Aka ♠️♥️ ​VArtist
@akalari.bsky.social
250 followers 150 following 970 posts
♠️ Freelance Illustrator || Live2D Rigger ♥️ 💌: [email protected] | 八神隆之の彼女 💘 #yagalari | Comms: https://vgen.co/bakalarii | NO AI
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
akalari.bsky.social
Shinobu 🦋 #Live2D #DemonSlayer
Reposted by Aka ♠️♥️ ​VArtist
kimmykitsuragi.bsky.social
RGG studios be like hmmmmm rehabilitate a sex pest or maintain the decade long goodwill with our fandom hmmmmmmm hard choice
Reposted by Aka ♠️♥️ ​VArtist
christinekenson.bsky.social
Almost 6k signatures!! Keep it up 🙏

This is so much bigger than just recasting a guy in a game. Many female fans in Japan have been voicing how much they appreciate what western fans are doing with this movement. I think this is really about men having consequences—

www.change.org/p/remove-ter...
Sign the Petition
Remove Teruyuki Kagawa from his role as Goh Hamazaki in Yakuza Kiwami 3
www.change.org
Reposted by Aka ♠️♥️ ​VArtist
christinekenson.bsky.social
#REMOVEKAGAWA I think this is bigger than asking for a recast. I think real fans of the series know this contradicts the messages in the games, and I think if you are arguing or dismissing those who are fighting for change, you shouldn’t be in this fandom.

But that’s just me.
So many people are missing the entire point of why fans are at this point begging for RGG to say or do something. This isn’t just solely about Kagawa. This isn’t just because people don’t like the likeness character aspect, so they’re finding ‘a way’ to get him removed. This is about how Japan (like many countries) shows leniency to men who commit sexual assault, especially those who are seen in high regard, and especially when the woman is a hostess (which reminder, is not the same as a sex worker, but that shouldn’t matter, they’re still people).

The fact that this studio has pumped out games that 1) try to highlight hostesses as people deserving respect, 2) have scenes of men who assault hostesses getting mocked or beaten, and 3) have protagonists who champion being kind to those who deserve it, makes hiring Kagawa feel like a slap across the face. In Japan alone, 40% of the fanbase is female. Most game franchises don’t get that close to a 50/50 split, so 40% is incredibly significant. The studio has known they’ve had a sizable female fanbase for years, as seen when most of the votes for the original Ishin cast in 2014 were from female voters.

People want to see a change not solely because they don’t want to see Kagawa, but because they want SA against women to be treated more seriously. There are Japanese fans who are speaking up and thanking the Western fans for using their voices because they feel like they can’t. We are causing ‘a fuss’ in an attempt to bring to light that these actions should have real consequences.

At this point, if you are telling fans that this is stupid, or “Japan already handled this” (they really didn’t), I’m going to assume YOU are a fake fan. You lack the simplest levels of media literacy if you believe that a character like Kiryu or Ichiban would forgive men who commit SA against women, especially women who are already societally treated as ‘lower’ than others. And no, before you try to say, “they believe in second chances,” that is not what this is and you know it. You know very well that both characters have limits and know when someone is irredeemable OR they want proper atonement before a second chance. Hagawa did not atone. He gave a half-assed apology to one woman, and then didn’t perform for a period of time. That was not taking accountability, that was performative and treated as ‘enough’ to allow him back.

If you as a ‘fan’ cannot understand why this issue of hiring Kagawa needs to be addressed, I will have to assume you do not care about women in the slightest. A man sexually assaulted a woman at her place of work, and got away with a slap on the wrist, and is now welcomed with open arms? One of the women developed PTSD from the incident. Why are you playing a series that has championed for the outcasts of society, only to allow for a sex-pest with no remorse to play a part in said series? This is why fans are mad.

We as the fans who felt seen or uplifted by the messages in this series, feel like our trust has been broken. No, we never expected perfectly political correctness or for the games to not have an ounce of sexism, but whenever an outcast in Japanese society was portrayed, the protagonists were kind, empathetic, and stood up for those people. The message to us was clear, but the studio is now telling us those things don’t matter. The hostesses regardless of their occupation, are still women. The studio is telling us that the safety and rights of 40% of their fans don’t matter.

