Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights December 2023

A round of tweets by Kio Shimoku to end the year, including a special illustration of Ogiue!

Kio wishes the manga author Hayamira Senjin a happy 52nd birthday.

In regards to Not-Sasahara, Kio mentions that he seems to be weak to girls with talent.

Halfway through Elden Ring. Kio thinks the game is amazing because when you first start out, becoming the Elden Lord seems unthinkable, but as you progress, the notion starts to feel real.

Kio watched his DVD copy of a How Do You Like Wednesday special that was filmed in the US.

Kio looks forward to the live-action version of his 18+ doujinshi.

Kio is impressed that the two women who will be playing the characters in that adaptation are so beautiful.

With his work for Rakuen magazine out of the way, Kio concentrates on trying to finish his ero manga manuscript. He originally wanted to get it done and ready to sell by the end of the year.

Kio went walking with his tortoise in the park, but the wind was strong and cold.

Each time Kio watches Gothicmade, it gets more interesting. He particularly likes the scene where the Kaiserin is activated.

Showing some The Five Star Stories model kits he built.

Kio admiring the Five Star Stories work of renowned modeler Tani Akira.

Kio mentions owning the manga Great Curve by Hinirasu Kanta.

Kio finally finished the manuscript for his next erotic work, and it turned out to be a whopping 134 pages. Someone likens his output to Ogiue’s, which Kio denies.

The illustrator Yagumo Kengou had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance due to poor physical condition. Kio asks Yagumo to show some self-love.

Whenever Kio listens to the boss music from the Elden Ring soundtrack, he feels like he makes good progress while working on manga. He’s also 50% through the story but hasn’t fought a lot of the second-half bosses yet.

Kio saw the Japanese animated film The Imaginary, which exceeded his expectations. He couldn’t help but view Rudger and Tot through the eyes of a parent.

There are some surprises with Rudger’s voice, as the character seems to change gender in the movie. [Note: I’m not familiar with the film myself]

Another attempt to walk the tortoise, despite the cold weather.

Kio drew a small comic about being at the recording session for the It’s All Your Fault, Sensei adult video. NSFW.

Kio talks about the fact that he’s been using Twitter for a few years now, and if it were to go away, he’d probably return to having no internet presence. He also calls “X” a stranger/kid he doesn’t know.

Kio bought a copy of It’s All Your Fault, Sensei. While he normally skips straight to the action, this time, he watched the whole thing and enjoyed it.

He mentions that there are certain limitations to showing internal climaxes in live-action stuff compared to manga.

A promotional drawing of the above.

A drawing of Ogiue agreeing to a ridiculous request to wear a Santa outfit [Merry Christmas to meeee.]

Kio was having some trouble installing Clip Studio Paint and getting his tablet to work on his new computer.

The Kuma Miko manga is ending, and Kio gives his thoughts. It’s a series where after every chapter is over, he feels a need to express something difficult to say. He’s not sure how he’s going to feel after it concludes, given how many laughs he’s gotten out of the series.

Kio realizes he’s been mixing up the Bastole and the Botune Aura Battlers from Dunbine, despite having both model kits as a kid. He’s not the only one either.

Walking the tortoise again on a warmer day.

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights November 2023

A fairly light month of tweets by Kio, but a doozy right at the end.

Spotted Flower Chapter 44 came out at the beginning of the month.

Kio saw Godzilla -1 and thought it was a masterpiece in terms of entertainment.

Influential Japanese author Sakemi Ken’ichi passed away on November 7 at age 59. Kio remarked that it was too soon. Sakemi won the 1st Japan Fantasy Novel Award in 1989.

Kio finds himself losing concentration more easily than he used to, and worries that he wouldn’t be able to do a normal serialization like he used to. He follows this by attempting to work at the speed he used to when doing monthly titles and succeeds, but doesn’t know if he could do the same the next day.

Another preview image of the latest chapter of Spotted Flower.

