REM Kanashibari, the Quiet Danger

Posted on by

February 5 is the official birthday of REM Kanashibari from V4Mirai. I first discovered her in October of 2024 during a Halloween karaoke relay, and since then, she’s become one of my most watched VTubers, so I want to share why I enjoy watching her so much.

REM’s background lore is that of a sleep paralysis demon who is “born to nap, forced to yap.” However, her appeal is best summed up in her own words: “I’m not a comfort streamer, I’m a discomfort streamer.” Using her soothing voice, she banters with her chat, engages in off-the-cuff role plays, and brings to life a variety of low-key yet bizarre stream ideas. The result is an engaging and pleasantly perplexing experience that’s as relaxing as it is head-scratching. 

Like many other VTubers, REM does ASMR, and her approach really hits a perfect sweet spot for me. Some ASMR creators might take a more intimate approach, acting as an emotionally healing salve. Others go for something emotionally intense, like yandere roleplay. But REM tends towards much sillier and more experimental scenarios that are tinged with an irreverent sense of humor. Her ASMR themes have included “the worst airline ever,” “rat dying in a glue trap,” “smoking 500 cigarettes,” “crab giving a haircut,” “surgeon who just found out your payment was declined,” and “smothering you with her official hug pillow merch.” One of my absolute favorites is her “pushy door-to-door ASMR salesman” stream, where she uses one of her earpicks to pick your front lock:

According to REM herself, she originally didn’t plan on being an ASMR creator, which is funny because it suits her sleep paralysis demon motif so well. While VTubers often move over time in trajectories away from their lore, REM has, in a sense, grown closer to her concept. 

Instead, her original motivation for getting into VTubing was actually to sing, and while she isn’t releasing new music all the time, she does have a number of nice releases. I recommend her 3D concert performance of “Deal with the Devil” (the opening to Kakegurui),  REM’s Sleepover (a collab concert with lots of great guests, including Roca Rourin), and her first original song “Stay with Me ???”:

Oh, and she once ate jellied eels because of a donathon goal, and it is apparently the most vile thing she’s ever tasted. As someone who’s wanted to try the (in)famous London dish for years, I appreciated her attempt and lived vicariously (?) through her.

Overall, REM creates an energy all her own, and I’m always looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next. I think she’s very welcoming, and the only barrier is how many jokes about Brazilian butt lifts you can take from her and the chat before tapping out. 

PS: REM is having a multi-day birthday celebration. Playlist is below!

De-Frosting: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for February 2026

Posted on by

I feel like all my hobbies have been very enjoyable lately. Great shows are airing, cool streams are happening, and creativity in all its forms needs to be cherished and fostered. At the same time, I feel like the world is falling apart, or at the very least revealed to be a house of cards encouraged to collapse at the whims and mania of the powerful. I think I have to remember that the arts alone do not change the world, but they can empower and inspire people to imagine a better world that we can all strive towards.

I feel incredibly proud of all the regular people who refuse to be bullied by people with the frailest egos imaginable.

On to the blog-specific things!

Thank you to my Patreon members, and a particularly big thanks to the folks below:

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog Highlights from January

Jujutsu Kaisen and the Currency of Cool

Thoughts on the presentation of Jujutsu Kaisen and its fandom.

The Long View: Apocalypse Hotel

My review of a fantastic anime from last year!

I Drank the Ember Amane VTuber Coffee from Phase Connect

I’ve been getting into coffee lately, so this feels like part of a larger journey.

Kio Shimoku

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights January 2026

There’s a tweet about a live drawing event in Tokyo! (I’ll probably post about this again.)

Closing

I was thinking about Bruce Springsteen lately, and wouldn’t you know? He put out a new song.

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights January 2026

Posted on by

Not a lot of tweets this month, but Kio announced he’s gonna be doing a live event!

https://twitter.com/kioshimoku1/status/2006722218378801397

A New Year’s card from Kio featuring Sue! (Or is it her Spotted Flower counterpart?)

