the episode and everything. And then the next day they they went to Hamtaro. They started Hamtaro in that slot and they never went back to it. And 12 year old me was devastated.
Rae:I was like, what do you mean?
Josué:Like okay. So as you were saying that, just just if you have more to say, I definitely wanna hear. I'm just I'm just reminded of, like, Game of Thrones.
Rae:Right? Yes. That was a big one. Yes. I was very involved in the fandom at that point.
Josué:People were so divisive at the end and like so angry. I look, I'm on the side of I I I enjoyed it. I I enjoyed it all the way through, And I honestly have no issue with the ending. And I can get into, you know, send your hate mail to raven@geektherapy.org.
Rae:No, I do not claim his takes! Send it to him.
Josué:Right. Like, because because like, I understand if you don't like the way something turned out, right? Like it didn't turn out how you wanted. And so I can see, right? Like, so but it sucks to be like, to have something be so divisive.
Rae:Yeah.
Josué:The Skywalker saga ended in the last couple years. And that's incredibly divisive, right?
Rae:Yeah.
Josué:So to have a show and again, Attack on Titan is an is an incredible show, which also like lasted many years. I'm not gonna look it up now, but it also took many years to actually finish.
Rae:Mhmm.
Josué:Nothing about that show is happy.
Rae:Yeah. Right? It's a heavy one.
Josué:Think that's part of this. Right? There's, like, there's, like, as emotional and as as as exciting as My Hero was, it ended like, everything ended in a positive note.
Rae:Mhmm.
Josué:Even the Todoroki's, like, ended up in good place.
Rae:Despite all odds, they they ended in a positive place, which was like, wow.
Josué:The picture of Bakugo extending his hand to Deku is like, who is that guy? Literally, even even characters that I thought were going to die at the early in the show are still alive at the end. Like, every like, it is a very happy ending, right, which I think is a part of this as well. Yeah. Yeah.
Josué:I mean, but all of those examples are are are they right? But again, this is nine years. Right? Nine years anime manga. Get and part of the reason why I wanted to to visit this is that a friend of mine talked to her about a month ago and she said, I'm on my way to a birthday party.
Josué:My boyfriend's daughter is having a My Hero Academia themed birthday party.
Rae:That aged me one thousand years, I hate that. Good for the kids, though.
Josué:And it's also one of these things where it's like, that was in Puerto Rico, in they're speaking Spanish. They're talking about a Japanese show, right? And they're all dressed as these characters like, and they and part of it was like, we're all gonna cosplay as different characters. My niece used to play My Hero Academia at school, and she started reading the manga, right? And like, everybody had work during recess, you know, like it was it was a big deal, like a lot of people different ages.
Josué:It was a big deal. Wow.
Rae:I didn't realize that because I don't have any, any kids in my life in that age range where it would have made an impact and that's wow. That's amazing.
Josué:Yeah. Yeah. And and so, again, again, I I remember Game of Thrones. Right? And, like, and, like, a few other things.
Josué:Any more come to to mind to you of, like, things that ended?
Rae:I am blanking, honestly. I actually no. Like, critical role seasons, like their campaigns. That's probably the only other thing that's, like, really coming to mind right at the moment. And because those are long.
Rae:Those are Yeah. Long things. And I I was there for the end of season two or campaign two, and then campaign three. I caught up on campaign one after the fact, but loved it.
Josué:My original instinct was to, like, diminish those as like, oh, well, they're not nine years long, and it's not a huge thing. So I'm I'm but I'm I'm checking myself. Right? So I'm so I'm, like, saying, like, I I don't want to diminish it. Right?
Josué:Like like like, those are big deals too. So like, how did you what was it like at the to like, did you have people to share that with at the Yeah.
Rae:Yeah. Some some people in the meat space, like some of my friends and like my sibling and stuff like that. But also, like, I was definitely way more involved in, like, online fandoms. That's when that's when Twitter wasn't a crap hole.
Josué:And Twitter used to be cool for a bit. I remember
Rae:Twitter was fantastic for a long time, especially for fandoms because you, like, you you'd get the live tweets going, you'd get the the hashtags going. And, like, I met a lot of people, like, online through, like, different fandoms and live tweeting and stuff like that. Critical Role was a big one there. Yeah. Like for Twitter, My Hero Academia was huge on there, and that's where I had a lot of fandom experiences with with the manga specifically.
