Name: Alia
Online nickname: Yumeka
Age: 22
Birthday: March 19th
Location: California, USA
Hobbies/Interests: anime, animals and nature, video games, Japanese language/culture, Japanese popular music, computers, Disney, animation/cartoons, literature and poetry
Future goals: I would like to have a Japanese translation career, perhaps for anime; a job that involves translating anime from Japanese to English for American companies, whether it be for English DVD subtitles, dub scripts, manga, American anime magazines, negotiations with the Japanese creators, or anything of the sort. But I'd really just be happy having a job that has something to do with anime, manga, or the Japanese language such as teaching English in Japan, teaching Japanese in the US, or doing translation for a company. Of course, being fluent in Japanese would definitely help me get the kind of job I want, so I've been taking Japanese classes at my university and teaching myself at home. I also spent a month studying Japanese in Japan, which helped a lot, though I still have a long way to go. Currently I'm majoring in East Asian Cultures (emphasis on Japanese) at the University of California Irvine and am hoping to get a B.A. in the field.
Personality: I tend to keep to myself a lot. I'm usually shy and withdrawn, especially around people that I don't know. But if I feel comfortable around someone, for example, if they like anime, I'm usually a little more friendly. I'm extremely passive and I don't like attracting attention or conflict to myself. I also keep my emotions inside but that doesn't mean I don't feel strongly about things! I'm much better at expressing myself in writing as you can see :)
Animals: Besides anime, my other deep love in life is animals. All animals fascinate me, from tiny ants to giant whales, there's a special place in my heart for every living creature (I'm not so sure about most people though! XP) It's hard for me to pick a favorite animal, but I guess you could say I favor cats since I've had them my entire life. When I'm not watching anime, you can bet I'm watching Animal Planet or National Geographic Channel! ^^,,,
Movies: Being the huge animation fan that I am, I mostly watch anime or other animated movies, especially Disney. Disney animated movies started my passion for animation, which eventually led to my love for anime. There are a handful of non-animated movies I like, such as certain fantasy/science fiction movies like Hitchcock films or the Harry Potter movies, but I'm mostly interested in animated movies.
TV shows: Besides anime, the only other TV shows I watch are various shows on Animal Planet, National Geographic, and a few old shows on other channels like I Love Lucy and The Twilight Zone. My favorite non-Japanese animated shows would be Animaniacs and Beast Wars: Transformers though both have long been off the air.
Music: For the past few years, j-pop and j-rock music have been my most favorite kind. I don't really have a particular singer/band that I like; there's a whole variety of them that I like, mostly songs I've heard from anime I watch. Besides Japanese songs, the Beatles are my favorite music band, but I also like Phil Collins, Billy Joel, Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Bette Midler, and Elvis just to name a few. As you can probably tell, I like "oldies" music from the 50s and 60s. I also love the music from Disney movies, as well as some classical music and songs from musicals.
Books: I love any book with a lot of detailed imagery and deep, universal themes that make you think. I also like beautiful, thought-provoking poetry as well. My favorite author is Mark Twain and my favorite story is his short story The Mysterious Stranger. I also like Edgar Allen Poe, Emily Dickinson, Ray Bradbury, Robert Frost, William Wordsworth, Albert Camus, and many others. I also like Japanese authors such as Natsume Souseki and Haruki Murakami.
Video games: Besides watching anime and working on this site, I've spent a lot of my time engrossed in a video game. I love my Wii and DS! ^^ I'm not a big time gamer, since most of my free time and money is spent on anime, but there are some games I like. Pokemon games are my favorites and the ones I play the most, but other game series I like are Harvest Moon, Sonic the Hedgehog, Okami, Super Smash Bros., and Lost Kingdoms. I like games that are as cute as Pokemon Channel or as violent and bloody as Turok as long as they're fun and not too difficult ^_^
You can find an up-to-date list of all the anime I've watched/am watching on My Anime List here
My favorite anime: Air, Azumanga Daioh, Cardcaptor Sakura, Code Geass, Death Note, Evangelion, Fruits Basket, Full Metal Alchemist, Inuyasha, Lucky Star, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Naruto, Noir, One Piece, Pokemon, Slayers, Wolf’s Rain
My favorite anime characters: Vash from Trigun, all the characters on Inuyasha, Asuka from Evangelion, all the wolves from Wolf’s Rain, Chopper from One Piece, Osaka and Sakaki from Azumanga Daioh, Misuzu from Air, Umagon from Konjiki no Gash Bell, Shana from Shakugan no Shana, Rock Lee, Gaara, and Shikamaru from Naruto, Mireille and Kirika from Noir, C.C. from Code Geass, Kagami from Lucky Star, all the characters from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Rukia and Yoruichi from Bleach, and most of the 480+ pokemon
My favorite anime movies: 5 Centimeters per Second, Pokemon 2000, Sailor MoonS: Hearts on Ice, Cowboy Bebop the Movie, The End of Evangelion, all the Inuyasha movies, Revolutionary Girl Utena the Movie, The Girl Who Leaped Through Time, Fullmetal Alchemist Movie: The Conqueror of Shamballa, and pretty much all of Studio Ghibli's movies
You can also find additional info about my anime interests on my blog's About the Blogger page
And if you're bored and feel like doing some reading, you can read my "condensed" autobiography of how I became an anime fan, "How Anime Came My Way"