Nick Pick:
Yotsuba&! Volume Five
Kiyohiko Azuma
ADV Manga

Happy New Year, 'guise. I'm sure all of you already knew this, being not-quite-as-clueless as me, but I've been setting my DVR to record Cartoon Network's last Futurama marathon and I have to say Futurama is an excellent show. The jokes, the delivery, the comedic timing, everything is superb.

One conclusion that I've slowly been moving towards, and watching Futurama has cemented: American animation and American TV in general is pretty rad and anime almost seems like a scam when you compare the cost per episode for DVDs and quality of show. When you can get entire seasons of shows like Futurama, Batman Beyond, Home Movies, and (soon) all of Sam & Max: Freelance Police for less than you would pay for four episodes of anime, something seems wrong. I know Japan pays even more than we in the States do for anime, but it kind of doesn't matter because the DVD markets are different. Also, I've found that the anime fandom has begun to grate on my nerves a little bit, and I'm finding that fans of American cartoons and television are more chill and less "fanatic" overall. I'm sure there are exceptions in all fandoms and your mileage might very well vary, but I'm just talking about personal experience.

That said, I'm not cutting myself off completely from anime and its fandom — in fact I plan on watching Miname-ke very soon, and several anime series are still on my wishlist — but the plan from now on is to try dipping my feet into some other fandoms and see if I can't find something that's an even better fit for me.

Watch out, 2008, cous' I am coming in to embrace you!

Differently yours,
Nicholas

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