Category Archives: virtual youtubers

I Drank the Ember Amane VTuber Coffee from Phase Connect

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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.

Miscellaneous Thoughts on 2025 VTuber Concerts

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I’ve been avidly watching VTuber concerts both online and offline this year, and I just wanted to give my brief thoughts on a variety of events from 2025 that I didn’t write about otherwise.

holoX and La+ Darknesss

holoX celebrated their anniversaries around the start of December. While we have no shortage of talented dancers now, there’s still something that stands out about La+ Darknesss’s dancing. In particular, I find the way she moves her arms to be very appealing, and I suspect it’s because she really knows how to move her arms from her torso/core, rather than from her hands.

I also have been listening to Takane Lui’s recently released album, Lapis Lazuli, and kind of regret not getting the physical release. And of course, I’m beyond excited for holoX’s first live venue concert next year!

Myth

I think Kiara can get lost in the shuffle a bit, but what I’ve come to realize is that she’s very good at fully leaning into a particular quality. Some talents are always going to be cool even when they’re trying to be cute, or vice versa, but Kiara can go 100% in being cute, cool, silly, sexy, etc. in a given situation. Her concerts throughout the year really showcased this facet. Her performance of Fake Heart with La+ is my personal highlight (see above), though I need to mention the fact that she brought Ame for a guest appearance.

I’m looking forward to seeing her March concert with Ina, who’s been improving in her own right.

Rewinding things back to the beginning of the year, I’m also glad that people showed up for Calliope Mori’s second solo live in Los Angeles, despite the deadly wildfires that were plaguing the area. Also, what I’m about to say isn’t new information at this point, but I’m glad she continues to carve out a unique sound for herself.

REM Kanashibari and Roca Rourin

I plan on writing about her more in the New Year, but REM has quickly become one of my favorite VTubers. In addition to some convention concert appearances, she also had her first online concert, called Sleepover Stage. I find myself listening to their cover of “Murder on the Dancefloor” with Roca Rourin regularly. The two sound really good as a duet, and I hope to hear more of them in the future.

Flow Glow

Flow Glow, a hip-hop and pop–themed generation from the hololive branch known as “DEV_IS,” made a hell of an impact with their 3D debuts. Isaki Riona’s probably the best in the entire company at singing and dancing. Mizumiya Su is small but has very powerful moves that literally give her the most air time in hololive when she leaps. Kikirara Vivi backs her cute movements with clear dance experience too. And while Rindo Chihaya and Koganei Niko appear to be not as skilled, they’re both quite athletic in their own right, keeping up with the others and even bringing a lot of strength in terms of singing. Even more than their direct predecessors ReGLOSS, they are focused heavily on music and performance, and it’s clear how much experience they have. 

ReGLOSS

Speaking of ReGLOSS, they had their first live concert this month, titled Flashpoint! It’s a great achievement, and you can really tell how much they worked on it. Ririka and Raden have noticeably improved in their weakest areas (dancing and singing, respectively), and while straining her voice in some places, Kanade is still the vocal center of the whole group. Hajime’s solo performance was amazing, and felt like a reminder to everyone that she’s no less amazing a dancer compared to her juniors in Flow Glow. 

I do miss Ao’s sound, though. She was the only one with a deeper voice, and it provided a nice contrast to the rest of the girls. During an encore performance of their first single, “Shunkan Heartbeat,” the current members of ReGLOSS actually left a silent space where Ao would usually sing for one line, as if to pay tribute to their friend.

Vroom Boom Duo (Baelz Hakos and Todoroki Hajime)

This year was also when we finally got to see the two marquee dancers of hololive join forces. Bae’s Non-Birthday celebration featured them doing the song “Gingiragin” together, which was followed by a performance of “Bareru” for Hajime’s own birthday. The latter was one of the most impressive things all year because they were filmed with one continuous shot. Creative camera cuts can cover up flubs, and here they were, showing the world that they didn’t need any editing magic.

