Straw Hat Social Club

As we kick off the Arabasta saga with season 2 of the podcast, we take a trip up Reverse Mountain and cover episodes 61 - 63 of the One Piece anime.As this is the shortest arc in the series, we take our time setting up the Grand Line and all the things that don’t make any sense but still make for great storytelling. And it turns out, you only need 2 episodes to create one of the most beloved characters in the series.

On this week’s Side Piece, we once again go back to a formative movie from Becca’s childhood with Kiki’s Delivery Service.Trading in blood and titties for warm and cozy, we discuss how great a world full of witches would be if men would just be cool and stop stealing women’s powers.

This week on Side Piece, two old weebs check out what kids these days are watching as we dive into Jujutsu Kaisen 0.Join us as we jump on the Gojo bandwagon and discuss the state of modern computer animation while slowly withering into skeletons. I promise I’ll pronounce “manga” like a proper otaku next time.

As we finish up the East Blue saga, we quickly wrap up each arc while giving some final thoughts. Join us for a pop quiz and character rankings as we wind down and have a little fun before embarking on our journey to Arabasta.Keep listening after *1:16:54* for a look behind the curtain, where we get a little personal and describe what it’s been like for two introverts to make a podcast together - if that’s your cup of tea.Thank you to everyone who’s been listening, from the bottom of our hearts!

Straw Hat Social Club is a podcast by Todd and Becca, where we recap One Piece one arc at a time while also covering other anime films on our Side Piece episodes.If you're new to the series, consider this a good companion on your journey through the biggest series of all time. If not, hopefully you'll have some fun accompanying two introverted homebodies while we figure out this whole podcast thing together.

Join us this week as we travel to the town of beginnings and endings, and the birthplace of Gold Roger himself. Loguetown covers episodes 45, and 48 - 53 of the One Piece anime.As we recover from Arlong Park and finally prepare to enter the Grand Line, what better way to celebrate than a leisurely shopping trip stuffed with filler arcs. Just don’t make me say Daddy the Parent ever again.

On this week’s Side Piece, we head back to a popular anime movie that many fans likely watched when they were way too young.Join us as we discover what went wrong with Todd’s childhood, and look back at an era of anime that was full of blood, titties, and ninjas.*Trigger warning for discussion of SA, in the context of Ninja Scroll’s content*

Better late than never!In part 2 of our Arlong Park recap, we wrap things up with the epic finale of the East Blue saga.Luffy and his crew finally go up against Arlong and his officers, putting their lives on the line to free Nami and finally embark on the Grand Line. This is the moment that forges innocent weebs into One Piece lunatics, so join us in celebrating an exciting milestone as we embrace our collective brainrot.

This week, the Straw Hats face their first real challenge as we infiltrate Arlong Park, covering episodes 31 - 44 of the One Piece anime.This arc will be covered in two parts, giving us room to discuss the first major arc in our One Piece journey and the climax of the East Blue saga. Join us as we finally dig into Nami’s backstory (and shed some tears along the way), and prepare for the battle that will officially put Luffy and the Straw Hats on the world stage while determining the fate of everyone in the East Blue.*Trigger warning for grief mentioned between 1:11:00 and 1:17:00*

This week on Side Piece, we delve into the original anime series for a lot of weebs from our generation. Before Adult Swim made anime more mainstream for American youth, there was Sailor Moon on UPN at five in the morning.We discuss our intense nostalgia for this generation of anime, and how terrifying it must be for invading aliens to get danced into their graves by the awesome Sailor Scout reused animations while desperately trying to navigate a story that we’ve been away from for too long.

Join us this week as we make a pit stop at the seafaring restaurant Baratie, covering episodes 19 - 30 of the One Piece anime.It’s finally time for the Sanji heads to celebrate our favorite simp as the Straw Hats continue to fill out their roster. Let’s discuss Pearl’s stupid character design and the Baratie’s awesome Miyazaki-esque style while Luffy continues to chew through every pirate in the East Blue like a gum gum buzzsaw.

This week we head to the peaceful Syrup Village, covering episodes 9 - 18 of the One Piece anime. Join us as we discuss mistranslated cat puns and a very confusing Michael Jackson cameo, and we get introduced to another core crew member of the Straw Hat pirates as Luffy’s infamy grows.

On this week’s Side Piece, Todd chose a formative movie from his childhood that was absolutely not age appropriate for a middle schooler. Mermaid’s Scar is a classic horror story by Rumiko Takahashi featuring plenty of blood, fascinating lore, and an awesome creature design… the perfect combination for a 12 year old weirdo just getting into anime.Join us for Becca’s first viewing and Todd’s nostalgia trip, as we discover whether this OAV still holds up almost 30 years later (it does).

This week we head to Orange Town, covering episodes 4 - 8 of the One Piece anime. Join us as we fall in love with Chouchou the dog and his human voice actor, and Becca wrestles with her fear of clowns as we’re introduced to our second devil fruit user - Buggy the Clown.

We don’t just talk about One Piece here. Join us on Side Piece as we celebrate other anime, starting with movies and OVA’s from our childhoods that were influential for us.For our first episode, Becca chose one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most popular films: Spirited Away. We discuss the impact this movie has had on us and the overall acceptance of anime as an art form, and just talk about how cool No-Face is.

The humble beginnings of a beloved anime series that has spawned more than one thousand episodes. Join us through episodes 1 - 3 of the One Piece anime, and prepare to dedicate a significant portion of your life to following the exploits of Luffy and his crew. Todd has only read the manga, and Becca is brand new to the series, but we both have plenty to say about a show that has quickly become our all time favorite.

Join Todd and Becca as they watch the One Piece anime series for the first time. Whether you’re new to the series or an Elder Weeb, you can enjoy story recaps of each arc with commentary and trivia.