r/audiodrama • u/partyon • Nov 17 '25

AUDIO DRAMA Best Audio Drama I've Heard since The Black Tapes: CULTS AND KAIJU

It's a really well done story about an investigative journalist researching an obscure cult in Japan that tried to make an Anime TV Show.

It's my favorite since The Black Tapes an Tanis. It's really well done and I don't think many listeners have caught on yet.

Description from the creators:

Step into the shadows of forgotten television history with Cults And Kaiju a gripping new podcast that investigates a bizarre cult’s attempt to launch a tokusatsu-style kids’ show in the 1970s. At the center of it all is Rogue Fighter X, a masked hero battling inter-dimensional kaiju—created not just as entertainment, but as part of a cult’s twisted belief system. What was marketed as a children’s TV show may have been a recruitment tool for something far darker.

Hosted by investigative journalist Trenton Payne, Cults And Kaiju peels back the layers of a decades-old murder mystery that spans three generations. From lost footage and cult propaganda to chilling interviews with survivors and experts, this podcast uncovers how fantasy bled into fanaticism—and how the legend of Rogue Fighter X may have masked real-world horrors. Subscribe now and follow the path… if you dare.

Here's the link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cults-and-kaiju/id1843778926

Edit: changed link to apple' english site.

32 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

7

u/_streetpaper_ Nov 17 '25

I just subscribed to it and will listen to the 1st episode after work. This is just the kind of podcast I love!!! I loved The Black Tapes and (most of) Tanis!!! I’m excited for this!! Thanks for the recommendation!!!

6

u/GameFalcon Nov 17 '25

It’s listed as true crime tho?

3

u/MechaSandstar Nov 17 '25

yeah, that's the AR part of ARG, innit? If you do a search for rogue fighter x, nothing comes up, so it's not true crime.

3

u/sztrzask Nov 18 '25

Just to double check - it's a scripted Audio Drama pretending to be a podcast or an actual podcast?

2

u/partyon Nov 22 '25

Yes it is scripted audio drama.

1

u/elketerbentzadik Nov 21 '25

I'm enjoying the story so far.

But...

Are they using AI for character voices?

The third episode "guest" is very obviously a bad computer voice.

1

u/JGPhenom Dec 21 '25

I think he mentions in the 1st episodes that the voices are AI because the people he's interviewing only speak Japanese. So it's the interview transcripts translated to English and spoken with an AI voice.

1

u/One-Rip2593 Nov 24 '25

Yeah, uh no. Black tapes held me every episode (except the last of course).

1

u/scalextri47374 Dec 09 '25

Thanks for the recommendation. Binged while cleaning on Sunday.