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! 🙂