Or: Tae Scootland Wi’ Ye!
Irrespective of the tendency for members to drop like flies, the anisphere has picked up a few habits. The re-hashing of old arguments, the rise and fall of anime- or manga-centred websites, the incessant need to rank things, and a love of hyperbolic proclamations, are just a few.
Whilst these things might be considered a consequence of our mortality rate, there are habits that are nevertheless derived from the longevity of a few, and Christmas has a certain propensity to attract these like moths to a flame. One such habit, or tradition if you’ll permit me, is Reverse Thieves’ ‘Secret Santa’. Another is that of CCY’s Twelve Days of Anime, albeit now helmed by the Grand Old Duke of The Cart Driver.
Despite our dangerously prolific output, and despite not really being an anime blogger, I happen to feel like accepting Scamp’s open invitation this year. The premise is simple: twelve posts over twelve days on a moment or thing that somehow resonated. The first post, for me, in the series happens to be this one. I aim to keep these short, as probably nobody will read them, and twelve of these blasted things at the length of one of my usual posts will probably kill me. Anyway, let us proceed.
For the first half, or thereabouts, of this year, I was in my final year of university. At some half-forgotten point during the summer I got to dress up like a bat, had my photograph taken with a fake scroll, and said farewell to the Old Smoke. Several months later, I moved to the other end of the country all so that I might live and study for an extra set of post-nominal letters in a small town jutting out into the North Sea.
You are likely wondering, dear (probably non-existent) reader, what in blazes this has to do with anime. My answer to this is largely very little. Except that it has forced a change of habit. I watch less anime; I can’t don the old trenchcoat, dark glasses, and wide-brimmed hat to pop into Forbidden Planet[1]; I am no longer a reluctant member of my university’s anime society. There are more, but I shan’t bother boring you with the fine details.
This change is not necessarily a bad thing, and everyone goes through a similar phase in life. I do not want to make a mountain out of a molehill. It is, nevertheless, for me, one of this year’s defining Moments.
To finish, I do promise the others will be more obviously anime- and manga-centric. Consider this merely context.
- I did, however, pop into Edinburgh’s when I was there for SPLS (the seminar, not the stocks). It was a bit of a disappointment, really. ↩
The Untold Story of Altair & Vega 