December 2023 – OGIUE MANIAX (2025)

BEST MALE CHARACTER

Pluto (Pluto)

In a series full of excellent characters who are each a master class in storytelling, the one who stands out to me the most is Pluto himself.

The main antagonistic force in his series, Pluto is presented in myriad ways over the course of the story. First, he’s known only by the aftermath of his destructive powers. Then, we see glimpses of him within mighty whirlwinds, like a monster straight out of a suspenseful horror film. But then more facets of Pluto are revealed that show him to be far more complex and conflicted than what we’re initially led to believe.

He barely gets any screen time in the grand scheme of things, but by the time everything comes to a head, it’s amazing that what stands before us is the same being as the enigmatic harbinger of death from Episode 1. The most seemingly inhuman of robots turns out to be among the most human of all.

BEST FEMALE CHARACTER

Suletta Mercury (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury)

After decades, we finally have our first true female Gundam protagonist. While there have been predecessors of sorts, like Fumina in Build Fighters TRY and Christina Mackenzie in War in the Pocket, Suletta is both the Gundam pilot and the heroine in a main Gundam anime.

Being such a major milestone is a pretty big deal in itself. However, what we also have in Suletta is an incredibly interesting main character whose story and growth anchor her series—all while being incredibly unique among Gundam heroes. She begins the series as a sheltered girl whose anxiousness and constant second-guessing are endearing and hint at her eventual development. Thrust into unfamiliar environments and forced to confront difficult questions about who she is and where she came from, Suletta gradually grows into her own person, struggling and breaking free of the shackles imposed on her by others, including her own mother.
Suletta might not even be my favorite character in Witch from Mercury, but her significance to Gundam and anime, combined with the brilliant job the creators and the actor have done to bring Suletta to life makes her the best in my eyes. She is so very human, and the way she is shaped by—and, in turn, shapes—her world resonates emotionally.

BEST MAGICAL BOY

Yuunagi Tsubasa (Soarin’ Sky Precure)

Precure is a magical girl franchise, so it generally makes sense that each series would feature girls as the heroes, with male characters occupying supporting roles. And over the years, there would be dalliances with the possibility that boys could be magical in their own ways, whether by utilizing different abilities (Black Pepper, Rio), through imagination and gags (Cure Fire, Cure Gorilla), or as one-offs (Cure Infini). But in Soarin’ Sky Precure, an anime that’s all about defying the trends off its predecessors, Yuunagi Tsubasa stands proud as the first true male Precure.

Tsubasa is a bird who cannot fly—his species, native to a magical fantasy land, sacrificed the natural ability for greater intelligence. But rather than give up on the possibility, he used his smarts to study and follow in the footsteps of the Wright Brothers. And when he gains the magic to travel the skies as a Precure, he utilizes his knowledge of physics and aerodynamics to aid in battle. The way Tsubasa takes advantage of his strengths and refuses to let his weaknesses limit him is inspirational.

I think a special shout-out has to be given to Cure Wing’s design, as it does a great job of feeling boyish while matching the general Precure aesthetic. It threads a very fine line indeed.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This year’s characters represent long overdue achievements. Pluto is the antagonist of a work for an anime adaptation for a manga from 20 years ago. Suletta and Tsubasa, in turn, have shattered gender norms of their respective decades-old mega franchises. They’re also anything but one-dimensional—especially Pluto and Suletta, who come out of their respective works very different from how they began. The pioneering aspect of these characters indicate a slow but steady march of progress that I hope won’t be the high point, but the beginning of greater things.

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.

Multi-screen video shorts juxtaposing unrelated content have been a thing online in recent years. Known as “sludge content,” it seems to be an increasingly popular way for people to watch videos. Apparently, it’s also helpful for people with ADHD, who might have trouble with longer forms of media.

On top of not having ADHD (at least as far as I know), sludge content personally feels a bit bizarre. At the same time, I definitely don’t know enough to speak poorly of it, other than that it is unfamiliar to me. I do have a couple questions, though: one concerning the past and another the future.

First question: Given the format of sludge content and the way it provides different forms of stimulation, could a three-ring circus achieve a similar effect?

