The Point of No Return

i corssed over when i got my hands on my first gunpla, and that was nearly 10 years ago, been able to scare my friends with my knowledge of gundams since then

(ID #271164) Posted on 2008/08/20 15:36

reply to Shinigami Deathgod's comment

wow animation cell looks cool!

(ID #271180) Posted on 2008/08/20 15:45

reply to marvin's comment

I turned to a Gunpla freak when I bought my first issue of Hobby Japan a few years back. From that point, I have bought so many kits that I really can't remember which was my first one. Watching so much Gundam anime (mostly UC) helped fuel that.

(ID #271183) Posted on 2008/08/20 15:46

reply to Soul3ss's comment

Seriously. The pictures make the kits look so good and so cool! I ended up buying Unicorn Gundam because of Hobby Japan.  Still afraid to touch him though because of what I heard were "knee" issues.  

(ID #271192) Posted on 2008/08/20 15:52

reply to vegas's comment

When I bought Ranma 1/2, since then I've gained a vast knowledge of all sorts of manga and anime goodness

(ID #271186) Posted on 2008/08/20 15:47

reply to Syugo's comment

Lol... that was a long time ago.. I don't remember anymore

(ID #271188) Posted on 2008/08/20 15:48

reply to coffeebugg's comment

Growing up in Japan, it's always been a part of my life.  I do remember the instance when I realized when I was different from most fans, though.

I was in Officer Training School back in '99.  I had liberty one weekend, but I had to wear my uniform while offbase.  So there I was, in my dress blues, sitting with a group of parents and their kids for the U.S. premier of the first Pokemon movie.  ^_^;

I enjoyed every minute of that film... ^^

(ID #271195) Posted on 2008/08/20 15:53

reply to tenrou's comment

ouch...dress blues? still haven't done that yet,  though I have a feeling the opportunity might arise. Your a braver man than most.

(ID #271201) Posted on 2008/08/20 15:58

reply to vegas's comment

I was determined to see that film, dammit!  ^_^

(ID #271202) Posted on 2008/08/20 15:59

reply to tenrou's comment

I remember that movie!  I made my dad take me on the second day and the line stretched around the theatre. They were out of promo cards though. ;_;

(ID #271231) Posted on 2008/08/20 16:32

reply to Coco the Bean's comment

I don't really remember much from the movie, but I do remember getting my promo card.  I think mine was Mew or something.

(ID #271244) Posted on 2008/08/20 16:47

reply to andiibooo's comment

Hmm...Though i have some stuff. I guess it has not hit me yet, the point of no return that is. Although I think I am pretty near it. I dont intend to stop watching anime or reading manga. I might be near the point of no return but luckily I don't have a big collection of memorabilia as of yet.

(ID #271200) Posted on 2008/08/20 15:58

reply to Zou's comment

I wouldn't consider hitting the point of no return yet, but it's getting there.  Though I can probably blame getting more into the fandom on Noizi Itoh.  I was browsing Aethereality Gallery when I found scans of her artbooks, and I learned what series the characters were from.  I ended up looking them up in google and found various otaku-niche sites, and it all spiraled down from there.

(ID #271206) Posted on 2008/08/20 16:01

reply to Coco the Bean's comment

I remember my anime spree begins when my friend introduces me to Fullmetal Alchemist, ever since then i have been digging all animes that interest me.. xD

My first pvc figurine is Rider from Fate/Stay Night. Released by GSC on 2005. I still like it now ^_^ Its such a classic. 
http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10042221a/20/2

(ID #271225) Posted on 2008/08/20 16:28

reply to leofoe's comment

im semi there when i went absolutely crazy when a shop at the AX08 had the Yuki figma, i bought 2 figures of her and others, but i know i will be going really past the point when i finally get my credit card and order of all 23 bookmarks i have of figures i have wait listed lol.

(ID #271258) Posted on 2008/08/20 16:59

reply to websamurai's comment

I fell in love with the Ghost in the Shell manga in 1994 or 1993, but my Otakuness was born in full force in 1995 during the first month of 7th grade when Sailor Moon began airing on local cable xD  I still have import SM CDs I bought around that time, and a Sailor Mercury figure I bought around then would also be my first figure.