Kio responding to a person who considers Haraguchi from Genshiken their “#1 oshi,” and asks whether the character has a full name. Kio’s answer: He never came up with one.

A reminder to read the recent supplemental web chapter of Spotted Flower, which involves oinking.

Kio Shimoku and Minoda Kaidou are going to be having a live drawing session in Tokyo at a cafe! Streaming tickets will also be available.

Top 30 Hit Machine: You and Idol Precure

Posted on by

Precure has been the juggernaut of girls’ anime for the past 20+ years, and the most common way for others to compete has been by making shows focused on music idols. So when You and Idol Precure was announced as the first entry to also incorporate this popular motif, I wondered how it might try to differentiate itself from the rest of the pack.

You and Idol Precure is a return to the beams-and-brawls style that had long defined the franchise but was minimized in the most recent predecessor, Wonderful Precure! In this way, You and Idol Precure is also a series that speaks to the legacy of both “magical girl as idol” (Creamy Mami, Looking for the Full Moon) and “magical girl as fighter” (Cutie Honey, Sailor Moon). I had high hopes that this season could combine the two sides in an interesting fashion, and while I think it overall turned out decently, I can’t help but feel that there was some wasted potential.

The building blocks are excellent: The premise of bringing joy and defeating doubt as idol magical girls is fun. The heroines are vivid and memorable in terms of personality and presentation. The animation, while at times inconsistent, can really shine, such as during big battles and transformation sequences. Side characters, be they allies or enemies, have a nice balance between seriousness and silliness. And the show tries to basically say that people have both light and darkness in them, and celebrating the former shouldn’t mean denying the presence of the latter.

But the series falters for me in two ways. The first is that its approach to the idol side feels both a little too conventional, and like it doesn’t lean into that side enough. The second is that the show doesn’t give its more interesting stories and themes enough room to really breathe and develop.

In regard to point #1, part of me hoped that the series would be them going around and having to live their careers as idols while taking down the bad guys. While this is not far off from what actually happens, I really think it could be more exciting. Similarly, every heroine in the series does a special song and dance as their finishing move highlighting their unique qualities: Cure Idol loves to sing, Cure Wink has a classic western music background, and Cure Kyunkyun is a dancer. Naturally, they eventually get group performances as combination attacks, but it ends up being the same ones on repeat, and the emphasis on what makes each Precure special falls to the wayside. If they had changed up the center based on who is the focus in an episode, they could have maintained this aspect.

As for point #2, there are a number of characters introduced that help give some depth and dimension to the world. There are narratives that involve dealing with sacrificing your greatest desires to help save the ones you love, ones about getting consumed by negative emotions, and even ones about guilt over succeeding where your friends and peers have failed. All of these have the potential to guide plotlines in ways that reward viewers over a longer period, but they are almost all resolved in one or two episodes. One story—involving a famous male idol who befriends the main heroine Uta and his desire to reconcile with an old friend—is probably the best executed of them, but I would have liked to see even more in that vein.

I know I’m not the target audience in most ways. I’m not a little girl or even much of an idol fan (despite my ever-growing interest in VTubers). In fact, seeing as I’ve now been watching Precure for over two decades, the gulf only gets wider with time. I’m aware of all this, and understand that what I want out of an anime is not necessarily what a 9-year-old wants. 

But I’ve seen when Precure can make something for its core audience and still present something with greater substance. I don’t think this is a case of Precure failing to respect the intelligence of its young audience, as I really believe it’s trying to help them understand and process complex and conflicting emotions while providing great role models to admire and emulate. Rather, I believe You and Idol Precure could have been a more cohesive work that more deftly sews together all its best qualities to create something truly fantastic.

Three’s Company: Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans “Urdr-Hunt Special Edition” and “Wedge of Interposition”

Posted on by

I recently took the opportunity to see the theatrical 4K screening of the feature-length Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz Special Edition in theaters. It was preceded by two short works from the world of Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans, and those are what I’ll be focusing on.

