Month: June 2019

Blog Burnout: Not Letting What You Love Turn into Something You Hate!

Aside D&A Anime Blog Anime, Blogging, Filler Posts

As a blogger, you find yourself faced with the many trials and struggles that come along with blogging; setting deadlines, consistency, figuring out what content to write about, or even the fact if its relevant or not. Blogging is a 24-hour job. Even when we’re sleeping the internet is always running – ALWAYS! Whatever topic you find yourself writing about you always have to make sure that you stay up to date with whatever the topic is. For us and maybe a few of you out there, it’s anime. With the level of popularity that anime is at now than it was 20 years ago, there is always something to write about. Despite this being the case on our end, we’ve found ourselves suffering from one of the negative aspects of blogging. We have given it the term ‘Blog Burnout’!

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We’ve all suffered from this at some point…

Blog Burnout is one of those moments where you find yourself scrambling for content to write about and post; so much so that mental stress kicks in, and you decide to procrastinate more often than you should. Add in the factor that life happens at the drop of a dime and before you know it, it’s been a week since your last post (then small doses of depression kick in). Blog burnout is at its worst when combined with writer’s block, because now your mind is stuck at a dead end and you feel like there’s no way out.

That’s what happened to us in the month of May.

When you find something that you’re passionate about, you do it because it’s something that you love to do. Even if you don’t make a dime off of it you do it because it makes you happy, and quiet as it’s kept it’ll even make some of the people you’re sharing it with happy. That’s one of the reasons why we love blogging about anime; because we find so many cool people who love the same things as we do, and they’re as passionate about what they do and like as we are. So what if people make fun of you for it, its the things you love that makes you, you! As for how to curb blog burnout, here’s some tips:

1. Plan out your posts in advance!

Making a rough draft of what you’re going to write about will save you some time in the long run. Make a spreadsheet on what type of content and topics you’re going to write about, and mark down the days that the posts are going to go out. You can even schedule when the posts are going to hit and even set a time, that way you can take care of whatever ‘adult’ responsibilities you have, and still run your blog.

2. Get plenty of sleep!

This one may be a challenge for many bloggers, as we may find ourselves up past midnight blogging about our topic(s) of choice because that’s the only time where all is quiet with no responsibilities in sight. If you’re a millennial (and most of us who blog are) then you’re probably in your 30’s or probably close to them. You haven’t hit your MLC (Mid-Life Crisis) yet but at the same time you don’t have the same sleep pattern as you did in your teens and 20’s. To make sure you’re at 100% when blogging, it’s a good idea to get plenty of sleep.

3. Collab with somebody on a few posts!

Sometimes its a good idea to find ways to expand your topic of interest to write about, and even though we can do it on our own most of the time, collaborating on a post with a fellow blogger may open up the door to bigger projects and ideas down the road.

Hopefully this post will help any of you who have come up against this at some point and time in your lives. Until our next one, keep your passion alive, and stay nerdy! 🙂

Anime Cons: June/July 2019 Edition!

Aside D&A Anime Blog Anime, Con Locations, Filler Posts

Summer is officially here! This is a season filled with cookouts, beaches, parties, the 4th of July, and of course anime conventions. For this segment we’ve decided to do something a little bit different, and make it easy to find cons that we bring to you. For this post we’ll be giving you the links to the cons themselves, so that you and hopefully your friends will get the chance to check out everything that these awesome cons have to offer. As always until next post, stay nerdy! 😉

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D&A Friday’s A.O.T.W. Title: The Rising of the Shield Hero!

Aside D&A Anime Blog Anime, D&A Friday's Anime & Manga, Filler Posts

Welcome to the first day of Summer! Spring is gone, school is out, and anime convention season will be at an all-time high. With all that in mind we’ve decided to resurrect an old favorite segment of ours from way back; D&A Friday’s Anime of the Week! To celebrate the return of this awesome segment as well as kick off the first day of Summer, we’ve got a new and recent anime title for you guys n’ gals to check out, and it’s known as The Rising of the Shield Hero!

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The main cast!

Here’s the overview:

Naofumi Iwatani is an easy-going Japanese youth who happens to find himself summoned to a parallel world along with three others from parallel universes. They soon become heroes and each of them are given legendary equipment when summoned. While the three men got weapons (such as spears and swords) Naofumi got a legendary shield used as a defensive weapon – of course. Due to the betrayal of his only friend who happened to be Princess Myne, Naofumi had no choice but to become a hero on his own, but not without the help of a tanuki demi-human girl named Raphtalia as well as an egg that hatches into a bird creature girl named “Filo”. Together they work to restore the trust between the people and him, as Naofumi and his new companions become heroes of this new world, while uncovering its deepest and darkest secrets.

You can find this anime series on Crunchyroll or FunimationNow!

Until next post, stay nerdy! 🙂

 

Throwback Thursday Anime: Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Aside D&A Anime Blog Anime, Filler Posts, Throwback Thursday Anime

It’s been awhile since we’ve done one of these, but after combing the web and doing some research we’ve found an old school anime title for you to check out (if you haven’t already)! For our Throwback Thursday segment we’ll be traveling back to the 80’s to a time during the final months of WWII with a title called Grave of the Fireflies! This title is not actually an anime series, but an anime war movie produced by the legendary studio known as Studio Ghibli. (And it’s also based on a book of the same name.)

