Video essayist F.D Signifier has made various videos about what he calls edgelord movies—media featuring cool lone-wolf heroes—and the way they interact with the portion of their fanbase that consist of a male, mostly white viewers drawn to their depiction of masculinity. Fight Club, The Matrix, Joker, and even something like Attack on Titan all count towards this. They’re fascinating watches, and well worth checking out.
At the end of his most recent video (see above), he comes to a striking conclusion: Attempts to address edgelords through edgelord media are probably in vain because there will always be a part of that audience who will just remember the badass stuff and ignore (or not even notice) the criticism. To make an edgelord movie, you need edgelord moments, and that is what a particular type will gravitate towards. If you make violence look cool, that’s what some people will remember above all else.
I can definitely see where F.D Signifier is coming from. But despite my sense that he might very well be right, I’m going to toss in my suggestion for an edgelord title that I think is the most likely to reach that audience and drive its criticisms home: Chainsaw Man.
Fujimoto Tatsuki’s manga Chainsaw Man centers around Denji, a destitute boy who does menial tasks for gangsters and dreams of 1) losing his virginity 2) eating bread with jam. Through an odd confluence of events, he gains the power of the Chainsaw Devil and becomes Chainsaw Man, with a chainsaw for a head and chainsaws on his arms…and also he can just make chainsaws come out of his body. The series is crass and ultra violent, and Denji acts as this powerful hero who breaks all the rules.
Except, where other edgelord fiction might leave any revealing commentary about its protagonist to the end (Fight Club, Attack on Titan), or couch its transgressive politics in imagery and metaphor (The Matrix), Chainsaw Man constantly juxtaposes the “sigma male” qualities of Denji with his own pathetic nature. Rarely does a badass scene or arc take place that isn’t immediately cut at the knees while the series questions that badassery in the first place. While it’s still possible to ignore Denji’s sadder qualities, Chainsaw Man really throws it in the audience’s face over and over again. There are even times where Denji himself explicitly expresses frustration over how shallow he can be, and how he often wishes he wasn’t that way.
I don’t have any empirical evidence that Chainsaw Man has reached anyone in the manner I’ve described. In fact, I often see the opposite, as parts of the Chainsaw Man fandom concentrate on refracted pieces instead of the whole: the brutal violence, the character Makima’s domme aesthetic, general wackiness, etc. But while at least a chunk of that audience might never learn, the series itself continuously pulls apart its own power fantasy only to put it back together and then tear it up again in a continuous cycle. It never relents, and I think that persistence could pay off.
To say I’m disappointed in the direction the world is going is an understatement. But this is the position we find ourselves in, and I hope that we can fight for and support marginalized communities who risk having their human dignity (if not their lives) taken away. I vacillate between hope and despair, but I want to believe that I and others can both endure what’s to come and take action to make things better where we can.
I sometimes wonder if I should be more out front, if only to counter the caustic image of anime fans that has entrenched itself on social media. There are a lot of willfully ignorant people out there who want to present anime and manga (and by extension Japan) as this purely conservative (if not outright fascistic) wonderland, and I just hate the fact that “anime profile image” has become synonymous with “rank asshole.” Maybe it’s too little, too late, but still.
As a reminder, if you’re supporting me on Patreon, you’ll save by not subscribing on iOS. The fees are not small, and I hope you don’t get cheated out of your money.
The one-two lunch of Sakamata Chloe and Ceres Fauna leaving hololive brings a lot of thoughts to mind. I want to write about them both, but I’m not sure exactly what I want to say, or how to say it.
I want to preface this month’s Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights acknowledging the recent exodus of Twitter users. There’s always a chance that the site might go under, which would make a lot of these posts hard/impossible to read. While it would make sense to take screenshots, a lot of Japanese artists are not comfortable with that, so I’ve been using quotes all this time to avoid any potential issues (and also to save time).
My compromise has been that I try to make my tweet summaries useful to read even if the tweets themselves disappear. Hopefully it’s enough.
Kio really likes the new Ranma ½ anime. It’s not a total copy of the original manga, but it captures what makes the series interesting.
