Joseph Tetsuro Bizinger(born 28 September 1994), known online asThe Anime Man,as well as his stage nameIkurru Kamijou(Thần thành duy lai,Kamijō Ikurru[6]),is a Japanese-AustralianYouTuber,voice actor,songwriter,andpodcaster.His video work focuses onJapanese popular culture,which consists ofanimeandmangareviews, andvlogsonJapanese cultureand society.[7]Bizinger is also known for his interviews with people in the Japanese entertainment industry, such aslight novelauthors,manga artists,and voice actors in anime.[8]
| The Anime Man | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bizinger atSMASH!2022 in Sydney, Australia | ||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||
| Born | Joseph Tetsuro Bizinger 28 September 1994[1] | |||||||||
| Education | University of Sydney | |||||||||
| Occupations | ||||||||||
| Partner | Agnes Diego | |||||||||
| Website | theanimeman | |||||||||
| YouTube information | ||||||||||
| Also known as | Ikurru Kamijou[3]Ikurru | |||||||||
| Channel | ||||||||||
| Location | Tokyo, Japan | |||||||||
| Years active | 2013–present | |||||||||
| Genres | ||||||||||
| Subscribers | 3.39 million[4] | |||||||||
| Total views | 624 million[4] | |||||||||
| Associated acts | ||||||||||
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Twitch information | ||||||||||
| Channel | ||||||||||
| Years active | 2013–present | |||||||||
| Genre |
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| Followers | 436 thousand[5] | |||||||||
Last updated:1 October 2024 | ||||||||||
Early life
editBizinger was born and raised inSydney,New South Wales,on 28 September 1994. He was born into a mixed family; his mother isJapanesewhile hisAustralianfather is ofGermanandHungariandescent. He lived in Sydney until the age of 21. Bizinger's mother wanted to ensure that he would retain his Japanese heritage by exclusively speaking in Japanese to him and showing him various Japanese anime on home video, withDoraemon,Sazae-sanandPokémonbeing especially prevalent in his early childhood.[3]
Bizinger graduated fromSt Paul's Catholic CollegeinManlyin 2012, having achieved Distinguished Achiever awards in hisHSCresults including a band 6 in Music 1,Information processes and technology,and Japanese in Context (formerly known as Heritage Japanese), in which he achieved 4th in the state.[9]Bizinger was the only student of Japanese descent in his class, and therefore introduced a lot of his friends to anime.[10]Growth in the popularity of anime, alongside a school project, spurred him to make a website where he reviewed Japanese animation. He kept making the reviews even after the project ended, and continued to post the reviews until graduation. While studying there, he began making YouTube videos to be posted on his website, eventually deciding to switch entirely to the YouTube.[11]
Bizinger attended theUniversity of Sydney,where he graduated in 2016 with a degree in Computer Design Technology.[3]
Career
editThe Anime Man
editBizinger began his YouTube career after posting his first video, “Dubbed Anime Sucks!,” on 27 May 2013.[12]With a mixture ofvlogsand discussions about various anime and manga, Bizinger would hit his first big milestone, 100,000 subscribers, in 2015. This was soon followed on what is considered his break-out video, “7 Types of Anime Fans,” on 17 June 2015, which ran through the various archetypes that comprise the anime community; a week after its release, Bizinger had doubled his subscriber count.[7]In February 2016, Bizinger created his second channel, Joey, which was initially created as a 'me' channel, but has since evolved into a channel where less polished or various content that does not fit in the main channel are placed.[13][14]
After graduating from university, in May 2016 Bizinger moved to Japan, where he had originally planned to work ininformation technology,but by then his YouTube channel had grown so successful that he could work on it full time.[7][15]In January 2017, The Anime Man hit one million subscribers.[16]From 2017 to 2018, Bizinger co-hosted a weeklySBSpodcast titled,The Anime Show,withAgnes Diego(Akidearest), which ran for 68 episodes that discussed anime, manga, andotakuculture.[17][18]
In 2018, Bizinger was a guest for four episodes inAbroad in Japan'sJourney Across Japanseries; in which he traveled on bike with BritishYouTuberChris Broad, fromNiigatatoItoigawa,Japan. The series documented local customs and daily life along the way, while also doing challenges to make it more interesting.[19]In one of the challenges, Broad and Bizinger were able to make a television commercial usingMorinaga in Jelly,to which Bizinger created the fictional character “Dr. Jelly.”[20]Bizinger, along with Natsuki Aso, would continue to appear in the follow-up sequels to the series:Escape to Fuji(2020) andThe Lost Islands(2021).[21][22]In June 2021, the singleToo Much Volcano!by Abroad in Japan, featuring Bizinger and Aso, was released on theiTunes StoreandSpotify;the song and accompanying music video was recorded during the production ofThe Lost Islands.[23]The song peaked at 65 on the UK downloads charts on 25 June 2021.[24]
Bizinger also began hisvoice actingcareer in 2018, with a cameo role in the video gameGrisaia Phantom Trigger Vol. 4and a narration role in an episode ofPop Team Epic.[3]In 2020, he also got the role as Music Elitist in the video gameNo Straight Roads.[25]
In February 2020, Bizinger joined alongside two other Youtubers,Thai-BritishGarnt Maneetapho(Gigguk) andWelshConnor Colquhoun(CDawgVA), in creating and hosting a weekly audio and video podcast calledTrash Taste,where they discuss anime, manga, otaku culture, and their experiences while living in Japan. The first episode was released on 5 June 2020 and all episodes are available on YouTube and major podcast platforms.[26][27][28]In February 2022, Bizinger created a third channel, The Anime Man VODs, which feature recordings of his Twitch livestreams.
