The Story of the Jobless Otaku Part 2: I Think I'm Turning Japanese (I really think so!)

Okinawa, Japan. A beautiful island to the south of the mainland that is lush and tropical. A place where Morning Glories grew wild and hummingbirds were a common sight.

American Village in Mihama, Okinawa: I walked to this building nearly every Friday!

It was hot our first year on Kadena Air Base, but we eventually got used to the humidity. I went to Kadena Elementary (our mascot was, as my mother likes to say, the 'fighting sushi fish') and I met a few people, but it wasn't until we moved to a different base (Lester) that I really hit a milestone in life and my obsession with anime. I had two awesome friends: Bri (who we nicknamed 'Nana') and Sam, both of which loved anime as much as I did. Together, we came up with this awesome system of trading manga and anime while at school, borrowing them until finished, and giving them back....Yeah, we came up with an Otaku Library System. Through OLS (so close to a HP reference!), I became familiar with Angel Tails, Pretear, and D.N.Angel (Dark and Daisuke....*drool*)

As suggestive as this seems, it isn't Shounen Ai or Yaoi, though there is a scene in the series that suggests this may not have always been the case...

Around this time I also got into the habit of memorizing and singing a variety of Japanese openings, which is a pastime I still enjoy today. I spent three awesome years in Okinawa and there is so much that I learned and experienced there that I will never forget, but alas, my family was called back to the States (that is what those of us on the Island called the U.S.), this time to Rhode Island.

A big Pastime in Okinawa was Taiko, the art of drumming (and dancing)In the background is Dragon Palace, the local arcade

 

>>TBC (one more part to go!)

 





The Story of the Jobless Otaku Part 1: Sailor Moon, Pokemon, Toonami, Oh My!

So my story isn't a new one, and I will never claim to be the first, second, middle or third to last jobless anime-loving person out there (kudos to my friends who have managed to find jobs and support their obsession with Japanese-related stuffs). No, my story really starts when I was about seven-ish (I think) and Pokémon had first appeared in all of its epileptic glory, though even before that, I was a hardcore Sailor Moon fan (or as hardcore as you can get at seven): It was then that I began to feel the stirrings of the inner Otaku rise and sink its sinister talons into my very being...

 

Pokémon Satoshi Taijiri

 Some of my best memories from childhood were waiting until 6AM (my family is Military, Navybrats will understand) and racing to get to the nearest TV to watch Saturday morning cartoons. During the week, I had recordings of Sailor Moon and live TV showings of Dragon Ball, Tenchi Muyo, and Gundam to keep me busy after homework. I lived through the fall of Toonami and I miss it everyday!

Toonami Cartoon Network

So anyway, as I moved from state to state, things would gradually change: friends, schools, age, and TV shows. During my time in Port Orchard, Washington I met a fellow Otaku who for privacy reasons I will call Sally. Sally and I hit it off pretty well and it is with her that I really started getting into more and more Anime series. She introduced me to HunterXHunter, Fushigi Yuugi, and together we discovered Yu Yu Hakusho. We were pretty close for two years. Fast forward to my 12th year of living, I had to say a few goodbyes to my friends Sally and our other compadre, Chrissy, but I promised that I would be back to visit. They were both sad and excited because I got to go where so many Otakus wish they could only visit: Japan.

>>TCB