As started by CCY.
Twelve memorable anime moments for the 2008 calendar year? That sounds kinda fun. (Plus, I’m having trouble thinking of shit to write lately.) Yeah, lots of other bloggers are doing it, too. No one ever accused me of being a leader, you know.
I realize I’m late to the party, which is why I’ll be cramming four day’s worth of moments into this post. I hope I can come up with twelve…
In no particular order:
Day 1:
Colossal Con 2008
This past summer, I attended my first Colossal Con in two or three years. I had gone to a couple before, but it wasn’t until my interest anime grew to fiendish proportions. Like a dope, I go by myself, and I buy a three-day pass.
The hotel was packed! I’m sure the promoters were very pleased with the turnout. I, on the other hand, was frustrated. Surrounded by numerous screaming cosplayers, I swerved my way down the hall to the dealer’s room only to find out there they’re only allowing a couple of people in at a time. All those people I swam through were waiting in line for the dealer’s room! From what I could see through the door, it wasn’t a very big room, so the staff was probably adhering to occupancy standards. Waiting in that beastly line didn’t appeal to me, so I decided to check out the various video rooms that had been reserved.
I caught the latter half of an episode of Itazura na Kiss, and decided I wasn’t that interested. Besides, Ninja Gaiden was coming up in another room. That’s right – Ninja-fuckin’-Gaiden. I was mesmerized by it’s old-school violence. If only there could be a modern series that would make it to North America…
Can you imagine this dude kicking ass in an anime series?
After a poorly planned sentai panel, I was finally able to hit the dealer room with little to no waiting. I circled the room a good two or three times, hoping a really good bargain would stick out its leg and trip me. That never happened, though. I did, however, score some nifty items for reasonable prices. One of which was the first volume of the La Blue Girl manga that I just saw today in Amazon’s marketplace for $66. I think I paid $16 for mine. :p Most of my disappointment was aimed at the non anime/manga dealers. There was so much junk for sale, it was ridiculous. Maybe, I’m spoiled by the comic book conventions I’ve been to, where 50¢ comics are in abundance, and graphic novels can be had for half off the cover price. Maybe I expected too much.
Even though I wasted my money on a three-day pass and used it once, the experience wasn’t all bad. Maybe I’ll go next year, and it’ll be better. Who knows.
Day 2:
otou-san comes out of the closet, shamefully
Once upon a time, otou-san and I were roommates while attending art school in Shittsburgh. Talk of music, Star Wars, and other fanboy-ish stuff was standard fare. I was a fan of anime, but nothing at all like an otaku back then. I don’t presume that I exposed him to anime, but his level of interest wasn’t apparent. Perhaps he was a shameful otaku even back then?
Years later, he’s married and living in Detroit (at the time), and I’m fatter and balder, and our YIM conversation takes a turn when he gives e a link to his site. Who the hell was this, and what’d they do with my old roommate? How long had he contained his inner otaku?
Strangely enough, this ties in to the next entry…
Day 3:
otou-san awakens the fiend
I’m not new to anime. I discovered Ninja Scroll and The Guyver while I was in junior high or high school (a long time ago, in a galaxy far away), but I was never into it enough to sacrifice other interests. I have otou-san to blame thank(?) for that. Our discussions lit a fire under something that’d been lying dormant for years, and when I discovered RightStuf, the Fiend emerged.
I was in the middle of a career crisis, and had started taking a web design at the community college at the time, so I guess it was only natural that Shameful Otaku Secret inspired this blog. My intent was never to copy or emulate, but to participate in an online community of individuals with similar interests. And here I am, five months later, still posting! That’s got to be a personal record.
Day 4:
Dark Lord Kleckner or how I learned to live with debt
It was probably my first day lurking in the forums of Anime on DVD, and I had discovered the Retail Forum. It was one of those threads that led me straight to RightStuf, where I immediately fell in love with the Bargain Bin’s prices. By my third order, I had purchased a Got Anime? membership, and have been sending the Dark Lord lots of money since. (Much to my barely breathing budget’s dismay.)
What else can I say? I’ve bought something almost every week from the Weekly Specials. I’ve bought a Deal of the Day or two. And some of the sales have been too damn good to pass up (like the current 12+ Days of Christmas Sale). As a matter of fact, I placed an order earlier this evening for a weekly special and a couple of the 12+ Days items. I’m sure the Dark Lord will be pleased.
