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The Meeting of Taro-chin and Shiohigari

Shiohigari

This time, our guest is Taro-chin, a game streamer who has transitioned from being a writer and editor at Netorabo to currently thriving as a freelancer.

Taro-chin

This is Taro-chin. Nice to meet you!

Shiohigari

Nice to meet you!

Taro-chin

I mentioned it, a long-winded introduction.

Shiohigari

That's right, a long-winded one. I wrote this down in my notepad.

Taro-chin

I thought you shouldn't say it. Well then, nice to meet you!

Shiohigari

Nice to meet you. Let me introduce my profile again.

Born in 1985. Real name: Shotaro Oi. In 2008, started game commentary on Nico Nico Douga as "Taro-chin." After working as a writer and editor for the web news site "Netorabo," currently freelancing. A person who loved alcohol dearly, but in 2022, suffered from a severe illness called "acute pancreatitis," resulting in two-thirds of the pancreas being necrotic. Currently, I am permanently abstaining from alcohol.

Taro-chin

Here we go.

Shiohigari

Yeah, it was tough, wasn't it, the year before last.

Taro-chin

Right, that's true. Shiohigari-kun mentioned it during his guest appearance on this podcast, saying, "Recently, my friend has been on the verge of death."

Shiohigari

Ah, yes, yes, that's right.

Taro-chin

I thought, "That's me," and later asked about it.

Shiohigari

So, at that time when I was a guest on this radio, I introduced a song by a band called Inner Journey titled "Goodbye, See You in the Next Life." And during that time when Taro-chin was on the verge of death, I was listening to it a lot. It just happened to come on. I was playing songs randomly on Apple Music or something, and "Goodbye, See You in the Next Life" started playing.

And the content of that song was something like, "Even if I die, I'll appear in your garden as a cat," and it really resonated with me at that moment with Taro-chin.

Taro-chin

Trying to become a cat.

Shiohigari

It's a story about not wanting to become a cat.

Taro-chin

It was getting annoying.

Shiohigari

It was getting annoying, indeed. So I'm really glad it turned out to be a miraculous survival.

Taro-chin

Well, a lot has happened.

Shiohigari

Wow, thank you so much. It's great to have you on the radio like this.

Taro-chin

That's right.

Shiohigari

Every time I meet Taro-chin, I think it would be great if we could do something fun together next time.

Taro-chin

Something like that.

Shiohigari

I've been saying things like an old man. I hope this can finally be a stepping stone for that.

Taro-chin

Yeah, right? So, I wonder what that means. I first met Gari-kun about 10 years ago.

Shiohigari

I think it was about 15 years ago.

Taro-chin

Right? At that time, I was still a full-time freelancer.

Shiohigari

Freelancer, well, to put it nicely, freelancer.

Taro-chin

To put it nicely. I was just a part-timer, or rather, I wasn't doing any work at all.

Shiohigari

I was unemployed, right?

Taro-chin

Unemployed, borrowing money from Gari-kun and going out drinking every week.

Shiohigari

Wow, that was something back then. Looking back now, I think that was the time I drank the most in my life. We were meeting about three times a week, right?

Taro-chin

We were seriously meeting three times a week.

Shiohigari

If it was when we were in college, I could understand, but even after that, I was working and still drinking three times a week as a new employee.

Taro-chin

So on weekends, Gari-kun would call me out to Shinjuku or wherever, and I would go borrow money as if I had been waiting for it, saying we’d go until morning.

Shiohigari

Yeah, that’s right. We would drink until morning on Fridays. And then the next day, or rather, when we parted that morning, we would say, “See you later,” and go our separate ways.

Taro-chin

At night, we would gather again.

Shiohigari

At night, we would gather again, and it was amazing, it was intense.

Taro-chin

During that time, we were really going for it.

Shiohigari

We really were, I wonder what we had to talk about so much.

Taro-chin

Hey. You know, that was a kind of youth in its own way.

