April means the spring anime season is upon us once more, and this year’s lineup has some of the heaviest hitters in recent memory. If it wasn’t enough to have the highly anticipated Witch Hat Atelier, we even have Akane-Banashi and a slew of other shows with tons of potential. While many of these are indeed manga adaptations, a lot of them have some sturdy legs underneath them, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see something like Daemons of the Shadow Realm (from the creator of Fullmetal Alchemist), Scenes from Awajima, or even I Made Friends with the 2nd Prettiest Girl in My Class get some real traction.
I do find it funny that Rooster Fighter is out in the same season as the Fist of the North Star remake.
Thank you to the following Patreon members, and may spring be a time of renewal for you and all other weebs:
March wasn’t a big month for tweets, but there are some interesting ones in there.
Closing
I know this blog isn‘t as Kio and Genshiken-tacular as it was at the very beginning, but I plan on having more than one related post this month. After all, the digital edition of Rakuen Volume 50 is out, and with it likely the last physical serialization of Spotted Flower. And I’m saying this now to make me actually write these dang things!
hololive is arguably the premier VTuber company, and hololive fes is the big annual concert for its female talents. I’ve been watching avidly for a few years now, and it’s become a tradition I increasingly look forward to every time. However, 2025 saw quite a few major challenges for hololive, notably the departure of multiple talents. So while I was just as enthusiastic as ever about watching this year’s 7th fes, I wondered how differently I might end up feeling with so many familiar names gone.
Despite the potential setbacks, I came out of it with generally positive vibes. I always appreciate that we get performances of all stripes, with each talent bringing a story of their own that was created through their experiences as VTubers and the fanbases they’ve cultivated.
Venue and Other Details
This was the first year that the event took place over three days—a change that affected its associated convention, hololive Super Expo 2026, as well. Rather than having two concerts per day over two days, they had one on Friday, two on Saturday, and one on Sunday. Moreover, whereas one of those concerts used to be an “extra” stage that utilized talents from the other three, this time around saw all four concerts featuring unique performers. Watching the stream live meant messing with my sleep schedule, in some ways better compared to previous years and in other ways worse, due to time zone shenanigans and a pesky thing called a “work week.”
Once again, the venue setup used multiple stages as a way to have more people able to get better views of at least a few performances. The mysterious pod from 6th fes did not return, and was replaced by a new moving cart/trolly contraption with screens on the sides, which acted as “windows” to see the VTubers and vice versa. It moved through a diagonally placed lane that cut through the audience section, with the seeming aim of also providing more up-close viewing and interactions with the talents. While it was definitely less confusing and bizarre than the pod, it didn’t have quite the novelty factor, for better or worse.
The Debuts
While it stung to lose some beloved members of hololive in 2025 and to have both Inugami Korone and Haachama not participating, the overall number of performers stayed close to the same as last year thanks to the two most recent generations making their fes debuts: Justice on the English side and Flow Glow on the Japanese side. While the graduated talents were truly special and can never be replaced, the performances by the newest blood kept them well out of their predecessors’ enormous shadows.
Justice showcased each of their unique approaches—Liz’s versatile vocal range, Cecilia’s emphasis on elegance and accuracy along with a violin solo, Gigi’s boundless energy and a singing style that hangs on a razor’s edge, Raora’s bubbly pop. And when Flow Glow hit the stage, they put on a display of why they’re the most stage-focused group ever in hololive thanks to their well-honed skills and experience in singing, dancing, and overall entertainment.
Leveling Up
For the returning fes veterans, their hard work came through more than ever in their performances, with some having come particularly far from where they started.
With her characteristic awkward grace, Shiori Novella sang her recently-released first original song, “Monsters and Men” and came across as more comfortable than any previous performance—possibly because the song was made for her. Biboo (Koseki Bijou) discovered in the past year a method for singing lower, which she utilized for her original song “Rock In” while showing increasing comfort with dancing. Ichijou Ririka took on the challenge of covering “Darling Dance” and its fairly complicated choreography despite having two left feet when she first debuted. Ouro Kronii probably wins the award for greatest overall vocal improvement, showing a different and more vibrant quality as she performed a surprise new original of her own titled “Storm.” And Airani Iofi pulled off an impressive cover of “Unison of Smiles,” the main heroine’s signature song from You and Idol Precure!, emphasizing just how far she’s come in all aspects.
Not everyone comes to hololive as a strong singer or dancer (skill in either doesn’t seem to be a strict requirement), so seeing evidence of the talents’ hard work and progress in these areas gives me joy.
Conquering Great Hurdles
Even those with more experience and ability pushed their limits. Baelz Hakos, already a top dancer, gave a stunning performance of the first Oshi no Ko opening, “Idol.” One stand-out moment was when Bae seamlessly transitioned into a squat as she went into the rap portion of the song, but more significantly, she also threw in a cartwheel and some basic breakdancing moves at the end. These are more acrobatic moves that she has been afraid to do because of the potential head trauma, and for her to confront her fear directly was a real thing of beauty.
Perhaps the biggest story of all was the astounding recovery made by Kazama Iroha from holoX. In 2024, she was afflicted with a psychological condition that left her unable to speak, and her voice only barely managed to come back by the time 6th fes rolled around. But whereas some of her speech was still noticeably halting and unsteady in 2025, a year of speech therapy and streaming resulted in an Iroha at 7th fes who almost made me forget the tribulations she’s experienced. We saw her sing and dance with confidence, and even have heartfelt and off-the-cuff exchanges with her frequent collab partner (and idol) AZKi.
