Just joined a few days ago...

Tsundererra

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@Totalanimefan: Omg, I started going to Otakon from 2009-2015, and I did a booth with a friend like twice, so we might’ve run into each other! We should def hang out one year. Do you usually come for the whole weekend?

Oh man, Namie Amuro! I think she retired last year or something, but she sang some good anime OP and ED. None of my students know who she is, but all the teachers loved her. That generational gap!
I also love Do As Infinity (always karaoke’d their Inuyasha song), Flow, Bump of Chicken, Chemistry (FMA!). Radwimps, Sid, and Monkey Majik, and Does are also good.
Your husband sounds like an awesome dude with great taste.

Tsundererra

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@SirLionelNigelConrad: Actually, yes! It’s a trend I saw pick up more my last year and a half there. Like my first year, there were a few girls who were secret fans of BIGBANG, but near the end it was like 90% of my kids loved TWICE or BTS. I’d be trying to teach them the alphabet or new vocabulary, and they’d freak out whenever they heard “twice”, “fire”, “T”, “black”/“pink” or other keywords. I was all for it because I’m a big kpop fan too.

@Totalanimefan: I wish I was going now too, but I’m glad you come here every year. And D.C. is a big improvement from Baltimore. It gets scary at night in Baltimore, and I was always scared to go alone or wander around at night.

Yaaaasssss, Crystal Kay! Ayumi Hamasaki was another biggie like Namie back in the day. I used to love them so much when I was in middle school/high school. I was sad for Namie because it felt like the Japanese entertainment industry was forcing her out because they thought she was getting too old. Meanwhile Gackt, Arashi, and other male entertainers who are around her age are still thriving. The teachers were shocked too that the kids didn’t know who she was, but to be fair, they also didn’t admit to knowing Spyair yet all of them have watched Haikyuu and Gintama. :vioblank:
I found out about Does from Gintama, which is like one of my top animes.

I’m jealous you have Japanese karaoke places, but that’s the perk of Cali. We have a higher Korean population, so we get Korean karaoke places that might have Japanese songs, but it’s like $30-60 an hour and they’re outdated.

vengeance

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@Tsundererra: Thank you. I am in love with the Knick-Knack item.
I saw you talking about Japanese music in another comment and I listen to Japanese music as well. Mainly rock and metal bands however. I have also seen a bunch live.

vengeance

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Yes I do. Still my most listened to band but another band is catching up so they could drop to second place soon.

Tsundererra

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@vengeance: I’m not too familiar with Japanese metal, but I do love jrock. What groups do you listen to? I had to sneak a listen to Home Made Kazoku, and I am kicking myself for not knowing about them sooner. They remind me of a mix of Monkey Majik, Uverworld, and Orange Range.

@Totalanimefan: Some friends from my study abroad are visiting the states, and we’re actually going to be in Florida! They want to go to Disney World and then to Universal’s Studio’s Wizarding World. I wasn’t even thinking of Otakon when they booked their tickets, and only realized my mistake when I was about to buy the early bird tickets. :viosweat:

If you love D.C. that much, you should visit during the Cherry Blossom Festival! It’s like an explosion of Japanese culture for one week. There’s one part of the festival that feels like a mini convention because people are cosplaying and selling anime merch.

I think I’m also around episode 250-ish, but I’ll have to check. I need to get back into watching it, but it’s so hard to stop once I start. OMG YOU KNOW GEKKAN SHOUJO NOZAKI-KUN! That is another top for me, as is Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon. I’m also a fan of all the oldies you listed. Though I can’t ever look at Rurouni Kenshin the same since the manga creator got caught with child porn... I also liked Gundam (Gundam Wing and G Gundam), Evangelion, Outlaw Star. For new animes, I love Haikyuu, One Punch Man, Mob Psycho, and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. I like One Piece too, but I got too far behind to ever catch up. ;~; My friend is currently trying to get me to watch Tokyo Ghoul and My Hero Academia, so we’ll see how that goes.

vengeance

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@Tsundererra: A whole lot. A couple of them are: Alexandros, Anthem, Coldrain, Dir en Grey, I Don't Like Mondays, Linch, Loudness, Merry, Uverworld. Back in the days I also listened to Alice Nine and The Gazette but not anymore.

Tsundererra

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@vengeance: I LOVE Alexandros! A teacher I worked with introduced me to them, and I listened to them nonstop for a month. Man, Dir en Grey is an oldie, but a good one. I got hooked on their song “Cage”. The Gazette is another good old one, and I still listen to them. Another oldie I still listen to is Hyde. I used to listen to Alice Nine and Gackt, but not anymore. I’m surprised you don’t like Uverworld, but different strokes I guess.
I’ll look into Anthem and Coldrain since they’re new to me.

vengeance

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@Tsundererra: Where did you get I don't like Uverworld? They are listed in the bands I listen to. Unless you got confused about the I Don't Like Mondays bandname XD I have a CD by Hyde. But it is ages since I listen to them. Anthem is an oldie. They started in 1980.

Tsundererra

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@vengeance: Ooof, I misread what you wrote. I did get confused by the I don’t like Mondays name, so that’s another group I’ll have to listen to, along with Linch, Loudness, and Merry.
I don’t usually care for American metal, but Anthem has me curious about Japanese metal. The instrumental versions of their songs remind me of hype video game battle music. Their music career is also older than me!

@Totalanimefan: You’re right! We’re totally home-state swapping at the same time. It’s hard to predict when the actual blossoms will be in bloom, but I hope you can come to the festival one day when the blossoms are blooming at the same time. I volunteer at the festival every year, so you’ll definitely run into me.
The name Home Made Kazoku is so wholesome too. Spotify has only a few of their songs, so I’ll have to rely on YouTube for a bit.

Nozaki-kun is the best. I bought all the available manga volumes before I left Japan. I wish the anime would get a second season to catch up. I saw the manga for Wotaku Koi wa Muzukashii and I wanted to check it out, but it never happened. I’ll check out the anime if you say it’s good enough to be comparable to Nozaki-kun. And yaaaaassss Jojo! I’m behind on the latest season, but I’ll catch up when there’s time. I’ll add Golden Kamuy to my list as well. Have you watched Dororo? You should check it out if you haven’t, it’s pretty good.