Hey all, it’s Kern here, coming at you with a fan song for Assassination Classroom. The anime is an older one at this point. It came out back in 2015, so it’s been a bit of time. That being said, it’s one of the anime I still really like a lot and I wanted to do a fan song for it.
Ever felt like the world wrote you off before you even had a chance to speak? “Mach 20 Misfits” is our alt-rock love letter to the underdogs; the students of Class 3-E from Assassination Classroom, who were thrown away by the system, only to rise stronger under the unlikeliest of teachers.
This track brings together gritty guitar riffs, raw vocals, and a cinematic choir that captures the spirit of rebellion, transformation, and heart. Inspired by the emotional depth and chaotic brilliance of anime like Assassination Classroom, this rock anthem channels that inner fight and the push against failure, the pain of growth, and the bond between outcasts who finally find their spark.
If you’re into high impact, anime-inspired alt rock with epic builds and a choir that punches through the noise, this one’s for you. We wanted this song to feel like what it means to stand on the edge of everything, knife in hand, heart wide open, and still choose to become something more. Turn it up loud. Scream it out. This is rebellion.
Until next time everyone, this has been Kern of The Demented Ferrets, where stupidity is at its finest and level grinds are par for the course.
FAIL: Fallen Angels in Limelight – rock, glam rock, hard rock. City of Shadows Album 1 – A musical story about two cities joining together as one deep in the desert. A literal tyrant has come to lay claim to the city, and an uprising occurs. Roll for Glory Album – An album dedicated to the wonderful world of DnD, and the fictional band in “Thunderous Power Kicks” (T.P.K) led by their fearless leader and Bard. RWBY Fan Songs – Fan made songs for the RWBY series encompassing several musical styles. (Kern’s on going project). Video Game Fan Songs – Fan made songs about video games spanning a wide variety of gaming genres and song styles (Kresh and Kern’s ongoing project). Ferret’s Synthwave – Songs with a Synthwave vibe.
Hey all, it’s Kern here, coming at you with another RWBY fan song, this time centering around Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee, or “WhiteRose” to those who sail the ship.
This project is a combo between Kresh and I. I wrote the lyrics, and Kresh got the sound we wanted out of the AI we use. I thought it was only fitting that this project featuring the dynamic White Rose duo get star treatment from the Demented ferrets duo that work on the songs on our channel (Kresh and I). If you like her sound, check out her music here too… seriously, if you like this, I’m sure there are others that you’ll just love.
If you like fan songs like this one, follow us over on YouTube.
Personally, I absolutely love this pairing and while it isn’t canon yet (and probably won’t be), the subtext between these two speaks absolute volumes. When I was working on this fan song I really wanted to highlight the overall feel of these two characters, and keep the romance in this one ambiguous and playful more than anything else. I hope I managed to achieve that, but I’ll let the lyrics speak for themselves:
Verse 1: Side by side, we stand in the fray, You hold your ground, I rush ahead each day. A partner’s trust in every move, In the quiet moments, our hearts improve. Through the storm, we find our pace, Your steady hand, my wild race. A glance, a word, a simple sign, In the silence, we both align.
Pre-Chorus: In every strike, in every fight, You’re the calm, I’m the silver light. We stand as one, together we rise, With every challenge, we meet each surprise.
Chorus: We move in rhythm, the world untold, Silver and ice, a story unfolds. No need for words, yet we understand, A connection felt, without command. The rush of speed, the grace you show, Together, a bond that continues to grow.
Verse 2: Your strength in silence, my heart’s desire, You steady the storm, I fuel the fire. Your blade, a cut so cold and true, And I’m the spark, igniting through. In the quiet of night, we find our way, A team, a partnership, come what may. Through every battle, we hold our ground, In each other’s presence, we are found.
Pre-Chorus: In every strike, in every fight, You’re the calm, I’m the silver light. We stand as one, together we rise, With every challenge, we meet each surprise.
Chorus: We move in rhythm, the world untold, Silver and ice, a story unfolds. No need for words, yet we understand, A connection felt, without command. The rush of speed, the grace you show, Together, a bond that continues to grow.
Bridge: In the glance of an eye, in the sound of a breath, We find what words fail to express. The bond we share, unspoken, true, A thread that ties me close to you.
Chorus: We move in rhythm, the world untold, Silver and ice, a story unfolds. No need for words, yet we understand, A connection felt, without command. The rush of speed, the grace you show, Together, a bond that continues to grow.
Outro: Silver and ice, we stand as one, Two halves of a whole, with battles won. Side by side, we’ll always be, The rush of the storm, the calm of the sea…
I hope you enjoyed that song for what it was, and forgive it for what it wasn’t… I had fun making it, and that’s what counts I say. Anyway, I’ll see you next time, everyone. This has been Kern from The Demented Ferrets, where stupidity is at its finest, and level grinds are par for the course. Stop by and say hello to Kresh and I over on Twitch if you get the chance!
