The Water Magician is the kind of series that won’t necessarily convince an isekai hater to check it out, but it’s got enough going that it’s approachable for those who are more neutral or ambivalent. I think what makes the difference for me is that Ryo, the titular magician, has a kind personality capable of outshining his inherently overpowered nature.
It makes you want to see him come in and kick ass when the other heroes are on the ropes, because it feels like his rescues come in addition to generally helping others better themselves. And because he’s so strong, it stands out all the more when an opponent can actually make him sweat.
Ryo is an emotional support isekai hero, and that’s a fine thing to be. The slick action scenes don’t hurt either.
On a previous trip to Japan, I visited a shop called Curry Land, which is dedicated to selling pre-packaged instant curry from all over the country. The plan is to eat and review every single one, and this time it’s WHALING SHIP CURRY.
What that means is the curry is the kind served on a particular whaling ship. It contains no actual whale meat.
However, what it does have as its first ingredient is actually thresher shark meat. I looked that up, and apparently it’s sustainable and not one of the ones that are over-fished. The meat had a chewy texture that’s different from something like tuna, and felt somewhere in the vein of fried dace or salmon jerky.
As soon as it touched my tongue, I could feel the hit of saltiness and spice. I would call it barely spicy at best, with maybe a slight lingering of peppery heat at the very end. Overall, it was nice and savory and didn’t have the overwhelming artificial taste of some instant curry.
Overall, the only really unusual thing about it is maybe the thresher shark, which gave a pretty decent curry a different texture than what I’m used to. I would probably eat it again, but would prioritize trying different curry styles.
A trip to Japan earlier this year put me in a great position to buy things I had put off because of the whole tariffs fiasco, and I came out of it with a Soul of Chogokin Shinkalion E5 Hayabusa. But I also had some extra luggage space and a favorable exchange rate, so after some serious deliberation, I came away with another robot: the Soul of Chogokin Godmars, or more specifically the 50th anniversary edition.
Rokushin Gattai Godmars is not one of my all-time favorite mecha series, but it is one whose role in history always intrigues me. As an early work that developed a large female following and was even a Comic Market doujin darling, it’s essentially the predecessor to shows like Gundam Wing. Granted, none of that factors into the robot merch, but another part of the legacy of Godmars is that its original toy sold very well—enough for the show itself to end up over 60 episodes.
While the Soul of Chogokin version sacrifices some of the ease of playability for a more pleasing visual aesthetic that tries to capture the heroic proportions of the anime version, one thing shines through: Godmars is an inherently entertaining design for hands-on play. While it’s infamously lacking in terms of animation quality—Godmars moves more like a slide show than a fighting hero—that goes out the window when you take in its simplicity and elegance. The six individual robots are fun, joining them together is satisfying, and the resulting combination just looks awesome. The fact that it manages to have such a nice aesthetic with virtually no sharp or angular parts jutting out is impressive in its own way. After getting jabbed over and over putting together the Shinkalion, this was a welcome change.
With a lot of combining giant robot toys and figures, you can tell that they prioritize either the separate robots or the unified robot assembled from them. In the case of Godmars, however, I find that it strikes a really strong balance between the constituent parts and the unified whole.
SoC Godmars came out in 2008, and there are aspects of the toy that show its age. The fists are awkward in that they are off-center on the forearm due to the way they fold into the robots that form Godmars’s arms. The legs also have very little articulation, and a lot of the techniques used in later years to allow things like kneeling positions and more dynamic posing just aren’t present here. I don’t consider those deal breakers, though, and I think the reason that it keeps getting reissued and updated is because the design holds up well even 18 years later.
This past week, reports came out that the original designer of Godmars, Murakami Katsushi, passed away on July 20. Not only was he the mind behind the Godmars design, but his influence extends heavily across Japanese pop culture in its anime, tokusatsu, and toys—so much so that he is called the “Father of Chogokin” and is one of the reasons anime has a “mecha designer” credit in the first place. Among his works are Leopardon from the Japanese Spider-Man, Gavan, Combattler V, Cy-Kill from Gobots, Dancouga, and Reideen. His mecha thrilled children and continue to fascinate adults as a visual and tactile experience. While this review is of the Soul of Chogokin version of one design, it’s clear that a lot of what makes it a success can be found in the original DNA provided by Murakami.
This is my very first review of the instant curry I bought from Curry Land! Up is Pink Curry, from Tottori. I mostly bought it because of the Rose of Versailles–style art.
