Agnes Yulo Diego (born February 16, 1993), known online as Akidearest, is an American YouTuber. She is best known for discussing anime, manga, otaku culture and Japanese-related content on her YouTube channel.[3][4][5]
Diego was born in Bakersfield, California, on February 16, 1993, to parents of Filipino descent, and was raised in Virginia before then eventually moving to Las Vegas, Nevada. Growing-up, Diego got into creating Anime music videos (AMV) and had a prior YouTube channel that hosted some of her work. She completed a degree in psychology at university, and later went to college again for graphic design. However, after her channel blew up, Diego decided to pursue YouTube as her career instead.[3][5]
Careeredit
Diego created her second and current YouTube channel "Akidearest" on December 18, 2014, with a focus on discussing anime, manga, and otaku culture; her first video, "REACTION: DMMD Love Scene," in which Diego reacts to a scene in Dramatical Murder, was released on December 26, 2014.[6] Considered as her break-out video, "5 Songs That Will Change The Way You See Vocaloid," was released on January 12, 2016; the video delves into serious topics that fans to causal listeners of Vocaloid might not expect.[3][5] On August 21, 2017, Akidearest hit one million subscribers.[7] From 2017 to 2018, Diego co-hosted a weekly SBS podcast titled, The Anime Show, with Joseph Bizinger (The Anime Man), which ran for 68 episodes that discussed about anime, manga, and otaku culture.[8][9]
In January 2019, Diego moved to Japan, at which time her channel expanded to include her experiences while living in Japan.[5][10][11] In same year, Diego also made an in-game cameo appearance in The World Next Door, by Rose City Games.[12]
Personal lifeedit
On November 4, 2016, both she and fellow YouTuber Joey Bizinger announced that they were in a relationship.[13][14]
Referencesedit
^@akidearest (February 9, 2021). "My birthday the 16th, but I was given an early surprise birthday party! Thank you so much @heyitssharla (she lives too far to make it down to visit us on my bday) @TheAn1meMan @PeachMilky_ @lukecraigphoto 🎉" (Tweet). Retrieved January 21, 2022 – via Twitter.
^ abc"Anime YouTuber Akidearest slams misconceptions and answers burning questions". www.iol.co.za. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
^Rowl, Taye; -Dixon (October 22, 2018). "Verge Meets: Akidearest". Verge Magazine. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
^ abcdChandra, 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 December 18, 2021.
^"Kadokawa at Anime Expo 2019". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
^"akidearest Live Sub Count (Real Time YouTube Subscriber Count)". NoxInfluencer. Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
^"The Anime Show with Joey & AkiDearest". SBS PopAsia. November 2017. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
^"The Anime Show with Joey & AkiDearest (podcast) - SBS PopAsia". Listen Notes. June 18, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
^"【予約数が約2倍に】海外向けインフルエンサーコミュニティTokyo Creativeが、訪日客向けローカルツアーサプライヤーMagical Tripと協業、YouTuber監修の秋葉原ツアーを..." ["About the doubling of reservations" Overseas influencer community Tokyo Creative collaborates with local tour supplier Magical Trip for visitors to Japan, Akihabara tour supervised by YouTuber ...]. プレスリリース・ニュースリリース配信シェアNo.1 (in Japanese). August 5, 2019. Archived from the original on January 12, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
^Akidearest (January 19, 2019). we finally did it. YouTube. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
^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.
^The Anime Man (November 4, 2016). We Have A Confession... YouTube. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
^Akidearest (November 4, 2016). WE FINALLY CONFESS!. YouTube. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2020.