City of Shadows Album 1 – A musical story about two cities joining together as one deep in the desert. A literal tyrant has come to lay claim to the city, and an uprising occurs. Roll for Glory Album – An album dedicated to the wonderful world of DnD, and the fictional band in “Thunderous Power Kicks” (T.P.K) led by their fearless leader and Bard. RWBY Fan Songs – Fan made songs for the RWBY series encompassing several musical styles. (Kern’s on going project). Video Game Fan Songs – Fan made songs about video games spanning a wide variety of gaming genres and song styles (Kresh and Kern’s ongoing project). Ferret’s Synthwave – Songs with a Synthwave vibe.
Hey all, it’s Kern here! We absolutely adored a horror game called Still Wakes the Deep, and we wanted to do a fan song for it. This is that fan song. Kresh worked very hard on writing the lyrics and making the video! As always, the music and singing is done with the use of AI. Take a listen and enjoy!
And of course, don’t forget our glam rock version of the song, found here:
Hey all, it’s Kern here! This is another fan song that we’ve had up on our YouTube for a while, but it occurred to me that people who hang around only on the blog would never see it. Well, here it is!
Night on the Train is perhaps my favorite of the four RWBY trailer inspired songs. It’s softer, more reflective and introspective than the other three pieces by a mile. Having toyed around with the narrative of the other RWBY trailers that came before Volume 1, surely I had to play around with Blake’s core themes and emotional struggles too… however, Blake’s trailer lends itself to a much more emotional set of circumstances, and world building gets a chance to really flourish.
For this song, I really wanted to highlight Blake’s understanding that running away from Adam and the White Fang was always going to be a double edged sword. That ambition alone was never going to be enough, and that following a person like Adam really begs a few questions about what the White Fang really stands for, and what Blake herself stands for as a person.
So, this is a fan song about Blake Belladonna from the RWBY series. Overall, this song encapsulates themes from the RWBY Black Trailer, and glosses upon Blake’s volume 1-3 plot line, with references to later volumes. This song isn’t meant so much to be in the moments of the train events themselves, but rather the aftermath of it all and Blake’s reflections on the topic.
As always, human written lyrics (by me) and generative AI used to make the song and vocals.
Don’t forget to follow our Twitch and YouTube for more awesome content.
[Verse 1] That night on the train, I ran away, Under the cover of darkness, where shadows lay. I thought I could escape what I had done, But the past still haunts me, and it weighs a ton.
[Pre-Chorus] I thought I was fighting for something true, But my hands are stained by the things I knew. I turned a blind eye to the hurt he caused, Now I stand here, with the truth as my loss.
[Chorus] What was I really fighting for? Was it worth the cost, what’s at the core? I let them fall, I turned away, Now I’m lost in the guilt, with no words to say.
[Verse 2] I thought I was doing what I had to do, But the lies I believed cut straight through. Adam’s rage, a storm I couldn’t see, Now I know the damage, now it’s haunting me.
[Pre-Chorus] I turned away from the light I once knew, Chose a darker path, now I’m consumed. My choices echo, they still ring loud, A part of me’s lost, and I’m wrapped in a shroud.
[Chorus] What was I really fighting for? Was it worth the cost, what’s at the core? I let them fall, I turned away, Now I’m lost in the guilt, with no words to say.
[Bridge] Now I’m standing here with blood on my hands, Wondering how I let it slip through my plans. I ran from my past, but it never left, Now all I have is regret, I’m bereft.
[Chorus] What was I really fighting for? Was it worth the cost, what’s at the core? I let them fall, I turned away, Now I’m lost in the guilt, with no words to say.
[Outro] I thought I was strong, but I was wrong, Now I’m lost in the shadows, where I don’t belong. I ran away from the truth I couldn’t bear, But the guilt stays with me, forever there.
Well, that’s about it for this time around. This has been Kern of The Demented Ferrets, where stupidity is at its finest, and level grinds are part for the course. See you next time… while you’re here, stick around and check out our other posts!
Check out our other platforms and support our content. Also, please don’t forget to follow our blog for more content like this.
Step into the chaos of Raccoon City with First Night, Last Chance; an original Resident Evil 2 fan song told from Leon Kennedy’s perspective. A haunting blend of emotion, duty, and survival, capturing the terror and tragedy of his first night on the force.
I’m coming at you with a game review of Final Fantasy. Yep! We need to go back to where it all started. These days the game is kind of messy and doesn’t hold up the way slightly later titles do, but let’s not judge it too harshly… it did after all save Square Soft’s butt…
A haunting fan song anthology revisiting The Dark Pictures Anthology. Striving to capture the chilling atmosphere of Man of Medan through The Devil in Me. Join us on this journey.
