This post is my entry for @anomadsoul's My 2018 - This is my Hobby Contest. Please check out his post about the contest. It would be very interesting for more people to join! Let's all talk about our precious hobbies! Also, thanks to my friend @yasu24 for sharing me the link of this interesting contest.
LET's START! ^^
As most of my friends and followers here know, I am someone who enjoys doing a lot of things. I have a lot of hobbies that I become undecided on what to do first. For the record, I love watching anime, reading manga, writing poems and stories, drawing, painting and a whole lot more.
However, in this entry, I am going to introduce my ultimate hobby, which is watching anime and how it gave birth to my other hobbies.
When did I start this hobby?
IMAGE SOURCE: This is a schedule of various anime broadcasted in one of the Philippine TV Networks
I basically grew up watching Japanese anime. When I was around five or six years old (end half of the 90s), almost all of the Philippine TV networks broadcasted various Japanese anime. In one channel you can watch Dragon Ball Z, in another you can watch Sailor Moon, there's Samurai X in one and Ranma 1/2 in another. Philippine TV during that time was full of Japanese animation series which were dubbed in our language. I, just like most of the 90s kids, was greatly indulged in this Japanese subculture. To be honest, I miss those childhood moments when I and my cousins race going to our grandmother's house so we could watch anime together. Anime is a great highlight to my childhood years.
As time passed by, the number of Japanese anime shown on Philippine TV decreased, but with the aid of the Internet, I was able to continue doing this hobby. I'm now 27 years old and I still watch anime every day! It has been an integral part of my system for more than 20 years now. I'm sure I'd still watch anime even when I reach my retirement age.
Why do I love watching anime?
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There are just times in our lives that we want to escape from reality. Escape from the real world and travel to a world of fantasy to be merry and free. The anime world is my greatest escape. It's my ultimate stress reliever. Would you believe me when I say anime heals my soul... and even my physical being?
I remember one time I was having asthma attacks and was running a fever. I couldn't sleep because my asthma was making me feel uncomfortable. So, I decided to escape to the anime world in order for me not think of my current condition. And guess what? I was healed. (lol) Perhaps it's because of my decreased stress level that I was able to relax both in mind and body.
Watching anime gives me a certain feeling of happiness and contentment that I couldn't find somewhere else. It's like a friend you can count on anytime and no matter what you're feeling at the moment. It's just there... ready to cheer you up and pave the way for you to move forward.
WATCHING ANIME GAVE BIRTH TO MY OTHER HOBBIES
As I have mentioned earlier, I enjoy doing a lot of things but actually all my other hobbies were influenced by my main hobby which is watching anime. Unfortunately, some people think that watching anime is plain useless. An otaku or an anime freak like me might even be criticised and stereotyped in some parts of the world. So, I want to prove them wrong. The anime world isn't as useless and as dark as you think it is. Anyway, let me expound how anime watching gave birth to my other hobbies.
DRAWING AND PAINTING
Anime is basically the main reason why I started drawing or painting. From watching various anime with different art styles, my passion for arts was ignited. My older cousin used to keep a "Pokemon" poster on the door of his cabinet. This poster contains all of the first generation pokemon and they were very interesting to look at. Using that poster as our reference, my cousins and I started drawing pokemon characters on our notebook. Later on, it evolved to Dragon Ball Z, Yuyu Hakusho, Hunter X Hunter and other anime characters which were very popular on TV that time.
I started with sketching, drawing, coloring using crayons, colored pencils and finally painting. Painting is my favorite among all and from time to time, I paint anime characters and even my own original characters. I don't usually draw anime characters of anime which I haven't seen yet. I draw what I love... I need inspiration! So mostly, when I watch a certain anime and find a character which is very interesting for me, then I draw that certain character. <3
WRITING POEMS
Believe it or not, most of my poems were inspired by anime. Sometimes, I randomly watch anime and find scenes or lines that would really struck me. An example of this is the screenshot of a poem above, which I made a few days ago. "Bounce Back In Life" is a poem I made upon watching the anime called "Giant Killing".
