Akira Toriyama is Gone at age 68

Yes, you have read the title right. I'm in just as much shock as you are. Akira Toriyama, one of my favorite manga creators, has passed away last Friday. I knew this was something I had to write about since he has provided me with so many childhood memories of which I'm utterly grateful for. My love for Dragon Ball began with the comics. Then I watched the anime. When I first saw it, it didn't connect at first that they were related to the comics that I read. I still remember asking my brothers what show they were watching on TV one day in the late 90s. They were watching Toonami and Dragon Ball Z was on. I was in awe of the artwork and animation and I immediately became obsessed. I made many friends in school thanks to this beloved anime series. I remember I wanted so much to be like Gohan and Goku. They were my inspiration to be a great person and be pure of heart. I just looked up to these characters so much. I remember wishing I could be strong like them.  

Over the years, I have collected quite a large collection of merch of the Dragon Ball Franchise. I have everything from cards, comics, manga, artbooks, figurines, toys, video games, etc. I will continue to grow my collection of this franchise for years to come. In Toriyama's honor, I will share my entire Dragon Ball franchise collection here on this page, as well as all my favorite artwork I have drawn over the years. This page is written in honor of Akira Toriyama and I want to remember this part of my life. It's the least I can do for him to show how much joy this series has brought me. I will edit this post once I have the pictures taken.

Manga Talk Episode 1: March 2024 Ribon Mascot Comics Magazine

Hello! Today, I thought I'd start a new monthly post about the top 3 shojo manga magazines that I like. That being RMC, Ciao Comics, and Nakaoyshi. I used to collect these magazines back in the late 00s and 10s. Since the year just started, I thought I'd go over these as they are released. I'll start with RMC magazine and go over the cool stuff in this month's issue. They're always a month ahead so for February, this is their March issue for 2024. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's a new series starting this month by Yuzuhara Mizuka. Some of her earliest work dates back to 2013 so she's a relatively new artist. Her longest series being Nanairo Kakumei. Her newest manga is called Tonari wa futsuu no Nijika(chan) となりはふつうのニジカ(ちゃん) .

 

 

 

 

 

Tonari no Futsuu wa Nijika(chan) is about a girl named Aira who is often misunderstood because of her super cute appearance and Nijika, who is a beautiful girl with a secret. The two girls end up living together. A new series full of thrills and surprises!

My Thoughts: This one seems interesting! Not sure if it's a GL series or just about two girls randomly becoming friends. The art looks really cute though. The artist got her debut in 2010 when she was still in Elementary school. Being so young, I can tell she's a very talented artist. I may give this series a shot if it ever gets translated.

Ao ni Rakurai is a 2022 ongoing series by Nijisawa Umi. This is her first manga series. It's a story about first love. Aozora is a high school student in her second year who is not good with boys. Unfortunately for her, the all-girls high school she attends is merging with a neighboring boys' school! On the day of the opening ceremony, she meets Raikawa, a free-spirited problem child, on the rooftop...?

My Thoughts: This manga sounds super sweet and cute. I just love first love/coming of age manga series. There are currently 4 volumes out for this one but no translations for it just yet. I would love to read this one if it ever gets an English translation. ^__^

Kanjani ∞ - Watashitachi, Saikou de Saikyou no Heroine ♡

キャンジャニ∞(エイト)～わたしたち、最高で最強のヒロイン♡～

 

 

 

This series is by Hoshiya Haiko, a relatively new artist to RMC. Not much is known about this manga or the author. The main Heroine is a girl named Maruko who is everyone's mood maker. In this months issue of RMC, is the final chapter for this series. 

Honey Lemon Soda is a 2016 series by Murata Mayu. This series is the only series in RMC magazine that's currently being published in English! Yen Press licensed the manga in 2022 and began publishing the series in January last year. So far, 4 volumes are out in English and the 5th volume will be released next month.

