An in-depth look at an anime fan

Back in 2009, Reverse Thieves launched a project called The Otaku Diaries in which they interviewed a number of anime fans about their personal lives and relationship to anime. I would have liked to participate in the project, but I didn’t find out about it until after it was over. After reading all the questions that were asked via digitalboy posting his answers to the interview, I’ve been wanting to give it a try…

Below are all the questions asked on the interview along with my responses to each. This post is more of a self-reflection exercise for me rather than something people would want to read, so I apologize if you find all these random facts and in-depth details about my life incredibly long and boring =P If you find it tl;dr, please do skip to just the questions you find interesting.

———-
SELF DESCRIPTION

Age: 24 (I’ll be 25 this coming March)

Gender: Female

Location: Los Angeles county of southern California.

Hometown/Where you grew up: I’ve lived in the same house in Los Angeles county for about twenty years now. Before moving there, I lived in an apartment for the first five years of my life.

Parents/Guardians: Mom. My parents divorced when I was four, not because they hated each other or anything, but because my dad was Korean and they had a lot of culture-clashing issues. I’ve been living with only my mom since the divorce. I saw my dad a little bit when I was in elementary school and he diligently paid child support up until I became an adult. But for the most part, he’s not a part of my life.

Number of siblings: None. Technically I have step-siblings somewhere since my dad remarried, but since I’ve had no contact with him, I don’t count them.

Sexual orientation: Straight

Nationality/Race: Half white American and half Korean, though at heart I’m way more Japanese than Korean XD

Religion: Non-religious. I wouldn’t say atheist…transcendental maybe? Like politics, religion is one of life’s big matters that most people care greatly about and I don’t. Actually, the closest thing I’ve come across to describing my rather pessimistic religious views would be Mark Twain’s view of it.

Martial status: Single

Number of children: None, and I never ever want any for reasons that would take way too much space on this post to list.

Highest amount of education received/currently enrolled in: I received my B.A. in East Asian Languages & Literature (country of emphasis being Japan) in 2009. Even with my nearly full scholarship, the relatively small student loan I had to take out for college has been nipping at my heels, so going further into debt with my education is out of the question at this time.

Profession: Since I’m still a recent college graduate, I haven’t settled into a profession yet. I don’t really care what it turns out to be as long as it’s something I like. For about a year now I’ve been working as a childcare aid for the local YMCA. But general education, at least in the crappy LA public school system, is not the profession I want.

Hobbies (not including anime): Japanese culture and language, animation in general (especially movies), animals and animal welfare, video games (though I don’t play very many), literature and poetry from various early 20th century and older authors, music (besides anisongs, Disney, oldies, musicals)

How many years have you been an anime fan?: Approximately 10-11

IN-DEPTH

Relationships

1. What was/is your family situation growing up? Now?
Since I was in kindergarten, it’s always been just me and my mom (and at least four cats). As I explained in the answer above, my parents divorced when I was little and my dad hasn’t been a part of my life. So his side of the family is out of the picture, and the few members on my mom’s side live in other parts of the country. When I was growing up, my mom had to do everything for me (as well as work at her stressful job, take care of the house, etc) with little help from anyone else. She literally did the work of two parents (maybe more), and thankfully now that she’s retired and I’m an adult, things have gotten easier for her. Until I’m financially sound enough to be on my own, we’ve been living together kind of like an old married couple (she does house chores and I work =P)

2. How would you describe your relationship with your parents/guardians?
My mom and I have always gotten along well and are probably more open with each than we are with anyone else. I think she did spoil me a little when I was a kid because she felt bad that I didn’t have a dad. She’s always encouraged me, even for having unusual hobbies like anime. She never tells me what to do and would always rather shoulder burdens herself than inconvenience me. Heh, when I was a kid I didn’t even know what it meant to be “grounded” because my mom never punished me. When I asked her why, she said it’s because I never gave her a reason to ~_^

3. How would you describe your relationship with your siblings if you have any?
N/A

4. Do/did your parents/guardians watch anime? Do/did they know what it is? Do/did they approve of your hobbies? How have their views changed over time?
My mom’s always approved of my anime hobby and she’s watched a few titles with me. She’s not into it or anything but she respects it and likes sharing it with me from time to time. If you want more details, I wrote a post about this here.

