Episode 30 of CLAMP’s podcast, CLAMP Kanbukai, is out! You can listen to it on YouTube and all major podcast platforms.

This episode’s theme is “So, how have you been?”

They began the episode pointing out that they are using the lapel microphone (notice the green color theme), which means they are outside the recording studio — are they not in Kyoto? Another data collection trip? Or maybe just a leisure trip. Anyhow, they didn’t mention where they were…

After toasting with some sparkling wine, they started to share some movies that they watched recently, starting with the Japanese movie Exit 8, which is based on a game of (almost) the same name (the game is called The Exit 8). They spent the next 5 minutes or so talking about the movie and the differences and similarities with the game (some of them have played it). They really enjoyed this movie.

Next, they talked about Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle. They spent a few minutes talking about it, but not that much. I haven’t watched all of Demon Slayer myself so I couldn’t understand most of what they were talking about. But they are fans of the series, they have talked about it in several other occasions.

Then, they talked about a Japanese movie called Kinki Chihou no Aru Basho ni Tsuite, based on a horror novel of the same title about an editor of an occult magazine that suddenly goes missing. Ohkawa-sensei said she had been wanting to watch it for a long time (she also read the novel) — of course. They also talked about Superman.

Next, they talked about Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc. All of them are familiar with the story except for Satsuki-sensei. Nekoi-sensei said that the Ending Theme song (performed by Hikaru Utada and Kenshi Yonezu) was stuck in her head. It seems both the movie and the theme song made them feel very emotional (to the point of crying). Since she is not familiar with the manga, they kept asking stuff to Satsuki-sensei like what was her favorite scene (to which she responded it was the pool scene). They spent some good 5 minutes talking about this movie.

Moving on, they talked about two Japanese movies that they watched on streaming services: the horror movie Kisaragi Eki Re: and Battle Royale. For Battle Royale, they said that at the time it came out (2000) they were busy working so they couldn’t watch it. Ohkawa-sensei watched it first and then invited the other three to watch with her. She thinks it’s a stylish movie. They all praised the movie a lot in many of its technical aspects (director, soundtrack, actors) and they mentioned the fast pacing of the movie. Ohkawa-sensei said that a lot of actors are still in the industry and she mentioned Ko Shibasaki who would later play Yuuko in the XXXHOLiC live action movie by Mika Ninagawa. It’s a truly violent movie so Ohkawa-sensei understands that it might not be for everyone. Overall, they really enjoyed the movie (personally I am impressed that they had never seen it! It’s a great movie indeed).

Next, each of them talked about a work with “female villain” that has caught their attention. I couldn’t get the titles since they are all in Japanese and unknown to me but Satsuki-sensei is reading a supernatural novel with new chapters coming out daily that seems very interesting and Mokona-sensei is reading a manga with that theme. It’s kind of intriguing why they picked that theme precisely (are we getting a CLAMP manga with a female villain soon?)

Lastly, they spent the final minutes talking about the Japanese movie Kokuho.

Thank you for reading this post!