Kio saw The Birth of Kitaro: The Mystery of Gegege. He liked the detail that Kitaro’s dad is actually tall (normally in the series, Kitaro’s dad is only an eyeball on top of a small body.)

After three days, Kio has beaten Mohg, Lord of Blood, in Elden Ring.

After seven years, Kio’s PC is starting to make funny noises. He had it just for making manga, but he’s considering getting something that can handle 3D, and that he can play games on.

His 18+ original doujinshi is being made into live-action porn. It’s definitely a first for him!

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights October 2023

Not much to speak of this month, but I did post this right before Halloween, so there might be something interesting in the next few days (that I’ll be posting in November).

High-quality version of the color art from Chapter 26.

Kio responds to my tweet about the Genshiken pop-up store merch I procured.

Kio rewatched Girls und Panzer: das Finale Part 3 in anticipation for Part 4.

Before seeing Part 4, Kio was looking forward to seeing how the first-year team would do. Now that he’s seen it, he seems satisfied.

Kio defeated a Gargoyle outside the Bestial Sanctum in Elden Ring, and also is 33% through the story after beating Radahn. At first, he thought it’d be too strong, but managed to pull it off using the Watchdog’s Staff.

He had a tough time with Crucible Knights, but thinks they have cute tails.

Kio wonders if he can play The Last Guardian on PS5, and is informed that the PS4 version should be compatible. 

Kio defeated Astel and moved on to Liurnia.

He wants to beat everything, DLC included, but doesn’t know if he’ll be able to.

Kio wanted to re-read the vale tudo arc of the karate manga Shura no Mon (Asura’s Gate), which made him want to re-read the Showa arc of the similarly named but unrelated manga Shura no Toki (Time of Asura).

When asked if his next manga’s going to be fighting-based, Kio denies it.

Kio saw the movie Undercurrent, and thought it was a really good adaptation of the original.

Kio plans to watch the “Jungle Revenge” special for How Do You Like Wednesdays, but only got four hours of sleep, and is thinking he might doze off partway. Seems like this special is a follow-up to a DVD that was released six years ago.

In Elden Ring, Kio got a Dark Moon Greatsword.

A super-spicy curry for lunch followed with some Häagen Dazs.

Kio drew 100 pages of his ero manga, but still doesn’t feel that the end is in sight. He’s dumbfounded that he drew what he has, though.

Watching an “intense” turtle race on iZoo. Kio mentiones that there are even crashes.

Kio was having some trouble starting Twitter on his PC, but it was just because Microsoft Edge updating broke the start menu shortcut.

High-quality version of the cover to Genshiken Volume 7.

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights September 2023

This month, Kio Shimoku posted more Genshiken art, and we saw the opening of Genshiken pop-up shops across Japan! Yes, there’s even Ogiue merch!

Kio had a good deal of trouble finding this Engage SR3 model kit from The Five Star Stories, but then managed to order and receive it.

Having trouble with a turtle in Elden Ring.

More pages from Sister Wars, Kio’s genderbending The Phantom Menace parody. With that, Chapter 1 is done.

Kio kind of wings it with the color, but thinks that the work wouldn’t be that different even in B&W. Kio likes the color palette in Star Wars in general.

Amidala-kun.

Kio also uploaded Sister Wars Chapter 1 to Pixiv.

Kio went to an Azuma Kiyohiko Yotsuba&! exhibit at the Tokiwa-sou museum.

Kio is especially flabbergasted by how Azuma managed to do this panel.

Kio mentions that this Jedi is not to be confused with this girl from Kio’s 18+ doujinshi. However, he realizes that he might have certain preferences when the characters he came up with in 2010 and 2022 are so similar.

Ogiue and Ohno might technically fall under this category too. Kio includes an old drawing of Ohno cosplaying Leina from Queen’s Blade and asking Ogiue to cosplay as Leina’s little sister Elina. This is a voice actor joke because the original Ohno (Kawasumi Ayako) voiced Leina and the original Ogiue (Mizuhashi Kaori) voiced Elina.

