Short-Thoughts

I’ve had fun watching KING OF PERFORMAI the 7th tournament, especially with maimai DX and CHUNITHM. Yours truly hosted the MAXBEAT Philippines Watch Party at MX Gaming Grounds at the heart of Manila’s University Belt Sunday, March 1. I was joined by fellow rhythm game players and Team MX colleagues Kurohime and Tenshi, and I had fun asking them about their experiences playing maimai and CHUNITHM respectively, their reactions to songs the players will compete against, and the new song charts that they will sightread. ...

I drafted this piece this after I played maimai DX PRISM+ for the last time… only to finish this after CiRCLE hits our arcades. Anything marked 🆕 is an addition to this piece written after February 1. I’ve already seen fellow players complain to Quantum about the price increase for a single game credit. Here’s what I was thinking as I try my best to understand and sympathize with the rest of the player base: ...

X/Twitter gave a present to everyone this holiday season: The ability to edit (read: manipulate) photos in many ways without your consent. Its ‘Imagine’ function lets you edit any image posted on the site — whether if it’s your IRL photo, your artwork, et cetera. Generative AI is becoming more and more inevitable at this point. It’s not just people who are affected by this — brands, companies, newsrooms will also be dragged into this whether they like it or not. For example, The New York Times posts photos on the platform similar to how they do it on Instagram (minus the ’link in bio’ note). I’ve taken one sample from their media tab and used a prompt to make the text different. ...

I’ve been enjoying playing in the arcade nowadays that I eventually gained a circle of friends who are also just enjoying maimai. I’m thankful I discovered maimai, and at the same time I wish I could have discovered it before the pandemic so I can have a way to de-stress. There are other rhythm games to explore in the arcade, and with the release of the NIJISANJI Dance Club collaboration on Dance Dance Revolution WORLD, I decided it’s time to use my Aime card to play BEMANI games. That’s where I dabbled on DDR, GITADORA and Sound Voltex (SDVX). So far, I’m able to get over both DDR and Sound Voltex, but not GITADORA. ...

I am about to return to my usual business after spending 4 days outside: First was the three-day Philippine Game Show in Taguig, second was the long-awaited Miku Expo Manila 2025, and lastly the three two-day rally at Luneta. We talk about the PGS’ debut first. I’ve yet to gather all the stuff that have happened during the three-day smorgasbord of games, cosplay, and J-pop, but there’s an elephant in the room which needs to be addressed: There was a gambling brand facing the stage area. I do not know why they’ve been placed there, I don’t know why it’s there, but I am made aware of who put them there. ...

Long time no see, I guess? I was so focused with VTuber NewsDrop that I only blog here sparsely. Now that you’re here, allow me to welcome you to my new website. I lost track of what version is this on, but I’ll put this on v6. This time, we’re on a different platform – Hugo. My friends use it, VTubers use it, and now I’m using it. It’s been a journey learning how to deploy v6 online, and I’m thankful for every small wins I earned throughout. ...

Those who have followed the manga prior to the film have seen how it’s adapted, while those who are new to the popular anime franchise were immersed into the series’ universe on the spot. A handful of scenes were a critical hit with the audience, and some of them have become emotional watching things unfold in front of their eyes. —Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Kept Fans, Moviegoers Glued to their Seats (August 19, 2025)

“(Hololive is) best-known for having one of the largest fan bases in VTubing — and their success in the industry attracts fans and potential talents to either join the agency or set up their own,” says Jay Agonoy, editor and publisher of the website VTuber NewsDrop. [NewsDrop’s editor] points out another difference in that, unlike with [AKB48’s Yasushi] Akimoto, “Most English-speaking fans forgive Tanigo if Cover makes mistakes, as long as Hololive’s talents are treated well.” The support remains strong, even after a string of high-profile “graduations” (idol-speak for departures) from the agency. “You rarely see that kind of reverence toward other executives in this young VTuber industry.” ...

So, the Tiktok ban is made in effect an hour before midnight. I wrote a story about how we’re realizing the effect of this restriction on VTuber NewsDrop. What I regrettably didn’t notice is that we can change regions in the account settings prior to the ban. That setting could have prevented us from being part of the affected accounts. I tried other methods but I think Tiktok is compelled to stop everything for users in the US. Even if you get successful working around the geo-restrictions, there’s no way you’d be able to change your Tiktok region now. It’s best to wait things out until we’re able to get back to our casual brainrot habit again.

There are pieces of history which I am still not familiar with: Some of these include the legislation process of the Religious Instruction Bill (authored by Mariano Jesus Cuenco of Cebu) and Barrio Maligaya, both set in the 60s. I was kind of familiar with Barrio Maligaya when I read a snippet of a story behind it during the pandemic. Seeing it adapted as a documentary film (for the second time - the first one was in the 80s) is beneficial for me to understand the first among the community development projects that my faith, the Iglesia ni Cristo, has established. ...