Kazuma Hashimoto
@kazuma.bsky.social
critic / consultant / ??? @ ??? x2 ・ award nominated ・ ハーフ ・ queer, he/him, FTM 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ ・ bylines: IGN, Polygon, GamesRadar+, MMORPG, Them, Inverse, Rolling Stone ・ CONTACT: [email protected] ・ posts don't reflect employer, etc. etc.
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Kazuma Hashimoto
@kazuma.bsky.social
· Oct 21
hello! my name is kazuma hashimoto and i'm a critic and features writer. my work can be found on polygon, ign, and siliconera, usually entailing some kind of deep dive into japanese media. i also work as a narrative design consultant and a narrative designer on cool stuff i can't talk about yet.
oh yeah, my intro post. so a lot has changed in the past year. i still work as a critic and features writer. i'm now a part-time editor too. still do narrative design and consultation, but do market analysis to help identify trends and create marketing strategies. 👍 i'm also always open for work
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
FREELANCER TIP: THE 25% RULE!
The MOMENT payment hits your bank account, calculate 25% of the value of the invoice and then transfer that amount immediately to a savings account and DO NOT TOUCH IT. THAT'S FOR TAXES. Then pay yourself the remaining 75%. Account for this when determining rates!!!
The MOMENT payment hits your bank account, calculate 25% of the value of the invoice and then transfer that amount immediately to a savings account and DO NOT TOUCH IT. THAT'S FOR TAXES. Then pay yourself the remaining 75%. Account for this when determining rates!!!
Just calculated how much I will have to pay in self-employment taxes since I've never been a contract employee before and
Oh my god?????
This is awful?????
The US government finds a new way to devastate me every day 🫠
Oh my god?????
This is awful?????
The US government finds a new way to devastate me every day 🫠
November 30, 2025 at 4:12 AM
FREELANCER TIP: THE 25% RULE!
The MOMENT payment hits your bank account, calculate 25% of the value of the invoice and then transfer that amount immediately to a savings account and DO NOT TOUCH IT. THAT'S FOR TAXES. Then pay yourself the remaining 75%. Account for this when determining rates!!!
The MOMENT payment hits your bank account, calculate 25% of the value of the invoice and then transfer that amount immediately to a savings account and DO NOT TOUCH IT. THAT'S FOR TAXES. Then pay yourself the remaining 75%. Account for this when determining rates!!!
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
I think this is my favourite Morrowind art I made this year. I like how everyone I talk to has a slightly different opinion on Vivec’s character :)
November 29, 2025 at 11:56 PM
I think this is my favourite Morrowind art I made this year. I like how everyone I talk to has a slightly different opinion on Vivec’s character :)
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
AI dubs aren't just an attempt to replace voice actors. Engineering, mixing, writing, directing, and QC are also cut, narrowed down to a single prompter.
When I write dub scripts, it is an exercise in musicality, translation, and personal life experience. A prompter understands none of that.
When I write dub scripts, it is an exercise in musicality, translation, and personal life experience. A prompter understands none of that.
November 29, 2025 at 8:54 PM
AI dubs aren't just an attempt to replace voice actors. Engineering, mixing, writing, directing, and QC are also cut, narrowed down to a single prompter.
When I write dub scripts, it is an exercise in musicality, translation, and personal life experience. A prompter understands none of that.
When I write dub scripts, it is an exercise in musicality, translation, and personal life experience. A prompter understands none of that.
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
The additional context is that Valve is still killing a beloved games studio, still tried to weasel out of making a press statement, still didn't allow a second review, and still did not communicate with the developer beyond vague references to their terms.
www.eurogamer.net/valve-respon...
www.eurogamer.net/valve-respon...
Valve responds with "additional context" following Horses Steam ban controversy
Following Valve's decision to ban first-person horror adventure Horses from distribution on Steam, the company has provided "additional context" in a statement.
www.eurogamer.net
November 28, 2025 at 2:48 PM
The additional context is that Valve is still killing a beloved games studio, still tried to weasel out of making a press statement, still didn't allow a second review, and still did not communicate with the developer beyond vague references to their terms.
www.eurogamer.net/valve-respon...
www.eurogamer.net/valve-respon...