After seeing a weather report that the temperature is going to be 35 degrees C (95 degrees F) after a typhoon, Kio is reminded of a line about becoming accustomed to torture.

It’s in the nature of manga artists to want to make efficiently beautiful manuscripts. The shorter, the better.

Kio got through 70 pages of his eromanga manuscript, but then wasn’t sure of a certain part and ultimately decided to put in twice as much effort and drew the whole thing.

In response to the passing of Terasawa Buichi (author of Space Adventure Cobra), Kio describes Cobra as an accumulated mass of sense. (That sense seems to mean like an artistic/aesthetic/creative sense.)

Kio buys a doujinshi by manga artist Kusada, who released it at the originals doujin event Comitia.

Kio took a lot at the author Shima Tokio’s 18+ doujinshi, and was not only surprised at a development that happens in the middle, but that Shima would have the time to draw this on top of working on a serialized manga.

Kio purchased a doujinshi by the artist Kusada called Sister vs. Chupacabra. He likes how there’s tsukkomi after tsukkomi in it.

Kio is thanked by the author Ichihara Hikari Z for preordering their manga, Seishun Libido Yama.

Kio opened Twitter for the first time in a while. He couldn’t keep up with the timeline, so he’s decided to give up and go to bed.

Kio read a comic drawn by Nagata Reiji, a person who left being a surgeon to become a manga artist, about that very experience. Nagata was apparently also serialized in Afternoon, and Kio decided to buy one of his manga.

Kio has been meaning to tweet about the Genshiken pop-up shop at all TSUTAYA stores (that began on September 22nd) but kept forgetting to do so. (Check out the replies as well for lots of Kio thanking very excited fans.)

High-resolution art of the school swimsuit Ogiue on the limited edition Volume 6 of Genshiken. [If you’re wondering if I own it, the answer is yes.]

Kio retweeted Koume Keito’s art for Wandjina in Fate/Grand Order. (Koume was the artist on the Kujibiki Unbalance manga.)

A tweet about the start of the Genshiken pop-up shop event, with Kio retweeting and responding to various photos taken by fans of the displays, including those lamenting items being sold out.

Kio’s own purchases from the pop-up shop. He got a full Madarame set.

The title page art for Genshiken Volume 6. (I seriously love this image.)

Something about starting from Nidaime/Second Generation (I’ll admit that this is a bit vague, and I’m not sure I fully understand this).

Some Genshiken Nidaime art from the 2012 Afternoon calendar.

Sue from the title page of Genshiken Volume 7.

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights August 2023

This month, ​​Kio mostly talks about Elden Ring. But we also get to see a high-quality version of one of the best covers he ever drew (no bias from me, clearly).

Kio thinks the Crucible Knight’s tail in Elden Ring is cute.

After 77 hours, Kio finally got through Limgrave.

Two new web chapters of Spotted Flower.

Even after 100 hours, Kio is having trouble in Elden Ring. In many places, he feels that he would never have been able to figure things out without strategy guides. (Forgive me for not translating this in greater detail.)

Kio keeps seeing figures and illustrations from Elden Ring but for the most part has no idea who anyone is, seeing as he’s only played 16% of the game.

Reflecting on his time with a much older FromSoftware game, King’s Field II, Kio recalls his experience. Despite the fact that it wasn’t really “open world,” finding out how one area of the game connects to another was very exciting.

King’s Field III was like a road trip movie, in a good way. He got discouraged because of the Shadow Tower, and couldn’t finish it, though.

Kio doesn’t remember the reveal about the main character and lead female character in King’s Field III.

Kio declares his interim report on Elden Ring over for now.

Someone recreated the bouncing-boobs Ohno mini bust that came with a volume of Monthly Afternoon back in the day.