HIMEHINA

Hime and Hina really make clear just how comfortable they are as veterans of this space. At their 7th Anniversary concert, their ability to just match up with each other and harmonize is maybe second to none. Also, I mistakenly thought La+ would be singing with them, but she simply did a bit of MCing.

Suisei and AZKi

As the two former members of the now-defunct INNK music group, these two have had a specific and unique connection. It almost goes without saying that these two are among the best singers in hololive and VTubing, but when they perform together, they just work so incredibly well. AZKi’s almost flawless execution and Suisei’s powerful voice balance each other out nicely. Suisei these days is more popular, but AZKi is so subtly and deceptively good to the point that I feel like it can be easy to gloss over her. However, once you pay attention, you realize how incredible she is.

Tokoyami Towa

Towa’s husky voice continues to stand out in a sea of many talented singers, and I hope she can 

Nekomata Okayu

Seeing Okayu go in so many different directions is pretty amazing. It’s one thing to get a solo live as someone who started off dedicated to making music, but to transition into it and then get a second solo live is downright astounding.

Phase Invaders Wish

I was glad to see the first gen of Phase Invaders get a group concert because they were my introduction to Phase Connect. The resulting event, First Transmission, successfully highlighted each of their strengths, even when some were clearly more practiced hands at performance than others. Lumi’s singing ability and Ember’s dancing skills made themselves apparent, and Jelly came across as comfortable on stage despite being inexperienced. Dizzy is the least stage-inclined of the four, but she found an answer in the form of sensual choreographies that took advantage of her fitness and flexibility.

Here’s to 2026!

FUWAMOCO, Momoi Haruko, and the Genshiken DVD that Changed Their Lives

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The twin VTubers of hololive, Fuwawa and Mococo, have talked before about their fondness for Genshiken. Last month, they revealed another connection to Kio Shimoku’s beloved story about a college anime and manga club.

FUWAMOCO dedicated an entire karaoke session to the otaku icon, voice actor, and moe singer Momoi Haruko. At the beginning of the stream, they explained that not only is Momoi their kami oshi—essentially their all-time favorite—but that she was the very person who introduced them to the idea of Japanese idols and the Akihabara subculture of the 2000s. 

FUWAMOCO then kicked off their setlist with the opening to “Kujibiki Unbalance,” and afterwards revealed that they learned about Momoi and idol culture thanks to bonus footage on a Genshiken DVD, in which she (as part of the band Under17) performed the Kujibiki Unbalance opening! It was their first time seeing a crowd cheering together with glow sticks, and upon learning more about Momoi, connected to the fact that she was an anime fan who felt like she didn’t fit in. Essentially, she’s their idol in more than one sense of the word.

The twins proceeded further down Akiba memory lane with songs like “Mouse Chu Mouse,” “Tenbatsu Angel Rabbie,” and “Ai no Medicine.” That last one was the opening to Nurse-Witch Komugi-chan: Magikarte, a Soul Taker spin-off in which Momoi played the main heroine. FUWAMOCO even covered “NANIKA”—one of Momoi’s newest songs, for which the twins themselves contributed to the chorus!

Partway through, Momoi herself actually sent a superchat to FUWAMOCO, making this one of the most memorable karaoke streams ever. Seeing them thanked by the actual woman who inspired them to take this path, it felt like a true full-circle moment for the twin demon guard dogs of hololive. And to think: It was all because of Genshiken.

Chalk up another win for my favorite series.

Let’s Throw the Whole Year Away: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for December 2025

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Are we seriously at the end of the year? This means I have to think about who my favorite characters of the year are going to be. In the meantime, I’m also feeling the pain of denying personal purchases due to import tariffs. Will I ever get that Soul of Chogokin Shinkalion?

Of course, that’s small potatoes compared to the hardships other people have had to face in this economy, and I feel very lucky I can even complain like this in the first place. I hope that on top of people having enough to eat and roofs over their heads, that the arts can provide comfort and joy in tough times. To all artists, writers, and other creative types: Don’t underestimate yourself.

Thank you to my patreon members. May you enjoy the holidays, no matter where you are.