Happy May 4th everyone. Today is a Star Wars Fan day if ever there was one, and to celebrate, Kresh made a fan song for it. So take a moment today to enjoy a little fandom, and May the Fourth be with you!
Stay on the Light Side, and I’ll see you tomorrow!
Hey all, it’s Kern here! For this song I wanted to focus on the semblance Weiss keeps, and the mysticism surrounding the Schnee semblance in the early volumes of the series. It almost seems like magic. Along with her emphasis on dust magic as well so tied into her abilities before she’s able to summon what she takes down, I really wanted to zero in on that single most raw talent that separates Weiss from her older sibling.
Winter is, by far, the better summoner in the series… but Weiss, is without question, the better dust mage in the family… Winter is less fluid in her abilities, but more direct in combat, and more robust as a result. Weiss is much more flexible in what she can do, effectively a glass cannon, but that comes at the cost of her abilities as a summoner.
I really tapped into that magic/mystery feeling when writing these lyrics. As always when it comes to my RWBY fan songs, the song is AI generated, but the lyrics are written by me.
(Verse 1) In the silence, I stand alone, A stage of steel, a world unknown. The echo calls, the battle near, A shadow rises, drawing near. I dance with fate, my sword in hand, A fleeting dream, I make my stand. Each step, a glyph, a trace of light, I’ll pierce the dark, I’ll win this fight.
(Pre-Chorus) No one to save, no place to run, A knight approaches, the fight’s begun. In this empty space, I carve my name, I take control, I end the game.
(Chorus) Into the light, I claim my power, A dance of dust, this is my hour. My heart’s metallic, fierce and bright, I swallow the night, I end the fight. In silence, I stand, and the echoes die, I take what’s mine, beneath the sky.
(Verse 2) Myrtenaster sings its sharp refrain, A fencer’s grace, no time to feign. With every thrust, with every twist, The knight shall fall, cease to exist. I call the dust, I call the flame, A swirl of power, none can tame. A blade of ice, a swirl of snow, In me, the knight shall fall below.
(Pre-Chorus) No mercy now, no turning back, I face the storm, I won’t be cracked. In my control, the world is still, I wield the power of my will.
(Chorus) Into the light, I claim my power, A dance of dust, this is my hour. My heart’s metallic, fierce and bright, I swallow the night, I end the fight. In silence, I stand, and the echoes die, I take what’s mine, beneath the sky.
(Bridge) In the depths of the void, I take you in, Every piece of you, where shadows begin. Not a single foe is left to roam, I make their power my own.
(Chorus) Into the light, I claim my power, A dance of dust, this is my hour. My heart’s metallic, fierce and bright, I swallow the night, I end the fight. In silence, I stand, and the echoes die, I take what’s mine, beneath the sky.
(Outro) No foe remains, no battle cried, In this empty room, I stand inside. I am the storm, I am the night, And when the silence falls, I’m in the light…
I hope you liked the song! This has been Kern of The Demented Ferrets, where stupidity is at its finest, and level grinds are par for the course. See you next time! Meanwhile, check out some of our other content below.
This one is called Autograph, and the reason I made it was because I was inspired by Volume 1 of the series where Ruby comes into contact with Glynda for the first time.
Hey all, it’s Kern here. For those who might have missed it over on YouTube, our reaction to the RWBY Black trailer is now up for your viewing pleasure and hilarity. Subjecting Kresh to RWBY is all about doing exactly that, introducing Kresh to the RWBY series. Kern is a long time fan of the…
Hey all, it’s Kern here, coming at you with another RWBY fan song, this time centering around Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee, or “WhiteRose” to those who sail the ship.
Hey all, it’s Kern here. Grinding out rank missions on FFXI (once again) inspired Kresh to make a fan song about the Shadow Lord battle. You’ll see our characters from our Twitch streams in the video, along with the hilariously fast take-down of the Shadow Lord since we were uncapped for the fight.
The grind to Rank 10 wasn’t so bad on the Level Down 99/99 server, which I would highly encourage any fan of Final Fantasy XI to try for themselves if they’re looking for easy grinds through monotonous content, or looking to skip certain sections of the content entirely. If you don’t want to run story missions for the endless time, this is the server for you.
In fact, it was probably the most hassle free grind we’ve done thanks to the travel systems and increased run speed. A breath of fresh air, for us as players we really enjoy this server because the trust system has been implemented and the community is wonderful.
In any case, Kresh and I hope you enjoyed the song. Don’t forget to check out a few other pieces of awesome content down below!
This has been Kern, of the Demented Ferrets, where stupidity is at its finest, and level grinds are par for the course. See you next time.
It began with a question: What if James Sunderland sang the truth? So, yeah… “Deeper Still” is a dark alternative rock fan song told from James’s point of view, inspired by the tragic In Water ending of Silent Hill 2.
Hey all coming at you with another song from the mastermind of Kresh. Using our FAIL band, she made this song for me during a very dark time in my life.
