Okay, picture yourself having finished watching an anime title, and immediately jumping on the web to chat it up with your online fan buddies afterwards. You then do a  Google search on the series that you’ve just finished watching, and find tons and tons of fan material on it. (i.e. fan fiction, fan art, cosplay pictures, etc.) Whenever you find out another person likes the series you’ve just watched, you instantly become friends. Everything about the series you’ve watched is awesome; the story, the fandom, the whole nine yards!

Okay, now fast-forward ahead by ten years. Do a Google search of the same series that you’ve watched ten years ago, and see if people are still talking about it online. Head to any fan fiction or fan art site and see if those same stories and artwork from the fans you met back then, are still visible on the site. Notice anything different? The fan fiction stories you’ve once read are not there anymore (or not being posted as often), cosplay pics from the series are scarce, and if you go to an anime convention, only two people out of 40,000+ attendees cosplay as the characters from the series you’ve just watched.

Yep, you’ve realized you’re in a dying fandom.

We’ve all been there, but what do you do about it? Before we answer that question, here’s five ways (or five signs rather) to identify if you’re in a fandom ‘Dead Zone’.

5. When its Original Source Material Disappears

The digital age is more powerful today than it was when it first got started. Many ways anime producers got their product out to the masses (and is still relevant today) was through movie advertisements, commercial promos, and now, social media! It’s so easy to promote anime and share it with the fans in this modern day and time, but what happens when fans can no longer find source material on the title(s) that they’re passionate about? Does it mean that the fandom is dead? Not entirely…

4. Rare Cosplay Sightings

Anime conventions are a part of the otaku lifestyle, and with that comes the ‘usual suspects’ of cosplay. (i.e. Naruto, SAO, DBZ to name a few.) A. Goldman an I were big fans of Negima! Magister Negi Magi when it first came out (before Sentai Filmworks bought the rights from FUNimation), but after ten years of going to cons we’ve only found one or two souls cosplaying as Asuna, Ayaka, or Negi Springfield – out of 40,000+ people.

3. When it’s Infected with Trolls (aka Internet Cockroaches)

Or as we like to call them, ‘Internet Cockroaches’. There are many great fandoms out there who have diehard fans in them, but at the same time you also have to worry about the many cockroaches that crawl around on the dark parts of the chat room. This is very troubling for current fans in the fandom, and makes it easy for them to manipulate new fans to turn against the current ones through lies and deceit. If you want to save your fandom from evil, digital heroes (like OWLS) are only a tweet away…

2. When New Fans question the mental state of Old Fans of said Fandom

There are fandom trolls, and there are ‘fandom asylums’. Nothing will drive a new fan away from a fandom better than a ‘toxic environment’ created by existing fans’ digitally ill-willed actions. The My Little Pony fandom is a prime example of this, as many fans of the show are rather hesitant in identifying themselves as ‘bronies’ because of the negative reputation its been getting.

1. When a fandom loses its Core Values

That is the fandom-killing blow of any fandom! If an anime title is promoting peace and fighting against discrimination of any kind, you would expect that the fans of its fandom would follow the same mantra in their groups, or meetups. Once a fandom forgets the core values of the title from which the values are portrayed, then the fandom is nothing more than a ‘hollow shell of a lost cause’. This means that younger generations of the fandom will know the characters of the fandom’s title, but not the real message behind it. And that is a crying shame.

There are many symptoms that can be spotted and identified when it comes to being in a dying fandom. However, it is difficult for a fandom to actually ‘die’. If there are two or more people still talking about a title, movie, or a show years after its ended, then its fandom is not truly dead. Small fandoms are not dying fandoms just because there’s not a lot of activity going on in them, where as if a big fandom falls, it falls hard. Fast!