The intent of a three-ring circus is to have multiple acts going on at once, so audience members can pay attention to the part they like most, or even switch focus if something catches their eyes. In times before film existed, let alone video apps, could this form of tripartite entertainment have provided a similar sense of satisfaction to people who had ADHD before it was even known?

Second question: Will we ever see sludge content created in such a way as to explore and push its boundaries as a style or medium?

It’s no secret that most media is made for the neurotypical majority. But what if people with ADHD (or anyone else with an affinity for sludge content) was assumed to be the default audience? What kinds of stories or creative experiences could be told by seeing sludge content not as a weird thing some people are into, but as an opportunity to create works that speak deeply to a particular group?

I have no answers for either question, but at least I’d like to see attempts at the latter.

“Is it more important to me for a group song to sound good or have distinct voices?”

This is something that’s been on my mind lately as I’ve been exploring my own feelings about music- and idol-adjacent worlds.

I have an odd relationship with K-Pop. I think it can be good, but it’s also definitely not my preference generally, and as someone who seeks to be open-minded, I keep resisting the urge to write off huge swathes of it. The last thing I want to be is dismissive, so I listen and listen, but it just never seems to fully click. Even with songs that I enjoy, something bothers me in the back of my head. Also confusing is that I seem to end up enjoying songs inspired by K-Pop more than K-Pop itself. Case in point: “Dark Breath” by hololive VTuber La+ Darknesss. That includes both the song itself and the accompanying dance (which I know is part of the appeal of K-Pop).

Speaking of, La+ has been crossing over in all sorts of places: notably performing with non-hololive VTubers, doing covers of songs by the League of Legends K-Pop-style group K/DA (alongside her fellow hololive members) for Riot Games One, and being one of two VTuber ambassadors for the very first The iDOLM@STER/Love Live joint concert.

And here, despite the hololive performances of “POP/STARS” and “Baddest” being less polished, I also enjoy them more than the originals. I don’t think it’s merely because I know the VTubers, so I’ve been doing a good deal of listening to K/DA for the first time, and revisiting Love Live! in between VTuber songs.

Different franchises and media projects have their own priorities. Love Live! and The iDOLM@STER are both just as much about voice acting as they are music, and being able to easily distinguish between individuals based on how they sound is a big part of helping each character/performer to garner their own fandoms.

For example, I don’t think you need to have any familiarity with Love Live! to notice that “Cutie Panther” features three very distinct voices. The differences can be exaggerated, but they’re present nevertheless.

Similarly, the start of ReGLOSS’s “Shunkan Heartbeat” has each of the five hololive members singing a part of the beginning by themselves, and it’s because the song is as much an introduction of them as five distinct entities (each with their own Youtube channel). That’s part of the VTuber business model.

This is not to say that songs need distinct voices to be good, and there’s plenty of music with easily differentiated voices that is lacking in other ways, including within those voice-acting/VTuber/idol domain. But when I listen to Blackpink, for instance, I find it is nowhere near as easy to tell the singers apart. It might just be a lack of familiarity on my part, but I also feel that it might not even be the fault of the singers themselves. After all, if you picked three random people out of a room and told them to all sing, there’s a good chance they’d all sound different from one another, even if they weren’t good.

The culprit, I believe, could be how K-Pop is produced. That industry seems to be built on projecting images of perfection, and the result is that everyone sounds flawless. However, this has the drawback of also removing the quirks in people’s voices and by extension their individuality. And even with K/DA, I feel that their songs do a relatively better job of keeping these qualities, perhaps because the source material was a game with over 150 unique playable characters.

Which is to say: 1) While I don’t think distinct voices can be the only thing a song has, nor a lack of such a quality to be a deal breaker, I think it can add a lot to a song. 2) I think part of the reason K-Pop feels so overproduced to me is because of the way it seems to hone and chisel the music to such an extent as to wipe out those interestingly unique qualities that singers possess.

And all this leads me down another rabbit hole, which is thinking about the different roles a singer can have when it comes to music. Does the song serve them, or do they serve the song? Are they the centerpiece, or part of a greater sound? With idols, is it that the quality of music is less important than its ability to emotionally connect the fans to the idols? I feel like there are endless possibilities, and perhaps that how much we as listeners and audiences prioritize certain elements is what shapes our tastes.