Rae:Like I was I was I was there when those chapters dropped the last couple chapters. Bakugo was- spoilers, I guess?
Josué:Niece told me I can't she was like, I can't believe Bakugo died. And I was like, I refuse to believe this. I refuse to believe that that is true. And I kept watching this. And I kept waiting for him to die Mhmm.
Josué:For so long because I didn't realize how far ahead.
Rae:Oh.
Josué:Right. Like the the the manga was, you know, from like from from the show. And I kept like, oh, it was yeah.
Rae:The crazy part is Bakugo was dead in the manga in real real time for two years. Like, just for how long it took for the chapters to come out. There were there were lots of memes around of of like, summoning circles and, you know, people posting like, manifesting Bakugo coming back this week. Like, it was it was a fun time.
Josué:I didn't think about that. Yeah. I mean, my niece believed I mean, everybody did, I guess. Right? So by the time yeah.
Josué:It wasn't it wasn't that long in the anime
Rae:No.
Josué:Experience of it.
Rae:It was like an episode, I think. I forget exactly. Not two years worth. Can tell you that.
Josué:It yeah. It it may have been less than an episode. Mhmm. Honestly, they were probably like, we can't we can't actually we can't do the same thing. Anime people.
Rae:Make everyone suffer like, the manga readers suffer.
Josué:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Josué:Oh. But like,
Rae:when the chapter that he came back like, I was I was in the act of fandom at that point. Like, when he died, I was not, like, part of it in, like Yeah. Reading the the chapters and caught up and stuff like that. But I caught up in that time because it was two years to catch up, I guess. And I remember the week that that came out, I I being being a big fan fandom person in general, I naturally have, like, fan made jewelry and stuff like that.
Rae:I wore my little Bakugo earrings that entire week. Nobody knew. It wasn't for them. It was for me. But if someone else saw, they could go, hey.
Rae:Yeah. He's alive.
Josué:I see you.
Rae:And I'd be like, yeah. Yeah. But, yeah, no. It's just for me, I guess.
Josué:Yeah. Oh, okay. Yeah. So so, again, going back to the, like, that Critical Role example.
Rae:Mhmm.
Josué:I mean, just even one season of a story, right, can be huge. I mean, it's okay like a book or a or a movie. Right? But there's something about I'm just saying that there's like it's not worse or better. I'm saying I do think that there is something about a story continuing for so many years.
Josué:And then, like, it builds up, right? Like, I think it exponentially the stakes increase the how attached you are to it. Also, like, if you stick around for that long, right, because you can fall off from shows. Right? Because that that happens.
Josué:If if you we use Game of Thrones, right? Like, some people were like, oh, I'm done with the show. I I wasn't I wasn't long for the ride. And and when it ended, like, was there was there was a void afterwards. Yeah.
Josué:I don't know that I felt like there was a void after my hero. I think because because it was a happy ending. You know, like, am I am I does that make sense? Like, does that resonate at all?
Rae:Yeah. No. No. That makes perfect sense. Like, with Game of Thrones, I think everyone kind of was aware that there wasn't gonna be more.
Rae:Like, the the showrunners were out. They were gonna go do their own thing, which they stuck their own feet in their mouths with that. But, like, there were at least I felt like Arya's story could have continued. Because she like was rumors. Yeah.
Josué:Yeah. It it's coming like, they're gonna continue. They could.
Rae:Yeah. But I'm saying at the time, like
Josué:Yeah.
Rae:Like, it was like, oh, there's no plans for anything else at this point. This is this is it. With My Hero, there's still like My Hero Academia Vigilantes coming out. And, like, we have the the what's the word?
Josué:They're not called epilogue episodes, but that's what I've been Yeah. Calling
Rae:Yeah. That's that's what, like, everyone kinda knows them as, at least in my circles. Yeah. But, like, the epilogue episodes, those are still coming out. It still feels kind of alive.
Rae:So like I I I hear exactly what you're saying there.
Josué:Interesting. I didn't I didn't think of it that way.
Rae:Oh, okay.
Josué:But that's interesting because because you're saying, like, to you, the show didn't end. Is that what you're saying?
Rae:My time in the world didn't end.