It sure was pink! It reminded me of the blue Sonic the Hedgehog Curry, if it was themed after Amy Rose instead. The taste was all right but much saltier than I expected. The Ingredients include chicken meat, chicken bouillon, and chicken extract: triple chicken power.
Pretty unremarkable aside from the hue, but I felt like I knew that going in. It’s a fun gimmick, but I’m not sure I’d have it again over something more interesting.
One of my most anticipated anime adaptations of the past few years was Witch Hat Atelier. The manga is, without exaggeration, one of the greatest masterpieces of comics and fiction in general for how wonderfully it weaves together great characters, a fascinating world, and a powerful story that both excites readers and challenges us to think about difficult philosophical and political questions.
But while production on an anime was officially confirmed back in April 2022, it only came out in April 2026 after multiple delays—including one that was declared to be “to present the charm of the project at an even higher quality.” That’s literally four years for this thing to get out in the world, and I would expect people to ask, “Does it even live up to the hype after so long?”
The answer is a resounding “hell yes.” If you haven’t ever read the manga, this is a fantastic opportunity to get into one of the best works of fiction you’ll ever see. And if you have read the original manga by Shirahama Kamome, this anime does such a fantastic job of bringing it to the screen that you will likely want to see how the characters and the world move, breathe, and live. Also, while it’s more or less a direct adaptation, it does add a few things here and there that help it work better in animation.
Over the decades, there have been so many anime based on gorgeously drawn manga that have utterly failed to capture what makes their art so exquisite, and there was always a fear in me that Witch Hat Atelier would suffer the same fate. Seeing it all in motion lifted a weight off my heart, and renewed some of my faith in the industry. I know not every manga will be this fortunate, but I’m glad we have such a great example of when things go right.
The dream of the 3D concert is a unique aspect of VTuber culture, and I’m glad that there exist organizations that help make the goal feasible for creators who aren’t part of big companies. One such group is Fantastic Reality, and this past July 4 weekend, they helped produce two in-person concerts: Found Futures and Doki Doki Rewind Time.
Found Futures
Taking place on July 2, Found Futures was an eclectic mix of indies who ranged from decently well known to top names in the scene, with a welcome diversity of music genres. There was even a bit of opera!
Among the participants were former members of the now-defunct Vshojo: kson, Henya, Matara Kan, and Zentreya. All of them might be better known for their charming banter than their singing ability but clearly strived to put on a good show (with the notable exception of Zentreya, who uses text-to-speech and doesn’t really sing, per se). Matara was also joined for one song by Densetsu.exe (albeit not using their main 3D models).
LilyPichu (whose fame predates VTubing by a number of years), performed three original songs with her signature gentle voice and a quiet confidence that elevated both her and the other talents. I recall first learning about her as an amateur voice actor gaining notoriety, and now she’s a veteran of her space! What a world we live in.
But personally speaking, the most notable acts of the night were Emiliya Fell (along with her half-IRL, half-VTuber band Virtual Signal) and Kou Mariya. Emiliya is one of the organizers of Fantastic Reality, and I admire the initiative she has taken to create this platform. I also have to shout out her song choice of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” from Tears for Fears, because there’s a tendency in VTubing for covers and karaoke choices to be post-2000s fare or stuff that has gotten popular online in recent years.
As for Mariya, she is literally another identity of Emiliya Fell—a fact she herself revealed last year, and I am inclined to believe was referenced when Emiliya sang a refrain of “Maaariya” in one of her songs. She had previously talked about having issues with retaining the rights to Mariya after V4Mirai, but things have since been resolved, and now she is simultaneously both personas. In other words, in another parallel with the world of pro wrestling, VTubing now has its own version of the time Mankind, Cactus Jack, and Dude Love all fought in the same Royal Rumble.
Doki Doki Rewind Time
In contrast to Found Futures, Doki Doki Rewind Time had a much clearer identity upfront: a “retro music” concert helmed by the two Dokis, Dokibird and Chibidoki, the former of whom was also celebrating her birthday. The two marquee names are not exactly renowned for their singing skills, so the concert was mostly about good vibes with cool people and just enjoying these “older” sounds.
The fact that songs I perceive as relatively new were part of a nostalgic throwback did make me feel quite old: “Sk8r Boy,” “Pen Pineapple Apple Pen,” “A Thousand Miles,” “Caramell Dansen,” etc. Despite my now acute awareness of the passage of time, I can forgive it for being a great experience overall.
Among the guests were some of the biggest Indie names, many of whom had legacies that went well past their current identities. If I were to look at things objectively, the most significant appearance was that of Shachi: an artist and singer who had never been featured in a live concert as we currently know her.
