Hello all!

I figured I try to get this post out there before the new year began, so here we are once again to celebrate some of my writings throughout 2019. Can you believe I’ve been with the group since the beginning? That means I’ve written exactly 36 OWLS posts since our founding! As I did in 2017 and 2018, I’ve compiled a short list of favorites from this third round of posts. In the spirit of the New Year and bidding the old farewell, these are posts that represent my journey through anime, and some of the major life lessons I’d like to share with you, the reader!

As I mention every year, *clears throat*, “All of my OWLS posts are my babies—in fact, they’re probably some of the best posts I’ve ever written, if not THE best of what I’ve got so far, and I thoroughly LOVED writing ALL of them.” So, enjoy my reminiscing, and feel free to scope them out if you’re feeling the urge to relive each month’s thought-provoking topic.

On my site’s menu, you’ll see that OWLS has its own tab (and rightly so), so you can find all the other pleasant posts I wrote in 2019 that didn’t make this list. Alright, here we go, a look at Takuto’s OWLS participation in 2019!

RUNNER UP:

Tour #26 February – A Story That Loves Love: Go For It, Nakamura! | OWLS “Adore”

We open with a sweet one that is near and dear to my heart. It’s Syundei’s Go For It, Nakamura, and is the second manga to be featured as an OWLS post on this blog. Why didn’t this bumbling klutz make the cut? As wholesome as the story was, a single volume doesn’t allow for as much depth as a 24-episode anime might, so it just barely makes the runner-up spot on the grounds of being too short and sweet for its own good. But don’t worry, I feel the others are worthy contenders in their own right!

Life Lessons Learned:

• Love yourself to the fullest capacity that you can.
• Crawling out of your shell is a scary experience—do it anyway.
• Sometimes, we need friendship more than romance.

NUMBER FIVE:

Tour #28 April – Chasing You, Chasing Me: The Heart of Run with the Wind | OWLS “Masculinity”

The first half of the year was arguably full of my better works, but we slide into number five with this little character analysis over my favorite title of 2018, Run With the Wind.  Y’all know I’m a hoe for one Haiji Kiyose, so it shouldn’t come across as a surprise that I’m happy to be able to write about him and this series whenever I get the chance! Plus, I thought he was a less-than-stereotypical choice for a post about “masculinity” (if you catch my drift). Ahh, the whole Kazetsuyo series I did just takes me back to watching this wonderful series!

Life Lessons Learned:

• We are not as tough as we seem—be sensitive to other’s emotions.
• Run with your feelings, not against them.
• Run life at your own pace, but run with others when you can.

NUMBER FOUR:

Tour #27 March – She Flies Again! The Stellar Women of Space Battleship Yamato 2199 | OWLS “Feminine”

Run With the Wind gave us a cast full of incredible men, but March also showed up with  the equally remarkable women aboard the space battleship Yamato. A masterpiece of storytelling and character drama in itself, the “Feminine” OWLS tour allowed me to give special spotlight to some of anime’s most underrated galactic heroines. So much raw talent and spirit flies with the Yamato‘s crew, but were it not for these particular ladies, it is doubtful that the ship would have made it across the stars at all.

Life Lessons Learned:

• Lead with the heart, always.
• One should always value honor in their craft.
• Embrace diversity—it can often be one’s greatest strength.

NUMBER THREE:

Tour #25 January – The Conviction to Change in Bunny Girl Senpai | OWLS “Metamorphosis”

We’re heading back to the very first tour of 2019 with the infamous yet beloved Bunny Girl Senpai. I distinctly remember the first three episodes of this series taking the anime community by storm as it walked us through Sakuta Azusagawa and Mai Sakurajima’s fateful encounter with one another. The sheer emotional drive from this single hour of content was what pushed me to dedicate an entire post to this first mini story arc, and boy has it still stuck with me to this day. Eclipsing intense drama with a quick-witted romance, Bunny Girl Senpai offered more fun, multi-layered character growth than most modern anime could dream of.

Life Lessons Learned:

• Until we open up to others with our problems and allow each other to see why we are hurt, confused, or scared, we’ll never be able to understand one another
• There will always be something we hate about ourselves, something to regret.
• However, we can always try to change ourselves to make our lives better.

NUMBER TWO:

Tour #30 June – Sarazanmai & The Price of Connection | OWLS “Vulnerable”

Back when the heat of the summer first hit us in June, I distinctively recall being nervous to post this one. And yet, here it is as one of my favorites from the year. Despite its wacky narrative and silly premise, I will probably always hold Sarazanmai near and dear to my heart. I resonate so much with each of the series’ characters, Enta’s story particularly being the highlight of this post. Burdened with unrequited love yet the desire to connect with others anyway, Sarazanmai shows us how good things can come to good people, so long as they can stomach the pain of potential loss. It was an odd one for sure, but oh-so full of heart—that I can guarantee you.

Life Lessons Learned:

• So long as we try to reach out to others and form connections, we’ll always be vulnerable to attack, physical or emotional.
• But more importantly, just by trying, we’ll always have the chance to be happy.
• Love yourself, and cherish the bonds you form.

AND FINALLY, NUMBER ONE:

Tour #33 September – Michiko & Hatchin, Two Against the World || OWLS “Lover”

Did my pick for #1 surprise you as much as it did me? Before writing this post, I reread through all of the OWLS posts I wrote in 2019 (as I do every year), and was really caught off guard by how emotionally charged I sounded in this post, haha! I truly meant it when I said “Michiko & Hatchin slaps differently now,” as wow, it really is a wild ride through the messy side of intimate relationships.

So much of this series is full of broken relationships and shattered hearts. In other words, as much as I pride myself on the optimistic values of connection and happiness in Sarazanmai, Bunny Girl Senpai, or even Run With the Wind, at the end of the day, we’re all people. And people, as I’m sure we all know them, make mistakes. We screw up, badly, and often leave certain ties to rot and eventually fade away. Michiko & Hatchin is a story about our failures to develop healthy relationships with people—but also a bold tale of resilience, determination, self-growth, and rebirth for two young women just trying to find love in a world that gave up on them seemingly from the moment they came into it. Perhaps it’s that futile yet noble pursuit of love that made September’s “Lover” tour my favorite OWLS post of 2019.

Life Lessons Learned:

• Love can be a curse that ties people down in the past, entrapping their emotions in the present to those memories long-gone.
• Having a lover can also make us do rotten things to other people to make sure our relationships are protected.
• People will come and go all throughout our lives. Surround yourself with the good ones: those who give love, not take it.

I WILL Be Catching Up On All Your Posts, Too!

Within the next couple weeks, I’ll slowly be reading through each and every last OWLS post from 2019 in an attempt to catch-up before the new year gets too underway. It’ll be an intense endeavor (as it always is), but I kinda look forward to it as a sort of OWLS tradition I hold to myself. So, be on the lookout for my Twitter spam of your guys’ posts as my way of giving back to you. You’re all fantastic writers, and I wouldn’t be in OWLS were it not for this ever-growing family!

But anyway, that’s my line-up for this year. What did you think? Was there a post you were shocked to see up there, or perhaps one you remember liking that didn’t make the list? I assure you that it was actually pretty difficult narrowing it down to just five, but I’d love to hear YOUR thoughts on my OWLS 2019 tour entries! Thank you all so much for a wonderful year with this group—I eagerly anticipate another set of 12 OWLS posts I can add to my blogging “resume” in 2020! More year-in wrap-ups and updates will be coming before New Year’s, so until then, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

See you back soon!

– Takuto