If you somehow survived the complete brain rot that comes with being an anime fan WITHOUT  annoying your roommates: congratulations because I am still struggling to this day. 

Between cosplaying, anime on sunday mornings, and the TikTok sounds, living with someone who just doesn’t get it can be interesting. I love my roommates dearly, but the last thing I need at 1:00am when I’m rummaging in my Winry cosplay, is confusion. How do I explain that I simply need to borrow the community wrench because I'm cosplaying? Con crunch in particular is always fun when non cosplayers witness it. Sprawled across the living room are paints, props, and cardboard. Though it looks like a giant mess to them at first, it’s fun when the roomies see the end result….after I scrub the paint off the furniture.

The amount of times that I’ve said “Is that a Jojo reference” is insane! The bizarre thing is my roomies don’t know what Jojo’s is to get it, so I just sighed with a “yare yare daze” The other day, “20 Min” by Lil Uzi Vert came on– and the SWIFTNESS in which I did that Haikyuu dance was frightening. And once you get past Oikawa’s part, you have to do Tsukki’s and Hinata’s part too. After you kill it you get the look that’s a mix of “what the fuck” and “how the fuck.” How do you explain this was a viral dance that took Haikyuu TikTok by storm in the summer of 2020? You can’t, you can’t explain.

Sometimes, we like to watch shows together and it was my turn to decide what to watch. I decided Chainsaw Man was the best thing to go with. I honestly set myself up here because why would that be a good starter anime for anyone? But I was smart and prepared them for what they might see, from the grooming to the gore. But I failed to realize that demons and devils were not the norms in everyday TV. I tried to explain that demons and devils are staples in anime just look at Naruto. Meanwhile my roommate is just like…..demons and devils. Needless to say we never finished it, but she did like the movie references from the OP, so that’s a plus.

I will say that their ignorance is so helpful at times because the amount of hidden references around the apartment makes me happy. They don’t know that my snake plant’s name is Boa because Boa Hancock is the snake queen herself. Or that the collage that hangs in the living room contains a hidden jojo reference. But as my roomie says, “I just smile and nod because it makes you happy” and I can live with that.