5. Do you have any family members you would describe as sexist? Racist?
My mom isn’t, and besides her I only have like, three other family members that we keep in regular contact with. I don’t know them well enough to say for sure, but I don’t think so.

6. Do you/did you live with parents after finishing your schooling?
The only time I haven’t lived with my mom is when I went away to college for two years and lived in student housing. I went home many times on weekends and holidays though. I moved back in with my mom after I graduated and will stay here until I can afford to live comfortably on my own (unlike other parents of college graduates, she loves having me live with her :3)

7. Have you ever canceled social plans to watch anime? If you did were there any major repercussions?
Most of the social plans I ever make revolve around friends who like anime. Other than that, I mostly get together with friends one at a time, and I don’t recall canceling plans with any of them for anime. Coworkers and such have invited me to join them for social occasions, but I refuse not because I have anime plans (though I do sometimes), but because they’re usually something I don’t like (like going to clubs, sporting events, etc).

8. Have you ever canceled anime plans to do something related to another hobby?
I don’t think so.

9. Have you ever tried to get your significant other/children/parents/siblings into anime? In what ways? Did it work?
Just my mom, which I explained above in question #4.

10. How often do you watch anime with others vs. how much you watch on your own.
I watch anime on my own way more – I watch at least an hour of anime every night, whereas I’ll watch with friends maybe a few times a month. The main reason isn’t that I don’t like watching with friends, it’s just that we’re all so busy and barely find time to get together, and when we do we’d rather do other anime-related things.

11. How many close friends do you have?
I have many friends, but I would only count about six of them as close friends.

12. How have you met most of your friends?
I’ve met most of my friends through high school and college, and a handful online via my blog in recent years. All of the friends I’ve made in the past ten years, even if they didn’t last, have had some connection to anime =)

13. How big is your social network?
Not very big at all. People who know me from my blog and web site mostly. I used to have my college anime club, but there’s different people now and I haven’t gone since graduation, so I wouldn’t really count it.

14. How many friends have you lost over the years?
Many (but Facebook has helped me find that at least a few of them still exist XD) All of them weren’t because we had a fight, we just grew apart or our interests weren’t compatible anymore.

15. How many nights a week do you go out/hang out with others?
I’m not a night person and I don’t like to stay up past midnight. For roughly the past three years I go out one night a week for anime club from around 6-10:30pm.

16. Do you talk to a lot of people online? How close are your relationships vs. your in person ones.
It’s only been about a year that I’ve been talking to people online quite a lot. Most of them are just casual acquaintances that I meet through other blogs and comments or on forums and such. There are only a few that I would consider close, either because I met them in real life first or we talk regularly via e-mail or Instant Messaging. I would say that meeting in person helps me feel closer to someone, but I have online friends who are just as important to me as those I’ve met in person.

17. Have you ever met a friend online and then in person? Did you stay friends? Did it change the relationship?
Yes, I’ve met a handful of fellow anime fans online first and then in person. A couple have become good friends while the others were bloggers I got together with during big group gatherings. I would say meeting in person helped our relationships in all the cases.

18. When you have personal problems who do you turn to?
My mom and a few of my good friends. I’ve been fortunate enough not to have any major personal problems in my life so far (knock on wood). But I also keep a lot of my deeper feelings bottled up…I really shouldn’t do that.

19. Do you consider yourself a leader in your group of friends?
I don’t really have a group of friends – most of my meetings with friends are on an individual basis. But the few times I did have groups of friends back in high school and anime clubs and such, I definitely wasn’t the leader XD I’m way too shy for that role.