Josué:Interesting.
Rae:Whereas like compared to Game of Thrones or, you know, the the Skywalker saga sequel movies or something like that, there's not much else that's supposed to be coming out of that at this point.
Josué:This is an interesting angle because I I don't I do see it as an as an ending. I don't see you know, it's it's funny. Earlier today, you did a you did a one piece presentation of tags. And Hallie Palmer did one on DBZ on Dragon Ball in general. And I actually just sent her a link a couple hours ago.
Josué:The trailer for the new video game Dragon Ball Z universe three. Ten years after Dragon Ball's universe two. But it's one of these games where you get to play in the world. Like, like, you know, Dragon Ball? Yes.
Josué:So while sort of, but it I mean, there's like more stories in the in in the world that you can dive into. It doesn't change anything that happened before. But you you can still play in that space. Mhmm. There's like, oh, there's like this time agency and there's alternate reality, but you get to go to the, like, to the capital city and you get to visit Capsule Corp and and and Bulma's around.
Josué:Right? And, like, there's stories that you can play inside that world even though the main story is done. Mhmm. And so I didn't feel I didn't think of it that way with with my hero. Do I do feel like, it's and it's it's gone.
Josué:Sure. Vigilantes is there, but Vigilantes takes place before Deku. Right?
Rae:A little bit. Yeah.
Josué:Yeah. Yeah. So it's like before Deku. And even though we're getting right. I don't know.
Josué:It was yeah. I didn't I didn't think of it that way. I didn't think of like, the world's not over.
Rae:Mhmm.
Josué:Because I I remember yeah. Sometimes you finish a story in a short film movie, you start imagining what might happen next. Oh, yeah. Right? I I didn't yeah.
Josué:So how different does that feel when you have that versus like when you don't?
Rae:I mean, I love a world I I love a a story with really great world building that like I can just take a bite out of the world and like just really sink my teeth into it and just be like exist in the world. Like that's that's why I love One Piece so much because you can just you can do anything in that world. It is undefined limits. It's such solid world building that you can just like you can imagine any island ever and just come up with like completely new people, completely new characters, completely new stories. I like a sandbox world.
Rae:So the stuff I enjoy the most has that kind of world building. That's not saying it's necessarily the best or anything. But that's just how I get enjoyment out of different pieces of media and stuff like that.
Josué:When one piece ends, this this I will be devastated. Yeah. If it ever ends.
Rae:I look. I'm I feel like I'm getting into it so late game that I'm like, I woulda, please
Josué:You know, he's been he's been saying for twenty years that he's like, you know, wrapping up.
Rae:Yeah. And then he keeps adding on to it. I've seen some some theories that, like, it's gonna be at least ten more years at this point. And I'm like, good. Good.
Rae:I just got here. Like
Josué:Yeah. I I have no complaints. But it is funny to look up if you if you look up online, like, when when has he said that he the show was ending? He's like, from the beginning, he said, like, oh, it won't take more than five years. And then he's, like, kept giving dates, and now twenty five years later, you're good.
Rae:Yeah. Yeah. He just keeps adding stuff. He keeps flushing it out.
Josué:Yeah. Yeah. Oh, okay. The the topic of, like, saying goodbye to things and, like, letting go is from from my perspective, it comes from a place of, like, I I moved around a lot as a kid. And as an adult, I don't think I've ever lived anywhere longer than four years.
Rae:Consecutive. Holy crap.
Josué:In my entire life. Yeah.
Rae:Yeah. Damn. Okay. That is completely the opposite experience as me.
Josué:Moving has ranged for me from two years to four and a half, I think is the most I've ever lived somewhere. Four and a half? Four max. Yeah. Yeah.
Josué:And so, like, I say goodbye to a lot of things. Right? And and to me, I I I have this mentality of, like, I want to make sure that I'm, like, I enjoy the things that I have while I'm while I have them. And I'm like that with people too. I'm like, I don't know.
Josué:I mean, I I literally think, like, oh, I don't know if I'll ever see you again. So, like, let's have a good time. Yeah. Right? I don't I I don't I don't I don't expect I don't know if that's the right word.
Josué:A future. Right? Like, don't I don't I don't I don't think a future is guaranteed. Mhmm. Let's put it that way.