Kio makes a reference to the game Great Adventure: The Miracle of Saint Elmos: “This is awful.”

Kio has been playing Elden Ring offline, which may have impacted his enjoyment of the game.

He really enjoyed the anime adaptation of Toriyama Akira’s Sand Land. He likes how it brings back a Dr. Slump feel.

Visiting the AKIRA cel and animation gallery.

Some modeling magazine purchases alongside Armored Core 6.

There was a remix of AKIRA music playing at the gallery, and Kio wondered where it came from. Turns out that it was new arrangements done for the gallery. Kio wants a CD of it.

High-quality version of the cover to Genshiken Volume 6, as well as just the art of Ogiue. Needless to say, I love this cover and volume to death. Also check the thread to see lots of people posting their copies (and variations).

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights July 2023

Kio watched a bunch of movies this month.

Kio attended a live screening of the newest How Do You Like Wednesday?, which included people from the cast. It was a fun and unusual experience. He did not attend in Ikebukuro.

The raunchy gag manga Enomoto had an anime announced last year, and Kio only found out about it this past month.

Kio made this Ohno samurai drawing as the basis for a paper relief sculpture. One fan of his showed off their version.

Kio made these Madarame drawings as part of a special collaboration with the series Love-yan, which features a protagonist who resembles Madarame. Kio also vaguely denies knowing about the Rocking Spark attack from Ultraman and how similar it looks to Madarame’s pose.

16 more finished pages of Sister Wars, Kio’s Star Wars parody.

Kio recalls how tough it was to live on the top floor (6th) of a building because of how hot it got in the summer. He tells fellow manga creator Kusada to take care of himself amid some very high temperatures.

Bikini drawings of Ohno and Saki for an old Afternoon calendar.

Kio remarks that the new Miyazaki film, The Boy and the Heron (aka How Do You Live?) Is a whopping 124 minutes long.

The first tweet states that really good artists can draw Image B, where the frame is mostly taken up by the left leg. Kio says that he tries to draw B but can only really do A.

Kio is going to see the Chinese animated film I Am What I Am, and then The Boy and the Heron. He’s also been exhausted by having so much.

Kio reacts to a Genshiken fan’s shrine, saying that the fan has posters even Kio doesn’t.

Kio missed his chance to see Akira in 4K.

Kio advertising a 50% off sale on his erotic doujinshi, It’s All Your Fault, Sensei.

Kio watched The Pope’s Exorcist and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on the same day, and being in the theater for so long chilled his body.

Kio has played Elden Ring for over 50 hours and is over Level 50, but only just reached Limgrave.

He can’t get the timing for rolling and such down, and while he played King’s Field, he hasn’t played later FromSoftware games aside from Shadow Tower and Dark Souls.

Kio put his unused winter futon back into vacuum-sealed storage.

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights June 2023

This month, Kio talks a lot about Elden Ring and drawing smut.

Gundam manga artist Tokita Kouichi shares a photo of a first-era Gundam model kit. Kio reacts by saying that the instructions are from before they changed how joints work on Gunpla models.

Kio’s tortoise has been walking quickly around in their home, being hyper. Kio comments that outdoor spaces would be good for it, but the actual outdoor space available right now isn’t all that big, so this is the best he can do right now.

The reason it’s so hyper is because the warm summery weather is affected it as a cold-blooded creature.

Kio has started doing the rough manuscript for his next horny doujinshi.

Lazy tortoise.

Watching more How Do You Like Wednesday?

Kio visited actual sites from some How Do You Like Wednesday? Specials. The first tweet shows one of 12 bridges featured, and the second is Suigou Sawara Ayame Park.

Kio got to use a line from How Do You Like Wednesday? on someone who was unfamiliar with the show. 

Kio thanks a fan for sharing a Monthly Newtype video about manga in 2008, the height of one of the host’s teen years. Genshiken and Spotted Flower both get mentioned briefly. (See 23m45s in the video below.)

