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No Villains
When the Uber driver arrived at the worst Airbnb I’ve ever stayed in, he told me to double-check that I had the right address. On a sunny street…
My Year as a Girl Boss
It was 2013 and I’d just arrived at the largest suburban house I’d ever been inside. I was at a stranger’s place for a two-day writing workshop, and…
6 lessons from my 36th year
Today is my 37th birthday. I know I’m supposed to be ashamed of getting up there in years, “never ask a woman her age” and all that, but…
Rewriting Painful Memories in ‘My New Boss Is Goofy’
There’s a memory from 15 years ago that still haunts me. When I was in college, I ate the rest of my roommate’s homemade pie. At the time,…
Reclaiming my fandom self, two kids later
I was catching up on Ya Boy Kongming! when the first contraction hit. It was May 2022, and it was one week before my son’s due date. Since…
‘Frieren’ Brings Us Face To Face With Our Own Mortality
The first thing we learn about the titular character of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is that she isn’t human. Frieren is an elven mage with a greatly elongated…
Motherhood changed how I write about anime
This will be my third Mother’s Day as a mom. This time last year, I was still recovering in the hospital after giving birth. (It had been an…
How I’ve been spending my 2023
This January I read the life-changing book Atomic Habits, which challenges you to improve your life by reminding you that your habits, the tasks and routines you repeat…
What I’ll do instead of watching the fall anime season
Last week, in a burst of emotion, I wrote my first blog post in a year. In hindsight, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to boycott the…
Why I canceled my Crunchyroll membership
I still remember the first time I heard about Crunchyroll. I was at Anime Boston 2010, and this up-and-coming anime streaming service was one of the con’s biggest…
Otaku Journalist is 12 years old!
Twelve years ago today, I began posting on this blog. One of my professors at American University’s School of Communication encouraged us each to secure our name as…
Come to my Otakon panel! Or don’t.
The thing about the internet is it encourages us to brand ourselves, the more specific the better. There are a lot of parts of my life that I…
On logging onto TikTok and immediately crumbling into dust
Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time on TikTok. I started using the app regularly while researching my Washington Post article since all of the cosplayers I spoke…
How I wrote my first article for the Washington Post
As my friend Samantha of Anime Herald said, “Strange times breed strange opportunities.” Anyway, today I’m sharing my first article in the Washington Post. All dressed up with…
Not According to Keikaku
Today is my birthday so I’m feeling self-indulgent enough to finally update my blog. I’m doing about as well as anybody could be in this terrible year. Each…
5 Tips For Breaking Into Niche Writing In 2020
It’s been difficult to find the motivation to blog. As quarantine wears on, my role as a primary caregiver has continued on as the most important and time-consuming…
Remembering Zac Bertschy
By now you have seen the news that Zac Bertschy has passed away. To me, Zac will always be the human embodiment of Anime News Network: the guiding…
How I’m balancing life and work during quarantine
At the beginning of the global pandemic and resulting quarantine, some of my friends recommended that I post some tips for those who are newly working from home.…
This is fandom reporting in 2020
Recently a brand I mentioned in an article praised my coverage and asked if they could send me some of their products as a thank you. I replied…
On going back to work
It’s been a while since I’ve written, but to me, it has felt like no time at all. Having a baby has really skewed my sense of the…
2019 In Review: 9 questions to help you process and reflect
This year, I don’t have any big plans for New Year’s Eve. I’ve been heading to bed when Eva does, around 7 PM, and I don’t think I…
Otaku Journalist is 10 years old!
Have you seen the new ad for anime on Disney Plus? “It’s not about being otaku, it’s about being… you.” Even now it is exhilarating to me to…
How I’m learning to respect my daughter’s online privacy
Four weeks ago today, Eva Artesia was born, but it feels like we just got home from the hospital yesterday. Eva’s life so far has been a dreamlike…
The Otaku Journalist is going on maternity leave
Just a heads up to say I am officially on maternity leave. That means I will be slow to respond to anything or anyone, here and in my…
How to give yourself a quarterly review
These slow summer days are the perfect time to put some juice back in your business. Whether you’ve got a side hustle or you’re a full-time freelancer like…
“How dare she?”
I was recently quoted in a Rolling Stone article about Belle Delphine, an Instagram model who takes a lot of inspiration from kawaii culture and Japanese style aesthetics.…