The Anime Man
Bizinger at SMASH! 2022 in Sydney, Australia
Personal information
Born
Joseph Tetsuro Bizinger

(1994-09-28) 28 September 1994 (age 29)[1]
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia[2]
EducationUniversity of Sydney
Occupations
PartnerAgnes Diego
Websitetheanimeman.wordpress.com
YouTube information
Also known asIkurru Kamijou[3] Ikurru
Channel
LocationTokyo, Japan
Years active2013–present
Genres
Subscribers3.37 million[4]
Total views578 million[4]
Associated acts
100,000 subscribers2015
1,000,000 subscribers2017
Twitch information
Channel
Years active2013–present
Genre
  • Just chatting
Followers438 thousand[5]
Last updated: 2 February 2024

Joseph Tetsuro Bizinger (born 28 September 1994), known online as The Anime Man, as well as his stage name Ikurru Kamijou (神城 維来, Kamijō Ikurru), is an Australian YouTuber, voice actor, songwriter, and podcaster. His video work focuses on Japanese popular culture, which consists of anime and manga reviews, and vlogs on Japanese culture and society.[6] Bizinger is also known for his interviews with people in the Japanese entertainment industry, such as light novel authors, manga artists, and voice actors in anime.[7]

Early life

Bizinger was born and raised in Sydney, New South Wales, on 28 September 1994. He was born into a mixed family; his mother is Japanese while his Australian father is of German and Hungarian descent. 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, with Doraemon, Sazae-san and Pokémon being especially prevalent in his early childhood.[3]

Bizinger graduated from St Paul's Catholic College in Manly in 2012, having achieved Distinguished Achiever awards in his HSC results 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. [8] Bizinger was the only student of Japanese descent in his class, and therefore introduced a lot of his friends to anime.[9] 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.[10]

Bizinger attended the University of Sydney, where he graduated in 2016 with a degree in Computer Design Technology.[3]

Career

The Anime Man

Bizinger began his YouTube career after posting his first video, “Dubbed Anime Sucks!,” on 27 May 2013.[11] With a mixture of vlogs and 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.[6] 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.[12][13]

After graduating from university, in May 2016 Bizinger moved to Japan, where he had originally planned to work in information technology, but by then his YouTube channel had grown so successful that he could work on it full time.[6][14] In January 2017, The Anime Man hit one million subscribers.[15] From 2017 to 2018, Bizinger co-hosted a weekly SBS podcast titled, The Anime Show, with Agnes Diego (Akidearest), which ran for 68 episodes that discussed anime, manga, and otaku culture.[16][17]

In 2018, Bizinger was a guest for four episodes in Abroad in Japan's Journey Across Japan series; in which he traveled on bike with British YouTuber Chris Broad, from Niigata to Itoigawa, Japan. The series documented local customs and daily life along the way, while also doing challenges to make it more interesting.[18] In one of the challenges, Broad and Bizinger were able to make a television commercial using Morinaga in Jelly, to which Bizinger created the fictional character “Dr. Jelly.”[19] Bizinger, along with Natsuki Aso, would continue to appear in the follow-up sequels to the series: Escape to Fuji (2020) and The Lost Islands (2021).[20][21] In June 2021, the single Too Much Volcano! by Abroad in Japan, featuring Bizinger and Aso, was released on the iTunes Store and Spotify; the song and accompanying music video was recorded during the production of The Lost Islands.[22] The song peaked at 65 on the UK downloads charts on 25 June 2021.[23]

Bizinger also began his voice acting career in 2018, with a cameo role in the video game Grisaia Phantom Trigger Vol. 4 and a narration role in an episode of Pop Team Epic.[3] In 2020, he also got the role as Music Elitist in the video game No Straight Roads.[24]

In February 2020, Bizinger joined alongside two other Youtubers, Thai-British Garnt Maneetapho (Gigguk) and Welsh Connor Colquhoun (CDawgVA), in creating and hosting a weekly audio and video podcast called Trash 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.[25][26][27] In February 2022, Bizinger created a third channel, The Anime Man VODs, which feature recordings of his Twitch livestreams.

Musical career

Bizinger produces music under his other alias Ikurru and released an album on 18 December 2019 entitled A Picture Frame Full Of Memories, performing both piano and vocals.[28] The album references his late grandfather Eishiro Suzuki.[2] Bizinger has released three full-length albums as Ikurru (including a collaborative album with composer Kevin Penkin), three EPs (including a collaborative EP with musician Grey Fox), and four standalone singles as of October 2021.[29] Bizinger sings and raps in both English and Japanese in his music.

