Ok... so while trapped dealing with a knife-weilding psychopath in a wedding dress (and that's just a slow tuesday for me. no, just kidding, i was playing Catherine), i became frustrated and began to read a book i recently acquired from a bin of books for sale at my college's library. As i read, I chose to listen to an interview of one of my favorite voice actors on one of my favorite podcasts (Steve Blum and the Anime Addicts Anonymous. Love you guys (both Mr. Blum and the AAA)), and part of the interview really made me think back to my roots. far back into a period so long ago. a period called the early 2000s.
See, as a kid, I was always a bit nerdy, reading comic books every now and again, having an obsession with Batman (Still there...), watching pokemon in the late '90s... you know, standard stuff for my generation... Anyway, It wasn't until middle school that that I began to become what i am today.
You see, while hanging out with my cousin one afternoon, I discovered something great. something that turned me into what I am. I speak of course of a daily programming block on cartoon network many may have heard of known as Toonami. Through Toonami, I rediscovered Dragon Ball Z (which I wrote off earlier due to starting off on the wrong episode...), but more importantly other great shows, such as the Tenchi Series (Tenchi Muyo, Tenchi Universe, Tenchi in Tokyo), Ruroni Kenshin, Yu yu hakusho, Big O, and (most importantly, because my fascination with this show turned me into an anime addict) Outlaw Star.
Of course, shortly thereafter, I fell headover heels in love with these programs, even staying up all night to watch the ones that aired at midnight (only during the summer, though...). This gateway drug led me to fall in with a group of friends (who i met through my school band program. Yes, I'm a musician, playing saxophone and guitar. but more on that later) who also shared my interests, as well as one i was moderately fascinated with, but they made it worse: videogames.
So, there I was: a kid in his early teens, hooked on videogames, addicted to anime, and slowly becoming more and more addicted to comic books and manga, who stayed up all night to play Final Fantasy Tactics Advance on his Gameboy (Mom, if you're reading this, I'm sorry...), also discovering the rebellious sounds of Rock music, when I finally got my very own Playstation 2 at age 15. Needless to say, that's where that began. that, and discovering that they sell anime on DVD (my first was Trigun, volume 1) were major influences in my life, but it wasn't until college that i made the final shift to where I am now.
See, in high school, it's easy to say you live that "To thine own self be true" lifestyle (William Shakespeare. awsome man.), but we all hide some things. I mean, I never tried to hide my anime addiction, but i didn't stand on the streets on a soapbox spreading word of my love of Full Metal Panic, Outlaw Star, and the other shows I was hooked on in high school, nor did I deny my fascination with comics (some people actually referred to me as Batman for a while. they quit though, when they discovered that it wasn't an insult to me. man I wish that nickname had stuck...), but like I said, in order to avoid being ostracized by my peers and friends, I kind of kept my interests in my pocket. But then in college, things changed a bit. slowly, I began to discover that I didn't need to hide my inner geek anymore. I could let it all hang out. I mean, yes there was an extent, and moderation is never a bad thing, but you know... to quote Polonius (again...) "To thine own self be true". This new discovered freedom eventually led me down the road to my fellow addicts out there through the AAA (Anime Addicts Anonymous), my revived fascination with comics (it was never dead. just not as active), and my newer interest in Doctor Who (That Anime Show pointed me in that direction. listen to that podcast as well. it's amazing. Not really on the AAA's level of being informative, but still very entertaining).
Anyway... that's my story, I suppose... not much else to tell. Just remember "To Thine own self be true" (3 in a row!), Row Row Fight Da Powah, and Don't let the man keep you down. Oh, and this all sprang about when I was talking with Oldman Azure earlier about Toonami and I was trying to find a copy of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance on ebay.
Well, Keep The Faith, You Are Not Alone,
-Shigure
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