Tag Archives: patreon

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

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.

Media Mayhem: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for October 2025

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I need to say it: I’ve been worried about the world. We’re seeing government silencing of creative expression, bullying and pressure to silence video games and other artistic projects by credit card companies and payment processors, and a media engine that seems obsessed with trying to convince everyone that red is blue and up is down. It reminds me of every time an overblown hype machine tries to convince us that NFTs or generative AI are the future, except it’s targeting big organizations and regular people who haven’t been paying attention for the past 15 years to a fascist propaganda machine.

I feel some relief that people managed to push back against the attempts to censorship, but also some disgust over the way organizations and companies with real money and power are so ready to capitulate. Having so much influence should make you geared to fight back, not bend the knee.

A new anime season is starting this month, and I hope I can enjoy it.

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 September

Ever Brighter Lights: hololive EN All for One

I attended the third hololive English concert! Spoilers: It was incredible.

The Voices Called for Me: Anime NYC 2025

My Anime NYC con report. I attended the hololive World Tour and saw the voice of Kaiba from Yu-Gi-Oh!

You’ve Already Led: Final Thoughts on “Fist of the North Star Side Story: The Genius Amiba’s Otherworld Conqueror Legend”

My review of the complete Amiba Isekai spin-off! What a fantastic series.

Kio Shimoku

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights September 2025

A new volume of Spotted Flower is out!

Closing

This month, I’m going to be doing a lot of fun things not necessarily related to anime and manga. I’m thinking about whether to write about them for the blog, but leaning heavily towards “yes.”

Musin’ on Muzan: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for September 2025

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Summer is winding down, and the first Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle movie will be in theaters soon. I already have my ticket, and I’m eager to see how this series begins to conclude. I feel they made this into a trilogy in order to make more money, but I don’t begrudge them about that. If there’s a reason to make it a big event and draw fans to theaters, so be it.

Later in the month are some big hololive milestones, namely Myth’s 5th anniversary and the first online concert for Holostars EN. I’ve decided I’ll celebrate Myth with some Raising Cane’s, but I haven’t figured out what would be fitting for the EN boys.

I’m also fresh off of Anime NYC and hololive EN’s third concert, All for one. I intend to get my thoughts about both before the end of the month.

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog Highlights from August

I Attended hololive night 2025 at Dodger Stadium

VTubers + Baseball = ???

My Theory on the True Identity of the GQuuuuuuX

If I’m right, GQuuuuuuX fits into the Gundam timeline in an important way.

“High School Girls Are Funky” and a Lesson in Sport Fighting vs. Combatives

Do you want to fight? Or do you want to fight?

Kio Shimoku

The Confrontation: Spotted Flower Reaches a Crucial Point

Are we nearing the end of Spotted Flower?

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights August 2025

Kio caught COVID-19 but is alive.

Closing

Amid the erosion of human rights and the destruction of the United States’ scientific expertise, the weird obsession with tariffs feels like kicking someone while they’re down. I desperately hope, for the sake of everyone regardless of political beliefs, that things are made right. We should not be beholden to the most ass-backwards ghouls who seem to want to burn the world down so they can grift just a little more.

Fallen Angel’s (and Ascended Devil’s) Thesis: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for August 2025

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Anime NYC is this month! Takahashi Youko of “Cruel Angel’s Thesis” fame will be holding a concert there, and this year’s hololive World Tour will feature IRyS, among others. And both concerts are on the same day! Talk about timing. It’s also funny that Elizabeth Rose Bloodflame sang the ending theme from Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt for her 3D debut. Just angels and devils all over the place.

This past month has been a bit of a whirlwind, as I’ve been doing more traveling and general going out than normal. I have a bunch of things I want to write and report on, and I hope I can do so in a timely fashion.

I often feel that I have both too many blog posts and not enough ready. I’m trying to strike the right balance between being informative and expressing my thoughts.

Thank you to this month’s Patreon supporters!

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog Highlights from July

A Whole New Meaning to “G” Generations: Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX

My review of the wild ride that was Gundam GQuuuuuuX.

