iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I came to KimiShinu for the yuri, but I ended up getting the most sekaikei story I've seen since SukaSuka. Vol 1 does a fantastic job of setting the tone: grim and cute Also I like the use of architecture to make the characters feel small(er)

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Hiro's song "Me" is the first time I've pulled a Gakumas unit primarily for the song (tho being a solid Anomaly unit helped too) The visuals are stunning in ways streaming video (or a prerendered cutscene) absolutely cannot do justice to, really takes advantage of the 3D engine

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Started watching Tamako Market, since Netflix added some old KyoAni shows (I dropped it after 3 eps in 2013) The vibe is similar to K-On, expected of 2010s KyoAni/Yamada, but with a TON of weird characters and a few "normal" people that emphasize just how unusual the rest are

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Please read volume 3 of Hololive Yamato Phantasia Please appreciate all these signs and sound effects I had to replace bsky.app/profile/squa...

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Uma Musume S3 is good, but it still has some of the problems that hurt S1 and S2 Who did Daiya even beat in her first G1 win? Is it just historically accurate that she didn't beat anyone notable? Kitasan's rivals other than Duramente are underdeveloped and not very interesting

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

A Man Who Defies the World of BL vol 5 is out, lettered by me This series always reminds me of the word hyakkaryouran, despite the fact that it's a little bit female-coded. I wonder if there's a male-coded equivalent

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

In 2023, the iM@S U149 anime and the third season of Uma Musume BOTH had scenes touring the same temple in Chiba Was this just a coincidence? Or was this the work of some department of tourism?

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

It's EXTREMELY funny to me that Akina, voice of the rapper Kurogane Tama from Denonbu who rolls her R's singing Itadaki Babel, was chosen to voice the completely stoic Duramente And of course there's absolutely zero trace of Tama in Duramente, also extremely impressive

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Watching Kisekoi S2 is such a surreal experience for me S1 was one of the first anime I ever watched in Japanese, and I've never felt my improvement this clearly before. I'm spending 4x less time looking up words and replaying lines this season, according to my time tracker

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

As usual, AZKi's anison streams are peak ef has such great music. That team of nbkz lyrics and Tenmon composing is so iconic, and Shaft's anime adaptation built on it so well AZKi sang the English really well too (I wonder if that karaoke service even has the JP version)

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

It was so funny actually seeing one of these scenes of characters breaking the fourth wall and directly telling the audience to cheer for them I've seen this parodied by other anime, but the real deal is SO MUCH FUNNIER. This scene is like a full minute long too

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Finally got around to watching the Hugtto / Futari wa Precure All Stars movie, what an insane spectacle Has anyone ever made a Precure musou game? Could be sick

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

I really like how Gakumas designed their season rankings. It's an okay benchmark of your progress that doesn't take much time because it's mostly completed during normal gameplay. Rewards being all cosmetic avoids a rich-get-richer situation

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Five whole people are credited as dedicated ambigram designers, which yeah, that sounds about right Likely ALL of these would have been bespoke designs, they couldn't have borrowed previous work because who the hell would've thought to make an ambigram for 十風五雨/絵空事 before this

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Maybe this speaks more to my interests than anything else, but the official music video for song used in Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun S2's OP is absolutely jawdroppingly stunning Every kanji in the first half is an ambigram of a kanji in the second half, INSAAANE design work

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Anison covers seem pretty popular these days thanks to The First Take, CrosSing, and vtubers, but I feel like full-on remixes are kind of at a nadir, relatively speaking 2019's Imagination Vol 1 had so much vtuber AND producer talent but they never made more albums quite like it

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

I was kind of apprehensive about Miki's problem in Sasayou vol 11, but the author shifted the focus to Momoka and Hajime anyway. They're such an interesting pair, two completely different people dealing with the same tragedy These two pages of Miki calling Ayaka are insanely cute

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

Polaris wa Kienai volume 2: still insane

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

MyGO's environmental designs were really good though. Maybe it's kind of heavyhanded, but I loved how much personality there was in character's houses/bedrooms

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

It's a lot more visually memorable than It's MyGO, which I guess is the obvious closest comparison. It had some cool shots, but they were few and far between

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

I don't quite love how Girls Band Cry looks visually, but it at least has a distinct style. It's clearly inspired by anime, but it doesn't try to imitate traditional anime as closely as possible, nor is it too unconventional - which could be distracting in a drama

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

Why does ashidematoi use 足手, when 手足 and other words starting with 手足 exist?

