░ he/him ░ bisexual░ happily married dad ░ highly caffeinated ░watching/reading since '89 ░ 大きなオタク░
I've been watching anime and reading manga since I was a kid, starting with Akira and Grey in 1989 (making me a bit of a demographic outlier on MAL). Neither were widely available in the US back then, so my watching and reading were pretty sporadic. For example, my only option for Nausicaä was an Nth-generation VHS bootleg of the hellish US dubbed version, Warriors of the Wind. (#+_+)
It wasn't until around 2013 that I got into anime and manga as hobbies in their own right. I started tracking down manga I'd enjoyed as a kid, and then got hooked on Death Note. When I joined MAL in 2016 that expanded my horizons, deepened my interest in anime, and got me into all sorts of stuff I wouldn't have considered on my own. I enjoy exploring new stuff, old stuff, popular stuff, and whatever sounds like fun.
In September 2023 I joined the Anime Watching Challenges Club, and I love it. (Here's my Hall of Fame page; I also use a challenge-tracking thread.) Everyone is super friendly, and the structure helps me avoid starting a show and getting sidetracked (squirrel!) without finishing it. I finish way more stuff these days! ☜(⌒▽⌒)☞
I like tracking stuff and I enjoy being able to trace my anime/manga journey -- or at least its broad contours -- from childhood to the present day. What year did I finally finish a long manga? Which of the ten favorite characters on my profile is my all-time favorite? What was the 1,500th episode of anime I saw, and when did I watch it?
If you want a little window into my weird brain, this is that window. (⌐⊙_⊙)
OPs:
"Cha-La Head-Cha-La" by Hironobu Kageyama (Dragon Ball Z eps 1-199)
"departure!" by Ono Masatoshi (Hunter x Hunter (2011) eps 1-26, 50-52, 62-75, 137-147)
"Guren no Yumiya (紅蓮の弓矢)" by Linked Horizon (Shingeki no Kyojin)
"KAIKAIKITAN (廻廻奇譚)" by Eve (Jujutsu Kaisen)
"LEveL" by SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]:TOMORROW X TOGETHER (Ore dake Level Up na Ken)
"Makafushigi Adventure" by Hiroki Takahashi (Dragon Ball)
"Otonoke (オトノケ)" by Creepy Nuts (Dandadan)
"Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis (残酷な天使のテーゼ, A Cruel Angel's Thesis)" by Yoko Takahashi (Shinseiki Evangelion)
EDs:
"HUNTING FOR YOUR DREAM" by Galneryus (Hunter x Hunter (2011) eps 27-50)
"Kaneda" by Geinoh Yamashiro-gumi (Akira)
"MECHA DESOUNARA~Subete ni Sayo Onara~" by ANDCRAZY (Onara Gorou)
"Romatikku Ageru Yo" by Ushio Hashimoto (Dragon Ball)
"Tonari no Totoro (となりのトトロ; My Neighbor Totoro)" by Azumi Inoue (Tonari no Totoro)
░ ░ ░ ░ ░Milestones░ ░ ░ ░ ░
I didn't log when I started and finished 99% of my anime for many years, so if you drill down into my stats most dates prior to late 2023 are pretty notional -- in many cases, I backfilled them and really just tried to get the year more or less right. The AWCc cares about start/end dates, so from 2023 onwards my stats get a lot more accurate. (I largely don't log dates for manga at all, and have no plans to start doing it.)
Manga completion stats:
#28 completed: Emperor to Issho, sometime in July/August 2023 (I didn't realize I wanted to track this statistic!)
✓ As of 12/31/24: 28 completed
First time I watched X episodes of a show:
25: Naruto, 2015 (watching this one with my kiddo piqued my interest in the manga)
50: Naruto, 2016
100: Dragon Ball, 2021
150: Dragon Ball, 2022
░ ░ ░"Tackle life with as much energy as Goku! I'll try to do the same!" -- Toriyama Akira░ ░ ░
Oh it must've been a really exciting time for you then. I remember when I first started watching anime I was so overjoyed because to me it's like a new discovery and a seemingly infinite one as there is so much anime to find and explore. And yeah as it was the first of it's kind I am sure it opened a lot of people's eyes to the potential of anime, I know some people that aren't into anime as much but they still acknowledge the greatness of Akira lol. Ever since Akira I know there was a huge burst in the amount of anime being produced because my first anime was Dragon Ball Z which aired in a similar time period to Akira (Well the original Dragon Ball did) and Ik people call it like the Godfather of anime so I can relate to you and a lot of emotion you felt as well when you watched it for the first time.
Ah yes I am a sucker for mysteries with those concepts, I will look into Akira a bit more and if I like it I will give it a try but you have definitely convinced me that it's worth trying. Thx :)
Thx :)
I have heard many good things and praises about the film but I am yet to actually give it a go.
But from what I have seen it seems really graphic and the first of it's kind.
Really interesting indeed. So tell me when you watched it, what was like the main appeal that made you enjoy it as much as you did?
I would love to hear some opinions from your perspective.
All Comments (29) Comments
Lmk whenever you decide to watch it. I think you'll really enjoy the season!
When do you plan to watch the 2nd half of the first season?
I really appreciate it <:
Yeah you do. 86 is really good!!
How are you btw?
I was kinda inactive nowadays.
Ah yes I am a sucker for mysteries with those concepts, I will look into Akira a bit more and if I like it I will give it a try but you have definitely convinced me that it's worth trying. Thx :)
I have heard many good things and praises about the film but I am yet to actually give it a go.
But from what I have seen it seems really graphic and the first of it's kind.
Really interesting indeed. So tell me when you watched it, what was like the main appeal that made you enjoy it as much as you did?
I would love to hear some opinions from your perspective.
I love the Akira pfp btw, very cool indeed