Cultural Combos: AnimeNYC 2025 Special

Once again, we took the show on the road to the Big Apple to speak with Lizzytomania, also known as SayaMayCry. To simply call her a cosplayer would do a disservice to her talents; she's a prop artist, streamer, visual content creator, model and been doing it all with Black Girl Magic as an intrinsic trait. Hailing from Michigan and getting into the convention scene via Youmacon in the late 2000s, Lizzy's been walking the walk in all things geek, nerd, and FGC since making her first Soul Eater cosplay. For her, it's more than simply putting on an outfit and looking the part; the character has to resonate, whether it be the design details, in-universe lore, or their particular set of ideals/moral code. In some cases, like her award winning Urbosa from the Breath of the Wild (2017), a combination of all three. As a dark-skinned Black woman, Lizzy is no stranger to the fact that navigating these spaces both online and in-person comes with its own set of preconceived notions and challenges. "It's so much more than just being the 'Black version' of a character, I've seen plenty of Chun-Lis and Cammy's at events but people will approach me like 'oh you were Black Cammy' to which I say no, I was just Cammy." In her journey from fashioning her own props out of household items, to now 3D-printing her own designs and individual pieces; cosplay is a medium to express her most authentic self. Some of her notable works include characters from popular fighting game franchises like Ramlethal Valentine from Guilty Gear: Strive, Mai Shiranui from Fatal Fury, and a slew of Street Fighter 6 characters including Cammy White and Kimberly. The latter received significant attention at EVO 2023, with representatives from HORI Corporation seeking her out to pose with a customized arcade stick featuring artwork of the character at their event booth. Don't let the wealth of fighting game cosplays fool you, she's got plenty in the catalog including Jessica Rabbit, "High Noon" Senna from League of Legends, and Widowmaker from Overwatch. In a conversation that found us at the intersection of cosplay, class, and culture; Lizzy dropped a gem for anyone who's experiencing self-doubt or hesitation; "...You have got to be able to find your joy, and not let someone else that could not experience that for themselves tell you otherwise". We're super excited to have Lizzy join us for a very insightful conversation about her journey, the importance and weight of Black Excellence, and all things dope; because sometimes you gotta pop out and show em. Please enjoy our latest episode right here on Acast. Keep up with Lizzy on socials!<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/lizzytomania.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bluesky</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sayamaycry" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a> <a href="https://twitch.tv/lizzytomania" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitch </a> (Cover photo courtesy of <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/bradbehlesphoto.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Brad Behles Photography</a> @ MAGFest 2025)

Cosplaying for the Culture: Lizzytomania

On-Location: Combo Breaker 2025

Before he was flying the friendly skies, Dameian "BigDame21" Winns was making himself known as a friendly face at Big E Gaming tournaments, building up his skills in Dead or Alive and looking to lend a hand where it's needed. Starting off as a bracket runner and working the registration desk, Dame's built up to being a floor manager at events like Beast in the East and Texas Showdown. If you don't see him in the venue, you're sure to hear his trademark laugh or "yeah yeah yeah yeah", hyping up his fellow players, staff, and volunteers over the course of an event weekend. An OG in the game, Dame's first foray to traveling to events started way back with EVO 2007; which is one of my personal EVO events just for the pure star power and legendary names across Capcom vs SNK 2, Marvel vs Capcom 2, Super Street Fighter II: Turbo, and Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection. In an almost wistful sense, he recalls getting the storied "lime-green referee jersey" that's been a cornerstone of the event's staff lore. Since replaced by a sharp, royal blue varsity jacket; the dedication to service has remained the same. Not only is he a skilled player and staffer in his own right, Dame is a champion of the hospitality industry; bringing service with a smile to every space he's stepped into. After years of rising to the occasion, Dame was honored at NEC with the first of what would become many "Invaluable Staff" awards, complete with a commemorative plaque, Soul Calibur arcade stick, and a custom medal. One of Philly's finest, even though he'll always remind us he's from Chester; joins us on Cultural Combos to talk about his journey as one of the brightest beacons in the fighting game community. Through the highs and lows, challenges and successes, we dive into what makes BigDame all heart. Keep up with Dame and be on the lookout for him at an event near you!X: <a href="https://x.com/BigDame2187" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@BigDame2187</a> Twitch: <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/bigdame21" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">BigDame21</a>