Shiohigari

Yeah, that's true. So I guess we had a long period of youth. Looking back now, yeah. It was fun, right?

Taro-chin

Right, right. So there was that period, and we played a lot during that time. We even did streams just to play "fun things together."

Shiohigari

Yeah, that was legendary.

Taro-chin

After that, well, I ended up getting a job and became a proper company employee. Meanwhile, Gari-kun took off with his illustrations and became a freelancer.

Shiohigari

It's the opposite, right?

Taro-chin

And as a result of that reversal, we ended up not meeting much anymore.

Shiohigari

That's right. For a while, we weren't meeting at all.

Taro-chin

There are times when I run out of opportunities, so I drink once or twice a year.

Shiohigari

That's right.

Taro-chin

So every time we say something like, "I want to do something fun again."

Shiohigari

That's true.

Taro-chin

I used to say I had to go to the office, but recently I've gone back to being a freelancer.

Shiohigari

No, finally. Because it's been long-awaited for me too.

Taro-chin

Long-awaited (laughs).

Shiohigari

So Taro-chin has finally become unemployed again.

Taro-chin

I've gone back to being unemployed (laughs). So, that's how I got this opportunity.

Shiohigari

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, it's the beginning of the year and I want to do something big this year. My goal for this year is to earn 200 million yen (laughs).

Taro-chin

Seriously? This year?

Shiohigari

That's right. This year, something big.

Taro-chin

That's amazing.

Shiohigari

200 million yen, because I want to buy a condo in Meguro Ward.

Taro-chin

That's a cliché dream.

Shiohigari

That's true. But I'm really torn. If I invest that 200 million yen at an annual interest rate of 5%, I could earn 10 million yen a year and live off that. So I'm really conflicted about whether to FIRE or buy a condo with that one-time 200 million yen.

Taro-chin

Yeah, yeah. Hmm, I wonder which one it is. You’re probably going to FIRE (laughs). You think too much about stability.

Shiohigari

You really get it. I think so too.

Taro-chin

People who say "let's do something big" usually can't do it (laughs).

Shiohigari

That's true.

Taro-chin

It's so rigid (laughs).

Shiohigari

That's right.

Taro-chin

Yeah, I see.

Shiohigari

So, for now, that's how it is. No, this is a trap... It always drags on like this.

Taro-chin

Please speak properly.

Shiohigari

That's why things have been progressing vaguely, so this time, no. Well, this is my third recording, and since it happened twice last time, I’ve been reflecting on it. This time, I think I’ll cut it sharply and clearly.

Taro-chin

Let’s create a flow.

Shiohigari

Let’s create that flow, yes, yes.

Taro-chin

Sounds good.

Shiohigari

So, that’s it.

Taro-chin

Yes.

Shiohigari

How have you been lately?

Taro-chin

You...! We're the same, aren't we? It's just a useless pass.

Shiohigari

Um, well, first of all, I guess I should ask about how you became a game streamer.

Taro-chin

Got it. So, I should just go in order, right?

Shiohigari

Yeah, that's right. Just do it however you want.

Taro-chin, a second-year middle school student, tells his mother watching Fishing Fool Diary that he won't be going to school

Taro-chin

So, you see (laughs). I'll do it my way, but I've basically lived my life alongside the internet.

Shiohigari

That's true, especially. Yes, Taro-chin is.

Taro-chin

Right. So, the name "Taro-chin" that I'm using now comes from when I started posting gaming commentary videos on Nico Nico Douga in 2008 under the name "Taro-chin." That led to me being approached and becoming a freelance writer. From there, I’ve been living as a writer and editor up to the present. I've been on the internet for a long time. The first time I used the internet was when I was in middle school. Since then, I've often mentioned that until the second year of middle school, I was extremely serious.

Shiohigari

Oh, I see.

Taro-chin

I went to school properly, listened to what the teachers said, and didn’t do anything bad. Like stopping at a red light.

Shiohigari

Checking both ways, right?

Taro-chin

Yeah, like if you find 100 yen at an intersection, you take it to the police box.

