My love for Japanese anime started at a young age. I believe I started watching anime at the age of two years (stated by my mom) and began my obsession at five years old. The first animes I ever watched which got me hooked were Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon.epilogue. In the past year, I have also found myself watching the new re-make of sailor moon.
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| Left:Sakura, Right:Sailor Moon |
I can still remember when they were featured on tv and I would get up Saturday mornings just to watch them. I loved the animes so much that I purchased the Sakura Cardcaptor ward and The Book of Clow. I still have the Book of Clow from my childhood, although some of the cards are missing, I’m not sure if I still have the wand. My mom thought it was cute that I was also so enthralled with sailor moon as a child, for my ninth birthday, she bought me this really pretty expensive moon necklace with the thought of sailor moon in mind. I still have that necklace, which is actually one of my favorites. As a child, I found Japanese animation somehow to be different compared to American animation. I enjoyed the design, graphics, and storylines more than American-made cartoons. Over the years, I was able to finish all of Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon seasons, episodes, and movies. In more recent years I was able to discover Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles which is almost a spin-off of Cardcaptor Sakura, or at least it includes all of the main characters. I was elated when I found this series because its predecessor got me interested in anime. In addition to watching all of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, I have watched the movie, OVAs, and have read the entire manga series, which just started up again as a new series adding on to the
Having a taste for anime, I soon discovered several others the caught my interests. I got into the more shounen genres next including; Yugioh, Pokemon, Digimon, and Beyblade. These animes were the start of my tomboy years when I would be obsessed with these with my guy friends, compared to my female friends who were all about dressing up and playing with dolls. I ended up purchasing both Pokemon and Yugioh cards, at which I would battle my friends. Even now I still purchase Yugioh cards but more for collection purposes. As I child, I would also play Beyblade with my neighbors and we would always say the battle phrase “let it rip” when we played. I can also remember when Burger King and Dairy Queen would give away Digimon toys as kid’s meal prizes, I obviously tried to collect them all. Pertaining to the animes, I have watched several seasons of all of them. I ended up Pokemon till the diamond and pearl season with the addition of at least ten of the movies. I have watched all of the episodes and seasons of the original Yugioh, Yugioh capsule monsters, Yugioh GX, and Yugioh 5Ds, and a couple of episodes of Yugioh Zexal and Arc and all of the movies. Fun fact: The newest Yugioh movie: Yugioh The Dark Side of Dimensions will be shown in a select number of theaters in January of 2017. I have watched six seasons of Digimon and the movies; Digimon adventure, Digimon adventure 02, Digimon tamers, Digimon frontier, and Digimon data squad (known as Digimon savers in the Japanese version. Looking back, I probably watched the least number of episodes of Beyblade in compassion with the others.
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| Dorney Park: Had catch some Pokemon |
Gaming wise I have also purchased various Japanese games stemming from those anime for my Gameboy XP and DS. Starting from Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire I have purchased all of the generations currently up to the present and am planning on buying the new release next month, Pokemon Sun. I have also played around eight of the Yugioh games. Additionally, I have repeatedly watched Yugioh and Digimon several times.
Later in life, I started to watch more mature anime such as Naruto, Inuyasha, One Piece, and Bleach. I have watched almost all of Naruto and have read all of the manga, and have watched and read all of Bleach. Watching more anime got me interested in reading more manga and discovering other genres. My favorite genre to watch has been fantasy. I like the unreal aspect that is conveyed such as things we imagine or dream of that may not exist in the real world but do with our imaginations. I have watched probably at least over 50 series including all kinds of genres. If I do end up watching a series I try to finish them completely unless I lose interest, which only happens occasionally during longer series. Additionally, if I liked the original series I end up also watching the spin-off if there is one. I am also a fan of doujinshis and fan artwork.
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| Sakura Festival 2016 |
The social aspects of my anime life before college were little to none. I didn’t have any friends to talk about anime with. Most of them had no idea what anime was and the others thought of anime as childish. I can remember some parents questioning why I was watching cartoons instead of real-life drama, so I kind of keep to myself about my anime interests. In junior year of high school, I discovered one of the male assistant coaches at my club gym for gymnastics had interests in anime. He was about the only one I would talk to about anything anime. Coming to college I found more individuals who shared the same appreciation for anime. It is interesting to find others who are interested in anime and be like I know what you’re talking about. For others who don’t know me too well, I always find it interesting how others seem so surprised I know what they are talking about when they are talking about anime. I frequency get, “Wait you watch anime?” or the look that says whoa she knows what we’re talking about. I question sometimes, is that because I’m a girl or I don’t have that look? I’ve had others tell me that I didn’t seem like the type because I looked “normal”. Which means that some people associate having an interest in anime with a particular look. My mom doesn’t care that I watch anime; she has the “you like what you like” attitude.
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| J1-Con (right:me) |
I have been to one anime con, which was this past year in Philadelphia, J1-Con. I hope to someday to make it to the huge anime con in California. I have also been able to cosplay two characters; Asuna Yuki the blue fairy version from Sword Art Online and a Pokémon trainer from Pokémon Black and White video game, Hilda. I have worn both cosplays to the Annual Japan Club Halloween party and went as a Pokémon trainer to the anime con because the theme this year was Pokémon in response to this year being their 20th anniversary. Watching and reading so much anime and manga I got interested in drawing them. I have a small sketchbook which I have drawn some characters but only their heads because I suck at drawing bodies. For me to draw something I need a visual to look at so I found that I am unable to draw original characters that look good. At one point I wanted to become a mangaka or voice actor but found that I don’t have talent in either.
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| UC Japan Club Halloween Party 2015 |
What got me interested in anime? I think the first reason that got me interested in anime were the character designs and graphics. Anime has something special in its graphic designs compared to cartoons. I look at it as more of an art form in comparison. Second would be the storylines. I have noticed that most anime have excellent, sometimes complex storylines. Having a storyline engages the viewer making them want to watch more because they want to know what happens next. Whereas, lots of cartoons are standalone episodes, take Sponge Bob for example; you could watch any episode and it wouldn’t matter that you haven’t watched the previous or preceding episode. My interest in Japanese anime has lead me to learn some of the language (2 years, 4 semesters), become interested in the culture, even so far as to study abroad in Japan (summer 2016), and become part of the UC Japan Club, later a member of the executive board. Anime has been a substantial influence on my life helping bring me here to where I am today.
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| Some Sketchbook Drawings |
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Art Project 2016
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