My thoughts: I own all 4 volumes that are out so far and I'm really loving this series! I look forward to reading more in the future and I'm hoping there will be an anime adaptation for this series.

 

No Words is by an author who goes by Maki. Not much is known about this series or the author. All that's said on Ribon's website is that it's an illustration series and no words are needed, 12 gifts.

 

Valentine Runaway is by Momose-ra mo a very short 8 page oneshot story. Not much else is known about this one or the author.

The rest of the magazine, there's still 7 ongoing popular series and 9 ongoing gag/humor manga series. Here's all the ongoing regular series...

 

 

 

 

Here's all the gag/humor manga. I'm so shocked that Animal Yokocho and High Score is still ongoing after all these years. I have not heard of any of these other titles but they look cute.

 

That's it for manga! here's a look at this months furoku/goodies. Doesn't appear to be anything too special in this months issue but still some cute stuff I guess.

That's all for this month's Ribon Mascot Comics magazine! Next month's issue, there's an new series starting which is exciting! I will post about it next month when it comes out! Thanks for checking out this blog post. 

Throwback Thursday: My 2010 Bedroom/Collection Tour

Happy February first! The year is already cruising by! In my last post, I posted photos of how my room looked like in 2005. In this one, I'll be doing the same but this time, this is how my room looked like 5 years later. I looked through my vault of photos and couldn't find anymore of my room until 2010. This time, I took much better pictures and a full view of my room. I moved into my brothers old room when he moved out in 2006. I believe 2005 was the last full year I stayed in my childhood bedroom mainly because I became a collector at that point and my collection was growing fast. I needed a room with more space for my collection and my brother's room was a bit bigger than my old room. So the wallpaper will be different as well as the closet. Anyway, here's a look at my room from when you first walk in the door and the back of my door...

 

I made a photo of me riding on flying nimbus lol. I thankfully still have the original photo in one of my old diaries. I dunno what happened to that Princess in/out door hanger though tbh. As you turn to the left of my door is my Vanity... I unfortunately do not have this vanity anymore. I had to donate it when I moved out into my current location. I have maybe half the stuff still that's on this vanity though. 

 

Next to my vanity is my dresser. That was my childhood dresser. Unfortunately, I also couldn't keep it. Mainly because the drawers were falling apart and not working well anymore. I sadly don't have the MAR GBA poster anymore either. I must have donated it or something. Would have been awesome to have that in my current game room. But yeah I still have the game systems and most of the figures on that little corner shelf. The corner shelf still lives in my parents house I believe.

 

 

 

 

Here is a full view of my dresser. That is my late cat Charlie on my bed. To the left of my dresser is my book shelves filled with my manga collection.  Sadly, I dunno what happened to that stain glass window decoration. I did that when I was a kid. They were of my late cats, Miss.Gray & Xena. My guess is it maybe broke back when we had a cleaning service people. They broke and destroyed a ton of our stuff from our childhood which I was not happy about. We just got tired of it and stopped having them come to the house.

 

 

 

 

Next is my other main bookshelf. Sorry this pic is kinda blurry though. This one here is my childhood bookshelf. Thankfully, it still lives at my parent's house. I don't have the giant monkey plush anymore cuz I gave him to my nephew years ago and he still has him. :] I still remember going to the toy store and taking him home. Wish I could remember which toy store it was. Next to this shelf, is my other anime figurine shelf. I don't have all of these figures sadly. Idk what I did with the ones I don't have anymore. 

 

Below the books is my small DS collection, my jewelry box, and some other random stuff. The orange notebook was filled with pics of my favorite anime characters. I sorta wish I still had that book. I would love to see what was inside it and what pictures I pasted in there. I think I got rid of it because I was posting my favorite anime character screenshots on the web during those days and there was no need for it anymore. There was a time in the early 00s when I wasn't able to take my own screenshots, so I saved what I could find on the internet in that notebook. One point in time, I remember using my camera to take pictures of my favorite anime characters. Taking screenshots was not easy back in the early days.