He recalls how Ranma came out after Takahashi Rumiko had achieved her “perfect form” from working on Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkoku, and that Ranma was good from the start.
Kio decided to start re-reading the manga Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn because the series ended. He remarks that the satisfaction he gets from reading manga is amazing.
The author of Pandora in the Crimson Shell, Rikdo Koshi (of Excel Saga fame) thanks Kio, and talks about how he was inspired by the cosplay in Kio’s work. Kio says he’s the grateful one because he got to read Rikdo’s work.
Kio’s art is included in a illustration collection to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the manga magazine Rakuen: Le Paradis. It will be on sale at Comitia 150.
Kio went to VOTOMS Model Exhibition 2024. To him, nothing beats seeing this stuff in full three dimensions, and he particularly admired the work of modeler Aihara Yoshiyuki.
Kio had to do a factory reset on his PC last month, but when he tried to re-download his saved assets for Clip Studio Paint, it didn’t work for some reason.
For the Rakuen artbook, Kio went back to using analog tools after 17 years away from them. This is why he was looking for his old supplies back in September.
The Part 2 DVD for the Vietnam special of How Do You Like Wednesday? Kio did not originally watch this as it aired, but because this was seen as the final HDYLW special at the time, watching it now brought tears to his eyes.
When he was little, Kio used to draw overhead diagrams of his own model hobby shop that included all the Gunpla he wanted but couldn’t buy. He would then pretend that his Kinnikuman and kaiju erasers were customers for his shop.
Kio elaborates on his childhood dream of owning a model hobby shop in his art book interview. He then calls the tweet an advertisement that happened naturally.
Last year, I started reading Hunter x Hunter by Togashi Yoshihiro. Its reputation was known to me: I had often seen people online (and even sometimes offline) mention it as their favorite series and an example of what shounen battle manga could be. My early impression was mixed because it felt like a Test into another Test into Training into a Tournament into More Training, and it made me feel like what lied ahead was an endless string of tournament arcs. The fact that Togashi’s other famous manga (YuYu Hakusho) was home to some of the most well-known tournament arcs added to this hunch.
Turns out that I was off the mark. Hunter x Hunter is indeed a shounen battle manga with world building and a convoluted power system (“nen”) that seems especially vulnerable to ass-pulls, but what I eventually came to realize is that it’s all about setting up a world where Togashi can do whatever he wants.
Creating and identifying forgeries at an underground auction. A card game inside a game world. An all-out battle against mutant insects. The job of “hunter” and the role of nen are intentionally open-ended, and can be bent to fit any scenario or situation. Hunter x Hunter can basically change subgenres on a regular basis, and it all counts as part of the greater work. However, it takes a seriously good manga artist and storyteller with a specific kind of versatile imagination to pull this off well. While there are many great manga creators, it’s hard to think of another who could do what Togashi does.
One of the drawbacks as a result is that the wildly different story arcs usually start off with a ridiculous amount of exposition—the kind that made me always think, “What the hell are you trying this time?” But the reason this happens is because Togashi is basically pulling out a new instruction manual for a new board game every time, and it’s one of those modern games that you can’t fully appreciate until you know the ins and outs. He’s essentially meticulously setting up the pieces, and once you see how the entire board moves, it becomes a riveting experience. Nevertheless, it still requires you to go through it with some patience.
I ended up finishing the Chimera Ant arc, which I kept seeing people praise most often, with some even calling it the greatest arc in a shounen series (and possibly any series) ever. I don’t know if I agree, but I think there’s a solid argument for it, especially in the way it manages to embrace the orthodoxy of standard battle manga but also defy expectations. The arc is the most reminiscent of Dragon Ball of anything in Hunter x Hunter, even having a villain cut from the same aesthetic cloth as Freeza and Cell, but the entire saga taken as a whole makes for some powerful and poignant human drama.
Because I read Hunter x Hunter over the course of a single year, I did not have to experience the delays that occurred while it was being serialized due to Togashi’s poor health that leaves him at times completely debilitated. This inevitably changes my impression of the series compared to someone who read the series in real time. Despite that, I can easily see why Togashi has his loyal following that sticks with him through all the challenges he faces.
