The Misery Machine - Yuka Takaoka: A Real Life Yandere? [When Anime Becomes Real Life]

Episode Date: April 5, 2021

This week, Drewby and Yergy take a trip to the Kabukicho District of Tokyo, a bustling nightlife hub known for it's host and hostess clubs - a largely Japanese phenomena. We review the case of Yuka Takaoka, who became infamous on the internet and became known as as a "real life yandere" by her fans. Find out what this means and more! A very special thank you to Levi for supporting our show as our highest tier patron! Levi's Adoption Fundraising Page: https://gofund.me/d658a3a7 Support Our Patreon For More Unreleased Content: https://www.patreon.com/themiserymachine Join Our Facebook Group to Request a Topic: https://t.co/DeSZIIMgXs?amp=1 PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/themiserymachine Instagram: miserymachinepodcast Twitter: misery_podcast Discord: https://discord.gg/kCCzjZM #themiserymachine #podcast #truecrime Source Material: https://yandere.fandom.com/wiki/Yuka_Takaoka https://www.tokyoreporter.com/crime/yuka-takaoka-incident-victim-survives-holds-no-grudge/ https://www.tokyoreporter.com/crime/real-life-yandere-yuka-takaoka-handed-prison-term-for-attempted-murder/ https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueCrime/comments/et6co1/the_case_of_the_yandere_stabbing/ https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9803883/woman-smoking-boyfriend-stabbing-japan/ https://mothership.sg/2019/07/yuka-takaoka-what-happened/ https://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/17482665/

Hiro the Missouri Machine. I'm Yergi. And I'm Drewby. And this week we're going back to Japan for another case. And this one's very interesting because it had a lot of societal repercussions, not just over in Japan, but over here as well. And that's the Yucatakaoka case. Yes, this case is absolutely crazy. I have never heard of something quite like this. And if you're unfamiliar with host culture, that's fine. We'll go ahead and explain all of that for you. We'll fill you in. Yes. And if you're listening on YouTube, please hit like and subscribe. We just passed 4,600 subscribers. So thank you so much for everyone that's helped us so far. Thank you so much, guys. But without further ado, Yucatakaokaoka. Shenzuku City encompasses the buzzing clubs and karaoke rooms of neon-lit East Shenzuku and upscale hotel bars and restaurants in the skyscraper district. Tokyo Metropolitan Building has a popular observation deck and Mount Hacconi rises over tranquil urban parkland. Galleries, theaters, and bookstores attract students from busy campuses. New National Stadium is a high-tech sports venue built for the 2020 Olympics. This bustling hub is where today's bizarre story takes place. Born in China, Yuka Tacooka came to live in Japan when she was just two years old.

She was previously a student studying to become a nurse until October of 2018 when she became employed as the manager for a girls' bar called Toki Meki Bin Bim. located in the Kabukicho district of Shinjuku, known for its wild nightlife and its red light district. It is Kabukicho. It's not Kabuki Cho. I heard two native Japanese speakers say it that way. But if you don't know what a girls bar or a hostess club is, that's okay, as they primarily only exist in East Asian countries and are a staple of their nightlife. In a nutshell, hostess clubs hire female employees as companions to men looking for conversation and drinks. The male counterpart to this are host clubs, except the male staff tend to women. One host in the city that was very well known by regulars in the host club scene went by the stage name Runa. Having stage names is very common in the host and hostess club worlds.

He now goes by Phoenix Luna, so for the stake of consistency, that's how we'll refer to him for the rest of the episode. That previous October, while working as a host at Club Fusion in Kabukicho, Luna served Yucatakaokaoka. She was obsessed with Luna. At the time, Luna was the number three ranked host at Club Fusion, and apparently these rankings were listed in plain view for everyone to see. Allegedly, Taco Oka would sometimes spend the equivalent of thousands in US dollars on Luna, and after her repeated visits and requests to see only Luna, it was only a short time before he became the number one host at Club Fusion.