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, on the other side of my bed is my childhood Sylvanian family house and my glass animal figures. I still have this house and my glass animal figures. I still collect the little Sylvanian families and furniture for my house. Last up is my DVD collection. This was stored in my parent's basement since I didn't have room for any of this stuff in my bedroom. I still have majority of the DVDs in my collection today along with most of the GBA boxes and other on the top row of this shelf. 

 

And that does it for my bedroom & collection tour of 2010! If I find anymore pictures like this from earlier years, I will definitely post them here on my blog. Going through these old pictures have really been a blast from the past. I'm so grateful that I took them so I can look back at them. It's just hard to believe these were taken 14 years ago. I still remember 14 years ago like it was yesterday. It's insane how fast time is flying. It's important to take photos and videos of everything you want to remember from this time because 10 years from now, 2024 will become nostalgic to us which is weird to think! Anyway, thanks for viewing this post! I will write again very soon.

My Room/Anime & Manga Collection in the Year 2005

Today, I thought we could take a step back in time for #throwbackthursday to what my room was like in the year 2005. I was 17 during the time these pics were taken. I mostly captured photos of my anime/manga collection more so than my room. However, you can see bits and pieces of how it was back then. These photos were taken on July 17, 2005 at around 2:30pm. 

 

These pictures are my very first photos I took of my room and my collection. I believe I took them for a forum post on Gaia Online. I'm so happy I took these as they are now nostalgic to me. Btw, the wallpaper you see in this room is from the 90s and it still exists at my parents house in 2024 as well as my original wall border. It's the only thing in my parent's house that still has a piece left of the 90s.

 

Here, you can see my front door and what anime series I was obsessed with at the time. I was obsessed with Gohan and DBZ in general when I was younger. He still is one of my favorite characters from DBZ. I also had Zettai Shounen, Rurouni Kenshin, Mushiking, Marmalade Boy, Onegai My Melody, and Elemental Gelade pics on there. They're still very enjoyable series as of today, least I think so! I also made a sign that Rin wrote from Please Save My Earth. I thought that OVA was so cool when I was a teen. I still have my original copy of the DVD release in my collection. 

Next, here is my bed. I had a single canopy bed with my favorite stuffed animals on it at the time. I don't have much of these anymore sadly. I just can't keep it all, as much as I love my stuffed animals. I still have the two tabby cat plushies behind my pillow, the two black kitty plushies, big brown bear, and Pikachu though. That is also my late cat, Gabby, sleeping on my bed. 

 

This is my old Asus computer. I had it right next to my bed. Some of the stickers on my computer screen are from my dentist visits. I had Fushigiboshi no Futagohime playing. It was my favorite magical girl series at the time and still is one of my favorites! I'm surprised I didn't have any Futagohime pics on my door. Same with Hikaru no GO! I also had Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron stickers on my keyboard. I don't remember the exact model of what computer or keyboard I had but it was a good one. I wish I never got rid of it cuz then I could play my old computer games still. 

You can also see my old binders filled with my artwork as well as some old NewType magazines. I was heavily into drawing in high school. I still have most of my old drawings from this binder. I have since compiled all my high school drawings into one binder. I'm surprised they all fit! I'm kinda sad I don't have my NewType magazines anymore. However, I saved one of them cuz I submitted some fanart and it was shown in the magazine!

And now here is my manga/anime collection...

  

My main bookshelf: 

 

 

  

 It is a bit difficult to see the titles so I will list them in order...