20. Have you ever set up your friends? Has anyone ever tried to set you up with a friend?
Nope.

21. Has anyone close to you ever passed away?
Not yet, though I dread the day when it comes. Over the years I’ve lost a few cats that have been dear to me if that counts.

22. What do you look for in a person when considering dating? Does whether or not they like anime factor in?
And now here’s the point where I admit that I’ve never been on a date (go head, call me abnormal). I did have a few crushes in high school, but nothing went beyond that. But I would look for someone who’s kind, open-minded, and caring. Since I love animals almost as much as anime, the person’s kindness and care would have to go beyond humans too. It would be nice if we shared at least one major interest, though it doesn’t have to be anime. But I wouldn’t want them to dislike anime either.

23. Describe your ideal mate.
Same as the above answer. Also, trustworthy, responsible, thoughtful, polite…I could go on with the adjectives but I’ll stop here. Someone who’s a good person in my eyes and who I enjoy being with.

24. How many serious relationships have you been in? How long was the longest?
What was the best situation?
None so far.

25. Have you ever been rejected? Have you ever rejected anyone? Did anime play into any of these scenarios?
N/A

26. Have you ever been dumped? Have you ever dumped anyone? Did anime play into any of these scenarios?
N/A

27. What is your Internet use daily? How often do you use it to converse? How often do you use it to converse with other anime fans?
I use the Internet all the time. I only have it at home, so when I’m not out all day or busy with other things, I’m checking my e-mail and other sites hourly at least. It’s also my primary means of talking to my friends, since I’m not a big fan of talking on the phone and I don’t have texting on my cell. I mostly converse with people through e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter. I only use Instant Messaging to talk to a few of my friends.

28. Have you ever used an online dating service? Did you list anime in your profile?
No. But if I did, I would definitely make it clear that I love anime XD

29. Have you ever dated someone you met online? How did you meet them online?
Again, never been on a date.

30. Have you ever been attracted to someone outside of your race?
For the few guys I have been attracted to, I think they were all outside my race. Race isn’t something I care about when it comes to liking someone.

31. Have you ever dated outside of your race? Was there any negative reaction from your family/friends?
Once again, never dated.

32. Have you ever hit on anyone at an anime con?
Uh, no XD

33. Have you ever dated someone you met at an anime con?
LOL, never dated, how many times do I have to say it? XD

34. Have you ever had a con-quest? (Also known as a hook-up at a convention.)
Nope.

35. How much sexual experience have you had?
None…yet…

36. Are you sexual attracted to anime characters? What fetishes do you subscribe to?
Not sexually attracted, but I have had a few anime crushes in the past (not so much anymore). I mostly have a thing for kind, gentle, caring anime guys, the kinds I’d like to meet in real life. I have a wealth of non-sexual love for certain characters. Some of my fetishes are cute/cool animals or fantasy creatures, tsunderes if done right, and a few other choice characters for reasons I can’t really explain.

37. Do you have any fetishes you wouldn’t casually tell someone?
I wouldn’t tell average people exactly how much I love anime, let alone fetishes. I would only tell my fetishes to a fellow fan I feel comfortable with, or a non-fan who I really, REALLY feel comfortable with XD

38. Has your sexual orientation changed since you started watching anime? Are the two related?
No…wow, these questions are personal =P

39. Have you ever been attracted to a character that was outside your norm? (i.e. you are a gay man but were attracted to female character.)
LOL, nope, can’t recall any.

40. Have you ever watched anime while performing a sexual act?
Holy cow, no XD But I know there are those who do.

41. Do you watch pornography? How much, if any, is anime?
No…hentai and excessive fan service are genres I stay away from.