Visits to these clubs are not cheap, especially when you're specific. requesting a certain host or hostess, and alcohol can get pretty pricey at places like these. Yeah, the whole point of these clubs is to flirt with the patron and rack up a huge bar tab. Basically get them drunk. Because you're buying them drinks too. Right. You're buying the host or hostess. And the hostess usually gets watered down drinks for those wondering, so you don't end up getting

trash two hours into your shift. So the rumors that we've seen mentioned multiple times, and there is conflicting info, but the rumor is that she was so enamored by him that she offered to essentially buy him out so that he wouldn't serve any other patrons other than her. In U.S. dollars, this came out to be roughly $9,000 a month. On top of this, Yucca purchased an apartment for both of them to live in, and numerous reports state that they moved in together in May of 2019, May 20th. Now, I have to say that for almost the bulk of 2019 following this event, Phoenix Luna's name was not known. Only one picture surfaced of him and people didn't really know what their relationship was.

At first, the police weren't entirely sure what happened here either, as it was mentioned that Yucatakaoka could potentially be facing sexual assault charges, given what happens later in our story, which we will get to. I bring all of this up to stress to you that there are only certain things about the story that can truly be confirmed. And unfortunately, the state of their relationship was not one of them. So with that said, speculation surfaced that Phoenix Luna was taking advantage of Yuka Takaoka. It is alleged that Yuka began working at a brothel and escorted a much older man on an overseas

trip in order to earn the funds to keep booking Phoenix Luna's services. Luna was aware of the trip and apologized to her for, quote, taking so much of her money, end quote, but allegedly wasn't aware of her working at a brothel. There are things about Taco Oka and Luna that could have contributed to the lead-up of the events that made this case so famous. So buying out Luna's contract meant that he was no longer working so that she could have him all to herself and no other woman would come between them. There is, however, conflicting information on this, but the general consensus was that he had to quit working as a host. It is alleged that Taco Oka also had a gambling problem but stopped because of Luna. One reason was theorized that this was because the amount of money that she had to pay to keep Luna around and to pay for their newly acquired apartment.

However, there is information that Luna still had some sort of job. Now, some people say that he was still working as a host, but in less of a capacity. Others say that he was working a job that was not in the host industry. It's so strange because then he has testimony later stating that he was. So it's very convoluted. We went through many, and I mean many sources. Audio I translated. Lots of translating.

To the best I could, I ran a bunch of Japanese articles through Google Translate, which, as I'm sure you know, is not very accurate. It was just hard to come up with a concrete answer here. So if you are a native Japanese speaker and you know this case very well, I would love to hear from you, Misery Machine Podcast at gmail.com or leave a comment below if you're on YouTube, that would mean a lot. So there's one thing that I wish I knew how to do when we do overseas cases is being able to natively speak and read the language. So with that said, on May 23rd, 2019, Luna made arrangements to help Taco Oka with organizing her apartment around

noon. However, his responsibilities at work caused him to be late, though it was alleged he was in a hotel with another patron and Yucca found out. Again, not clear on this. Yuka was, waiting up all night anticipating Luna's return. However, he eventually appeared about three hours later, which infuriated Taco Oka, though she did not let on to Luna that she was angry, and he decided to take a bath to relax, which he fell asleep in for a period of time. To further add to Taco Oka's ire, she allegedly found a photo of Luna on his phone with another woman, which again could very easily have been merely a patron. Or a friend. Or a friend's. Give a friend. Give the way Taka Oka behaved, I don't believe that Luna had many female friends, but I think it's not out of the realm of possibility that when working at a host club, that somebody might want to take a selfie with you. Regardless, some sources differ on how she discovered this picture, but the one that seems most likely to us is that she snooped through his phone while he was asleep in the bathtub. After waking up, Luna exited the bath and put on a pair of undershorts,

and went to turn in for the night. Yuka Takaoka did not take this opportunity to confront Phoenix Luna about the picture she had found. Instead, she chose to wait for him to fall asleep. And he awoke in horror to find Takaoka stabbing and tearing open his stomach and abdomen with a kitchen knife. Terrified, Luna pleaded with her to stop

and said he would not go to the police as long as she got him in ambulance. So we've read different accounts of what Takaoka said to him, but roughly translated, she told Luna that he was going to die and that they would be together forever in death. I also heard she said, do you like me? And then he agreed that he did.

Yeah, I've read that as well. So Luna was able to fend her off long enough to run out of their apartment and down to the first floor lobby. And to be clear, they lived on the fifth floor. Yes. And it was at this point upon reaching the lobby that he collapsed due to his wounds. and became unconscious. People were screaming.

