[S5E5] Magic Knight Rayearth, eps. 31–39 (with special guest Autumn Blake)

We run a tight ship over here at Ghost, Divers, and Associates LLC. Nobody forgets to open the Google doc. No one accidentally uses their webcam’s mic to record half the episode. And definitely there is no bratty antagonizing of one of the hosts for misremembering a scene from the anime by another one of the hosts. We just focus right in on discussing episodes 31-39 of Magic Knight Rayearth. We start our discussion with some of the character design elements and uhhh none of us had read the Rayearth 2 manga at this point so we say some wrong things about which characters appeared in the manga as well. We then dive into a lengthy discussion of the series’ bathhouse episode (it’s actually pretty interesting!) and how it relates to queerness and the impositions of straightness in Magic Knight Rayearth; the way Lantis problematizes Hikaru’s relationships with other characters she loves; queerbaiting; what’s going on with Presea and this short motherfucker Clef; the difference in the structure of these episodes compared to earlier in the series; Eagle and Geo and how Eagle clearly isn’t over his ex; the weird extended queerphobic joke around the Djinn Raccoon and Rasheen; the Clemi ship and the possibility that Clef is Umi’s beard; Umi & Chizeta; Fuu & Fahren; and Hikaru & Nova. Also, here’s the Rayearth car names document for season 2 if you need it again. Write into our Question Bucket at [email protected] and follow us on Twitter! The Show: @ghostdiverspod Niamh: @FoxmomNia Connor: @rabbleais Autumn: @Autumnal_Coffee Garfield Read Aloud: @GarfReadAloud Export Audio Network: exportaud.io Ghost Divers: exportaud.io/ghostdivers Ornate Stairwells: exportaud.io/ornate stairwells Works Cited in this Discussion "Deviant Male Identities in Japanese RPGs: Heterosexual Heroes, Gay Villains" by Juan F. Belmonte, presented at the 2016 Different Games Conference Content Warnings for this Discussion Ethnic stereotypes Sexuality and discussions around women’s bodies Queerphobia Self-hatred, self-harm, and suicidality Find out more at https://ghost-divers.pinecast.co