Musical career
editBizinger produces music under his other alias Ikurru and released an album on 18 December 2019 entitledA Picture Frame Full Of Memories,performing both piano and vocals.[29]The album references his late grandfather Eishiro Suzuki.[2]Bizinger has released three full-length albums as Ikurru (including a collaborative album with composerKevin Penkin), three EPs (including a collaborative EP with musician Gray Fox, currently known as Sinewave Fox), and four standalone singles as of October 2021.[30]Bizinger sings and raps in both English and Japanese in his music.
Business ventures
editIn 2022, Bizinger announced the launch of Nonsense, a streetwear clothing brand he created.[31]
Personal life
editOn 4 November 2016, Bizinger and fellow YouTuberAgnes Diego(Akidearest) announced that they were in a relationship.[32][33]
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Year |
|---|---|
| A Picture Frame Full of Memories | 2019 |
| Soundtracks for the Delicate | 2021 |
Extended plays
edit| Title | Year |
|---|---|
| Fifteen | 2020 |
| Shirokitsune | |
| What's On Your Mind? | 2022 |
Singles
edit| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "I Know You Will Fall" | 2020 | Non-album singles |
| "Anime Cypher 2020" (featuring Gray Fox, Otaku>d Furiku, Rustage & Kuro!) | ||
| "Freefalling Upwards into an Ocean of Dreams" | 2021 | |
| "Twenty Seven" |
Featured singles
edit| Title | Year | Chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Down. [24] | |||
| "Kono Dio Da" (Rustage featuring The Anime Man) |
2020 | — | Non-album singles |
| "Joestar (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)" (None Like Joshua & Musicality featuring Rustage, Nux Taku,CDawgVA,JY Shawty, Ikurru, Chi-Chi & Caleb Hyles) |
2020 | — | |
| "Too Much Volcano" (Abroad in Japanfeaturing The Anime Man & Natsuki Aso) |
2021 | 65 |
Filmography
editTelevision animation
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Pop Team Epic | Narrator | "Dancing with a Miracle" | [3][34] |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Grisaia Phantom Trigger Vol.4 | Himself | [3] | |
| 2020 | No Straight Roads | Music Elitist | [25][35] |
References
edit- ^@TheAn1meMan (28 September 2019)."this boi is 25 years old today haha what a loser 🎉 🎈"(Tweet).Retrieved5 January2020– viaTwitter.
- ^abThe Anime Man (16 January 2022).There's Something WEIRD about my Wikipedia Page...YouTube.Retrieved16 January2022.
I was born in Australia, more specifically Sydney.
- ^abcdef"Interview with The Anime Man: On Voice Acting in Pop Team Epic and More".grape Japan. 8 August 2018.Archivedfrom the original on 4 December 2019.Retrieved4 December2019.
- ^ab"About The Anime Man".YouTube.
- ^"TheAn1meMan - Streamer Overview & Stats".TwitchTracker.Archivedfrom the original on 8 December 2021.Retrieved1 October2024.
- ^"Joey Bizinger - IMDB".IMDB.Retrieved17 May2024.
- ^abcPatrick St. Michel (12 July 2017)."Joey Bizinger sees his YouTube following grow amid an 'anime renaissance'".The Japan Times.Archivedfrom the original on 7 January 2019.Retrieved4 December2019.
- ^Interview With “The Anime Man”onYouTube,Asian Boss
- ^"Awards for 2012 in NSW".TopScores.Retrieved4 January2024.
- ^"HSC MERIT LIST 2012".The Daily Telegraph.Sydney, NSW. 20 December 2012. p. 43.Retrieved21 January2022.
