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Discovering your true self through fandom is a complicated journey. In this coming-of-age memoir, Erica Espejo will take you back to the turn of the millennium where anime fandom in the United States was growing from niche to mainstream. Sailor Moon was broadcast in English, and a generation of otaku timed their VCRs and watched in awe as the course of media fandom changed forever.
This intimate and humorous memoir tells the story of one such eager fan who would go on to define her young adulthood with fan creations, cosplay, conventions and many other engagements with a variety of anime, manga and other media. An early adopter of online communities through newsgroups and tape trading, the author brings an informed and deeply personal perspective to the changing meaning of fandom.
List of contents
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Preface
Prologue. Fall 2019: An Auditorium in South Orange County
Part One. Finding Fandom
¿1.¿I Didn't Know That Was an Anime!
¿2.¿Setting the VCR Timer by Moonlight
¿3.¿Sailor Moon Is from Japan?!
Part Two. Hey Mom!
Let's Go to Anime Expo!
¿4.¿Anime Expo 1998: Missed Opportunities
¿5.¿Anime Expo 1999: Baby's First Anime Convention
Part Three. Finding My People
¿6.¿Escape from High School World
¿7.¿Online Voice Acting: Fan Fiction Meets Podcasting
¿8.¿Anime Expo 2000: But Dad, It's the Woodstock of Our Generation!
¿9.¿Ani-Magic 2000: Where's Lancaster Again?
10.¿Anime Central 2001: A Mad Scientist Hosts a Beauty Pageant
11.¿Anime Expo 2001: An Anime Convention in My Backyard
12.¿Class of 2002: Cat Ears and School Uniform. I Can't Stop Me
13.¿Anime Central 2002: Ever Wonder What a Gundam Does in the Hangar?
14.¿Anime Expo 2002: Like American Graffiti but Anime
15.¿San Diego -Comic-Con: Do I Belong Here?
Part Four. Anime Going Mainstream:
Everything Changes
16.¿Cosplay Community Before Social Media
17.¿Wine Country University
18.¿New Friendship Circles
Part Five. The Bay Area:
A Haven for Otakudom
19.¿Branding Cosplay Identity
20.¿Fake It Until You Can Make It
21.¿Outside Anime Fandom
22.¿Cosplay Is Serious Business
Part Six. Sew Much to
23.¿Lesson One: How to Sew Straight
24.¿Cosplay É in This Economy?
Epilogue. In My Ancestor Era
Index
About the author
Erica Victoria Espejo writes about anime conventions on her blog
Scarlet Rhapsody. She has appeared on panels about anime and general fandom at Anime Expo, San Diego Comic Con, Otakon, Anime Boston, and Fanime. She lives in Irvine, California.
