Let me start with a little background.
I've covered and written about a number of soundtracks here on this Gekiban Portal.
And these days, whenever a new anime starts, the first thing I check is the score.
It's no exaggeration to say it's changed the way I watch anime.

And yet, I don't think I'm an anime otaku.
At some point, I started forcing my way through anime as a chore.
I began watching anime as input for my writing.
The weekly anime broadcasts stopped being something to look forward to at all.

And what happens when you reach that point?
You lose touch with how people who watch anime out of pure love actually feel.

People my age often say, with one voice, that old anime was better—
but are they really watching enough current anime to make that claim?

Is it because there's too much anime now?
Because voice actors have become more front-and-center?
Because every pretty-girl design has started to look the same?
Because isekai-reincarnation stories stopped going on adventures?


Aren't all of those just excuses for having stopped watching anime?

What made me realize this was the Kyo-Banmatsuri article written here on the Gekiban Portal.
Split across several sections, that article radiated genuine heat and passion for anime.
It was compact, yet it had just the right amount of information to read—nothing lacking, nothing excessive. And it had this overwhelming sense of presence, as if I were right there.
The feeling of "I love anime," coming through the whole live experience, was overflowing.

Ah, this person is a pure otaku, I thought. This person genuinely loves anime—purely—and it moved me.
I was so moved that I told the writer themselves how I felt, and they said this to me:

"Why don't you try writing an article about Tokyo Banmatsuri, happening on November 4th?"

I said yes without a second thought—but after I'd agreed, a thought struck me.

"Can I really write something better than this person?"

November 4th, 11:39 PM.
Listening to Yuki Hayashi's Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle Original Soundtrack,
I'm now sitting at my computer.

I'm going to pour every ounce of the "I love this" feeling I felt today into this blog.
I downed an energy drink and started hammering away at the keyboard.