This article is a fun way for me to promote the shows I enjoy, but be warned. Some of the shows are not suitable for younger audiences, so please use your own discretion. 

Very Important People

This show features comedians as they get a makeover so extreme that they may not be able to recognize themselves! They then have to make up an entirely new character and improvise different parts of themselves as they prepare to talk to the show’s host, Vic Michaelis. It’s an improv show on the streaming service Dropout TV, but there are a few episodes on YouTube for free in case you want to take a look without paying. Warning: may contain harsh language and sexual themes

Drawfee

This one is a YouTube channel, but I absolutely love their stuff. It’s an art channel, where they have to make artwork based on various prompts given by fans. Jacob, Nathan, Karina and Julia all go out of their way to be as chaotic as they possibly can manage, and it’s delightful. Warning: may contain harsh language and sexual themes

These both are some of my favourite internet series, so if these interest you, go ahead and take a look!

This one is also for me, because I’ve watched VTubers for a while, so I can tell you readers about the must knows (in my opinion.)

DokiBird

DokiBird is a streamer on YouTube and Twitch, and she has been through a lot. From being bullied by her old agency, NijiSanji, to being flamed by internet users for no reason whatsoever, she keeps her head up and is funny while she does. Feel free to check her out, since she does plenty of gaming content.

Neuro-Sama

She is an AI VTuber! But, she isn’t bad. She was coded by a creator called Vedal, and he keeps an eye on Neuro-Sama to make sure she doesn’t say anything out of pocket. It’s a system of multiple artificial intelligence models working together to make her move, talk, and emote. She also broke the Hype Train record on Twitch at Level 111. (A Hype Train is where people donate to the streamer to keep it going.)

As you may have read in my About the Author section, I love plushies. I adore the cute ones, and the ugly ones. So, as a plushie enthusiast, I will list some of my dream plushies that would be a horrible investment, but whimsical in the long run.

Life Sized Lucario Plush

Lucario is a Steel-type Pokemon, and he has a 3’11” stature. He’s absolutely a horrible investment, at $445 CAD. I know he is a bad investment, but I want him. There is a photo of him consoling a woman on the official page, and my goodness I love it. It is currently out of stock, so I cannot get it, but I’m sure it’ll come back in stock one day. www.pokemoncenter.com

“Demonic Garfield”

This one is absolutely hideous. I love hideous things. I don’t like him. He looks incredibly tired and happy, which I love about him, but he does not look correct. I believe he is official, as well, which seems rather baffling. If you want him, please check him out on Amazon.

www.amazon.ca

FNaF Funko Plushies

Some of them are absolutely wonderful! But many of them appear off putting, as they dive into the uncanny valley. Such as the plushie for The Puppet. She looks incorrect, and I feel bad about it. Her anatomy looks incorrect on the plushie’s body.

“What is Vocaloid?” you may be asking yourself. Well, dear reader, I’m here to tell you about it, in as simple a way that I can, using Hatsune Miku as an example, since she is one of the more popular ones, but there are far more than just her, and I cannot even fathom listing each and every one. Please note that I am not an expert. The things I say may be slightly incorrect. I implore you to do your own research if you are interested, and to not take my words at face value.

A Vocaloid is a voicebank that a person can get to sing or say anything. The voicebank includes pre-recorded vowels and consonants that a real person spoke or sang aloud, so that someone could use the voicebank to write or sing their own songs. Hatsune Miku, for example, has her vocals and speech taken from the voice actress Saki Fujita. 

Many people tend to use these voices for music related reasons, but some will tune, or correct, the audio to make it sound like talking. Each Vocaloid Producer, or person that uses Vocaloid to make music, often has a unique way of tuning the voice bank they use. Kikuo, a producer with a lot of popularity, makes Miku sound weak and raspy, while others may make her sound strong. Every person has their preferences, and the voicebanks have enough flexibility to allow for these preferences to be met, and that is the beauty of Vocaloid.

Some people may already know, but I am a huge fan of manga and anime. So, I’ve decided to dedicate one of this week’s articles to share some of my favourite stories to come out of manga! Now, please note that my tastes for manga may be very different to yours if you’ve read it before, so do your own research on the stories before you read/buy. I will also list any potential content warnings in their sections, so you can go in and avoid getting triggered.

1. Orange

This story is very heartwarming, but also a bit dark. It follows high schooler Naho Takamiya as she meets transfer student Kakeru Naruse. She and her 4 friends -- Hiroto Suwa, Azusa Murasaka, Takako Chino and Saku Hagita -- become fast friends with him. One day, Naho receives a letter from herself 10 years in the future, and everything listed in the letter eventually comes true. I’m trying to be vague with the summaries so as to not spoil large plot points.

Content warnings: It tackles suicide, bullying, death and mental illness. If any of these upset you, please steer clear of this manga.