A few months ago, in the wake of Toriyama Akira’s passing, I saw some comments on social media asking why Togashi can’t get others to take over Hunter x Hunter for him. The fan response was largely an adamant refusal—no matter how rare the chapters have become, it just wouldn’t be the same without him at the helm. I can appreciate this sentiment because we’ve seen plenty of cases of creative works falling apart in the wrong hands, even if those hands are well-intentioned. Togashi’s sheer versatility while still adhering to the spirit of shounen feels nigh-impossible to replicate, and it makes Hunter x Hunter a work unlike any other.
I haven’t forgotten what the world was like four years ago. I’d long been hesitant to talk about anything political on Ogiue Maniax, but the importance of the US election in the face of a pandemic that killed a previously unfathomable amount of people made me address it more directly. When the dust cleared, I thought (or perhaps hoped) that at least one of the monsters we had to deal with would be gone for good, but I was apparently too naive. So here we are again.
I hope everyone can vote if they are able to. I won’t say who to vote for (though my leanings are probably obvious), and I know that voting is a drop in the bucket in terms of effective political engagement, but I truly think this is a crucial election that will determine so much of the future. Let’s do away with the fearmongers who want to scapegoat various groups while they pick the pockets of their supporters.
In other news, I need to mention the fact that Patreon is changing the way it bills supporters due to Apple shenanigans. Whereas I used to bill everyone at the start of the month, now it depends on when you started subscribing.
So thank you to my supporters on Patreon. I still have no idea what this will look like next month!
Kio has been thinking up the plot of an eromanga (different from the one he’s currently working on), and is now up to 4 chapters. He hopes he can get around to actually drawing it eventually.
Kio watched The Queen of Villains, the Netflix series about the iconic Japanese heel pro wrestler Dump Matsumoto. He found it to be a really good and intense work. The scene where Dump “awakens” to herself was cathartic.
Kio’s PC went into factory reset mode. He thinks it might have been because there was a power outage when Windows was updating. A person in the replies helped Kio with some troubleshooting, but seemingly to no avail. Kio had stuff backed up, though, so it should be okay.
Kio is a fan of the manga Fist of the North Star: Legend of the Apocalyptic Drama Shoot, which presents Fist of the North Star as if it were a live-action television production where all the characters are actors. He likes that the production issues feel plausible for what happens in the original work.
Kio watched Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance. He likes how the Zakus really comes across as weapons, whereas normally mobile suits come across as more like living beings, or like ASIMO vs Atlas.
Requiem for Vengeance is practically a monster movie.
Kio watching another DVD from How Do You Like Wednesday? This time, they’re in Vietnam.
One person in the replies talked about how at the time, it seemed like this might be their final show, but Kio didn’t get into How Do You Like Wednesday? in real time, so it was different for him.
Kio finally inked the line work for the final 80 pages of his doujinshi. He still has to add grays, blacks, text, and color for the cover, though (all of which take quite a bit of time).
Kio talked to a younger person who was aware of the fact that Patlabor came out first with Yuki Masami’s manga. As Kio looked at this month’s issue of Model Grafix, it hit him that the people who would naturally know this are probably around 50 years old.
Kio recently had a talk at Umeda Lateral, an Osaka-based live music house and talk venue, to celebrate the release of his new artbook. Below are my notes from watching it.
(Unfortunately, the VOD is no longer available. Also, screenshots are not allowed.)
There are three people: the host, Kio, and his editorial manager Moteki.
For the event, Kio drew special signboards featuring the Genshiken characters, one per character: Ogiue, Madarame, Sue, Ohno, and Saki.
Apparently, it’s normal for the hosts and speaker to drink on stage at this venue. Kio’s first order was draft beer.
He has been to Osaka before, for work and for sightseeing. Was on the train for 9 hours to get there.
The artbook was not his idea. It was Moteki’s, who brought it up because it’s Kio’s 30th anniversary. Kodansha wouldn’t do it themselves? Moteki actually reached out to him through Pixiv.
Kio wanted to reply, and he got motivated to actually make the book happen.
There were cases where Kio was looking through his old work and thought, “Did I draw this?”