Drawer 1:
Dragon Ball vol.1-10
Kodocha vol.1-10 (complete
Marmalade Boy vol.1-8 (Complete)
Ranma 1/2 vol.1-3, 5-6
Cardcaptor Sakura animanga vol.1-4

Japanese manga:
Dragon Ball animangas
Kodomo no Omocha vol.9
Dragon Ball vol.6
Hunter x Hunter vol.4
Rurouni Kenshin vol.2
Please Save my Earth vol.9

Drawer 2:
Ayashi no Ceres vol. 1-7, 10
Chrono Crusade vol.1
Demon Dairy vol. 1-3
Desert Coral vol.1
Excel Saga vol.1
Galaxy Angel vol.1
King of Bandits Jing vol.1
Naruto vol.1-2
Psychic Academy vol.1
RayEarth vol.1
Shaman King vol.1-2
Shaolin Sisters vol.1-2
Tokyo Babylon vol.1
Tokyopop Sneaks 2005
Tsubasa Chronicles vol. 1-3
XXXHolic vol.1
Yu Yu Hakusho vol.1-2
Princess Knight vol.1-5 (Bilingual Edition)

Drawer 3:
Azumanga Daioh vol.1-4 (Complete)
Fake vol. 1-7  (complete)
Suki vol. 1-3 (Complete)
Flame of Recca vol. 1-7
Alice 19th vol.1-6
Ginga Legend Weed vol.1-3 (discontinued in English)
Saiyuki vol.1

That's it for my collection and room in 2005! I couldn't read all the series unfortunately that were blocked by my drawers. If any of you know what the titles are that I didn't list, definitely leave a comment down below! But yeah, I still own a ton of what is seen here in these photos. Some of it I got rid of because I didn't like a series or couldn't get into it. Or the series was just too long to collect for. There were many reasons why I got rid of some things and kept some others after all this time. I got rid of most of the bootleg stuff. Kept only the ones that are complete and aren't officially released in my country. I do plan on maybe trying to get some of it back in my collection so I can see if I can enjoy it or not. I really wish I got a couple full view pics of my room instead of just my collection but I'm still grateful that I took these. 

If any of you reading this are young, I highly recommend taking photos of your room. Especially full views and of your collections. They will eventually become nostalgic treasure troves in the future when you become my age. I hope you enjoyed reading today's post and I hope you have a great rest of your day!

My Christmas 2023 Haul

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Sorry I'm a bit late in posting this! I haven't done a Christmas haul post in quite some time. The one and only one I made was back in 2015. It's been almost 10 years! I will try to continue posting what I get every year because it's so fun to look back on what I got. Here's a photo of all the main stuff that I got this year...

DVD's:
- Moncolle Knights Japanese version SDBD (Gift to self)

- Kodocha Part 2 SDBD (Gift to self)

Games: 

- Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse (GameCube)

- Nicktoons Unite (GameCube)

- God of War Ragnarok (PS4)
- Baldo (Nintendo Switch, gift to self)
- Sonic Super Stars Nintendo Switch (Gift to self)

Manga:

- Dragon Quest Dai no Daibouken vol.1

- Honey Lemon Soda vol.1
- Chibi Devi vol. 11 (Japanese)

- Welcome to Demon School vol.1

Clothes:
- Winter coat (Blue)

Other:
- Foreign money
- Korean fan
- iPad 9th Generation + Stylus Pen
- Gengar Poster
- Calico Critters Reindeer family (gift to self)
- Amazon Basics Yoga mat (gift to self)
- Frieza Funko pop/shirt gift set

And that's it for this year! Some stuff listed was from friends and stuff I bought myself. I bought quite a lot for myself this time. I didn't photograph them but decided to make note that I got them for myself and from friends. Otherwise, I did get everything I asked for. I wanted an iPad to practice my drawing skills and use it to help with my Japanese studies. I also got the ProCreate app on my iPad the day after Christmas to use as a drawing pad and that's it! I didn't get anything else. I hope everyone had a great Christmas this year.

