Catgirls, foxgirls, bunnygirls, doggirls, and other assorted mimis! A new picture every day!
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About me...
Hmm. About me, huh. I suppose I can start by saying I live in Australia. I've been all over the country, having lived in most of the capital cities, and several more regional areas. I currently live in a small town near the coast, which has reasonably nice weather and most importantly, lots of water. It rains here quite a lot, unlike most of the country suffering water shortages. It's a quiet life, but that's the way I like it. Big crowded cities grow tiring after a while.
I did a lot of schooling, and was somewhat reluctant to stop studying and actually go work, so have various degrees, certificates and diplomas. However I did have to stop studying eventually, and I ended up doing a lot different jobs over the years. Mostly technically related, stuff with computers and electronic equipment, but some work with animals and agriculture, too. As well as some other odd jobs as they were available. ^^; I won't go in to details about any of it though, as it's really not important.
Having mentiond I live in a small town, I also have to state that I live alone, and have been happily single for a number of years; relationships just aren't worth the trouble to me. I'd rather just have good friends as they are much more valuable than sex and all that nonsense. I own my house, no loans or anything like that to deal with which makes my life simple; I get by on very little. I'm not a particularly materialistic person so aside from computer upgrades from time to time, my living expenses are quite low. ^^
Oh, well. I don't live alone, strictly speaking. I have a cat named Kaijuu, or Kai for short. He's a little monster, and loves biting people, much to the surprise of visitors when they're caught unaware. ^^; But I love him, despite his viciousness. I've always had animals in my life. Not just the basic cats and dogs, either. I've had horses, cows, sheep, goats, birds, fish, chickens, ducks, guinea pigs, mice, rats and more. I love animals of all kinds, so don't like 'cat vs. dog' arguments and the likes. They all have their merits.
My three most loved things are anime, animals and music. In no particular order. I used to play piano/keyboard, and have dabbled with other instruments but the piano is my most proficient, and probably my favourite. However I don't have any form of keyboard any more... though I'd like to get a MIDI/PC one so I can work on music again. But for the time-being I'm content just listening: I have several hundred CDs, and a hard drive full of mp3s/oggs/flac. Well over half of my collection now is anime OSTs, but my tastes are very broad and I love most genres save rap/hip-hop type stuff, and grunge/death metal; anything with unintelligible lyrics or just totally meaningless lyrics talking about hoes and the like.
I also adore kemonomimis, and have a vast collection of images of all sorts of mimis, which has led me to start the Kemonomimi Shoujo Picture of the Day site. I also, later, started the Kemonomimi Shoujo Club here on MAL. However! I hate kemonomimi boys. I can't really explain why other than they're just wrong. An atrocity to the natural order of things. Only girls should have cute ears and tails and other kemono traits. ^^; It's about as simple as that.
What more do I have to say? I think this basically covers who I am, and my main likes and a basic background. I don't disclose my age, though if you get to know me, it's probably not hard to work out how old I am. Needless to say though, I've been online for a long time, and I'm rather jaded. ^^;;
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I am an otaku. I very openly admit it. I've been watching anime for many, many years. The first thing I saw was Uchuu Senkan Yamoto, which was later retooled in to “Starblazers” for the American market. It was so different to any cartoons at the time, that I was enthralled. Fortunately I was able to get anime on VHS in the early years, and there is a TV network here called SBS which used to show subbed anime as well as foreign movies. These days though they mostly play dubbed anime, unfortunately.
Anyway. Anime is a passion of mine. I have a vast collection of DVDs, several terabytes of fansubs, and many OSTs, singles and other media. It is my primary hobby, above all others. However, I am also all geekily in to computers, too. I was raised with them, which is why I ended up mostly working in computer related fields, as it's something I was well versed in. I love technology of all kinds, and my otakudom is not limited simply to anime, despite what many seem to think about 'otaku = anime fan' – I am an otaku by the more true Japanese use of the word, not the cutesy fan view.
I've been online since the early 80s. I first got online with a 1200 baud cradle modem, which is probably an alien concept to anybody reading this. But it's not like there was much to do online back then anyway, it wasn't until the early 90s, with MUDs, IRC and then the birth of the WWW (and subsequent boom in the mid-late 90s) that it started on the road to what it has become now.
Over the years, I have played many online games, from MUDs, to early MMOGs, through all of the major MMORPGs and these days have somewhat 'retired' to just lurking on forums. It's easier on me. ^^; I frequent MAL and AnimeSuki for all my anime discussion and information, but I lurk on both posting in general discussion and whatnot, too. I tend to be able to talk to anime fans fairly easily, so it makes sense, neh?
I also have a new type of gaming passion. Stepmania. It's a free, open source DDR game for PC. It can be played with keyboard, however I have a USB pad and only use it, as I have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and am pretty much unable to play on keyboard. I type rather slowly these days. >.> But I digress.