[Anime Central 2025] The Anne Shirley Interview ft. Inoue Honoka and Nakayama Yoshiko

I interviewed Inoue Honoka, voice of Anne Shirley and daughter of

New Lives, New Faces: Virtual Vacation 2025

I attended Dooby3D and Nimi Nightmare’s 3D concert!

Kio Shimoku

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights July 2025

A relatively light month. Kio saw the Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle movie!

Closing

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been considering dropping down to about one post per week, maybe two if things are good and I have more time. I do feel like I might be losing something if I make my posting that sparse, though, as I don’t know if it would necessarily make for better writing in general. Hopefully, I can find a good answer.

I also just read the latest Spotted Flower and wow. I’m just trying to figure out if I should write about it ASAP or wait for the next chapter in three months.

Forward-Facing Nostalgia: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for April 2025

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Spring Anime is here! Between Gundam GQuuuuuuX, Kowloon Generic Romance, and Anne Shirley, it feels like we’ve got lots of shows that touch on nostalgia but aren’t necessarily nostalgia-grab shows. I just wish these anime could appear on more than one platform, so fans can support the ones they prefer. Exclusivity is a pain in the ass.

Thank you to my Patreon supporters. With the season in full swing, I hope you’re doing well, and haven’t been too thoroughly bamboozled by April Fools.

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

I’ve also been thinking of enabling fan donations on WordPress, but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea. Any feedback is appreciated.

Blog Highlights from March

DX Soul of Chogokin Mechagodzilla: A Celebration of a Triumph in Robot Kaiju

A brief review of the coolest Mechagodzilla figure ever, followed by my thoughts as to why I like this Showa Era design so much.

Steady Steps: Hololive 6th fes. Color Rise Harmony

My thoughts on this year’s hololive fes concert.

Power Transforms and Reveals: Transformers One

I think the portrayal of Megatron and who he is at his core is especially effective.

Kio Shimoku

“Kio Shimoku Art Collection: See You Tomorrow in the Clubroom” Review and Interview Notes

At last, my thoughts on the Kio artbook in all its glory!

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights March 2025

And here are the tweets.

Closing

This past week, VTuber Nanashi Mumei of hololive English Promise announced that she will be graduating from hololive primarily due to throat-related health issues. I don’t know if I’m going to write anything about her in particular, but I do have a post partially about her that I had been saving up. Expect to see it in the coming days!

Parade, Parade, Parade: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for March 2025

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Given recent news in the world, I’m reminded of the biggest geek fallacy of all: The belief that just because you’re good and knowledgeable about one intellectual area means you are or will inevitably be an expert at another. I think this assumption is often a kind of insufferable macho chauvinism that replaces muscles with brains. Failure to accept with humility that one cannot know it all or be accepted into every area—sometimes because one lacks the necessary culture or context—leads to some of the worst of what we see.

So please understand that it’s okay to be bad at something and that you might not ever be “good” at it. I know it can sting, but it’s also freeing in a way.

Thanks to my supporters on Patreon. In other news, it took basically 10+ years for me to realize I’ve been doing something wrong on the platform the entire time. Never too late to learn!!!

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog Highlights from February

Don’t Let Them Limit You: Gridman Universe

Gridman delivers on the big screen.

VTuber Music: The Current-Day Character Image Songs

VTubers truly are real-life anime.

Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back EVOLUTION…in Japanese?!

Providing the Japanese version we always needed…sort of.

Kio Shimoku

Kio Shimoku Twitter Highlights February 2025

Closing

This coming weekend is hololive 6th fes. I am hoping I can stay awake to watch it live, but my body can’t guarantee that.

A Conflict: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for February 2025

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I feel of two ways about still using Twitter in any capacity. Its owner is a Nazi and a piece of shit, and I hate the way he ruined it, even if it already wasn’t in the best shape). I’ve already switched over the majority of my social media usage to Bluesky. Yet, I have to contend with the fact that that many artists, anime and manga creators, VTubers, and other related accounts have still not made the switch over. As an anime blogger who does things like keep a record of Kio Shimoku’s tweets, a part of me feels that abandoning it entirely is also abandoning the ability to accrue and archive information that might be lost otherwise. Kio himself has also mentioned that he’s hesitant to start another social media account.

