Agnes Yulo Diego (born February 16 1993), known online as Akidearest, is an American YouTuber. She started her YouTube channel discussing anime, manga, otaku culture and Japanese-related content, and recently has also been creating videos on True Crime.[3][4][5]

Early life

Diego was born on February 16 1993, in Bakersfield, California, to parents of Filipino descent.[6] She was raised in Virginia before relocating to Las Vegas, Nevada.[4] She participated in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) during her high school years, where she achieved the rank of Chief Petty Officer.[5][7] From a young age, Diego cultivated a passion for anime and launched a YouTube channel, where she began creating and sharing Anime Music Videos. She earned a degree in Psychology and later pursued further education in Graphic Design. However, after her YouTube channel gained significant traction, Diego made the decision to fully dedicate herself to her career as a content creator.[8][3][4]

Career

Diego launched her second and current YouTube channel, Akidearest, on December 18 2014, with a focus on anime, manga, and otaku culture. Her first video, "REACTION: DMMD Love Scene", in which she reacts to a scene from Dramatical Murder, was uploaded on December 26 2014.[9][5] Considered as her break-out video, "5 Songs That Will Change The Way You See Vocaloid" was released on January 12 2016.[3][4] On August 21 2017, Akidearest reached the milestone of one million subscribers.[10] Between 2017 and 2018, Diego co-hosted The Anime Show, a weekly SBS podcast alongside Joseph Bizinger (The Anime Man). The podcast ran for 68 episodes, discussing anime, manga, and otaku culture.[11][12]

In January 2019, Diego relocated to Japan, which prompted her YouTube channel to evolve by incorporating her experiences in video series such as “Why Japan?”.[13][14] That same year, she made an in-game cameo appearance in The World Next Door by Rose City Games.[15]

In July 2021, Diego collaborated with the Netflix Anime YouTube channel as part of the “Netflix Anime Club”, where she appeared in videos together with other creators such as Gigguk and CDawgVA.[16][17] In the following year, she worked with make-up manufacturer Game Beauty to release her own eyeliner collection and published a doujinshi in collaboration with hentai manga publishing company FAKKU.[18][19][20]

In 2023 she made an appearance in Serafini Productions’ horror game "Unfollow" alongside other Japan-based YouTubers.[21] In August 2024, she was invited to speak with Surgeon General of the United States Vivek Murthy about mental health and the pressures of social media.[22][23]

In her more recent videos, Diego has delved into more serious topics such as controversial murders and criminal cases in Japan due to her personal interest in true crime.[24]

Personal life

On November 4 2016, Diego and fellow YouTuber Joey Bizinger (The Anime Man) announced that they were in a relationship.[25][26]

References

  1. ^ @akidearest (February 16, 2024). "🎂🥳 I'm 31~" (Tweet). Retrieved January 4, 2025 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ a b "About akidearest". YouTube.
  3. ^ a b c "Anime YouTuber Akidearest slams misconceptions and answers burning questions". www.iol.co.za. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-09.
  4. ^ a b c d Chandra, Camilla (Winter 2021). "Beyond the View Counter". Metropolis Japan. Tokyo, Japan: Japan Partnership Inc. pp. 12–14. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Trash Taste (April 3, 2021). Exposing the Truth of YouTube (ft. @akidearest) | Trash Taste #42. YouTube. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  6. ^ @akidearest (February 16, 2024). "🎂🥳 I'm 31~" (Tweet). Retrieved January 4, 2025 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ @akidearest (June 26, 2021). "People still don't believe I took military in school 😂" (Tweet). Retrieved January 5, 2025 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Rowl, Taye; -Dixon (October 22, 2018). "Verge Meets: Akidearest". Verge Magazine. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  9. ^ akidearest (December 26, 2014). REACTION: DMMD Love Scene. YouTube. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  10. ^ "akidearest Live Sub Count (Real Time YouTube Subscriber Count)". NoxInfluencer. Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  11. ^ "The Anime Show with Joey & AkiDearest". SBS PopAsia. November 2017. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  12. ^ "The Anime Show with Joey & AkiDearest (podcast) - SBS PopAsia". Listen Notes. June 18, 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  13. ^ akidearest (January 19, 2019). we finally did it. YouTube. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  14. ^ Netflix Anime (September 12, 2020). Some of you probably need this thing... - WHY, JAPAN?!. YouTube. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  15. ^ Deogracias, Elisha (April 2, 2019). "Half of a memorable experience --- The World Next Door review". GAMING TREND. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  16. ^ Netflix Anime (July 22, 2021). Guess the Anime Characters ft. Akidearest and Gigguk | Netflix Anime Club | Netflix Anime. YouTube. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  17. ^ Netflix Anime (July 8, 2021). Anime Truth Or Lie?! ft. Akidearest & CDAWGVA | Netflix Anime Club | Netflix Anime. YouTube. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  18. ^ @akidearest (July 31, 2022). "🌊BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! I'm coming out with my very first eyeliner collection in collaboration with @GameBeauty https://gamebeauty.com/en-jp 🌊Vegan 🌊Cruelty Free 🌊More info coming soon 🌊Pre-order starts 8/4 at 11am EST!" (Tweet). Retrieved January 5, 2025 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ @FAKKU (July 3, 2022). "In case you missed it: @akidearest is teaming up with FAKKU and @geewhy11 to make her very own doujinshi: "My Housemaid is a Tentacle Monster" is coming to FAKKU July 6th @ 12 PM PT!" (Tweet). Retrieved January 5, 2025 – via Twitter.
  20. ^ Diego, Agnes (October 10, 2023). "Comic Con Africa 2023 – The Anime Man and Akidearest on Anime and Living in Japan" (Interview). Interviewed by Aberdeen, Sam. Glitched. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  21. ^ Gerblick, Jordan (March 22, 2023). "This free horror demo has real-life influencers and the scariest monster I've seen since Resident Evil Village". gamesradar. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  22. ^ @Surgeon_General (August 16, 2024). "Wabi-sabi is a Japanese term that means finding beauty in what is imperfect. While meeting my new friends @akidearest & Megan and Ben, we discussed their paths to build connections through new communities–by extending grace to themselves and others" (Tweet). Retrieved January 4, 2025 – via Twitter.
  23. ^ @akidearest (August 10, 2024). "So this happened: I was invited by the United States Government's @Surgeon_General to a roundtable discussing mental health in Japan and overall pressures of social media. At the end I was gifted a box of chocolates signed by Joe Biden from the White House! Thank you so much for this opportunity. It was honor to meet you" (Tweet). Retrieved January 4, 2025 – via Twitter.
  24. ^ Varcoe, Fred (September 2021). "Light and Shade". Number 1 Shimbun. Japan: The Magazine of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  25. ^ The Anime Man (November 4, 2016). We Have A Confession... YouTube. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  26. ^ akidearest (November 4, 2016). WE FINALLY CONFESS!. YouTube. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2020.


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