Shiohigari

That's impressive.

Taro-chin

I was really stuck in that mold...

Shiohigari

I was really rigid.

Taro-chin

A serious and uptight person. It's kind of scary. In short, I don't want to get scolded. I don't know, I dislike being scolded by teachers, and even though I have no interest in it, I still do my homework properly. I'm the shy and serious type, I guess.

Shiohigari

I totally get it.

Taro-chin

They say that middle schoolers are all going through a rebellious phase, but for me, it wasn't about my parents; it was more about questioning common sense. They say it's compulsory education, but who decided that? It's like that kind of—

Shiohigari

Like a little Hiroyuki.

Taro-chin

Becoming a little Hiroyuki, seriously. Saying things like Hiroyuki does. So, I really resonate with those who say deep things on "Serious Teen Talk" and such.

Shiohigari

Ah, I see.

Taro-chin

I thought that when I was in middle school, I told my mom, "I don't want to go to school anymore because studying is pointless." At that time, my mom was watching "Fishing Fool's Diary." She just said, "Well, that's fine," and supported me (laughs).

Shiohigari

Oh, I see. So, you were quite understanding.

Taro-chin

It was too understanding. Normally, I would be told that it’s not okay, and I would think, "Yeah, that’s true." It felt like I would definitely go to school properly starting tomorrow, but there was no scolding at all. I thought it was fine, and I really stopped going.

Shiohigari

That was, in a way, a surprising reaction. Yeah, normally you would stop.

Taro-chin

I thought she might say something like, "But there are disadvantages," and try to discourage me. But she was really supportive, saying things like, "You should do what you want to do." So, I felt like, "Yay!" and ended up not going.

Shiohigari

I see, so you just didn’t go.

Taro-chin

Strictly speaking, I do go to school, but I don’t attend classes. It’s like being a somewhat irregular non-attending student.

Shiohigari

I see. So, do you just eat the school lunch?

Taro-chin

Yeah. I go to the morning meeting, and there’s a room like a consultation room for those who are somewhat non-attending. They say you don’t have to go to the classroom first; just come to the consultation room. They have a room where they say you can just come to school first, even if you don’t attend classes. I went to the classroom once, attended the morning meeting, and then went to that room. Then I would just return to the classroom for lunch and participate in events like the sports festival.

Shiohigari

Oh, so you were just communicating normally with your classmates?

Taro-chin

It seems like there’s something going on.

Shiohigari

Doesn't it feel weird? Like, isn’t there a vibe of “Oh, Oi-kun is a bit different”?

Taro-chin

No, well, there might be a little, but our middle school wasn’t that chaotic, so everyone just thought, “Oh, that’s how Oi-kun is.”

Shiohigari

Everyone is quite understanding.

Taro-chin

If anything, I was the one who was different, twisted. They were on a lower level, or something like that.

Shiohigari

There are times when you feel like the civilization level of this planet is just too low.

Taro-chin

It felt like I was building walls on my own, and that was kind of how my middle school life was. Because of that, studying seemed pointless, and high school felt pointless too, so I didn't go. I didn't do anything for entrance exams and just didn't go. So, what did I do? I didn't really do anything special, just kind of wandered around, but during that time, I encountered the internet. I got a computer around the time I was graduating from middle school, and I started making a homepage and began a text site.

Shiohigari

That was popular back then.

Taro-chin

It was popular. Yeah, yeah. At that time, I awakened to the idea of publishing text on the internet. Back then, we couldn't do videos. There was just a bit of FLASH.

Shiohigari

That's right.

Taro-chin

Since there wasn't any technology for that, I thought I could write if it was text. I originally liked reading books a bit. I thought I wanted to be a writer, but writing novels seemed tough, and then the internet was right in front of me. That's when I started the text site, and that was my encounter with the internet.

Shiohigari

I see, I see.

Going to university to make friends while running a text site

Taro-chin

That text site itself didn't really succeed or anything, so I couldn't become anything, and I reflected that it would be better to have friends, so I started going to university.

