Tag Archives: patreon

Soul of Where’d My Money Go: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for June 2024

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As we inch closer to summer (and all the fun and horror that entails), I find myself a little spend-happy. What can I do when the Soul of Chogokin line announced a ton of new releases for their 50th anniversary?! There’s the DX Showa Mechagodzilla, Shinkalion, Tryon 3 (aka the very first Gundam entry in the SoC line), and it doesn’t even stop there. It’s impossible for me to buy all of them, but I am ever so tempted to do so.

I also started playing Elden Ring this month. I don’t know if I’ll do a full review or anything, but it’s inspiring me to at least write one or two posts somewhat related to it.

This past month also saw the birthday of hololive’ La+ Darknesss! I decided to celebrate by pulling out the old ink and brush and drawing a quick portrait. I used to post more art to Ogiue Maniax, but that mostly fell by the wayside a long time ago. I keep trying to convince myself to do more again, but we’ll see.

Thank you to the following Patreon supporters for 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 May

When the Shounen Good Boy Gets Hate: Tanjiro, Deku, and Anti-Antiheroes

My thoughts on the “good boy” protagonist, and responding to criticisms of such characters.

A Hot Spring Inn in Ogiue’s Home Prefecture: Meigetsuso

Another report from my trip to Japan last year! This time, I visited Yamagata Prefecture.

Crawling Through the Dark: End of Evangelion

I watched End of Evangelion in theaters. Here are my thoughts returning to this film after many years.

Kio Shimoku

Not a whole lotta tweets this month.

Closing

I keep on thinking about upping my foreign language learning, but I have yet to fully commit. I’m considering trying one of those language partner/tutor sites, but I don’t know where to even begin.

Too Many Good Shows, Really: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for May 2024

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The spring 2024 anime season turns out to be absurdly good! There are many highlights among the new shows, but I think chief among them are Train to the End of the World, Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night, and Go! Go! Loser Ranger! It’s also interesting seeing Shinkalion: Change the World try to be a little more mature. I wonder if it’s aiming for the kids who grew up on the first two Shinkalion anime.

Thanks to my Patreon supporters for the month, especially the following people!

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog highlights from April

One Piece, the Five Elders, and Going Beyond Expectations

The One Piece manga has never been more exciting than it is now.

Time Well Spent: “Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End”

Frieren is indeed as good as everyone says. I’ve rarely seen an anime impress me this much.

Bara Bara Obari: Bang Brave Bang Bravern

A celebration of super robot anime that forges its own path.

Kio Shimoku

For fans of Ogiue (and Ogiue doppelgangers), this is a good month.

Closing

It feels like it’s been a while since all of my highlighted posts are just straight-up reviews and analyses of specific anime and manga titles. I wonder if this trend will continue.

Never Stop Sparking: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for April 2024

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March was a hell of a month and kind of a bad time for fans of Japanese creators, between the deaths of Toriyama Akira, Tarako (the voice of the main character in Chibi Maruko-chan), and Inomata Mutsumi (character designer on the Tales RPG series). I feel like I’m still reeling from the passing of Matsumoto Leiji and Kimura Takahiro last year. It drives home to me the conviction that I need to cherish artists, performers, and creators—because you never know when things might change.

At the same time, I’m still high off the hype of hololive 5th fes. I can’t stop watching all those wonderful performances, and I’m looking forward to whenever the Blu-ray comes out. And how about that Bravern, huh? Expect a review soon.

April is when the Japanese school year starts, and while that has nothing to do with my life, I feel a sense of renewal in the air. Maybe it’s my imagination.

Thank you to my Patreon subscribers for April!

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog highlights from March:

A Bird Among Dragons: Remembering Toriyama Akira

Here are the ways the work of arguably the world’s most influential manga creatro touched my life.

Above and Beyond: hololive 5th fes. Capture the Moment

This year, I stayed up to watch hololive’s big annual concert series. Was that a good idea? In any case, here are my thoughts about the event.

Dare to Defy the Past: Soaring Sky! Precure

The 20th anniversary of Precure brought one of the most innovative series to the franchise.

Kio Shimoku

A pretty quiet month of Kio tweets (though if you follow his account, you’ll know that he retweets a lot of artists and stuff).

Related to this, I finally found out FUWAMOCO’s favorite Genshiken character!

Closing

The spring 2024 anime season is upon us, and it is stacked, especially when it comes to returning series and sequels. Here’s to hoping that Shinkalion: Change the World actually gets picked up for streaming!

Virtual Tumult: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for March 2024

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I broke an internal rule this month, which was that I try not to post about VTubers more than twice in a month. However, extenuating circumstances resulted in me doing three posts. One was because of the unprecedented events surrounding the termination of Selen Tatsuki, aka Dokibird. Another was the fact that the La+ Darknesss Waku Waku Dark Nightmare Solo Live was available only until March 1. And the last was the post I had actually planned all along: a celebration of Hakos Baelz for her rare Leap Year birthday. How rare is it that three of my absolute favorites would end up having something big in the same February?

