PAX East staff member dies from COVID-19 four weeks before Anime Boston 2022

 

Gamespot shared the tragic news Tuesday afternoon.

PAX East took place in the Boston Convention Center in Boston last weekend. Although the event required all attendees and staff to be vaccinated, to that point Massachusetts and Boston had recently ended their mask mandates. Both the Boston Convention Center where PAX East is held and the Hynes Convention Center where Anime Boston is held are state property managed by the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA). This is one of the situations where one death is too many. That much goes without saying to say the least.

I decided to pass on going to Anime Boston this year and likely next year in part due to these concerns. It’s easy to forget in general, conventions are a breeding ground for viral outbreaks because you have hundreds and thousands of people in enclosed spaces. I last attended AB2018 on that note. The larger reason I am not attending Anime Boston is simply because I don’t have the money right now and need to prioritize things.

That aside, I am sure the folks who manage Anime Boston will work with Hynes staff as well as the Sheraton Hotel which also hosts some events to mitigate the risks of the convention becoming another super spreader event as much as possible. Like PAX East did last month, Anime Boston does have a vaccine mandate for all attendees and staff and this was announced in October. According to what I’ve been reading on Anime Boston’s official forums, they decided to go with a mask mandate despite relaxed posturing at the local, state and federal levels on masking guidelines.

The only time you can be maskless is when you’re eating/drinking. You need to keep it on even if you’re a solo panelist like I typically was because then convention staff would have an increased risk of getting infected while cleaning the stage and microphones after you finish. Since you’re using a microphone, your voice will carry just fine with a mask on. All you have to do is slow down and properly endunciate to be heard and understood.

In closing, Anime Boston is taking the situation VERY seriously and more so after they were forced to cancel in 2020 and 2021. For those who don’t know, 100% of all Anime Boston staff and board members are not paid for what they do. Anime Boston’s parent company the New England Anime Society (NEAS) is a 501.3(c) Nonprofit. Everyone who works behind the scenes is doing it because they believe in what they’re doing first and they want the convention to be a success second. Not just for attendees but also for the staff who will be on the ground as well.

I will be watching things from a distance this year and possibly next year but I’m sure Anime Boston’s attendance this year will much lower than attendees are used to. Since 2012, Anime Boston’s attendance has exceeded 20k. Its peak was in 2017 when the attendance reached 27k. I’m sure Anime Boston staff are expecting attendance to be closer to its early years when it peaked around 10k. I would be very surprised if attendance exceeds 10k nevermind 15k this year and likely next year.

COVID-19 aside, it’s also true the entrance fee has also been increasing in recent years. When I first started going back in 2010, a weekend pass was $50. This year, it’s $95 if you preregister and $105 at the door. I did consider just getting a Sunday pass–and I am considering that for next year–but right now I can’t justify spending the $50 or $60 to be there for basically 5 and a half hours (closing Ceremonies starts at 3PM and lasts an hour). Not this year at least.

 

 

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Japanese parents expressing concern over Sexually Explicit content in Anime

 

It’s hard to ignore the fact it’s becoming more and more commonplace in mainstream anime these days. Last year, Fire Force creator Atsushi Ōkubo weighed in on the subject that involved one character known to randomly lose their clothing in a Manga scene. He addressed the controversy around this character’s semi-nude trope directly by basically saying “So what if some people don’t like her showing so much skin in almost every scene? I dont give a damn.” through the scene. We’ll have to wait and see if this scene is put in the anime once the story reaches that point but it probably will be.

Most Anime fans in the West are already well aware of this but Japanese media is imfamous for being very…”liberal” in regards to its depictions of sexual content, violence and immorality in general for decades. The difference is until about 20 years ago, such content was strictly 18+ even in Japan. What happened? Foreign demand for Japanese media sharply increased, that’s what. Many consumers in North America and Europe who didn’t like their country’s “Censorship practices” took a strong liking to Japanese anime and manga because in general, western consumers felt Japanese media appealed to “mature audiences”.

Even when Anime began to become mainstream in North America and Europe about 25 years ago (late 1990s), most of what made its way to the West was relatively tame compared to most what was available in Japan at the same time. The West almost exclusively got select Shonen like Digimon, Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO), Pokemon, Dragonball Z, Inuyasha (started in the late 90s, Manga premeired earlier in the 90s) and Sailor Moon back then. All of these were geared toward kids and youth so even in Japan they were mostly tame, the one exception from that list being Dragonball Z (edited fo graphic content outside Japan).