Shiohigari

Oh, right, you didn't go to high school, did you?

Taro-chin

I didn't go to high school. I took the "Kōsotsu Nintei Shiken," which is now known as the "High School Equivalency Exam." So, I managed to enter university at the appropriate age.

Shiohigari

Oh, I see. That's quite rare, isn't it? It's unique.

Taro-chin

I took a rather strange detour. Then I went to university, and from there, I reflected on myself and became very aware of not looking down on others, realizing that I was just an ordinary person. It felt like my character was completed there.

Shiohigari

So, you became quite enlightened there, huh? I see, I see.

Taro-chin

Yeah. And because of that, I had a normal and fun time at university, where I also learned about alcohol. I realized that drinking made me smile with others, and that I could live like this, gaining a sense of humanity.

Shiohigari

I see, so you really learned a lot there.

Taro-chin

That's where I was completed. And that led to my severe acute pancreatitis later on.

Shiohigari

It's about connection. The origin comes first.

Taro-chin

That's where it all begins.

Shiohigari

It's the beginning of a story.

Taro-chin

So... well, I was doing that in college, and I ended up repeating a year. The club activities were fun, but college itself was... I was in a music club. After four years in the club, you technically graduate from it, but since I repeated a year, I couldn't graduate. All the friends I made over those four years graduated, and I ended up with nothing to do, so I thought, "Oh right, I used to be on the internet." I remembered I used to run text sites back in the day.

Shiohigari

Oh, I see. So you were pretty much away from the internet during your time in school.

Taro-chin

Not really. I was doing some blog-like stuff here and there, but real life was just more fun.

Shiohigari

I see.

Taro-chin

The internet was just something I looked at from a distance. I was repeating a year in school and had some free time, so I thought, why not try it again? At that time, game commentary started to emerge on Niconico Douga. It was really just starting out. So, I thought, maybe I should give it a try too? That was the trigger, I guess.

Shiohigari

Ah, I see. So how was it back then? Taro-chin, what video started gaining popularity at that time?

Taro-chin

I don't know if it became popular or not.

Shiohigari

No, it had a decent level of popularity.

Taro-chin

There were very few people back then. There were only about a hundred people doing game commentary.

Shiohigari

There were few players.

Taro-chin

Even now, there are billions of people.

Shiohigari

Seriously, everyone is doing it.

Taro-chin

One in every two people might be a game commentator.

Shiohigari

The era of major game streamers has arrived.

Taro-chin

Back then, there were only about 100 people on the entire Nico Nico Douga. It felt like knowing the names of people in your school year; if you were doing it, everyone would be like, "Oh, that person." It was a time when everyone knew at least the names.

I think I started around March or April of 2008. I admired people, and I don't know if I should say this, but there was a group called "Yutori-gumi," and there was a legendary game streamer named Shinsuke who was really funny.

I started out admiring people like that, and I got recognized by them to some extent. It was like, "Oh, you started streaming too?" It was normal to just send a little email and go out for drinks or have offline meetups. The barriers were low back then.

Shiohigari

Yeah, yeah, that's true.

Taro-chin

There was definitely something that helped me get remembered.

Shiohigari

I see. So that's how the interactions started.

Taro-chin

It all started from there. That was the catalyst for building connections. Back then, I called myself a "koshihinchaku" (a follower), and while I was doing that with famous streamers, I ended up making various connections, and someone asked me, "Want to try writing?"

Shiohigari

So, it feels like that led to getting work opportunities.

Taro-chin

Yeah, that's right. When I graduated from university, I barely made it through with my credits, so I hardly did any job hunting.

Shiohigari

Oh, I see.

Taro-chin

So when I was thinking about what to do, someone asked me, "Are you interested in being a writer?" Since I had been running a text site, I was like, "That's actually what I want to do the most," and then it turned into me trying it out and becoming a freelance writer.