While technically not a VTuber, she was at least given a visual presence in the form of a punk-rock orca with a spiked collar. Shachi sang two duets with Dokibird, with her vocals on “Thnks fr th Mmrs” being especially moving to listen to. She and Dokibird have both talked about being long-time friends, and I think it’s wonderful that they finally got to perform together.
If we’re going by my personal biases, however, I was most excited to see Doki and Dooby perform together! While they had already been on stage together at Fantome Thief’s Revenge, this felt extra special as a duet. Their cover of “99 Red Balloons” was a nice choice, and fit their voices well.
When the concert reached its encore, Doki appeared on stage with Dooby, Shachi, and the rest of the Sloppy Sisters (Mint Fantôme, Snuffy, Limealicious). Seeing all of them in one place felt special in a way that’s hard to fully describe, but it felt like both a reunion and the sign of a newer age. I only wish that Nimi Nightmare, who was part of the pre-show, could have joined them here as well.
Miscellaneous
What follows are some other thoughts and observations:
Apparently, there was a pre-show for Found Futures that wasn’t streamed. As a fan of Michi Mochievee, I wish I could have seen it.
I don’t know if something happened, but the models seemed to be missing some of the typical shading/rendering one usually sees from these models, and that’s something I’ve only ever seen happen at hololive Gen 5’s Twinkle 4 You concert a few years back. The one who seemed to end up looking best under these circumstances was Dooby, and I have to wonder if she just took a different approach compared to everyone else when designing her 3D model.
The mix of live and virtual for the band accompaniment was cool to behold, and it gave a lot of positive energy to both concerts. I already knew about Starlight Daryl from her work composing songs, but to hear her shred on the guitar was really awesome too. I heard she had some serious health scares not long after, so I wish her well in healing as well as continuing to bridge this gap between 2D and 3D.
See You Again
Both concerts are still up until this Friday, so anyone interested has a couple more days to check them out.
Also, a lot of the talents in the Fantastic Reality concerts are set to be part of a number of upcoming concerts, including Skyline Serenade in August in New York City. I look forward to what they have in store.
I don’t always know what to make of Phase Connect. It has a (not entirely unearned) reputation for being unhinged both in terms of its talents and its audience, yet it appears to be the most stable and enduring of all North America–based VTuber companies. I think Phase’s aura may be one that straddles the line between underdog success story and big player, and each of the girls conveys this in a different way that appeals to their viewers. And over the past five years, I’ve become a fan of quite a few of them myself, charmed by each in different ways.
One gateway has actually been their 3D concert; I attended one at Anime NYC 2024, and it was a nice (if at times confusing) introduction to all the performers. So while I didn’t attend the inaugural Phase Con, I did buy streaming tickets for all three of its concerts: Grand Passage, Fifth Orbit (a Gen-1 5th anniversary celebration), and Bon Voyage. Notably, these concerts featured the 3D debuts of Phase Connect’s first-generation Japanese members and the entirety of its second generation.
First things first, I have a couple small complaints to get out of the way. First, Kaneko Lumi’s solo performance was cut from the stream, presumably because of rights/permissions issues. Given that she’s the best singer among Invaders Wish, I wish I could have seen it! Second, I wish there was a package deal for the concerts so I didn’t have to pay three separate processing fees. Otherwise, the tickets were pretty affordable overall, and I was glad to support the talents overall.
Those inconveniences aside, I enjoyed the concerts. There’s a nice balance where it feels polished without being too perfect, and I think it matches well with the general Phase Connect vibe. I also liked the way each girl played to their fanbase while also being accessible to curious newcomers. As with so many VTubers, there was a spectrum, from dedicated performers to those who strived to live up to the spotlight despite it being unfamiliar territory.
Fujikura Uruka, for example, is one of the music-specialized heavy hitters in Phase. Whether it was singing “Mephisto” from Oshi no Ko solo or delivering a compelling cover of “Jane Doe” from Chainsaw Man with Lumi and Amanogawa Shiina, Uruka’s low vocals are a joy to listen to. But while her voice was an obvious strong suit, I also got a kick out of the way she moves on stage. Uruka went from big swinging limbs and bouncy steps to smooth body rolls, and looked good doing it all.
