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Old-School Noodle Goodness: Kanda Yabu Soba
While in Japan last winter, I decided to check out one of the oldest soba shops in Tokyo, Kanda Yabu Soba. The restaurant dates all the way back…
Bara Bara Obari: Bang Brave Bang Bravern
Bang Brave Bang Bravern is like an anime that has traveled through time to reach us in 2024, but it’s not clear whether it came from the past…
Bad Dudettes, Good Fighting: Holo X Break
When I first tried the hololive fan game Holocure, I was stepping into a recent video game genre that I had never experienced. But things were different with…
One Piece, the Five Elders, and Going Beyond Expectations
I’ve been keeping up with the One Piece manga for many years now, though I don’t write about it all too often because I don’t feel the need.…
Time Well Spent: “Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End”
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is a major hit, and deservedly so. In an age where fantasy anime and manga often lean heavily on gaming and RPG tropes to…
Alter Egos in VTubing and Pro Wrestling
Sometimes, I think about how so many members of hololive have “other personas,” and I don’t mean past lives as other streamers or entertainers. More than simply being…
Never Stop Sparking: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for April 2024
March was a hell of a month and kind of a bad time for fans of Japanese creators, between the deaths of Toriyama Akira, Tarako (the voice of…
Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights March 2024
Not a particularly momentous month for Kio Shimoku tweets, but still a decent variety. Spotted Flower Chapter 45 is out in the physical edition of Rakuen (digital…
My First Experience with Sumo Stew: Chanko Kawasaki
I’m always interested in trying new foods. That’s why, on my trip to Japan last year, I had a particular restaurant in mind as I landed: Chanko Kawasaki. …
Above and Beyond: hololive 5th fes. Capture the Moment
Over the past few years, hololive Super Expo & hololive fes (a combination convention and live music event) have cemented themselves as the premiere event of not just…
A Boy and Girl Making (It) Out: Won’t You Escape with Me?
There are plenty of manga about a boy and a girl growing closer, but I only know of one where the relationship centers around escape games—Watashi to Dasshutsu…
Dare to Defy the Past: Soaring Sky! Precure
20 years of Precure is an astounding milestone, so it‘s only appropriate for this magical girl franchise to celebrate hard. To wit, we’ve seen a sequel where characters…
The Gargantuan Shadow of Trauma: Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color
Godzilla is practically a genre unto itself. With a 70-year history, the movies featuring the world’s most famous reptilian titan have run the gamut, from thought-provoking to spine-tingling,…
I Found Out FUWAMOCO’s Favorite Genshiken Character
When the Virtual Youtuber group “hololive English Advent” debuted last summer, something in particular caught my eye: The twin demon guard dogs known as FUWAMOCO listed Genshiken as…
A Bird Among Dragons: Remembering Toriyama Akira
On a recent trip to Japan, I walked past a shrine. Next to that shrine were statues of Dragon Quest monsters. Seeing them reminded me of the sheer…
Eating Among the Trains
Continuing my visit to train and train-adjacent locales in Japan, here are my thoughts on two eateries in and around Tokyo: Platinum Fish Cafe and Curry Niagara. Platinum…
Virtual Tumult: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for March 2024
I broke an internal rule this month, which was that I try not to post about VTubers more than twice in a month. However, extenuating circumstances resulted in…
Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights February 2024
Spotted Flower voice comic! Genshiken LINE stickers released! And more from February! Spotted Flower has a voiced manga version now! …Unfortunately, I can’t seem to register for the…
BaeDay 2024: The Unceasing Force of Hakos Baelz
February 29 is the birthday of Hakos Baelz, the red-headed rat Virtual Youtuber. Because it falls on a leap year, 2024 is technically her first “official” birthday, and…
La+ Darknesss Solo Live, the hololive EN “Mind Craft” Cover, and Other Recent Music Events
A lot of cool music-related things have happened in hololive land over the past few months, so I just wanted to give some brief, unorganized thoughts about them.…
Genshiken LINE Stickers Now on Sale
Kio Shimoku just released a set of Genshiken LINE stickers! Best of all, they’re available outside of Japan (unlike so many others). He recently went through a process…
Shinkalion and Japan’s Railway Museum
On my winter 2023 trip to Japan, I happened to do a good deal involving trains and train accessories. This is Part 1 of my experience, focused on…
Ganbalance de Desk Job: “Power of Hope: Precure Full Bloom”
With only a few exceptions, Precure has always been resistant to portraying its heroines when they’re older. If they’re middle schoolers, that’s all you’ll ever see them as;…
Laughing It Off: Celebrating Dokibird and Selen Tatsuki
I originally wanted to take my time writing about why Selen Tatsuki, but circumstances have dictated a change of plans. (Content Warning: Brief discussion of attempted suicide) In…
Black Jack in the 22nd Century: Gene of AI