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog Highlights from November

Trying to Reconcile a Western Super Robot Wars Crossover Universe

I put way too much thought into imagining the plot of a Super Robot Wars game based on Western(-ish) properties.

I Went to “Chronicles of hololive Nexus Gate: Act 1” and Then Ate Mall Curry

hololive?? At the mall???

A Story of Pin Pals (?): Turkey! Time to Strike

I enjoyed this “bowling” anime.

Kio Shimoku

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights November 2025

A short month of tweets, not counting RTs.

The End of Rakuen: Le Paradis

The magazine that publishes Spotted Flower is ending!

Closing

Ogiue Maniax celebrated its 18th anniversary this year. Can you believe it? I’m having trouble myself.

Fandroid 18: Ogiue Maniax Eighteenth Anniversary

I Went to “Chronicles of hololive Nexus Gate: Act 1” and Then Ate Mall Curry

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I didn’t know what to expect from “Chronicles of hololive Nexus Gate: Act 1.” Sure I’ve been to booths and events centered around hololive, but this seemed…different.  It wasn’t a cross-promotion with a restaurant or anything. It was held at the American Dream Mall in New Jersey, the second largest mall in the United States after the Mall of America. And from what I heard, it was supposed to be in some ways similar to the online hololive role-playing event series ENigmatic Recollection.

The description was bizarre enough that I wasn’t sure I would make the trip in the first place, but I went just to see what the deal was. What I got was a multipurpose pop-up booth that provided five different forms of interaction. 

First, it was a shop where you could buy both general hololive merch and stuff directly related to this whole Nexus Gate thing. I bought a little Nexus Gate–themed passport-style stamp booklet.

Second, it was an exhibition of fan works (art, cosplay), as well as a place to leave a record by adding a sticky note to a wall.

Third, it featured a series of brain-teasing puzzles that netted a prize in the form of a hololive STAGE ‘25 card for the hololive TCG. 

Fourth, it was a gallery of the Nexus Gate concept, which was about the girls of hololive English entering a mysterious and mostly barren world.

And fifth, it was also a screening of a drama that played out like a series of visual novel chapters, all exploring how each EN member approached the element most core to their beings. Also, because I went on the last two days, we also got to see an Episode 0 that showed how everyone ended up there.

The main drama, titled “Act 1: The Portal Awakens,” consisted of script readings not unlike the audio dramas they sometimes sell on their online store, it didn’t quite have the off-the-cuff feel of something like ENReco. It was likely another alternate world where facets of them remain, blending kayfabe lore with aspects of the EN girls’ personalities established through their streams. This lasted a lot longer than I anticipated, but it was probably the highlight of the trip. I do have to say that the special miniature lawn (?) chairs set up for viewing were comfortable at first, but being on them too long was not entirely pleasant for my crotch area.

Perhaps the most interesting things were the way this other world seemed to be connected to three girls in particular: Baelz Hakos and Ouro Kronii of the old hololive Council generation, as well as Koseki Bijou. The former two seemed to recognize the world beyond the gate as being either in some primordial state of creation or nearing the end of its life. Bae and Kronii’s lines gave a lot of hints that both the rest of Council departing over the years and everyone’s desire to step back from essentially godhood would affect things significantly. As for Biboo, she seemed to hear something he others couldn’t, perhaps tying into her backstory as a sentient jewel who has a strong connection to emotions.

The biggest question to me about Nexus Gate is that if this was Act 1, where and what will Act 2 be? Are booths going to show up all over the US and perhaps the world, all situated in malls? How many will there be? What is the ultimate purpose of all this? I found it all to be pretty cool, but I can’t help but wonder what the overall goal is.

As for the curry, it was definitely Japanese curry from a mall food court

Practically Perfect Play—Chrono Gear: Warden of Time

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Chrono Gear: Warden of Time combines two of my favorite things: action platformers and hololive. As implied by its title, the game centers around the sardonic and leggy Ouro Kronii from the English 2nd generation, Promise. Her official backstory positions her as an overseer of time itself, and her role in Chrono Gear sees her recovering the stolen pieces of a temporal device of her own making through sword slashes, time manipulation, and other techniques. 