Starting doing digital after Genshiken, starting with Jigopuri. At the time, he still scanned in his pencils, though.
Works prior to that transition were newly scanned for the artbook. He had a bit of experience doing it for the Shinsouban (the special edition that has new covers and changes the nine volumes of the original into five).
Kio admitted that he doesn’t actually remember much of his works before Genshiken. Moteki jokingly expresses concern that this pre-Genshiken period was eight years.
Moteki: Ogiue is a character who really takes the story places, but is there anyone from before Genshiken like that?
Kio: Nope, I don’t think so.
Kio actually doesn’t think Ogiue is that much of a driving force. Madarame was originally planned to be there from the start in some form.
Kio showed early concept notes about Genshiken. At the time, it was still written in kanji.
The original 3 characters were early versions of what would become Saki, Kohsaka, Madarame.
Saki (or her prototype) was the original protagonist. Prototype Kohsaka’s gender hadn’t been determined yet—the character was labeled “Hero (Heroine?)” One note mentions that he maybe looks like Squall from Final Fantasy VIII.
The school setting was based on Chuo University, just like in the actual Genshiken.
Kio wanted to make the series focused on character gags.
Prototype Madarame looked very different. Labeled as the “Rival.” Second-Year, otaku.
All the characters are listed with a specialized otaku genre. Proto-Kohsaka and Proto-Mada are both labeled as being into “everything.”
All the characters are labeled as virgins.
Prototype Kugayama was labeled as being a third-year, having a good personality, and also being a lolicon. Otaku genre: anime.
Another character with glasses specialized in games, and another shorter character has manga.
One unused design was a girl who was a second-year. She was a little unattractive, but with big boobs. (This might be the prototype for Ohno, but they look quite different.)
Kio does not actually particularly like kujibiki lotteries. But it is funny that Kujibiki becomes a plot device in Nidaime when all the girls are drawing straws for the order in which each girl has their date with Madarame.
Kio ordered octopus karaage next.
The first gunpla he built was probably the Guncannon. He built it right before the Gundam boom, when he was in elementary school. He has an older brother who was buying gunpla before him. Actually, it might not have been the Guncannon. Kio mentioned not having a good memory.
Did Kio have an inscrutable senpai like the original club chairman? He had senpai, but he wasn’t sure if they were quite like that. But Tanaka was based on someone Kio knew—a person who loved plastic model kits.
Kio used to build a lot of gunpla and kits, and broke them at the joints all the time. But with more recent models, he remarked that they really don’t break easily. He also compared the old days of gunplay that used polycaps to the improvements of modern kits.
For the scene in Genshiken with the gunpla, Kio tried to break the hip joint of a real model for reference, but it wouldn’t snap. But he wanted to do the scene, so he had to force a break.
He checked with Bandai if showing a busted gunpla would be okay, and they said as long as the break was shown to be by accident and not on purpose, it was okay.
Kujibiki Unbalance was made to be an original parody series because getting permissions for actual things was difficult.
Host mentions that he wasn’t a pure otaku, and it’s because of Genshiken’s numerous reference lines that he got to be one. Chapter titles are references, and Kio had to constantly rack his brain for them. Kio does not consider himself a high-information-retention otaku.
He had a desire to draw and write about the old-style 90s-era otaku of his own generation.
When Kio got Genshiken serialized, it made him feel like a real pro. When it got an anime he was ecstatic. “It felt like I had won at life.”
Kio was worried that if he tried to make a manga about the newest things, it would quickly feel dated, so that’s why the otaku stuff was more 1990s.
In that time, video tapes were still the standard, and official recordings of the anime were still done on tapes. He was okay with the work, but saw the struggles of the anime’s production in the anime, accepting that those are kind of inevitable.
The host asked about the OVA, believing that Kio wrote it himself, but Kio himself didn’t remember if that’s the case. He did work closely with Genshiken 2, as well as the original Kujibiki Unbalance anime.
Kio mentioned being involved with a scene involving Tanaka and Ohno, and the host instantly guessed correctly that it’s the spicy scene of them getting together. In response, Kio asked, “Why did you know what I was talking about?” It was later that he realized the scenes he drew for the fictional eroge Ohno made Tanaka play were just used straight-up in the anime.