I’m in a pretty good spot in my life. I value the work I do, I love continuing to write this blog, and even my social life is as comfortable as I need it to be. While this might sound like I’m humble-bragging, that is most definitely not the intent. Nor am I setting up an example for others as to how to succeed. Rather, this is a reminder to myself to remember what it’s like to be a “nerd lost at sea.”

From a young age, I knew I didn’t quite live up to the expected masculine image presented to me in society. I didn’t want to watch sports, I was physically weaker than my friends, and had little desire to get stronger to make up for this. I would rather read a book or play a game. I spoke (and still speak) in a rapid mumble that is difficult for everyone but my closest friends to understand. I also remember all those times I was part of one internet community or another, and someone would come in after being gone for months, and all they could talk about is how life was so much better once they abandoned childish things. If it made them happier, then that’s for the best, but there was always a problematic assumption that the hobbies were at fault.

Things have worked out for me more or less, but I try to tell myself that while I’ve progressed a lot, there are fundamental aspects of me that haven’t changed, and they don’t necessarily need to change. Also, I’ve found my way to shore, but I don’t have some guaranteed winning formula. There are as many factors outside of myself as there are within, and remembering the doubts and struggles I’ve been through (and still experience) is my way of not forgetting where I came from.

It’s rare that a manga gets adapted into anime as perfectly as Pluto on Netflix. The art and animation: almost as if Urasawa Naoki drew everything himself. The pacing: eight hour-ish episodes, one for every volume of the manga. This is something that might have been unthinkable 15 or even 10 years ago, but they actually pulled it off.

Pluto is a dramatic reimagining of a story from Tetsuwan Atom (or Astro Boy) called “The Greatest Robot on Earth,” changed to be equal parts speculative political fiction, introspective examination, murder mystery, and monster thriller. The story takes place in a world where robots have achieved greater rights as fully autonomous beings, but prejudices still persist. When a Swiss robot named Montblanc is murdered, everyone is shocked: As not only one of the most beloved robots in existence, but also one of the 7 most powerful, taking him out would not have been an easy task. Another one of the greatest robots, the Europol detective Gesicht, is assigned to the case, which takes him around the world to discover the truth—not only about the case, but also about himself and the moral/social/ethical conundrums among humanity and robotkind.

One of my favorite things about Pluto is the way “Pluto” is presented to the audience. At first, there are only hints and flashes, and over time, more gets revealed. However, by the time we have a fuller picture, the context changes how we perceive the threat, and causes all the philosophical challenges to become even greater.

Netflix hides its numbers, so there’s no telling how successful Pluto has been. Even so, I can’t help but remember when another Urasawa Naoki series, Monster, aired on the Syfy Network in 2009. At the time, the US was clearly not in a position to accept that kind of mature animation, despite the fact that his work should have been perfect for cable television. Over a decade later, however, anime has become more mainstream, and viewers are more accustomed to a greater range of visual styles. I think, or at least I hope, that we’re ready now.

Pluto is a prestige title, and very deservedly so. It’s generally well animated, has great writing and characters, tells a compelling story, raises a lot of poignant questions, and is just filled with complex emotions, all done in a way that feels both pulpy and sophisticated. I highly recommend that everyone check it out, whether by watching the anime or reading the original manga. It’s my favorite of Urasawa’s work, and I hope as many people as possible seek it out.

I watched the first episode of The Apothecary Diaries, and the opening is very reminiscent of a different and much older anime: The 1984 Glass Mask TV series.

Here is that intro:

And here is Glass Mask:

Between the heavy focus on the main heroines, the black background, and even the head movements, I can’t help but see similarities between protagonists Maomao and Kitajima Maya, respectively.

It might just be a coincidence that they’re similar, but I’d love to know if any inspiration was taken.

While I spent the majority of Anime NYC checking out the plethora of events related to hololive, I also want to broadcast my thoughts on various other topics.

Getting In

In previous years, Anime NYC would often run into issues with getting attendees into the Jacob Javits Center. This year, I did not hear any major rumblings, though I don’t know to what extent that was the result of improved planning and how much it was because the weekend was blessed by nice weather.