Head in the Clouds, Boots on the Ground

j.A Morant? A Swell Guy. Wait, you're talking about Mike O-. Right. On-Location is back and we return to the land without coast or kings that draws competition from all corners of the world, but y'all already know. It ain't CB if we don't sit down with one of Midwest's finest. In this long awaited installment, we have TO, community figure, and one of NA's best players in his own right; the one and only Juushichi. Being introduced to French-Bread through Melty Blood: Actress Again: Current Code (MBAACC) during college and coming from Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Project M, Juushichi got in on the ground level with seeing the first Under Night In-Birth trailer at a local with friends. He wasn't shy about his early struggles with finding the right character and trying to overcome the execution barrier: "...so young Juushichi, was definitely a ninja character type so I'm like gonna play Linne, I thought Yuzu was really sick and coming over from Smash; I could barely do any inputs. I was like ah shit, this is too hard who's the easiest character to play; and it ended up being Akatsuki."His Smash roots also influenced his journey and style as a TO; wanting to give the game the maximum amount of love and time that you can, and admittedly sometimes to a detriment. His work with the Midwest Danisen; where the goal was to get more players playing more games, was an idea that started during locals as players often tie for placings at events (t-5th, 7th, 9th, 13th, etc.) In Danisen, the tied players play a round-robin to determine the actual placings. As a longtime sports fan, Juushichi took inspiration from the NBA Play-In tournament. Have more than just casuals but still promote the mindset of growth and improvement, so that the players could get something out of those games. "It started small, like I would get bags of chips and like snacks for the winners, really low cost stuff."Juushichi's vision for the Danisen also helped alleviate an issue that community organizers have been trying to address for years now, what do you do for the players who want more games and are out of tournament, but are beyond the beginner level and how do you continue to support the mid-level? For all of his efforts and work as both a player and resource for the greater Under-Night community in not just the Midwest USA, but North America as a whole. In a short video clip at EVO from Lucky_Star901, Kamone-san, battle designer and director at French-Bread signed a poster for Juushichi and referred to him as "the GOAT". Further elaborating on the video in a <a href="https://x.com/kamone1006/status/1815414673522708635" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">post on X</a>, Kamone-san remarked "Juushichi is the GOAT. He is literally one of the people who saved UNI." His reaction? "Holy shit, like I try not to think of myself as a like big deal and definitely don't try to present that way. I like to be approachable, you know I'm just a guy at the end of the day. This is video games, they can lead you many ways, I try not to get a big head about it but it's like I got acknowledged by someone that I really deeply admire." Links:X: <a href="https://x.com/EnginoJuushichi" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@EnginoJuushichi</a><a href="https://www.twitch.tv/juushichi" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitch</a>EnginoJuushichi on <a href="https://medium.com/@enginojuushichi" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Medium</a>

A GOAT By Any Other Game? 

Rhuwell "Rhuvisuals" Samano:  Philly Tech Week 2025

We're back in the booth with another season of Cultural Combos, and what better way to kick off than with a special edition? Philly Tech Week or PTW is a week-long celebration of technological innovation in the greater Philadelphia area, across multiple industries including fintech, esports/gaming, programming, and STEM/STEAM education. We had the pleasure of speaking with Rhuwell Samano (Rhuvisuals) about his journey in the visual arts, photography, videography, and how his recent move to Philadelphia coincided with the 15th anniversary of Philly Tech Week. Originally from New York City, Rhuwell moved to Philadelphia just this spring and hit the ground running, We'd actually just met 3 days prior to recording this episode, where it felt as if I was on the other side of the interview. Rhuwell's interest in the arts and now gaming was renewed as he started to feel at home in Philadelphia much faster than he was expecting, remarking that it was a nice change of pace to have people "supporting each other, and showing each other how to do things and bring each other up", and how that's helped shift his focus to enjoying the moments and keeping it lighthearted. From starting out with the family camcorder and making mini movies that featured his childhood toys and action figures, Rhuwell started to get more serious about shooting during the rise of YouTube and the early days of video blogging with his friends in the local breakdancing scene, upgrading from a pocket camera to a more traditional point and shoot. "I figured I'll get a better camera and then it can look better on YouTube. I got a Canon Z3i which was like a starter, consumer camera but it looked more serious. So once I got that I was like, ok I can build off this and started getting all the add-ons, like the lights and reflectors and hooked it up. Anybody that wanted any kind of like video or photo, I was like yo, lemme get in on that.' Just because I thought it was fun, and still do to this day!" Keeping fun at the forefront has been part of Rhuwell's personal philosophy, as he recalled having to sell his first camera during tough times and how it felt like literally selling his passion. As he's grown in his journey as an artist, and as a person; he reminds himself to stay present and focus on what's in front of him rather than getting caught up on going to the next thing. Staying mindful while staying busy is a tough goal, but he's more than up to the task; by the time you all hear this one, he's already shot the Go For Broke FGC Monthly, Fan Expo Philly 2025, and is already building out one hell of a portfolio right here in the City of Brotherly Love . Ladies, gents, and most fine of the non-bine; we hope you enjoy a candid conversation about growth, doubt, getting back to your inner child, and doing what's cool because you think it's cool. Keep up with Rhuwell and check out his latest projects below:Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/rhuvisuals/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@RHUVISUALS</a>Threads: <a href="https://www.threads.com/@rhuvisuals" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rhuvisuals</a>(Episode cover image courtesy: Rhuwell "Rhuvisuals" Samano, 2025 via Instagram)

