Note to me (and you): your 13-year-old self was onto something. Listen to them!

Thank you for the support. And the criticism. The message is loud and clear... you aren't happy with the design & you want changes. It's going to happen. Everyone at Paramount & Sega are fully committed to making this character the BEST he can be... #sonicmovie #gottafixfast 🔧✌️

14-year-old me was so adamant in her pursuit of a ‘cool girl’ image that she never realised the belonging, friendship and community she was so desperate for was tucked between all the interests she never admitted to having.

All it took was a trial by fire to overcome my fear of being a fangirl. 

“Will people be able to tell that I haven’t watched anime properly in over 10 years?” was all I could think to myself. “Will they see right through me?”

Being “up-to-date” was not in my vocabulary despite knowing how much I loved the fictional worlds I had already explored.

When I arrived at stage 8999, I decided to dig my heels in and watch as much anime as I could in five months. 

Every single theory, family tree misunderstanding, onscreen relationship I shipped and questions about upcoming seasons resulted in a deep dive on the internet, or late night messages to friends that had been telling me to watch certain series for yeeeeeears.

The warm embrace of my favourite new storyworlds became comforting and almost intoxicating.

They lead the way to friendship, found families and supportive communities, just like so many of the characters we love, resonate with and hold close to our hearts.

TL;DR being an anime fan is fucking cool!

If it’s available on Crunchyroll, even better, because then I can most likely read the manga too. Been waiting for that feature for a long time.