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Hey, I lettered My Favorite VTuber Is Scary IRL! It's about a vtuber with social anxiety and the DoorDash guy who gets her delivery orders. Y'know, just your typical romcom setup This story leans more toward comedy, but the main couple kind of reminds me of Horimiya bsky.app/profile/squa...

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

Chapter 25 of Koi yori Aoku is basically just a montage of Tsukasa not understanding why everyone is embarrassed by the idea of showing their writing to their friends, then learning why first-hand Extremely cute

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

My favorite source for learning Japanese, zexy dot net slash lovenews

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

I can't tell if this a typo or a pun in Amazon's subtitles for Sorairo Utility I'm guessing a pun?

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Started reading Polaris wa Kienai, a manga about a girl who starts impersonating her favorite idol who died 2 years earlier She begins by uploading videos online, pretending like she's just back from a break, but when she starts doing street performances, things get crazy

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

The audio mixing for the songs in the Healer Girl anime feels really inconsistent, there's a lot of songs where the vocals are too quiet, including the OP It's a real shame because their Voices choral anison cover albums are fantastic

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

Those are some powerful ellipses Akebi vol 11 is heavier than every previous volume combined, and it pulls off the dramatic turn excellently

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Got some interesting deja vu from Lanzhu's episode in Nijigasaki S2

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

The way these floor tile patterns intersect is insane, imagine trying to lay it out exactly like that IRL

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

Shioriko's episode might be my favorite yet about someone struggling with doubts about becoming an idol. Looks like her seiyuu's first anime role was as Daiba Nana in Revue Starlight, what an amazing debut. I've been meaning to rewatch that with JP subtitles someday

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Looking back on the variety of manga I lettered last year, I can't help but be reminded of the inane squabbling that came after a translator of shoujo manga said they usually didn't like shoujo manga Absolutely some of the dumbest complaints I've ever seen

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

Here's all the manga I lettered in 2025 (or lettered in 2024 but only announced this year) I adjusted my layout from last year to include the publishers, because why not A few of these series ended last year or will end soon, so I have room in my schedule for more work. RTs appreciated!

A Man Who Defies the World of BL Vol. 1-4, Doll-Kara Vol. 10, Duchess in the Attic Vol. 6, Holoearth Chronicles Side:E Yamato Phantasia Vol. 1-2, I'm a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic Vol. 4-6, Make It Stop! I'm Not Strong... It's Just My Sword! Vol. 1-2, Mercedes and the Waning Moon Vol. 2-4, Monster Tribe Vol. 1-2, No Game No Life Chapter 2: Eastern Union Vol. 3, Otherside Picnic Vol. 13-14, Phantom Invasion Vol. 1-2, Tearmoon Empire Vol. 9, The Tiger Won't Eat the Dragon Yet Vol. 4, With You, Our Love Will Make It Through Vol. 3-4, Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree Ch. 56-76, I Was a Sacrifice but Now I'm a Consort to a God?! ~All the Princesses are Fluffy~ Ch. 59-70, Black or White, Vol. 10, Therapy Game Restart Vol. 5

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

Watching Hakase Fuyuki's playthrough of Obra Dinn, it's interesting to see some of things that she gets stuck on Like the fact that Signor isn't a given name, or realizing that people were grouped by occupation in the drawings The loc work seems fantastic, sasuga 8-4

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

All the other recurring background characters fill out the world and make the whole racing ecosystem feel big and important. And it certainly doesn't hurt that they're all cute

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

This may be kind of obvious, but Uma Musume S2 benefits a lot from having a TON of characters. Sports anime can be predictable when side chars exist just to teach some lesson; Uma has so many that I had no idea Rice Shower and Twin Turbo would be the ones to play such big roles

Screenshot from Uma Musume: Pretty Derby Season 2 from episode 8 of Rice Shower during her race against Mejiro McQueen.