It wasn’t until the mid to late 2000s that we really started to see the kiddie gloves coming off because by that point, anime airing in the West exclusively ran on Cable/Satellite. There was less of a need to edit anime for graphic content. Bleach, Death Note, Naruto, Samurai Champloo, Code Geass, Fullmetal Alchemist and Cowboy Beebop were all trail blazers in their own right and opened the floodgates for anime globally. Toward the end of the decade, anime streaming services were starting to take off. This is to say nothing of the West being introduced to the artistic genius of Hayao Miyazaki earlier in the decade via Disney’s Studio Ghibli.

It was during the 2010s that we really started seeing more non-Shonen going mainstream. We would also start to see Shonen that didn’t have fighting or flashy action sequences at the end of the decade like Food Wars and Dr. Stone. By 2014, Crunchyroll had become the anime streaming giant it still is now though Funimation would also launch their own streaming service. It was also by the mid-2010s that Anime’s Global Golden Age would be over after almost 20 years. At this point most anime, manga and even many Japanese RPGs were noticably being made with older consumers in mind. Why? Demand from foreign consumers was driving profits to new heights and the industry was adjusting accordingly.

 

 

That brings me back to the main topic. The fact that Japanese parents are raising concerns about Sexually Explicit content in anime tells me there is a more social awareness in Japan on what exactly their kids are being exposed to.

World’s End Harem, which recently premiered on Crunchyroll is a blatant attempt to make an obvious Ecchi appealing to “General Audiences”. How so? The basic premise of the story is about a man who wakes up after 5 years in cryogenic sleep to a world where Males are virtually extinct due to a viral outbreak. His primary mission? Impregnante as many Females as possible weather he wants to or not. The Manga it’s based on has actually been around for some time. While it IS true there is an actual plot, that is obviously not what the uh…”appeal” is if you know what I mean.

It’s interesting to note the reason there has been an uptick in anime and manga with sexually explicit content in recent years is because demand for it has sharply risen. Not from Japanese consumers but from consumers outside Japan. Most consumers from inside Japan don’t understand it and they DON’T like all the “Fan Service” for that matter anywhere near as much as they know many people outside Japan think. I do think it’s only a matter of time before Japanese artists and studios pivot on their own because most of them don’t want to be stereotyped for this anymore.

 

This is to say nothing of content sexualizing Female characters characterized as pre-pubescent and content depicting or promoting incest, usually between sibings becoming mainstream. This kind of content you usually had to put in some effort to find but mostly due to Western influence, we are seeing more of it in the mainstream. Japanese society is starting to recognize it as the problem it truly is and I am hoping they can discourage it personally.

 

 

 

 

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The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami: 10 Years Later

 

March 11, 2011.

 

I remember following the news coverage from the day it happened to several weeks later. It was also the biggest topic of conversation at Anime Boston, which was 7 weeks later. Although only two areas of Japan was directly affected, it impacted the whole country and sparked a broader conversation on Nuclear Power and disaster preparedness globally.

The disasters claimed the lives of almost 20,000 people, another near 7,000 were injured and to this day almost 2,600 are still unaccounted for. Millions were left homeless or lost their jobs due to property damage or destruction. The initial earthquake was felt in most of the eastern half of the country but most of the destruction and casualties was concentrated in Fukushima Prefecture.

 

It is worth noting most of the damaged areas were repaired or restored within 5 years. That’s astonishing if you don’t know Japan actually does experience earthquakes on a regular basis annually. Most of the rail lines in the affected areas reopened though some rail lines were so heavily damaged, they were permanently replaced with bus service where the rails used to be. Japan obviously cares a lot about its infrastructure so the speed at which they got things repaired or restored isn’t that big of a surprise. There are still several hundred thousand permanently displaced people who are living in temporary housing.

This includes many who are afraid to return to Sendai where the Fukushima-Daichi Nuclear Power Plant, which suffered a catastrophic meltdown during the disaster is located. The power plant was quickly shut down and sealed off though concerns of radiation sickness is why some are refusing to return. Since 2012, Japanese government officials and UN officials have both separately said the area is safe for people to return.

