Greetings again from thelittleshittyblog and hi there to the blog’s newest follower, Steph. You’ll find Steph is quite the fashion goddesses so please go check her out.

When I was younger, my first experiences of anime were Pokèmon, Digimon and  Cardcaptor. Back then I really didn’t acknowledge the difference between these programmes and western cartoons but all I knew was that, I loved them. It’s hard to conclude whether I preferred Cardcaptor over (please contain your cries of disbelief) Pokèmon. I had Cardcaptor toys whilst I only had Pokèmon cards which I bought to look at rather than use (I didn’t have a clue). I remember Pokèmon better than Cardcaptor, particularly the first film which has not only been ingrained in my head as a traumatic experience, but was also the first time I’d shed a tear for on TV (the second film I cried at was Cast Away, NO WILSON!). However, after Misty left Pokèmon had no place in my life. Cardcaptor didn’t betray my trust so remained my friend for a little longer than the immortal boy and his coma dream. Ultimately, Digimon was my favourite anime back then. I remember purchasing the toys in Florida, playing imaginary games with the characters in my living room and singing along to the theme tune. So a rush of nostalgia overtook me when I heard they’re going to bring back the show with a teenage perspective.

Then for me, anime was mostly forgotten bar the rare and refreshing/terrifying Studio Ghibli film. In high school, I revisited the category when my parents bought me two art books on designing anime characters but my interest was kept in place by the rules conjured up by my false friends who considered such a hobby to be embarrassing. Ah, School! What a blast!

I don’t remember what resulted in my second prolonged experience of anime, but somehow during high school I found myself falling upon the parody Shojo (excuse lack of proper symbol over ‘o’) anime Ouran High School Host Club. It became the first anime I completely finished and it was the first anime I had discovered outside of mainstream western media a.k.a I watched it online. With curiosity in my heart, I looked around the metaphorical entrance into the world of anime and gazed out at the one anime that occupied it. At that time, I had no idea how huge the world of anime was. I had a limited scope and wrongly presumed due to snippets from different shows, that anime was mostly terrifying and gross. So after I watched OHSHC, I nodded with appreciation and closed the door.

The next time I would experience anime would be just before my first year of university. Whilst wondering the many levels of Youtube I came across AMVs. At this point, I still felt as though anime was a cruel and violent world, and when I discovered Soul Eater AMV, This Is Halloween, I felt no different. However, this time my curiosity was Piqued by the overexaggerated animation, vibrant colours, unique characters and landscape and the fact they could turn into weapons. I’d never seen anything like this before. It appeared as scary to me as the short clips from Bleach that had put me off, but there was something alluring about the sadistic nature. I also recognised the suggestion of insanity and that was something I was very interested in. So, I dared myself to try watching it. If it was too gross then I could just stop. I thought it was going to be a blood fest. Little did I know that this anime really wasn’t as scary as my inexperience led me to believe, and that I would go on to watch entire series, buy the DVD and merchandise and place it on my wall of fame as one of my favourite series. I had opened the door cautiously and been drawn into the world, the door closing behind me. So Soul Eater was my gateway anime.

Within Fresher’s Week, I finally met my mentor, a guy on my course who later became one of my best friends. He helped me find the switch and light up this new world. With his knowledge and spare time to burn, I slowly began to explore. First tentatively, unsure of where to go. But then he told me of a big player, one of the trump cards. This show would end up hooking me, looking the door behind and throwing away the key. Fullmetal Alchemist. I avoided it at first, preferring to watch some shows that were less notorious. But eventually I dared to cross the line (random reference there) and suffered for it. Now anime fans you’ll know the feeling. When you finish an excellent show and your heart aches for more. That’s how I felt after that show (both series included).

Now, I have graduated and finished not only with a 2:1 (whoop!) but an extensive list of watched anime. Yesterday I finished a show that made me cry and left me with that familiar emptiness where my heart is.

Now, I have decided to not only spend a few days wallowing but also to start creating my own reviews on this blog. I have a lot to say and have been wanting to do it for a while.

So this is a very long introduction to that.

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