42. Have you ever watched porn/hentai in a group? With your significant other?
No, obviously.

43. Have you ever role-played/cos-played during sex?
Once again, no.

Self image

1. Have you ever identified yourself as an otaku online? To your friends? To your family? To your coworkers? Why or why not?
I’ve identified myself as an otaku to fellow fans because I feel it’s true and they won’t deride me for it (I hope). My family and non-anime friends don’t know the term, so I just say I’m an anime fan. For people I know who are ignorant about anime, I try not to bring up the topic.

2. Have you ever been disgusted or ashamed of yourself as a fan? Of your fellow fans?
There have been a few instances where I’ve been ashamed of myself for spending money on certain anime products or putting off other things so I could indulge in anime-related activities (like blogging instead of helping my mom with something XP) But as a whole, I’ve never been ashamed or disgusted with my hobby and consider it better than a lot of others.

I’ve been disgusted with fellow fans plenty of times. Mostly elitists and excessively critical, obnoxious, opinionated fans. But like other things, I judge people by how they are as “people” and not as anime fans. So usually what turns me off is their personality, ideals, etc., which I can see through their anime fandom, and not necessarily what they think of anime.

3. How much do you watch anime to escape reality?
Anime has the added bonus of helping me escape reality for a while, but it’s not my main reason for watching it.

4. How have you changed as a fan since you have started watching anime?
Definitely, I even wrote a post about it. Basically I started out with Pokemon and other kiddy anime dubbed on local channels, then moved onto late 90s/early 2000s anime and Toonami/Adult Swim shows, and finally I branched out into niche stuff like slice-of-life and moe among other things, and have been keeping up with all the latest shows.

5. Were/are you part of any clubs/sports?
I never liked sports and never joined any sports-related teams or clubs. I was in an anime club in high school and an anime and anti-animal cruelty club in college.

6. What type of student were/are you?
Not to brag or anything, but I’ve always been a good student. From kindergarten to college I’ve never ditched class, never gone to class late, and always did my homework on time unless something important prevented me. I’ve gotten all As and Bs in my entire schooling career, except for like, one C because the teacher was terrible XP

7. Did/do you enjoy going to school?
For the most part yes, because I love learning and seeing friends there. In elementary school I sometimes hated it and sometimes loved it, middle school I didn’t like it because all my classmates were snobs, and high school through college I liked it because that’s when I had the most friends, best teachers, and interesting classes to take.

8. Do you consider yourself smarter than the average person?
In some things yes, in others no =P

9. Do you consider yourself more personable than the average person?
I think so. I don’t think I’ve ever said anything condescending to anyone even jokingly, I don’t play tricks on people even for fun, I’m always honest in my words and actions, and I’m a better listener than talker (which I know some people like). If someone doesn’t mind my soft-spoken-ness and is willing to make the effort to get to know me, I would say I’m pretty personable.

10. Do you think you have any skills or talents that set you apart from others?
I’d like to think I’m a good writer, good at English spelling/grammar, and can type about 50wpm. I have above average knowledge of anime obviously, as well as Japanese/Japan, computers, certain video games and certain pieces of literature. I’m extremely organized, good at budgeting my time, and making schedules for myself on a daily basis.

11. Were/are picked on in school? Did/do you ever bully anyone?
Only in middle school. I was teased for liking Pokemon, though most of it wasn’t really directly bullying me, but rather, my classmates would make fun of Pokemon all the time while I was present and it didn’t make me feel good ~_~

12. Describe your ideal job.
Either teaching/tutoring English to ESL students (Japanese students preferred) or teaching beginning Japanese to English-speakers. I also wouldn’t mind teaching basic computer knowledge to anyone who needs it (like senior citizens).

13. Do you enjoy your job?
My current job as a childcare aid for the YMCA is okay. Not great but not terrible. I’m not very good at it but I manage.

14. Is your current job what you went to school for? If you are still in school, what do you think your chances are you will get a job related to what you went to school for?
I definitely didn’t go to school for my current job. My chances of getting a job related to my B.A., or one of my ideal jobs from question #12, is pretty slim but not impossible. But I’d be happy having any job that pays decently and that I don’t dislike.