Crowds

As Anime NYC has grown and the COVID-19 pandemic still lingers, foot traffic and crowd size are topics of concern for me. That said, I found the convention center relatively easy to navigate this year. While bottlenecks did happen on occasion, I never really felt like a canned sardine, even in places where it could get very cramped last year, like the Artist Alley.

In terms of masking, at his point, it’s become increasingly uncommon in New York City as a whole, which is unfortunate. I still hold out a modicum of hope that convention runners here and elsewhere might be willing to get more stringent with a mask policy if things get more dire again, but for now, I can only recommend doing so for your own safety.

The Witch from Mercury Panel

Surprise—I actually did something that wasn’t hololive-related this year.

Upon arriving at Anime NYC to attend the Gundam: The Witch from Mercury panel, I was pleased to see how big the turn-out was. The line extended from essentially one end of the convention space to the other, and had people of all ages and genders. It’s only natural, given the pioneering nature of G-Witch both in Gundam and anime as a whole, but it was still a pleasant sight to behold.

WARNING: GUNDAM WITCH FROM MERCURY SPOILERS

The main takeaway from the panel is just how much everyone involved with the series sought to do something different with Gundam and to make it clear that G-Witch would chart its own direction. Production had already begun in 2019, and they had wanted to differentiate it from Iron-Blooded Orphans, even working with the technical director to give the series a different look. A lot of changes happened behind the scenes before the new show even aired.

The producer of G-Witch was there along with the two main actors, Ichinose Kana (Suletta Mercury) and Lynn (Miorine Rembran). I had actually interviewed Ichinose a few months ago at Anime Central, but at the time was not allowed to ask questions pertaining to Gundam. Though I was only an audience member here, I was glad to at least get some of her perspective, as well as the others’.

When asked what they liked about the series, Ichinose and Lynn both expressed a fondness for all the different relationships between characters, and just how even the same types of relationships were unique depending on who was involved. The example they gave was parents and children, and how they all lead to their own interesting conclusions.

Ichinose got the call about passing the audition after waking up, only to fall back asleep after. Because of this, she thought she might have dreamt it. Lynn is a long-time fan of Gundam even before voice acting, and actually found out about landing the role on her birthday.

Evoking Suletta’s sense of difficulty with interacting with people her age was something Ichinose worked hard on. As an introvert who gets anxiety herself, she empathized with Suletta. Lynn was aware Miorine would go through changes, that she would start off bored and prickly but would meet Suletta, get her own company, and so on, and become more of her own person in the process.

Ichinose had a tough time deciding a favorite scene, but chose one from Episode 21, where Suletta takes her mom’s mantra “Run, gain one. Move forward, gain two” and rethinks it to be about doing what you can even in hard circumstances. For Suletta, who always followed her mom and wasn’t her own person, her time with Miorine and the other students allowed her to form her own opinions and have her own life and destiny.

Lynn’s favorite is the climax in Episode 24, when Suletta brings the Gundams together and stops Quiet Zero, due to the sheer Gundam-ness of it all: characters, music, and mecha all on full display. The fact that Suletta truly shows herself as the main character also contributes to why Lynn likes it.

Towards the end, the two actors did a live reading of a scene from the episode “The Witches from Earth,” which was excellent. Following that was a video about how Gundam is sponsoring an F-1 racer, which just made me want to make Gundam F-91 jokes

Anime NYC 2024 in the Summer

I want to end by talking about what’s maybe the biggest news of the con: Anime NYC 2024 will be in August instead of November. I already gave a few thoughts in a previous post, but would like to elaborate on my opinion here.

It is uncommon for conventions to move dates so drastically from one year to the next. Sure, a week or even a month isn’t out of the question, but three months is a hell of a difference. The fact that they have a lot of advance warning is helpful, but I do feel for the people who plan longer-term and might have arranged things with the assumption that Anime NYC would be in the fall.

I do not have any insider knowledge about why LeftField Media made this decision, but I can imagine a number of reasons. First, Anime NYC has previously been the week before Thanksgiving, a holiday when people tend to travel. Second, the (typically) cold weather can be unpredictable: While this year was pleasant, we’ve also seen snowstorms in the past.

August means avoiding such issues. The summer is the time for vacations that don’t necessarily involve seeing family. It makes Anime NYC part of the packed summer convention circuit, which includes notably Anime Expo and Otakon. Also, Anime NYC has mentioned that the entire Javits will be open for the con in 2024, so I suspect that there is something preventing them from having full access in November.

