Dear Anime and Manga fans,

Although this can’t be said enough we just want to say thank you for all of the love and support that you’ve given us since the birth of our blog. To be honest we never thought that it would take off the way it did when we launched it back in January of 2016. Originally we wanted D&A to be a site where cosplayers can see all of their pictures online (as well as download them), but then it became something just a little bit more.

We didn’t know how well the blog was going to do after debuting it at Animore in Baltimore, MD in January of 2016, but now that we’re rapidly approaching our two year anniversary, we’re so glad we went for it when we did! We want to continue to strive towards being an anime blog that stands out from the crowd, is catered towards the fans, and wants to help promote and assist anime/manga titles from anime distributors like FUNimation, Crunchyroll, VizMedia, and more. 2017 has been a pretty good year for us regarding our first ever mini convention tour, and for 2018 we plan on continuing our quest to becoming the best!

We can’t thank you guys enough for helping us become the awesomely amazing anime blog that we are today. For that we tip our hats off to you (the fans), and once again say, THANK YOU!!!

Sincerely,

Donte’ J. Lewis and Aaron Goldman, D&A Anime Blog Founders

Well guys, we just came back from this amazing two-day convention in Claymont, Delaware, and had a blast while we were there! They really meant what they said when they were going to make this year’s convention, one of the best ones that any con goer has ever been to. Shout-outs to the staff as well as the organizer of the con itself, for making this such a terrific weekend event for geeks of all ages, races, and backgrounds!

Now with 2017 slowly but surely coming to an end, we just would like to say thank you to our many fans who have supported us throughout this entire tour! You guys have been amazing to us as we never thought the blow would blow up the way that it did. Sure, we may have been a little slow in certain places when it comes to some of our posts, but we thank you a thousand times for bearing with us and sticking buy us. We like to think of ourselves as an anime fan’s fan, because we love to see what you guys want more of from us, as well as how we can improve as a blog so that we can stand out from the masses. None of this would have ever been possible had it not been for you guys, because to us, you guys (*sniffle*) are the best!! T.T

As a special thank you for all of the support that you’ve given us, we’re in the process of creating a highlight video featuring all of the anime conventions that we’ve been going to throughout this whole year! (We’ll also be posting the Thy Geekdom Con highlights video before the week is out.) Here’s to 2018; when we return to the convention scene with our official D&A Anime Blog Panel, as well as other fun stuff for the blog. Thank you so much guys for all of your awesome faces, and now we’ll be leaving you with some post-con shout-outs! 🙂

• Aemiliaaaaaa (Artist/Cosplay/Model) FB/Instagram @Aemiliaaaaa
• Montgomery Harris (Outbreak Z) http://www.montgomeryharris.com
• Alexa Michelle Cosplay FB: AlexaMichelleCosplay, Insta @Postachild323
• Brandon Colyer (Digital/Traditional Artist) beardlander.wix.com
• Robbie DubBryan (DUBBRYAN STUDIOS) TheDubBryans@gmail.com
• Asher P (Freelance Photographer) ashphoto.org, contact@ashphoto.org
• Tahir Harris (DJ T-Bear) TBear816@gmail.com, FB: T-Bear the DJ
• Moaglin Cosplay FB: Moaglin, Twitter @Moaglinxx, Insta @Moaglinxx
• Generation Otaku (Anime Store) generationotaku.wixsite.com/store
• Elle Suda Cosplay Insta @ellesuda, DeviantART: Elle Suda Cosplay
• Captain Kyle http://www.cosplayspotlite.com
• Duhdragon Cosplay FB: duhdragoncosplay, Instagram @Duhdragon

Surprisingly, I didn’t find out about this anime title until last year. While I was writing a review for it I suddenly found myself going on Youtube, and watching the whole first season of it. Before I get into the reason as to why I’m writing this filler post, I want to personally congratulate all the voice actors and staff that worked on this title! Especially FUNimation’s favorite redhead, Jamie Marchi! (You slayed it as Junko! ^.^)

Now onto the reason for this post. Each and every one of us goes through life dealing with its high’s and low’s, ups and downs, good days and bad days. After watching the first season of Danganronpa from 2:30 to 6:45 in the morning (on a day that I didn’t have to work, thank goodness…), it got me thinking about the whole concept of hope and despair. If you’ve seen the news just recently you’ll know that just last week there was a terrible explosion that happened just after a music concert in Manchester, London. (That was later claimed by ISIS.) My heart goes out to the ones who survived, and to the families of the ones whose lives were taken from them.

When I think of despair, I think about terrorism, crime, anarchy, tragedy, depression, and all of the other nasty things that make us cry, go insane, causes our mental state to deteriorate, and breaks our hearts. Despair has no color, race, or prejudice. It’s the very thing that brings chaos and confusion to our lives without a moment’s notice. Despair can even hold us back from doing and achieving anything we set our minds to; from haters, doubters, and people who just want to see you fail. I guess this is what Hope’s Peak Academy felt like for Mokoto Naegi after looking at the DVD that Monokuma gave him; with him seeing his family in danger right before his own eyes and not being anywhere near them to save them.

Throughout the whole first season Naegi and the rest of his classmates played a murderous game of despair, while trying to figure out why Monokuma did this and what his true intent for this killing game was. It wasn’t until the thirteenth episode that I really got into (and analyzed) the show. If despair can spread like the plague, then hope can do the exact same thing!

Hope is more than just having a feeling and inkling that everything’s going to be okay. Hope is a state of mind, a state of calmness, and a state of courage and determination. Combined with all of those things as well as FAITH and PRAYER, hope can lead you to places that you thought you’d never be. Sure, things may be a little rocky right now, and the future of the country may be just a little bit uncertain for many of us (including minorities and those who are of the LGBT community), but if there’s one thing I can tell you from writing this filler post, it’s this:

God never gave us the spirit of fear.

Despair will only win if we allow it to. Despair can take away any hope that you may have for the future if you let it. We live in a time right now where we need hope the most, and that’s the message I got from watching Danganronpa. If you guys ever get a chance, google up “Never Say Never” and listen to the whole track. Trust me, you’ll look at the series that much differently than you did before.

Faith, prayer, and hope can get you through anything life can throw at you. Naegi understood this fully after what Kirigiri told him, after helping her avoid feeling despair through Junko’s words about her father (whom she killed). The one thing despair hates more than anything, is hope.

So to all of my anime fans, continue to have hope in your hearts through these times that we’re going through. Live more, laugh more, love your family and friends more. Continue to support the industry that you love, and never let anyone tell you that you can’t do anything! Remember, prayer changes things, hope opens doors, and faith keeps you going. Never, say never! 😉