 

 

The 2016 feature film Your Name (Kimi No Na Wa) by Makoto Shinkai is loosely inspired by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake in Tsunami. In the movie, a meteor strike wipes a small town off the map in 2013. That is where one of the two protagonists, Mitsuha Miyamizu is from. According to the story, everyone in the town who isn’t killed by the impact dies from the Tsunami that washes away the town including Mitsuha. A supernatural phenomenon links her to Taki Tachibana, a boy living in Tokyo in 2016. After doing some research, Taki realizes Mitsuha lives in the town just before it’s destroyed 3 years earlier.

The red cord of fate that connected them makes it possible for them slightly change history and most of the townspeople survive the disaster. The two meet in person for the first time in 2022 during the movie’s final scene. Both also make separate cameo appearances in Shinkai’s 2020 movie Weathering With You, which takes place in 2021. Based on this, many believe they will appear together in Shinkai’s next movie if it’s not a direct sequel to their movie.

I gave an overview of Your Name but was careful not to spoil too much. If you haven’t yet seen the movie, you definitely should. I have it on Blu Ray but apparently it’s available on Netflix.

 

 

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Anime Boston 2021 Officially Cancelled

I opened my Inbox today to find this email from the New England Anime Society, which is the parent company for Anime Boston. Here it is in full:

Notice of Cancellation

We at Anime Boston and the New England Anime Society (NEAS) have been closely monitoring the status of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and its effect on events of our size. Although the recent developments with vaccines is fantastic news, the governor’s order prohibiting larger gatherings is still in effect. With less than two months until the scheduled dates for Anime Boston 2021, it is extremely unlikely the ban will be lifted before then. As such, we unfortunately have no choice but to cancel Anime Boston 2021.

Our executive board has reviewed the possibilities of postponing the 2021 convention for later in the year or hosting an online version of Anime Boston. After careful consideration, we have decided it would not be feasible to do either at this time. We are a completely volunteer organization and all of the preparation is done on our personal time. Reorganizing the convention for later this year would be extremely difficult to achieve especially with the added uncertainty.

For our pre-registered members who had 2020 memberships transferred to 2021, by default we will be transitioning your memberships to Anime Boston 2022, set for May 27 – 29, 2022. Anime Boston is operated by the non-profit New England Anime Society (NEAS) and all revenue goes back into the operational costs of our convention and NEAS. Members who allow us to transition their membership to 2022 help us remain financially stable and cover expenses we already incurred for 2020 and 2021.

We understand that not everyone is certain if they will be able to attend Anime Boston 2022. Anyone who would prefer to be refunded for their Anime Boston 2020/2021 membership, please contact Registration Customer Service. Please include your full name and the email address used when registering. Please allow at least three to four weeks for processing of refund requests, based on the volume of requests. Please also note that refunds will be delivered by mail because it has been more than one year since the card transaction. This means that there will be a further delay between processing on our end and the refund getting back to you. A request for refund must be submitted by March 14th, 2021. Any memberships without a refund request will be transferred to Anime Boston 2022.

Hotel reservations made directly through a hotel must be cancelled through the hotel’s website or at their phone number. Reservations made via a third party vendor should be cancelled through the same vendor. Please refer to your reservation confirmation for refund information for direct hotel or third party bookings; Anime Boston is unable to intervene in these circumstances.

Participants of the 2020/2021 Artists’ Alley who have already been confirmed and completed their registration will be migrated to the 2022 Artists’ Alley. Similarly, for our exhibitors in the 2020/2021 Dealers’ Room, we will be migrating all who completed their registration to the 2022 Dealers’ Room.

Participants of Anime Boston 2020/2021 programming, such as the Masquerade, Cosplay Games, Idol Showcase, AMV Contest, panels, contests, and other events will be contacted in the upcoming weeks by their event coordinators.

We appreciate your patience and understanding while we worked to figure out a new path for Anime Boston 2021. Though we had considered cancellation earlier, we had certain contractual and financial obligations that made it difficult for us to cancel on our own before a certain time frame without jeopardizing the convention long term.

We hope you and your loved ones stay safe and healthy, and we encourage everyone to do their part in getting a vaccine when it is available to you. We hope to see you at a better time at the next Anime Boston, May 27 – 29, 2022.

