If you asked me why I love FUWAMOCO so much, or if you were a brand new viewer and asking for recommendations on what to watch to get a feel for them, I would show you streams from season 1. I would show you streams with great sisterly banter and funny gameplay like Cookie and Cream, Typing of the Dead, Donkey Kong Country, Ocarina of Time, Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid. I would show you streams where you could tell they were really passionate and enjoyed what they were doing like Sakura Wars, White Album, or biweekly Rock and Rawrs. I would show you streams where they were inventive, creative, and touching, like Halloween FWMC Morning, AsaMoco, Christmas, and Valentines. I would show you streams where nothing even really happened but they were happy and energized to be there and the strength of their personalities were enough, like the Advent Watchalong of HoloSummer that didn't happen and just turned into a zatsu, or the Advent L4D2, or watchalongs of The Shining, Die Hard, and the Princess Switch. And I know I'm not alone in this, the fact that the clip compilation was a bunch of favorite moments from February before the move at the latest shows that other Ruffians feel this way too, even if it's unconcious or they haven't put it to words yet. The things we love about FUWAMOCO, the most "precious memories" are the simple everyday streams and moments, not big projects or events.
That's not to say that I won't cry tears seeing them onstage, even if it's pre-recorded. That's not to say there aren't ANY good moments in Season 2. Or that there weren't lackluster streams in Season 1. But more and more, it feels like the FUWAMOCO I fell in love with are no longer there, or at the very least they are too busy to return anymore. And I do mean, "in love with". Look if all you're in for is just simple entertainment, you can just watch clips of them playing horror slop and listen to their screams and cute noises. That will always be there. Me, I want more. A stream of vertical FOTM like Sisyphus game, or streams of them fumbling around blindly in ARK, playing indie Japanese horrorshit or Five Nights at Freddy's, or SC reading streams where they interrupt every story to thank a random Japanese person or answer a dumb question from some gray who has never seen Vtubers before, these are not streams I enjoy nor streams I would show to a new person as what's great about FUWAMOCO. They are constantly tired and it shows. Their minds are often elsewhere, on projects and recordings that they can't tell us about, that we might not be able to enjoy, because they will be gated by money and location and language. They're always running off to somewhere to do something with a quick apology that they "really do want to stay longer and talk with us more but we're trying our hardest and doing our best Ruffians, please be proud of us." More often than not, a stream will end at 2 hours, or they will save reading SCs for another stream, long after the sentiment and moment that SC was sent in has passed. Something they said they hated doing.
And I know there are trolls and shitposters who will like to stir the shit and probably what I've written here will be taken and used as ammunition against them in some catalog thread. "Look at how /baubau/ feels about FUWAMOCO these days!" Or people won't read or I'll get called a sister or whatever but these are my genuine feelings and they've been building for months now, regardless of what anyone /here/ says. I care about FUWAMOCO. They are worth the effort. They are worth an essay post. Right now, I just feel glum, having heard that September will be just as busy, if not busier, as every month has been since they moved to Japan. Because again, it was the everyday simple joy of FUWAMOCO streams that I loved.
This vertical stream is a perfect metaphor. It feels like I can only see slim glimpses of them these days. Both in limited timeframes, and literal viewing of them because so much of the screen is just missing. Empty. I can still see traces of what I loved about them here and there. But for the most part, it feels like I lost something important.
Just had to get that off my chest, go ahead and TLDR me or call me a sister now.