Josué:Right? Yeah. And so many times those endings like I don't know. It's different for me for something like, oh, this is a nine year show. Mhmm.
Josué:That's longer than I've lived. So across That's true. Let's let's let's let's do the math. So from '20 if the show started in 2016, that means I lived in North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Maryland, Chicago, Maryland again and Spain.
Rae:God,
Josué:I lived in six places. Let's say let's say five places.
Rae:I mean, did you go back to the exact same place in Maryland when you moved back there?
Josué:Yeah, that was like a layover. Right. So let's just put five. Just put five different places. I moved four times.
Rae:Did you have to how many changes of addresses did you do? Let's do that one.
Josué:Yeah. I lived in North Carolina, then moved to Puerto Rico. And from there, moved to because hurricane Maria happened, so like, Yeah. I left temporarily
Rae:Okay.
Josué:To to stay with my sister, which is the Maryland one.
Rae:Gotcha.
Josué:And so but I'm counting it. Right. And then, like, I still have my driver's license from there. Yeah. For that time living there.
Josué:Then I technically I went back to Puerto Rico. I won't count that one. Then I moved to to to Chicago. And from Chicago, I stopped at my sister's for a little bit before I moved to Spain. Just like again, as like a stopover.
Josué:Okay. So I'll count I'll count. Yeah, five different addresses.
Rae:Mhmm.
Josué:Yeah. In the time that My Hero Academia was on the air.
Rae:Now do One Piece.
Josué:It in North Carolina, and I and I finished it in Barcelona. So, like, there's something about having something consistent in your life, right, that suddenly ends.
Josué:But also that ends in like a good way. Because a lot of shows like, people die at the end and things are like terrible. Right? But like, this show was epic and bright. Mhmm.
Rae:Definitely a bright spot in all of our lives.
Josué:Yeah, like I cried a lot at the end of that show. But I cried only happy tears the whole time. There were no sad tears ever. Even when it ended, I was like, everybody turned out okay. Yeah.
Josué:So good. But now it's over. Mhmm. Yeah. I'm not gonna do one piece.
Josué:I heard you asked do one piece. I'm not. That's that one's I I'm not sure. It'll be it'll be a lot. It is crazy, though.
Josué:I did start it when I was in Chicago, but now, you know, it's still going on now. Yeah. I wasn't watching that one from the beginning.
Rae:Okay.
Josué:Like you, I also I joined in what the Wano?
Rae:Think when I technically joined too. Was sometime in Wano. I mean, Wano went on for what? Two years or something?
Josué:It sure did. It sure did.
Rae:Yeah. It
Josué:sure did. It is over a 100 episodes.
Rae:It's a lot.
Josué:It's a lot. Yeah. Yeah. That's a that's a long one. Yeah.
Josué:So again, so that you have this thing that's consistent in your world. You have these characters that are consistent in your life. And you change over time, all these things. Right? But they're there.
Josué:Mhmm. And then and then, yeah, you get to say goodbye. But it was yeah. It was something about that collective as well. Like, to, like, be able to share in that with the whole world.
Josué:And again, again, in a way Yeah. That you're all saying goodbye to this thing that that was really meaningful to you.
Rae:Yeah. It really does make a difference. Like, even if you're not actually talking with anyone about it, like, directly, like, just you can feel it. You can feel it in in in online spaces and Yeah. You know, like, other art coming out from from other, like, authors and stuff like that.
Rae:It's, like, you know, saying goodbye and stuff like that. Like, it it's there.
Josué:Yeah. Does does so did you read the manga or or watch the anime or both?
Rae:Both.
Josué:Both. Did your partner also watch
Rae:He did an anime only.
Josué:Anime only? But did you watch it with him?
Rae:Yeah.
Josué:Cool. Cool. So you got to share with that and someone yeah. That's cool. That's cool.
Josué:Like I said, like, not everybody has that also. So being able to to to have that and be like, oh, shit. This is it's done now. It's over. It's huge.
Josué:So if you have a client that comes to you with this is a weird one. Right? Because there's like because trying to, you know, taking the I guess, let me finish with my personal feelings about it, where I do say goodbye to a lot of things. Right? Like, things aren't consistent in my life.
Josué:And so having something that is consistent for that long was it felt good. It always feels good to have something like that. And there are other things that like you still I think I think that's why we have some things that we like and we keep going back to.