Shiohigari

Ah, I see. So the person who first gave you a job was someone from Netorabo?

Taro-chin

No, it wasn't someone from Netorabo; it was a freelance editor.

Shiohigari

Oh, I see.

Taro-chin

Then there was a web magazine at Gentosha, which has now disappeared and you can't see anything anymore, but it was a serialized web magazine called "Live Commentary Guy B-TEAM" featuring game commentators. At that time, it was rare for game commentators to do anything other than game commentary or to engage in proper public activities, so people interested in that kind of thing would come and interview us.

So, there were a few people who said, "Oh, you guys are doing something interesting," and one of them later became an employee at Netorabo. And that was the opportunity that led me to join Netorabo as a company employee later on.

Shiohigari

Ah, I see, that's how it was.

Tarochin

That's right.

Shiohigari

...Shall we play a song here for a change? (laughs)

Tarochin

Shall we try playing a song here? (laughs)

Shiohigari

Okay. So, which song should we go with?

Tarochin

Then let's go with the first one that's written down, okay?

Shiohigari

Alright, please give me the artist's name and the song title.

Tarochin

Okay. Then please listen to this. It's "Our Tomorrow" by Elephant Kashimashi.

Elephant Kashimashi: Timelessness Across Eras

Taro

Elephant Kashimashi, you know, I started listening to them when I was in middle school, around the time I was becoming a truant. I encountered them when I was feeling like I wanted to live more rock 'n' roll. Since then, I've been listening to them constantly. I guess everyone has their favorite artists that they listen to a lot, but for me, I only listen to Elephant Kashimashi at pivotal moments.

Shiohigari

That resonates with me.

Taro

I often listen to them during tough times. For example, when I stopped going to middle school and was wondering what to do with my life. I wasn't going to high school either, feeling lonely without friends, but I had chosen this path myself. During those times, I would listen to Elephant Kashimashi's "Fight, Man!" and feel like, "Damn it, I won't lose!"

This song "Our Tomorrow" came out when I was in college, and I really love the lyrics. Miyamoto sings about what it was like in his teens, twenties, and thirties, encouraging us to do our best now. It's a bit embarrassing to say, but it resonates with me. To put it simply, in my teens, I was cursing the world with a mix of hatred and love. Miyamoto felt that way too, and I thought school was meaningless.

Teens have that sharp phase, and in my twenties, I learned about sadness and wandered the streets wanting to look away. I might talk more about this later, but during my late twenties, I was drinking a lot with friends like Garikun, and I had no work. There was a time when I was just drinking every day and taking walks, wandering around the city.

Shiohigari

Yeah, there was a time when I was wandering around.

Taro

There was (laughs). And yeah, there were those times, and those moments really overlap. In my thirties, I learned about love and realized that life is for that. I talk about getting a job and getting married in my thirties.

It's like, "You just have to brace yourself and do your best." Life doesn't always turn out the way you envisioned it, but it's about saying, "Alright, let's give it our all." It's a song that encourages us to live with our heads held high, and it's something that anyone from any era or generation can relate to. It's quite a universal song, with this incredibly positive message. Miyamoto is a really sharp person, but he has this duality; he can straightforwardly express both the intense youthfulness and the incredibly positive aspects of life. He also directly calls out the fools, but at the same time, he says, "But let's do our best," so there's a bit of a double standard there.

But it feels like he genuinely means both, and I love that he throws those straight pitches. So when I listen to it during times when I tend to overthink, it really resonates with me, and it makes me feel like I need to live straightforwardly.

Shiohigari

I see. Yeah, that's true. It's like a song you listen to at crucial moments. I also only listen to Cocco when I'm really angry. When I listen to "Rapunzel" while I'm furious, it really amplifies that feeling of "Damn it!" It's nice to have that.

Tarochin

It's like, you know, the ultimate support song for those critical moments.

Shiohigari

That's what Elephant Kashimashi means to Tarochin.

Tarochin

It was Elephant Kashimashi, yes.

#02 to be continued