Kio later tweets about the video separately, commenting that he likes how writer and host Mafia Kajita says that Spotted Flower has had one hell of a development.

As Kio sees artists tweeting about whether they got into Comiket or not, he is working on his (unrelated) erotic doujinshi. He’s been drawing but also cutting content out, so even though he’s drawn 30 pages, it feels like only the beginning.

Art from the first anime’s DVD box set; this one is for Volume 2. Lots of comments about Kitagawa from fans.

Kio responds to a commenter pointing out Kitagawa approaching from the rear by saying that she would definitely not be walking lightly.

Kio also feels some sympathy for Kitagawa being called “Athlete’s Foot Senpai” by the fans.

“You! Genshiken!” is a common refrain in the Genshiken anime from Kitagawa.

Kio also comments to a person wishing for tons of Genshiken spin-offs that such a thing might’ve happened if Genshiken came out today.

A few comments about how good Ohno looks too.

Kio telling everyone who watched the Newtype special above that the newest Spotted Flower chapter is available in Rakuen magazine.

Kio says that the daughter in Spotted Flower being named Saki kind of solidifies it as being a different world from Genshiken.

Working on his new ero doujinshi seems to be an endless task. It includes things like fretting over which erotic sound effects to use, like “guchu” vs “gucho.”

The horny work has also gone from 50 pages to 100. (I sometimes think about how Ogiue’s workrate is probably a reference to Kio’s own.)

Kio also restored some pages that were previously cut, specifically about a mom getting embarrassed.

Kio’s tablet pen broke, and then when he got a new one, he realized it was the wrong kind.

While a new pen was in the mail, Kio broke out the PS5.

Kio has been playing Elden Ring and primarily sneaking around. He comments that despite appearances, he is in fact not playing the ninja game Tenchu.

Kio enjoyed Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse despite having not seen Into the Spider-Verse. He thanks a fan for sending a link to the prequel.

The new tablet pen arrived, but Kio is still playing Elden Ring.

Kio got picked for a live viewing of the newest How Do You Like Wednesday? DVD.

Tenchu is one of his favorite games from the PlayStation era, and the movement in Elden Ring reminds him a lot of it.

Kio, after getting his ass kicked by the boss Margit in Elden Ring, goes back to drawing ero manga. He likes how he can just skip bosses and explore elsewhere in an open world game.

Komaki from Kujibiki Unbalance on the back cover of Genshiken Volume 5.

Kio comments that his characters tend to have some plumpness to them.

Kio defeated Flying Dragon Agheel in Elden Ring with the help of a strategy site. He didn’t realize you had to fight it on horseback.

Kio got through 63 pages of his ero manga manuscript, but is setting it aside to get some of his professional work done. Apparently, the next part is the climax.

He also keeps adding hearts to the end of dialogue in his regular work out of habit due to spending all that time creating smut.

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights May 2023

Kio Shimoku goes back to fulfill one of his old unfinished projects in this month’s tweets.

Replying to manga creator Kusada (who just got done selling at the doujin event Comitia), Kio mentions that he’s also hesitant about posting URLs to his 18+ doujinshi on Twitter for fear of being shadowbanned.

Kio has decided to undertake a rather massive personal project. Back in 2010, Kio sold at Comiket a very rough manuscript of a genderswapped Episode I parody called Sister Wars. Now, he’s turning the entire thing into a fully illustrated doujinshi. (Note that I will be making a separate post about this at some point.)

One person shows a Sister Wars drawing Kio did, to which he replies, “Oh…? Did I draw that…?”

Another person talks about wanting to own Sister Wars, but Kio says that if it’s something where money needs to get involved, then it’ll cause issues, so his intent is to keep it free and online-only.

Kio says the whole thing is 350 pages, but it’s someone he always wanted to do, and he feels that it’ll be a waste if he doesn’t use the free time he has now to work on it. He put a lot of thought into it beyond the genderswap aspect too.