Hey all, it’s Kern here, coming at you with another classic movie review. It’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these, but I suppose it’s better to write one now than never. I chose Jurassic Park because it’s such…
Ever felt like the world wrote you off before you even had a chance to speak? “Mach 20 Misfits” is our alt-rock love letter to the underdogs; the students of Class 3-E from Assassination Classroom, who were thrown away by the system,…
Hey all, It’s Kern here. For those of you who don’t know, I absolutely love the video game Clanfolk, which you can check out and buy on steam if you don’t have it already. No paid promotion here, I just genuinely love the game. In fact, we Demented Ferrets like it so much, we made a fan song about it using Suno. The song was made using AI, since Kresh and I can’t sing very well at all.
Clanfolk takes place in 1300’s Scotland. The central mechanics revolve around family life and cultivating a homestead for your clan to live and thrive. We wanted the song to reflect that with a cheery, upbeat lyrical tone from the perspective of the player’s clan itself.
(Side Note: with all the content that continues to get added to Clanfolk, you can be sure we’re highly inspired to keep making fan songs about the game, so this won’t be the only one.)
If you’re interested in learning more about Clanfolk, the official discord is both very helpful and active. Furthermore, the game can be purchased on Steam for anyone interested in playing it.
At the time of making this post, the game is currently in early access and receives updates with new content often. Clanfolk is made lovingly by Blorf, a solo game dev, and it’s published by Hooded Horse. The intended focus is upon the clan itself, usually a small family under 40 members in size. Although players like myself often build larger homesteads of over a hundred, the game itself truly shines when the focus is kept to a small or middling clan size. The game is cozy, without a heavy emphasis on warfare. You shouldn’t let that deter you. Clanfolk may be cozy, but it’s not overly simple or “too easy”.
The testing branch is available to all players, meaning if you are okay to deal with a couple of bugs here and there you can see what’s in store for the main branch early. All you need to do is opt into the testing branch on Steam once you’ve purchased the game.
I can’t get into an in-depth breakdown of the game here or this post would be far, far too long. What I will say is that there’s a skill tree that allows you to unlock all kinds of things for your clan. You’ll focus on survival in your first year starting in Summer. From there, your job is to prepare your clan to make it through Winter by stocking up on food and water. Ensuring your clan is warm enough not to die to the bitter chill of the cold is another key aspect to focus on during the early game.
A filthy clan is an unhappy clan, so you might want to build a tub for them to wash in, and a water dipper for them to drink from. If that’s too difficult for you to accomplish in time, water jugs for satiating thirst will do to get you through the winter. Just make sure you have enough of them. The water Dipper is far more efficient, though.
The September 2024 update included the “wake and funeral” system, further cementing the “family bonds” aspect of gameplay by including a period of mourning when someone from the clan passes away. This isn’t a colony sim based in raw numbers, but rather in the unity of the clan members and the preservation of those emotional bonds. Taking the time to get to know your clan and optimizing their routine is truly one of the more rewarding aspects of the game.
If you want to see gameplay footage, just ask Kresh and Kern when we’re live on Twitch, and we’ll show off the game… we do that often enough since I’m such a huge fan of it.
More Demented Ferret News:
Okay, so on to some of the typical “ramble-ramble” TDF self-promotion nonsense….
If you want to download the song “Ode to Clanfolk” to listen to it any time, it’s up on our Patreon for free. We have more music in the works too. If you want to support what we do, consider becoming a member of ourPatreon. Music will release as we make it, but be assured there will be plenty more where this came from. We hope to see you there!
Some songs will be Patreon exclusive for paying members of the $1 and above tiers.The first Patreon exclusive release is Dream Team, a song about the game Mass Effect. It’s up for Patrons now.
This has been Kern of The Demented Ferrets, where stupidity is at its finest, and level grinds are par for the course. Don’t forget to follow us on social media.
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Welcome everyone, this is Ebby of The Demented Ferrets, back with my second blog post and video. Today I’ll be dragging you all along with me through my childhood while I reminisce about one of my favorite shows of all time. Let’s begin.
Many of us have our favorite tv shows that have stuck with us over the years, usually from our childhood. Today, I’d like to talk about a childhood favorite of mine from the Transformers series called Beast Wars (or Beasties, if you watched the show in Canada), released in 1996 and ran until 1999 with three seasons. It was a computerized cartoon using 3d models for everything. When it first released (and through my six-year old eyes), this was mind-blowing. Granted, I grew up somewhat poor, with the most advanced piece of tech we owned being a tv, so I didn’t have access to a computer or video game consoles until my early teen years in the early 2000’s.
