Hello all, and welcome to my fifth and final official entry in The Animanga Festival, hosted by Auri and Nairne over at Manga Toritsukareru Koto!
We’ve come a long way, and here, during the “Best of Blogging” week, I offer you my final celebrations with an inspiring prompt if I do say so myself. Today’s a day for recognition and appreciation as many of us tackling the day’s prompt ask ourselves, “Who is the blogger who motivated us to be great?” That is to say, “Who is the one that brought you to where you are, as well as continues to push you to strive for your best?”
While I personally take inspiration for any person who likes my posts, comments on them, or even just drops by to peep in on things, I would be remissed if I didn’t give extra special thanks to the one who’s been with me since the beginning. I think you all know her quite well by now.
Thank You, LitaKino, for all you’ve done for me!
No surprises there, right? Guys, Lita has been my biggest support system for as long as I can remember blogging here at the cafe. Many will describe her as fun, crazy, goofy, hardworking, and heavily involved in the community—to which you’d be exactly right! But—and not to sound selfish or creepy—what I have with Lita feels extra special. It’s not just surface deep; it’s a genuine friendship.
For one, we both love seaside settings (which is rare) and the mecha genre, sharing a mutual infatuation for shows like Free!, A Lull in the Sea (NagiAsu), and Gargantia. This means that whenever something related to either of those two starts airing or is released, we’re both the first to usually let the other one know about it AND fan the heck out of it.
Naturally, when she initially approached me for a collab idea and we succeeded in churning out our Free! collab just a couple months back, it was and still is a highlight from this year. You could even call it a dream come true, believe it or not! I’m so happy we did that together, and I look forward to the next thing we scheme up.
So, you could say we have similar tastes in shows. We’re also both big on collecting, from buying the latest Blu-rays (or browsing eBay for bargains) to stocking up on manga. (The only huge difference there is that she actually reads the stuff she buys, whereas it seems to take me five months just to read three volumes. I know, I’m workin’ on it!) Whenever she posts pictures of her shelves, it just makes me reflect on my own collection and how much each title in it means to me.
Now, about blogging, Lita writes a lot more frequently than I do—and perhaps that’s why she’s a big inspiration for me as someone who comparatively posts much more sparsely. Whether a series review or a personal reflection, every time she puts something out into the world from her #LitaLaboratory, I am reminded that I should be getting on it too! In her reviews especially, what she writes is quite honestly her opinion about something; she gives it to you as it is, as she feels it, and I admire that honest writing style of hers.
She’s also incredibly supportive—and you all can probably vouch for this about her as well (#ThugLita stans). Lita’s always going around sharing my stuff, bringing in new audiences to my writing, and her comments never fail to put a smile on my face. Back during OWLS’ early years when it was just Kat, Naja, and Lita running the live stream, I always made the time to especially pop in to hear what she had to say about my stuff, as well as thank her and the other ladies in the comments. (Spoiler alert, she’s too kind.)
On top of all this nice stuff she’s done for me, she never once told me not to pursue YouTube, even if she herself was going through a period where she didn’t know what she wanted to do with her channel. I never did get around to starting a channel, but it’s the encouragement that counts. Same for Instagram, but, well, perhaps I should just say “stay tuned.”
Ok, plus, she sent me a LETTER. Sure it was for our OWLS little secret Santa card exchange, but y’all, Y’ALL, I still keep it with my small collection of letters from my dear friends around the globe.
The long and short of things is this: Where Lita goes, good company follows her. I’ve never run into a sour apple who was also a friend of Lita’s, and quite often, I end up becoming friends with the same peeps she does. In fact, I probably met over half of you just through her, and now I consider myself great friends with many of you guys! Her kindness comes in waves, and each time it arrives along the shoreline, I make sure to dip my feet in.
She’s a self-made gal, a good ol’ time, and I honestly don’t know where I’d be without her. Lita, you’re way too good for me—too good for us all!—and I can’t thank you enough for being such an amazing friend!
So if you see her around, be sure to give her a high-five and a hug from me. Lita is one of the sweetest bloggers out there—but I’m sure you already know that by now. If you’re not already following LitaKino Anime Corner and all of the crazy shenanigans she cooks up there, what are you waiting for?? Go see for yourself what this awesome person from down under—who does too many things on the interwebs involving anime—is like. If your relationship turns out to be anything like ours has been, I guarantee that your blogging experience will only go up further from here!
The Festivities Come to an End
For me, that is. Many other bloggers will continue writing for The Animanga Festival throughout these next several days, so be sure to follow them through to the end. But alas, it’s time for me to bid the festivities farewell. This stop is where Takuto gets off—and what better way to end than by celebrating a beloved friend in the aniblogger community.
Below are links to each of the days I’ve written for. I had a blast answering each of these prompts, especially the Trip Itinerary, so please check ’em out of you have a minute or two!
10/2 ~ Anime/Manga You’d Introduce to a First-Timer
10/5 ~ Trip Itinerary to Places You’d Like to Visit in Anime/Manga
10/10 ~ A Collection of Your Best Works
10/19 ~ A Crossover You’d Love to See
10/24 ~ A Blogger Who Motivated You to be Great
And again, thank you so very much to Auri and Nairne for bringing me out here and inviting me in on all the fun. Participating in The Animanga Festival has reminded me about the joys of blogging, and that not every post has to be a review for it to be fun and engaging. Additionally, I haven’t blogged this much in a single month in years, and so for that reason alone, my gratitude is immeasurable. I sincerely hope everyone had as much fun reading my posts as I did writing them, and until the next one, this has been
– Takuto, your host
Takuto's Anime Cafe 