Kio showed his actual old notebooks.
“It’s not your dark history.”
Kio: But it is.
Kio loved Famicom Detective Club, and made his own story based on Famicom Detective Club II.
He wanted to make a manga of Ghibli’s Laputa in middle school, so he drew one. Here, he showed it to the audience, page by page. He even did the title logo. However, as he turned each page, he would have his eyes closed because he didn’t want to look at them.
(It actually looks really well drawn for a middle schooler.)
Kio actually wanted to change the story partway through in a way that would make it more interesting, but he couldn’t quite decide on where to take things after they get to the fortress, so he stopped drawing it.
Another notebook is filled with his attempts to draw like Miyazaki, clearly copying famous Nausicaa images. He also feels embarrassed about these.
He also showed that he made lots of drawings of Elpe Ple from Gundam ZZ.
He didn’t watch Gundam as it aired, but he did keep up with Dunbine and L-Gaim in elementary school (4th grade, 6th grade, thereabouts).
Also showed a piece of fanart for Metal Armor Dragonar in there, along with a drawing of the Queen Mansa from Gundam ZZ.
Because Kio was clearly into fantasy-like settings as a kid, the host asks if he ever wanted to make manga along those lines. Kio says that he actually worked on a real manuscript from high school to college. “Any plans to announce it?” “None.”
After the break, Kio got a lemon sour. Host a highball. Moteki got another draft beer.
Host talked about how some people considered Nidaime to be like a fan sequel. After the first series ended, everyone tried to imagine what would come next.
Kio got back to drawing Genshiken after doing the art for a budget edition box set of the anime (the ones with the white cases), which led to the one-shot, and then he was asked by Kodansha if he could come back for a short run, like a single volume. (Nidaime ended up running for 11.)
Kio hadn’t planned to resolve Madarame and Saki. Couldn’t it have just ended at the school culture festival?
The second half of the talk was Kio answering questions they had received from fans.
Will Spotted Flower get an anime?
Kio: That’s not up to me.
There are also challenges to getting a story like that made into anime. If he had to say whether he’d want one or not, he’d say yes.
What was a gathering spot for otaku in your days?
Kio was only in a circle for half a year. But there had to have been a place where people gathered to draw.
Kio was in the art club in high school, but it didn’t have an otaku feel. Same for middle school. But the otaku in middle school did meet up after school.
Kio actually bought his own Neo-Geo machine! They reminisced about the massive cartridges.
What works are you into recently?
Manga: A current work in Harta magazine by the author of Hinamatsuri, Ohtake Masao, called J⇔M.
Doesn’t watch dramas. Closest is taiga historical dramas like Kimi Hikaru e.
Couldn’t decide for anime or movies (mainly watches anime movies).
If you drew Genshiken now, what would the characters be into?
VTubers, not that he knows much about them.
Moteki mentioned that Kio must have done research about fujoshi circles and slang for Nidaime, but Kio said he was doing it since the first series. He got some things wrong, though. In college, Kio was surprised to discover fan-derivative works and 18+ doujinshi in college (much like Sasahara).
How did you decide who Madarame would end up with?
Kio didn’t even know who it would be as he was drawing it. He was thinking of having it conclude with Madarame alone, but he actually said to himself, “Are you really going to end it this way?” Even he as the author couldn’t accept that.
Moteki: When it comes to The Fifth-Year and Genshiken with Ogiue, these characters realized about the kind of people they are, and it helped them decide on their feelings. But Madarame even to the very end did not have that self-awareness.
Also, lots of people thought it’d be Sasahara’s sister, because she’s so similar to Saki.
Kio: Yeah, even now. When you mention it, that pairing could’ve worked. But I wasn’t thinking about Saki (or Keiko’s similarities to Saki).
Kio-sensei switched to tablet in Nidaime. How was it?
Actually, Kio switched during Jigopuri. Back then, he still drew the manuscripts on paper and scanned them in before doing digital drawing over them. Eventually, he switched to all digital.