When asked if there will be a female Jar Jar, Kio replies that the Gungans have been cut entirely.

Another commenter recalls there being no Jar Jar, to which Kio responds that other characters from Episode II were also cut, as they seemed to mainly be there originally to just make things more confusing.

Kio realizes a line during the theme song for the variety show/special series How Do You Like Wednesday? comes from a spoof drama they did called Shikoku R-14. Kio originally thought it may have been unused footage.

Finishing the drawings of the Kujibiki Unbalance dating visual novel, here are Koyuki and Chihiro routes as reviewed by Kohsaka and Ohno, respectively.

Some old Genshiken-related drawings. Kio couldn’t remember when it was or what it was used for other than being part of some multi-creator piece, but a fan points out that it was part of an Afternoon 20th Anniversary illustration, as seen on the above library card.

And a Genshiken drawing used for a calendar.

High-quality version of the cover illustration for Genshiken Volume 5.

A fan comments that they remember not being able to read the doujinshi the Genshiken club made, to which Kio responds that most people couldn’t [because it was heavily mosaic’d as part of the joke].

One commenter says that Genshiken is the reason they decided to first attend Comiket, with Kio going “Hoho!”

A Genshiken drawing used for the cover of a 2004 issue of Monthly Afternoon with Saki helping to zip up Ohno’s Kuradoberi Jam cosplay, and Ogiue staring awkwardly in the background. Kio also responds positively to people talking about how great Ogiue is in this image, even saying that Ogiue looks like she’s seeing cosplay for the first time. He recalls wanting to draw a scene that doesn’t happen in the actual manga.

I actually found my old instructions for the Kotobukiya Ogiue figure, as well as the glasses for her, all of which I had thought I lost! Kio retweeted it.

“For those feeling that Sunday afternoon ennui.”

Kio saw the 2022 movie Bullet Train. Even though the depiction of Japan is not at all genuine, he was entertained nevertheless. In fact, he even liked the scene in the quiet car. He really wishes he saw the movie in the theater like he had originally planned.

Shocked to discover there’s gonna be a Bullet Train 2.

Kio bought Go Go! Ghostbusters Club by Kusada, and mentions wanting to see more of the assistant and wanting to find out why the club president would start a Ghostbusters Club when they’re afraid of ghosts. Kusada thanks Kio as well. (Note that Kio often retweets Kusada, which is not fully reflected in these tweet summary collections.)

“The train has air conditioning.”

Kio saw The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and thought it was great.

He also saw the movie Psycho-Pass: Providence. Though he didn’t remember a lot of what had happened prior, he felt this was a must-watch.

Kio watches and reacts to the DVD for the How Do You Like Wednesday? special, How Do You Like Japanese History If We Only Travel by Late-Night Bus for Three Nights Straight

(Without context, I can’t really properly summarize the reactions so I will leave it like this.)

Kio read Love Comedy Experiments Manga by Shima Toki and really liked the part where they have to stop right before climax (sundome). Shima thanks Kio as well. (Shima is another author who often gets retweeted by Kio; both them and Kusada all do manga for Rakuen, the magazine that runs Spotted Flower.)

Star Wars model kits.

Showing the Padawan hair braid.

While trying to figure out how to fix the warping in this kit part, Kio receives various pieces of advice ranging from pliers to dryers.

Kio answering a fan’s questions in English. No need for me to summarize!

I think this is Kio struggling with a model kit?

The art for a Genshiken DVD box set.

Kio building a 1/144 Gundam Aerial model kit. He added a bit of weathering effects to the paint job. It also felt like a long while since Kio worked on a Gundam kit.

Starting up on two more The Five Star Stories kits.

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights April 2023

Kio Shimoku announces the release of his first original 18+ doujinshi in his tweets this month.

Kio made these cool photo/drawing composites featuring his characters sitting on the manga they’re from.