Rae:Mhmm.
Josué:For me, I've learned over the years to again, it makes it easier for me to say goodbye to things in large part because I I do think I get less I'm less attached. Yeah. But, like, in in a healthy way, like, we're talking about healthy attachments. Right? So I think I think a lot of people put a lot on these things, right?
Josué:Like, in a in a way it is it. And maybe to me, it wasn't as important as it might have been for other people. So the loss wasn't as great. Right? But have you ever used a show or had a client come to you with this kind of loss of something that they had to that those are very consistent?
Josué:And, like, what are your, like, go tos to to help people with dealing with that kind of it's also like a life change thing. It doesn't right? It's it's the kind of loss that's like, oh, this thing that was consistent during your life, it's not gonna be there anymore. Things are different. And in in in the case of a show like this, it's like, it's still there if you need it.
Josué:Mhmm. It's just not there in the same way.
Rae:Exactly. Especially if you were involved in like the the weekly releases or something like that. Like something that like there there was something that you looked forward to every single week. Like that's gonna definitely impact you more. I feel like I have had a client, at least one, come in and talk about something like this.
Rae:I'm blanking on specifics at the moment, but I've it feels familiar enough that like I'm pretty sure it has happened. I remember I remember around this time, around when MHA, like, announced it was ending. And there was a lot of talk or oh, yeah. It was actually about One Piece, I think. Yeah.
Rae:Sorry. It just, like, popped back into my head. Because around the time that MHA was ending, it was like the talk was, oh, One Piece is getting into the final endgame kind of arc. Now, people were believing that and maybe that was that was a little shortsighted in hindsight. But, yeah, like there were some actual real grief going on there.
Rae:And, I remember around this time I read a study that was on it was it was out of Australia. And there was a show in Australia that had been running for decades and has this huge cultural like component that like just everyone watches it. It's been going on. It like probably the equivalent of Doctor Who like in The UK. Like just it's been going on forever.
Rae:Generations of people have watched it. Entire families, like you know, everything. And it was going on for so long. And then it it ended. And they did a study on like the grief of a story ending like that, of media ending and like how people really felt and like the real tangible grief that they experienced.
Rae:And it's like, yeah, it's not people being dramatic or anything. It's real actual grief.
Josué:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Rae:I I know whenever I've had anyone come in with that those kind of, like, feelings that they're struggling with, like, course, I'm never gonna say that's not a real thing to get mad about or upset about. Like, no. Like, that's that's very real. Like, it's okay to be upset about that. It is something that has brought you joy and comfort for a long time, and it's important to you.
Rae:It's part of your daily routine or your weekly routine. It's something that you look forward to, and God knows we need stuff to look forward to right now.
Josué:That's a that's a good point. So, if somebody if you know that a client is really into My Hero Academia, for example
Rae:Mhmm.
Josué:And they went through this loss, I don't think it's trivial to compare a new loss to what they experienced when they lost this constant in their life. And there's a lot that you can reflect on and possibly learn from how you dealt with that and how you handled it. And also the difference between how you felt then and how you feel now.
Rae:Mhmm.
Josué:The feeling of grief is a feeling of grief. Right? Like, we can we can argue about how to what degree it's different or if in any ways, but it's still if it if it mattered to you and this matters to you or this person mattered to you, there are parallels there for sure.
Rae:Exactly.
Josué:Yeah. I do I do even having this conversation, I am reflecting on how I think many years ago, it would have been a lot harder for me to say goodbye to my hero. Mhmm. Whereas now, it was it wasn't as hard. I'm almost more yeah.
Josué:Like, my attitudes about grief and loss and change have also I've worked a lot on that. Yeah. So in many ways, I'm like, I'm I'm I'm part of my grieving process, like, has ended up on, like, man, I'm kinda I'm just happy for everybody. All these And not people in the real world. Right?
Josué:But like like in in the show. Right? Like, there's like this we said closure before, but it's like it's like this feeling of like, oh, man. I'm glad I'm glad everything turned out okay. And like, it's okay.
Josué:We'll be like, I'll be okay. It was a it was a fun ride. I enjoyed it all the way through. Right? I didn't feel I can look back and say, not you took my hero academia away from me because it ended.