Hey there guys! I know that tonight we were supposed to do our bi-weekly D&A Friday’s post, but tonight, I wanna talk about how I first got into anime. For many of us the stories of how we found ourselves trying to get senpai to notice us, can be traced back to the early years of our lives. As for me, that story can be traced back as far as 1995…

1995 – 2000: The Saban Entertainment Era (aka The VHS Era)

Back when I was in the second grade, I watched a lot of cartoons as many of you probably have back in the early/mid 90’s. Back then there was shows like the original X-Men, Spiderman, The Fantastic Four, and so many others. I was also a big Nintendo nerd as well, so when the Super Mario Bros. show would come on every Saturday morning, I was right there with a big bowl of Captain Crunch! (Shout-out to the Captain, and we’re not talkin’ about Ginyu…yet.)

In fact, back then the first time I watched anime was in 1995. My first ever anime title was Samurai Pizza Cats, and even though the plot is kinda vague to me now as a guy in his late 20’s, I still remember the opening theme like it was yesteryear. Between 1997-1999 I found myself watching the DIC/Saban dub of Sailor Moon, and eventually Dragon Ball Z; the true gritty animation version that 2nd Gen Millennials (or post-Millennials) would call “Caveman Dragon Ball”, causing many 1st Gen Millennials (like myself) to go medieval on their Twitter feed. FYI, 1st Gen Millennials are those born between 1985-2003, and 2nd Gen 2004-Present. We also got cable around this time, so this was also the time period where I started watching the first broadcast of Toonami on Cartoon Network.

2000 – 2005: The FUNimation Entertainment Era (Not for you, but for me)

As I mentioned before I found myself watching more anime when Toonami was broadcasted. During this five year period I was watching a mix of both Eastern and Western animation; such as Tenchi Muyo (Original), Sailor Moon, DBZ, Pokemon, Mon Colle Knights, Digimon, Jackie Chan Adventures, Batman: The Animated Series, Freakizoid, and even Speed Racer (and he came out in the 70’s)! In 2002 a new tread would emerge that would rival the DBZ fandom, and that was Naruto.

Honestly, I hated it when it first came out because it wasn’t, well, Dragon Ball Z. Now before you start slamming those fingers on your keypad and try to digitally reprehend me for saying such a thing, just know that I didn’t start getting into it until the Chunin Exams Arc (two seasons later). I was also in Middle School at this time, and this is right around the time I met my best friend of 15+ years; Aaron M. Goldman, the blog’s secondary founder.

2005 – Present: College Years, Anime Conventions, and D&A Anime Blog

The FUNimation Channel was the highlight for many of us who were able to afford DISH satellite, as for me I was still kind of limited to just Cartoon Network and Comcast. In 2008 I went to my first ever anime convention in Baltimore, MD known as Otakon. Back then I had no idea there was even such a thing, but when I went, I was exposed to a world that would be the cornerstone of this anime blog. Aaron didn’t start going with me to Otakon until 2010, and for the next eight years that convention was our annual otaku hangout spot!

In the Summer of 2015 we received word that Otakon was going to have is farewell year next Summer at the Baltimore Convention Center. It was also the same year that D&A Anime Blog came into fruition.

The anime titles I watched during this period expanded well from just DBZ. I was watching titles like Negima!, The Sacred Blacksmith, Sekirei, Corpse Princess, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, Danganronpa, and so many more! Since the blog launched back in January of 2016, I now find myself connecting with the voice actors behind hundreds of my favorite anime characters. It’s been a fun 20+ years as an anime fan, as it has gotten me through some tough times while at the same time, helping me make new friends! 🙂

Hey there anime guys n’ gals! This is a special filler post that we’re calling our D&A Crunchyroll Spotlight, where we highlight a new anime title that you can stream on Crunchyroll’s anime streaming library! Tonight’s entry deals with the struggles that can plague and effect the life of an MMORPG player, in this anime title known as Recovery of an MMO Junkie!

Overview Breakdown:

Moriko Morioka is a 30-year-old woman with a successful career at a corporate job, but decides to quit it in order to before a full-time NEET and find a more fulfilling life. She finds herself playing an online MMORPG called Fruits de Mer and creates a male avatar character named Hayashi for herself in the game. Hayashi meets another in-game character named Lily who is a high-level character who helps him learn how to navigate through the game. Eventually Hayashi joins Lily’s guild called @HomeParty, while in the Real World Moriko encounters a company employee named Yuta Sakurai, who possibly might have ties with her online life.

