A never-ending journey. A journey to the stars.

Well, almost.

Big news in the land of Ogiue Maniax. As anyone who’s read this blog for any length of time knows, I love to write about anime and manga to analyze and explore various facets of them, from genres to the industry to the fans to the art. It is a passion that has been with me for a long time, but which only really began to manifest itself once I started writing Ogiue Maniax back in November of 2007. Now I’m entering another stage.

I have been accepted to a PhD program in Europe to study manga for four years. Being a PhD program, it is a paid position.

One of the things I look forward to is opening my mind to another part of the world. As much as I try to view situations from as many angles as I can, I am constantly aware of how America-centric my thoughts and writings can be, and if I can just challenge that part of my psyche a little bit over the next few years then I will come out of the situation a little better. And once I’m back, who knows? Maybe I’ll go on a road trip.

I don’t have to leave for a while, but given the rigor of a doctoral program, I may not have the time to update as much as I have in the past once I get there. I have no intentions of abandoning the blog though; it means too much to me.

I want to thank everyone who’s read Ogiue Maniax over these past few years. Your interest, support, and feedback helped me to shape my online voice, and to get me in a position to be confident enough in my own writing and passion to even apply for a PhD program, let alone get accepted by one in another continent.

These next four years are dedicated to you.

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