14
Building a VTuber Avatar in VRoid Studio for Free
Every VTuber channel starts with the same quiet decision. Which program do I open? Most people assume the answer costs money. So they budget a few hundred dollars before drawing...
Sidegrade · A notebook in 14 chapters
The account, the language, the tier, the version.
Japanese games, stores and creative software usually do work here. The trouble arrives in a fairly reliable order: opening the account, reading the interface, finding out what the free tier removed, and only then choosing between two editions.
So this site is written as a notebook rather than a directory. One chapter answers one of those small obstacles. The chapters are numbered in the order they were written, and any of them can be read on its own.
Part one
The chapters
The most recent pieces, numbered as they are in the full notebook. Start with whichever problem you actually have.
13
Live2D Cubism Price: What FREE Blocks and PRO Costs
I built my first VTuber model on Live2D Cubism's free version, which is legal for paid work. That is why most people start there and only look up the price...
12
Shonen Jump vs Manga Plus: Where to Read Legally
Shonen Jump and Manga Plus are the two official, legal ways to read Shueisha manga in English. Most people do not realize they are not the same service. One is...
11
MZ or MV: Which RPG Maker Should You Buy
MZ or MV is the question every new RPG Maker buyer hits. The answer depends almost entirely on what you already own. Both are one-time-purchase engines for 2D RPGs. MZ...
10
Switch 2 Japan vs International: What Actually Differs
Switch 2 hardware is the same machine everywhere it ships. The "Japan version" question that floats around forums is almost never about the console itself. It is about the eShop...
09
Opening a Japanese Nintendo Account from the US
A Japanese Nintendo Account is the cleanest way to reach games and demos that never leave the Japan eShop. No shipping, no customs, no physical import. It is just a...
08
Clip Studio Paint EX vs PRO: Worth the Upgrade?
Clip Studio Paint is the drawing app most serious webtoon and manga artists actually use. The buying question is almost never "should I use it" but "EX or PRO". Both...
07
Reading Pixiv in English: A Practical Guide
Pixiv is Japan's largest art community. English readers can reach most of it for free. The real barrier is not access. It is navigation. Anime fans and art students who...
Part two
If this is your first visit
Three ways into the notebook. Each leads to a chapter that already exists, not to a menu of options.
-
You are choosing between two versions.
Start with the chapter that puts the two editions side by side. Read MZ or MV: Which RPG Maker Should You Buy.
More in Version Choices -
You want to know what the free tier removes.
Read the chapter that names the limit before it names the price. Read Live2D Cubism Price: What FREE Blocks and PRO Costs.
More in Free & Paid Tiers -
You cannot open the account from here.
Begin with the chapter on region and sign-in rules. Read Opening a Japanese Nintendo Account from the US.
Colophon
Why the price comes last
Before paying for a Japanese service from the US, three things tend to matter more than the number on the pricing page. Whether an account can be opened here at all. Whether the interface, the licence or the library works in English. And what exactly the free tier takes away.
Only then is it worth comparing two editions or two subscriptions. A chapter on this site starts at the obstacle and ends at the answer; it does not begin with a table of prices and leave the reader to work out which row applies.
Sidegrade is a notebook by Jordan Wells on Japanese services and creative software as they are used from the United States. Trial terms and prices are quoted with the date they were checked.