If you like titles like And You Thought There is Never a Girl Online or Gamers, then you’re gonna love this Crunchyroll selection. Although it’s only ten episodes long with an OVA, its a nice slice-of-life comedy to check out. We’ve got more filler posts coming your way, as well as new anime conventions for the month of March! Stick around! 😉

In the anime world there are as many villains as there are heroes, or protagonists. If there is any trope that we otaku are familiar with when it comes to the battle between good and evil, it is the “tragic backstory” trope that is common in some anime titles (as well as many comic books and North American cartoons). Depending on the series or character sometimes this trope is good, and sometimes it could use a little improvement in the execution department. However there comes a time in a fan’s life when they come across that one villain who’s a little more ‘exotic’ in terms of personality, physicality, and the reason why they took the road of darkness in the first place.

For this filler post we’re going over the five things you didn’t know about Danganronpa’s ultimate mastermind, Junko Enoshima. FYI, if you’re familiar with the Danganronpa franchise (games and anime series), then you’re probably well aware of the story behind the Ultimate Despair. If not, then get ready for this!

5. She’s The Most Unique Villain

When it comes to villains or supervillains we usually look for a tragic or sad backstory that made the individual (be it guy or gal) turn heel in the first place. That’s not the case for Junko; in fact the developers of the franchise thought that Junko shouldn’t have a tragic backstory as to why she became so despairingly villainous, she just was! We eventually found out the real reason for her ‘heelism’ (I know, that’s not a word but it should be) was because of her analytical talent – which bored the hell out of her. This caused her to create multiple personalities (including her Monokuma one) and switch between them just to keep her entertained.

She truly believed despair was the one things that would save her from boredom, and that the rest of the world should experience that with her. The scary part of all this is the fact that she has no real reason to commit the actions that she committed, which is why out of all the anime villains, she’s the most dangerous and unable to reason with.

4. Her S-Ranked Analytical Skill

When it comes to planning schemes and diabolical plots, she’s a hundred steps ahead of the game! Junko’s skill is the fact that she can analyze any situation and come up with a solution to it faster than you can say “Damn, that was fast!”

3. She’s in the Guinness Book of World Records (Cosplay Division)

We couldn’t believe it either, but let it be known that Junko Enoshima is the most popular character cosplayers have ever cosplayed as, for any anime or video game convention in the world! Quiet as kept she even beat out D.Va in this cosplay popularity division, but don’t tell Overwatch fans that – unless then know already. >.<

2. She Mentioned She Used to be Homeless (Game-Only)

Even though we don’t possess a copy of the Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc video game, during the free-time event(s) with Junko Enoshima, she’ll mention that she used to be homeless at one point and time in her life. We assume that this happened before her modeling career took off but we’re unsure – because we don’t have the game, just youtube videos.

1. She’s Good at being Bad

Okay, we kinda already knew this because of the anime series and video game installments. As we said before, Junko really doesn’t have a true reason for being this way, that’s just who she is. In fact during her youth she was at the beach with her parents and sister, and the sand castle she built was destroyed; causing her to cry in the process. It was later revealed (by her) that Junko destroyed her own sand castle by herself, which may indicate that her thirst and obsession for despair started at such a young age. When the Apocalypse happens, just know that Junko did it. XP

That’s all we’ve got for this post, stick around for more coming up soon! 🙂

Wow, it’s been five years since the once great video rental store giant went belly up. I’m talking about Blockbuster, one of the best video rental stores in North America (as well as across the world). Back when I was growing up in southeast Baltimore County (Baltimore, MD) my mother would take my brother and I there every Friday night. Any movie that I saw in theaters during the 90’s and early 2000’s I rented from Blockbuster the moment it became available to VHS, and eventually DVD. The same can be said about every game I bought for every system I had; NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, GBA, and Nintendo DS – which I still have by the way.

