Thread:GhostlyJake98/@comment-25308539-20161121110547

Hey man, I'm stezie, the resident admin/caretaker of the wiki at the moment. I just read through that nice post you left on your wall, and I feel that a lot of it really resonates with me too. mind dump incoming

First up, I really like the fact that you've come back to write so much for a place that's, well, nearly dead. Especially since all of the big names on the wiki while you were active (like norleon and deathman) have been gone for a long time. Heck, I barely got to know either of them since they had already left by the time I started editing, and I think that I only ever started watching anime around the time you stopped editing! But I think that's something really special about k-on; there seems to be this certain timelessness to the show and a certain mutual understanding that runs through everyone who loves k-on. So even though we've never met or talked before, just by virtue of us both having been so affected by k-on, I reckon we're both mates. I don't ever feel that with fans of any other series.

Reading about how you got into Japanese culture reminds me a lot of myself. I think I had only watched 2 anime series before starting k-on, so I knew almost nothing about the 'tropes' of anime. And since my friends generally didn't like slice of life anime, I was going to watch it ironically so I could join in with them when they laughed about how "there's no plot haha / it's so stupid / they dont even play music" and stuff like that. But then I realised I truly enjoyed it and I didn't know why. It took me a long time to figure it out, but what I came up with was that I just had to learn how to own my emotions. Your friends, or the bigger society - these tell us what we're allowed and not allowed to feel. And there I was, an 18 year old uni student watching a show about a bunch of girls who drink tea and sometimes play music in a band. K-on was one of the first shows that made me want to feel everything for real rather than be told what to feel. That said, it was during and after k-on, where I was finally able to open up to fiction. Just like you said, the ability to feel the drops when it rains, or to feel the shivers when it snows - this ability is special, and I've been nurturing it ever since.

And of course, the practical aspects about k-on and the wiki will stick with us. Stuff like how to communicate and research, and how k-on helped me really improve my bass playing. (It's so hard to find tabs for almost all of western pop, but somehow I found nearly all of the k-on scores so that was a godsend!). (Oh, and I also do Azusa's hand stretches before each practice too!)

Don't feel obliged to stay and contribute. Only do it if you really have both the drive and the time. Personally, I think I'm notorious on the wiki for making sure people prioritise real life (even I've just come out of an 8 month hiatus). I see you're going for a degree in science, with aspirations for further education. Good luck with that! (But don't be surprised if you're too burnt out by the end of your B that you dont want to do your M or PhD. I just finished my degree 2 weeks ago, and I don't want to step foot in uni for another 10 years xD). At the very most, I want to encourage you and everyone else to really dig deep and understand why we all love k-on, and to just cherish that love as we move through life. The things I've learned from the show and from my journey through the wiki have definitely made me a better person in all walks of life, and I hope you feel the same. 