Culture Shock in Concrete Jungles

Reflections: A Summer of Gratitude and Grief

We did it, y'all. A full season of Cultural Combos is in the books, and it's all thanks to a community effort. From our guests who took the time to sit down and speak of their journeys, to the event directors and staff who allowed us the space to record on-location; we were able to roll out 15 amazing episodes to all of you, the listeners. I can't thank you all enough for what's been an amazing ride so far that I can't wait to take even further in the new year. In a bit of a departure from our usual flow, I took this New Year's Day as a bit of a yap session so bear with me. Speaking primarily about the two biggest events of the year, the 2024 season was an exercise in finding my stride as a host and show runner, but still having some highlights as a player. This was personally the most time spent I'd spent working events after offline majors resumed, with Combo Breaker and East Coast Throwdown being my fullest plates. I'm incredibly thankful to have had the opportunities to work both shows alongside some of the very best in the business. With that said, I realized I need to do a much better job at this whole work/life balance thing. Working the event, playing in the tournament, and still recording episodes was a common situation; but I've realized that trying to be great at all of those things didn't allow me much space to be great to myself. In this year, I found myself drawing great inspiration from great loss. There is no better reminder of time being temporary, than no longer being able to spend it with the folks you hold dear. I'm looking forward to making 2025 the best I possibly can, both inside the show and out. We got more guests, more events, and more Ovaltine lined up. Thanks for listening, and Happy New Year. &lt;3

We Await Your Return, Warrior

Cultural Combos On-Location: East Coast Throwdown 2024

In our season finale of Cultural Combos, we depart the Deserted Chateau and return to the Northeast to sit down with Cam "Camyoin" Harris, a Jedah aficionado and well-credited commentator in their now decade-long journey in the FGC. After witnessing Jedah's character trailer for Darkstalkers: Resurrection, Cam's affinity for the franchise could be best described as a match made in heaven, as a huge horror buff and fan of the dark and spooky. Outside of fighting games, Cam works in the entertainment industry as a professional makeup artist and FX specialist for film and television. Priding themselves on being able to mock-up medically accurate scars and soft-tissue injuries, Cam brings that level of attention and delight for the details in their commentary, often highlighting the data-driven decisions and individual styles of the players in the matches they call. Much like their fighting game career, Cam's professional timeline as a pro MUA started small with a student film at Brooklyn College while they were also attending the NYC VSAV monthlies and Skillions series events at Next Level. Their resume would grow to include multiple film and TV credits, commercial work, and even an appearance at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival. As a player, they've steadily been improving as not just a Jedah main but a stronger fighting game player overall and bringing new knowledge to the mic every opportunity they get. Cam's been a familiar voice at events in the Northeast like East Coast Throwdown, they've also added Combo Breaker, Vortex Gallery, and Makai World Cup to their repertoire and shared the mic with commentary mainstays like Hagure, KyleW, and YetiGhettoSlang at both online and offline events including the VMP Community Night Series. "I'm a slow learner, but I do learn." - Cam's dedication to personal growth hasn't just been for self, they've become a resource for new players both in and out of their home region and could be best described as a literal light in the dark. One of the scene's friendliest faces and encouraging spirits, wrapped in a goth aesthetic and dark jewel tones that contrast, but compliment their bright personality and enthusiasm for Vampire. The peaks and valleys of growth haven't been lost, often reflecting on their own experience of taking lumps at the NYC locals fighting players like Apollo, DaiAndOh, Sketch, and HardBread just to name a few. They'll be among the first to remind a new player to give themselves the grace to feel everything about their play, but also encourage them that progress isn't linear nor a "one size fits all" journey. Salt is part of the game, and you gotta embrace all the ingredients in the recipe. If they're not on the mic, you can find them running the set with any and everyone during events and getting plenty of games in regardless of skill level or experience. "The highs and lows come with it, but that most recent low is gonna be so much higher than where you started and that's what you gotta remember." Join us as we celebrate our first year of Cultural Combos with one of Brooklyn's finest, featuring all the pinwheels, movie magic, and bizarre adventures you could ask for. Keep up with Camyoin on socials here:<a href="https://x.com/Creepy_Camyoin" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@Creepy_Camyoin</a> Photo Credits: Vampire ArcadiaMixing/Post-Production courtesy of <a href="https://x.com/ThisIsPhatb0i" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@ThisIsPhatb0i</a>