There are pictures of this. There's a lot of blood in this lobby, a lot of blood. I think probably the most iconic thing about this case is a picture of Yucatakaoka sitting by Phoenix Luna's body. She is calmly smoking a cigarette while on her cell phone as police are approaching her. And there is blood everywhere. All over her too. And all over her.

And we will post that picture right now. There's a couple things that have been said. One was that she was on the phone with a friend. Another was that she was calling emergency services. However, somebody in the lobby had already called emergency services immediately after seeing poor Phoenix Luna collapse due to his wounds. There was also another weird rumor out there on the internet that she was calling the woman in the picture, but it's probably not true.

It's hard to say because we don't know if she knew who she was that woman's identity was never discovered. I don't think the photo itself has ever surfaced either. Or if there even was a photo. Exactly. Exactly. This is just what the claim was. And I think only Takaoka is the one to allege that. So many bystanders watched her get carried away by Tokyo police while drenched in blood.

All of it being his. Pictures were taken and spread around social media, and it didn't take long for the notoriety of these two to be recognized. Mostly her. Again, his identity was not 100% for a while. Some people threw out his name, but it was never confirmed. And there was only one real picture of him on the internet for most of 2019. And we'll put that picture up as well if we haven't yet. The rest of the pictures that we're going to have are basically the professional.

shots he has from working as a host. Yes. Because there's not really a whole lot. I found some as well that we're going to share later on from his Instagram, but he doesn't keep up on it. No. And I believe he started this Instagram well after this incident. Right.

So it was unclear at the time who contacted emergency services, whether or not it was a nearby resident that heard the commotion or Yucatakaoka herself as complete speculation. Tokyo Metro Police arrived and later discovered Yuka's personal journal. with notes written in blood. And there are pictures of this. One such note translates in English to, quote, I like you so much. I wanted to kill you, end quote.

The knife used to stab Luna was also recovered. Yucatakaoka later said, and I quote, it was the one thing I put in order in preparing a new life with him, end quote, referring to the knife that she used. And I quote again, I didn't want to go anywhere, so I sat down at the outside staircase. I did not call emergency services because I intended to die after watching him die. Then she later states at other points that she did call to lay cover her tracks.

So who knows? Yeah, again, speculation. As for Phoenix Luna, he was transported to a hospital in critical condition, and that was all that was really reported to the public. Very little was known about his recovery, and many people eventually began to suspect that he had succumbed to his wounds and died. When asked about her motive, Takaoka initially said to investigators, quote, since I loved him so much, I just couldn't help it, end quote.

Her admission spiraled into a far more profound and ominous territory when she stated, and I quote, I was sad and seeking to die, and I thought how I'd like to go about it. I thought I would kill him because I thought that's how I could be with him. I thought that expressions such as, I like you, and I would like to be with you, would become reality if we both die, end quote. Absolutely disgusting. right? I would hope most would think so. However, there's literally a community of people online that possess a deep admiration with Yucatakaoka, who's the manifestation of a real life Yandere. A lot of these people in question are fans of anime and manga. I know hashtag not all anime fans. While there has been a vocal part of the community that do not condone this, and I do firmly. believe that the average fan of anime

does not approve of Yucatako's actions. There is a subsect that very much does. So what is a yandere? It is a Japanese term that stems from otaku culture. In anime, a yandere is a person,

usually a woman, that initially displays themselves as very loving and kind to their love interest before they become obsessive, destructive, and more stereotypically, violent and murderous. This word is a portmanteau of two Japanese words. Yandiru, which basically means to be sick and Dere Dere, which can have multiple meanings, several meanings I've found, but in this case it

means love-struck. In anime, characters who possess this trait are characterized as mentally unstable and are at times extraordinarily deranged, virtually engaging in extreme violence or homicidal behavior as an outlet to channel their emotions. Internet fans of Yuka Takaoka started a GoFundMe and tended to pay for her bail while she awaited sentencing. Despite more details emerging about the case, Takaoka's admirers remain fervent,

believing that she did not deserve jail time. The donation was targeted for $3,000, but surprisingly after two days of being posted, the amount of $3,840 was sent from 69 contributors, surpassing the target goal by nearly 22%. So insane. It's nuts. Obviously, this large donation...