Business ventures

In 2022, Bizinger announced the launch of Nonsense, a streetwear clothing brand he created.[30]

Personal life

On 4 November 2016, Bizinger and fellow YouTuber Agnes Diego (Akidearest) announced that they were in a relationship.[31][32]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Year Chart positions
A Picture Frame Full of Memories 2019 —
Soundtracks for the Delicate 2021 —

Extended plays

Title Year Chart positions
Fifteen 2020 —
Shirokitsune —
What's On Your Mind? 2022 —

Singles

Title Year Chart positions 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

Title Year Chart positions Album
"Joestar (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)"
(None Like Joshua & Musicality featuring Rustage, Nux Taku, CDawgVA, JY Shawty, Ikurru, Chi-Chi & Caleb Hyles) 		2020 — Non-album singles
"Too Much Volcano"
(Abroad in Japan featuring The Anime Man & Natsuki Aso) 		2021

Filmography

Television animation

Joseph Bizinger in television
Year Title Role Notes Source
2018 Pop Team Epic Narrator "Dancing with a Miracle" [3][33]

Video games

Joseph Bizinger in video games
Year Title Role Notes Source
2018 Grisaia Phantom Trigger Vol.4 Himself [3]
2020 No Straight Roads Music Elitist [24][34]

References

  1. ^ @TheAn1meMan (28 September 2019). "this boi is 25 years old today haha what a loser 🎉 🎈" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 January 2020 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ a b The Anime Man (16 January 2022). There's Something WEIRD about my Wikipedia Page... YouTube. Retrieved 16 January 2022. I was born in Australia, more specifically Sydney.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Interview with The Anime Man: On Voice Acting in Pop Team Epic and More". grape Japan. 8 August 2018. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  4. ^ a b "About The Anime Man". YouTube.
  5. ^ "TheAn1meMan - Streamer Overview & Stats". TwitchTracker. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Patrick St. Michel (12 July 2017). "Joey Bizinger sees his YouTube following grow amid an 'anime renaissance'". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  7. ^ Interview With “The Anime Man” on YouTube, Asian Boss
  8. ^ "Awards for 2012 in NSW". TopScores. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  9. ^ "HSC MERIT LIST 2012". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney, NSW. 20 December 2012. p. 43. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  10. ^ Low, Samantha (22 June 2022). "Joey Bizinger, The Anime Man, On YouTube Success, Identity And Nonsense". Kotaku AU. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  11. ^ The Anime Man (27 May 2013). Dubbed Anime Sucks!. YouTube. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  12. ^ Joey (22 February 2016). (RE)-INTRODUCTION. YouTube. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  13. ^ Joey (29 May 2021). My New Japanese Room Tour!. YouTube. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  14. ^ The Anime Man (30 April 2016). I'M MOVING TO JAPAN!. YouTube. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  15. ^ Joey (28 January 2017). The Anime Man: One Million Subscriber Special Video. YouTube. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  16. ^ "The Anime Show with Joey & AkiDearest". SBS PopAsia. November 2017. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  17. ^ "The Anime Show with Joey & AkiDearest (podcast) - SBS PopAsia". Listen Notes. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  18. ^ "Journey Across Japan". Tokyo Creative. 2018. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  19. ^ Abroad in Japan (21 October 2018). We Made a Japanese Commercial in 24 Hours. YouTube. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  20. ^ "連載：クリス・ブロードの「ガイドブックに載っていない日本」（第0回） 外国人YouTuberである僕が「日本人が見落としている日本の魅力」を伝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. Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  21. ^ "Journey Across Japan: The Lost Islands". Abroad in Japan. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  22. ^ @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) – via Twitter.
  23. ^ a b "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts. 25 June 2021. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  24. ^ a b "Japanese Voice Acting Cast Revealed for No Straight Roads". Playstation.Blog. 11 September 2019. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  25. ^ 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. Archived from the original on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  26. ^ 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. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  27. ^ Smith, Mike (Winter 2021). "The Trash Taste Podcast". Metropolis Japan. Tokyo, Japan: Japan Partnership Inc. pp. 22–25. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  28. ^ "Ikurru - A Picture Frame Full of Memories". DistroKid. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  29. ^ "Ikurru". Spotify. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  30. ^ "「 N Ø И S E N S E 」". YouTube.
  31. ^ The Anime Man (4 November 2016). We Have A Confession... YouTube. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  32. ^ akidearest (4 November 2016). WE FINALLY CONFESS!. YouTube. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  33. ^ Ekens, Gabriella (4 March 2018). "Episode 8-9 - Pop Team Epic". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 5 March 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  34. ^ LeClair, Kyle (14 September 2019). "No Straight Roads Shows Off Japanese VA Cast in TGS Trailer". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2022.

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