This is why this movement and these voices need to be seen and heard. This is why we are begging for a statement. This is much bigger than a Kabuki actor vs Hostess, or bigger than the games industry. We want women as a whole to feel safer that those who commit assault against them are properly punished. That perhaps men will think twice if the consequences are more severe than simply staying out of the public eye for a time.
akalari.bsky.social
Mafuyu cheering on Yagami mechanic except it's me and I'm giving him shit
akalari.bsky.social
I have Live2D Photoshop and Paint Tool SAI open at the same time ADHD FINAL BOSS
Reposted by Aka ♠️♥️ ​VArtist
04tenno.bsky.social
RGG Studio has chosen suppressing #REMOVEKAGAWA as their PR strategy
A screenshot of hidden replies regarding #REMOVEKAGAWA on a Ryosuke Horii (@RyosukeHorii) tweet, captioned "Ryosuke Horii, director and producer of Yakuza Kiwami 3, is hiding #REMOVEKAGAWA-related comments on a promotional tweet. This action follows RGG Studio’s Japanese Instagram account limiting and deleting #REMOVEKAGAWA-related replies."
akalari.bsky.social
Aghh I really hope that’s the case!! 😭 Part of me still wants to believe in RGG but MAN they’ve been making it hard as of late 😔
akalari.bsky.social
On a better note - I've been getting a lot of work done as of late!! Been feeling hella #productive - Actually super proud of myself... #AkaFighting
akalari.bsky.social
I usually try to keep my public accounts lighthearted and whatnot but like
The Yakuza franchise obviously means a lot to me since its had a pretty significant impact on my life, so seeing how RGG apparently doesn't seem to care about the things they preach in their games is just frustrating as fuck
akalari.bsky.social
Boycott Kiwami 3 btw
GOD I'm so fucking angry and disappointed man #REMOVEKAGAWA
akalari.bsky.social
"Aka Escape to Ireland" project starts TODAY btw (serious)
mikeachim.bsky.social
Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...
Post from Threads user rodneyowl: "Ireland has declared the Basic Income for Artists scheme permanent. This will be officially announced in tomorrow’s budget. Details to follow. Congratulations to all who fought for it and the present and future artists of all sorts in Ireland. That includes me 👌We’re just comin to the end of a 3 year pilot scheme. It’s been a roaring success. For every €1 paid out to the 2000 participants, the government got €1.46 back. Can’t argue with that. Other countries are already taking note."
akalari.bsky.social
Better Call Saul got me giggling so bad I should’ve watched it a lot sooner
akalari.bsky.social
Hair Physics WIP 🔆
#VTuber #Live2DWip
akalari.bsky.social
Head angle WIP!
Adding physics is gonna be so much fun oughh I can't wait 😭✨
---
VTuber: @veekaytv.bsky.social
Art & Rig: Me
#Live2DWIP #VTuber
akalari.bsky.social
Ahh I'm so happy drawing this way is so much faster and more fun
akalari.bsky.social
Screaming cause I've been experimenting with a different rendering technique and its been doing wonders to my art omfggg

Working on a bunch of projects simultaneously atm lol but I'm excited to share some of it soon 🤠
akalari.bsky.social
Actually now that I think about it I might have a suspicion but I really don’t want it to be true

Yagami save me
akalari.bsky.social
Probably an allergic reaction to something I just don’t know to what cause this only happens like once every year?
akalari.bsky.social
There’s been this pretty nasty rash around my shoulder area for a few days now and it kinda started extending towards my neck TT

I‘ve had this before and it went away eventually so I‘m not too worried but oughh its so hard to stay focused on work like this I’m so sad 😭
akalari.bsky.social
Daughter learned how to yapp 🥺💕

VTuber: @veekaytv.bsky.social
Art & Rig: Me
#Live2DWIP
Reposted by Aka ♠️♥️ ​VArtist
leashk.bsky.social
I haven't seen this around here so I'm gonna leave this

#REMOVEKAGAWA
It's been discovered that actor Teruyuki Kagawa, who has been casted as Goh Hamazaki in Yakuza Kiwami 3, was guilty of sexual harassment towards a hostess back in 2019.

This information was public back in 2022, with a bizarre apology being issued by the actor.
Reposted by Aka ♠️♥️ ​VArtist