Josué:I can look back and say, you gave me seven years of awesome, an awesome story for seven years. Mhmm. And I'm really grateful for that. That's the healthier version Yeah. Of it.
Josué:Right? Like, those are two alternatives, right? Like, you could and you can be somewhere in between, but they are very different perspectives on on on an experience of of loss. And and again, I think it makes a huge difference to have that international community of everybody kind of grieving something at the same time
Rae:Mhmm.
Josué:And sharing different feelings about it. It's it's a lot easier to process if you're not alone is is is like the obvious takeaway there. You're not always going to have like, it's sad. A family member dies, you're not gonna have millions of people around the world grieving with you. Right?
Rae:But Unless your grandma was awesome and went viral for some reason, which I mean, is possible.
Josué:Unless your family's super famous.
Rae:Yeah. Or that. I was going for the slightly like better option besides maybe you're a Kardashian.
Josué:But yeah, I mean, well, mean, you could be super famous and not be a Kardashian. You could be super yeah. Famous and Be what?
Rae:I would hope so.
Josué:Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just a musician that people really like.
Rae:Yeah. True.
Josué:It could be. But so you won't always have that. But not going through it alone is is really good. So so I this is like the first time that I'm that I'm like going through these feelings. And I think ultimately, I'm settling on on that that I'm like, it was a good run.
Josué:It was a really good run. Mhmm. It was a happy ending, I know I don't expect that from all shows.
Rae:No. If we get a happy ending, it's like, thank you.
Josué:It is like like, without going into more spoilers than we already have, I don't think that there's is there any? Like, there is there are consequences Yeah. For sure.
Rae:Oh, lots of consequences.
Josué:But I can't think of anything that I would consider loss.
Rae:No. No. Like Right? No. No.
Rae:Like, everyone comes out of there a little bit battered and bruised. Like Yeah. So many everyone's got scars. A lot of the adults are missing limbs. Yes. Like, they don't do that to the kids, which is an interesting choice.
Josué:Some people yeah. Some people lose power. Some people lose a lot of different things. Yeah. But ultimately
Rae:But ultimately, it's about what they gain, I think more than what they lose. Honestly, it's about growth. And because they all have like their another mild spoiler. Everyone has their quirk awakening in the final battle.
Josué:What? What do what? What do you mean everyone has their quirk awakening in the final battle?
Rae:Like, like, pretty much all the main kids have their like quirk awakening, like most people do. I think.
Josué:Oh, oh, I thought you meant to like the other 20% of the world suddenly got there quicker. No.
Rae:No. No. I mean, the literal, like, like participants in the battle.
Josué:Gotcha. Like their super Saiyan moments?
Rae:Yeah. Basically. It's literally like, oh, you're supposed to be close to death. It's like, okay. Yeah.
Rae:This is just super Saiyan.
Josué:Gotcha. Gotcha. I see what you mean now. Yeah. Yeah.
Josué:I was like, wait. What?
Rae:Fair enough.
Josué:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Rae:Like sometimes their appearance change changes because of that.
Josué:Yeah. Everybody goes plus ultra for sure. Yeah. Last season. Everybody goes beyond their limits.
Josué:Exactly. Yeah. But again, like everything again, yes. It's not like the world is not messed up afterwards. Mhmm.
Josué:But ultimately, nobody's like, yeah, there's no huge loss.
Rae:There's a couple of people that die.
Josué:Yes. I don't think any of the good guys die.
Rae:None of any of the good guys.
Josué:I mean, like, literally using the language of the show, none of the heroes die. Yeah. Only some of the villains die.
Rae:Yeah. Yeah. And that that final season.
Josué:Yeah. I I can't think.
Rae:Midnight was the season before that, I believe. And I mean, that was kind of a throwaway death.
Josué:Even Jeanist is still, like, around at the end. Right?
Rae:He he should not be. That man should not be alive. I love him, but my god. He's missing half his freaking organs.
Josué:When he showed up at the end, I was like, well, okay.
Rae:He was dead for sure.
Josué:Thought he was dead for sure also.
Rae:And then and then Hawks stuffed him in a freaking duffel bag. Like, I crack up about that so much. It's my favorite thing. It's like, let's just take this giant giraffe of a man and shove him in a gym bag somehow. Like, what did you do?