The first episode I watched drew me in and I was instantly hooked. The character designs, 3d world, the music, voice acting: all amazing. I became obsessed with flipping through channels to find similar shows (when Beast Wars wasn’t playing, obviously). I found ReBoot (which I may talk about another time), another show made by the same company: Mainframe Entertainment (currently known as of 2020 as Mainframe Studios), as well as The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, which also incorporated a 3d world at certain points, alongside the traditional hand drawn cartoon animation. A sequel to Beast Wars titled Beast Machines was aired in 1999 until 2000.
Beast Wars: Transformers takes place about 300 years after the war between the Autobots and Decepticons, and directly follows the Transformers: Generation 1 continuity. It begins with a one-on-one space ship battle between the previous wars’ participants: The Maximals (descendants of the Autobots), and the Predacons (descendants of the Decepticons). Both ships emerge from a vortex and during the firefight, crash land on the nearby planet, landing relatively close to one another. The ships scan for lifeforms that the transformers can appropriate in order to both blend in, as well as protect them from the overflow of raw Energon that the mysterious planet is abundant with. The two groups soon meet and all Inferno breaks loose. I won’t spoil much more of the story here.
From this point, I’ll just just say that of all of the characters, Dinobot will always be my favorite, but if I had to go by visual appearance, I would have to go with his Transmetal II form, which made its debut later in the series. I love all of the Transmetal II forms, now that I think of it… Anyway, Dinobot’s voice actor (Scott McNeil) is among my top 5 voice actors, maybe even top 3. In Beast Wars alone, he voiced: Rattrap, Dinobot, Waspinator, Silverbolt, Dinobot’s Clone, Cicadacon (one of the large floating heads, if I remember right) and Transmetal II Dinobot (obviously). In other shows, he has voiced Wolverine in the X-Men animated series, Piccolo in the Ocean Dub of Dragon Ball Z, many, many voices including Koga in Inuyasha, just as many in ReBoot, and many, many others. All of his work is amazing.
I’m going to leave it here while I rewatch the show (as well as its sequel: Beast Machines) for the millionth time, and I implore you to watch it for yourselves.
This has been Ebby of “The Demented Ferrets”, where stupidity is at its finest and level grinds are par for the course. Until next time…
If you enjoyed this content, feel free to check out our Patreon page. Maybe consider subscribing? We’d all greatly appreciate it.
Like anime, gaming, movie reviews and more? What about RWBY Analysis? If so, check out our other platforms and support our content. Also, please don’t forget to follow our blog for more content like this.
Hey everyone, it’s Kern here, and it’s about time I sit down and write out a few thoughts that have been on my mind for a while. I love anime, and I love video games. I wouldn’t be spearheading this blog if I didn’t, but it isn’t all sunshine and roses, either. While I’ll be the first to say a lot of good can come out of blogging, I’ll also be the first to tell you that it is an uphill grind if you’re trying to make that blog profitable.
I’m a big fan of blogging in general, but blogging isn’t for everyone.
I’ve decided I’d highlight the pros and cons of blogging about anime and gaming to help you determine if it is the right fit for you. First though, we should talk about what a blog is, and why you might consider writing one.
What is Blogging?
If you want the “big media marketing” answer, it goes a little something like this: a blog is written media that is used to help people interact and learn, trading information based on real-life experiences and data. Blogs are used to help others make a better purchasing decision, or to simply learn something new. While none of that is entirely wrong, I wouldn’t say that’s the main crux of an anime or gaming blog.
Blogging is more than that when we’re talking about hobbies, games and other types of media. For anime and gaming fans, blogging isn’t always about selling something. Sure, it can be about that. More often though, in fandom related spaces, it is about sharing the love of those mediums.
We do this in several ways, from writing reviews and rants, to simply getting the word out about a series we really care about.
So, who should be a blogger?
Anyone who wants to do it, should do it. The baseline to beginner blogging is incredibly low. All you need is a way to write the blog, a site to write upon (even a free one), and a willingness to learn the craft. Sadly, that also means learning to roll with the punches when you’ve got to learn something new.
So, who shouldn’t be a blogger?
Anyone who isn’t motivated to face just a little bit of a struggle. Anyone who thinks it’ll be easy to just skyrocket to the top of google searches and pump out content will be disappointed. Blogging is more complicated than that. Some people will hit the jackpot sure enough. A small number will luck out and trend quickly… but most of us won’t.
The vast majority of us have to do the grind. While the baseline to entry is low, the learning curve to become a blog that earns an income will actually be fairly steep. It isn’t as easy as it looks. Blogging is pretty straightforward, but that doesn’t mean you can be lazy. There is a lot to learn.
If you’ve made it this far, you probably want to weigh out your options. Maybe you just want to see what you might be up against. Maybe you already have a blog, and you’ve come here looking for advice. Either way, you’ll find something useful.
I’m going to take a look at blogging from a few key points of view:
Early Opportunities and Possible Income
Life Balance and Time Management
Communication and Networking
Other Perspectives
Skills You Need
With that being said, let’s jump into the good things about blogging, there’s a decent number to consider.