 

At least this time they let people know more than a month out. As noted, red tape prevented them from officially cancelling AB2020 and AB2021 until certain conditions were met. Like last year, they ruled out postponing the convention to later this year–even in a virtual format–because their staff is 100% volunteer including their executive board. They do all the planning and preparation on their personal time.

Hopefully the third time will be the charm next year. As noted, Governor Baker’s ban on large gatherings is still in place due to the Pandemic. I don’t see that changing until the COVID-19 vaccine is widely available first and there is a huge drop in transmission second. Hopefully both of these conditions will be met by this coming Fall.

For those who may be wondering, the local pro sports teams have been playing with no fans in attendance last summer (and excluding the NBA Bubble in Orlando of course). As for the Japan Boston Festival–usually held in August–we will have to wait and see. If the current restrictions are still in plance by mid-June, that’s likely to mean it won’t happen either. I do follow news on that and if anything comes up later this year, I will provide an update.

 

 

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For those who deam of living in Japan, it’s much harder than you can possibly imagine

 

Japan is considered one of the most peaceful modern countries on the planet. It’s funny given its long history of war and conflict spanning its entire history until the end of World War II. In the 8 decades since World War II–it’s now 2020 as of this writing–Japan has established itself as bastion for all things video games, Anime and Manga. It has an open door policy for tourism and business as its shares its unique, storied cultural history with the rest of the world. It’s a far contrast from a country that at one time closed its boarders the outside world for almost 100 years. Speaking of. Shades of Japan’s past isolationist policy is ever present and obvious in its immigration and refugee policies. Japan is known to have the strictest immigration and refugee policies of any developed nation for a reason.

I recently watched an editorial on NHK Japan about a family originally from East Africa–I believe they were from Ethiopia originally–that for reasons I can never understand decided to move to Japan…as refugees. It made absolutely no sense to me given what they went through. For SEVEN YEARS, the couple’s daughter was not legally considered the father’s even though she was born in Japan. The reason? Their marriage was not legally recognized in Japan. The reason for that is because the father did not yet have Refugee status and so his marriage was not yet legally recognized in Japan. Thus, legally his daughter was not his daughter as far as Japan was concerned. Only her mother was her legal parent.

Think about how that must feel for a father who helped create and raise a child to know the government did not recognize you as her father. What made the situation feel even more complicated to me is at the time the editorial was filmed, the mother was pregnant with their second child. It made no sense to me for them to even think about having another child knowing not only does the Japanese government not legally recognize you as the father of your first child but if your current status is revoked, you will be deported immediately. By the end of the editorial, they finally did get legal recognition from the Japanese government.

Japan is not the U.S. They don’t play around when it comes to immigration and deportation. The Japanese government announced last week they executed a foreign death row inmate for the very first time it its history. It’s unheard of because they prefer to deport foreign-born persons who commit capital crimes even if they become a citizen. They rarely use the death penalty on their own death row inmates too and in fact, they don’t even tell those on Death Row when they will be executed. The day of is when they find out.

Getting back on topic. The irony of Japan’s strict immigration policies is they have an aging workforce and a declining birthrate. The U.S. has the same problems but has always used Immigration to replentish its population. Not so in Japan, which faces an economic crisis due to its aging population and workforce that can’t replentish itself. Japan doesn’t have any drastic population control policies like China’s controversial One Child policy. It’s simply paying the price for having a closed door policy is all. I’m not saying Japan should have an open door policy but it feels pretty hypocritical to me with how much Japan markets itself as a tourist destination.

This past summer, Japan announced they were basically giving away vacant homes for free to anyone who wants one. What they conveniently left out is they will not fast-track immigration for foreigners who might want to take advantage of the offer. The vacant houses mostly belonged to people who moved away on that note. I won’t pretend to know Japan’s immigration process–and my apologies for misleading folks into thinking I do–but the little I have researched so far is like their gun permit application process: Meaninglessly drawn out and complicated on purpose to discourage people from actually trying. That’s my impression anyway.

 

 

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Japan’s Emperor Akihito abdicates after a 30-year rule, Crown Prince Naruhito to succeed him as Emperor

 

Effective April 30–I’m being mindful of the time zone difference between Boston and Japan on that note–Emperor Emeritus Akihito (above, Right) has officially abdicated the throne. His son, Emperor Naruhito (above, Left) has succeeded him as the 126th Emperor of Japan.