It doesn't surprise me, though, but whatever. No, no. I mean, it actually surprises me, honestly. It does surprise. I can talk more about obsessive fans of anime. Honestly, I've seen some of the stuff that, like, 4chan does. I'm surprised this wasn't. more. Well, this didn't take place during the times of 4chan. I know, but just like, I'm just like

saying in general. I've seen what things do. And with that said, I do believe that there were a portion of these people that were just trolling. I believe most of them truly, truly were obsessed with her. And we'll get into that in a little bit. So obviously, this large donation caused an immediate public outcry with detractors expressing their belief that a large sum of contributions, like this only condones Takaoka's violent actions in the attempted murder of Phoenix Luna. The attempt by donors in providing Takaoka exclusive privileges also spark criticism because it was regarded as favoritism because she was widely dubbed as the quote, two beautiful attempted murder suspect, end quote, by her orbiters. And some all that this is disgusting.

Some also tried to use mental health advocacy as a reason to donate for her bail fund. Aren't we supposed to do more for people suffering from mental health issues, even though she didn't have any documented? I mean, she clearly does, but, you know, that's where we need to better prison systems to help people with their mental health. Or maybe better access to mental health care ahead of time, so it never gets to that point. Because here in the States, it wouldn't matter what your documented mental health condition. If you stab somebody, you're probably going away for a long time. This backwards double standard that some fans of her had was just. just sickening to me. So people felt that the contributors wouldn't be singing the same tune if the

suspect wasn't as attractive or even if the suspect was of another gender. And, you know, it's true. I think that's true. It's absolutely true. After receiving vast criticism, the GoFundMe ultimately was removed. Anime cosplay and in general, otaku culture would eventually become a topic of issue in the same form in how the government tends to argue that violent video games are the cost of various murders and attacks that have occurred over the years. This is actually commonplace in certain countries. Whenever a violent crime happens and the perpetrator was an anime fan, they tend to talk about banning anime and some of the more violent anime has been banned in certain countries. A lot of it is China because they don't like Gort in the same aspect where World of Warcraft

before the most recent update. In the Chinese version, the undead did not have their bones showing. Really? Even that was not okay with them. But aren't there undead characters that, you know, are mostly bones? They would edit them. Interesting. So they just make them more zombie-like or something?

Yeah. So like the newer models you can pick to be completely clean or more rotten because they did a whole bunch of feature updates in the most recent, you know, game. Okay. Expansion rather, excuse me. So it's more in line with the Chinese products. They really didn't have to do much with it. But for the longest time,

There's two very different versions of the game because of that. It's interesting to hear other countries' takes on censorship. Saudi Arabia actually has banned Pokemon because they find it to be a form of gambling. I think I've heard that. Yeah. And a lot of anime is actually banned in New Zealand if it's too sexualized. Yeah, that doesn't surprise me either. And as far as Pokemon, I mean, where I went to elementary school, they banned Pokemon cards

because, well, not people weren't gambling. It brought a real money element with kids bringing cash to school in trade for them. And ultimately, some kids were getting jumped for their Pokemon cards. So, you know, again, not that I'm saying ban Pokemon, ban anime. Yeah, China bans death note because kids were making their own death notes. Okay, that, again, I don't condone the banning of that. But I can see that happening. I can absolutely see that happening.

If I've not seen Death Note, but my understanding of it is that it's a person who has this book. and when you write someone's name in the book, they die. Is that correct? Okay. That's the short and easy part of it. Yeah, yeah, the short and sweet nutshell version. Short and dirty. So Otaku is another Japanese term utilized to describe a person who has obsessive interests

in particular subcultures and activities, especially in regards to anime, manga, pop idols, video games, other content of that sort. I mean, some people use it as a derogatory term. I think nowadays Otaku is not considered. derogatory where Weibu or Weeb, things like that are the more derogatory terms towards people that like the aforementioned things. Yucatakaoka is recognized to be an avid anime fan, which was seen from her Instagram posts where she cosplayed various Yandere anime characters.

