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 payment issues as of late. 

Kio cut his finger with a design knife while building a garage kit.

Zenbu Sensei no Sei. 2, Part 1 has sold over 5,000 digital copies on FAFSA and over 2,000 on DLSite. Good numbers, but Kio can’t help but be impressed by the really big sellers.

New chapter of Spotted Flower in Rakuen: Le Paradise. Print edition 2/28, digital in March.

Kio put up manuscript pages of Zenbu Sensei no Sei. 2, Part 1 on Pixiv.

“The wind is strong!”

Kio had a slight headache, but it got better after reading Shibata Yokusaru’s manga Toma Tonzaburo Wants to Become a Masked Rider. (Shibata is the author of Air Master and one of my favorite manga, 81 Diver).

He recalls a similar thing happening back in college, and he even got a CT scan that turned up nothing. But what fixed his headache then was the manga Shakariki! by Soda Masahito (author of Change!!, Firefighter Daigo, Capeta). Apparently, there’s nothing quite like a devastating loss by a main character to let out some of brain fluid, whether it’s in Shakariki (a bicycle manga) or Air Master (a fighting manga).

Kio recalls Shirow Masamune (author of Ghost in the Shell) once saying, “Amphibious assault ships sure are nice.” When shown the Albion, a real-life example from seven years ago that was near Summer Comiket, Kio responds that he thought it looked like a wooden horse. This is a reference to Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory, which features a Federation ship called the Albion.

A short comic about building the OurTreasure Z.A.P. model kit from The Five Star Stories.

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, Koshi Rikudo (of Excel Saga fame). Kio likes the “Shiromasa World” (which I assume has to do with Shirow Masamune?), and the fact that one particular story gets a continuation.

There was a Rakuen: Le Paradis magazine exhibit at Namba Marui (0101) in Osaka, from January 11 to January 19 this past month. 

Kio is overjoyed that he could relate to the main character of From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad’s Been Reincarnated!, an anime adaptation of a manga about a 52-year-old salaryman who is reincarnated as a villainess.

Kio is happy to see that there will be more Dorohedoro.

An online preview is available for the sequel to Kio’s 18+ doujinshi, Zenbu, Sensei no Sei. (It’s All Your Fault, Sensei.) on the adult site FANZA. Note that the site is region-locked. The full 82-page version is out now.

Otani Ikue (voice of Pikachu) was trending on Twitter. Kio jokingly claims that she’s known primarily for her role as Kamishakujii Renge in Kujibiki Unbalance.

A fan mentions being surprised when Kujibiki Unbalance became its own standalone title. Kio concurs, though mentions that all the voice actors had to change from the OVAs that were packaged with the first Genshiken anime.

Kio watched the movie Muromachi Outsiders, and was particularly impressed by the actor Oizumi Yo. 

Kio also watched the movie Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In. He enjoyed the portrayal of the people living in Kowloon Walled City and the free-flowing action.

More preview images from It’s All Your Fault, Sensei. 2, Part 1

Kio managed to get the special exclusive from seeing the new Gundam movie, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning-. (I’m going to hate having to write that title all the time).

And even more It’s All Your Fault, Sensei. 2, Part 1. Here is Kio getting hype about the impending release on FANZA.

WIth the doujinshi out on FANZA, Kio talks abouts how he originally intended it to be a single 134-page work, but found that doing so meant cutting out too much of what he wanted. Now, it’s been split into two roughly 80-page parts.

Kio wanted to upload some more pages to Twitter, but most of the pages this time are decidedly NSFW.

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights December 2024

New web chapter of Spotted Flower. This one reveals a plan by Ogino-sensei to be engaged to both her partners!

“A new Gundam by Studio Khara. Wheeew, what a time to be alive.”

Kio wonders if the new model kit for Gundam GQuuuuuuX will have the parts sorted by color.

Kio thinks Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro still holds up.

Kio watched Black Magic M-66 on DVD, and the video quality was rough. He’s hoping for a remaster.