There was a part in "Giant Killing" when the main character said these lines, "Do your best no matter how many times you fail. All you need is that one time. Make the spectators cheer for you. Have your opponents tremble in fear. Bring out the power of GIANT KILLING in you."
Did you notice how these lines from the anime inspired me to write the poem above? Watching anime brings in a lot of ideas in my mind. It allows me to think about how I should live my life. It might sound crazy, but yeah... anime is really a part of me.
Cosplaying and Going To Conventions
I sometimes cosplay and oftentimes attend cosplay conventions in my area. It's always so fun to go to these kinds of events for you'll get to meet a lot of like-minded people. Of course, I wouldn't be into cosplaying or going to cosplay events if not for my love of anime.
Watching anime opened a way for me to be another person with people of the same interest. It allowed me to experience "another world" inside the real world. I can actually talk about anime for hours with my friends during conventions... and even on random days. hihi ^^
LISTENING AND SINGING TO JAPANESE SONGS
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
I fell in love with Japanese music because of anime. When I was young, although the anime broadcasted on Philippine TV was dubbed in my language, the opening and ending songs were still in Japanese. I couldn't sing in Japanese back then because I don't know the lyrics so I just hummed along.
Now, my love of Japanese music grew ever so big that my playlist is composed mostly of Japanese songs. I love singing them too... Unfortunately, "Karaoke" in the Philippines has limited Japanese songs so I could rarely sing them there. However, some Japanese people posted karaoke versions of Japanese songs on Youtube, so I could enjoy singing them at home. Well, I can always sing along while watching the opening and ending part of the anime, too.
LEARNING THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
もちろん、これも私の趣味です！アニメが大好きだからね～！(Of course, this is also my hobby. It's because I love anime!) Someday, I will be able to watch anime without subtitle!!! Well, I can do it now but I only understand around 30-50% at most. hahaha~
Because of my love for anime, I wanted to know more about the country which produced it. Because of anime, I tend to love Japan and everything in it... the culture, the language, the people, etc.
Inspiring People Through Writing
Since watching anime made me feel inspired, I wanted to use this hobby to inspire others as well. Above is a screenshot of my previous blog way back December of 2012. As you can see the highlighted part in the picture as quoted:
"I write coz I love doing it.. I write to express myself.. and to inspire people..
And creating this blog is for that purpose..
I want use my “being an Otaku/JAPANophile” into something useful…"
Even before Steemit, I try my best to write in order to inspire and I write with the anime I watch in mind. Now that I'm on Steemit, I got more audience to inspire. I made a motivational series. It usually comes with an anime review first, then the motivational part comes after it. If you're curious as to how I inspire people using anime. CHECK THIS OUT.
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I am just so glad to find something that I can be very passionate about. Watching anime is never a waste of time for me especially now. In the past, I watch anime to make myself feel better and to change my way of thinking. Through watching anime, I was able to discover other things where I can pour my time, passion and effort on.
I got the chance to discover myself more. I got the chance to think about life in various perspectives. I got the chance to express myself and inspire others. Who would have thought that a simple hobby of anime watching can bring about a great change not only in my life but to the people around me.
Now, through Steemit, I can earn by watching anime. Because the things that I enjoy doing... the things that were given birth by my anime watching... my artworks, poems, anime review and motivational series... are being compensated. <3
I will continue watching anime for as long as I live. I will continue making artworks, poetry pieces, inspirational write ups inspired by anime. I will let my passion for these hobbies grow and influence others in as many ways as possible. My entry ends here... I got some anime to finish. hihi ^^ Thanks a lot @anomadsoul for this opportunity. Until next time!
I'll end this post with a quote from Sakata Gintoki of the anime GINTAMA:
If you have time to think of a beautiful end, then live beautifully until the end.
それではまた～
Love lots, @tegoshei