4/29/98...

the anime world is a world of extremes... characters represent all the many different personalities people have... all their actions and reactions are shown to the extreme... these are all transferred to very livid animation which captures these actions and the emotions that go along with them... the characters become very easy to become attached to... they may represent people we know, somebody who thinks the same way we do, or somebody we wish we could be like... and through the drawings and creativity of the artist, the words and feelings of the writer, and the voices behind the characters, we can, for just a little while, live vicariously through the characters in a fantastical world... this is how I fell in love with a character named Sasami... first introduced to me in the Tenchi Muyo series, Sasami was the essence of everything I believed in... she possesses all the characteristics I admire in a person; she honestly cares about everyone around her, she helps out where she's needed and can be of assistance, and just knows what's important in life... she is everything I ever wish I could be and my idea of the kind of person I could spend forever with... she makes me want to be a better person and gives me hope of a brighter future... many may think me strange for loving a cartoon character, but I don't see it as any different from having a real-life hero/heroine or as just a personal way to escape from reality for a bit... if anything, I think it's had a healthy effect on my well-being... my love is purely out of admiration, not of lust... and I do know the difference between fantasy and reality... the world of anime just has an effect unlike that of a lot of pasttimes... you just become a part of it...