My initial impression of the anime Gene of AI was that it reminded me of Urasawa Naoki, manga author of Pluto, 20th Century Boys, and more. Urasawa has…
Spectacle and Success: Spy Family Code: White
My winter trip to Japan last year gave me the opportunity to see Spy x Family Code: White, the very first Spy x Family movie. As a fan…
Spectacle and Success: Spy x Family Code: White
My winter trip to Japan last year gave me the opportunity to see Spy x Family Code: White, the very first Spy x Family movie. As a fan…
Bang Blog Bang Bloggern: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for February 2024
It’s February, which means the day everyone with romance in their hearts looks forward to. That’s right: It’s new Precure anime time. And with Precure Full Bloom and…
Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights January 2024
Tweets for a new year, including the announcement of a planned set of Genshiken LINE stickers! An Ohno from Genshiken drawing for 2024, the Year of the Dragon.…
Patlabor, Dai-Guard, and Now Bullbuster
I love me some mecha, and that’s why I want to give my thoughts on the recent giant robot anime that’s been the talk of the internet. I’m…
Doraemon the Antifascist – Doraemon: Nobita’s Little Star Wars 2021
On my recent trip to Japan, I watched an anime movie as in-flight entertainment: Doraemon: Nobita’s Little Star Wars 2021. This film is actually a remake of 1985’s…
Nico Nico Douga, Natsuiro Matsuri, and Nostalgia for Asynchronous Chat
In November of 2023, Virtual Youtuber Natsuiro Matsuri celebrated her 5th anniversary by holding a concert themed after the premier Japanese video streaming site of the 2000s, Nico…
In Search of Hanayo: My “Love Live!” GiGo Collabo Cafe Experience
On my recent trip to Japan, I did the expected thing and went to Akihabara. While there, I spotted a Love Live! collaboration cafe at the arcade GiGO…
Comiket, at Long Last: Comic Market 103
I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been to Japan, but every stay has been memorable in the best ways. However, there’s was always…
Emotional Continuity in Anime
What does it mean for a work of fiction to feel “realistic?” It’s a question I return to over and over because of how subjective the answer can…
Frieren, Ikari Shinji, and Lost Love
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is simply one of the finest fantasy series I’ve ever seen, on par with Witch Hat Atelier. From its premise, to its intriguing world-building,…
I Comied, I Ketted, I Con-quered: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for January 2024
Welcome to 2024! I mentioned having some fun surprises last month, and I let the cat out of the bag on Twitter a few days ago: I attended…
Best Anime Characters of 2023
BEST MALE CHARACTER Pluto (Pluto) In a series full of excellent characters who are each a master class in storytelling, the one who stands out to me the…
Best Anime Characters of 2022
BEST MALE CHARACTER Pluto (Pluto) In a series full of excellent characters who are each a master class in storytelling, the one who stands out to me the…
Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights December 2023
A round of tweets by Kio Shimoku to end the year, including a special illustration of Ogiue! Kio wishes the manga author Hayamira Senjin a happy 52nd birthday.…
Two Questions About Sludge Content
Multi-screen video shorts juxtaposing unrelated content have been a thing online in recent years. Known as “sludge content,” it seems to be an increasingly popular way for people…
The Role of Unique Voices in VTubing, K-Pop, and More
“Is it more important to me for a group song to sound good or have distinct voices?” This is something that’s been on my mind lately as I’ve…
I Should Never Forget How Fortunate I Am
I’m in a pretty good spot in my life. I value the work I do, I love continuing to write this blog, and even my social life is…
Urasawa’s Pluto Was a Long Time Coming
It’s rare that a manga gets adapted into anime as perfectly as Pluto on Netflix. The art and animation: almost as if Urasawa Naoki drew everything himself. The…
The Apothecary Diaries Opening Reminds Me of Something
I watched the first episode of The Apothecary Diaries, and the opening is very reminiscent of a different and much older anime: The 1984 Glass Mask TV series.…
Anime NYC 2023 Miscellaneous
While I spent the majority of Anime NYC checking out the plethora of events related to hololive, I also want to broadcast my thoughts on various other topics.…
Chainsaw Man’s Quarterlife Crisis
WARNING: CHAINSAW MAN MANGA PART 2 SPOILERS I recently read the book Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood by therapist Satya Doyle Byock, which talks about…
Anime NYC 2023 Was a hololive Bonanza
I didn’t intend for my Anime NYC 2023 experience to become more like “hololive NYC,” but that’s what ended up happening. Between multiple special events and an Exhibit…
Holy Moly Holidays: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for December 2023
Whenever I get around to December, I begin to think about my annual tradition, where I post about my favorite characters of the year. I’ve had one in…
Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights November 2023
A fairly light month of tweets by Kio, but a doozy right at the end. Spotted Flower Chapter 44 came out at the beginning of the month. Kio…