Akihito’s father and the previous Emperor, Hirohito was spared prosecution for war crimes committed by Japan during World War II for political reasons in short. It was sold publicly that top military officials acted without Hirohito’s knowledge or permission despite obvious evidence Hirohito was aware of everything and nothing happened without his knowing about it. In short, no one bought it but since the U.S., which Japan surrendered to was pushing the story that’s how history was written. It pissed off almost a third of the world that Hirohito basically got away with War Crimes so the US Forces occupying Japan wouldn’t have to deal with an insurrection. Hirohito ruled until his death in 1989 and was succeeded by the now Emperor Emeritus and his son, Akihito.

I’ll pause for a minute to add this. After World War II, The Imperial Royal Family was officially stripped of its power and influence in political matters. In short, the position of Emperor is nothing more than a figurehead with no real power in matters of State. This was the (steep) price paid to be spared prosecution. The REAL executive power is in the hands of the Prime Minister, the current one being Shinzo Abe.

There actually weren’t any laws on the books in Japan when Akihito expressed concern in 2016 he doesn’t think he’ll be able to fulfill his duties as Emperor for too much longer. He actually expressed his desire to abdicate in a close-door meeting with his advisors several years earlier. The Diet (Japan’s equivalent of US Congress) made a new law so The Emperor could Abdicate. It is the first peaceful transition in 200 years and second in which the existing Emperor Abdicates in the same timespan. Akihito became the first Emperor to assume the throne after World War II when his father, the previous Emperor died in 1989.

 

Take a look at this:

 

 

For clarification, Japan’s line succession goes to the first male heir of each generation. Naruhito, who is 59 has an 18 year old daughter. The second in line after him will be his brother Fumihito (aged 54) while the third in line will be Fumihito’s third child and only son Hisahito (aged 13). The marriage of Princess Mako to a commoner last year renewed debate in Japan’s Diet about changing the rules of Succession. Naruhito doesn’t have a male heir so his brother Fumiko will become the new Crown Prince on May 1.

The matter had been discussed before but was dropped after the birth of Fumihito’s son Hisahito in 2006. If the rules were changed to how it is in Great Britain, Princess Aiko would become Crown Empress and her uncle would be second in line to the throne. It could also mean changing the rules on the status of Princesses when they marry a commoner. As it stands now, Princesses automatically forfeit their status as royalty when they marry a commoner because their last name changes to that of their husband. Not just their title as a princess but imperial finances and even access to their former residences as well. Some would like to see the rules changed to allow female royalty to retain some of their status and more so since unlike in Great Britain, the Imperial Royal Family is nothing more than a figurehead anyway.

If the rules were changed, after Aiko and Fumihito the next in line would be his second daughter Princess Kako–since Princess Mako lost her status by marriage to a commoner last year–and then Prince Hisahito. One person would come before Fumihito and one person would come before Hisahito just like that. Would Fumihito mind his niece becoming Crown Empress ahead of him? Probably not. I also doubt his 13 year old son Hisahito would mind his older sister Kako–12 years his senior–jumping ahead of him in the line of succession either.

Barring the unforseeable, I do think Emperor Naruhito will eventually Abdicate like his father did. His brother is five years younger than him so his reign will likely be shorter than their father’s, who reigned for 30 years starting at age 55. Emperor Naruhito is now 59 years old. He may reign for 15 to 20 years before deciding to Abdicate. This could be done to fast-track Hisahito’s son becoming Emperor while still young. Time will tell.

By the way, only the current Emperor (and Empress) are referred to as “The Emperor” (and “The Empress”) like the current Pope is referred to as “The Pope”. The previous, living Emperor (and Empress) will now have the title Emperor Emeritus (and Empress Emerita). The Emperor’s Ascension Ceremony will take place on October 22.

 

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…To date, no donations have come in since I started including this in my posts across all of my blogs. I am now asking those who have especially come to enjoy my postings no matter how long it’s been to please donate. Without going into all the details here, I need your fiancial support. If you’re able donate but want to talk to me first, you can email me at btboston1@gmail.com.

Yes, Japan has a significant number of “shut-in” young adults called Hikikomori

 

While doing an image search, I found this article on the topic extremely helpful. I highly reccommend reading it.