15. Do you consider yourself good at your job? Better than your co-workers?
Like I said, I’m not good at it. I’ve had no prior experience with kids, even younger siblings/cousins, and being the shy, gentle person that I am, my ability to discipline unruly kids is pretty poor. My co-workers are very good at the job thankfully, so I rely on them quite a bit.

16. Do you see yourself in this same job 5 years from now?
I do not.

17. If someone were to describe you in one word what would it be?
It’s hard to say since I’m not someone else =P Most people who don’t know me very well would probably say “quiet” or “shy.” I’ve been called “sweet” and “nice” too. My friends and people who really know me would probably just say “anime” XD

18. Would you describe yourself as attractive?
Umm, I’m okay-looking I guess (unless you don’t like glasses and/or short hair). I’m not fat but I could definitely stand to lose a few pounds.

19. What is your general state of health?
Besides being slightly overweight and prone to nasal allergies, I’ve always been healthy. For most of my life, I only got sick enough to take off from school or work like, a couple times a year. It’s been increasing this past year though (blame it on working with kids!)

20. Do you have any outstanding medical conditions? Do you take a prescription for anything
Nope, just seasonal nasal allergies now and then.

21. Do you exercise on a regular basis?
I’ve only started exercising in the past few years. It fluctuates between taking walks around the neighborhood, using my Wii (I know, that shouldn’t count XD) or using my elliptical. I try to exercise every evening for at least 25-30 minutes, though lately I’ve gotten lazy about it because I’ve been working a lot. Unfortunately my elliptical just broke and I need to get a new exercising machine.

22. Do you watch what you eat?
Kind of. I’m very strict about eating only during my three meals a day, and avoid snacking between meals unless I’m starving and can’t wait until the next meal. Although I like the taste of most junk food, I try to avoid it as much as I can (sometimes I can’t resist). My mom likes cooking home-made food with good ingredients for both breakfast and dinner, so I’m very fortunate when it comes to eating properly =)

23. Do you take vitamins?
No.

24. Have you ever been to a psychiatrist/psychologist?
No, but I’m curious how it would go if I did.

25. Would you say you have a temper?
Definitely not. I’m very level-headed, at least with most things.

26. Do you get embroiled in drama frequently? Do you get pulled into other people’s drama?
I’ve never really had any of my own notable drama besides a few isolated incidents at home. My good friends have never had much drama that I got into, and I’ve never had groups of peers that I was involved with enough to get into their drama either.

27. How often do you find yourself being a mediator between people?
Never have.

28. Would you say you procrastinate often?
Procrastinating is one thing I don’t do. As I said in some of the above answers, I’m very organized and can’t function unless I plan exactly what I’m gonna do each day/week. I prioritize some things before others, but I get everything done when it needs to be.

29. How much do you consider yourself a forgiving person?
I would say I am, mostly because I don’t like being hated. Unless someone does or believes something I find too immoral or against my own ideals and values, I try to be friendly with people as best as I can. I think that everyone has some good and bad in them, and as long as the good outweighs the bad, and the bad isn’t too bad in my eyes, I can forgive.

30. Do you tackle your problems head on?
I guess so…it depends.

31. Have you done any body alternations related to anime (ex: dye hair, tattoo, etc.)?
No. I can’t stand tattoos and piercings anywhere but the ears. I don’t like doing anything unnatural to my body (I won’t pierce anything, paint my nails, or even dye my hair!)

32. Have you ever taken up something (ex: martial arts) because of anime?
My love for anime led to me seriously studying the Japanese language and majoring in Japan studies in college =)

33. Have you tried to learn Japanese?
Obviously ;) I’ve taken beginning to advanced Japanese over the course of four years at two colleges. Since graduation I’ve been doing self-study.

34. Has anime ever helped you?
Anime helps me all the time. Not so much for learning new things, but for at least retaining what I’ve learned.

