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The Next Moves: Hololive 7th fes. Ridin’ on Dreams
hololive is arguably the premier VTuber company, and hololive fes is the big annual concert for its female talents. I’ve been watching avidly for a few years now,…
Who Says Democracy Doesn’t Work?: Hypnosis Mic -Division Rap Battle- FINAL
Hypnosis Mic -Division Rap Battle- FINAL is a very unusual movie, even as far as anime goes. Acting as the conclusion to the Hypnosis Mic franchise—in which handsome…
When I Fell into the Stars: A Tribute to Ikeda Masako and Maetel
Ikeda Masako, the voice of one of my all-time favorite anime characters in her long-time role as Maetel from Galaxy Express 999, passed away earlier this month. It…
You Will Understand This Couple…in Bed
I’ve often wondered why, in the realm of shipping, one ship is particularly popular or even more popular than another. I understand that taste is subjective and we…
Playing Gacha by Eating a Haachama Burger: My Visit to the Vesta de Cooking Collab Cafe
The manga Vesta de Cooking, an isekai cooking series based on the VTubers of hololive, is currently doing a collaborative cafe in Japan. I happened to be in…
Sing, My Vampire of the Night—Castlevania: Awakening in the Moonlight
Japan’s famous all-female theatre troupe, the Takarazuka Revue, put up a recording of one of their performances for international streaming. The theme: Castlevania, the classic Konami video game…
In the Middle of It All: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for March 2026
I continue to vacillate between feelings of hope and despair for humanity, and I really hope the former wins out. I’ve come to realize that many human beings…
Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights February 2026
Kio likes the second Girls und Panzer: Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu! Spin-off anime film. “Erika is the MVP.” Kio will be going analog (physical media + projector!)…
One Sorry Burger
In Japan, a double cheeseburger (especially from McDonald’s) is sometimes referred to as a dabuchi—short for daburu chiizubaagaa. Recently, I had a thought: Doesn’t dabuchi sound a lot…
The Size Controversy of Soul of Chogokin King Exkizer
Earlier this month, the Soul of Chogokin King Exkizer (from the anime Brave Fighter Exkizer, aka Brave Exkaiser) went up for pre-order, over a decade after the line’s…
I Finally Watched Seven Samurai
Recently, I watched Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai for the first time. I’ve long been aware of Kurosawa’s reputation as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, and…
The Dawn of the Sports Boys: Captain Tsubasa
As an anime and manga fan, I enjoy checking out the big fan favorites of yesteryear. It helps broaden my perspective on these artforms, and gives me an…
Juggling Tubes: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for May 2025
April was a hell of a month for VTuber fans. Between the departures from various major companies, a few surprise returns, and even a boatload of legitimate drama…
Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights April 2025
April was a relatively light month of tweets for the Genshiken artist. Kio spent all of April Fool’s driving, so he couldn’t see any of the jokes. Someone…
Ash Again: I Can’t Stop Thinking About Gawr Gura’s Final Song
Hololive’s Gawr Gura, the world’s most subscribed VTuber, recently released one last project before her departure from her agency: a music video for an original song titled “Ash…
ENigmatic Recollection and the Ones Who Never Forgot
Enigmatic Recollection is an “alternate universe” project by the VTuber agency hololive that is hard to describe, but one thing that became clear is that it can be…
Thunderbolt Fantasy 4: Now with More, Well, Everything
Thunderbolt Fantasy 4 aired a few months ago, with Crunchyroll making the series available to English speakers after it concluded. The season is the penultimate entry before the…
Super Robot Wars Y Is Here, and So Are My Predictions/Hopes
Super Robot Wars Y is official, which means we’re getting the first mainline game in the series since Super Robot Wars 30 in 2021. I once interviewed the…
Small Shark Makes Indelible Impact: The Final Chapter of Gawr Gura
Gawr Gura of hololive, the most subscribed VTuber in the world, has announced her graduation, set for May 1 Japan Time. As one of the biggest gateways to…
Thinking About Soul of Chogokin Gold Lightan
Once in a great while, the Soul of Chogokin Gold Lightan goes on sale again in some form, and every time, I feel tempted to buy it. The…
Kizuna AI and the Realest Timeskip
Kizuna AI, the Virtual Youtuber who coined the very term itself and was once known as the big boss of VTubers, made her return last month after a…
Please Don’t Punch the Woodland Critters: Wonderful Precure!
