What is this thing and who is this guy

that's my name, but famous manga artist Akiko Higashimura wrote it with a little heart (To Dave<3)

My name is Dave, and I've been writing about nerd culture topics like video games and anime in some capacity for over 20 years. Notably:

At Anime News Network I reviewed action figures. And games and anime too, when I got a chance. Remember VRV? I wrote for VRV.

At Polygon I was the designated Fighting Game Guy, and also managed to upset the entire international Fate/GO community by calling gacha exploitative in a piece that even went viral in Japan.

Though I haven't had a lot of time for it lately, I am also the author of the Kawaiikochans webcomic. Not everybody reads Kawaiikochans, but everyone who did became a big deal.

I have blogged independently on Medium, and then Substack, and then I left Substack over the Nazis and now I'm here on Ghost.

As a freelancer, first I could no longer work for the rates I'd started out working. And in the last few years, the gigs have pretty much disappeared.

I decided I had to go into business for myself and reach my readers directly.

What you get

Here are my priorities whenever I write about anything: I want it to be fun for you to read, even if I'm discussing a subject you might never have heard of before. I want to show you things I think are cool. I want to discuss my subjects honestly, and in good faith, and in the depth they deserve. I don't do shallow takes or vapid rage-baiting. I absolutely refuse to bullshit you.

Sometimes I get extremely fixated and do a crazy project that takes all my free time for the better part of a month, like the time I wrote a book-length strategy guide for Dracula X: Rondo of Blood because of a pun (this actually took several months), or the other time I annotated and explained Cipher the Video in its entirety, or the time my obsessions crossed paths and I explained every single in-joke and reference in a mahjong anime.

And I'm not gonna bullshit you about this: it's all hard work that takes a lot of time, and I require reader support to be able to do it. If it's within your means, please consider a subscription to the newsletter. At $5/month or $50/year, you'll unlock extra posts– maybe me slamming an anime, maybe me reviewing a retro game– and keep me fed. Someone's got to. The button is below.