One problem: While blizzards won’t be a concern, New York summers are very hot and humid, especially in recent years due to climate change. I worry that we’re trading shivering in the cold to passing out in the sun, and if Anime NYC isn’t on the ball, this can become a real issue.

I also have concerns about Anime NYC trying to compete with Otakon, despite the fact that they’re actually quite different from each other as anime cons: Anime NYC is a very slick product, while Otakon is more grassroots. That said, this date change might be mutually beneficial for them, as DC and NYC aren’t far from each other. I really hope this is a net positive overall.

I will likely attend Anime NYC 2024 regardless, and I really won’t know if it ends up being better or worse until it happens. But I will miss having a fall con season in New York City.

WARNING: CHAINSAW MAN MANGA PART 2 SPOILERS

I recently read the book Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood by therapist Satya Doyle Byock, which talks about the concept of the “quarterlife crisis.” According to Doyle, it is when someone in early adulthood feels a sense of dissatisfaction from a certain imbalance—in the pursuit of either meaning or stability, the other is never developed. People typically tend toward one side, and if they fail to teach a degree of balance, it can eventually turn into a midlife crisis. While the book is primarily aimed towards actual flesh-and-blood people, that struggle between meaning and stability also made me think of the hero of a current popular manga: Denji from Chainsaw Man.

From the start, what we know of Denji is that he basically has nothing, and even his highest aspirations come from scarcity: He wants to eat jam on toast, and he wants to touch a boob. While he comes across as shallow and horny (and he is both), this is Denji seeking the stability he’s never had, symbolized in the freedom to eat whatever he wants and to be with a girl. Thanks to his Chainsaw Devil powers, he starts to get that life, but it’s also clear that things aren’t hitting quite right. “This isn’t what I expected it to be” is a common thought by Denji, as if all that stability brings him is a search for meaning.

However, when Denji pursues meaning, including embracing the public image of Chainsaw Man as a dark hero, he instead starts to wonder, “Is this really all there is?” The comfort of stability calls to him—a life where he doesn’t have to be Chainsaw Man anymore. Even as others try to force a sense of meaning onto Denji, he resists because he’s trying to see how he really feels.

This vacillating between stability and meaning occurs across Part 1 of the manga. It also extends into Part 2, where I find Denji’s to be even more intense. The addition of the character Nayuta shows a side of him we had only barely glimpsed before—now a big brother/dad of sorts, he tries to provide for her a comfortable life full of opportunities that he himself never had. My heart actually feels joy when I see Nayuta take after Denji’s odd mannerisms, or when she enthusiastically and aggressively participates in class. I suspect there might be an answer for him in their relationship.

Denji is not an “early adult,” but rather a teen. What he experiences is not that period in which society tells us that people are supposed to be in their prime. However, I do think Denji’s plight in this area is part of why Chainsaw Man has been such a phenomenon. The typical shounen hero does not have anything resembling a quarterlife crisis. They usually have an ambition that drives them, and is the presumed end goal of the story. The fact that Denji struggles as much as he does, on top of being both vapid and profound at once, is eminently relatable.

Of course, I highly doubt that the author Fujimoto has been thinking specifically of quarterlife crisis. Even if he was, there’s a good chance Denji just ends up in a worse place by the end. But I now see a painful and at times conflicting search for meaning and stability that is ever present in Chainsaw Man, and I think it gives the series a powerfully profound psychological quality absent in so many of its peers.

I didn’t intend for my Anime NYC 2023 experience to become more like “hololive NYC,” but that’s what ended up happening. Between multiple special events and an Exhibit Hall filled with sellers who knew that it’d be a hot commodity, my time was filled with VTubers and VTuber accessories.

Anime NYC 2023 took place from November 17 through 19, once again on the west side of Manhattan at the Jacob Javits Center—a mediocre venue that tends to just win by default because there’s nothing bigger around. While the con brought guests and screenings from lots of different anime and manga, the highlight for me was indeed the sheer amount of hololive programming. Each day brought something big: the Hoshimachi Suisei paid concert on Friday, the very first hololive Advent panel on Saturday, and then the surprise hololive Indonesia tour concert, viv:ID Cruise. On top of that, Anime NYC had originally announced each one separately, so what we originally thought would be one major event (the Suisei concert) gradually turned into three—not to mention the hololive booth in the Exhibit Hall that had nonstop live programming.

