I was not born with manga in my hand. My family didn't have cable, so I grew up on standard American TV channels, the old Pokemon cartoons, and the Price is Right. I had no real interest in anime at the time; and as a hyperactive little berk, I didn't need much TV anyway.

I was formally introduced to anime about eight years ago. I had seen bits and pieces of shows like Rurouni Kenshin and Sailor Moon, but it really got started when a friend of mine lent me a manga about Gundam Wing. It's been five years since that friend created this account on theOtaku, and a little less than five years since she stopped using it and gave it to me.

I think that I've been almost as inactive as one can be and still be considered "active." Over the five years, I have one (1) fanart to my name (and it's actually my friend's >_>) and a little over 150 posts, which amounts to one post about every 1.5 weeks. Compared to some people here, some of whom have been here for much less time, that's hardly a picking. While I can blame my lack of a scanner and Photoshopping skills for some of the lack of substantial "art," most of my outer inactivity is due to...well, I called myself a wallflower for a reason. Despite my meager contribution, however, I visit theOtaku nearly every day and have done so pretty much ever since my friend gave me this account.

The first theOtaku layout that I remember was a relatively plain, white-background-with-some-links website. I remember being completely hooked on the theOtaku jukebox and its multitude of midi melodies (I always thought that Last Impression sounded a bit strange). When theOtaku switched from the plain layout to the newer gray one, I mourned the loss of the pop-up jukebox, which is something that I still miss, even now *cough, cough*.

Now, after attacks from cupcakes, the meteoric rises to stardom of Naruto, Bleach, and Death Note, and theOtakulypse, theOtaku has Version Vibrant (which, honestly, I still have trouble finding my way through at times) and has expanded to include TV shows, video game categories more specific than "Video Games," books, bands, comics, and movies. People can publish fan art, wallpapers, e-cards, quizzes, comics, and writing that ranges from fan fics to blog posts to full-blown research papers. There are media contests, celebrity chats, convention get-togethers, podcasts, and art books. I'm truly astounded by how theOtaku has grown over the past five years, and I look forward to what is to come.

Despite being someone who doesn't really contribute to the site, I feel genuinely excited, even delighted, whenever a new feature pops up. I was SO INCREDIBLY HAPPY when the News feature returned. For me, theOtaku is a go-to site for information about anime, video games, and things-vaguely-connected-to-anime/video games/Japan. In fact, I found out about a new Final Fantasy XIII trailer on theOtaku before I found out about it on a website solely dedicated to Final Fantasy XIII. Now that's breaking news.

I am, perhaps, your average anime/manga fan. I've read the popular, the somewhat-overly-popular, and the so-obscure-that-theOtaku-doesn't-even-have-a-category-for-it-yet (07 Ghost is the one I have in mind, if you're wondering). While I am not obsessed and/or technologically savvy enough to produce Internet media regarding said anime/manga, I am nonetheless incredibly grateful for becoming part of theOtaku. Observing the comings and goings of this site has been a pleasure. I've seen, read, and heard a ton of outstanding things here, and I'm sure there will be a lot more of it coming soon. Here's to another five years!

(And eventually, when I get around to it, I will write code for an online jukebox...just in case.)