Kio drew his first original 18+ doujinshi, called It’s All Your Fault, Sensei, which is now available on FANZA and DLSite under the circle name ぼたん堂. Content note: It is futanari on cis girl, and in terms of depictions of sex goes well beyond anything shown in Spotted Flower.

Those who have been following Kio’s Twitter account might recognize one of the girls, as he drew an earlier version of her around the New Years in a bunny outfit.

New side chapters of Spotted Flower on the Rakuen website.

Kio mentions that had he wanted to draw what happens between Sasahara and Ogiue on the couch, it would have been “something similar,” though the original tweet has been deleted, so it’s not clear if he’s referring to his doujinshi or the fact that Not-Sasahara and Not-Ogiue are in bed together in the side chapters. 

Video of Kio’s tortoise eating!

Kio learned the trick of modifying model kit boxes to make them smaller in order to store completed kits.

A doujinshi cover of Ritsuko from Genshiken Volume 1.

From Genshiken Volume 4, reviews of different routes in the Kujibiki Unbalance visual novel. Madarame reviewed Renko’s, Sasahara Ritsuko’s, Tanaka Izumi’s, Kugayama Kasumi’s. Kio agrees with a commenter that Ootani Ikue (voice of Pikachu) fit the character perfectly.

Good weather for the tortoise.

Kio sometimes finds model kits he forgot he bought, and then gets in the mood to want to build them.

According to Kio, drawing ero manga is sort of the opposite of regular manga, and that’s what made it tough for him when planning it. In regular stuff, his thought process is paneling -> text -> art, but for pornographic stuff it’s art -> text -> paneling.

Kio is shocked by the developments in Princess Principal: Crown Handler Part 3.

The tortoise stepped outside to rest, despite it not being all that sunny.

A rough manuscript of Kio’s 18+ doujinshi. It was originally 20 pages but became 50 in the final product. 

Kio recalls a special on Do You Like Wednesdays? called “Butt Rhambutan.” A commenter finds a screenshot of the title screen.

Kio shares a drawing he made of the school doctor from his doujinshi.

Kio tells everyone to visit his Pixiv via the link on his Twitter profile.

The doujinshi manuscript is also on Pixiv.

Kio brought his tortoise outside and checked to see how it was doing, only to find it flipped over. He went out himself and flipped the tortoise back.

Art of Tokino from Kujibiki Unbalance from Genshiken Volume 1. Kio mentions that he actually forgot to post this in previous months.

Memoriam-o-rama: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for April 2023

April is cherry blossoms in Japan, and their fleeting nature is associated with an aesthetic valuing of the ephemeral in Japanese culture. I normally don’t get all poetic about it, but recent events have me reminiscing and feeling the passage of time. One month after the death of Matsumoto Leiji, one of my favorite character designers, Kimura Takahiro, passed away. Ash Ketchum is being retired as the lead of the Pokemon after two decades. Not one but two VTubers are graduating: Heavenly King Mirai Akari and Pikamee Amano, one of the lights of the early COVID pandemic. And just today we learned that Sakamoto Ryuichi of Yellow Magic Orchestra passed on the 28th of March—the second member to go this year after Takahashi Yukihiro.

To my April Patreon subscribers, thank you:

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog highlights from March:

Farewell to One of Anime’s Great Character Designers: RIP Kimura Takahiro

I was devastated.

La+ Darknesss: Hololive’s Tiny Dancer Extraordinaire

My attempt to explain why I love La+’s dancing so much.

Pallet Cleanser: The End of Ash Ketchum as Pokemon Protagonist

Looking back on 20+ years of Pokemon anime, and Ash’s ride into the sunset.

Kio Shimoku

Kio tweeted a lot about Spotted Flower this past month because the latest volume came out on the 31st.

Apartment 507

My thoughts on Akiba Maid War.

Closing

Another new season of anime is upon us?! Already?! And it’s filled with a ridiculous amount of highly anticipated shows??!!