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.
The print edition of Spotted Flower Chapter 50 is out [and so is the digital edition now!]. There will be one more print chapter and then two digital ones after this, due to Rakuen: Le Paradisending.
Sometimes, there’s this exchange that happens when introducing an anime:
“Have you seen this show? It is wild.”
“What’s it about?”
“Y-you’ll just have to see.”
And the above doesn’t happen because you were trying to prank them, or because the show was simply about shocking plot twists. Rather, it’s because the show in question just keeps throwing one curve ball after another, and whatever conception you had of the series at the start gets tossed out the window.
Anyway, have you seen Turkey? It is wild.
Turkey! Time to Strike (as it’s called in English) centers around the five girls of a high school bowling club who, while dealing with some drama that threatens to tear the team apart, end up in a situation none of them could have ever expected. If that’s enough to convince you, go watch it now, because there’s a major spoiler in Episode 1 that kicks the series off for real.
For those who’ve decided to stick around: An intense match between two members suddenly goes awry when lightning strikes, one of the bowling balls glows, and the girls all get sent hundreds of years back in time. Surprise! It’s actually a time travel story. After rescuing a young and handsome warrior from the battlefield they find themselves on (through the power of bowling, of course), they end up living with his family. Now, they have to adjust to living in a world without electricity while trying to figure out how to return back to the modern day, and in the process learn about the family of siblings that are taking care of them?
(Turkey, by the way, is the term for when you get three strikes in a row. Time to Strike was possibly added to the English release because while having just the word Turkey written out makes an impact in Japanese, it would not have the same effect in English).
If this series were simply about time displacement hijinks that swap a DeLorean for a bowling ball, the show would be pretty bizarre and memorable already. But what pushes it far past the line is the fact that it actually puts some serious thought into the execution of its premise. “No, really—What if a bowling team wound up in feudal Japan?” Some of it is about teaching a generation past about the joy of bowling or learning the basic politics of the period, but then the show will get starkly serious at times. It’ll go from teenage girls using the thundering sound of bowling balls as an enemy distraction, to discussions about tragic loss of family and deep personal feelings of guilt, to the moral differences in the act of killing between eras, back to wacky bowling fun. Tonal whiplash doesn’t even begin to describe what’s going on here.
But somehow, the team behind Turkey managed to pull it off and create an emotionally powerful show that uses bowling as an unlikely conduit for healing and therapy across time. Across 12 episodes, the anime never stops surprising, and it even ends in both a satisfying and unexpected manner. It takes the “girls doing a specific activity” concept so perennially popular in anime, and hits on both the slice-of-life and drama levels in ways that feel incongruous, yet ultimately harmonize.
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
Tomorrow is the 18th annivesary of Ogiue Maniax. My little blog is all grown up now.
I believe 18 years is supposed to be the point where you look at your child and realize that they’re not the same person—or rather, website—anymore.
If Ogiue Manaix could vote, what would it decide? Sure, it’s entirely a product of my own output, but I wonder if it would hold certain ideals or approaches to the world that are stronger because they are housed within this structure of written posts that continue to vividly reflect where I was, where I am now, and where I might end up in the future. I can’t remember my earliest memories as a newborn baby, but I can look back and see what I was writing about in 2007, even if it might be a little cringey.
That’s actually something I’ve wanted to be part of Ogiue Maniax all along, though. If I do have beliefs and ways of thinking that have shifted over the course of almost two decades, I wanted to have that documented as well. I also recall all those people I’ve talked to online who mentioned that you will end up hating anime you used to love because your standards will have changed. I don’t know if the first part has happened, even though the latter definitely has.
Blogging for 18 years has been less about prestige and more about stubbornness. I don’t want to give it up if I don’t have to. It helps keep my heart in my fandoms, even as I add other things to it (e.g. VTubers) and my post rate drops further. I’m nowhere near enough to be considered a notable veteran fan of anime and manga, especially as I get a mere fraction of the readership I used to have. Though, I have gotten more hits lately for some reason. I chalk that up to not understanding how WordPress (or any other site) tracks visits anymore.
Is 18-year-old Ogiue Maniax now entering college and joining the Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture? Will I actually change this blog again so that its template isn’t stuck in the past? Probably not, but who knows what the next year holds?
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.
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.
One of the ideas I keep revisiting over the years (and decades!) is a Super Robot Wars game focused away from Japan. It’s a thought exercise that actually predates this blog!