And so the two most popular ones, and these were ones where she cosplayed not long before this incident took place. and they are Toga Hamiko from My Hero Academia and Zero 2 from Darling and the Franks. I hope I said that correctly. I've seen neither of these, but I did consult with one of my friends who has seen both of these anime,

and I trust his opinion on anime, but he didn't really consider Zero2 Yonderay. He more thought it was, Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope and Toga, he felt the bad parts of Yondre and none of the initial good. But I still think that these are still close enough. And so then people speculate, did she herself consider herself a Yondre? And that's the part that is kind of psychotic to me. You can be a fan of anime and not know what that term is, not know what that trope is. But if she does know what that trope is and she considered herself a real-life Yandre before doing this, that is beyond

psychotic to me because... It's possible she could be just a, you know, early 20-something edge lord. It's possible. It's very possible. It can be contended that Taco Oka possessed a certain psychological predisposition for violent behavior and the level of brutality exhibited in the anime shows that she enjoyed watching might have inspired her to manifest the destructive tendencies in a most harmful manner. The official status of Phoenix Luna was finally concluded on July 1st when a Twitter user tweeted, quote, sorry, I'm alive and back, end quote. He then added, quote, since I was stabbed in the liver, I can't drink, end quote.

Luna's odds of surviving this ordeal were apparently minimal, approximately a 20% chance according to his doctors, but against the odds he did recover. He spent days at the hospital in critical condition and some weeks healing from surgery. So to everyone's surprise, he was alive and he was mentally recovering. Great. So in an interview, he shared the horrifying details from his point of view and cleared up some of the rumors that circulated after the near fatal stabbing had occurred. So the rumors included that he had started living with Takaoka days before the incident and that he was nude. when displayed in the photograph and that she attacked him during sexual intercourse after he

received a telephone call from another patron. So this is where Drewby was speculating whether or not she's going to get sexual assault charges. Right, but that it was not the case. And he was not nude either to confirm this. One other thing that I, we forgot to put in the notes, but I read translated during his time in the hospital is that he specifically requested to not be in a room with a window because he kept having nightmares of Yucatakaoka coming through the window and stabbing him. And he did not sleep well during that time for the times where he wasn't in a coma. I can't imagine being stuck in a place like that with that fear and those dreams coming to you.

So he says that he now lives in a dormitory provided by the club. When speaking about Takaoka in April after she frequently visited his club, quote, I was invited by her to go to a cat cafe. A cat cafe is a popular thing over in Japan where you go and you hang out with cats and pet cats while you get coffee. We have them here and it's usually more geared at adopting them. Yeah. But over in Japan, there's cafes to just play with cats and play with little Shiba Inus. I've seen videos.

It's so cute. I want to do it. I'll back to the quote. I was invited by her to go to a cat cafe or to watch movies. After that, she reserved me as her host where I, I was the number one host for May, end quote. So from his testimony, after I got an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach, I looked and saw a knife protruding and a lot of blood.

Strangely, I felt no pain, but I was shocked and frightened. So I shoved her from the bed and fled. She then chased me. I thought I was dead. Takaka Oka grabbed him after he rushed out of the front door. But according to Luna, quote, I shook loose and got on the elevator. Quote, I lost consciousness when I got to the lobby.

I don't remember the rest. Takoka grabbed him after rushing out the door. End quote. He also verified a report about his answer when she asked if he liked her moments after the attack. But there's a reason for that, he said. Quote, I thought that I would die if I got stabbed anymore and I wanted to call an ambulance.

I knew she liked me. So I thought it would stop if I said that, end quote. So despite the trauma he endured, Phoenix Luna claims to show no ill will towards Taco Oka. He's quoted as saying, I do not hold a grudge. There was a reason for her to stab me. It was also thanks to her that I was able to achieve the sales that I did in less than a year since becoming a host. End quote.

Yucatakaoka was charged with the attempted murder of Phoenix Luna. Her sentencing took place on December 5, 2019, where she received three years and six months in prison. There is a letter that was sent directly to Phoenix Luna from her. We'll have Yergy read the translated version of it. Also, another thing I should add, too, that I forgot to include in the notes, but it's something that I read and watched in a few of the documentaries that were pertaining to this, that he actually got back in touch with a bunch of a strange family due to this ordeal. Silver lining. Yeah. Not that I want to condone this in any way.

Anyway, but that's what he said. So here goes the letter. I'm sorry for this sudden letter. I think the letters and words from me are really unpleasant for you. Really sorry. However, I really wanted to apologize for this time, so I wrote a letter. Apologies and letters have no meaning, and I feel complacent. I understand that it's selfish and unpleasant to write a letter after doing such a terrible thing at the very least.