Josué:Again, I I think the show is special in that sense. Right? Where, like, I don't I believe that there are ways to tell a story that and and if there isn't some sort of loss, you can feel it it might feel empty, But this show does not feel that way. I don't like the struggles were there. They had to fight.
Josué:They suffered. But they didn't have to write like people like we talked about the Spider Man thing before. Right? I think in the first episode, was like, family members don't have to die for you. You know, your mom doesn't have to die.
Josué:Your aunt doesn't have to die for, you know, for there to to move the story forward. Mhmm. To to motivate you. There are other ways. And I think the show does that.
Rae:It does. Absolutely.
Josué:Yeah. Alright. So so I've said goodbye to to My Hero Academia. Is there anything else you want to say about this kind of the the loss or saying goodbye to something like that constant in your life?
Rae:Well, I think I can I I wanna speak a little bit more about, like, what the, like, what the grief felt like for me when it first got announced? I was kind of going through it at the time. It was kind of a tough period in my life. I'm trying to remember when that got announced because it must have been 2024.
Josué:I my guess is that we we found out that the manga is ending shortly before it ended.
Rae:Yeah. They Shonen Jump generally does about 10 chapters before the end is when they put out, like, this series is ending. And that's when it's just like, oh my god. What? How?
Rae:We have so much to wrap up still. So, yeah, that was in 2024, I believe. And yeah, I remember I was suffering from a little bit of burnout at that point. I was really sad about that. I was really sad about the idea that One Piece was ending, which we don't know when that's ending now, to be fair.
Rae:There were there were a couple of other
Josué:Can't trust Oda.
Rae:I can trust him to keep this this ship going for a little while longer. So please, please, Oda, keep going. Yeah. I was I was kinda going through it. I, was working with a a client with a terminal illness at the time too.
Rae:And there was a discussion around like, yeah, this is terminal. This is gonna be like, we're looking at end of life kind of stuff. So I was kind of in the grief trenches English right at that moment. And I remember that year in June for our anniversary, my partner and I went to a rage room because I was just like, I got a lot of things to just be mad about right now. And one of the parts of the rage room was like, you could take these tiles and write things or draw things on it and then smash them.
Rae:It's very therapeutic. Loved it. Highly recommend. And one of the things I wrote on there was my hero academia and one piece are ending, And I'm I'm upset about it. And I smashed that.
Rae:And I and like, I I was able to let it go, like, through that. I was but it it was real. It was really real.
Josué:How would you describe how you felt at that moment? I it's ending. And what what did that mean at the time?
Rae:It's ending. And I was like, It was just one of, like, a million other things that were piling on that I was just like, I just have so little control over what's going on in my life right at this moment. And I just have to be along for the ride. And, I mean, that's part of the grieving process as is, know? Like realizing you don't have control over it and then finding a way into acceptance.
Josué:And so ultimately, where did you end up with the shows in particular? I mean, again, one piece. And again, when I say we can't trust Oda, you can't trust what he says. Yeah. He's like, oh, I wanna end it next year.
Josué:I like, sure you are, Oda.
Rae:Yeah.
Josué:Yeah. But with with with my hero, like, what yeah. What was it? Yeah.
Rae:I've ended up, I think, the same place as you. Like, I'm I'm grateful. I I I'm in a place of gratitude more than anything. I'm happy that I was here for it.
Josué:Yeah.
Rae:And the ride was spectacular, and it's not gone forever. Yeah. You know, I can I can still I can still go back anytime I want? We got a happy ending relatively. Yeah.
Rae:Yeah. Relatively speaking. And, yeah, I'm just happy to, you know, have been along for the ride. Happy to have existed in life around this, at the same time that this happened so I could experience that, which I don't feel too often nowadays. I've maybe had, like, two nickels lately about it.
Rae:So
Josué:Haven't felt in long time that feeling of, like, oh, another thing.
Rae:Mhmm.
Josué:Like
Rae:That that's where it was.
Josué:Or I don't know. Don't take this away from me now. Like, can't now is not the time for this to happen. Right? Like, I I kind of need this.
Josué:I depend on this. Mhmm. I haven't felt like that in a long time. But as you were talking about it, I remembered I once had a client that I've I've never forgotten this, who when I told her that we had to terminate because I was moving to an probably one of the many different times I moved or I think it was towards the end. Was like, I may have been ending my internship, something like that.
