The Otakusphere: Independent art, island blogs and let’s get this started again

Some may have noticed that I skipped The Otakusphere last week, and for that, I apologize. It was a rough one last week, and by the time I got done with my work week, I just wanted to turn on No Man’s Sky and go cruising through the stars. So that’s what I did. I […]

The Otakusphere: Coronavirus, coronavirus, coronavirus everywhere

I usually try to make these Otakusphere openings snappy and quick, but this week it’s all about the novel coronavirus. I worry about being too flip about a disease that is costing people their loved ones. It seems inevitable that talk about COVID-19 would come to The Otakusphere. Here in the states, it’s sending people […]

I may just get you Haruka Shitow

Do you ever have relationships with characters? I don’t mean the “this is my waifu or husbando” kind of relationship, or the “that guy/gal is super cool and I’m infatuated with their coolness” type of relationship. No. What I’m talking about is that friend who you’ve known your entire life. The person that you knew […]

The Otakusphere: Love, love, love and loneliness

It looks like I’m doomed. I simply can’t escape Valentine’s Day this week. Love (or at least cards and romance shows) is in the air across The Otakusphere this week. I even got my own Valentine’s Day card specifically done by Jon Spencer. It’s all about Chirico Cuvie. Jon says it’s his come hither look. […]

Reflections of an old anime fan: On gatekeeping

For the last couple weeks I’ve been thinking about gatekeeping, inspired mostly be Irina’s post about why she doesn’t participate in it. Here’s the thing. There was a time when the people that liked video games, roleplaying games, Magic cards and anime were the outsiders. These were the people nobody else wanted to know. They […]

In My View: Yes, Genre is Important

Over the last few months, I’ve heard a few comments dismissing the importance of genre. These vary from saying that you can’t say that a show is bad because you don’t like a genre to genre is a marketing tool developed to sell more stuff. First, I want to say that genre is important for […]