Maestro of the Macabre:  Camyoin

Cultural Combos On-Location: Makai World Cup 2024

The term "man of many hats" may be one of the most apt to describe the journey and efforts of Kyle Wattula, a long-time VSAV player who's done it all; organizing and running tournaments, commentary, and providing valuable information to the community through contributions to the wiki, GIF archive, and hype moments. For Kyle, Makai World Cup is a sort of homecoming for the Cincinnati native and Morrigan expert following his move to Seattle during the SF4 era. Once again finding community through fighting games, Kyle headed VMPNW, a nod to his Cincy roots and new endeavor in building up a budding scene for VSAV with players like Hilary Ngyuen and Johnson Jew. Whether it was contributing frame data, move sprites and miscellaneous info to the Mizuumi Wiki, or filling out much needed player info for regional databases and tournament seeding, Kyle's been a constant presence in the community through the Resurrection era and beyond, with an undeniable passion for the game and the community that keeps it going. Rather than be solely motivated by the desire to simply improve at the game, Kyle's focus has stayed on building the community through collaboration and discussion as well as play. "A wiki, by design is meant to be a communal contribution. If a lot of people start improving and contributing to that thing, then it becomes a better resource. I'm not really passionate about wiki (itself) but I see the value in it." Providing value and diving under the hood of the game became cornerstones of arguably his most ambitious undertaking, the "VSAV Aesthetic Mod", a competitive enhancement mod for the arcade ROM that improved event mode, including state memory so players wouldn't need to manually select characters after every match, as well as small tweaks to skipping attract sequences and certain intros to cut-down on time to rematch. Initially sparked from the interest to play boss-only/secret characters and recreate rare bugs and glitches, the Aesthetic Mod turned into an international collaboration featuring input and development work from VMP's own MBD, New Zealand's SF2Platinum, and Spain's renowned MiSTer developer, Jotego, a professional microelectronics engineer. This collaboration helped bring VSAV to the MiSTer platform, to much fanfare and praise from the community for the platform's closeness to being "arcade perfect" while retaining greater accessibility for a variety of controller types. With such a storied past as a player, commentator, and ambassador for the game, Kyle plans to continue growing the global community and travel to meet international players, some of whom he's been sharing tech and matchup knowledge with for years. Join us as we talk shop with one of the scene's most prominent Morrigan representatives and take a dive into hardware and sustaining community through access to play, right here on Cultural Combos! Keep up with KyleW on Socials and be sure to check him out on commentary during Vampire Arcadia's events both online and off!X (formerly Twitter) - <a href="https://x.com/VMP_KyleW" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@VMP_KyleW</a><a href="https://x.com/VampireArcadia" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@VampireArcadia</a> For more updates on the VSAV Aesthetic Mod, be sure to check out MBD's continued work on the project!X - <a href="https://x.com/VMP_MBD" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@VMP_MBD</a>