I very strongly recommend people get Stepmania, then grab the Otaku's Dream simfiles for it, so you can play to great anime songs! I also play the UKUG pack (fully patched) and some courses from the Anime Toshokan packs, though they're rather sub-par compared to OD and UKUG. Stepmania is a lot of fun, especially when you play it online: SMO with friends. ^^
So yeah, quite the otaku here. >.> And yes. I am a real girl. Just one that had an unusual upbringing, I'm not a little princess, and I don't act like one and don't like to be thought of as a prissy little bitch. I'm fine of people mistake me as a guy; I stopped caring a long time ago, but I still point it out for anybody that happens to read this far and still has doubts.
Oh. I suppose I can mention I used to fansub, though I left the scene in mid 07. It's very thankless work regardless of the role you perform. I can do everything but advanced typesetting, and encoding. I have worked on many projects with numerous groups and in all likelihood you've seen some of my work. ^^; I did enjoy it for the most part, but I kind of got sick of the way most people worked. I have a strong work ethic and like getting things done in a timely manner without sacrificing quality. That's something most people can't manage; the groups that do tend to be a close-knit bunch of friends, which don't need an outsider like me, so I just left the scene.
And that's about it. The Otaku Asako. ^^
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My list, the way I have arranged it, and my scoring method:
Completed means I have the entire series (or movie, OVA etc) in full on DVD or in a good quality fansub. I only list things that are actually in my collection, not things I have simply watched. I'm using this site to manage my collection, not simply to show off what I've seen.
Items on my Plan to Watch I have in full on DVD or in good quality fansub, but have yet to finish or in some cases, even start watching it for whatever reasons, though generally due to lack of initial interest, and lack of time over current series. I periodically binge through series on this list as time allows.
On Hold means I do not have the entire series because I am waiting for DVD releases, or good quality fansubs (occasionally to replace poor quality ones, though usually I don't get bad releases to begin with) or alternatively, for the series to finish airing before I begin watching it, so I can watch it all rapidly.
Current listings are obviously things I'm actively watching, generally currently airing but occasionally some older stuff I'm catching up on, such as things that have lurked in my Plan to Watch list, or just recent purchases.
I don't bother listing dropped series, because I don't care about them. I don't drop very many series as I am quite tolerant of many common flaws, and I also have very broad tastes so watch a wide variety of genres. However there are always at least a couple terrible shows every season I won't give a chance past episode three (I always give every show at least three episodes to prove itself to me.)
Now, as for my scoring, let me break it down a bit. Firstly, I only rate things I've completed. I think it's unfair to rate something without seeing all of it. If it's not my kettle of fish, I simply drop it and don't look back. The only exceptions on my list are things I have been given by friends/family, thus been obligated to watch all of, one or two things I have blindly bought, and some series I've downloaded as a batch, and since I've wasted my precious bandwidth on it, I'm compelled to complete it.
I am fairly liberal with my scores, as I like a wide range of series, and will give tens to anything I was very satisfied with and had no major gripes over, since I usually drop things I don't like, not many series on my rate below five, save the above mentioned things I got in full to begin with. Almost seven percent of my list are tens as it stands, series that I truly think are brilliant. Some people may think that's a bit generous for how many series I've seen, but I disagree, since I generally only watch five+ material anyway. Anything I rate seven or higher, are shows I will happily recommend to people. Anything below six, I'll be hesitant to recommend to people unless they're specifically after something of that shows' nature.
Here's a vague numerical breakdown:
10 Brilliant. My top favourites, where all elements just work.
9: Great. These series are incredibly enjoyable with many great aspects.
8: Very good. Solid series well worth watching, with only minor flaws.
7: Enjoyable. An average series, which is quite good, though not incredible.
6: So-so. Decently enjoyable, but nothing particularly remarkable.
5: Average. Not bad, though lacking something to make it good.
4: Sub-par. Not particularly enjoyable. An important element missing.
3: Bad. What were they thinking when they made this?
2: Terrible. Missing any remotely redeeming features.
1: Star Ocean EX. It's impossible to be as bad, let alone worse than this travesty.
A graph of my completed series score division as of 20080802. Thanks to Saki-chan!
But, I could go on about that all day. There's no real need to do so; my list, and the above graph explain it all. That's just the way I score, being a very broad-minded viewer. Scores are a combined factor of overall enjoyment for me, even if some elements are lacking (poorer animation levels, boring music etc) if other elements outweigh them (eg. great story, brilliant voice casting) they will still earn a decent score.
I suppose I should mention my manga list too. I'm not a manga fan. I've only bought a few series from shows I love (xxxHolic and Genshiken) the rest I read online, as I have little interest in archiving or re-reading it. The scoring methods rely pretty much entirely on story and artwork, as there's no sound and animation/colour to consider, obviously, but are still rated similarly to my anime, overall. I vastly prefer music and voices and colour and motion, so anime will almost always be rated higher than manga on my list. Some may tie, but manga won't compete in general. Just thought I should mention that. ^^
That's the way it is. ^_^
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Some of my most favourite characters...
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I deny any unprompted friend requests. Please talk to me first, thanks. ^^