And that’s not even considering that hololive 5th fes is in a couple weeks.

I’ve started to think about a Venn diagram between VTubers, pro wrestling, soap operas, and superhero comics. The concepts of loose continuity, neverending stories, kayfabe, and more make for a fascinating thought exercise. I don’t know when or even if this’ll become a real post, but I keep thinking about it.

Thanks to my Patreon subscribers below for this month:

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog highlights from February:

Laughing It Off: Celebrating Dokibird and Selen Tatsuki

A VTuber came back from the brink, and I am grateful she’s still around.

BaeDay 2024: The Unceasing Force of Hakos Baelz

One of the hardest working hololive members around.

Shinkalion and Japan’s Railway Museum

I wish the US had a train museum this good (and also train-themed robot franchise).

Kio Shimoku

Kio tweets about cool stuff, but he also came out with his official Genshiken LINE stickers!!!

Closing

I said last month that my Japan posts might go past February. That is clearly more than a “maybe” now. I bet April will even be likely at this point.

Bang Blog Bang Bloggern: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for February 2024

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It’s February, which means the day everyone with romance in their hearts looks forward to.

That’s right: It’s new Precure anime time. And with Precure Full Bloom and Soarin’ Sky Precure finished, I’m hoping to have reviews of both series done this month.

Of course, the must-watch show for me this season is Bang Brave Bang Bravern. The culture clash between a very super robot and a gritty realistic world is hilarious, and I want to see where it all goes.

This month is also a momentous time for two of my favorite VTubers. La+ Darknesss, fresh off a new outfit reveal, will be having her first solo concert. It’s sponsored by Nissin UFO yakisoba, of all things. Meanwhile, Hakos Baelz will be celebrating her February 29 birthday with streams every day (and hopefully won’t collapse from overwork). After the string of unfortunate VTuber events recently, I am looking forward to some fun times.

Thank you to my Patreon subscribers!

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog highlights from January:

Comiket, at Long Last: Comic Market 103

After two decades of wanting to go to the largest doujin event of all, I finally made it.

In Search of Hanayo: My “Love Live!” GiGo Collabo Cafe Experience

Another highlight of my Japan trip!

Nico Nico Douga, Natsuiro Matsuri, and Nostalgia for Asynchronous Chat

Thoughts on the benefits of the Nico Nico comment system.

Kio Shimoku

Kio exploring making LINE stickers.

Closing

I definitely have more posts about my Japan trip on the way! They might even go past February.

I Comied, I Ketted, I Con-quered: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for January 2024

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Welcome to 2024!

I mentioned having some fun surprises last month, and I let the cat out of the bag on Twitter a few days ago: I attended Comic Market for the first time!

While I don’t have a schedule fully planned out, you can expect the next couple months to have at least a few blog posts about my experience at Comiket, as well as other bits of my trip to Japan. I’m actually a bit worried about them overshadowing other topics, including the new anime season, but hopefully it’ll all work out.

May the Year of the Dragon bring fortune to everyone, but especially my Patreon subscribers:

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog highlights from December:

Best Anime Characters of 2023

The annual tradition continues.

The Role of Unique Voices in VTubing, K-Pop, and More

Some thoughts I’ve been having about how singers are presented in various media.

Anime NYC 2023 Was a hololive Bonanza

My con report, at least for all the hololive content that was there.

Kio Shimoku

Kio drew a special Christmas Ogiue!

Closing

I did experience the earthquake that hit Ishikawa Prefecture, but fortunately only from a great distance. I know there have been some tragic losses, but I hope everything gets up and running for those most affected.

Holy Moly Holidays: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for December 2023

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Whenever I get around to December, I begin to think about my annual tradition, where I post about my favorite characters of the year. I’ve had one in mind all year long, but there’s another who’s a bit of a late entry of sorts.

I’ve also been enjoying the heck out of the holoX 2nd Anniversary streams, especially La+’s (naturally). I highly recommend them all, but want to draw particular attention to La+’s performance with HimeHina.

Happy holidays to all my Patreon subscribers for December:

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog highlights from November:

Attack on Titan: The Final Conclusive Ending Denouement

My thoughts on the controversial ending and the equally controversial main character

I Imported Japanese Curry Because of a VTuber

Spoilers: The curry is good, and you should check out Sena Aimi.

The Unbearable Weight of the Past: Space Battleship Yamato 2202

Reviewing the sequel to a remake, one that poses some tough questions.

Kio Shimoku

Kio will have one of his works adapted to live-action, but probably not the one you’re thinking of.

