R5 CENTRAL: The Epic Return

“Once upon an interweb, one team of podcasters stood against the darkness of mediocrity and fought the good fight. Hailing from our distant future (more or less), the trio was able to bring down the mightiest of empires, doing battle with their high-tech arsenal, becoming the savior to fans the world over from the shadows. However, for reasons unknown, they vanished.

In 2012, they shall return."

R5 Central was one of the first shows of its kind during the Podcast Boom of 2005. Highlighting the finer aspects of Japanese Pop Culture, the show gave news and reviews of Anime, Manga, Tokusatsu (think Powers Rangers, Godzilla, and all that good stuff), Asian Cinema--the works. When they weren't doing that on the show, the team would be featured in ongoing audio drama adventures. R5 was a finalist for the “Best Anime Podcast” category in the 2007 Parsec Awards, had a column for two years in Otaku USA Magazine, and quickly gained a reputation for being one of the most well-produced shows online. Unfortunately, due to the needs of real life, the show had to be put on hold in 2009.

Two years later, we got together and decided the time has come for our legendary podcast to return. To do our loyal fans justice--and to bring in new ones--we’re aiming to make it something spectacular! Six new monthly episodes plus tons of content in the interim including convention reports, interviews, and then some. Unfortunately with two thirds of our team in college, we can only throw so much of our own pockets at this. Thus, to really make this work, we’re going to need your help!

What the money is going towards!

-Help us travel out to events like Otakon, Evo 2012, and Power Morphicon to do convention reports and interviews.

-Get us a MUCH needed gear upgrade, including software and a proper condesor microphone kit.

-Secure a production fund for both our forthcoming video content and an urgent site overhaul, including a long-overdue jump to Libsyn.

But most of all, they'll help us get this new version of our show off the ground and soaring. We want this to be exciting, interactive, entertaining, but most of all--fun!

As with all other crowdsourcing efforts, you’ll be privy to a ton of killer rewards for helping out. These include exclusive pins, Early Bird episode access, and the right to choose what we review for the final episode of the season!** Read the descriptions on the side for more info! Even if we hit our goal, the more you help the better!

In the meantime, head on over to r5central.wordpress.com and subscribe to our feed. We’ll soon be uploading our favorite episodes to give newcomers a taste of what we’re capable of.

You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter. Until the next, thanks in advance and no matter what happens, we’ll see you this fall!

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** You can suggest anything in the realm of Japanese Pop Culture--movies, anime, even manga. However, it has to be easily accessible and not a Shounen Jump-esque series with 300+ episodes. We do have to get this ready by fall after all! :)

Also, we will take PayPal but rest assured that we can also take directly from Credit/Debit cards.