I will start off with all the boring 3D lowlives talk because we all know that’s not why I am here. My name is Lemar Deguzman, and you may know me from my previous column on Sunset Media Wave, entitled The Sunset Lifeline, in which I documented my high school life through a series of vlogs. However, with this new column, I will instead be diving into the much better 2D world and will be talking about the various animes I watch. Now, there are two things wrong with what I’ve just shared with you all:
- I have a life
- I watch a lot of anime
I know what you’re all thinking, “Does this guy have a life? Or does he watch anime? He needs to pick one.” Okay… truth be told, the anime gods have bestowed the power of Nakama[1] (see footnotes below to understand references) upon me which enables me to do the impossible and power up my abilities to multitask. I am now best boi Natsu from Fairy Tail.[2] Jokes aside, this column will be a discussion of all things anime, from reviews and recommendations to lists and videos. I wanted to share with you all this other half of my life. This will truly become my own little weeb corner where I hide away all my depression.
Natsu from Fairy Tail
Putting it bluntly, I am very obsessed with anime. It’s a hobby that started almost four years ago when I stumbled upon my cousin watching an episode of Fairy Tail on Netflix. As with all ignorant middle schoolers who think they know everything, I thought he was stupid for watching a Japanese animation and I judged him really hard for it. Unbeknownst to myself, I soon would fall in love with that very same Japanese cartoon… okay, I’m a loser too. Since that day, I’ve watched and completed over 300 animes and continue to do so whenever I have free time. (Although this is not very much because of my personal Daily Life of a HighSchool Boy– HAHAHAHAHAHAHA GET IT?!!?!?!)
Daily Lives of HighSchool Boys (known in Japanese as Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou in Romanji)
I may not have as much time these days, because of college applications, summer school, SATs, and more. Please do not ever be like me and take four classes at once during your summer break, I implore you as you will have to kiss your free time doing stuff like watching your precious anime go down the drain as you cry about midterms. Despite this, I still earnestly try to watch as much as I can whenever the time and my own personal motivation allow for it. As such, I believe myself to be competently well-versed when it comes to this topic. Anime is a world that fueled me with ambition, to the point where I dream of one day of working at Crunchyroll[3] or anywhere else in the industry for fans. With all this being said, I hope you enjoy what I have to bring to the column!
[1] Nakama refers to “Friendship” in Japanese. Oftentimes in anime, the community likes to make fun of the plot armor characters go through because they possess the oh so mighty, NAKAMA. (A character could be crushed by a boulder swung by a one-eyed dragon, but because they believe in their friends, they survive)
[2] Natsu is the main protagonist in the anime “Fairy Tail.” I referenced him in particular because he’s often the pinnacle of “friendship powerups” in anime. Check out the anime here: http://www.crunchyroll.com/fairy-tail
[3] Crunchyroll is a streaming website for all fans of anime. It’s 100% legal and I highly encourage you to use this website if you want to support the creators of your show, as a portion of the earnings does indeed go back to them. http://www.crunchyroll.com/