35. Name an anime character that is most like yourself.
Oh man, that’s tough. There’s no one like me really, in anime or real life =P I’m open to suggestions if anyone has one.

36. What is the anime character you admire the most? Why?
There are many, but I’ll pick my oldest one, Vash from Trigun. He encompasses many traits that are important to me; gentle, kind, selfless, compassionate, funny but also deep and philosophical, strong but not arrogant – I love everything about him, particularly his unfaltering respect for life.

37. Has your anime fandom ever been an obstacle in your life?
Since anime shows/movies/music are mostly all I follow, it’s been an obstacle when it comes to conversing with people who mostly follow American pop culture, something that I don’t follow at all.

Otakudom

1. What was the first anime you saw? Did you know it was anime at the time? Would you still watch that anime today?
Sailor Moon. I didn’t know what anime was at the time. I would definitely like to watch all of Sailor Moon in order one day =)

2. Do you pay attention to anime directors and who directs what you watch? Who is your favorite anime director?
I don’t actually.

3. Do you consider being called an otaku a badge of honor or an insult?
Neither really, just the truth =P

4. Would you be more or less inclined to be friends with someone who called themselves an otaku? Would you be more or less inclined to date someone who called themselves an otaku?
Not really, since I’m guilty of the same status. Again, I’ll judge the person by who they really are, not a vague term.

5. Have you ever gotten into an argument over the use of the word otaku?
In my mind, but never actually wrote it out…yet.

6. What is your opinion on lolita? shouta? yaoi? yuri? hentai?
I’m not interested in them, especially hentai. But if that’s what some fans love, whateves. I have my own anime fetishes so I shouldn’t make fun of someone else’s.

7. How much anime do you own?
For official DVDs, I would say about 10-15 complete sets. For other merchandise, too many to name. I mostly collect character goods (figures, artbooks, posters, pencil boards, etc).

8. Do you purchase anime without knowing more than what’s on the box?
No, I’ll only purchase titles that I’ve seen before and really liked.

9. Do you watch more anime than any other type of entertainment?
Anime makes up 90% of the shows and movies I watch.

10. Do you watch raws?
Even though my Japanese skills are good enough to understand most of the simple slice-of-life shows, I’ll always watch subs because I don’t want to miss out on a single line of dialogue. The only show I’ve been watching raw for a while is Pokemon (I can understand most of it and the episodes are fairly dispensable anyway).

11. Do you watch fan-subs?
Yes.

12. Do you watch streaming anime?
Only if it’s not available by other means. I mostly watch torrents.

13. How likely are you to buy a show you’ve already watched?
It depends on how much I liked it and how financially sound I am.

14. Have you ever downloaded to own (ex: iTunes, Funimation) anime?
No, at least not yet.

15. Ever downloaded anything you were too embarrassed to buy?
No XD

16. Have you been to a con? How many? How often?
I’ve been to seven cons as of today. For the past few years, Anime Expo has been the only one I’m interested in going to.

17. What is your opinion of cos-play? Have you cos-played? Ever been hit on while cos-playing? Ever cos-played outside a con?
I’ve never cosplayed though I enjoy seeing it very much and taking pictures of good ones. I wouldn’t mind trying it someday.

18. Have you ever done an absurd amount of research on someone from the industry? Tried to find them?
No, I’ve only done absurd amount of research on particular anime series (Pokemon, Haruhi, and Inuyasha so far).

19. Ever participated in 4chan? Helped in online activity of the Anonymous? In real life?
Never been on 4chan and only on 2chan a tiny bit for Saimoe. Don’t really care to get into either.

20. Do you leave the house with something anime related on your person (ex: cell phone strap/background, button, etc.)
Cell phone straps and occasionally a T-shirt. It mostly depends where I’m going. If I’m going to an anime-related event, I’ll have more anime stuff on my person.