I understand that sending a letter of apology cannot be forgiven, and that you're discussing fear of me, your pain and suffering will only increase and not disappear. I'm really sorry. I have made you the worst thing that human beings can do for the rest of their lives. I'm really sorry. I think it hurts so much that I couldn't imagine. I think it was painful. Above all, I think it was scary.

Most of this letter is her putting really sorry after sentence after sentence after sentence after sentence. And note, this is done directly from Google Translate. So there's going to be a little bit of difference of how we would actually say some stuff. But I'm doing this from the letter. Okay. So I continue. I can't think of your feelings or everything with my selfish feeling, so I'm sorry to hurt you and cause trouble. I say I like you.

Impose your own hopes, and I'm really sorry to hurt you. I will regret it for the rest of my life. I understand that you should actually ask and apologize directly, which I think she's basically stating here that she should really be saying this in person. But please forgive me for the rudeness of apologizing by letter. I'm really sorry. There is a reason for that. And remind me, I will explain me, I will explain. explain it later why she can't apologize

a person. Right. It was a short time of two months, but thank you for your dreamy happy time. I'm really sorry. I'm sorry for doing what you dislike, disturbing you, annoying you trying to tie you up. Hurt and scared. I'm really sorry for feeling sick. I'll never say it again. I'm really sorry I'm offended even at this time.

It's all my responsibility, and I think it's crazy and crazy to say this, even though it's what I've done, but I sincerely hope that you're body is safe. I know that all the words I say and the words safe are wrong, but I'm sorry the correct word is wrong because I don't understand it. I'm really sorry for doing something terrifying and forcing you to push your feelings without thinking about you. I will never approach you again. I would like to work and spend my whole life compensating for it. I'm sorry to talk about money. The sincerity that I can show you as a form only came to me with money. I'm really sorry. I can only say I'm sorry. I'm

really sorry. Thank you so much for everything. I'm so sorry. Yuka Takaoka dated June 9th. So, yes, you heard correctly when I said earlier that she got three or six months. Why would that be? And you might be thinking, well, as Japan will know, because people who've done similar things like this in Japan have gotten much more time. Or have been hung. Not for attempted murder, but for murder, yes. The reason that she got such a short amount of time, was not due to her fans. It was actually due to Phoenix Luna. So he actually appealed the court to not give her a very strict sentence. And he wanted to settle it out of court.

And settled out of court. There had to be criminal charges, of course, but she was ordered to pay him 50 million yen, which somebody told me equates to something like 50,000 US roughly. And that she is to never approach him like she can't be in like so many feet of him or something for the rest of her life. I think there was one more stipulation. She's banned from Kabu Kicho. Yes, she's banned from Kabu Kicho. She cannot go into that district.

And this is, as somebody working in host hostess clubs, that's a pretty big blow. That's the hub of it. You know, of course, they exist other places, but that's the major hub of it around Tokyo, from my understanding. This is the stereotypical place of nightlife as far as, would you call a red light district? Maybe, maybe not. If you're from the area, I'd love to hear about it. But I've heard it is. I heard it's considered the unsafe area. But if you're a tourist, you might not think so. You might not think it's unsafe. But there's brothels. There's host and hostess clubs. It's like the bustling part of nightlife. Either may or may not be aakuza there. Yeah. So listening to Nobita from Japan's popular YouTube channel from somebody who is native Japanese lives there, I think still lives there currently, but was living in Canada for a bit. He says that that is considered the dangerous place in Japan, that it has the highest crime rate in the surrounding area.

However, when you compare it to other places, it's probably not that dangerous. Just, you know, have your wits about you. Don't be too drunk. Don't be out too late. But when he interviewed certain tourists, they're like, oh, this is fine. I've never felt unsafe here. Downtown L.A. is way more unsafe than this. So take that with a grain assault.

A lot of people aren't going to really harass tourists either because they want you to spend money. Exactly. So I've heard that as well as that people in general that are looking to commit crimes in Japan, they don't really target tourists. Where in other areas of the world, they absolutely do target tourists. That's not really a thing in Japan. Right. I heard the worst that's going to happen to you is the girls on the outside of the club are going to try to get you into the club and to pay attention to your bill because they'll try to overcharge you for more drinks. Right. And that's the worst that probably will happen to you. I've heard that as well. So again, she did not get that long of time.