First up was Mobile Suit Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Urdr-Hunt Special Edition: The Path of the Little Challenger. The title is a real mouthful, and that’s because it’s a compilation work consisting of animated shorts from the Urdr-Hunt mobile game, which is set in the Iron-Blooded Orphans universe. It centers around a boy from Venus named Wistario Afam, who enters a mysterious stellar scavenger hunt called the Urdr-Hunt. 

The conceit of the story is clearly derived from the source material’s game-esque elements, and the shorts themselves are a little disjointed, with the in-game elements meant to glue them together seemingly replaced by narration and possibly other bits of animation. The main cast of Urdr-Hunt does not include any established characters from the anime, but a number of side characters do make appearances. Given that the presentation is inherently flawed—it feels less like it’s about creating a cohesive work, and more about having an established version of the animations in a format that doesn’t require you to play a game that is no longer available—I ultimately don’t begrudge it being a bit of a slog to watch. 

My main takeaways come in two parts: First, I enjoyed the way it expands on the woefully under-explored setting of Iron-Blooded Orphans, such as the appearance of more of the Mobile Armors from the “Calamity War” that is so essential to the backstory. Second, as the only Gundam series explicitly in favor of polyamory, I could tell that this element was still very much present in the main “love triangle.” Nothing is conclusive or happens outright, but it isn’t fooling anyone.

Following Urdr-Hunt was the Iron-Blooded Orphans 10th anniversary short, Wedge of Interposition. It takes place between seasons 1 and 2, and shows the Tekkadan crew transitioning to a new stage in their lives now that they have some real notoriety, with particular focus on Orga as the leader having to learn how to interact with more “civilized” bigwigs by doing things like “learning to read and write.” I found the short to be a brief yet heartwarming look at the group’s camaraderie, which I realize is quite rare among Gundam entries. Sure, there are plenty of stories about people being brought together in war, but any sense of unity usually comes from severe growing pains.

And then the ending credits are filled with shirtless pictures of Orga, Mikazuki, and the rest. Truly, they know their audience.

The conclusion I came to in watching both of these is that I certainly wouldn’t mind a prequel or sequel to Iron-Blooded Orphans. While I really like the animeoverall, one of the more disappointing things in the end was not getting to see more of the worldbuilding. What we have with these two short pieces is decent, but I think there’s plenty more stories to tell.

KPop Demon Hunters and Addressing the Work of Past Generations

Posted on by

I’m late to the party, but I’ve finally watched KPop Demon Hunters. And while I doubt anyone needs convincing at this point, I will say that I think it’s worth checking out. It’s easy to see why it resonates so well with kids, but I find it accessible for people of any age who are open to heroines who are allowed to be goofy yet serious, a lot of musical numbers, and a message about a will that, for better or for worse, has been inherited across generations.

I’ll be spoiling the ending of the film, so here’s your warning.

The mix of Korean folklore and modern pop culture is an interesting place to tell a story about being afraid to show who you really are. In the lore of the film, Korean demon hunters have fought with both weapons and songs for generations, using their voices to create and strengthen an anti-demon barrier called the Honmoon. Rumi is the leader of the current generation, Huntrix, and she hides her greatest secret from even her teammates and friends: Rumi is actually half demon, and she wants to complete the Honmoon so she can be rid of her demonic side for good and finally stop hiding a part of herself, but begins to find her voice is faltering when she needs it most. 

The Honmoon is one of the most interesting things to me about KPop Demon Hunters, because I think it does a great job of presenting both the good and bad parts of inheriting the actions and decisions of generations past. The Honmoon is a massive undertaking that has been continuously built up for dozens if not hundreds of years, and it has helped protect the people through hard work. However, it was built on the need for the singers who empower it to never show weakness, and this pressure is what causes Rumi to start breaking down. By the end of the film, she and the others remove the Honmoon and replace it with a new version that doesn’t place all the burden on the women and the need to project perfection at all costs. 