Other hallmarks that could be points of no return would be:

1997/98 - Getting internet access and downloading 20-30mb fansub episodes of Saber Marionette J (my first ever fansub) and Ranma 1/2. Decided around this time that I would one day learn Japanese, mostly from my frustration at not understanding anison and relying on subtitles ;)

2000- Buying myself a DVD player for my 18th birthday and immediately getting the newly licensed Evangelion 1# DVD as my first DVD.

2003- Dropping college and working fulltime for half-year to raise money so I could go to Japan for 2 months so I could go to Anime Expo Tokyo and Comiket #65 ;D

(ID #271261) Posted on 2008/08/20 17:03

reply to Quen's comment

I don't think I've ever crossed the line from a fan to a "freak". Sure I have a vast knowledge of anime, manga, seiyuus, games etc. But if that makes me a freak then I'm a bigger movie freak.

It's just a more of a side effect that came from all the anime fansub encoding I did, along with a few scanlation editing and clean ups.
I know some people who don't watch any cartoons, films or TV that's not Japanese, now that is just weird ^^;;;;;;;;;

(ID #271266) Posted on 2008/08/20 17:07

reply to nya-chama's comment

When I found the Anime Figurine Network in Facebook... It's all your fault RadiantDreamer!!! LOL JK JK. And then found ebay and HLJ and Hobby Search, etc.

(ID #271279) Posted on 2008/08/20 17:15

reply to lightningsabre's comment

oh yes- the actual point of no return. This will be very difficult to remember since I was hooked on Power Rangers/Voltron at a very early age (4 or 5?). I probably got hooked with waves of others when Toonami released Gundam Wing in 1997 on TV, but then again I was part of the Pokemon craze, too (I still love 'em, no matter what people say!)

(ID #271308) Posted on 2008/08/20 17:32

reply to -XYZPDQ's comment

I download fansubs... I suppose just over a year or 2 ago, I started downloading a lot more (more than just Naruto+Bleach and such), and this year I've started downloading/watching almost every show that airs. I'm not at the point where I buy figures, DVDs, etc... but I watch a ton. More than most, I'd say...

(ID #271314) Posted on 2008/08/20 17:34

reply to Calan's comment

Unfortunately I feel like I've peaked as far as my anime fandom is concerned. I used to be rabid for anime, but there are only so many emotional highs I can get from something before I stop being moved or impressed. I guess you could call it "too much of a good thing." I'm still in love with animation in general, but right now I'm taking a break from Japanese Anime and watching some classic 1980's American cartoons like Masters of the Universe, etc... 

In recent years, the anime offerings just haven't been the same. Everything seems to be more formulaic than it used to be -- or perhaps I've just seen so much anime at this point that all the styles and storylines have been covered. I just don't feel like there's as much heart in the product anymore. Perhaps the computer age has something to do with that, but it's a larger problem that permeates not only the animation, but the story and overall execution as well. Much of the time I feel like my intelligence is being insulted. 

Oh well, I guess that's just life. Here's hoping there will be a new trend in Japanese animation sometime soon.

(ID #271322) Posted on 2008/08/20 17:38

reply to Foxtail Dreamer's comment

i stepped into the point of no return when i moved ^.^ . i started buying all sorts of anime and gunpla without even considering the weight of my wallet T.T

(ID #271358) Posted on 2008/08/20 18:04

reply to desangel's comment

I became a miserable addict when I first watched a Dragon Ball anime movie some years back. And plunged into the abyss when I first bought a bootleg Gundam kit..

And now they want me to go to rehab but I just can't... just can't...

(ID #271372) Posted on 2008/08/20 18:17

reply to MS pilot's comment

Danny's site has a penchant for making people cross over faster than anything, at least that's what happened to me. After I read the review of the Naru figure, I just had to have her. Now, already 14 figures ahead in 1 year, it's safe to say I've fully crossed the fan/freak line ^^

(ID #271378) Posted on 2008/08/20 18:25

reply to Evil King's comment

Probebly the instant i realised that youtube did anime for me.