With the release of Super Robot Wars Y, I’ve once again started devoting actual mental and creative energy towards this idea. What titles would appear in, say, an SRW focused around the history of the mecha genre in the US? And how would the different plots and settings be reconciled into a (relatively) cohesive universe?
I asked on Bluesky if people were actually interested in seeing this bit of fan wankery from me, and more than a few people actually said “Yes,” to my surprise. So here we go.
Also, I was inspired by some ideas for others, such as the cool fanart by Chase Burns below:
I drew this a while back, and I will forever regret not adding the Mighty Orbots or Robot God Akamatsu.How many can you recognize? The tags will name three of them, but I'll leave the rest up to you.#superrobotwars #srw #pacificrim #megasxlr #lancer
In terms of criteria for titles, I wanted mainly to have works that either originated outside of Japan and was available in the West…or anime that were significantly altered to be their own thing, and became hugely influential in the process. So while anime is increasingly part of mainstream culture, things that reached North America relatively untouched don’t count for this sort of thing.
Working from this, I think the biggest title to focus the overall setting would have to be Voltron. In combining the two anime Golion and Dairugger XIV into Voltron, World Events Productions created the notion of a Voltron stationed far from Earth and close to Earth respectively, and this creates a good opportunity to divide the titles involved into “Far Universe” and “Near Universe” plotlines to kick things off. The idea would be that you would follow each side separately, and then the two would merge together down the road when the stakes are higher.
A lot of series take place in the future (albeit with different ideas of what the “future” looks like), so it’s not too much of a stretch to set them all in a vaguely advanced era of humanity. However, there are a few series I’d want to include that are specifically tied explicitly to certain periods—namely prehistoric times and the mid-20th century. For that reason, I’d place those works under “Time Displacement.”
And I’m leaving out Robotech because eh.
So here’s how I’d break down the above three categories.
Far Universe
Lion Voltron: The Galaxy Alliance is the main governing body in this SRW. The Lion Voltron is sent to protect from threats on the other side of the galaxy, and focuses on Planet Arus. This Voltron is special because of the fact that the enemy Robeasts are magical, which is actually pretty uncommon in this universe.
Transformers: This has to be G1 Transformers, and the appearance would focus on the series around Unicron and the animated movie and through to the return of Optimus Prime (because you gotta have the Autobot Matrix of Leadership as an ultimate attack, right?) Cybertron is under Decepticon control and so it cannot be part of the Galaxy Alliance, but the Autobots do help the Alliance out. Optimus doesn’t necessarily die, and Megatron doesn’t necessarily turn into Galvatron, depending on how the missions go.
Challenge of the GoBots: Unlike Cybertron, Planet GoBotron is part of the Galaxy Alliance. The Gobots are actually cyborgs—humans who converted their bodies to transforming machines—and they were inspired to take this path by the robots of Cybertron. In this setting, the Transformers have been fighting for a long time, while the GoBots are just now leaving for Earth.
Bionicle: I will admit that I don’t know much about this series, and would need help making sense of it. What I have so far is: Some (but not all) planets in the Sol Magnis System are part of the Galaxy Alliance. However, they tend not to interact very heavily with others. The legend of Mata Nui either directly or indirectly inspired a lot of other worlds to create giant robots.
Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!: Planet Shuggazoom is also part of the Galaxy Alliance. However, various factors keep the other mecha from intervening in its battles normally. The monkeys do eventually become very fond of Optimus Primal from Beast Wars, however.
Mighty Orbots: The Galactic Patrol is one of the peacekeeping forces of the Galaxy Alliance, and Mighty Orbots was made to deal with threats that the Voltrons can’t get to. While based on Earth, they’re currently in the Far Universe to mount an offensive against Umbra. Unicron tried to devour Umbra but was actually repelled; the two don’t get along.
Near Universe
Vehicle Voltron: Defends Galaxy Alliance HQ on Earth. “Entrusted with the secret of how to form Voltron.”
The Bots Master: Ziv Zulander is a brilliant robot AI developer, and this attracts nefarious forces, including the Decepticons. Jungle Fiver is made because Blitzy is inspired by Mighty Orbots and Devastator, and Blitzy becomes friends with Daniel from Transformers. Characters from other series are very fascinated by the boost the BOYZZ get from “Laser Time.”
Sym-Bionic Titan: Actually not part of the Galaxy Alliance, and comes from even further away. However, their planet was visited in the past by Mata Nui, and helped inspire the combination of heart, mind, and body to combine as one (the technology is different from what Voltron uses.)
