The first anime that I ever watched was Honey and Clover and it will forever be my favorite! I was so happy to be given the soundtrack and a Spitz album because when i hear the music I am instantly filled with the same warm fuzzies. It is precious and I cannot wait until I can watch it again. I have not seen the “Honey and Clover 2” episodes, but caught the beginning of the live action film. That was interesting…something to look forward to.

The second anime was Scrapped Princess and that I also saw all the way through. I enjoyed it very much and was excited to have another series under my belt. Third was Ahzimanga Dioh and that was really cute and enjoyable to watch. How can you not love Chiyo Chan? I was nicknamed Osaka and I thought she was quite funny—although not that much like me! I also received the soundtrack to this as well and find myself listening to it all the time. It is so cheery!

Next I was introduced to several different series and have seen just a handful of each. They include Bleach, Ghost in the Shell and Air. It seems that I start watching anime too late at night and can only get through a full episode and part of another and then I fall asleep! I know it is awful but i blame it the fact that I was always sleep deprived and putting me in a dark room where I was relaxed and reading subtitles was just asking for me to zonk out. I fall asleep every time I read even if the light are on.

So this past weekend I was able to sit down and view all of Serial Experiments Lain. Yup, in its entirety and i stayed awake for the whole thing. My vacation had begun so I was well rested and had enough caffeine in me to keep me going until five in the morning. That was an accomplishment for me! Lain was so interesting and I had been anxiously awaiting seeing it since the beginning because i so loved the art work. She was as adorable and well drawn as i had imagined. I especially loved her bear suit. Lain is a series that really makes you think.

I am excited that I can actually write all this. One year ago I was a newbie to the world of anime and had no idea how much good stuff there was out there… oops i forgot to even tell you my favorite, favorite, favorite! She and her cat (the short film on the DVD of Voices of a Distant Star) is the most inspiring to me! The creator did it all by himself on his Mac and it is so simple and perfect. I really do watch it over and over again and examine every frame. It is so amazing to me! I am excited to watch more anime.