The Casual Otaku

Zipangu Festival – A Day of Great Music and Sore Feet

When I first heard about Zipangu Festival, I thought the idea of a Japanese music festival at the Rose Bowl was pretty exciting. Actually attending, however, never felt like more than a possibility even though Man With a Mission, Atarashii Gakko and Ado had been on my concert bucket list for quite some time. What can I say? Money has been tight for the longest time with other priorities coming up (Dragon Con and Japan say hi). So you can understand that concert tickets wouldn’t exactly be the biggest priority for me.

Then one day, after a particularly bad day at work, I bought a ticket on impulse. Retail therapy at work, everyone!

Breaking the Streak: Why I’m Skipping Anime Expo This Year

Well, this is new.

After going back and forth on it longer than I should’ve, I made a tough call on something that actually means a lot to me as an anime fan: I’m skipping Anime Expo (AX) this year.

Typing that out still feels weird.

For the longest time, AX has been automatic. No debate, no overthinking—it just happened every summer.

15+ Years of Love Live – The Fandom I Almost Missed

There are some anime you fall in love with immediately, and some you just can’t get behind no matter how many times you try.

And then there are the ones you almost drop completely…only for them to come back later and completely take over your life.

The Love Live franchise was definitely the third one, because when I first watched Love Live! School Idol Project, I just didn’t get it.

Solo vs. Tour: Why I Chose to Plan My Japan Trip the Hard Way

There are two ways to plan a Japan trip:

Outsource the stress…or become the stress.

Or, if you want to sound more professional about it:

Book a tour and let someone else plan everything…Or become a full-time project manager of your own vacation.

Naturally, I chose chaos. Not reckless chaos, but the kind where you’ve got multiple tabs open, a running notes app, and just enough structure to convince yourself everything is under control.But I didn’t start there.

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15 Years of Cosplay, Questionable Wig Decisions, and Learning the Hard Way

Lost in the shuffle of planning Dragon Con and my upcoming Japan trip is a milestone that completely snuck up on me.

A special anniversary. No, not a relationship anniversary…well, not in the traditional sense anyway.

This year marks 15 years since I started cosplaying regularly, which is honestly wild to think about. Somehow a decade and a half has gone by since I decided to jump headfirst into one of the most fun, chaotic, and occasionally wallet-destroying hobbies out there.

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