Megas XLR: Coop built Megas XLR in New Jersey, like usual. He is actually friends with Spike Witwicky as some blue-collar dudes. Thinks Ziv is a super genius, but doesn’t know him very well. He’s always getting inspired to put new weapons into Mega thanks to all the robot shenanigans going on, and this only grows when Near and Far universe plotlines merge. Evil Coop has to appear at some point, especially with the time displacement/time travel parts of the story.
Big Guy and Rusty: Big Guy was a hero who helped the fight against aliens and the Decepticons in the past. He fought for the US as part of the Earth Galaxy Alliance HQ. Ziv Zulander is very well informed about Rusty, but doesn’t know the secret of Big Guy. Rob Simmons from Mighty Orbots and Dwayne Hunter strongly suspect each other of being the Orbots Commander and Big Guy respectively, but haven’t explicitly confirmed it.
Pacific Rim: Jaegers were developed purely by humans back when other technology hadn’t been discovered, and they needed two people to pilot. The passing of the secret of how to form Voltron helped alleviate this and lead to other less dangerous possibilities, but Jaegers still remain the best defense against Kaiju in particular.
Gen:Lock: I admittedly don’t know anything about this series, other than that it has a lot of big names for voice actors and that it ended up disappointing pretty much everyone. However, I’d like to see it get the SRW plot fix treatment. While the series takes place on a dystopian Earth, I could see a world where it doesn’t get quite that bad because of all the other things going on. Here, the setting of Gen:Lock would take place on a part of the planet rather than the entire thing.
Time-Displaced
Dino-Riders: Yes, I am counting dinosaurs wearing armor as essentially giant robots. Originally, the Valorians were working together with the Maximals in the far future, but were flung back in time by a joint attack from the Rulons and Predacons. At some point in the story, they manage to fix the Step Crystal, but the interactions with the dormant Transformers in prehistoric times causes them to jump forward. Inadvertently, their effects on the past inspire the creation of the Dinobots.
Beast Wars: Because of their nature as Transformers, they don’t need to commandeer the local dinosaurs and other animals to fight. However, they’re still inspired by those forms. Maximals and Valorians work together on prehistoric Earth, and they form a real bond before they’re all brought forward into the future to meet Gigantor and the Iron Giant.
Gigantor:While Tetsujin 28 explicitly takes place in Post-WWII Japan, Gigantor is originally set in the “future year 2000.” However, for the purpose of this SRW, Gigantor still takes place in the relative past as an early attempt at building giant robots on Earth, and it still retains the plot element of being a weapon meant for destruction that instead becomes a protector of the peace. Big Guy is essentially a government project meant to replicate the success of Gigantor. The time travel vortex drags Jimmy Sparks and Gigantor along.
Frankenstein Jr: Frankenstein Jr. and Gigantor were built around the same time. Professor Conroy was familiar with Jimmy Sparks’s father, and began his work on Frankenstein Jr. to counter Gigantor. Jimmy and Buzz Conroy are glad they’re on the same side. The Impossibles are included, and are part of a specific attack that Frankenstein Jr. can use. They are not swept up by the time displacement, but build a time machine to actively chase after Gigantor, knowing that trouble is afoot.
The Iron Giant: When flying away as Superman, the warping of the space-time continuum causes the Iron Giant to sense a similar mechanical being in Gigantor (a robot made to be a weapon), and another sentient robot in Frankenstein Jr. This causes the Iron Giant to warp forward in time as well.
I’m Open to Other Ideas
Obviously this is all just a bit of fandom thought exercise, and nothing about this really matters. I’m also less familiar with some series, so any sort of feedback is A-OK by me. Heck, anyone who wants to use this as a base for their own ideas—or tear it to shreds and do something they find better—is welcome to take a swing.
Rakuen: Le Paradis, the manga magazine that runs Spotted Flower by Kio Shimoku, announced that it will be ending in February with its 50th issue, with its web supplements going to March. While nothing is definite forSpotted Flower, the chances of it allso ending then are pretty high.
Rakuen has been a truly unorthodox publication. Rather than running weekly or even monthly, issues are released every quarter. The content is intended for mature readers, but that idea really runs the gamut. It’s been home to sexually charged adult dramas such as Spotted Flower, but also visually experimental works from panpanya (Guyabano Holiday), fetish territory like that of Kurosaki Rendou, and even gentle high school romances. In terms of different demographics as genres, Rakuen really defies easy categorization.
I hope that a spiritual successor emerges in some form. Just having something that takes the idea of “adult manga” and embraces all possible definitions of the idea was a real breath of fresh air.
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.
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.
OGIUE MANIAX 