A Proper Introduction
After being around here for a while and having met some comrades at Anime Expo and other conventions, I decided to finally sit down and create a post to properly introduce myself to everyone here.
First of all, my name is Henry, and I currently live in Oakland, California. I will be a college student this fall and will be studying at the University of California in Los Angeles. I have been a fan of Japanese pop culture in general since I was about 5 or 6 years old (even though I didn't know that some things I enjoyed at the time were Japanese to begin with due to localization practices at). I wouldn't start collecting figures and such until just within the last 2 years.
Initially, I wasn't willing to show off my enthusiasm for anime, manga, video games, and such out of fear that I would become a social outcast. However, I would eventually meet some people in high school who shared similar interests, and that pushed me to slowly reveal my inner otaku. I would also become more tempted to buy merchandise upon encountering certain anime series and finding Danny Choo's website in particular.
2010 was really when I started to buy more merchandise. It was this year that I would encounter K-ON! and other anime series with a predominantly bishoujo cast. Before I found out about moe and the slice-of-life genre that is typically associated with it, I would usually watch mecha and other action-packed genres. I had heard about the said series for quite some time before I would actually watch it, so I asked a friend who I know was watching it at the time for his opinion. He bluntly told me that I wouldn't like it because it "lacked action." Well, when I went to Fanime for the first time in 2010, I decided to take a break from walking around and decided to see what was screening. I was with my younger cousin and my younger sister at the time, so I let them decide what to watch since I didn't care at the time. To my amazement, they selected K-ON!! (the second series). We walked in right as episode 2 was ending, and we watched the entirety of episode 3. It would take me a while to grow to like "GO! GO! MANIAC," but I sure enjoyed watching the one episode I saw that day. My cousin and my sister weren't exactly amused, though. From that point on, I would end up spending more of my money on anime and manga merchandise, particularly figmas and soundtracks.
All of the anime soundtracks I have so far. As you can see, there's a lot of K-ON!! here (I have only the ones from the second series so far since I was late in getting the Limited Editions of the ones from the first.).
I also decided to buy an Azone doll after seeing that it was being sold for a decent price ($80 when it should have been around $180.). I'm also surprised to see that the Black Rock Shooter figma is being sold at conventions for $100.
2011 marked a time of some more collecting and taking on cosplay. Prior to Fanime 2011, I would come to find out that I had friends who had been cosplaying for a while. By that time, I had already gone to several conventions albeit not in cosplay. By May, I felt that I would be having more fun at a convention if I were to cosplay. Of course, since I just started the hobby, I would end up buying the costume online along with a proper wig. After watching Infinite Stratos, I decided that I should dress up as Charles Dunois for Fanime 2011. To my dismay, it didn't go so well since I wasn't sure about how to pose for the few photos I got taken and had forgotten to hide my badge during photoshoots. I was also surprised to see that my cosplay was more recognizable to livestream viewers than people at the entire convention despite the series' success in Japan. It also didn't help that I had some acne and only had concealer to hide whatever I possibly could.
After Fanime, I started investing in makeup products to create a better appearance. I would also end up becoming a member of cosplay communities like cosplay.com to get suggestions, advice, and whatnot. As you can see in the photos below, I would also end up taking on crossplaying. I believe I was able to conduct myself in cosplay more properly at Anime Expo (although it seems like I need to work on smiling more often).
Speaking of Anime Expo, I and two of my friends were a bit hesitant about whether or not to actually take the long trip to LA from the San Francisco Bay Area. We wanted to minimize our costs, so we decided to try to room with others for the convention. It would take several inquiries until I was able to find someone who was willing to open up to us for a decent price. Because some of the staff from the California Conventions Blog were willing to take us in for the weekend, we were able to experience the largest anime convention in America for the first time. Because of networking (Thank you, Danny, for re-emphasizing the importance of this.) and their willingness to accommodate us, we were able to see Hatsune Miku's American debut concert and of course, attend Danny Choo's panel and hear his words of wisdom as well as meeting fellow comrades, including those I have met at previous conventions and am already familiar with (you know who you are).
I bought the supercell album for a cheaper price than if I were to buy it online plus it came with a free poster. Oddly enough, I paid more for the ticket for Mikunopolis than for the album (But then again, I bought the ticket on Day 1.). The concert itself was excellent for an American debut despite its short length and technical flaws with the lighting and the screen that was used. It was also at Mikunopolis that I would get to see more of Danny's sense of humor (Trying to get us to say "ミクさんマジ天使！" in Western accents. Oh Danny, you're hilarious.).
Me (as Charles Dunois) with Danny (I should really try to smile more... miyoshi82 has another photo of me cosplaying here for those of you who are interested.)
This was supposed to be me as Fate Testarossa in her casual wear as she appeared in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's (See my avatar.), but I couldn't get a wig that was long enough prior to Anime Expo. It was pretty nerve-wracking for me to buy clothes at stores primarily for women. I didn't expect to fool anyone seeing that this was my first time crossdressing.
I also play the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG every now and then. I still need some more cards to make these decks more competitive, though. In case you're wondering, I have more Synchro Monsters than the ones shown here. I'm just showing these off in particular since they were featured in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.
Here's the desk mat that could be seen in some of my photos.
Anyway, I hope to get along with everyone here and feel free to contact me on Facebook or AIM (Screenname: CobaltTempest). If you're going to contact me via these methods, please do indicate that you are a figure.fm member or else I may just ignore you.
Great meeting you!
Hey there! Welcome aboard, mate :D I'd once went through stuffs like how you did during highschool, turned out pretty nice with few buddies who, until these days, still share the same enthusiasm :D
Nice Infinite Stratos cosplay and welcome to the figure.fm community :D
Was that a self made costume? Look neat. Man wish I had the funds to attend large international conventions as this one looked to be pretty awesome from all the pics everyone keeps posting and you even got to meet Danny!
I so want this! I haven't seen this anywhere :D
Welcome!^^
Welcome dude. It can be tricky letting people know you enjoy anime & manga because there are folks who will never understand it. Its great coming to Danny's site and I've gotten to meet a couple of people who live in the area and it was great talking to them about our shared interests.
I had recently joined figure.fm but I joined dannychoo.com a couple months ago. It is nice to meet people with similar interest or circumstances huh. Well everyone is welcome here, so... WELCOME!!!. I still dont have offine otaku friends yet but maybe soon. Thanx for telling your introduction.