Blockbuster was a key part of my childhood growing up, and if you’re a 90’s kid like A. Goldman and I, then I’m pretty sure it was a part of your life too. I would go there religiously every Friday night to see what new video releases were available. I think the last time I’ve been in Blockbuster was about ten years ago, right around the time I graduated high school back in 2008 – which was 10 years ago (*laughs*). By the early 2010’s Dish Network brought out Blockbuster in order to try and keep up with digital age (as we all are) and remain relevant, but with rise of RedBox, Netflix, Hulu, and others, the once great video rental giant couldn’t keep up.

By 2013 they filed for bankruptcy and closed down the last 300 stores in the U.S. however thanks to Dish Network and their franchise agreements with Blockbuster, there are only a small handful stores that are left. I’ll admit; talking about my 90’s childhood does make me feel a little old, much like seniors talk about how they used to be and what they did during their youth. (Of course our timeline and theirs is totally different.) Blockbuster is and will forever be a part of my childhood, and will go down in history as everyone’s favorite video rental store!

From Super NES to the Wii-U (pre-Nintendo Switch and post-Nintendo 3DS era), Mario Kart is known as one of the best racing games crated from the Super Mario franchise! Whether you’re a 90’s kid or a part of Generation-Z, we’re pretty sure you’ve played one of the installments of this awesome video game, and if you haven’t – PLAY IT! When Super Mario Kart first came out for the SNES back in the 90’s, it was rather challenging to stay on track – literally. Enter the Nintendo 64 with Mario Kart 64, and to this very day in 2018, it is still an instant classic among millennials such as ourselves.

Then when the GameCube made its debut, the Gameboy Advance made its appearance, and the introduction of the Nintendo DS (and 3DS), you got games like Mario Kart Double Dash, Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart Super Circuit, and Mario Kart 7! (Don’t forget Mario Kart Wii and 8 for the Wii-U!) No matter what version or installment you’re playing, there are five things within this game that no player wants happening to them. So from us to you, we’re gonna highlight the five woes from the Mario Kart franchise you don’t want happening to you right before you cross the finish line.

5. Lightning Strike on the Final Lap!

Have you ever been so close to the finish line of a big race? Like say, a big race at 150cc (or 200cc if you’re playing Mario Kart 8)? Only to find yourself getting hit with a lightning bolt just 30 feet from the finish line, as Wario or Bowser bursts past you to claim the golden crown of 1st Place? Yep, we’ve been there.

4. Hit From Behind by a Red or Green Shell!

This is totally dodge-able in one of two ways; if you have a banana peel or banana peel combo item in your item box, keep it behind you and let the shells hit their mark. The other is to drive in front of another racer or try to out run it (them if there’s more than one shell after you) entirely. Red shells are heat-seekers while green shells are more ‘free-willed’, so if you got one chasing after you, better stock on bananas or mushrooms.

3. Slipping on a Banana Peel or Crashing into a Fake Item box!

Okay, this is also totally avoidable – unless the holder of the fake item box or banana peel is DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF YOU!

2. Hit From Behind by an Invincibility Star Driver!

Ugh, nothing worse than hearing that all-too-familiar tune speeding towards you just before you cross the finish line…

1. Falling Prey to the Almighty Blue Shell…of Death!

This is a BIG deal to every fan and player of the Mario Kart franchise. There is nothing worse than being less than 30 feet away from the finish line in 1st Place, when the whooshing sound (or siren sound in MK64) of the Almighty Blue Shell, is heard in the background. Nothing will save you from its destructive wrath, as it targets the driver who is the head of the pack, and causes an explosion that covers a 20-foot radius. If you’re within that radius, then you’ll probably catch the explosion too! When it comes to the Blue Shell of Death, it’s better to be the one throwing it – than the one receiving it! That’ll do it for our filler post for now, but don’t worry, because we got more fun comin’ your way! Stick around! 🙂