Pros of Anime and Gaming Blogs.
Blogging, in general, is a gateway used to share content that we enjoy. Each blogger has their own methods. One great thing about blogging is that as a written craft, it can be very fluid. We all have our own writing style, and cadences that we develop across sentence structure. Readers do learn to identify our brand with our particular style.
At the end of the day, it is a way for us to get our voices out there. There are a few perks for those that write blogs, and someone willing to work for the rewards will end up reaping a few benefits.
1. Earning a Living.
For those that just want to use the blogging format as a hobby, you’re in luck. You don’t have to be perfect to simply enjoy the pure power of the written word. For someone who just loves the craft, there’s just not a lot of downsides. Actually there are more good qualities than bad ones. Provided your content can be considered “workplace friendly” then go ahead and put your hobbyist blog onto your CV or resume. It doesn’t matter if it has nothing to do with your particular line of work, if you’re young, use that to your advantage.
I’ll be blunt. Any business with half a brain knows that blogging, social media and proper networking help to make brands more reputable. It also makes you look more reputable if you have a blog about your hobbies that you’ve cultivated slowly over time. If you aren’t going to university, you need every advantage. Even if you only have a small following, this gives you a social media presence as well. Employers like to do background checks anyway.
Bottom line for hobbyist bloggers; give them a bone to chew and a paper trail to follow. Allow your blog to uplift you as a person and you’ll be ahead of the game.
On the flip side, for those who do want to see an income in this medium, it’ll take time and effort. Building a name that can be trusted and learning the nuances of the blogging sphere isn’t a quick thing to do. With blogging, your income is entirely driven by your ability to promote your content and grow your brand. This is what we call “brand awareness”.
If people know of your brand, you’ll be more likely to build an audience and maintain it.
To make money blogging within fan based mediums, you’ve got to find more than just your niche. You’ve got to find your passion and drive that forward in your written word. Even so, yes, there is money to be made as an anime and gaming blogger.
Monetizing your blog can come in all kinds of forms, from affiliate links to advertising traffic. At the time of this post, we don’t use advertising traffic here on The Demented Ferrets just yet. However, it is something we may look into going forward, when the time is right.
You can work on commission based requests once you get your name out there. Beyond that, you can set up further methods like we do here on The Demented Ferrets using other methods such as PayPal and Patreon.
Early on, you may only see pocket change. In this often difficult economy every little bit helps, and it does add up over time. Put those small earnings into savings and let it build up. If you’re wise about it, playing the monetary long-game isn’t a bad thing.
2. Low Monetary Cost.
The reality is, you can start a blog for free on many platforms. With the rise of Medium, it has never been easier to test out blogging for yourself. Plenty of anime and gaming related bloggers find themselves a nice corner of the internet by starting up on Medium and networking out from there. For those who see blogging as merely a hobby, or those looking to put a blog onto a CV or resume, using free platforms like Medium will suit you just fine.
However, if you’re truly invested in starting your own blog, I’d suggest going the paid route and making your own. This will allow you to start a reputable brand image and begin to build the trust you’ll need to eventually get earnings. If an income is what you’re after, you need a brand to stand by.
Building a reputation is fundamentally important. For some of us, that can be a long road, it behooves you to start early and be consistent.
There is some more good news too, hosting is pretty affordable. If you take your time to look into the right hosting providers and site builders, you’re halfway there. You’ll be able to get yourself a blog without breaking the bank.
Remember, if you’re a beginner, you don’t need to break the bank with all the bells and whistles. You can take your time to learn what you’re doing. In light of this, WordPress.com recently reverted back to their old pricing model after their little experiment went awry. They’ve got some affordable price points again, and other places do too… look around and choose the one best for you.
Remember, as a newbie, slow and steady wins the race.
Check out This Blog post on Readability and “The Reading Ease Ideal”.
I’m not writing this to get your attention, I’m writing this because I’m going to tell you the truth. You’ll follow me of your own volition, or you won’t. If…
3. Blogging is a Platform.
Blogging is your chance to have a voice. You can reach out to the wider world and meet all kinds of people by blogging. With time and the desire to interact with others, you’ll find plenty of other people with like-minded interests. When it comes to fandom related content such as anime and gaming, we’re a wide and diverse community, people of all walks of life find their place to belong.
People who blog about anime and gaming, typically love anime and gaming. We’re passionate about these hobbies, and we like to share that with others.
These days, people use big buzzwords like “influencers”, “Instagram models” and “Tiktok stars”. That’s fine, and people earn a living that way too, sure enough. These are all platforms, right along with YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook and countless others…
It’s easy to forget these days that blogging is a platform too, and that bloggers have our own communities and circles of friends, just like people on other platforms. I’m not always as outspoken in my personal online circle as I should be, but I do the best I can…
Shout-out to Iridium Eye Reviews who is also a variety blogger with anime and movie reviews. Go check them out. Did you know that I once wrote an open letter to him regarding blogging and some of the struggles that bloggers often share in common?
