Ohayo gozaimomo~! The name’s Choya, inspired by one of the many drinks that goes well with anime (that includes tea, coffee, and the Champagne of Otaku, Ramune). It’s an honor to be selected as one of the newest writers for Random Curiosity. I’ve been following RC since I first got into watching seasonal anime, so it’s a privilege to be a part of the team and enter the world of dagashi Street Fighter III RandomC.

My anime history begins with the standard exposure to Pokemon and Sailor Moon in the 90’s, but was dormant until I caught Tech TV’s Anime Unleashed block. Cromartie High School and Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi were the shows that drew me back in, with Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and FLCL on Adult Swim help seal the deal. That’s when I headed toward the dark side of the fandom, and got too many ill-advised ideas about what cheap cosplay would impress veteran voice actors, which moe shows should I encourage the high-school anime club to play after the gory horror thriller (answer: it was K-ON!), and what would be the best way to let people know I liked Bleach. Soon, however, I started digging for shows outside the box by streaming current releases. This opened up the floodgates, and since then, I’ve always been on the lookout for the newest and spiciest options.

My favorite shows tend to be on the comedy side of the spectrum, with Azumanga Daioh and Cromartie leading the pack. I’d also throw Arakawa Under the Bridge, Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita, and Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei into the mix. I also enjoy strange or philosophical headscratchers like the Kara no Kyoukai movies and Ghost in the Shell. A really crappy anime is nice too sometimes if it’s unintentionally hilarious like B-movie levels of badness. I’m also a sucker for recent shows like Demi-chan wa Kataritai that have a cute cast. I’m a very simple man, you see; when I see moe, I watch. Though in general, anything with the stylish, ambitious, and creative aesthetic that anime does so well is my kind of series.

Outside of anime, I just got an MA in Communications, which was an awesome, draining experience. The fun part is trying to find out what I can do with it. I enjoy writing, so a lot of my hobbies involve that (see: blogging). I’m a big movie buff, and enjoy films such as Strange Days, Blue Velvet, and Nightcrawler. I also enjoy a lot of video games, whether it’s pouring hours into the SMT, FFVI – X, Metal Gear, and Suda51 games, or playing Tekken and Street Fighter offline to avoid being beaten on a regular basis. Listening to music is another pastime of mine, and I get creative with a billion Indie and Rap playlists if given the option and free time.
That’s everything I can think of for now. I’m looking forward to giving it my all at Random Curiosity. Feel free to leave a comment on my posts, as feedback is always appreciated. I can tell it’s going to be fun diving into each season together, and I hope that both my choices and my posts offer up many laughs and feels along the way. See you there!

よろしくおねがいしまーす!!
Yoroshiku onegaishimaasu!!

63 Comments

  1. Welcome look forward to it. On the head scratcher side I like Ergo Proxy but like Ghost in Shell it goes really deep into philosophy and the plot is based on Gnosticism.

    RedRocket
    1. Thank you, RedRocket! I’ve been meaning to watch Ergo Proxy, but I enjoy how GitS explores cybernetics and transhumanism. Shirow has another series called Real Drive that I enjoyed alot. It’s more down-to-earth, but the way it explores these themes through networking and advancing technology adds a fascinating perspective to humanity’s relationship to technology.

      Choya
      1. Fun fact: Ergo Proxy was actually the show that first got me hooked on anime all those years ago. Prior to watching it, I’d flirt with the occasional random series, and that was that. Though for some reason Masamune Shirow works have never really been able to impress me. Something to do with a lack philosophical rigor- not that Ergo Proxy had it either, but I recall that it seemed to make an effort at least, and that was enough to have a much younger, much more naïve Zen hooked…

        But I digress. Welcome Choya! Looking forward to having many an interesting discussion with you in the years to come!

        Zen
    1. Thank you! Sorry for the confusion, I wanted to have some thumbs up image and the first one on my mind was the SYD teacher. Choya does sound like it’d be a girl’s name too. Choosing a Hotaru icon probably didn’t help either. I am a dude though, but hopefully there’ll be more women onboard RC soon.

      Choya
      1. I’m also super excited for the Eureka Seven films, because I’d rank the original Eureka Seven TV series within my Top 5!

        It was actually Kairi’s enthusiasm for Eureka Seven that got me into it. So you know, RandomC’s been shaping my superior taste since way before I joined the writing team.

  2. “She wore blue velvet
    Bluer than velvet was the night
    Softer than satin was the light
    From the stars”

    Nice to see some writer who is a big movie buff. Welcome aboard!

    tombeet
  3. New writer here, new writer there, new writers all the way! Happy to see new faces on RandomC. Well I love drinking Choya, so I hope to get well with you as well. Also, your motto ‘when I see moe, I watch’ tells me you cannot be a bad man. Good luck!

    Pyon
  4. good luck with RC.

    just out of curiosity – what does an ‘MA in Communications’ actually entail? genuinely curious for an insight from someone who’s actually done it

    jltrm
    1. Thanks jltrm! My program was mostly in Mass Communication, Mass Media, and Rhetoric (studying the power words have in meaning and influence). They also lumped in Film in my college’s Comm program, which is why my thesis ended up being a fusion of the four subjects.

      Choya
  5. “I’m a very simple man, you see; when I see moe, I watch”
    Between this and mentioning Cromartie and Jintai (Arguably my two favorite comedies) I’m looking forward to seeing what you have to offer

    Arche
  6. WHAT!? ANOTHER ONE!? Oh boy…

    I frankly do not know how to react to this…

    But hey, Choya eh? Looks like I can call you the comedy man huh? Y’know, a lot of comedies don’t get covered on this site so you best get to work on it!

    (Request from your friendly laughing maniac)

    Nishizawa Mihashi
    1. Thank you kiwi! Osomatsu-san is one of me favorite shows that’s come out recently. Of the -matsu’s, I’d say it’s a threeway tie between Kara, Jyuushi, and Choro, but Iyami and Totoko are great too, zanzu

      Choya
  7. Ooh 0__0 didn’t expect another one after Zaiden. Welcome Choya! I’m looking forward to see your anime post! I’ll remember you for saying “when I see moe, I watch” xD

    raxar
  8. Welcome Choya! Thats pretty neat that you watched Tech Tv’s Anime Unleashed back in the day. Hope you were able to watch some classic shows like Silent Möbius and Rahxephon

    MM
    1. Thanks MM! I remember catching bits and pieces of Rahxephon and Last Exile, but sadly I kept catching it out of order so I wasn’t able to watch those shows to their fullest.

      Choya
    1. Thanks AzureDivinity! I didn’t get to catch the first season of KonaSuba when it came out, but hopefully I’ll be able to marathon it soon. It looks very funny, and people really enjoyed the 2nd season while it was airing in the Winter. I’ve got an MAL, but it hasn’t been updated in years. I do have a Kitsu/Hummingbird that’s slightly more updated though. Be warned, I have too many great shows on-hold that I’ve been meaning to finish :O
      https://kitsu.io/users/choya/library?status=all

      Choya
  9. Late hello and welcome to Choya from me.

    Was there anyone else behind you in the queue Choya? Can we expect a third arrival? What with good things coming in threes. We’re on two now, two!

    Lyfe

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