Is there something you feel about the Otaku of the 2010s and 2020s?
Based on what he sees with his daughter and her classmates, it’s almost like there’s not really a distinction between otaku and non-otaku.
Host: Even gyaru are into Frieren.
Kio: Maybe there’s no need for a series like Genshiken anymore.
Kio wanted to do Nidaime as a series where there were more members of the club who were like Ogiue and Ohno along with one new male character. However, he actually thought up a version with a more typically masculine guy, but thought it felt a little too normal.
Host: It’s like the barrier between otaku and non-otaku is gone.
What’s important to remember while making works?
Kio: I can’t really think of anything. Maybe, if you think of it too much like work, you’ll lose what makes it unique. Don’t try too hard to make a “manga-like manga.” Don’t focus on how things are supposed to go at the expense of making it interesting.
Genshiken wasn’t intended to capture the zeitgeist, but it ended up doing so.
Did you see the online reaction to Genshiken or the doujinshi during serialization?
Kio did not look at comments. The people at Kodansha looked at it though.
Kio bought all the doujinshi of Genshiken he saw. Didn’t have any problems with any content, knowing that it’s up to the doujin creators. He might occasionally check out the website of one of the artists.
He got some of them for the Genshiken 8.5 doujin project.
What was it like working for Afternoon?
Thought of Shounen Sunday first for Kodansha, but Kio remembers Parasyte being a big title. Minor no Pride, Major no something (a cooking manga).
In response to Ogiue is drawing for Afternoon in the manga: “It’s meta.”
What do you think of making H-manga?
Kio always wants to do it. He’s working on Part 2 of his doujinshi project, and the manuscript has gotten to 134 pages.
Moteki: What was the reaction to you announcing an 18+ doujinshi? Was it like, “Here we go!!!”
Not a particularly strong response, but when Kio posted it on Fanza (an adult site), some people who were fans asked him if it’s okay to do this at his age (he’s 50).
Can you do a live drawing?
He was unsure of his live drawing ability. Before the talk, Kio ended up putting a lot of time into the five signboard drawings at the talk, as well as the 30 that were included in specific copies of the artbook.
Host and Moteki tried to convince him, but no go.
Will there be more Genshiken merch?
It’s not up to him.
A lot of questions about how Kio decided who Madarame would be with, actually.
Are there any characters who acted in ways you didn’t intend?
All of them.
During the nose hair chapter (with Saki and Madarame), Kio planned to have a story about that, but went at it by thinking “What would the characters do in this situation?”
Before a manuscript, he’ll draw freely. For Genshiken, it’s like the ideas would just readily come. When drawing the characters, he would think about how they would behave. He compares figuring character’s lines to taking a dust cloth and wringing it tightly until the exact words drip out.
Moteki: In terms of characters moving on their own, Ogiue is a well-known example, right?
Kio had considered sticking her with Kuchiki as a kind of “mutually cringe couple.”
Kio is unsure of what he needs to do in serializations. With one-shots, in contrast, it’s harder to play around. He’s still not sure what to do.
At first, Kio didn’t use any assistants. But that’s when he was young. Now he’s 50 and he can’t do the same anymore.
Weekly serialization is the “territory of monsters.” Knowing what weeklies are like, he understands the need for assistants there. But if someone came to him asking if he could do one, he’d consider it and try to figure out a way it could work.
Kio worked as Takano Fumiko-sensei’s assistant, but for only one day.
What otaku works or genres have you been into recently?
He watched some of Usada Pekora playing Elden Ring. He’d have her on as background noise while working on manga.
He also listens to music while thinking up ideas and working on manga. When he’s doing tasks with not a lot of information, he uses ambient noise. When doing the initial drawings, he listens to stuff like J-Pop. After that, more editorial/critical Youtube channels.
What have you enjoyed recently?
Kio has a hard time thinking of anything, but he did travel to Gunma recently. He went to Ninja Gakkai, a ninja education camp.
Among your works, are there any scenes that stick out most in your memory?
The first thing that came to mind is the nose hair story, particularly when Madarame leaves the clubroom and is looking back at it from the outside across the courtyard, and you can see the light in the clubroom still on.