One of the challenges for the big hololive events is that they all required attendees to go through a somewhat convoluted reservation system. Rather than first come, first served, people were randomly assigned a spot in the queue. The idea is to 1) not have people line up unnecessarily the day of an event, and 2) to make sure those with the privilege of more free time or fortunate timing didn’t have an unfair advantage. I find that there are pros and cons to this approach, the downside being that I think it makes many people try to get in even if they don’t necessarily care. Nevertheless, I count myself incredibly lucky that I managed to get into all three events.

Suisei

Hoshimachi Suisei is one of the most popular and celebrated VTuber singers today. She introduced viewers of the The First Take to the world of Virtual Youtubers, and she’s already had a couple concerts in Japan. Her appearance at Anime NYC was pioneering in multiple ways: Not only is it the first (mostly) solo 3D concert for hololive in the US, but it’s also the first to spotlight Japanese talent, as opposed to the English-focused Connect the World from last July. Suisei did not disappoint, bringing her characteristic powerful vocals and performing her original songs like “Ghost” and “Stellar Stellar.” In an industry where lots of post-processing is common to make people sound much better, Suisei stands out as someone with legit singing chops.

hololive EN’s Calliope Mori also guest-starred with a solo and a duet with Suisei. The big surprise to me was that, of all the pieces she could have done, Mori performed “Miraijima ~Future Island~,” her promotional song for the One Piece manga. Though in hindsight, it’s the perfect fit for an anime convention.

The concert was basically a glorified screening (Hatsune Miku–style 3D holograms aren’t a thing yet for parent company Cover Corp.), but buying into the kayfabe “live” notion is part and parcel with enjoying hololive in general. Also, the Special Events hall was not an ideal space for concerts (it’s just not built for that purpose), and standing on the hard concrete floor for extended periods was murder on my legs. Despite the pain, I had fun.

hololive Advent

Just like how hololive Council made their group convention debut at Anime NYC in 2021, the third generation of hololive English appear this year together for the first time. Unlike the other events over the weekend, it was not a musical performance. Instead, it was a Family Feud–adjacent panel where the members of Advent competed to see who could successfully guess what the audience would answer in polls related New York City. Questions included topics like iconic NYC foods (pizza) and the coolest New Yorker (Lady Gaga). The funniest thing was seeing the generational/informational divide among Advent—most notably Shiori Novella (an “archiver” in VTuber kayfabe) calling Al Pacino “Al Pakino” and “Al Capino.”

This panel ran a lot more smoothly than Council’s two years ago, and didn’t have the awkward formality that came from being connected to an official cultural tourism thing. I think it really goes to show what strides hololive has made among American fans that they didn’t feel the need to have that association.

viv:ID CRUISE

The appearance of hololive Indonesia at the con was a big surprise, namely because viv:ID Cruise was originally announced for Southeast Asia only. Now, the tour schedule reads as “Jakarta, Singapore, Kuala Lampur…and New York.” I’m definitely not complaining, as it ended up being my favorite part of Anime NYC as a whole.

The members of viv:ID CRUISE are Moona Hoshinova, Ayunda Risu, Pavolia Reine, and Kobo Kanaeru. In their group numbers, it was great to see how each VTuber brought their own personal quirks to their performances and the choreography, such as Risu’s unmatched songstress status and Kobo’s theatrical dance moves. In their solos, each girl shone brilliantly. Moona made the biggest impression on me with her song “Perisai Jitsu,” particularly with the catchy chorus and the simple-yet-powerful choreography. I’ve had it stuck in my head for days, and it reinforces my opinion that Moona is one of the most complete packages in all of hololive.

​​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXRSp8QbOeg

I also noticed that Reine seemed to be the most popular with the audience there, though I don’t know how representative the live crowd was compared to, say, US fandom for hololive Indonesia as a whole. Speaking of texting, before and after the concert, there was an ad promoting the new holostars English generation, Armis. Online opinion about male VTubers in hololive Production can be mixed or even negative, but the attendees seemed to be largely enthusiastic about the guys.