I really like this metaphor because it doesn’t lump the actions of their ancestors as an unassailable legacy, nor is it purely a source of generational trauma. It is the product of decisions made in the past that were arguably necessary, helped build a foundation for descendants to survive and thrive, and ultimately helped Korea and humankind. But those choices are not beyond reproach, and naively following every aspect of them can harm people like Rumi who bristle against its pressure.

So KPop Demon Hunters lives up to the hype, and will likely end up being the Sailor Moon of a new generation of children. I can hardly think of a better work of art to carry that torch.

The Long View: Apocalypse Hotel

Posted on by

Apocalypse Hotel reminds me why I fell in love with anime.

Its story centers around the cutting-edge Gingarou Hotel, which is run entirely by advanced robots. Ever since a global pandemic forced the entirety of humanity off the planet, Acting Acting Manager Yachiyo and the rest of her fellow mechanized staff have been taking care of the hotel every day waiting for everyone to return. While they’re accustomed to getting zero visitors day in and day out, a guest of extraterrestrial origins suddenly arrives one day, setting the Gingarou Hotel on a long and path full of surprises.

Across 12 episodes, Apocalypse Hotel sets the bright and courteous spirit of hospitality against the darkness of its post-apocalyptic setting, drawing a sublime contrast that accentuates both growing hope and deep despair. Instead of going with a more self-contained format or taking a more serialized approach, Apocalypse Hotel treats each episode like a vignette along an enormously vast timeline. Some things remain the same, other elements reflect the fact that decades can pass between each episode, and the interplay between these two elements tells the story just as much as what’s happening on screen. I already love stories that appear episodic but are actually telling a greater narrative overall, and this series greatly succeeds at this approach.

The clever format is further supported by a gorgeous aesthetic and superb animation that’s both charming and moody. Whether it’s a festive dance number of an opening, characters maintaining the hotel daily, or even the occasional action scene, everything is depicted beautifully. 

I think Apocalypse Hotel ends up being a great companion work to something like Frieren: From Journey’s End, which also similarly focuses on the long passage of time from the perspective of the long-lived. Whereas Frieren often looks at a past so full of history that half of it has been forgotten, Apocalypse Hotel peers into a future yet unknown and all its possibilities, all while focusing on the everyday of a surprisingly simple luxury establishment.

Reasons for Fanfiction

Posted on by

Fanfiction was a major part of my earliest online fandoms, and it was a way for me to explore my interests and meet fellow fans. While I no longer read them, I sometimes still think about the things that drove me: how it felt until then like no one else liked what I liked, and how so many works I loved had the most barebone details.

In the years since, fanfiction has become such a major force in nerd media. Putting aside the whole matter of fanfics transforming into wildly successful books and media franchises, there’s just no lack of titles to use for inspiration. What’s more, a lot of popular titles are so obsessed with continuity that there is no shortage of canon to mine. Things like Star Wars and superhero movies just love to fill in every last detail.

I think this is part of why AU fics might be so popular: There’s so much “official” information that it might be overwhelming. By putting something in an AU, perhaps you’re extracting the essence of what you care about most without having all the extra baggage of a messy storyline or a convoluted universe. It’s not really my speed, personally speaking, but I do find it fascinating just how this is almost the opposite of why I pursued fanfiction as a young person. I used to suffer from a dearth of source material, where shows might not even have a real ending, or games might not have any story details other than what was in the instruction manual. 

Lately, I’ve had a bit of an itch to do some fiction writing. Maybe I should try it on some fanfiction first. Though if I do end up doing anything, I might decide to create a new pen name.

Freaks Like You and Me: Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2

Posted on by

It took me a few years, but I finally got around to watching Season 2 of The Ancient Magus’ Bride, wherein the titular bride, Chise, attends a magic high school. I don’t believe I ever reviewed Season 1, but here we are anyway.

In other series, that might be the point where things fall into a comfortable routine and use the school setting to bring out the popular tropes. However, Ancient Magus’ Bride uses it as an opportunity for expanding the lore. Magic and sorcery are already portrayed in a fascinating and mysterious manner, and those qualities only grow stronger and deeper. 