21. Do you own anime related clothing?
About 6-8 anime shirts and a Pokemon jacket.

22. Do you have something anime related at your office/workplace/locker?
I don’t have a locker anymore and I don’t have an office at work. But if I did, I might have a few things out depending on who’ll see it =P

23. Does your religion effect your anime watching?
Anime is practically my religion XD

24. How much time do you spend at work doing something anime related?
I actually used to teach a class about kids anime for the YMCA for about nine months before I did childcare work there. But since then, nothing.

25. Ever tried to get a job in the anime industry?
I’ve sent out a few inquiring e-mails a couple of years ago but nothing beyond that.

26. Have you ever gotten into an argument about anime? In real life? Did it get physical?
A couple of mild cases online, but nothing major.

27. What is your opinion of modern anime fandom?
It’s obviously different because of technological advances, mostly the Internet. With that, fans expectations have changed and anime genres have as well. This question kinda warrants a post of its own in my opinion =P

28. How has fandom changed since you started watching anime?
Like the previous question, more anime being produced and easier access to it. Everyone can now watch the latest shows airing in Japan, or any anime they want for that matter, while that wasn’t the case a decade ago.

29. What do you think is the future of anime fandom?
I honestly don’t know how much more it can advance from here on. All I can see is more anime on blu-ray and less moe/harem pandering shows each season.

30. Do you think it is a fan’s duty to support the industry?
Yes, as much as they can and especially if it’s a title you love!

31. Have you ever bought or read doujinshi?
No and I don’t really have much interest to since I tend not to like non-canon yaoi/yuri.

32. Have you ever written or read fanfiction?
I’ve written a total of four fans fics almost eight years ago, and I used to read a little back then too. But I got fed up with people’s poor writing and OOC plots so I lost interest pretty quickly.

33. Have you ever been a shipper?
Yes, my first one was Rocketshipping :3 After that I was really into Inyasha+Kagome (Inuyasha) and Shinji+Asuka (Evangelion). Nowadays I’m leaning towards Kyon+Haruhi.

34. Have you ever watched an AMV? Made one?
For the past five or so years I’ve been really into AMVs and love watching the best ones over and over. I’ve never made one and doubt I’d ever have the dedication and skills to make a good one.

35. Have you ever written for an fanzine, magazine, or blog?
A blog obviously, but never a magazine.

36. Have you ever been part of an anime club? An officer?
Like I said in previous questions, I was in my high school and college anime clubs, as well as an anime club at a local college currently, but I was never an officer. I probably would have become president in my high school club if I didn’t graduate that year.

37. Have ever participated in any other type of fan made activity?
Besides clubs? I’ve recently been planning get-togethers with bloggers and other fellow fans in the LA area.

38. What do you think that fan made works contribute to the hobby as a whole?
Fan works are an indispensable part of the anime world and are what make it so unique. No other fandom has it like anime does. The love that these fan works convey can’t be described in words.

39. Have you ever experienced anime burn out?
Never.

40. Do you quote anime? Have you ever quoted it to people who don’t watch anime?
Nah XD Mostly because I can never think of stuff like that on the spot.

41. What is a deal breaker for a show? (i.e. I can’t watch a show, no matter what, if it has A)
The only thing that turns me off from an anime is excessive fan service/ecchi/hentai. Other than that, I’m open to all kinds of anime.

42. Is there any type of show you will always watch/give a chance?
Everything unless it’s hentai or has ecchi written all over it.

43. Are there any genres you won’t watch?
Again, hentai and fan service. I also tend to stay away from series with “odd” animation styles that don’t appeal to me.

44. Do you still see yourself watching anime 10 years from now?
I see myself watching anime forever!

45. Why do you watch anime?
I feel like I was born with an infatuation with animation, and anime is simply the zenith of all that I love about animation. But if you want more concrete reasons, here.

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Once again, sorry if you found this post incredibly long and boring and filled with “too much information.” Like I said, it was something that I wanted to do more for myself than the sake of the blog. Regular posts will resume next time =)