What was your first job as a journalist?
Cosplay thread for Otakon 2018 as an independent. Anime NYC 2019 Coverage as a freelancer
Have you ever used a typewriter?
I wrote a persuasive essay for 5th grade on a typewriter!
How is social media changing news?
Algorithms dictate speed, outreach, and virality. But eventually whatever truly matters will get its due attention.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Ketsuno Ana from Gintama
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To speak with integrity and honesty about what you witness
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
getting the through-line to what makes this topic culturally relevant
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
WordPress, Google Workspace, Riverside.fm, a MacBook Air/iPhone, and BOYA's portable USB-c microphone
What's your favorite social network?
Currently: substack and patreon for industry news and webnovels, respectively
Who do you wish followed you?
Sasaki Hisashi, JAM Project, and Eichiro Oda
Why did you become a journalist?
I wanted to break news about the things I care about: manga, anime, and culture that speaks to me personally
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I was actually a creative writer that made poems, short stories, and essays rather than news articles
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
My tribute to Kentaro Miura for Toonami Faithful
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Keep writing, keep searching, keep caring.
When's the best time to pitch you?
When it's a topic you're passionate about
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Interviewing JAM Project for their 25th anniversary at Anime NYC '25
What's your favorite drink?
Papaya smoothie with banana, oats, protein powder, evaporated milk, and dash of vanilla extract
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Sterile compounding chemotherapy IVs at my day job, or walking Pokemon Go routes on my commute home
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Michael Song's Webtoon-ish, Richardson Handjaja's Animenomics, and White Box Entertainment's Anime By The Numbers
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That localizers/reviewers are ‘industry plants’ censoring a pure ‘original Japanese message,’ while ignoring translation nuance & constraints