(ID #271417) Posted on 2008/08/20 18:58

reply to Yalari's comment

If you don't mind me asking, how much was the Cel?

(ID #271458) Posted on 2008/08/20 19:50

reply to iheartassassinmaids's comment

15000 Yen at the time,  or around 130 USD when i bought it.

(ID #271613) Posted on 2008/08/20 23:26

reply to vegas's comment

It was when I started studying Japanese. Since then, i've only been increasing the number of shows I see every week and getting more and more japanese importation manga. Now I critisize every show it starts in Japan in my blog.

(ID #271459) Posted on 2008/08/20 19:51

reply to Will Alvein's comment

To be honest, I'm not sure if I've really crossed over into the 'freak area just yet...
I have 5 anime movies, 2 dvd boxsets (LE Haruhi and RahXephon), 8 figurines, over 30 volumes of manga, 6 art books,  can read Hiragana, listen to anime music, can name all the characters and backgrounds of a show after one episode, last few boyfriends were Otaku,  create sheet music for anime music, create doujinshi and fan art...

Would that be enough to be called a 'freak'?

(ID #271546) Posted on 2008/08/20 21:56

reply to suki's comment

I don't think Gunpla counts as a crossing in my case, but sometimes I get this irresistable urge to just download every anime torrent I can get my hands on, regardless of my country's laws.  

(ID #271735) Posted on 2008/08/21 01:39

reply to radical anime fan's comment

i lost my self to anime and the life of an Otaku wen i was 10 year old now im soooo deep in it my family thinks im crazy :)

(ID #271749) Posted on 2008/08/21 01:46

reply to Dynames's comment

If I remember correctly I have always had an interest in anime but my knowledge of it was very limited. So I'm pretty sure it was after I entered high school and I learned about all the things I was missing from my friends.

(ID #272239) Posted on 2008/08/21 10:28

reply to RyūPersona's comment

Like Konata says, once you fully comprehend what moe means but can't explain it you have become a true anime/manga geek ^^

In my case it was when I started buying manga in japanese, figurines, and my doujinshi collection took two shelves (doujinshi are very thin, so adding them up should take time). I don't care what people think, better doing this than being in drugs, alcohol or orgies.

(ID #282997) Posted on 2008/08/29 12:24

reply to Yaku's comment

this is a great question.  i know that as a kid (im talking like 4 or 5) we had star wars on VHS and that started my love of all things geek, but i did not cross the line of ultimate geekness until i was in the 4th or 5th grade.

For some reason i had to go with my mom to work for the day and one of her co workers just happened to half own a comic book shop.  He let me borrow 2 things that day, an issue of wildcats and a tape of DBZ that was taped off Japanese TV. From that point on i was pretty much a nerd.  

(ID #291848) Posted on 2008/09/05 18:32

reply to elbomblasto's comment

^^well myself i have bean an otaku now sense i was 7 lol i started at the age of 7 and now 11 years latter full ledge otaku ^^ i have spent now $1,200.00 on vhs videos then $6,800.00 on dvd's and then i spent $90,000.00 on 700 series dvd's so now i have spent 98,000.00 on anime sense i was 7 lol...that's allot i guess but its over a time span of 11 years though lol...now i have spent $30,000.00 on games ps, ps2, super Nintendo, nintendo64, xbox360, ps3, and Nintendo.  there there are my computers $8,000.00 now spent on computers/laptops and now i have just started my figure hobby and now spent about $500.00 on figures in the past 2 weeks lol ^^ now lets see how much i have spent all together lol it is :  $136,500.00 over 11 years lol ^^ or so i guess that's allot lol ^^ i guess i am way past mine lol ^^ but that's just me lol

(ID #295699) Posted on 2008/09/09 16:17

reply to Denki-koiji.'s comment

I think up to figurines and trading cards one is still pretty safe... but I draw the line at buying dakimakura... I think that's the point of no return and you're officially a hardcore geek ^^U That, and if you are an expert sewer and have lots of handmade cosplay costumes.

(ID #311392) Posted on 2008/09/24 05:54

reply to Yaku's comment