The hololive Booth

In addition to all the above events, the official hololive Meet booth returned to the Exhibit Hall this year. On the sides were life-size standees of this year’s representatives for hololive Meet, as well as ones for the CEO of hololive, Tanigo “Yagoo” Motoaki, and fan-favorite staff member A-chan. Like last year, they also had live streams on display there especially for Anime NYC. The booth was sponsored by VRChat, and fans not attending the con could still see them through VRChat. I think this was a great idea, and even provided something for the fans who couldn’t attend all the ticketed events mentioned above.

I wasn’t able to see all of them, but I did catch a couple.

Hakos Baelz is an official ambassador for VRChat, so it’s no surprise that she’d be there, but her embracing of the platform—particularly through her “Dawn of the Dork” karaoke streams—makes her a fitting rep. She brought one such karaoke session to Anime NYC, and showed off both her fun, casual singing and her well-honed dance moves. Utilizing a cutesy model version of herself dubbed “Strawberry Bae,” she sang some anime tunes, took requests from members of the audience (each of whom only suggested hololive songs), and even almost covered Mariah Carey’s Christmas song, until a vocal part of the audience booed the notion. I wish I could have heard it.

The other stream I saw was by two members of the Indonesian branch who weren’t at the concert: Airani Iofifteen and Kureiji Ollie. They’re actually my two favorites of the Indonesian girls, so I was glad to have had the opportunity to see them. Their panel was more of a goofy one, where they had the audience tell them to do certain poses, and they had to see if they both did the same thing. Both Iofi and Ollie have ways of thinking that stray from innocence, so the antics could get rather spicy (but in a fairly PG-13 way). There were also some technical mishaps that would make one or the other disappear or mess up their models, but it was all in good fun and the audience understood.

I could not view the FuwaMoco karaoke session, but I could definitely hear it. The highlight for me was getting to listen to their rendition of “Ojamajo Carnival,” the first opening to Ojamajo Doremi.

One big improvement over last year’s booth was that they elevated the screen to be high up and visible from a distance. However, the crowd that formed around it still took up a huge chunk of floor space and could make it difficult for passersby, especially because it ended up blocking the exits a little. If something could be done to fix that, it would be a boon to both the fans and the other attendees.

Merch

hololive merchandise comes in many forms. There’s the official stuff, the fanmade goodies, things from previous events and milestones, and limited edition convention items, among others. Pretty much all of this was available at Anime NYC 2023, no doubt because everyone knew hololive was going to have a presence there.

I have an ongoing mission to get at least one item related to every hololive member at some point, so this was a great opportunity for me to take a few steps closer:

I am very fond of the hololive Meet casual outfits, so I wanted to get something from that line. One of the big selling points is also that it had A-chan merch (a rarity, given that she’s not technically a “hololive” performer despite working for the company), and I count myself incredibly fortunate that I managed to get a button of her, as well as ones for Ollie and holoEN’s IRyS (the best singer in EN, in my estimation).

I also really had not expected to get something as amazing as an official canvas image of Inugami Korone in her Sonic the Hedgehog cosplay.I believe my life to be enriched by its presence.

Final VTuber Thoughts

The hololive experience at Anime NYC was unforgettable, and topped this year only by the fact that I got to see Connect the World live. I think it’s great that a convention so close to me gets VTubers in a major way. That said, I do have two hopes for future appearances.

First, I think it would be great for everyone if all these events could be announced sooner so that fans could save up and prepare. While I had the benefit of a press pass, in recent years, the cost for regular attendees has skyrocketed, and those who missed the opportunity for the already-low-number 3-day passes had to pay in the triple digits just to get Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I know from experience that conventions sometimes simply can’t announce things as soon as they’d like, but anything to give fans more prep time would be great.

Second, Anime NYC has still yet to have proper meet-and-greets for VTubers—something that seems to be common at other conventions throughout the world. I have to wonder if there’s a space issue that prevents it at the Javits, though the fact that Anime NYC 2024 is going to use the entirety of the convention center might bode well for such a change. That all said, next year’s con is going to be moving from November to August, which will bring a whole host of uncertain variables. Whether this turns out to be a good move remains to be seen, but I hope it ends up being a net positive.