Name: Alia
Online nickname: Yumeka
Age: 22
Birthday: March 19th
Location: California, USA
Hobbies/Interests: anime, animals, video games, Japanese language/culture, Japanese popular music, computers, animation/cartoons, literature and poetry
Goal(s): I really want to become a translator for anime; someone who translates anime from Japanese to English for American companies, whether it be for English DVD subtitles, dub scripts, manga, American anime magazines, negotiations with the Japanese creators, or anything of the sort. But I'd really just be happy having a job that has something to do with anime, manga, or the Japanese language such as teaching English in Japan or doing translation for a non-anime company. Of course, being fluent in Japanese would definitely help me get the kind of job I want, so I've been taking Japanese classes at my university and teaching myself at home. I also spent a month studying Japanese in Japan, which helped a lot, though I still have a long way to go. Currently I'm majoring in East Asian Cultures (emphasis on Japanese) at the University of California Irvine and am hoping to get a B.A. in the field.
Personality: I tend to keep to myself a lot. I'm usually shy and withdrawn, especially around people that I don't know. But if I feel comfortable around someone, for example if they like anime, I'm usually a little more friendly. I'm extremely passive, and I don't like attracting attention to myself. I also keep my emotions inside but that doesn't mean I don't feel strongly about things! :)
Animals: Besides anime, my other deep love in life is animals. All animals fascinate me, from tiny ants to giant whales, there's a special place in my heart for every living creature (I'm not so sure about most people though XP) It's hard for me to pick a favorite animal, but I guess you could say I favor cats since I've had them my entire life. When I'm not watching anime, you can bet I'm watching Animal Planet or National Geographic Channel! ^^,,,
Movies: Mostly anime movies of course, but I also love Disney. Disney animated movies started my passion for animation, which eventually led to my love for anime (though I've sort of lost faith in Disney nowadays; since they started making only CG animated movies, story-telling quality has gone way down ~_~) Besides animated movies, the only other movies I really like are movies about animals, or certain suspense/science fiction movies like Hitchcock films. There are a few others I like too, such as Harry Potter, but I'm mostly interested in animated movies.
TV shows: I don't really watch TV all that much. Besides anime, the only things I really watch on TV are Animal Planet, National Geographic, and similar shows, and some old shows on various other channels like I Love Lucy and The Twilight Zone.
Music: For the past few years, j-pop and j-rock music have been my most favorite kind. I don't really have a particular singer/band that I like; there's a whole variety of them that I like, mostly songs I've heard from anime I watch. Besides Japanese songs, the Beatles are my favorite music band, but I also like Phil Collins, Billy Joel, Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Elvis just to name a few. As you can probably tell, I mostly like "oldies" music from the 60s and 70s. I also love the music from Disney movies, as well as classical music and songs from musicals.
Books: I love any book with a lot of imagery and deep, universal themes that make you think. I also like beautiful, thought-provoking poetry as well. My favorite author is Mark Twain, and my all time favorite story is his short story The Mysterious Stranger. But I also like Edgar Allen Poe, Emily Dickinson, Ray Bradbury, Robert Frost, William Wordsworth, and Albert Camus. I also like Japanese authors such as Natsume Souseki and Haruki Murakami.
Video games: Besides watching anime and working on this site, I've spent a lot of my time engrossed in a video game. I love my Wii and DS! ^^ I'm not a big time gamer, since most of my free time and money is spent on anime, but there are some games I like. Pokemon games are my favorites and the ones I play the most, but other game series' I like are Harvest Moon, Sonic the Hedgehog, Okami, Super Smash Bros., and Lost Kingdoms. I like games that are as cute as Pokemon Channel or as violent and bloody as Turok as long as they're fun and not too difficult ^_^
Here's a list of all the anime I've watched/am watching:
Air, Akira, Allison & Lilia, Angelic Layer, Asatte no Houkou, Azumanga Daioh, Black Cat, Bleach, Blood+, Cardcaptor Sakura, Chi’s Sweet Home, Chobits, Clannad, Claymore, Code Geass, Cowboy Bebop, Darker than Black, Death Note, Digimon, Dragonaut, El Cazador, Elfen Lied, El Hazard, Escaflowne, Eureka 7, Evangelion, Excel Saga, Fruits Basket, Full Metal Alchemist, Fushigi Yugi, Ginga Densetsu Weed, Gundam00, Gundam Seed, Gunslinger Girl, H20, Hayate no Gotoku!, Heroic Age, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, His and Her Circumstances, Ichigo Mashimaru, Inuyasha, Itazura na Kiss, Jubei-chan, Kanon, Kirby: Right Back At Ya!, Konjiki no Gash Bell, Last Exile, Love Hina, Lucky Star, Magic Knight Rayearth, Massugu ni Ikou, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Mon Colle Knights, Mushishi, Nana, Naruto, Noir, Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, Now and Then Here and There, One Piece, Ouran High School Host Club, Paranoia Agent, Please Save My Earth, Pokemon, Pretear, Pretty Sammy, RahXephon, Ranma 1/2, Record of Lodoss War, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Romeo x Juliet, Rozen Maiden, S-Cry-Ed, Sailor Moon, Samurai Pizza Cats, School Rumble, Seirei no Moribito, Seto no Hanayome, Shakugan no Shana, Shaman King, Slayers, Sonic X, Sorcerer Hunters, Soul Eater, Sumomomo Momomo, Tenchi Muyo!, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Tokyo Mew Mew, Trigun, True Tears, Vampire Knight, Wolf's Rain, World Destruction, Yotsuba&!, Yu-Gi-Oh!...and many Studio Ghibli movies
And out of those, my favorites are: Azumanga Daioh, Cardcaptor Sakura, Death Note, Evangelion, Fruits Basket, Full Metal Alchemist, Inuyasha, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Naruto, Noir, One Piece, Pokemon, Slayers, Wolf’s Rain
My favorite anime characters are: Vash from Trigun, all the characters from Inuyasha, Asuka from Evangelion, all the wolves from Wolf’s Rain, Chopper from One Piece, Osaka and Sakaki from Azumanga Daioh, Misuzu from Air, Umagon from Konjiki no Gash Bell, Shana from Shakugan no Shana, Rock Lee, Gaara, and Shikamaru from Naruto, Mireille and Kirika from Noir, C.C. from Code Geass, Kagami from Lucky Star, all the characters from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Rukia and Yoruichi from Bleach, and most of the 480+ pokemon
And my favorite anime movies are: Pokemon 2000 and Pokemon Destiny Deoxys, Sailor MoonS: Hearts on Ice, Cowboy Bebop the Movie, The End of Evangelion, all the Inuyasha movies, Revolutionary Girl Utena the Movie, Fullmetal Alchemist Movie: The Conqueror of Shamballa, RahXephon: the Motion Picture, and pretty much all of Studio Ghibli's movies
You can also find additional info about my anime interests on my blog's About the Blogger page and my account on MyAnimeList.net
And if you're bored and feel like doing some reading, you can also read my "condensed" autobiography of how I became an anime fan, "How Anime Came My Way"