For a color illustration with a lot of skin tones, Kio tried a high-contrast style with lots of layers and some airbrushed red. He thinks he could figure out how to replicate what he did, but is holding off on that for now.

Kio was interviewed by Yomiuri Shinbun a little while back along with fellow manga artists Toyoda Minoru and Shito Reisa. (Unfortunately, I can’t seem to access the site.)

Kio is shocked to discover that yuzu pepper sauce has no black pepper in it. Apparently, in Kyushu, they call chili peppers (karashi) “black pepper” (koshou). It might have something to do with English.

Just as Kio has been gathering materials about the Edo period, the latest Taiga drama is going to be set during Edo.

Kio never made an account on mixi (an older Japanese social networking site), so while he might be an old man himself, he can’t jump in on discussions related to it.

Kio grilling meat with family to celebrate. 

A visit to a couple of galleries in Ikebukuro: One for giant robots, another for the author of Initial D.

Kio was finally able to buy the Real Grade ver 2.0 RX-78-2 Gundam model kit from his local model store.

In the new year, Kio plans to release part of It’s All Your Fault, Sensei 2, the sequel to his 18+ doujinshi. In the meantime, the first book is on sale at various sites.

A fan got one of the autographed artbooks (the sister from Jigopuri), and Kio thanks them.

As the New Year rolls in, Kio is thankful for getting to release his artbook. 

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights November 2024

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. 

Spotted Flower Chapter 47!

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 mourns the passing of horror manga great Kazuo Umezz, who he considered a real genius.

Tortoise sunbathing!

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 owns two different editions of Pandora in the Crimson Shell, and would like a second season of the anime.

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.

The person running the model hobby shop Kio goes to is actually the same age as him. This makes Kio want to cheer them on.

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 wants every model kit there is.

What if he ran his own plastic model store? Kio considers the possibility…

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.

The man is pretty sure he owns this Schpertor kit from The Five Star Stories.

After spending two days in bed, the tortoise emerges to enjoy the sun.

Kio is going to put the finishing touches on his ero doujinshi in one swoop.

Kio thanks garage kit builder Akichi, who recently read Genshiken.

Kio is looking forward to the recently announced 2025 Lupin III movie, directed by Koike Takeshi.

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights October 2024

This month, Kio enjoyed various media, but his PC might need replacing!

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.

After updating Windows, KIo’s PC no longer worked. However, starting it up in safe mode and updating some drivers brought it back.

Kio mourns the death of Ohyama Nobuo (original voice of Doraemon and Kappei in Zambot 3).

Kio got a model kit of the Daccas from The Five Star Stories.

Kio enjoyed this month’s chapter of The Five Star Stories.

Kio got his copy of Mujina, Perfect Edition.

Kio has inked 80 pages of his current eromanga project.

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.

The Ranma ½ remake has been great in Kio’s eyes (even if they aren’t showing nipples anymore). It captures how the series felt in the beginning.

Kio watched Voltes V: Legacy. “Combination transformations are justice.”

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 has a stomachache.

Hunter x Hunter coming back gives Kio life.

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 Shimoku Twitter Highlights September 2024

This month featured a special live talk with Kio-sensei himself, as well as reactions to his artbook!

Kio enjoyed a panpanya interview in Rakuen.

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 she tells 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.

30 people got special copies of Kio’s artbook with an exclusive autograph and sketch, and they’ve been sharing them with Kio on Twitter.

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.

Thumbnail sketches for possible artbook cover illustrations.

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 took a day trip to Gunma (but not Karuizawa).

Kio got a haircut for his talk at Umeda Lateral.

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.

“Well then, see you tomorrow in the clubroom.”

Kio questioning the right kanji. Replies mention confusion between 補足 (supplement, complement) and 捕足 (catch, comprehend).

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.

Someone asks if Kio will make another LINE sticker set. Kio replies that he’s thinking more about creative work.