Wonderful Precure! is the 21st anime series to carry the Precure name, and it continues a trend of breaking unspoken rules of the now decades-old magical girl franchise.…
Forward-Facing Nostalgia: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for April 2025
Spring Anime is here! Between Gundam GQuuuuuuX, Kowloon Generic Romance, and Anne Shirley, it feels like we’ve got lots of shows that touch on nostalgia but aren’t necessarily…
Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights February 2025
A preview image of Spotted Flower Chapter 48, with Not-Kuchiki in a full dash (presumably to the girls’ bath). Azumanga Daioh is getting a Kindle edition in Japan.…
Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights March 2025
A preview image of Spotted Flower Chapter 48, with Not-Kuchiki in a full dash (presumably to the girls’ bath). Azumanga Daioh is getting a Kindle edition in Japan.…
“Kio Shimoku Art Collection: See You Tomorrow in the Clubroom” Review and Interview Notes
Today is the birthday of Ogiue Chika, the namesake of this blog and my favorite character from my favorite manga, Genshiken. In celebration of this, I have decided…
Steady Steps: Hololive 6th fes. Color Rise Harmony
hololive 6th fes—the latest edition of the largest VTuber live concert in the world—happened earlier this month, from March 8th to the 9th. Watching it online, I came…
Boss Appreciation Week: Echo Lyne Doodles
I’ve long wanted to draw Echo Lyne, the tiny robot conqueror from V&U. I really like her design, and her giggle is infectious. She’s graduating on Tuesday, March…
DX Soul of Chogokin Mechagodzilla: A Celebration of a Triumph in Robot Kaiju
When the DX Soul of Chogokin Mechagodzilla figure was announced last year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Godzilla’s mechanical nemesis, I was drawn to it immediately. The…
One Hand Clapping in the City—Mecha-Ude: Mechanical Arms
Mecha-Ude: Mechanical Arms is a series that went under the radar and deserves attention. In an industry that can often play it safe, here is an anime that…
Power Transforms and Reveals: Transformers One
WARNING: FULL MOVIE SPOILERS Optimus Prime and Megatron are iconic adversaries as the heroic and villainous leaders of the Transformers franchise. We’ve seen endless iterations of them in…
“Makai” Fushigi Adventure: Dragon Ball Daima
The untimely passing of Toriyama Akira was one of history’s biggest blows to the world of manga and anime. While he had long since taken more of a…
Even If You Can’t Pronounce It, Go Watch It—Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX: The Beginning
There’s a lot I want to write about Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX: The Beginning. It’s a film version of the early episodes of the upcoming anime TV series,…
Roca Rourin Has Returned, and You Need to Know About Her
In December last year, news came out that the Dutch VTuber Roca Rourin had a serious medical emergency and needed to be hospitalized. She was announced to be…
Parade, Parade, Parade: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for March 2025
Given recent news in the world, I’m reminded of the biggest geek fallacy of all: The belief that just because you’re good and knowledgeable about one intellectual area…
Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights February 2025
In response to a fan hoping that Kio will release his 18+ doujinshi in print format, the man says he’s considering it because of all the credit card…
Time Exists in Bartender: Glass of God
The 2024 anime Bartender: Glass of God stands out to me because of how different it is from the previous Bartender anime from 2006. Both series adapt a…
Don’t Let Them Limit You: Gridman Universe
It’s amazing to see what Gridman has become. Thanks to Studio Trigger’s SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon, we’ve had a franchise revival that’s a love letter to its origins as…
MF Ghost is Great Sometimes
You never know for sure who’s a fan of Initial D. While there are folks who are almost guaranteed to enjoy it due to a love of Japanese…
VTuber Music: The Current-Day Character Image Songs
These days, I listen to a lot of VTuber music. They dominate my playlist, which might come across as an odd choice because while quite a few are…
They Tried to Rig the Game, but You Can’t Fake Influence: Demon Lord 2099, Kendrick Lamar, and Being the True King
I watched Demon Lord 2099, an anime about a vanquished Demon Lord who revives in a magitech cyberpunk future. This former ruler, Veltol Velvet Velsvalt, discovers that one…
Threading the Needle(mouse): Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Sonic the Hedgehog has become a hit movie franchise, and that fact is still kind of mind-boggling. Even putting aside the widely-panned promotional images from the first movie…
Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back EVOLUTION…in Japanese?!
While browsing Netflix one day, I came upon the movie Mewtwo Strikes Back EVOLUTION: a remake of the first Pokémon movie originally from the late 90s. Out of…
A Conflict: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for February 2025
I feel of two ways about still using Twitter in any capacity. Its owner is a Nazi and a piece of shit, and I hate the way he…
Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights January 2025
Kio read Volume 10 of Koukaku no Sukima (Scheme in the Crimson Shell), a series about the world of Pandora in the Crimson Shell by the original author,…
Celebrating Sakamata Chloe and holoX
Earlier today, Sakamata Chloe left hololive for the foreseeable future. Secret Society holoX will no longer be five members strong, so I wanted to just write one last…
I Wish It Was 52 Episodes: The Stories of Girls Who Couldn’t Be Magicians
The Stories of Girls Who Couldn’t Be Magicians is an anime that should have been longer. Adapted from a web novel, the story of Mahonare (as it’s known…
Marvel Rivals and the Ever-Changing Nature of the Invisible Woman
Marvel Rivals has recently introduced the Fantastic Four to its roster, and like the other heroes and villains, they’ve received designs meant to capture the spirits of the…
Thinking About Mazinger Legs
I’ve been looking at the Kakumei Shinka Mazinger line from Soul of Chogokin, and the first thing that stood out to me was the legs. They’re slimmer than…
hololive’s FLOW GLOW and the Door to a New Direction
It’s been a couple months since FLOW GLOW arrived on the VTuber scene. hololive’s rap-focused generation is fairly different from what has come before them, and I want…