So here we are.
It’s been a journey, hasn’t it? Over the course of months – or, let’s face it, years – theOtaku has grown and morphed into something entirely different than what it started off as. Incredible, eh?
Perhaps I’m not the best person to do a journey piece of theOtaku. Let’s face the facts: I’m sixteen years old, the prime age of rabies-crazy fangirls – not the best way to impress others. While I am an Otaku Legend, I’m probably not the best person to show off as a role model. And even though it seems I’m a somewhat prominent figure in the community, I have a small handful of submissions to the various sites. Overall, it’s not that impressive.
So why am I doing this? Because I love theOtaku. That’s right, I said it. It’s my internet home away from home – my base camp, so to speak. I’ve gone through so many adventures, made (and met!) a good chunk of friends, and experienced the changes and transformations (whether I agreed with them or not is not the issue) first hand.
In some ways, I feel like theO has been a nurturer to me, since it was one of the very first websites I visited as a kid. I’m going out on a limb here, but my brain is saying that I’ve been hanging around this joint since its beginnings – that’s right, 1998. Long time, eh? Ten years, in fact. So for ten years, theOtaku has been my fort on the web, a place to always come back to and hang out.
When myOtaku launched in 2003, the network became what can be called nothing less than a city. There were members who worked and fueled the economy with their submissions and comments, with the maintainers running the government while supplying us with free coffee and doughnuts every Saturday morning (from 6am to 10am, at least). It was a highly functional and rather enjoyable society – and one that I was glad to be apart of.
theOtaku has been different from the get-go, but now, with Version Vibrant, that difference seems to have imploded to announce itself to the big boys:
We’re here, and you’re gonna listen.
It’s not just an anime news site. It’s not just a fan art hub. It’s not just a journal. It’s an entire system – an entire community – of anime fans, all here looking for something different. If not for the people who comprise the network, then theOtaku would be nothing more than digital lines flickering on computer screens.
It’s not about being serious – it’s about having fun. Because really, where would we be if all we did was mope and be stern? Doesn’t sound like a great place to be.
...Man, what was I even talking about to begin with…?
