Where my soul belongs

There is no precedent for changing my blog service, I was totally fine with livespaces. However, I need something fast...something easier to access...something that I already have an account for, since I resent sign-up procedures. Anyway, this will be my rant space for a while being.

Oh btw, about the blog title, I feel that represents my present situation. Anime and games and anything with J-tags is all the rage even outside of Land of Rising Sons, but in Malaysia it is very much a subculture. No one can openly admit they like anime, for there is little differentiation from 'cartoons' or 'kiddie shows' over here. Doing so will instantly earn you 'the eye': looks of contempt from your peers who think it is much cooler to watch serials such as Lost, House, etc

I wish I could name more examples of these 'hip' titles, but not being able to do proves that I'm not a trend-follower, even if I am a very conformist person in real life. Ha, it's only that my 'ticks' are different than your average Malaysian. Anime culture has been around for a while, but they are quite restricted to the kiddie section, starting with the timeless 4D pocket of our beloved cat-from-the-future, Mr. D.

My foray into this culture that changed my life was on sat-tv, Astro...on a certain channel named AXN, which showcases some anime from time to time. The movie of You're Under Arrest, or Taiho Sichauzo in Japan was being shown and from that moment on, I was hooked. From buying original DVD's (40 ringgit a pop at that time), to leeching my fren's collection, and eventually reaching the mecha of downloading them myself using bittorrent, my life has basically been dominated by anime, during hours in which I find myself not tormented by tests, exams, outings or ex's.

I pride myself on overwatching my original master, the ONE who showed me that fansub anime kicks the stuffing out of HK-subs which are released in Malaysia. There should be around 200+ titles on my personal anime account over at www.animenfo.com in which I go the username 'skuld2k1'

My love for anime is hard to explain, it gives me the same spectrum of emotions from playing a very good game (for me, Metal Gear Solid and FF 9 comes to mind). The best thing is that I can feel that the passion of Japanese people towards their anime beaming towards me from my CRT monitor. It is most additive, and although not all anime are created equal, I soon found myself even more engrossed in this 'subculture'.

How I wish I could visit the motherland of this great phenomenon of anime, Japan. There are many places, and experiences that I would like to partake in, such as cosplay cafes and comicfests. However, my situation in campus will not forgive such selfishness of the heart, even if my bank account says yes (well it's not really that good at the moment, sadly speaking). There must be some chance in the future, but when will that be I cannot fathom within my foggy mind, now recovering from another buzz of good' ol' anime. My country is my home, and I would like to remain that way, but my otaku soul belongs to some far-east country far within reach.

Thus, my body and mind may be happy here, but something inside of me felt like it doesn't fit in there, like a mismatched nut in a complex machine. I can still work, but until the day that I find solace in the haven of Akihabara or the Comicfest twin towers, I shall remain an otaku incomplete, trapped within myself.