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The two siblings on a firefly-lit night…

For those who haven’t seen this anime movie classic just yet, here’s the overview of the story! On September 21, 1945 not long after the Second World War, a teenage boy named Seita dies from starvation in a train station in Kobe, Japan. Upon finding a candy tin while going through the boy’s possessions, a janitor throws the tin into a field, where the spirit of Seita’s sister Setsuko springs from the tin and joins Seita’s spirit before boarding the train. Months later their house is destroyed by a firebombing that takes out most of Kobe, leaving the two to move in with a distant aunt after their mother dies of severe burns after the bombing. Not long after the aunt starts resenting the children saying that they do nothing to bring in food as the number of refugees in the house begins to grow.

Seita and his sister eventually move to an abandoned bomb shelter where they have to live on their own and gather food for their survival. During air raids the elder sibling loots from the local farmers and brings it back to the bomb shelter, and is beaten because of it. When Seita’s sister falls ill, he takes her to the doctor to see what could be wrong with her. Upon hearing the doctor’s answer, Seita prepared for the worse…

With this title being a war story, you might want to have a box of tissues nearby. Its a heart-tugging tale of family, war, famine, and love, and if you’re looking for something of this caliber, then we insist that you check out this title!

Until next post, stay nerdy friends! 😉

Quick Updates: Music & (Possible) Podcast News!

Aside D&A Anime Blog Blog Music, Blog Updates, Filler Posts

A while back we were beating around the idea of putting together a podcast, and so far that idea is still on the table. As for our music segment, we’re implementing that feature on our sidebar in order to give our blog/website a more integrated feel. While we don’t have any main content to talk about on our (future) podcast just yet, we can say it will contain a few elements from some of the reviews that we’ve done on our Instagram page. Also with our music segment we hope to add some DJ mixes that fans can listen to along with some original works in the near future. That’s all we’ve got for updates, but there’s more posts and more excitement on the way! 🙂

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Music Segment produced by DJ Spindraulx (Donte’ Lewis of D&A)

The Newbie’s Guide To Anime Cons!

Aside D&A Anime Blog Anime, Anime Con Tips, Filler Posts

Hey guys! This is our first post in almost a month, as our internet reliability has not been on our side. However we’re working hard to make sure we get some content up for you guys to enjoy on our social media pages. With Spring coming to an end and Summer right around the corner, convention season will be at an all-time high! That’s why the good duo from D&A Anime Blog is here to help!

For many of us who are just stepping into the anime world for the first time, there will come a point in your life as a fan that you’ll find yourself wanting to go to your first anime convention. Anime meetups are awesome, but an anime convention is like a family reunion for all types of anime fans from all walks of life. It’s almost like going to summer camp, but instead you’ll be paling around with other otaku just like you! As a newbie to the convention scene you have no idea what to expect upon your first visit, so that’s why we’re breakdown everything for you in this little post we’d like to call; The Newbie’s Guide To Anime Cons by us! D&A! 😉

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DBZ x MHA Crossover?

The best place to look for a con, is right in your state!

With anime being a mainstream medium (now) there are tons of conventions happening every weekend all over North America as well as in third world countries. Some of them are big and may contain a six-figure attendance level, while others are a bit low key and less crowded. To figure out what type of convention suits you, do some research and look online for the type of anime convention you (and your friends, if they’re into anime) would like to go to. You’d be surprised at what kind of cons you can find in your own backyard, especially if you happen to live in Texas – the central hub of FUNimation. Once you found a con you want to go to, the next thing you’ll need is money. Why?

Because unless you own a bike, you’re gonna need two pairs of wheels!

Anime cons are awesome, but 99.9% of the time they’re not around the corner from your house. This means you’re gonna need a car, or call an uber or lyft if you plan on getting to your con. You’re also going to need money for your badge as well. Depending on the con itself, badges can range between $10-100 per person, and that money helps to pay for the AV equipment as well as the voice actors that you’re trying to see.

There are some conventions that are hotel-based; meaning that the con is inside of the hotel that the organization has paid for and booked. With that being the case you also need to make sure you have some money saved and stored away to take care of your hotel room (if you plan to stay the night). This is where having a couple of friends come in handy, because you’ll be able to split the cost of the room depending on how many people you bring with you to the con.

At an anime convention the biggest thing you’ll see, is cosplay! Cosplay is the holy grail of all things anime when it comes to anime conventions. Cosplay is for everybody; and no matter your size, ethnicity, or race, you can be any of the characters that you admire or even love. As a con newbie there will be so much for you to do and see while you’re there, which might be the reason why most cons are three days long. Also as a con newbie, convention safety is the con’s #1 priority. The biggest rule that you’ll most likely see is “Cosplay is NOT Consent!” which means that sexual harassment of a cosplayer is not allowed under any circumstances. If you see something or if it has happened to you, report it to the con staff as soon as possible.

The last thing you’ll probably experience as a con newbie would be what con veterans would call the “Post-con Blues”. It’s that sudden rush of depression right after a convention, where you’ve had so much fun and met so many awesome people, that once the convention is over, you’ll probably never see those people again until next year. That will bring any fan down, but the best way to combat against that would be to look for more conventions in your area, or if you’re looking to travel out of state, save your money and look for cons out of town.

Cons are awesome, and each one has a different experience for any and every fan of anime and manga, so you’ll probably have to go to as many of them as you can each year, to get a feel of the various experiences you’ll receive at any of the cons you go to. That will do it for this post as well as our newbie guide to anime cons. If you have any more questions or want more advice, you can hit us up on our Contact Us page or even check out our Anime Conventions & Cosplay Tips button on our main page.

Until next post, stay nerdy! 🙂