2. I Want To Eat Your Pancreas

While the title may deter some readers, it is a very beautiful story. We follow a high school boy as he meets his classmate, Yamauchi Sakura. Our protagonist is the only person to know about her secret: Sakura is dying of a pancreatic disease, and our protagonist is the only person to know outside of her immediate family. This story follows a heartwarming story of friendship.

Content warnings: It tackles death, murder and terminal illnesses. If any of these upset you, please steer clear of this manga.

3. Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto

This manga has a drastically different vibe to the other two, and while I haven’t read it personally, I have watched the anime, and I can attest that it’s amazing. It follows the titular character, Sakamoto, a highschool student who has a reputation for being the “coolest” out of the student body. You follow him as he does absurd stunts while staying calm under pressure, and eventually becomes friends with many of the people he had been “up against” (one-sided rivals.)

Content warnings: none! Read this manga to your heart’s content.

If you dislike my “personality quiz,” don’t worry! This can be used as a starting point into seeing what you’d be as a Pokémon Trainer!

2. Ratatoing

This one is a ripoff of Ratatouille, and it’s absolutely delightful. It’s a weird combo between a slice of life and a spy movie? I can’t say much more without spoiling the plot. You follow the rat Marcell Toing, as he runs his restaurant, aptly named “Ratatoing.” He and his coworkers Carol and Greg are restaurant workers by day, but by night, they do something much more secretive… 

There are so many more knockoff movies out there, ones that I don't know or just haven't listed, so if you're intrigued, take a look around!

This piece of news likely won’t tickle many readers’ fancy, but Digimon is one of my favourite franchises, so this article is for me. 

Digimon, a companion to Tamagotchi and a rival to Pokemon, has had a content drought for quite some time, the last few things that were received by fans and were more popular are few and hard to come by. But, it has been confirmed that there will be a Digimon convention in the Tokyo Dome City Prism Hall on September 20th and 21st! But if the fans of the franchise can’t go, don’t fret! In June, Bandai will be revealing more about their plans for this franchise, so keep an ear out for any news!

For more information, go to Screenrant for more details

Deltarune Chapter 3 & 4

Made by the creator of Undertale, Toby Fox has been cooking this one up for a while. With how long it took for Chapter 2 to come out, fans were worried that it would take that same amount of time for the rest, but 4 years later, Toby Fox came out with the next 2 chapters that will release at the same time! It’s incredibly hype. Coming out on June 4th for the Switch, PC and PS5, and June 5th for the Switch 2, Toby Fox has been hinting at it for ages in his newsletter. Fans are certainly excited to see what’s in store, and I’m no different.

The Nintendo Switch 2 has been revealed to not allow modders* to mod the console, as Nintendo can manually brick your device if noticed.

* "Modding" a device is when you alter the hardware to allow for game breaking additions or removals of certain items. Think of it as using white-out on an exam to remove a question you can't answer. 

Common uses for "modding" a device may be adding a character, original or existing, into the game, or adding a map in a racing game. Many players are currently outraged at the fact that their device can be bricked* manually.

* "Bricking" a device is where it can no longer be used, essentially making the device no more useful than a brick.

For more information, check out NextPit

For all of you indie game enjoyers, I've got a list of 3 games that have been on my personal radar, that if you don't enjoy or find interesting, no harm no foul!

1. Date Everything

If you ever wondered what it would be like to date your pillow, this is the game for you! Slated to release in and around mid-June, it will include 100 dateable household objects. But you don't have to romance them, you can just befriend them! If this intrigues you, check out the game on Steam, or take a look at their website: dateeverything.com

2. Map Map

As boring as it may sound, it actually seems really fun and adventurous. You play as an adventurer and cartographer who is trying to find the treasure of many mysterious islands. You'll spend your time marking down landmarks and finding new crewmates to help with the workload. The release date hasn't yet been announced, but check it out on Steam if you so desire: store.steampowered.com

3. Stardew Valley

While I have been using this list to talk about new releases and less mainstream games, Stardew Valley is an older game that certainly caught the hearts of many players. Stardew Valley is a cozy farming game with some combat put in there. If there's a character you like, you just might be able to romance them! The villagers of Pelican Town are filled with depth and character, and it's clear that this game was made with plenty of love and care. Check it out on Steam, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and mobile:

stardewvalley.net

Remember, these are only a few indie games, and these are the ones that got traction!

Scalpers* in the card collecting scene have been getting out of hand lately, especially in the Pokémon TCG scene, but recently, Pokémon put a halt to some of the scalping.

* "Scalping" is when a person, or multiple people, will buy something like cards as soon as it comes out, and then sells it more than what it actually may be worth. A Scalper is what these people are called.

After what happened with the Prismatic Evolutions set of cards, Pokémon was being more vigilant towards that sort of thing, and they allegedly stopped more that 200,000 bots from scalping the cards, leaving time for those who don't scalp to actually buy the cards!