Tales from the Deserted Chateau: KyleW

"Darkstalkers Are Not Dead" - the words of a splash screen shown during Capcom's panel at SDCC 2011 for Street Fighter X Tekken. What would be the primary hype builder and tagline for the release of 2013's Darkstalkers: Resurrection, has become a rallying cry for the small, but incredibly dedicated global community of Vampire Savior (VSAV) players and fans. In our latest installment of Cultural Combos: On-Location, we got to have a long-awaited discussion with one of the cornerstones of VSAV in North America, Zach "Ailerus" Marquette. In addition to being one of the strongest Felicia players in the NA region, Zach serves as one of the heads of Vampire Arcadia, or VMP. VMP began as a collective of players and friends in the Cincinnati scene, and has now flourished into a community outfit dedicated to the promotion and production of events for not only VSAV, but retro fighters like 3rd Strike and Super Turbo. If you've tuned into any of those games during major events like Combo Breaker, EVO, or East Coast Throwdown, you've seen the level of detail and reinvigorating visual elements they've brought to breathe new life into these classic games and their players. We got to chop it up about the origins of Makai World Cup, one of the most competitive VSAV events around, with this year's running featuring international guests from France, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Traditionally a retro and anime-centric event, Zach's inspiration to pivot and make VSAV the sole focus of Makai came after his trip to Vampire Street Battle 2023 in Lyon, France. VSB is just one of the events in the "Street Battle" series of tournaments in Lyon, which feature singles and team events for a particular title. Other events in the series include "X Street Battle" for Super Street Fighter II Turbo or Super Street Fighter II X, and "Third Street Battle" for Street Fighter III: Third Strike, respectively. "We have no majors that I would say are only Vampire focused, we're always attached to a larger event because we're a small community. We have main game status at some events, but for the most part it's like a side event." Zach remarked, as he's no stranger to doing it himself. From hosting FGC sessions during the SF4 days at previous Arcade Legends, to working at the arcade in Cincinnati Mills Mall, to anchoring tournaments at Arcade Legacy as one of the few surviving businesses in one of America's most famous "dead malls". In one of the most preeminent examples of a location frozen-in-time, a community surged forward and maintained their link to the past, now in a space they can truly call home at the new Arcade Legacy location in nearby Sharonville, OH. What started as a cool idea to do with his friends, has now blossomed into a bona-fide production company with an international presence among the retro fighting game community, with no signs of slowing down. While still maintaining his acumen as a competitive player, Zach's goals are to keep streaming more and bigger events both in/outside of retro games and bringing more opportunities to his VMP cohort. Please enjoy our full conversation about Zach's roots in the Cincy FGC and growth of VMP as a brand, right here on Cultural Combos! Follow Zach and Vampire Arcadia below:X (Formerly Twitter) - <a href="https://x.com/AilerusVMP" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@AilerusVMP</a><a href="https://x.com/VampireArcadia" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Vampire Arcadia </a>YouTube - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@VampireArcadia" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@Vampire Arcadia</a>Twitch - <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/vampirearcadia" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">VampireArcadia </a>

Tales from the Deserted Chateau: Zach "Ailerus" Marquette

On-Location: EVO 2024

Continuing our On-Location series, live from Runback City in Las Vegas, Nevada; I had the pleasure of doing our first Industry Spotlight series! On this episode, we sat down with Eric Wallace, President of Gaming and Esports at Glo Navy, a gaming lifestyle and media company founded by hip-hop artist and Chicago native, Chief Keef. While new to the competitive gaming scene, gaming's been a part of Eric's entire life from the Sega Genesis, to his now ever-growing Playstation backlog. In Vegas for his second EVO, Eric's no stranger to talent and event management, with over a decade of experience managing recording artists including Mickey Factz; brand event partnerships like NBA's All-Star Weekend, and SEO operations for YouTube channels under The Complex Group's media network. After spending plenty of time in the nightlife and music industries, Eric made a natural transition to consulting influencers and content creators which led him to EVO. This year, he's more interested in seeing the players and learning about them beyond the games they compete in, as the individuals and personalities behind the sticks. He's described this current stage of his professional journey as bridging the gap by "connecting esports and gaming with music and culture", and a vision for creators to be their authentic selves. The desire to see more Black and Brown faces in gaming, led him to the FGC while making stops across FPS, MOBAs, and MMOs and noting the potential for crossover among demographics. Join us for a special edition of Cultural Combos as we peel back the curtain and chop it up with Glo Navy's finest. Keep up with Eric and Glo Navy on socials and around the web!<a href="https://x.com/EwallGN" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">EWallGN on X</a> (formerly Twitter)<a href="https://x.com/GloNavyGG" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">GloNavyGG</a><a href="GloNavy.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">GloNavy.com</a> Audio editing and post-production by Jeremiah <a href="https://x.com/ThisIsPhatb0i" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">"Phatb0i"</a> Robinson.

Industry Spotlight: Eric "EWallGN" Wallace

Histories in the Fighting Game Community

Welcome to Cultural Combos! Exploring the individual and shared histories across the fighting game community and fighting game culture, join us as we sit down with guests from around the scene to get their story and learn more about the people behind some of your favorite events and moments. Hosted by Jumaani "Maestro" Haskins, aka the "Ovaltine Papi".