Stop Blaming Anime for Society’s Modern Problems

Lately, I have been seeing anime getting a bad wrap once again and quite frankly, I'm tired of it. As I stated in the title, anime is not to blame for today’s societal issues. None whatsoever! So let's just stop with all that nonsense. If you fully disagree with me or even somewhat, then read on. If you don't already know what anime is, anime is just animation aka cartoons made from Japan. Anime is short for animation and animation equals cartoons. They're all the same. Only difference is they are made in a different country. Different countries have different cultural standards. The stories are most of the time, fictional with fictional characters. None of it is real on the fictional side of it (Duh). 

I wanted to address the toxicity of people's thoughts on anime and how they're tying it to our political issues. I hear of people talking about how anime links to transgenderism, LGBTQ, SJWs, feminism, etc. simply because many of them like it. Basically, putting all the blame on anime. Just because many of them like it, doesn't mean anime should be blamed for their awkwardness. There's many non LGBTQ folks who are also interested in anime. It's not anime's fault nor is it theirs. Sure yeah, anime is popular with the millennial & gen z generation but again, anime is not the issue.

Most people get into anime when they’re entering their awkward stage in life (pre-puberty or puberty stage). It’s the most awkward time of our lives and it’s the time when we’re most easily influenced. When I watched anime, in my most awkward stage in life, there was hardly any LGBTQ in them, if any at all. A lot of the stuff I watched was very kid friendly and age appropriate. Not all anime has these kinds of influences. If your kid or teen really wants to get into anime, you as the parent, must help them find what is appropriate for them to watch for their age. You  have to be extremely careful about what your teens are watching or are up to. As I said, at this age, this is when they are the most influenced because they are trying to find out who they are as a person. We've all been there.

I can definitely relate to this because that was exactly the time that I got into anime as well. I was so incredibly awkward and uncomfortable in my own skin. I found comfort in anime because it distracted me from figuring out all that stuff because I didn't want to think about it. I just really didn't care until I got much older and my brain had fully developed. I also got into anime because the story telling was so different from American animation.

I know anime does have some of this stuff in it but it is in fact, the parent’s job to monitor what their kids are watching and or doing. If they don’t want their kids to be influenced in any way shape or form, it’s their job to research these shows and see if it’s safe for their children/teens to watch. You now have to do this with modern American entertainment. Same thing with monitoring their smart devices. Kids can be easily influenced on all of these social media apps but like I said, the parents have to keep a close watch on what their kids are doing. That said, anime is not to blame here. In case you haven't figured it out already, their parents are 100% the ones at fault here.

TLDR, anime isn’t the problem for today’s societal issues. If anyone is to blame, it would 100% be the parents. It’s their job as the parent to monitor everything their young ones are watching and or doing. A word of advice for parents reading this, if you're that worried about any anime having weird stuff in it that you think isn't appropriate for your young ones, do some research on it; or watch it yourself first and see if you think it's safe for your kiddo to watch and enjoy. So stop blaming anime, stop blaming smart devices, and stop blaming social media, or whatever. and instead, start blaming yourselves for not doing a better job as a parent for not monitoring your kids properly. I have seen over 200 anime series and I know for a fact that not every anime, has this weird influencing crap in it. You just have to be aware of what kinda content is in that anime first before you expose the young generation to it.

By the way, I'm just as tired of the LGBTQ community trying to influence the younger generation with their crap. If it's your own kid, fine but stop trying to influence other people's children. I have no issues with adults who are gender dysphoric or LGBTQ or whatever, as long as they leave minors alone and are not influencing them with this stuff at all then that's fine. Kids can figure that stuff out later after their brains have fully developed. I'm also just tired of anime being tied into people's politics. Anime is meant to be for entertainment purposes only. Same with video games and movies. None of this should have anything to do with politics or other people's ideologies. Entertainment is meant to be a way to escape from this awful reality that we are currently experiencing. Since so many people love entertainment, it's an easy way for this crap to sneak in there so sadly, you do have to be careful now and research what's safe and what isn't. Doesn't matter if it's anime, or American cartoons, or video games. You have to check all of it.

With that, I think that about covers this post. Thank you all for reading and I hope you all have a lovely week.