One of the most interesting things about this arc is the way it introduces peers for Chise. Until now, she has been surrounded by people significantly older than her, or beings far removed from humanity. But here we have teenagers close in age to Chise’s, each of whom have their own unique challenges but are shown as relatable for her. At the same time, the questions surrounding Chise’s own being only increase, and having your protagonist be a center of some of the enigmas makes for a compelling story.

I found the plot development engaging and hard to predict, and the ending made me appreciate the build-up even more. I’m ready for Season 3 with a renewed interest in The Ancient Magus’ Bride as a whole.

I Drank the Ember Amane VTuber Coffee from Phase Connect

Posted on by

One of the most oft-recurring jokes about the VTuber company Phase Connect is that it’s actually a coffee store with a VTubing skin draped over it. It defies common sense as a business strategy, yet somehow they stay afloat. What kind of fool would buy coffee beans just because there’s an anime girl slapped on the front?

Me. I’m that fool. 

And apparently, I’m not alone. At Anime NYC in 2024, all the coffee was sold out by the time I got to their convention booth. The following year I was more fortunate, and I managed to get a bag of the Ember Amane custom roast. I wanted to get the Dizzy Dokuro beans as well, but failed to take into account that her Dizzy Dizzy Coffee jingle would be so effective at getting people to buy hers in particular. Lesson learned. 

It helps that I happen to have gained a greater interest in coffee in 2025. Thanks to a gift from a friend, I was encouraged to start trying to make coffee at home, and it’s put me on this little journey. Phase Connect coffee dovetails neatly into this new minor hobby. Also, I decided to buy specifically at Anime NYC for a reason: I didn’t want to see what the tariffs would do to an online order (and because it’s psychologically easier for me to excuse a weird purchase like this when I’m on the show floor). 

As for the Ember coffee, the official store describes it as follows:

Fiery and fun loving, the Ember inspired coffee has some very warm red notes. The coffee bean chosen to match Ember comes from Papua New Guinea. This coffee has nice stone fruit flavours and a fiery spirit with a slight floral note to match Ember’s feminine charm. 

In making it, I used the following equipment.

  • A Kingrinder P2 hand grinder
  • An electric kettle
  • A Bodum French press
  • A Bialetti moka pot

I utilized James Hoffmann’s French press method and a simplified version of his moka pot method. The first differs a bit from the more standard approach by using a finer grind and a couple extra steps, and the second is unlike typical moka pot recommendations in that it uses almost-boiling water and a lower flame. I went with a ratio of 30g of beans to 500g of water for the French Press, and then 30g of beans to 270g of water for the moka pot.

The resulting coffees were relatively light and mild. I first tried it black, and It had an initial strong acidity, but that sourness faded quickly and transitioned into a smooth and pleasant finish. Perhaps due to my untrained palate, I couldn’t quite taste all the things the description mentioned when drinking it black.

 

But then I decided to brew some more and tried the coffee with other ingredients, like oat milk, butter and salt, and skim cow’s milk. While the first two tasted all right (and resulted in a relatively less harsh drink overall), it was the cow’s milk that made a big difference. That “stone fruit” flavor in the official description, previously hard to detect, really came through. While I didn’t try it with 2% or whole, I assume it would be even better. This applies to both the French press and the moka pot.

Was it worth the cost? Well, if you’re trying it just for the beans, you can get something about as good without the waifu tax that transforms 225g of beans for a $40 USD purchase at a convention (or $35 USD plus shipping, etc. when ordering online). However, the resulting coffee is not bad or disappointing by any means, and you are just getting a better quality product than buying some Dunkin’ or Starbucks. Even my amateur-ass self could make some tasty cups of joe with these beans, and I think the Ember Amane blend is quite good for people who might typically be averse to coffee, provided you use dairy milk of some kind.

I don’t think I’ll end up trying the entire Phase Connect coffee line, but I just ordered the Dizzy and Clio blends (along with the Phase Invaders Wish album). We’ll see how they turn out.