- ^Low, Samantha (22 June 2022)."Joey Bizinger, The Anime Man, On YouTube Success, Identity And Nonsense".Kotaku AU.Archived fromthe originalon 22 June 2022.Retrieved17 July2022.
- ^The Anime Man (27 May 2013).Dubbed Anime Sucks!.YouTube.Retrieved18 January2022.
- ^Joey (22 February 2016).(RE)-INTRODUCTION.YouTube.Retrieved18 January2022.
- ^Joey (29 May 2021).My New Japanese Room Tour!.YouTube.Retrieved18 January2022.
- ^The Anime Man (30 April 2016).I'M MOVING TO JAPAN!.YouTube.Retrieved16 September2020.
- ^Joey (28 January 2017).The Anime Man: One Million Subscriber Special Video.YouTube.Retrieved18 January2022.
- ^"The Anime Show with Joey & AkiDearest".SBS PopAsia.November 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 17 July 2020.Retrieved17 July2020.
- ^"The Anime Show with Joey & AkiDearest (podcast) - SBS PopAsia".Listen Notes. 18 June 2018.Retrieved17 January2022.
- ^"Journey Across Japan".Tokyo Creative. 2018.Archivedfrom the original on 25 November 2020.Retrieved3 December2020.
- ^Abroad in Japan (21 October 2018).We Made a Japanese Commercial in 24 Hours.YouTube.Retrieved16 January2022.
- ^"Liên tái: クリス・ブロードの “ガイドブックに tái っていない nhật bổn” ( đệ 0 hồi ) ngoại quốc nhân YouTuberである phó が “Nhật bổn nhân が kiến lạc としている nhật bổn の mị lực” を vân えるためにできること "[Series: Chris Broad's "Japan Not Listed in Guidebooks" (Chapter 0) What I can do to convey "the charm of Japan that Japanese people overlook" as a foreign YouTuber?] (in Japanese). Real Sound. 2 January 2021.Archivedfrom the original on 11 January 2021.Retrieved10 January2021.
- ^"Journey Across Japan: The Lost Islands".Abroad in Japan.Archivedfrom the original on 3 June 2021.Retrieved29 May2021.
- ^@AbroadInJapan (18 June 2021)."IT'S OFFICIAL! By popular request, we've been able to get our crazy song" Too Much Volcano! "on the iTunes store (And Spotify early next week!) Anything we make from the song will go into the production budget for future episodes!"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
- ^ab"Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100".Official Charts.25 June 2021.Archivedfrom the original on 8 October 2021.Retrieved16 January2022.
- ^ab"Japanese Voice Acting Cast Revealed for No Straight Roads".Playstation.Blog. 11 September 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 7 August 2020.Retrieved16 January2022.
- ^St. Michel, Patrick (9 February 2021)."New trends in 'J-vlogging' allow for a more diverse range of views on Japan".The Japan Times.Tokyo, Japan.Archivedfrom the original on 2 March 2021.Retrieved17 May2021.
- ^Ziegler, Michael (2 February 2020)."Kadokawa holt Anime-YouTuber nach Japan, um dort zu leben und zu arbeiten"[Kadokawa brings anime YouTubers to Japan to live and work] (in German). Sumikai.Archivedfrom the original on 2 June 2021.Retrieved29 May2021.
- ^Smith, Mike (Winter 2021)."The Trash Taste Podcast".Metropolis Japan.Tokyo, Japan: Japan Partnership Inc. pp. 22–25.Archivedfrom the original on 20 December 2021.Retrieved16 January2022.
- ^"Ikurru - A Picture Frame Full of Memories".DistroKid.Archivedfrom the original on 21 December 2019.Retrieved3 January2020.
- ^"Ikurru".Spotify.Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2020.Retrieved1 May2021.
- ^"“N Ø И S E N S E” ".YouTube.3 June 2022.
- ^The Anime Man (4 November 2016).We Have A Confession...YouTube.Retrieved16 January2022.
- ^akidearest (4 November 2016).WE FINALLY CONFESS!.YouTube.Retrieved16 January2022.
- ^Ekens, Gabriella (4 March 2018)."Episode 8-9 - Pop Team Epic".Anime News Network.Archivedfrom the original on 5 March 2018.Retrieved17 January2022.
- ^LeClair, Kyle (14 September 2019)."No Straight Roads Shows Off Japanese VA Cast in TGS Trailer".Hardcore Gamer.Archivedfrom the original on 19 January 2022.Retrieved17 January2022.
External links
edit
Media related toThe Anime Manat Wikimedia Commons- Joey BizingeratIMDb