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
The original Let It Die was famous for its absolutely amazing soundtrack. Akira Yamaoka went and got in touch with a HUNDRED of his favourite indie bands and commissioned each to do a track named 'let it die'. The result was borderline mystical.
They're AI-generating the music here.
Fuck that.
They're AI-generating the music here.
Fuck that.
The Let it Die sequel - Let it Die: Inferno - which is coming out next week (4th December), seems to have been built using a considerable amount of generative AI. https://bit.ly/4ol7lIA
November 28, 2025 at 9:14 PM
The original Let It Die was famous for its absolutely amazing soundtrack. Akira Yamaoka went and got in touch with a HUNDRED of his favourite indie bands and commissioned each to do a track named 'let it die'. The result was borderline mystical.
They're AI-generating the music here.
Fuck that.
They're AI-generating the music here.
Fuck that.
even the steam sale that's happening rn is too pricy by comparison to the one that was held a few months ago. which makes sense since steam likes to push their sales first and foremost. but 10%-30% on a full price game is nothing. it just isn't affordable.
with all disrespect to the brands, 30% off is really not all that exciting in this economy
November 28, 2025 at 8:00 PM
even the steam sale that's happening rn is too pricy by comparison to the one that was held a few months ago. which makes sense since steam likes to push their sales first and foremost. but 10%-30% on a full price game is nothing. it just isn't affordable.
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
with all disrespect to the brands, 30% off is really not all that exciting in this economy
November 28, 2025 at 7:34 PM
with all disrespect to the brands, 30% off is really not all that exciting in this economy
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
This shit is why I'm getting less and less work on anime and having to scramble to ask around with YouTubers for help letting me do their CCs just to pay my damn rent. There's enough anime to caption out there that I should not be fucking struggling.
After publishing this article, I've heard from many that CR seems to be using AI to produce dub CCs. Now, thanks to a slip-up CR had with episode 6 dub of The Banished Court Magician, we can say that with 100% certainty: Crunchyroll is using the AI service Ollang.com for its dub closed captions!
November 28, 2025 at 8:27 AM
This shit is why I'm getting less and less work on anime and having to scramble to ask around with YouTubers for help letting me do their CCs just to pay my damn rent. There's enough anime to caption out there that I should not be fucking struggling.
thankful the friends I've made. the opportunities I've been given. the. communities I truly feel at home with. the support and generosity I've received. thankful for stability and personal and professional success. thankful for everyone that's been here along the way.
November 28, 2025 at 1:49 AM
thankful the friends I've made. the opportunities I've been given. the. communities I truly feel at home with. the support and generosity I've received. thankful for stability and personal and professional success. thankful for everyone that's been here along the way.
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
Asking folks to look out for Alaska Natives this holiday who are still dealing with the devastation of miles & miles of their homes, villages, traditions, foods, & ways of life & their displacement & instability continues.
NEW: State officials announced a "draw down" or most emergency crews supporting the Typhoon Halong relief effort in Western Alaska will be departing the region, as winter sets in.
alaskabeacon.com/2025/11/25/d...
alaskabeacon.com/2025/11/25/d...
Disaster relief crews begin to depart Western Alaska as winter sets in, officials say | Alaska Beacon
Some work on critical infrastructure projects will continue, but the state’s focus will transition to supporting storm-impacted communities and evacuated residents through the winter, officials said.
alaskabeacon.com
November 27, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Asking folks to look out for Alaska Natives this holiday who are still dealing with the devastation of miles & miles of their homes, villages, traditions, foods, & ways of life & their displacement & instability continues.
fascinating that the further you get from LA the less lawyer billboards you see. seeing actual advertisements feels like a rarity now.
November 27, 2025 at 8:58 PM
fascinating that the further you get from LA the less lawyer billboards you see. seeing actual advertisements feels like a rarity now.
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
any time Discord or Windows or whatever has a "An update is ready for you :)" button i sit there with my mouse hovering over it knowing that it's like russian roulette where one chamber has a live bullet and the other 5 chambers will explode the gun in my hands
November 27, 2025 at 12:03 AM
any time Discord or Windows or whatever has a "An update is ready for you :)" button i sit there with my mouse hovering over it knowing that it's like russian roulette where one chamber has a live bullet and the other 5 chambers will explode the gun in my hands
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
going to need discord to stop pushing through unnecessary UI changes i get it's the end of another fiscal quarter but please.. it's starting to get hard to find shit in my settings.
