About 2.0

The Blog:

When I decided to create this blog, I sat staring at the name box for a good half hour or more, in-putting ideas then deleting them just as quickly. I ended up settling on Amateur Rambling for several reasons. First of all, as much as I’d like to think it might eventually happen, I’ll never be a real expert on anime. Even though I’ve been seriously watching anime and reading manga for a good 5 years now, I can’t say my opinions have become any more “sophisticated” or “cultured.” And that’s part of the reason I started the blog: to cultivate a more discerning, mature me who isn’t as easily impressed and can recognize (and appreciate) more of the subtler aspects of anime/manga

A while ago, I was reading the introduction to a Robert Ebert book and noticed that he attached a different meaning to “amateur” which stemmed from a French word meaning “lover of.” Though I didn’t have that definition in mind when I named the blog, I think that it fits quite nicely; I am an amateur of anime and manga. Since that summer when I accidentally stumbled upon Gakuen Alice on Youtube, anime and manga have become two of my biggest passions. The goal of this blog is to help me appreciate those passions more, to help me grow as viewer, and to share with you all my journey to obtaining that “expert” title (a girl can dream). Though this journey will probably hit a few bumps in the road, I think it’ll be a great one, and I hope that you all will join me on it.

The Blogger: 

Currently (as of 2013), I  am but a snot-nosed teenager who’s only got one not-so-golden year of high school left before I  get one step closer to the thing called life, but who cares about that? Yu-gi-oh! and Princess Mononoke were my gateway drugs (though I didn’t know that at the time) and were two of favorite things to watch as a kid. When I got my first laptop the summer following my graduation from the 6th grade (major stuff, I know), it didn’t take long for me to tentatively visit the mysterious site known as Youtube and click on a Gakuen Alice episode. Even though the pause button was my best friend for the first few minutes as I read the subtitles, I was in love. Since then, I’ve been a huge fan of both anime and manga.

In terms how I approach anime, not much has changed over the years. I’m relatively open to watching anything, though I’ll admit I do tend to shy away from shoujo-ai/yuri and more fanservice-y titles. I’m not a terribly harsh critic and tend to come away from most of what I watch with positive impressions, though I’ve started to attach more meaning to higher scores. I’m a horrible week-to-week watcher and usually end up marathoning most of the series I watch. I’m the sap who falls for the weepy melodrama almost all the time. I’m a romantic at heart who becomes giddy at the sight of a cute romance. I’m a simple, sometimes crazy fan just like the rest of you.

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tl;dr – I’ll be a never a pro when it comes to anime/manga, but I love it all the same and hope to understand some of the “deeper” stuff as time goes on. I also don’t bite, so please don’t be afraid to comment.

Disclaimer:

Since I’m not a talented artist either, all of the images I use in posts and for headers belong to their respective creators and are not mine. If you see you’re images and would like me to take them down, please let me know, and I’ll take them down immediately.