A couple of weeks ago, on my way back from the bank, I stopped to have a bowl of ramen noodles at a local ramen shop.
Those of you who have been to ramen shops in Japan must know that they always have available many comic books for you to read while eating your ramen.
I picked the very first volume of "Naruto". I had been aware of its popularity since this kid back in US whom I used to teach Japanese was a huge fan and talked about it constantly. I would later learn that my nieces and nephew were fans also.
It's a story about a boy named Naruto who dreams of one day becoming a chief of his Ninja tribe.
By the time I finished eating, I was done with the entire book. And I was hooked. I wanted to read more and find out what would become of Naruto and his friends! Now, when I get into something, I REALLY get into it. It had been decades since the last time I sat and read manga. When I was a kid, I would save my allowance so I could buy the latest volumes of my favorite magas. The beautiful thing about being a grown up (and having a job) is that you don't have to buy one manga book at a time anymore. You can just go to a bookstore and buy the whole series!!!
I made my way over to a used-book store downtown after work to pick up the entire series so I'd be able to read them that night. Well, it turns out there are 44 volumes (!!!) in the series..... and it is still on-going.
Yes, I bought them all, all 44 of them, and I've read them all in 4 days. Now I want to talk to someone about my latest passion!! However.... for someone my age, it is not as easy as discussing Naruto's adventures with classmates during recess. I can't go to my nieces and nephew because I want to keep what's left of my dignity as their uncle. What am I to do? I have joined a couple of online forums dedicated to Naruto. Yes, the majority of people on those forums are pimply faced teenagers... but here's the beauty of the internet. They don't need to know that the dude who is going on and on about the latest chapter of Naruto is actually a geezer who could possibly be old enough to be their...fathers. What can I do!? I just love this manga and I want to share the love!!
It really feels good to come clean about this. I couldn't tell anyone.... my family, my colleagues, my friends.... and it was killing me. Judge me, you will, but I don't care!!
Those of you who have been to ramen shops in Japan must know that they always have available many comic books for you to read while eating your ramen.
I picked the very first volume of "Naruto". I had been aware of its popularity since this kid back in US whom I used to teach Japanese was a huge fan and talked about it constantly. I would later learn that my nieces and nephew were fans also.
It's a story about a boy named Naruto who dreams of one day becoming a chief of his Ninja tribe.
By the time I finished eating, I was done with the entire book. And I was hooked. I wanted to read more and find out what would become of Naruto and his friends! Now, when I get into something, I REALLY get into it. It had been decades since the last time I sat and read manga. When I was a kid, I would save my allowance so I could buy the latest volumes of my favorite magas. The beautiful thing about being a grown up (and having a job) is that you don't have to buy one manga book at a time anymore. You can just go to a bookstore and buy the whole series!!!
I made my way over to a used-book store downtown after work to pick up the entire series so I'd be able to read them that night. Well, it turns out there are 44 volumes (!!!) in the series..... and it is still on-going.
Yes, I bought them all, all 44 of them, and I've read them all in 4 days. Now I want to talk to someone about my latest passion!! However.... for someone my age, it is not as easy as discussing Naruto's adventures with classmates during recess. I can't go to my nieces and nephew because I want to keep what's left of my dignity as their uncle. What am I to do? I have joined a couple of online forums dedicated to Naruto. Yes, the majority of people on those forums are pimply faced teenagers... but here's the beauty of the internet. They don't need to know that the dude who is going on and on about the latest chapter of Naruto is actually a geezer who could possibly be old enough to be their...fathers. What can I do!? I just love this manga and I want to share the love!!
It really feels good to come clean about this. I couldn't tell anyone.... my family, my colleagues, my friends.... and it was killing me. Judge me, you will, but I don't care!!
