Trash Taste
Trash Taste is a weekly audio and video podcast hosted by Joey Bizinger, Garnt Maneetapho, and Connor Colquhoun – three Tokyo-based content creators primarily focusing on anime and Japanese pop culture. The podcast generally discusses Japanese culture and life in Japan.
History
The podcast was started in February 2020 by GeeXPlus, then a subsidiary of BookWalker, who helped the two hosts relocate to Japan, assisting them in having more access to Japanese culture. GeeXPlus and BookWalker also promote their products on the hosts' channels. They decided to start a podcast that had already been planned for some time. The first episode of the podcast was uploaded to YouTube on 5 June 2020. Since then, new episodes have been released every Friday, with exceptions for the release of specials.The first live show, Trash Taste After Dark, was broadcast on Twitch on 26 January 2021. This was followed on 19 February when they co-streamed the 5th Crunchyroll Anime Awards.
On 26 May 2021, the hosts moved out of the studio in which they had recorded the first fifty-four episodes, dubbed season one, and relocated to a new studio that officially kicked off season two. On 17 June 2021, the hosts were invited for a live 'podcast' event about Japan-based YouTubers by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan; discussions ranged from living in Japan to how Trash Taste got started. Trash Taste also appeared in the Foreign Correspondent Club Japan's Number 1 Shimbun Magazine June 2021 volume.
On 19 March 2022, they hosted a 24-hour-long charity event for Doctors Without Borders on Twitch, raising $181,000 in donations.
In May–July 2022, Trash Taste podcast recordings were done outside of Japan for the first time. This included three episodes in London, eight in Los Angeles, and one Trash Taste After Dark episode at the Twitch Australia studio in Sydney. These episodes were released on 10 June through 9 September 2022. Also during this time, the hosts held Q&A/discussion panels and special events at MCM London Comic Con, Anime Expo, Florida Supercon, and SMASH! In October 2022, during the Trash Taste 2022 Tour, the hosts participated at the New York Comic Con and had an impromptu podcast recording in Tampa, Florida.
Format
Discussions in the podcast are about more than just anime and delve into various topics, including otaku culture, life in Japan, and topics varying on the episode's theme. The show will occasionally have a special guest, and an entire episode will be devoted to them. Past guests included:- Akidearest
- Aleks Le
- Anthony Padilla
- Boy_Boy
- Chris Broad
- Cold Ones
- Daidus
- DillonGoo
- Emirichu
- The Gaming Beaver
- Geno Samuel
- HasanAbi
- I Did a Thing
- Ironmouse
- jacksepticeye
- Jessica Nigri
- Josh Strife Hayes
- Kaho Shibuya
- Ken Arto
- Kevin Penkin
- Kson
- Lachlan Power
- Ladybeard
- LazarBeam
- LilyPichu
- Ludwig Ahgren
- Meilyne Tran
- Michael Koji Fox
- Michael Reeves
- Mori Calliope
- Mudan
- Nano
- Noriyaro
- NileRed
- Penguinz0
- PewDiePie
- Pokimane
- PremierTwo
- ProZD
- Reina Scully
- RinRin Doll
- Sally Amaki
- Shindo L
- Shu Uchida
- Super Eyepatch Wolf
- SushiKebabGuy
- Sydsnap
- Sykkuno
- William Osman
- Yoshihiro Watanabe
The podcast's producer is Meilyne Tran, and Toomas Lismus does the video editing.
Tours
On 23 September 2022, Trash Taste podcast embarked on its first live tour, with 23 stops in North America, beginning in Los Angeles, California, and ending on 30 October in Portland, Oregon.Announced on the 5 May 2023 podcast, the second live tour was from 30 August to 11 September, with eight European stops, beginning in Dublin, Ireland, and ending in Cardiff, Wales. On 26 April 2024, a one-show event of the Trash Taste Tour was held in Australia. Hosted by DreamHack Melbourne, the show was held at the Rod Laver Arena.