Moteki: Which character is your type?
Ohno, in terms of sexiness. The scene when she first appears in a mask is an example of her heroine appeal. Though Kio’s been told that the shifting heroine focus for Genshiken is unusual: from Saki to Ohno to Ogiue.
This past month was a real rollercoaster, not least of which was due to hololive talent Amelia Watson announcing that she will be stepping back from actively being a part of the company, and then following that with a marathon of streams. The 4th anniversary of Myth and the 3D debut of ReGLOSS were eventful enough, and now we had this. I even drew on my tablet for the first time in years. If I thought my brain was pretty filled with VTubers last month…
Amid my turbulent emotions, a new anime season is here! The amount of interesting-looking shows is actually overwhelming: Mecha-Ude, Trillion Game, A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School!, Thunderbolt Fantasy Season 4, Love Live! Superstar!! Season 3, etc. On and on and on. I’m worried I won’t have time for it all.
And I’m still trying to watch through some old anime, like Blue Comet SPT Layzner.
I hope my supporters on Patreon are okay with how I’m doing. Thank you as always.
Having seen the anime movie The Colors Within, Kio points out how the images look euphoric and characteristic of director Yamada Naoko. There are also very few long shots, making the movie feel very personal and character-focused.
Kio describes being happy to discover that manga artist Nakano Deichi is able to make a work like h na h to A-ko no Noroi, which has a different feel from his previous works.
Fantasista mascot Sis-tan really likes Hashikko Ensemble, and shetells Kio why she likes the character Hachida Shinji so much (she also likes Orihara). Essentially, Hachida can’t seem to leave others alone, like when they’re going through hard times (e.g. Orihara, Masshy).
Kio replies that he pictures Hachida having an older sister who’s actually a yankii, and that he actually has a lot of experience with tough guys. Also, Masshy has light footwork, and knows how to interact with those who take singing very seriously.
Kio loves the Turn A Gundam novels so much, he’s read them countless times. He was originally shocked at where Tomino concluded the anime, so he was glad the novels show what happened after that. The fact that the series is all about the consequences of the foolishness of humanity is very “Tomino.” He has felt that this is the kind of thing he could not pull off as a manga artist. He also praises Turn A mecha designer (and legend) Syd Mead.
Kio did not tweet his own reaction to the death of voice actor Shinohara EMi, but he did retweet these drawings from Togashi Yoshihiro, author of Hunter x Hunter and husband of Sailor Moon creator Takeuchi Naoko.
He also had to gather a lot of old material for the talk, including work he finds embarrassing. He wonders if this is going to turn into a cringe session for him.
With summer ending and some work concluded, Kio is feeling that he should start something new. In the meantime, he declares that he will finish his doujinshi.
Kio read Volume 2 of The Kinks, a manga by Enomoto Shunji. While reading the serialized version Kio, always finds himself going “Well, that’s a first!”
The talk at Umeda Lateral also had a raffle for special signboards with art by Kio. The person who won Saki’s also happens to be an artist. Here’s Kio thanking him for some Saki fanart.
To celebrate the release of his new artbook, Mata Ashita, Bushitsu de (See You Tomorrow in the Clubroom), Genshiken author Kio Shimoku had a special 2+ hour talk session on September 16, 2024. The venue was Umeda Lateral, a talk and live music club in Osaka, and was title “Gendai Shikaku Bunka Kenkyuukai Umeda Bunshitsu, or “The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture Umeda Annex.”
Fortunately, the entire event was streamed live, and there’s an archived video available on their official site for a limited time! A streaming ticket costs 2,800 yen and lasts until September 30 JST.
While I plan to write about the talk (and the artbook) in more detail, I have not had the chance to watch it in full yet. I did take a brief look, though, and Kio actually appears in person. This is probably going to be the first time many people get to see him. Also, he showed early concept notes about Genshiken!
Sharing screenshots is not allowed, so unfortunately I can’t post his mug or those cool sketches.
I’m happy to see us go from having the man be a complete mystery, to doing an interview with VTuber Luis Cammy, to having him start a Twitter, and now this.
OGIUE MANIAX 