Apartment 507

Yohane the Parhelion

Closing

In other news, I’ll be doing a bit of traveling at the end of the year, and I hope I can come back with some worthwhile stories to share.

When Am I?: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for November 2023

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We’re at November already?! I really can’t believe it’s this close to the end of the year when the summer months felt like forever. New York Comic Con is in the rear-view mirror, Anime NYC is up ahead, and I’m still struggling to keep up with the anime that’s out this season—including the long-anticipated Pluto (aka one of the best manga ever).

Due to a combination of a busy schedule and my silly brain, I’ve actually been struggling more than usual to write about anime and manga. I can’t seem to read manga fast enough to satisfactorily write about series I’ve been reading, but maybe I should just deal with it and write even after reading just a single volume.

It might also be because I’ve been diversifying my media choices (and watching a bunch of VTubers), but I feel it important to keep Ogiue Maniax as primarily an anime and manga blog.

Thanks so much to my Patreon subscribers for November:

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog highlights from October:

Reminiscing About Right Stuf in Its Final Days

Farewell to the best online anime and manga shop ever.

New Frontiers with Old Lessons: Hololive Advent and ReGLOSS

Some thoughts on the recent Hololive groups that have debuted.

The Emergency Heteronormative Character

Thinking about a longstanding trend in the world of anime and manga.

Kio Shimoku

More Kio playing Elden Ring.

I also dedicated a post to his Star Wars parody!

Closing

I am actually extremely excited to watch Pluto. Even if you know nothing about it, it’ll probably be worth checking out.

Thumbs Up to the Fall Lineup: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for October 2023

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The start of October means a new anime season, and there’s a lot of new shows I’m looking forward to. My main concern is having enough time for all of them. We’ve got manga adaptations I’m looking forward to like Shy, MF Ghost, Under Ninja, Migi and Dali, and Firefighter Daigo: Rescuer in Orange. Then there’s not one but two rap/hip hop battle shows in Hypnosis Mic season 2 and Paradox Live. And then Otona no Precure, the first sequel to feature past Precures as adults! For those who might be feeling tired of isekai, I think this season is gonna be one to remember—and even if you love isekai a ton, there’s still plenty to go around.

Thank you to my October Patreon subscribers below!

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog highlights from September:

Gattai Girls 14: “Sakura Wars” and Shinguji Sakura

Continuing my series of reviews of mecha heroine anime.

Boy Meets Girl Meets Tick-Throw Spinning Piledriver: Hi Score Girl

My complete review of one of the best nerd romances ever.

Hololive’s ReGLOSS Features Refreshingly Simple Character Designs

A new generation of Japanese Hololive members brings some designs that buck the trend

Kio Shimoku

There was a Genshiken pop-up store event in Japan!

Closing

COVID’s on the rise again. I hope everyone can stay safe.

Pros of Con Reporting: Ogiue Maniax Status Update for September 2023

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I don’t know if it’s the record heat waves or just the sheer amount of things going in life, but the summer has felt incredibly long. But now that it’s the final stretch, I’m sure I’ll be missing it soon enough.

During this time, I also managed to watch both Shin Ultraman and Shin Kamen Rider, so expect some reviews of those sooner than later. In the meantime, I’d also like to mourn the loss of gfycat, which provided many a useful moving record for both mirth and study. I didn’t use the site much for Ogiue Maniax, but I have been updating a few posts here and there.

September Patreon subscribers! Thank you to the following—

General:

Ko Ransom

Diogo Prado

Alex

Dsy

Sue Hopkins fans:

Serxeid

Hato Kenjirou fans:

Elizabeth

Yajima Mirei fans:

Machi-Kurada

Blog highlights from August:

Tomoyo…The Time Has Come to Demonstrate Our Power: Otakon 2023

My full review of Otakon 2023, including links to interviews.

The Haachama Experiment

A birthday celebration of the Worldwide Strongest Idol as she continues to recover from her illness.

The Advent of Pitch Accent: Pronouncing FuwaMoco’s Names Correctly

A post about the new Hololive dog twins and their preferred name pronunciations.

Kio Shimoku

Kio mostly talks about Elden Ring, but also, check out that high-resolution Ogiue art!

Closing

I watched the Hololive Summer 2023 concert, and it was a blast. There were some issues with the viewing platform that ended up with the entire Day 1 concert being streamed for free on Youtube for the next month, and I’m thankful for that because it meant being able to easily watch Holotori strut their stuff over and over. The fact that Day 2 has holoX’s performance of their new song, “Labyrinthine Labyrinth,” as part of the free preview makes me feel like I won a small lottery again. I also highly recommend checking out the last song in the Day 2 preview, especially those who love 80s anime.

And now Hololive Myth 3rd Anniversary is coming up! It’s amazing to reflect on how much time has passed, and how directly it’s tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. No, I will never forget about that.