Kio laughs at a joke from someone saying that “Nose hair” could be an indirect way of saying “I love you,” similar to “The moon is beautiful.”

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!”

He also saw the Overlord movie.

And the movie Samurai Time Slipper.

Kio purchased the L-Gaim blu-ray set that comes with the official artbook.

Kio showing a case full of his drawing tools from when he still worked analog. He’s having trouble remembering how to use them.

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.

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights August 2024

The latest side chapter of Spotted Flower! Available for free only for a limited time.

The site for Kio’s artbook is showing off updated samples.

Kio visiting his section of the Rakuen: Le Paradis gallery in Shinjuku. He also bought all the postcards and pins.

He also informs a person replying that all the images are not actually analog, but merely recreations made to look as such. Kio currently works digitally.

Kio and a few other Rakuen artists had a talk show at Comitia 149 on 8/18.

After many days, Kio finally beat the final boss of the Elden Ring DLC. He had to consult online videos, and there’s still some stuff in the game he can’t seem to access.

Kio showing off his drawings of packed bookshelves. Left is Spotted Flower v7, right is the artbook.

More images from the artbook! The book is going to be 160 pages.

The actual cover!

Kio is impressed by someone’s Genshiken shrine.

Kio is going to have a talk event to celebrate the release of his new artbook on 9/16! What’s better, there’s actually going to be a live stream

Kio finished reading the manga Ijin Gahou Mitsumine Tooru, calling it a must-read in a tongue-in-cheek fashion.

Kio was apparently at a fun drinking gathering with the manga artists Ichihara Hikari Z.

Heeding a reply reminding Kio about Mizuki Shigeru’s words regarding the importance of a full night’s rest, Kio actually goes to bed.

Reacting to the death of voice actor Tanaka Atsuko (Motoko in Ghost in the Shell, Bayonetta), Kio says it came way too soon and gives his prayers.

Kio is thrilled to see a new special edition of the manga Mujina by Aihara Kouji.

Kio reacting in grateful shock to a fan who bought multiple copies of his artbook to try to win Kio’s autograph.

As of August 25, only half of the 30 autographed copies of Kio’s artbooks remained.

One lucky fan got the autograph and was surprised to find out that it also came with an illustration! Kio apparently drew a wide range of characters for them.

Kio talked a lot for his artbook interview. He says people might learn a lot about him.

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights July 2024

New chapter of Spotted Flower came out at the end of last month, which is now followed by a new volume of Spotted Flower too!

New chapter of Spotted Flower!

Kio’s tortoise will just walk around his room and randomly poop and pee, so Kio got it a diaper made for cats.

Kio retweeted a t-shirt of the Fantasista mascot Sistan, which has art by Koume Keito (who worked on the Kujibiki Unbalance manga. Sistan thanks Kio, who responds that this makes him happy.

Kio attended an event of “like-minded people,” and went to the afterparty despite initially being hesitant. Turns out he enjoyed it.

The tortoise keeps waking up one hour earlier, messing up Kio’s sleep. He can hear it walking around and breathing.

Kio wishes manga artist Kusada a happy birthday.

The electricity and water were out in Kio’s apartment, so he went to a super sentou (large bathhouse) and had a good time. Kusada and him talk about how losing power and plumbing should be a bad thing, but the bathhouse makes for a great way to relax.

Kio contributed art to a special Rakuen: Le Paradis 15th anniversary exhibition (and you can buy a replica if you’re in Japan!). He also realizes that he’s been a manga artist for 30 years, and half of that was with Rakuen doing Spotted Flower.

30 pages inked (out of 134) for the sequel to Kio’s 18+ doujinshi.

Kio rewatched the live-action version of his doujinshi, appreciating how the second half is original material that deviates from his version.

Spotted Flower Volume 7 on sale 7/31 (That’s today!). Kio recommends reading it together with Volume 6.

Kio agonized a lot over what to do for the jacket and the underjacket cover of his artbook. 