Preludes to Upcoming Concerts
Speaking of holoX, they have their big live-attendance concert, First Mission, coming up. They’re not alone either, as Ninomae Ina’nis and Takanashi Kiara from Myth are only days away from their own concert in Los Angeles, Drawn to Dawn. While I can’t be sure how the rehearsal timelines lined up, I really felt that their practice for these major events are evident at 7th fes, especially in the case of Kiara and holoX’s leader, La+ Darknesss.
Kiara’s dancing and singing showed a new level of refinement, while La+ once again focused mainly on singing for her solo performance…and then threw everyone for a loop by humorously and abruptly tossed her prop guitar on the ground at the beginning of her song. When Kiara and La+ then performed together their original, “Glow in the Dark,” they reminded me that 1) Kiara is one of the most versatile talents around, and 2) even as the overall level of dance in hololive keeps going up, there’s really something special about the way La+ moves. At the same time, it felt like both of them were holding back a bit, as if they’re saving the big guns for the upcoming concerts.
IRyS has also just announced her first solo live concert for October 2026. I had thought her incredibly solid performance of her Eurobeat original “Carbonated Love” might have been out of a desire to feature at fes a song she personally adores, but now I also suspect it’s because the majority of her energy is going into this major project.
Other Stand-Outs
There were still other performances that caught my attention.
I feel that the entirety of hololive Indonesia really showed up this year. Moona Hoshinova especially brought some of my favorite performances of the entire event, with “100%,” her song featuring Nerissa Ravencroft, being one of the absolute highlights for me.
On the Japanese side, Nekomata Okayu’s deep and sultry singing is always a surprise, but it really hit hard this time around. Natsuiro Matsuri can go under the radar, but she appears to have made some incredible strides this year on top of her already underrated skills.
I also got a kick out of Todoroki Hajime’s new solo choreography for “Countach,” and Otonose Kanade’s voice rang out loud and beautifully on “Greatest.” And while Juufuutei Raden isn’t quite the musical performer of her fellow ReGLOSS members, the fact that she turned a Japanese art history lesson into a song and then had thousands singing along (and thus learning in the process!) really showed me how VTubers can reach people in unique ways.
Final Thoughts
As I finished watching 7th fes, I began to think about the structure of the event itself and what it can accomplish. fes is a gathering of both the hololive talents and their fans, and because these fanbases don’t overlap perfectly, the concerts can also be someone’s introduction to other VTubers. In that context, I end up wondering what kind of first big impression these unfamiliar audience members get. The way this format encourages fans to branch out past their immediate faves by providing this comfortable atmosphere really appeals to me, especially with the live audience there to react. That’s why, despite the fact that fes prices out a lot of fans (and something like the New Year’s Countdown is arguably a better introduction because it costs nothing to watch), I think it can go a long way in igniting someone’s career and helping someone discover a new favorite.
So while I certainly missed the presence of the talents who left or couldn’t be there, it was also an opportunity in many ways. I just hope that hololive can foster an environment that gives these artists the chance to develop their craft in the ways they want, and in ways that keep them healthy in both mind and body.
February 5 is the official birthday of REM Kanashibari from V4Mirai. I first discovered her in October of 2024 during a Halloween karaoke relay, and since then, she’s become one of my most watched VTubers, so I want to share why I enjoy watching her so much.
REM’s background lore is that of a sleep paralysis demon who is “born to nap, forced to yap.” However, her appeal is best summed up in her own words: “I’m not a comfort streamer, I’m a discomfort streamer.” Using her soothing voice, she banters with her chat, engages in off-the-cuff role plays, and brings to life a variety of low-key yet bizarre stream ideas. The result is an engaging experience that’s as relaxing as it is head-scratching.
Like many other VTubers, REM does ASMR, and her approach really hits a perfect sweet spot for me. Some ASMR creators might take a more intimate approach, acting as an emotionally healing salve. Others go for something emotionally intense, like yandere roleplay. But REM tends towards much sillier and more experimental scenarios that are tinged with an irreverent sense of humor. Her ASMR themes have included “the worst airline ever,” “rat dying in a glue trap,” “smoking 500 cigarettes,” “crab giving a haircut,” “surgeon who just found out your payment was declined,” and “smothering you with her official hug pillow merch.” One of my absolute favorites is her “pushy door-to-door ASMR salesman” stream, where she uses one of her earpicks to pick your front lock:
According to REM herself, she originally didn’t plan on being an ASMR creator, which is funny because it suits her sleep paralysis demon motif so well. While VTubers often move over time in trajectories away from their lore, REM has, in a sense, grown closer to her concept.
Instead, her original motivation for getting into VTubing was actually to sing, and while she isn’t releasing new music all the time, she does have a number of nice releases. I recommend her 3D concert performance of “Deal with the Devil” (the opening to Kakegurui), REM’s Sleepover (a collab concert with lots of great guests, including Roca Rourin), and her first original song “Stay with Me ???”:
Oh, and she once ate jellied eels because of a donathon goal, and it is apparently the most vile thing she’s ever tasted. As someone who’s wanted to try the (in)famous London dish for years, I appreciated her attempt and lived vicariously (?) through her.
Overall, REM creates an energy all her own, and I’m always looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next. I think she’s very welcoming, and the only barrier is how many jokes about Brazilian butt lifts you can take from her and the chat before tapping out.
PS: REM is having a multi-day birthday celebration. Playlist is below!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
OGIUE MANIAX 