Before I get much further into this blog, I have to make a confession. (dramatic pause) Okay, here it goes.
*sigh* I’m a n00b. While I have had a fascination with Japan since I was 9 years old (which means I’ve had that fascination for over 3/4 of my life), I’ve only been watching anime and reading manga for the past year and 2 months.
Yep, that’s right. I was well into my 30’s before I discovered these gems of Japanese culture. Sure, I took various martial arts for 20+ years. I’ve read the works of Ryotaro Shiba, Haruki Murakami, Eiji Yoshikawa, and Yukio Mishima. I’ve seen almost every Akira Kurosawa film, along with dozens of other Japanese films. I even visited Tokyo and Kyoto back in 2002. But I was never into anime, J-pop, J-rock, or manga.
Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai
…until recently. A close friend introduced me to anime by insisting that I watch “Appleseed ex Machina,” which had just come out on blu-ray, with him. (Yes. That means it was after March 11, 2008 that I officially became an otaku.)
Appleseed Ex Machina
After that, I was hooked. I watched every anime I could get my hands on (Death Note, Bleach, Genshiken, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Minami-ke, Azumanga Daioh, and on and on…). Eventually, I also discovered J-dramas and fell in love with their characters and stories (Nobuta wo Produce, Kurosagi, Galileo, etc.). Then I picked up a few manga (Dark Metro, Love Hina, and The Record of a Fallen Vampire). I even tried to cosplay once for Halloween, … and I failed miserably.
So, with that said, I want to reiterate the purpose of this blog. It is to discover the otaku culture of Austin. I make no claim that I am currently an expert. But I hope to continue exploring this aspect of my personality and find ways other people in Austin express their otaku-ness.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!