After retweeting the announcement of the upcoming Ranma ½ remake, Kio thinks the series might be a major influence on why he’s into trans characters.

Kio concurs with Kusada about how great it is to draw the part of the pelvis that sticks out.

Kio thought he managed to get a manuscript done, but it was only one page’s worth of progress.

Kio is reviewing the interview included in his artbook.

Kio is saddened at the death of Ohara Noriko, the original voice of Nobita in Doraemon and Conan in Future Boy Conan.

Kio mentions something vague about remembering something huge and is worried about making it in time, but manages to do so.

The layout and comments, plus the interview page, are all set for the artbook.

https://twitter.com/kioshimoku1/status/1818478710523338920

Spotted Flower v7 comes out 7/31 (that’s today!). Note that there are a number of Japanese stores with exclusive bonuses.

Kio managed to get past a part in (I assume) Elden Ring that didn’t have anything to do with gestures or outfits or story stuff.

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights June 2024

The big thing this month is the announcement of the Kio Shimoku artbook! Also, a drawing of Darkness from KonoSuba!

Kio is going to have an artbook! (I wonder if this is why he’s been posting high-quality images of his old art over the past year or so.) More details here.

He wondered when would be the right time to release the book, and reflects on the fact that it’s been 30 years since he started his manga career.

The pre-order art is actually high-quality reproductions of the original, so you can see all the little guide lines and other marks in the images.

The artbook will also include an interview with him.

Kio has a color illustration job deadline coming up, so he’s been plugging away at it little by little. He thinks he can finish in time. That said, he has a lot of other work due the week after. It also means he can’t work on his ero manga. 

Kio’s tortoise has been a hyper little hellion (as far as tortoises go).

Terry and Mai from Fatal Fury will be in Street Fighter 6. Kio is surprised at the news. One commenter says they’re looking forward to seeing Sue in SF in 15 years, to which Kio says maybe in 30.

It turns out this drawing from last month is for the cover to the artbook! It’s one of his characters from an older work (I think the Yonensei/Gonensei series?).

Kio went and saw the Bocchi the Rock! movie. He really liked the music and performance scenes.

Excited for the announcement of Delicious in Dungeon anime season 2.

Kio bought all of the original Oblivion Battery manga out, only to find out that it doesn’t progress as quickly as the anime. Now, he wishes he stuck with just the anime.

There’s a Yasuhiko Yoshikazu and Koizumi Yuu exhibit titled “Modern Japan and Russia/Soviet.” Kio couldn’t go the previous day but has decided to check it out.

A drawing of Darkness from KonoSuba!

Kio is shocked that the anime is only up to Volume 7 of the light novels, which currently have 17 volumes out.

While waiting for a Pre-DLC Elden Ring update to download, Kio works on his ero manga and gets a page done. He’s also wondering how the hell he’s listening to an audio book of Buddha’s Teachings while working on said 18+ comic,

Working on the ero manga and also walking his tortoise. The reptile is unusually fast.

Knocking down his deadlines one by one.

Elden Ring download done.

Otomo Katushiro is releasing an album called Akira Remix. The Otomo recent cel exhibition was playing music from it, and Kio remembers going to the exhibition and hearing the music the whole time.

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights May 2024

​​Not very many tweets this month, but starting off with some fun insight into how Spotted Flower has changed.

Kio laments that Spotted Flower (a series that was once supposed to be simple and easy to draw) now has a huge cast, places he’s never drawn before, things that require photo references, and an increased page count.

It’s been 10 years since Kio last watched The Piano, a movie that apparently shook him with the level of NTR it features. In hindsight, he realizes this might be why he likes the movie so much.

Kio believes that the manga artist Kusada has made some kind of breakthrough in portraying the cuteness of their character Kurono.

A drawing from the 18+ work Kio is currently making, showing the mom from the first doujinshi he did.

Mysterious drawing.

Kio drew a special piece for the current anime Train to the End of the World.

Turtle door!