Josué:Right? Like, it had to end. And I told her, like, three months before. I told her as soon as I had a date, she just, like, lost it. Just started wailing and crying and started yelling that, how could I do this to her?
Josué:You know? And I get it right. Like, sometimes at some moments, even I was her therapist at the time, but like, again, having that constant something something that is consistent, something that you can depend on, something that you can come to, like, oh, my hero is there, right? It was coming back. It was, you know, whatever that that may be for you.
Josué:It is it is hard to let go those, but I think, yeah, hopefully, you can get to that point where it's like, I'm glad I had it when I had it. And I'm and yeah. I'm glad we we both ended up there with my hero. I wonder what the new episodes will be like. I think there's only one, like, after special or whatever.
Josué:But I don't know if we'll talk about it here, but maybe it'll come off.
Rae:Hopefully.
Josué:Yeah. Well, goodbye, my hero academia. We'll see you again in a month.
Rae:Salute
Josué:for another goodbye. So that's that's all I have to say about that.
Josué:I think I think you you you've said your last piece, unless there's something else you wanna add.
Rae:I just remembered that also during that time was right after or right around the time I applied for licensure as well. So I was It's
Josué:a tough time.
Rae:It's a tough time. Like, I I had counted hours for four years straight between internship and then, like, licensure. And I think it was around like, I was very close to meeting my hours at that point, if not having met them already, and like getting the application in and stuff like that. I I pushed myself hard. I I was in the grind mindset.
Rae:Because I was like, I need to get this. I need to get this. Because once I'm once I have it, then I'm good. And I was majorly burnt out by that point. Like, once I got that application in, I went on vacation for the first time in a minimum four years, probably longer.
Rae:We did we did the rage room. I I, I got my my tarot card tattoo. I I tried to mark it as a momentous occasion, and I did not realize how burnt out I was until until I was able to kinda like get that out of my brain. And I was like, oh. So that hitting at the same time as that was a lot.
Rae:It was a lot. And I'm in a much better place now, now that I've opened my own practice and like have the license and everything. And it's cool to see how much has changed since that announcement that it was ending versus like when it actually ended where I am in my life.
Josué:Yeah. Yeah. Right. Well, then what's our next episode?
Rae:Next episode. So we've been talking a little bit about Toonami here and there. And, I discovered when I was at a friend's house doing a magic magic draft, my first magic draft a couple of weekends ago. She had like a YouTube channel or playlist going on her gigantic TV of just old recordings of Toonami. Like it literally someone just recorded all of, you know, the the shows of of each day.
Rae:And there's some channels that include like all the commercials and stuff and this one didn't. And she just had that kind of playing all day. And there were so many times that we just sat down and we're just like, oh my God, I don't remember this episode. No, I remember this episode. And it was so cool.
Rae:And so I thought, why don't we, why don't we watch some of these and see how, how it's changed, how we've changed, how it's aged for us. Kind of still in the spirit of like growth and, you know, like change and everything apparently.
Josué:Okay. You tell me, you tell me what to, what to watch. Point me in the right direction. I will join you on this down Toonami memory lane.
Rae:Yeah.
Josué:People have if you've heard of Toonami, but you're not like from The States or you're young, very young, I'm sure we can you we'll explain why it was such a big deal.
Rae:Yeah. Definitely.
Josué:Yeah. Yeah. Cool. Alright. I have homework then.
Rae:Mhmm. Will. I'll send you the YouTube channels.
Josué:Well, let us know what you if anything came up for you during this conversation. What shows have you had to say goodbye to? Was it hard? Was it easy? What tips do you have for people going through that?
Josué:And also remember to watch episode tenth anniversary of My Hero Academia episode called More, I guess, May 2 it's coming out. So, like, in two weeks. Correct. It's very soon. Yeah.
Josué:Damn. We should have waited.
Rae:Yeah. Maybe.
Josué:Yeah. Let us know. Find more Otaku Ryuho at otaku.geektherapy.org. Find more shows on the podcast network network.geektherapy.org. Just go to geektherapy.org, and you'll find more geek therapy.
Josué:Remember to geek out and do good. Thanks for joining us, and we'll see you next time.
Rae:Yeah. Toodles.