If you’re new to blogging, or just having a hard time as a blogger, go ahead and check out my open letter.
Hey everyone, it’s Kernook here and this is a more serious, introspective post that directly references this one here, written by Ospreyshire. The title? “Top 7 Concerns I Have As a Film…
The key point I want you to know is that blogging is a journey. The communities we join really matter to us. We often lift up fellow bloggers when we can, because back-linking those of like minds and content often share communities and readers. It’s important to network this way, and it usually feels pretty good too.
As bloggers, we often come across some pretty cool anime and games that way too… bloggers tend to be readers of other blogs, so discovering new content is always a blast.
4. Blogging is Fun.
Blogging is a creative medium. If you have something to say, then blogging gives you the ability to say it. Many gaming and anime bloggers are purely in it for the hobby of blogging, no matter how big they get. A lot of us just like to do it, and if it goes somewhere, that’s awesome. If it doesn’t, then for a lot of people, that’s no big deal either… we do it because we love it.
Working on our mastery of the craft, namely the power of the written word, is part of the fun. Talking about the hobbies and interests we have can be fulfilling enough on its own. For many of us, that’s reason enough to do it.
A great example of this can be seen by a great anime reviewer known as Irina Watches Anime, who has stated more than once that her blog is only a hobby. She cares for her blog deeply, but it will always just be a hobby for her… and I really respect that.
Guest bloggers share content too from time to time on her blog too, and that’s just another way bloggers help to support and uplift each other. Collaboration and networking really is a key part of being successful no matter what kind of blogger you happen to be.
The Cons of Anime and Gaming Blogs.
You knew this was coming, blogging isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. For as great as blogging is, no matter how much I do love it, there are some downsides. For every good reason to work hard on your blog, there are some reasons you may decide blogging just isn’t for you.
1. Time and Effort
To have a large blog with lots of readers, it takes time and a fair bit of effort. When it comes to anime and gaming, this is particularly true. No matter what kind of blogger you are, this is a somewhat saturated market to get into. That means you’ll have to devote your time to just being noticed.
While the barrier to entry can be incredibly low, the barrier to long standing success is actually fairly high. It continues to get higher by the day. I don’t say that to intimidate you, I say that as a blogger making the up-hill climb personally.
This particular blog is still working its way up the ladder to something completely sustainable. Here on The Demented Ferrets we’re “middling” bloggers. We’re not super popular, we’re not bottom of the barrel. We have a decent and dedicated reader base, and we’re still growing… but we’re not paying all the bills in our homes with this website… not yet.
To be entirely transparent, at the time of this post, we do pay for the website with our earnings and we have a bit of pocket change thanks to our Patreon supporters and other donations. However, we haven’t put all of our eggs into one basket, and you shouldn’t either… not at first.
We also have plans for forward growth and momentum, but we understand that takes time. We all still have day jobs and stream on Twitch as well. From a purely blogging perspective though, it hcan be a lot of hard work. Here’s just a few things that need to be done on a regular basis:
Keeping abreast of blogging trends within my niche.
Contacting others/networking
Topic and planning and scheduling
Writing posts like this one
Creating new forms of content and collecting the right materials to do that effectively
Managing social media
Routine keyword research
Updating old posts when required
Several other mundane but required tasks.
Keep in mind, The Demented Ferrets has a blog with topics revolving around anime and gaming. If I’m doing an anime or movie review, I have to watch the series. If I do a game review, I have to play the game. That’s time consuming, but it is required. I’m not even the best gamer out there, as our Twitch channel so often proves. It helps very little when my cat, Sabin, decides to complicate matters even further.
In any case, blogging is a time investment. It isn’t a “get rich quick” scheme. It’s not a hard and fast solution to all of your monetary woes. I’d say this goes double in the anime and gaming sphere. You’ve got to get into it because you want to get into it, not for any other reason.
2. Significant Amounts of Patience and Persistence
This ties into point number one, but it needs to be its own separate category. Look, I won’t mince words, blogging can be very emotionally draining. If you don’t love it, you won’t be able to commit to all of the things you need to know. Blogging has its own lingo and skill sets that you need to learn.
As an anime or gaming blogger, that gets just a little bit more difficult. We need to know all about the anime and games we write about, and these are two very diverse mediums. I’m going to be honest, the grind is real, and it can be a very good way to snap your resolve as a blogger.
If you expect too much of yourself too soon, you will burn out… and it’s not just writing the blogs, either.
The games you play have their own barrier of entry too. Thanks to exclusivity deals, another barrier is in front of you by default. Your general ability to play and beat a game will be a barrier too. You’ll have to manage your expectations effectively. You need the proper technology to play the game, and that’s an investment in itself sometimes. Then you need to at least play enough of the game to adequately come to a determination on how to properly review the title.