While using the popular VTuber company as a basis doesn’t guarantee quality, I found Chrono Gear immensely satisfying to play. The basic controls can be kind of clunky at first, but it doesn’t take long for Kronii to control smoothly and comfortably in multiple scenarios and gameplay modes. And unlike a lot of platformers that basically demand precision from its players, Chrono Gear is fair and lenient even in the hardest difficulty without feeling like handholding. The stages are creative and meant to have multiple paths without being focused on exploration, similar to 2D Sonic the Hedgehog games. And as a fan of good boss fights, I’m happy this one has them in spades. It doesn’t hurt that La+ and the girls of holoX are among them.

I’m never a fan of games that make you use all four shoulder buttons, but I know that’s just common these days.

Much like the bullet heaven game HoloCure, Chrono Gear doesn’t waste its use of popular source material. It’s clearly made by fans who love hololive, and they incorporate its lore and history in creative ways that often add to the gameplay instead of just being there for flavor and fanservice. Other hololive members (notably the rest of the full hololive Promise roster) make appearances—and whether they’re friend or foe, their personalities come through in dialogue, animations, and actions. One of my favorite examples is how the time-traveling Amelia Watson (a mere human among supernatural beings and cosmic deities) has four smaller health bars instead of a single big one. There’s just a great fusion of various elements with a lot of care put into the whole package.

The funniest thing about this game is that it’s basically an extremely intricate and interactive piece of TimeRyS fanfiction, pairing Kronii with her genmate IRyS in not-so-subtle ways. But even if you don’t care about this ship or shipping in general, there’s more than enough to make playing Chrono Gear a worthwhile experience. It doesn’t demand your attention, yet it’s easy to sink in more and more hours—to beat the game, relive your favorite parts, improve your stage times/scores, or even just bask in its beautiful world.

Ironmouse’s “Music Box of Fate” Opens Up the World

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One of the biggest names in streaming and VTubing is Ironmouse. She has a large and loyal fanbase while also having humble beginnings as a creator, and she released a new song a few months ago called “Music Box of Fate.” While she’s put out other music before, this one feels particularly special, not just because it sounds incredible, but because it feels like a real high point of her journey as an artist and entertainer.

Ironmouse has Chronic Variable Immune Deficiency, an autoimmune condition that severely limits her ability to leave her home. Her success as a streamer has greatly increased her quality of life, including improving her ability to speak and even sing. That last part is especially noteworthy because Ironmouse was at one point training to become an opera singer before that career goal was derailed by her illness.

Over the years, Ironmouse has occasionally sung for her audience and showcased her abilities, but it is taxing on her body. Perhaps because of this, she has generally gone a more pop route when doing original music. However, this all changed with “Music Box of Fate”: a song created by WUNDER RiKU and StarlightDaryl to put Ironmouse’s operatic skills on full display. 

“Music Box of Fate” and Ironmouse’s performance have garnered praise from professionals, and its music video has surpassed one million views. I myself believe it’s her best yet, and I feel that it will be seen as her most defining song, not unlike Gawr Gura with “Ash Again.” It’s simply beautiful, and I’ve found myself listening to it on repeat.

But what really amazes me about “Music Box of Fate” are the circumstances that got us to this song. If Ironmouse never had CVID, there’s a good chance she would’ve gone on to become a successful coloratura soprano like she had originally intended. However, opera is generally considered an elite pursuit, with minimal overlap with more standard or mainstream tastes. In other words, no matter how big Ironmouse would have gotten in opera, it’s very likely that most of her current fans would have never heard her sing.

