So yesterday, I visited my friends at Anime Export for no particular reason (well, there was an incident which involved a woman and a laser hair removal clinic which I needed to talk about–but that’s a different story). It turns out they were about to have a meeting with two writers from Akibanana, and they asked me if I wanted to join.

This was completely unplanned for me, but, luckily, I had exactly two business cards in my wallet. So I go through the tradition of exchanging business cards in true Japanese fashion awkwardly saying “hajime mashite [nice to meet you]” because I had thought Kiki was Japanese.

Simona & Kiki: self-proclaimed aliens

The conversation was consisted of some normal otaku talk: anime and manga, figures and toys, cosplay and fashion; and also, some deeper talk: psychology,  further internationalizing the anime industry, life in Japan as a foreigner, and of course business (however informal this seemed to be, it was, after all, a business meeting). We were still talking five hours and four coffees later.

Kiki is from Singapore and has been living in Japan for about 5 years. She’s a writer, translator and language enthusiast. Talking to her made me realize that she’s not only a hardcore otaku, but also an expert in the anime industry.

Simona is an Italian writer and translator with a strong interest in psychology and astrology. Her astrological analysis of me was very interesting and pretty much true–although a bit emasculating… T_T

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