Similarly, I wonder if I should even post links to my blog posts on places like Twitter and Facebook, because Twitter throttles links to keep them from getting traction, and Facebook is increasingly taking a disgusting turn. But I also know there are people who are only able to follow me through those platforms.

Whatever the case, I find it funny that there’s now a move encouraging people to make their own websites again, instead of relying on social media. It’s almost like the real Web 3.0 (and not the NFT bullshit) is a return to something closer to the internet of my youth.

Thank you to everyone on my Patreon, and extra special thanks to those below. Happy Lunar New Year to all.

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog Highlights from January

A Lasting Legacy: Love Live! Superstar!! 3rd Season

A look at what made the story of Liella! truly special.

I Wish It Was 52 Episodes: The Stories of Girls Who Couldn’t Be Magicians

Did you catch this show? It was delightful.

Celebrating Sakamata Chloe and holoX

In honor of Sakamata Chloe, who has now left hololive.

Kio Shimoku

Kio tweets about the release of his latest adult doujinshi.

Closing

I would very much not want a country controlled by a billionaire trying to gut out the federal government and steal our personal information.

Snake? Snaaaake!!!: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for January 2025

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It’s customary to see the New Year as a fresh start, and an opportunity to say farewell to the previous year. I don’t expect 2025 to be an especially fantastic year, but I do know we have a lot of anime to look forward to. Witch Hat Atelier! Wandance! And more! At the very least, I hope that we can find comfort in art created by artists.

Thanks to my supporters on Patreon. I appreciate that you’ve stuck with me, and hope you’ll be safe in 2025 and on. And remember: Don’t subscribe on iOS if you can help it!

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog Highlights from December

Rawhide Kobayashi’s Favorite Anime: Delusional Monthly Magazine

I had to write about the fact that this anime even exists.

A Fine Roast: Fantôme Thief’s Revenge

I decided against all common sense to attend this concert, and it was totally worth it.

Best Anime Characters of 2024

Who are your picks?

Kio Shimoku

One last Kio twitter summary for 2024.

Closing

I don’t exactly have any big plans for Ogiue Maniax in 2025, but perhaps if I write about my lack of ideas, something fun will manifest. I really should get back around to doing a Gattai Girls series…

Well, Here We Are: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for December 2024

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To say I’m disappointed in the direction the world is going is an understatement. But this is the position we find ourselves in, and I hope that we can fight for and support marginalized communities who risk having their human dignity (if not their lives) taken away. I vacillate between hope and despair, but I want to believe that I and others can both endure what’s to come and take action to make things better where we can.

I sometimes wonder if I should be more out front, if only to counter the caustic image of anime fans that has entrenched itself on social media. There are a lot of willfully ignorant people out there who want to present anime and manga (and by extension Japan) as this purely conservative (if not outright fascistic) wonderland, and I just hate the fact that “anime profile image” has become synonymous with “rank asshole.” Maybe it’s too little, too late, but still.

As a reminder, if you’re supporting me on Patreon, you’ll save by not subscribing on iOS. The fees are not small, and I hope you don’t get cheated out of your money.

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog highlights from November

I Finally Get Hunter x Hunter

Analyzing my reading experience with the famous manga.

Let the King Show You How It’s Done! Kinnikuman: Perfect Origin Arc

My review of the new Kinnikuman anime.

Childhood Nostalgia, Fleeting Media Memories, and Gen Alpha

And here’s a review of the newest entry in the SEED franchise.

Kio Shimoku

Kio tweets.

Closing

The one-two lunch of Sakamata Chloe and Ceres Fauna leaving hololive brings a lot of thoughts to mind. I want to write about them both, but I’m not sure exactly what I want to say, or how to say it.