Wednesday, August 8, 2018

T5W#156-Top 5 Facts About ME as an Anime Fan


In looking back at over three years of uninterrupted Top 5 lists (seriously I haven’t taken a week off from one and I do that for reviews every time I go to a weekend long convention), I’ve always asked people what they’d like to see as a Top 5 list from me.  One common request is…well as list about me.  I did do a list of why I like Anime a while back (it’s even on last weeks Top 5 if youre curious).  However, I’ve also been thinking about my own special experiences with Anime throughout my life.  Felt it was enough to merit it’s own special Top 5 Wednesday List for the third year mark of this little feature on the Gundam Anime Corner.  So I present to you all, the Top 5 Facts About ME as an Anime Fan…I wonder if any of it will surprise people.

 

#5-My First Anime was Voltron
Around the time my sister and I were born, my parents had worked on collecting (whether through purchasing or recording) entertainment that they thought we would like to see on TV.  Naturally we were both introduced to Disney and Looney Tunes this way.  There was, however, one unique tape in the mix I discovered one day: a sprawling scifi epic about five pilots, five metal lions, and one invincible giant robot…and it looked so much cooler than anything I had at the time.  I didn’t know it yet, but Voltron: Defender of the Universe was my first introduction to the world of Anime.  Through that feature length pilot, I would later discover other shows through syndication and early Cartoon Network like G-Force, Ronin Warriors and Pokemon…all leading to Dragon Ball Z.  But I must give credit where credit is due.  Without that Voltron VHS Tape (which I think I still have) who knows when or if I would have discovered Anime in my lifetime.

 

#4-Confirmed Anime Fan since 1998
Where I was like 5 when I first saw Voltron, I didn’t know it was Anime until much, much later.  Which brings us back to Dragon Ball Z.  When it arrived in the states through Funimation (and Saban at the time), I was in 5th Grade and knee deep in Beast Wars and X-Men.  And then this little show about super powered martial artists fighting across the galaxy for seven wish granting orbs came along.  The year was 1998 and the floodgates were about to open for me.  Soon, Dragon Ball Z was all we could talk about.  From watching it on TV to seeking out the VHS Tapes of the series and even the movies, it would only be the beginning of what came in the next couple of years when Toonami would arrive.

 

#3-I used to make Information Books
Man these are leading one into another, aren’t they?  When Dragon Ball Z arrived, we weren’t just talking about it, we were living it.  Soon talks at school became more than just about the latest episode.  We were scouring the early internet for any kind of art we could find, even of events we hadn’t seen yet like The Androids, Cell and Super Saiyan 3.  But I took it a step further.  I was looking up character bios, episode guides, spoilers, technique lists, the works.  It got so extensive I needed to make two book of Dragon Ball Z intel: one for general info and the other for images.  When I’d learned all I could at the time (even about Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball GT), I moved onto another show…Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, making a full blown mecha guide for the After Colony timeline while getting my first glimpses of the Universal Century and beyond.  I didn’t make a huge library out of these kinds of books but I did make similar binders for Ronin Warriors and Robotech.  I think my last one might’ve been Neon Genesis Evangelion in High School.  It was a rush and so exciting to cobble all of that info together…I kind of miss it, if im honest.

 

#2-Personal Convention Stats
You’ve seen the Top 5 lists but how many cons have I been too?  How many pics have I taken per event (only a tiny bit of which have found their way onto this blog)?  Well…here’s the breakdown:

Otakon 2010-310 Pics
Day 0-0
Day 1-111
Day 2-128
Day 3-71

Otakon 2011-528 Pics
Day 0-42
Day 1-161
Day 2-171
Day 3-154

Otakon 2012-743 Pics
Day 0-22
Day 1-198
Day 2-413
Day 3-110

Otakon 2013-1118 Pics
Day 0-59
Day 1-241
Day 2-464
Day 3-354

Otakon 2014-1081 Pics
Day 0-138
Day 1-282
Day 2-435
Day 3-226

Baltimore Comic Con 2014-128 Pics
 
Katsucon 2015-1522 Pics
Day 0-103
Day 1-455
Day 2-823
Day 3-141

Otakon 2015-1950 Pics
Day 0-90
Day 1-920
Day 2-746
Day 3-194

Baltimore Comic Con 2015-114 Pics
 
Katsucon 2016-2246 Pics
Day 0-73
Day 1-826
Day 2-1177
Day 3-170

Otakon 2016-2368 Pics
Day 0-212
Day 1-1011
Day 2-723
Day 3-422

Katsucon 2017-2783 Pics
Day 0-339
Day 1-1039
Day 2-1152
Day 3-253

Baltimore Comic Con 2017-95 Pics
 
Animore 2018-57 Pics
 
Katsucon 2018-2826 Pics
Day 0-405
Day 1-924
Day 2-1114
Day 3-383

 

#1-I Am About More than Giant Robots 
This was a hard #1 spot to pick.  I think it’s a hard question really: what can I say about myself that makes me stand out as an Anime fan?  And really, im sure there are many who feel the same way about this particular choice than just me.  To say I alone am a fan of more than just the Mecha/Scifi/Giant Robot genre of Anime is kind of selfish.  I know plenty who enjoy more than one genre and it’s pretty rewarding to feel that way.  It helps us extend the love of Anime to everyone, being able to enjoy other worlds besides those of action.  As much as I love Gundam, I also enjoy Ouran High School Host Club, Your Name, Hamtaro, Yuri on Ice, Free, Angel Beats, My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service.  I like telling people I really have seen dozens of worlds that Anime has to offer and like it even more when im able to track down a title someone might enjoy that they might not approach on their own like K-On, My Hero Academia, Death Note, Your Lie in April or Violet Evergarden.  If you’ve ever been on the fence about Anime, come talk to me, im sure I can find a title that will hit you right in the heart and make you at least like the series or film.  This is my universe, id love to show anyone around if they want.

No comments:

Post a Comment