So she's going to be out roughly a year and a half. So it's kind of crazy to think about. And maybe we can do an update depending on what the news is when she does get out. I assume that when she gets out, it's going to be little media press, as tends to be in Japan about things like this. And maybe she'll become some sort of social media star or something like that. An update on Phoenix Luna, or do you want to say what you said first? My thought was basically she's either going to become, she's going to milk the hell out of this, or she's going to change her name and live a quiet life out in the country.

Yeah, that's true. Yeah, she could Issa-Sagawa it. I think she'll probably Issa-Sagawa it. I mean, like, Issa-Sagawa is the only person who's ever Issa-Sagawa it. So I don't know if that's something people traditionally do over there. But as far as Phoenix Luna is concerned, he does have a, he deleted old social media, but he does have a Instagram now, and he's back to working in host clubs again.

Yeah, he works at a host club called Servant of Eve, where he is number one. Despite not being able to drink. When I heard that he wasn't able to drink anymore, I thought his career was going to be over, and I felt very sad for him, but it sounds like he's back to doing what he's good at doing and what he enjoys doing,

so I'm happy to hear that. So if you like this episode and you're listening on YouTube, please hit like and subscribe, is the best way to help us grow, is a channel. If you're listening on to the other platforms, if you could hit subscribe there, that goes a long way to helping us. If you're listening on Apple podcast specifically, or anywhere that you listen that has a review function, if you could please give us a five-star review and a written review, we will shout you out and read that on the podcast. I've also been

putting them in our Instagram stories and I archive them to highlight. So you will always be a part of the Missouri Machine history. Yes. And I should shout out the most recent one we did, Did you do a post for that? I did. I typed in the misery machine. The first result is the Ben Shapiro show. So this one's from Colby Gross. And they said that the guest from the episode they listened to, the guest just sounds just like Ed Kemper.

I'm assuming that was. Josh Steen. That was the Josh Steen one for Ronnie McNutt's interview. Because we don't have many guests. They have a deep voice like that either. And Josh has a nice voice. I could listen to Josh talk. And I think I did.

I just kind of like listened. But Ed Kemper does have a very good speaking voice. So I'm assuming that's the one. Colby goes on to say, I'm from Maine and I enjoy a little touch of Maine and my true crime. Great job. Thank you. Thank you so much, Colby. We appreciate that. We also have a very lovely group of people who decide to go that extra step to become our patrons. And we've had 11 new patrons in the month of March. I cannot believe this. I am so overwhelmed by the support. I appreciate it so much. It means so much to us. Every dollar we get from the podcast goes back into making this podcast that much better for you. Yeah, we've never taken a paycheck from this. No, never. And we're going to probably upgrade the mics next. I think I have to review what we need.

I may get Adobe audition and try to do better editing, especially of the videos. Because right now I just use OpenShot, which is free and pretty clunky. I would like to see if there's a way to step up the audio quality on that. So that's going to be the next thing that we focus on. But again, let's thank our patrons, our very lovely patrons. So thank you. Eddie, Rowan, Marky, Holly, Ashley Vue, Anna Lauren, Serena, Chloe, Mark, Tara, Sophie, Neil and Karen, Dave, and Karina, Domyn List, Jen, Mo, Jenny, Nora,

Robin, Tom, Dylan, Kaylee, Alex, Jacob, Victoria, Dakota, Bailey, Lindsay, James. Welcome, welcome Stephen. Casey. And Ciaiaia. And Ciaia. And welcome, C, A. And Levi. And Levi, our highest tier Patreon supporter.

There's his lovely picture right now. Is linked to his GoFundMe is still below. You can still donate. I also want to give a special shout out to Casey. Yes. From Painted Trash podcast. Him and Mark are very, very lovely people. We love them so much.

And you should check them out. You should. And I've heard rumors that there might be a misery machine and paint your trash mix up sometime in your future. Yes. We already plan to make it out to. Milwaukee one day and they're in Chicago which is not far so I'm sure something will happen eventually with them. We will have all of the port vintage. Yes, all. Let's keep the inside jokes to a minimum and they can find out what that means by listening to Payton Trash Podcast. Anyways.

Until next week. We love you. We love you. Bye.