@asihegak:
Just wanted to let you guys know that I listened to both episodes and I'm liking it so far. I've followed the unofficial OPP since they started, and I gotta stay that compared with their early days, you guys are off to a great start in terms of audio quality, discussion, etc.
There's no such thing as "competition" here. We are all hardcore One Piece fans, and it never hurts to have one more group out there willing to do a podcast, talk about their favourite series, and not be afraid to share their thoughts with the broader fanbase. A few years ago I honestly considered doing just what you guys are doing with a couple of my university buddies.
If I could offer a few suggestions:
Focus on discussing One Piece story and theories. There is no need for you guys to do a "news recap", "interviews", "merchandise review", etc because these are things that the existing OPP does perfectly well already. I think you should focus on the latest manga story developments, and talk more about theories relating to the plot. This is an area that really gets the majority of fans excited, and unfortunately I feel that the current OPP tends to under-emphasize, probably because they have gotten bigger and are trying to balance so many other segments, features, co-hosts. I think you guys really have a chance to succeed if you keep it humble and just talk about One Piece as if it was an audio-version of the manga discussion on the forums.
Here's to hoping you guys keep it up. Good luck.
Ashihegak, wow thanks a ton. That made my night.
I'm glad the audio isn't a hug problem so far, I really am apprehensive about not having the best quality yet. And you're absolutely right about the lack of "competition", we just want to share our enthusiasm for a series that has done so much for us. And it's such a phenomenon now that there's definitely enough room for all of us here in the pool. I just hope we're offering something people can enjoy.
And in terms of how to gear our podcast, thank you so much for the suggestions. I was actually just talking to Jeff about this, about how we're trying not to turn it into a "speculation podcast" but a lot of our discussions will involve that, because that's how we naturally discuss story. Of course we're still going to delve into deeper thematic meanings, great character moments and interactions, and our overall response to the story, but speculation and theories is also a big part to tie it all in. We have some cool episode ideas to mix it up too, but speaking of theories, I think you'll like the topic we're recording for Episode 3 tomorrow and releasing next week 
Again, thank you for the kinds words of encouragement, and I hope you keep listening.