Screenshot from Uma Musume: Pretty Derby Season 2 from episode 10 of Twin Turbo after her most famous win, which was broadcasted for Toukai Teiou to see.

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Did Shizuka go out of her way to buy a jacket and backpack from a brand named "Quiet"? Or did she order a personalized jacket and backpack, with a synonym for her name on them?

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

Ninkoro is the first Shaft anime I've watched in about a decade, but its style and storyboarding/editing still feels SO familiar. Even the soundtrack and sound design is a bit nostalgic Episode 5 in particular is fantastic

A screenshot of Ninja to Koroshiya no Futarigurashi (ニンジャと殺し屋のふたり暮らし) episode 5. A pair of glasses rests on a table in the foreground, with Koga Konoha (古賀このは) standing and Roboko (ロボ子) sitting in the background of a room, shown through the glasses.

A screenshot of Ninja to Koroshiya no Futarigurashi (ニンジャと殺し屋のふたり暮らし) episode 5. The character Izutsumi Marin (イヅツミマリン) is shown in a school uniform behind a chain-link fence. Dialogue subtitles read 「アタシにも昔お姉ちゃんがいてさ」.

A screenshot of Ninja to Koroshiya no Futarigurashi (ニンジャと殺し屋のふたり暮らし) episode 5. The interior of a cafe is in disarray. On the left, Koga Konoha (古賀このは) is sitting on the floor, near a pile of leaves. On the right is Kusagakure Satoko (草隠さとこ).

A screenshot of Ninja to Koroshiya no Futarigurashi (ニンジャと殺し屋のふたり暮らし) episode 5. Kusagakure Satoko is depicted in the style of Edvard Munch's painting The Scream. Dialogue subtitles read 「ガーン！だ抱き合ってる！」.

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

The ways Akebi portrays musical performances is always so stunning. Unique presentation for these scenes goes really far in a medium without audio I wonder if this spread appeared the same way in print, Kizaki would be mostly in the book gutter. But man it looks amazing digitally

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

This depiction of a sunrise from Aria Masterpiece vol 2 is so good I love that it shows characters' reaction to the sun before the sun itself

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Uma Musume season 1 is okay My biggest complaint is that these title cards look like there's automatic font substitution going on because someone forgot to upload a couple .ttfs to an FTP server

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

Netflix's subtitles for Uma Musume season 1 are sometimes a bit aggressive about using atashi in some cases where I'm 99% sure the seiyuu says watashi Pretty odd, Netflix is usually extremely accurate and this feels intentional, wonder what went on here

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

lmao El Condor Pasa misspells her own name (or forgets that horse names are written in katakana, which would also be pretty bad) I love how much personality there is in this dumb letter

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

Always appreciate it when a character reassures me for understanding absolutely NOTHING someone is saying. Thank you, Special Week

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Nijigisaki's Kasumi feels EXTREMELY inspired by Maekawa Miku (much more so than someone like Niko) And I'm very okay with that

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Rina's Nijigisaki episode is pretty good It's too bad that everyone who watched it would've known about her gimmick beforehand. It could've been a fun reveal, but even if you somehow didn't know anything about her character going in, the OP totally spoils it

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

I really like all the ways Nijigisaki diverges from earlier Love Lives, the president not having a contrived opposition to idols is a nice change of pace But I wish they'd gone with fewer than 9 characters instead of more than 9, LL already felt too crowded too often

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Greg Deng @gregdeng.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

Rojica to Rakkasei vol 2 does not disappoint

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