Then there’s Dizzy Dokuro. I truly mean this with no ill intent, but I am a fan of how hard she tries to make up for her lack of vocal ability with effort and planning, despite the emotional and physical toll she inflicts on herself. “The Real Folk Blues” from Cowboy Bebop was definitely an unexpected choice, and her sultry moves matched the tone of the song. Her duet on “Brave Heart” from Digimon Adventure has also put Chisaka Airi on my radar, and I definitely would enjoy seeing them together again.
Unlike Uruka and Dizzy, I only got into Amanogawa Shiina relatively recently. My gateway was actually her banana outfit; between this and the hot dog Shiori Novella from hololive, and I might be a sucker for silly costumes. With Shiina’s performances, I felt like this was a girl who can really dazzle an audience both on stage and on stream. The entirety of Phase Origins JP (Nasa, Michiru, and Iori) also ended up catching my attention. My exposure to them before this was fairly sparse, but I like their designs overall and thought their performances were really cute.
As an aside, one thing I find interesting is that someone’s first 3D model doesn’t have to be their first design. This was the case with Dizzy and her nurse uniform, but Shiina was also wearing a later outfit as well.
I think the most iconic moment of all was the first song for the Bon Voyage concert:a group performance of “Pippa the Ripper,” originally (and reluctantly) by Pipkin Pippa. A lot of VTubers eventually become embarrassed about their early songs and creative output, but unlike, say Calliope Mori and the way people cover it out of a pure sense of admiration, things are a little more complicated in this case. It simultaneously acts as a badge of shame for Pippa, a fan-favorite tune, an opportunity to troll Pippa, and an anthem of sorts for Phase as a whole. Starting off with just Uruka and Lumi, more and more of the talents kept joining in as Pippa’s voice could be heard loudly protesting until she ended up on screen and heavily conflicted and ready to fight everyone. The whole thing was really Phase Connect in a nutshell.
I don’t know if I’ll ever attend Phase Con itself, or what the future holds for them. Nevertheless, it’s been a blast seeing each person getting their 3D and then shining on stage. And for those who still want to watch, the concerts are still available to view on SPWN for a couple more days.
Rooster Fighter is an anime and manga whose title is both self-explanatory and woefully inadequate for capturing its full scope. The rooster indeed fights, but he also does so much more.
Cut from the same cloth as classic manly action series like Fist of the North Star and Golgo 13, the simple twist of Rooster Fighter is that its gruff and grizzled hero is the literal cock of the walk. Keiji is a chicken seemingly without peer, and the very fact of his existence could be enough to carry a comedy series. However, as tongue-in-cheek as it can be, Rooster Fighter plays itself mostly straight, and the result is a surprisingly good overarching story that continuously escalates and delivers shock and awe in the best ways.
My initial impression just from promotional material was that this chicken is much larger than normal, a la Chicken Boo. I was wrong; he’s a normal-sized bird. So what does this small Rooster Fighter fight? Why, giant house-sized Demons of course. How does he fight them? With talons, but also a super cock-a-doodle-doo beam (or kokkekoko in Japanese). Why is he fighting Demons? Because one of them kidnapped his little sister. Of course.
The series is somehow able to hit every trope you can think of while also feeling oddly fresh and exciting. For example, Keiji slowly gathers a crew (whether he wants to or not), and they pretty much slot in perfectly with Kenshiro’s group. You have the kid sidekick, the girl who’s more about gadgets and intelligence, and so on…yet while they certainly give Keiji the biggest spotlight, the rest of the team is shown accomplishing feats and making up for his oversights and shortcomings. On top of that, every twist is legitimately surprising, possibly because “standard character detail or story development” takes on an added wrinkle when you follow it with “and also they’re all chickens.” For instance, the hen can communicate with humans using a smartphone???!
Rooster Fighter is a ridiculous work, but the most ridiculous thing of all is how legitimately good it is. If you turned everyone into humans and kept everything largely the same, you would still end up with a well above average battle series. Making everyone a bunch of cluckers elevates it beyond satire and irony into the realm of hyper sincerity, where most series wish they could be.
For a couple months, the yuri film Cosmic Princess Kaguya seemed to be all over my social media timelines. It was a big enough hit for Japan to screen it in theaters after its Netflix release, multiple VTubers mentioned it or did watchalongs, and there’s still a lot of ongoing buzz. Before sitting down to watch it, I only knew two things: 1) It’s inspired by the Japanese folk tale The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter 2) The movie includes covers of Vocaloid music remixed in a way to invite a bit of debate and disagreement.
