Hello fellow Otaku!!
So this is an introductory section primarily for the sake of introducing myself... yay!

Before I do that, tho, here's a list of my accounts on other websites:
* Tumblr-Haitaka123
* DeviantArt-Haitaka123
* MyAnimeList-Haitaka

How did I get into anime/manga?
I have a gf who absolutely loves manga and anime. (Need I say more?)
Through my childhood I was never allowed to watch Pokemon, Yu-Gi_Oh, Bey-Blade, Naruto, etc.
Therefore, the first Anime I ever watched was Kiki's Delivery Service by Hayao Miyazaki when I was 11.
(about 17 years after it's release-Danish theaters were being slow)
My initial reaction was one of great awe. The movie was just SO AMAZING!!!
Miyazaki's skill and attention to detail was, and still is, one of the very best.
Shortly after that trip to the movies I had a full arsenal of every Studio Ghibli movie I could find.
I watched them constantly and became convinced that they must be the best movies I had ever watched!
After having been in the USA for 3-ish years, 4 girls in my class convinced me to start reading and watching more.
My gf (one of the girls who re-introduced me to manga/anime) gave me a llloooonnnnngggggg list of her favorite manga and anime. Naturally, I'm going through those first.
So far so good-I'll be putting the list (plus some other ones I've read/watched) on here so y'all know what craziness I'm enjoying! ^^
My favorite artist remains Miyazaki-so I decided my user name should relate to that. Haitaka is the Wizard from Tales from Earthsea-his name meaning Sparrowhawk.

I hope someone at least reads this. I see it as a great achievement if someone does : )
Anyway, I should really get to posting my list.
So...

For info on my read/watch list, refer to my account on MyAnimeList

Have fun spending money and time on one of the most expensive "common" hobbies out there!! ^_^

Best wishes-Haitaka ^_~

New bird in town

Srry for lame title, but I had to put something ><
Anyway, how many of you heard about Hummingbird/use Hummingbird?
First time I personally heard about it was from Podtaku when Tristan mentioned he was switching for "reasons that must not be mentioned"... and the rest of the Podtaku crew were also making the switch, so I decided to check it out. Man I have not been disappointed!
What I personally like:
- Nice streamlined layout
- Simple, but limited customization options
- Visual Novel and Anime-Inspired database (for all my visual novels and hybrid shows such as RWBY and Avatar) (coming to Hummingbird in the near future)
- MAL import (simple transition from what was pretty much the only Anime listing website)
- Fresh start (new possibilities and potential from this site ^^)

So, what do you think?
Gonna join or stay MAL?
Not on an anime listing website?-Why not?

MAL

Since you're a member of theOtaku, I assume you've recently started watching anime, or have been doing so for what seems like an eternity. However, regardless of experience level, there is always one problem that seems to be recurring when I talk to people about anime and manga. And that is very simply remembering what you've watched and which ones you are going to watch.

Now I'm not saying that there doesn't exist someone amongst the few who are going to read this who has excellent memory and can trace back to every anime they've watched, and recall a show they considered watching when they saw a trailer for it four months ago. But the likelihood is that you, like me, don't have a super memory (although I like to think mine's still pretty good). If that's the case, what do you do about all those anime and manga that seem to pile up on your list? Excel? Notebook? Phone? Well, that's what I did, at least.

That's where MyAnimeList comes in-it's a website that tackles that issue head on, and allows you to maintain a list of anime and manga. These lists include what you are following, have watched, which series you've dropped, or are on hold. Additionally it also helps you remember how you felt about the show with a quick show ranking from 1-10, and additional features such as the ability to select start and finish dates for when you watched the show or read the series.

Lastly, if someone asks for show recommendations or which shows you have watched, MAL allows you to simply refer them to your list. Simple and convenient.

So if you don't already have an account, I would strongly recommend that you get one!
And if you already have one, please share! I'm always interested in what people watch and I'm open to new recommendations!

(My account name is Haitaka, please friend me ^^)