User:Luxartisan

Not much to tell until I start talking. ;D

I am an ancient otaku. In fact, I'm so ancient that I was an otaku before the word "otaku" was coined - so there! Well, I enjoy anime and always have, ever since I was five years old and Osama Tetzuka's Astro Boy (the original, not the remake) was shown on television on one of the more obscure networks of the day. I don't  know why, but I loved the drawing style and I have to admit that Astro Boy, with his spiky hair and rocket-feet was my first anime "crush." Yes, it's true; but I was fascinated with the visual style of it, too. It was unlike any other "cartoon" I had ever seen (think early Popeye) and it resonated with something in my psyche. Maybe it was the fact that it had a real "story" that I could empathize with or maybe it was just Astro Boy!

Anyway, I was hooked without even knowing that it was Japanimation (later shortened to anime) that had entered my creative soul. After that came Kimba, the White Lion; Speed Racer and Gigantor. Loved each and every one without understanding why. I was already in elementary school by the time Voltron and Belle and Sebastian got rolling and then, in high school, I became too "cool" for Sailor Moon and its descendants, like Pokemon. Real Life intervened with first career, marriage, family, grad school, second career - y'know - all that stuff and that, I thought, is that.

My youngest son was heavily into videogames like StreetFighter and Mortal Combat and so, I was re-introduced to Japanese art in that way. Then off he goes to NYU and comes home with DVDs of Cowboy Bebop, Berserk and ''Evangelion. '' What's that? Anime, Mom. Oh. ::shrug::  Princess Mononoke was being shown at a local university and something told me to go and see it, which I did. Unfortunately(?), it was subbed and, in my naivete, put me to sleep; but the seed was planted and home I went to watch those DVDs that my son brought home. Deah Gott! This was Japanimation - only better! Waaaay better!! But DVDs were all I thought existed.

At the same time, I was an obsessed X-Files fan and a well-respected fanfiction writer in that fandom for over nine years, so I was a little slow to jump on the anime bandwagon and its accompanying fanmedia. Then, somehow, in 2008, I started actively looking for anime online. There weren't nearly as many viewing sites as there are today, but I found one. The first anime series I ever watched online was Chobits - adorable, right? Then came Blood+ and Death Note.  I was a goner. I've kept a running list of all the anime I've since watched and it's...well...a lot. My list of what I still want to watch is just as long and I've become a certified and certifiable otaku.

Fast forward to December 2012. With the "end of the world" pending, I splurged some hard-earned cash and purchased the dubbed version of Blood+. Watched it and was captivated all over again - on the story, the characters, the dynamics of Saya and Haji, the artwork, all of it. I felt compelled to write again and, hence, my re-entry into fanfiction and my intro to manga, as well. '''I currently have several stories under "luxartisan" catalogued on FanFiction.net (ffnet), Archive of Our Own (AO3), and one in process on Wattpad. Two of them are Blood+ related.''' I don't FB, Tumble, Tweet, pin, heart, Instagram, Snapchat, or whatever in that regard. I may try Tumblr; then again, I may not. Meanwhile, participating in various Wikis satisfies my otaku cravings. If anyone is interested, I'd love to share my stories with you.

You know, back in the day, anime was a quirky subniche of the sci-fi culture but the 80's began to see growth even though there was little subbing and no dubbing at all. The big names at the Cons were Star Trek and Star Wars, but eventually the gaming community muscled in and people began to notice anime. Wikipedia and the entire Wiki movement also contributed to the growth of so many fandoms it's crazy. So now, high schools (like mine) have anime clubs. I guess it's really true when they say, "What goes around, comes around." Suddenly, I'm "cool" because I know about anime when, really, I've known about it for most of my life and thought I was quirky. Now I know better. I am quirky, but I like what I like and don't worry much what other people think of me, but being "cool" at this stage of life is rather fun. Not much else to say...for now.