Why I Love Anime + 2018 in Review

Hello and it’s still 2018 where I am, so I just wanted to take this opportunity and make one last post for the year.

I recently got tagged by the wonderful Keiko for the “Why I Still Love Anime” challenge, originally started by Ty-chama from Watashi wa Bucho!. Thanks for the tag!

Guidelines

• Write a post about why you love anime. It could be your favourite thing about it or one of your favourite things about it, it doesn’t matter which, but just pick one!
• You can get as personal or as impersonal as you like. You might want to write about how anime helped you through a tough time or something that it has taught you or you might want to write about just how much fun you’ve had watching it over the years. Your choice
• Nominate three bloggers to do the same
• Link back to this (the original) post. I would love to see what you’ve written and I may compile a list of my favourite entries further down the line

Wow, one favorite thing about anime. That’s tough 😛 Hmm…

Well I think in my case, one special reason on why I love anime and discuss about it very frequently is the fact that it helped me branch out to, learn more about, and most importantly, become obsessed with other aspects of Japanese entertainment. What I write and blog about has definitely changed throughout the two years I’ve been doing this (at least on my personal blog), going from anime reviews into talking more about music and voice actors/actresses in the past year or so. But despite the change in topics, I still keep in mind that I wouldn’t be talking about the things I talk about if it weren’t for anime.

I wouldn’t be discussing, learning more about, and following voice actors/actresses if I didn’t discover videos of seiyuu from anime I’ve watched before like K-On! and Love Live!.

I wouldn’t be on the hunt for new Japanese artists, writing “weekly” song roundups, or suggesting bands/artists on Twitter if it weren’t for RADWIMPS or Masayoshi Ooishi or Nakagawa Shouko having their incredible music featured in anime like Kimi no Na wa, Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.

I wouldn’t be into the whole Japanese idol culture and be willing to stay up until 5 am to watch a whole idol concert if it weren’t for anime like THE IDOLM@STER and the Love Live! franchise.

I wouldn’t have started getting into live action Japanese media like J-dramas if I didn’t know about the always-talented seiyuu Hanazawa Kana and how she starred in a live action short film.

And speaking on a more overall term, if it weren’t for anime and especially Amagami SS, it’s possible that I wouldn’t be blogging or even writing this post right now (plus I have no idea what I would be doing in my free time if that was the case :P).

So yeah. Anime has had a great impact on myself and I’m really glad it did. I’ve learned a lot, improved as a person, and met a lot of great people who I definitely admire and enjoy talking to!

Nominations

I don’t necessarily like nominating people (not in a bad way), it’s just that a ton of people probably have been nominated already and I don’t want to make it seem like I’m pressuring whomever I’m nominating to do this. But yeah, please, don’t think I’m pressuring you lol

• Leap250
• nesha
• Carriage

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However, we’re not done with this post just yet since I wanted to list some of my posts that I felt were my favorites/am proud of. And hopefully these will be in chronological order…

Need Some J-Music Suggestions?

First Japanese music-related post of the new blog; it sort of surprised me, looking back at it, how many good suggestions I gave out in that post lol

r#86 – as the moon, so beautiful

My very first review as a new writer on the #moe404 blog; now that I look back at it, it’s probably still one of my best reviews out of all of them

Indirect Kisses: Do They Really Mean Anything?

One of the more random topic posts; I just thought it would be fun/interesting to talk about this “trope” in young romance stories and how, even from a teen’s perspective, indirect kisses shouldn’t mean so much

Getting to Talk About Idols with a Fellow Blogger

I had the opportunity to experience my first collaboration with a fellow aniblogger, Leap250, and we discussed a nice little documentary regarding the Japanese idol phenomenon. I would definitely suggest checking out the post on Leap’s blog and also watching the documentary!

r#103 – that is a voice actor!

If you didn’t know, there is actually an anime about voice acting and the experiences seiyuu go through in a competitive industry. I wrote a review about it on #moe404, so feel free to check it out 🙂

Building My Ultimate Harem

Fellow aniblogger Cactus Matt created a fun tag and when I got nominated to do it, I had a blast writing it. Definitely check out what I would consider my “ultimate” harem.

r#109 – it’s difficult to love an otaku

I wrote a review on one of my favorite anime I saw in 2018, Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii, on #moe404. I think I did a pretty good job on it, and I was amazed when it hit over 100 likes. I never thought I would get that many, but I’m glad a lot of people enjoyed the review!

TriviAqours Vol. 7 – Kobayashi Aika

Back in July, I collabed with Leap again to do a fun series of posts, listing interesting trivia facts about the Aqours seiyuu. While Saitou Shuka is my absolute favorite member one out of the bunch, I think my post about Kobayashi Aika was my favorite. I mean, I was blown away when I heard that she has a preschool teacher’s license.

Seiyuu Spotlight! – Uesaka Sumire

Probably one of my favorite Seiyuu Spotlights I’ve written so far; Sumipe is just such an interesting person to learn about and it was fun discussing her love of everything Russia.

5 School Clubs in Anime I’d Consider Joining

I wasn’t much of an “extracurricular activities” kind of person during school, but I would’ve considered joining some clubs shown in various anime if they existed at my schools!

“We Married as a Job” J-Drama (First Impressions)

After watching HanaKana’s live action short film, I started becoming interested in other J-dramas. So, after listening more to popular pop artist Hoshino Gen, I began to watch the live action TV drama he starred in! You can read my first impressions on this post.

Why Love Live Fans Really Shouldn’t Neglect the New Project

In this post, I argue why fans of the Love Live franchise shouldn’t turn their backs on the newest school idol group, Perfect Dream Project/Nijigasaki High. PDP is getting more time in the spotlight of recent after the release of their first album, so I think now is a great time to learn more about them!

r#117 – the world god only knows

Out of all of the reviews I wrote on #moe404, the one I did on this popular harem anime probably has to be the best one I’ve written. I highly suggest watching this particular anime, so definitely check out the review for more info!

5 Food Dishes Shown in Anime I’d Love to Try

Japanese food has always been a favorite throughout my life, but there have been a ton of dishes shown in anime that I have yet to try. I think this is a post that can have you drooling so maybe don’t read it if you’re hungry…

Seiyuu Spotlight! – Miyano Mamoru

Miyano Mamoru probably has to be one of my favorite voice actors in the industry so I wrote a SS post on him since he recently starred in Zombieland Saga in the Winter 2018-19 season. Definitely go see how talented this man is!

r#124 – bunny drop

I had a chance to review one of my absolute favorite anime in the entire universe, Usagi Drop, on #moe404. If you’re wondering why I gave this show a 10/10, feel free to check out the review.

Aqours First Love Live! ~Step! ZERO to ONE~ (Review/Thoughts)

I watched my first Love Live concert back in November, and it was a great experience. You can read my thoughts on it, from a first-timer’s perspective.

“Weekly” J-Song Roundup #7 – Hoshino Gen, Polkadot Stingray, Kizuna Ai (and more!)

The last J-song roundup of 2018 and I had to make sure it was a good one. I included some nice songs so if you haven’t checked it out, click the link!

nc#3 – top 10 anime of 2018

If you’re wondering what my top 10 favorite anime I watched in 2018 are, I wrote the list on #moe404. While there aren’t ultra popular shows on there, I think I still compiled a great list of anime for the year.

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Lastly, I just want to say thank you thank you thank you to everyone who stopped by this year, whether that be on here or on #moe404. I’m really glad I am able to discuss these topics with other people; you guys are the main reason why I still have the urge to keep writing posts. Again, thank you for everything and I hope 2019 will be an even better year for all of us!

Thank you for reading and have a happy new year!! 😀

-al