November 26, 2025 at 8:27 PM
going to need discord to stop pushing through unnecessary UI changes i get it's the end of another fiscal quarter but please.. it's starting to get hard to find shit in my settings.
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
We have a “poverty trap” and it’s driving the destruction of social cohesion.
The “poverty line” is’t 35,000, it’s $150,000, and making more than one, and less than the other is worse than being “poor”.
Which is why the rage.
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
The “poverty line” is’t 35,000, it’s $150,000, and making more than one, and less than the other is worse than being “poor”.
Which is why the rage.
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
Part 1: My Life Is a Lie
How a Broken Benchmark Quietly Broke America
www.yesigiveafig.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:13 PM
We have a “poverty trap” and it’s driving the destruction of social cohesion.
The “poverty line” is’t 35,000, it’s $150,000, and making more than one, and less than the other is worse than being “poor”.
Which is why the rage.
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
The “poverty line” is’t 35,000, it’s $150,000, and making more than one, and less than the other is worse than being “poor”.
Which is why the rage.
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
if you somehow don't own yakuza 0 please fucking buy it before this garbage replaces it
Yakuza 0 Will be Delisted & Replaced by Yakuza 0 Director's Cut Starting Dec. 8th. https://ow.ly/AW7950XyiP5
November 26, 2025 at 6:08 PM
if you somehow don't own yakuza 0 please fucking buy it before this garbage replaces it
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
those of you who are afraid of aging, please understand that one of the huge blessings of middle age is arriving at this exact station
We gotta normalize responding to bullshit with "dude who fucking cares"
October 30, 2025 at 12:44 AM
those of you who are afraid of aging, please understand that one of the huge blessings of middle age is arriving at this exact station
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
doing a Bro Check In with Crenshinibon
The fellas are on their way to keep Crenshinibon from succumbing to the shard loneliness epidemic.
November 25, 2025 at 4:55 PM
doing a Bro Check In with Crenshinibon
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
And the folks who are actually writing full-time generally only got there after years of day jobs, family support, or both.
The point of sharing this is not to demoralize anyone, but to let emerging writers know they're not failing if they can't make a living off writing alone. Almost no one can.
The point of sharing this is not to demoralize anyone, but to let emerging writers know they're not failing if they can't make a living off writing alone. Almost no one can.
almost every novelist you read who's not from the airport fiction or bestseller sections is working a full on day job, including multi-award winners and absolute legends, or they have a spouse or trust that supports them. virtually across the board. just normalize in your mind that's how it works.
I know we know this, but authors need to get better at talking about how they actually make their money. Stop pretending it's from the books.
November 25, 2025 at 11:24 PM
And the folks who are actually writing full-time generally only got there after years of day jobs, family support, or both.
The point of sharing this is not to demoralize anyone, but to let emerging writers know they're not failing if they can't make a living off writing alone. Almost no one can.
The point of sharing this is not to demoralize anyone, but to let emerging writers know they're not failing if they can't make a living off writing alone. Almost no one can.
hello industry friends and mutuals!! i'm going to be at TGA 2025. if you're going and would like to meet up, let me know. i'd love to go to coffee and chat. :)
November 25, 2025 at 11:06 PM
hello industry friends and mutuals!! i'm going to be at TGA 2025. if you're going and would like to meet up, let me know. i'd love to go to coffee and chat. :)
played a round of rivals and actually used vc. someone asked how big my dick was and i'm glad to know that i at least sound passing now lmao
November 25, 2025 at 11:01 PM
played a round of rivals and actually used vc. someone asked how big my dick was and i'm glad to know that i at least sound passing now lmao
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
Leaving aside the question of absolute poverty, I think people often don't get how poor writers are--and these are often writers with day jobs (or that have had day jobs, but layoffs are common), mind you. But one can't do one's day job from a hospital bed.
November 25, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Leaving aside the question of absolute poverty, I think people often don't get how poor writers are--and these are often writers with day jobs (or that have had day jobs, but layoffs are common), mind you. But one can't do one's day job from a hospital bed.