Today’s post will be short because as the title subtly implies, I’m somewhat pressed for time.
12 Days of Anime
#10 – NOT HAVING TIME FOR ANYTHING
It’s kind of weird how little time I have for watching anime considering how much time I spend writing and translating about it. Well, actually, it’s not that weird at all. Writing, researching and translating suck a ton of time out of your day, you wouldn’t believe. In terms of raw hours, it is honestly equivalent to a full-time job. I do get paid for this stuff, but not nearly as much as I should be getting considering the amount of work I do.
And that is a fact.
Hardly anyone makes a living out of anime writing. I think Bobduh’s the most successful at it, but he freely admits that his financial position is precarious. Yet somehow he manages to churn out quality essay after essay. I can’t wrap my head around how he does it.
Even so, I can’t deny that I’ve been busy myself. When I was writing my thesis, there would be some days where I’d just get up, read, and go to sleep. Even after graduating from university, that routine hasn’t changed much – just exchange reading for translating or writing. Just today, I translated for about six hours without a break, but my current project is still nowhere near finished. After I’ve finished writing this post, I’ll probably immediately start work on another translation I’ve been juggling.
On top of that, I’ve been trying to have a social life too, and I’ve been going out a lot during this month in particular. So I have to laugh at myself for attempting to do the 12 Days of Anime Blogging.
Now you can see why I don’t bother keeping up with much anime.
Yeah, even I know that this is not a sustainable lifestyle. It’s really just a temporary thing since I plan to move to Japan next year. That’s all well and good, but I’ll probably have even less time for myself then… RIP me.
At the same time, I can’t deny that I’m glad I had these experiences. After this year, I think I can understand the passion that drives young animators to work in the anime industry, no matter how difficult the conditions are. It takes a certain kind of mentality to strive for such perfectionism while receiving so little in return. In the end, it’s the work itself that’s fulfilling, and some people will seek to do it even when it costs them so much.
I’m not romanticising the anime industry when I say this. For God’s sake, please donate to the animator dorm project when it opens up again next year. I beg of you.
Frogkun.com 
I’m impressed by anime writers like Bobduh too – like you said, it’s amazing that people can turn out such high-quality work on such tight schedules and still make a living out of it. That said, I’m impressed by you as well, Frog-kun. I’ve been blogging for… going on 4 years now I guess, and I’ve still never even managed to find the time/energy to do this 12 Days of Anime thing. I have a lot of respect for bloggers like you who do manage to update so regularly, and to do so well.
And wow, I didn’t know you were planning on moving to Japan next year. Best of luck! I’m moving back there too, although not until March.
Man, I only found the time to respond to this comment now, several days after Christmas. And I didn’t quite finish all the posts on time, either. Oh well. Thanks for compliments anyway, right?
Also I won’t be in Japan until the latter half of the year, but it’s great you’re going back there too. Maybe our paths will cross?
Quite possibly. Especially since this time, I’ll be on Honshu rather than Shikoku, making it far easier to get around. :)
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