Now, I want to make it clear that this is not presenting Ironmouse or her health issues as inspiration or tragedy porn. Instead, what I want to highlight is how Ironmouse’s specific circumstances and her decision to try to reach out to the world through a virtual guise (in a time when such a thing is even possible) resulted in something wonderful. Her efforts earned her a wider audience that is now exposing itself to a form of music they might not have engaged with otherwise. Ironmouse has created an avenue for many more people to enjoy and appreciate opera, as opposed to perceiving it as too strange or high-brow for them. In traveling along this path, Ironmouse has helped make the unfamiliar less daunting, brightening the world in the process.

Another Go Around: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for November 2025

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It’s anniversary month for the blog again! I’m mentioning it here in the hopes that I don’t forget to write a milestone post in time (like I did a few times in recent years).

I’ve also been enjoying the new anime season. I feel conflicted about Tojima Tonzaburo Wants to Be a Kamen Rider, though. Great show so far, but as a big fan of Shibata Yokusaru’s previous work 81 Diver, the anime art isn’t ugly enough to capture his full power. I’ll still probably keep watching it, though.

As for the Patreon, here are my sponsors for the month. Many thanks to them all.

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog Highlights from October

[Anime Central 2025] An Interview with Pili, the Puppet Studio Behind Thunderbolt Fantasy

At long last, my Thunderbolt Fantasy staff interview!!

Going Unsteady: Call of the Night Full Review

This vampire manga finished, so here are some final thoughts on it.

Baelz Hakos and the Hundun: Creatures of Chaos

Thinking about Bae and her chaos lore.

Kio Shimoku

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights October 2025

A more, let’s say mature, adaptation of Kio’s work is out.

VTuber Mono Monet Likes Genshiken

Also, V4Mirai’s DJing, retro game–loving VTuber turns out to be a Genshiken fan. Check the video!

Closing

I have been considering doing Patreon-exclusive or at least early previews/rough drafts of posts on Patreon. Is that something readers would be interested in?

PS: People shouldn’t go hungry because the powerful want to escape accountability.

To Be a Quiet Fan

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In July this year, I attended the Dokibird birthday concert at Anime Expo—the same one that was just uploaded to her YouTube. It had a lively atmosphere, and a group of fans had assembled in front of a screen to do their wotagei performances. Others shouted with excitement. But next to me was a guy who remained silent throughout. It was clear he was a fan. He just wasn’t expressing it loudly. 

The contrast had me thinking about how there are challenges to being a quiet fan. So much of how we “show” fandom these days is through very visible and very vocal gestures. Online, we have react videos and social media platforms that thrive on “virality.” Offline, we have enthusiastic crowds drawing the cameras to them. It makes sense that they would get so much attention, much in the same way that cosplayers are the most photographed element at conventions. But it can create this notion that this is the way fans “should” be, when that’s not true.

I think it’s important to remember that being quiet doesn’t make you less of a fan. You might not get all the positive affirmation or even the attention that more vocal fans do, but that doesn’t mean the passion inside you is somehow not as vibrant. I’m not a terribly expressive person myself, and it’s probably part of why I started blogging—I’m full of thoughts and emotions, but they just don’t necessarily come out through pronounced physical actions.

At the same time, the fans who do go out there and make their presence known are expressing themselves in their own way. Unless they’re disruptive to the point of ruining the experience entirely for others, it shouldn’t be an issue. Everyone is their own person. There’s no specific “right” way to be a fan, and I salute my fellow quiet types because I know the passion is there. 

VTuber Mono Monet Likes Genshiken

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Mono Monet, a VTuber from the agency V4Mirai, recently revealed herself to be a Genshiken fan. 

What’s more, I was directly involved in this reveal! During a chat about a different topic, I was specifically called out by Mono for having “Ogiue” in my name. It spurred her on to start talking about the series, and the possibility of doing a Genshiken watchalong at some point.

This is the second time I’ve seen a VTuber explicitly express a fondness for Kio Shimoku’s title. (The first was when FUWAMOCO from hololive sang “Kujibiki Unbalance.”)

The above clip is over 20 minutes long because Mono talks about not just her love of Genshiken itself, but also Evangelion and what she looks for in fiction. It’s quite interesting overall, and Mono is just full of good takes, particularly when it comes to the appeal of flawed and messy characters.