Suffice to say, the rest of the world is starting to really pay attention to the phenomenon in Japan called Hikikomori. The reason Hikikomori is extremely rare in the US compared to Japan is primarily cultural. In the US, most parents will not tolerate their adult children isolating themselves in the home indefinitely and more so if they’re not working or in college unless they have a significant health condition. In Japan, Amoe is the reason adult parents of Hikikomori will continue to take care of them.

For those who don’t know, Amoe basically means “No matter how old they are, they are still your kids. You should love and take care for your children always.” Of course, some Japanese parents are (far) more tolerant than others. In some extreme cases, parents will hire people to forcefully remove their Hikikomori child from their bedroom and drag them outside (with disasterous results of course). Some Hikikomori do live on their own, sometimes in an apartment being paid for by their parents. That said, not all Hikikomori are young adults. The overwhelming majority–80%–are young men. There certainly are female Hikikomori but since culturally and historically it’s considered the norm for unmarried women to live with their parents in Japan, they often go unreported as Hikikomori. From what I’ve been reading, almost all Hikikomori live in cities as well.

 

 

Hikikomori has become a serious problem in Japan and now quite common. Numbers put Hikikomori at over a million a few years back.

As a reminder, Japan is home to the largest senior population in the world. Most of its aging population is retired, close to retiring or is of age to be retired. Between that and Japan’s merit-based immigration policies, their workforce is in danger of being seriously compromised. No one has been able to figure out a singular reason or cause for the start and continued rising number of Hikikomori. Everyone has a theory of their own.

That includes me:

…Karoshi.

It means death by overwork in Japanese. It’s a serious problem in Japan and has been for almost 30 years now. On average, over 2,000 people commit suicide in Japan due to severe overwork. This is to aside from those who literally drop dead from a heart attack or stroke directly related to severe overwork. Again, the reason such a thing is so common in Japan is mostly cultural. It’s the norm in any society to want to work hard to earn a raise or promotion. The problem is in Japan, too often many employers exploit their employers and labor ethics commonplace in most of the developed world is not in place in Japan.

Japan is taking some steps to address the problem that is now simultaneously threatening their workforce and economy. One is requiring all employers to give everyone an hour to sleep during the day and requiring non-essential employees to be off the clock after 3PM on the last Friday of the month so they have extra downtime. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who promised to spearhead Labor Reform actually vetoed legislation that would have put limits on how many consecutive hours a week employers were allowed to let their employees work. He vetoed it because the bill did not account for Public Transit employees, who are considered Essential Employees in Japan. For those who might not know, yes Japan does have paid Maternity Leave guaranteed for all (The US doesn’t have this mandated). As a reminder: Tokyo will host the 2020 Summer Olympics.

…Getting back to the main topic now.

It’s hard to believe there isn’t some kind of connection between Karoshi and Hikikomori. Those who are Hikikomori have basically given up on society and isolate themselves as a coping mechanism. Enormous Stress is placed on many of them from the moment they enter their senior year of high school. They’re expected to have a job or college waiting for them by the time they graduate. That’s something those of us in the West can relate to if that was all. The difference is it’s an unwritten graduation requirement to be accepted at a well known college or goo-paying job. Not just for the family but the high school as well. Same with college students in their final year. They are expected to have several job offers waiting for them by the time they graduate and…yeah.

There’s no way these Hikikomori are not aware of Karoshi. They feel like they’re in a lose-lose situation where success is unattainable but giving up in not an option. So, they shut down socially.

 

The issue of the Hikikomori is being taken very seriously as it should be. Some non-profits, business owners as well as former Hikikomori are putting their heads together to find ways to reintegrate the isolated back into society. One venture that recently made the news worldwide are “professional” girlfriends or boyfriends. In short, families can hire someone for their son or daughter to befriend, fall in love with and spend time with. The idea is to get them to willingly want to get out and back into the world.

In many cases, some non-profits offer job training to Hikikomori who have either been away for years or want a refresher before the start looking for work somewhere. In other cases, former Hikikomori turned business owners offer jobs to recover Hikikomori to help them build confidence. There is a lot of promise and progress but more needs to be done.

…This is my first time writing a blog post that had nothing to do with Anime or Manga but I felt it was too important to not talk about. I definitely plan to write more blogs like this in the future!

 

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