In a near-future science fiction twist on the original folk tale, a high school girl named Iroha discovers a baby inside of a utility pole instead of bamboo. The child, who quickly grows into a teenage girl, calls herself Kaguya and claims to be from the moon, and says she decided to leave to find more excitement. Life together isn’t easy, especially for Iroha as she studiously tries to get into a good college while working part-time, but a contest to see who will perform on stage with Iroha’s favorite virtual idol has them launch Kaguya’s VTuber career.
Cosmic Princess Kaguya comes across to me as Summer Wars if it was made for a younger generation than Hosoda’s film. Both works center around a vast virtual world where people can interact through their avatars, but whereas Summer Wars shows how old-fashioned modes of communication and relationship-building still have an important place in an increasingly online world, Cosmic Princess Kaguya feels firmly planted in a kind of late Millennial to late Gen Z mindset—or late Heisei, if we’re going by Japanese terms. Between the Vocaloid music, the VTubers and metaverse stuff, and even the inclusion of a game that’s basically Fortnite + League of Legends, it feels very much like the film is aiming for a “digital natives” generation, to use a somewhat outdated term.
Cosmic Princess Kaguya has multiple false finishes, intentionally emphasizing the arbitrary nature of endings, when stories are “supposed” to be done, and who even gets to decide when things are over. While I appreciate this playing around with narrative structure, I do think it’s hurt by an overall structure that drags in multiple places. Perhaps it’s because I’m not a really devout yuri fan, but there are scenes where it just seems like Iroha and Kaguya are interacting just so that viewers can bask in their presence together, but it makes the narrative hang in place instead of inching forward. The aforementioned combined “battle royale and arena battle” game does feel like it was devised by people who understand both genres, but its inclusion in the middle feels excessive. The inclusion of Vocaloid stuff also just seems to be there, as if it’s assumed it’s the best and coolest music ever, whether or not it fits. In other words, I feel that Cosmic Princess Kaguya targets a certain audience, and I feel like I’m just ever so slightly out of that range.
There is one moment in the film that sticks with me, and it’s a kind of reference to the history of digital media in Japan. At one point, a character explains that the moon is the world of dreams and separate from Earth, but that the gap is inadvertently bridged by the digital and virtual world as a halfway point between dreams and reality. On the moon, a depiction of a character is done with dither graphics, a technique used in 1980s and 90s dating sims to work around the limited palettes of that era’s computers. In doing this, Cosmic Princess Kaguya makes a reference to some of the earliest attempts to portray anime characters using computer graphics, and implies that this is the closest the film can get to visually representing the inhabitants of the moon as they truly are.
I find Cosmic Princess Kaguya to be a pretty good film that revels a little too much in what it’s offering. There’s a solid story in there in terms of the big picture, but it loves to indulge in its portrayal of its virtual world and the simple existence of its main characters to a degree that bogs the whole thing down. Both cohesive narrative continuity and plot contrivances somehow exist in an elegant but awkward dance, and I think how much you like this film comes down to how much you resonate with the internet culture that is represented within.
As part of a trip to Japan earlier this year, I ended up eating a lot of curry, both Japanese-style and otherwise. Some were places I had scouted out, but others I just happened to find by happenstance. One such instance happened on an evening walk back to my hotel, where I got lost. While trying to find my bearings, I ended up in front of the original Hinoya Curry. A sign proudly boasted that it previously won an award for best curry in the Kanda area of Tokyo. Given that the area has some pretty stiff competition, I changed my dinner plans and went in there instead.
The decor was unpretentious and inviting. There were seats at a counter where the chef prepared curry, as well as a counter facing a wall, and a few tables for groups. The menu was full of items that sounded interesting (like the raw egg curry and the beef tendon curry), but I decided to go with what seemed to be a signature item of theirs: menchi katsu curry, or minced-meat cutlet curry.
The sauce was rich in flavor, spiced well but not extremely spicy. It sat on the rice well, and was neither super thin nor super thick. I bet if I had just gotten a plain curry, I would’ve been pretty satisfied, but then the menchi katsu elevated it to something superb.
The cutlet was enormous. While sometimes portion sizes in Japan can feel a little small even when ordering large sizes, that was not the case here. It was a middle ground between a pork or chicken katsu and a hamburg steak, and as someone who loves both and can sometimes feel conflicted over which one to get, the menchi katsu was just a wonderful thing to have, with its satisfying combination of tender meatiness and crispy breading that borders on fried fish batter.
Hinoya Curry has stores throughout Japan now, and they’ve also expanded overseas with locations in Malaysia, China, and even San Francisco. Next time I’m in the bay area, I might just decide to check it out again and see how the American branch stacks up.
OGIUE MANIAX 