With some games being incredibly long, that alone is a time investment. That’s not even considering the blog post you’ll have to prepare after you’ve played it.
For example, for our play through of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time it took Ebby almost 24 hours of gameplay footage to do a 100% run…. and that’s just the footage we edited down. That wasn’t even the blog post or video editing that came along with it.
Check out our gameplay post of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Hey everyone, it’s time for another set of gameplay videos. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time probably doesn’t need an introduction, chances are good that you’ve heard of it. The game was first released on the Nintendo 64 back…
Anime, movies and television shows have a similar issue. With streaming services snapping up exclusive licenses left and right, watching certain titles legally can sometimes be a pain in the behind. When you take into consideration the “Netflix” binge model, you may as well kiss away an entire afternoon just to watch the series when it comes out… that can take away time from other meaningful things.
It’s easy to find yourself sucked into a void as a blogger. I’d say that gaming and anime have their own occasionally insidious practices. Frankly, blogging does too. These issues can, and sometimes do, build up… it can be a stressful situation, and some people just can’t take the heat.
3. Fandom
I love being an anime and gaming fan, I do. It’s great to meet new people and share experiences. It can be a lot of fun, I pointed that out directly in this post a little while ago. However, fandom like all things, has a dark side. There are times that a fandom might argue or turn on each other, and this is the internet.
It is very easy to lose sight of our own personal experiences and thus, lose sight of the power that these mediums hold… but just as those mediums compel us to write about them, they compel others to feel something just as valuable on a personal level. We can’t forget that.
Fans are simply fans because they feel connected to the things they care about. Their reasons are their own, just as our reasons are ourown. Gaming and anime fandom have a distinctive “gate keeping” mentality on occasion, and no matter what your stance on that is, it isn’t going to go away any time soon.
The fact is, when we care deeply about something, it can hurt to feel invalidated by the opinion of another. Readers sometimes lash out and leave nasty comments, that’s a fact. All bloggers that talk about beloved media get a few not-so-nice comments on occasion.
If you blog for long enough, and share your personal opinions about anime or gaming commonly enough, there’s going to be someone out there who will disagree with you. People have bad days, and sometimes they take that out in comment sections.
Occasionally, seeing an opinion that’s harsh upon a thing they’re a fan of, truly is the last straw… and they may not offer constructive criticism in return.
Sometimes, you’ll get a very angry commentator that says some very nasty things… and you will have to deal with that. I’m sorry if this has happened to you, it has happened to me too… and as a blogger, eventually it will happen to all of us. I would say that all bloggers that discuss fandom related topics need to have thick emotional skin, but it isn’t just about that….
It’s about understanding that fandom is a powerful tool, and respecting that tool is part of being an anime or gaming blogger. We are the ones putting ourselves out there, and that’s a hard thing to do sometimes.
My Conclusions About Anime and Gaming Blogs.
Blogging is a journey. You will learn more about yourself, and the content you enjoy. It’ll give you something to really sink your teeth into. It’ll forge your outlook on the things you write about. Creatively, you’ll learn to be a wordsmith, cultivating and creating your own content for the world to see.
Does that mean blogging is for everyone? No, absolutely not.
Gaming and anime blogging requires a rich and diverse set of skills that aren’t exactly inherent to blogging directly. Both of these kinds of media can be a bit exclusionary too, simply by default. Blogging may be cheap, but gaming and anime aren’t always cheap hobbies. Streaming services and exclusivity deals certainly make that just a tad more difficult on occasion.
Anime and gaming fandom have an ebb and flow that can certainly become complicated the moment that a scandal in the industry arises. Crunch times and poor working conditions can cause fandom to run amok. Sometimes they fight among themselves, or aim that frustration outward. Series that are products of a bygone era may be problematic these days, and those are just the surface level concerns to be aware of… does that mean I’m going to discourage you from being a blogger?
No, I’m not… I’m going to do the opposite.
If you’ve read all of that and you still want to be a blogger, then it may be the right choice for you. I think blogging is one of the most rewarding experiences a person can have, because it can teach you so much about yourself… if you want to start up a blog, you owe it to yourself to give it a try.
However, I also think blogging is a challenge. There are times when it can be difficult, and times when you’ll need to puzzle out a problem or educate yourself on something you don’t know.
There’s not really anyone to hold your hand. Unless you know a blogger personally, you’ll be doing a lot of research. Even once you get into contact with fellow bloggers, we don’t always have the answers you might need. We all have our own tactics and methods to this madness, with time, you will too…
I hope this has been at least some help to you, and I wish you luck on your blogging endeavors.
This has been Kernook of The Demented Ferrets, where stupidity is at it’s finest and level grinds are par for the course. I’ll catch you next time. Don’t forget to follow the blog for more content.
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